Her Secret Lover (What Happens in Vegas) (5 page)

They stepped out into the parking lot of the restaurant in front of a couple of cabs waiting for fares from the club next door. The music was hard to hear, but the thudding techno beat shook the pavement a little under their feet.

Micah stood close to her; his head dipped to look her in the eye. Kelsey felt the urge to lean into him, wanted to feel the solidity of the muscles she could see outlined under his shirt and jeans, and it must have shown in her eyes because he shuffled forward until their thighs and chests brushed against each other. She sucked in a soft inhale when the tips of her breasts tightened at the contact.

It had been a very long time since she’d stood so close to such a hot guy and even longer since she had found one she actually liked. Micah Holmes might not think he was like the heroes in his book, but he was pretty damn close.

“I don’t know if this is appropriate for me to say on a non-date excursion, but you look gorgeous tonight,” he said, flicking his gaze down to look at her sandals. “Especially your legs in those shoes. They almost made my heart stop.”

She did a mental fist pump that she’d chosen the heels over the flats, but she tried to play it cool and as professional as she could be while wearing short-shorts. “Thanks for coming. I had a good time.”

“I did too.” He paused, and she knew what he was going to ask and her stomach sank. “I’d like to do it again.”

She wanted to say yes. For the first time in a long time, she hated the no fraternization rule because she might want to take a chance on Micah Holmes. Kelsey didn’t delude herself that it would be anything more than a vacation fling, but she’d bet money that he’d leave her with only good memories for a souvenir.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I really can’t date guests, it’s against the rules,” Kelsey said, feeling in her gut how much she wished she could say something different.

“I wasn’t asking for a
date
.” He smiled, and the best way to describe his expression was
…
wicked. Micah was already crazy sexy with a sweet edge, but when his potential to be devilish was added in, her heart started pounding. “I’d like to do another non-date excursion, unless you think it’s too risky.”

“Of course it’s risky. What if someone saw us?” The words were bitter on her tongue but they needed to be said. Tonight was dicey enough without blurring the lines between their professional relationship and what could happen between them on an up-close-and-personal basis. Even explaining that she was doing this to get another guest their request probably wouldn’t be enough to save her job. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m sorry.”

He watched her closely, his fingers brushing against her hip in a slow back-and-forth motion that made her shift and squirm in a really good way. This was tough, but even if the hotel rules weren’t there, she still had the request from Saul and Babette hanging over her head, and keeping it to herself made her feel like she was being less than honest with him. She needed to keep her quest to get him to agree to the Ultimate Fan thing on the clock.

In a surprise move, Micah’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and tugged her close enough for them to be pressed from top to bottom. It felt good, really amazing in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time, except when she read one of his books or one of the dozens of other romance novels that filled up her ereader. The devilish tilt of his mouth was back, and there was determination in the set of his jaw. She knew she should put some distance between them because the tumble of heat in her belly told her that she was in big trouble.

“I could be a dick and check out of the hotel,” he murmured, chuckling when she choked and raised her eyebrow at him in shock. “But that might make it worse for you, and I’m not that guy.” Micah leaned in closer, brushing his lips against her cheek in an almost-kiss as he whispered, “I’m not good enough at this to play games, Kelsey. I think you’re beautiful. I want you. I like what I know of you and I want to learn more, but I get that you are in a tough spot. So, you let me know how and when we can do this, and I’m there. Your rules.”

She sucked in a breath and turned her face toward him before she thought about it. Their lips brushed against each other, a whisper of a touch, and they both froze. She held her breath, waiting to see what he would do. It would make it easier for her, his taking the lead and giving her the mental out that this wasn’t on her. It was a game, a way for her play with the rules, and ignore the voice in the back of her head telling her that she needed to be straight with him about Babette’s request.

“Damn,” he said on a groan and angled his head to press a hard kiss against her mouth. It was chaste for a moment, and then his tongue swept across her bottom lip and she opened to him. He held back, delving in just enough for her to taste him, to love the wet slide of their mouths against each other. The kiss had her leaning into it, fighting the desire to take it further. But she never got the chance because Micah ended it, his hand still gripping her wrist right above where her pulse pounded like a hyperactive drum. His brown eyes locked on hers for a split second before he blinked and let her go.

He stepped away from her and raised his arm to signal a nearby cab, and then leaned down to give the driver the name of the hotel through the open window. He opened the passenger door, stopping his departure when she touched his other arm. Kelsey waited until he looked down at her to speak.

“I’m not sure I believe you when you say you aren’t good at this,” she stuttered out, finding it difficult to catch her breath. “Because that was pretty damn good.”

“I guess I haven’t been properly motivated before,” he said, pausing to reach and run his fingers down her arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kelsey. Thank you for tonight.”

Chapter Six

Thursday morning

“I have something for you, Sarina,” Kelsey said, waving an envelope as she walked across the floor of her best friend’s porn store.

Sarina’s business, Sizzle and Pop, was as classy as an adult book, movie, and sex toy store could be. She’d taken the end storefront in a strip mall not far from the Strip surrounded by restaurants, a nail salon, and a bar on the opposite end. The space looked like a high-end department store with glass and chrome and dark built-in cabinets, spanning the vibe between masculine and feminine. She’d wanted a place that both men and women would be comfortable shopping in, and she’d succeeded.

“I hope that’s my money,” Sarina answered, leaning on the counter at the front of the store. Her friend was a tall, willowy redhead with green eyes that gave away her wicked sense of humor. As a foster kid growing up, she’d won a scholarship to the University of Nevada and never hesitated to apply for the small business loan she needed to open her own store. “It better be my money because we both know that sex sells, and I can’t afford to just give it away.”

Kelsey handed over the envelope with the check with a flourish. “Love You Big Time sends their thanks and a little something extra for giving up so much of your stock to help them out.”

She watched as Sarina lifted the envelope flap and peeked inside. Her eyebrows rose, and she whistled, long and loudly.

“That will help pay for my upgraded security system.” Kelsey watched her as she tapped a few keys on the cash register, opened the drawer, and slid the envelope inside. “The nail salon got hit again last night.”

Oh hell. The strip mall had been experiencing a rash of crime lately: break-ins after hours, shoplifting, and robberies of patrons in the parking lot.

“Really? During or after hours?”

“After, thank God. It might give Mrs. Kim a heart attack if they robbed her while she was there.” Sarina reached for a box of lubricant and began placing price stickers on the bottom. “We’re all talking about getting private security in here, but you know I can’t afford that. I’m barely out of my first year in business, and while I made money, Vegas isn’t cheap and that might cripple me.”

“What do the cops say?” Crime was a problem in town just like any place with a million people streaming through it, but the police were usually on top of it. The city couldn’t have tourists afraid to come on a vacation and get robbed anywhere but at the casino.

“They say it’s a new gang or something wanting to stake their claim, and they are stepping up patrols and set up some kind of sting operation.” She sighed, and the look on her face was anything but confident. “I need it to stop because I’m bleeding from the thefts. I have a small margin, you know.”

She did. Kelsey and Sarina had spent hours poring over her business plan and the numbers. She could take some hits, but not a monthly donation to local band of mob-connected thieves, private security,
and
an upgraded security system. Not for the long-term anyway.

“Yeah, I do.”

The doorbell chimed and a customer entered the store, and Sarina smiled and told him the specials and invited him to ask if he needed help finding anything.

“I should probably go. I need to get to work,” Kelsey said, looking at her watch. Today was the fan event for Micah, and she had lots to do for him, and she still had to get ready for the convention the next day.

“We came by your place last night to see if you wanted pizza, but you weren’t there and you didn’t answer your phone,” Sarina said, her question implied.

She lived in the same condo complex with Kelsey, and the “we” she mentioned consisted of their other best friends, Aiden MacAuley and Lilah Park. They hung out four to five nights per week, and Wednesday night had evolved into pizza night for the group. Lilah said they needed to move toward having pizza night with people they also traded orgasms with, and Kelsey couldn’t find any reason to disagree with that goal, except that finding that person was harder than it looked.

“I took a guest out for dinner,” she said. “To the Mongolian Barbecue.”

Sarina stopped her task with the bottle of lube hovering in the air. “A guest?”

“Yeah.”

“Was it a Masquerade Hotel function?”

“Nope.” Kelsey reached out and picked up a bottle, placing the sticker on the bottom. It gave her something to do while Sarina looked at her like she’d lost her damn mind. “It wasn’t.”

“That could get you fired.” She put the bottle down and leaned her hip against the counter, arms crossed over her chest. “You’re not stupid, so I’m waiting for the explanation that tells me you didn’t hit your head.” She didn’t even wait for Kelsey to answer before she barreled forward. “Who was this guest?”

“Micah Holmes.”

Sarina laughed. “The author? The geeky looking guy who writes those books you go all mushy over?”

She put her hand up to stop the flow of ridicule. It was an old argument between the two of them. “He’s not geeky looking, those glasses are hot.”

“Not my type.” Sarina waved her off. “Not the point at all. Why would you take a guest out to dinner? Can’t he find his own dates? It’s Vegas, he’s loaded, and there are women on speed dial day and night.”

“He’s not the hooker type, and
that
is beside the point,” she said.

“Well, then what is the point?”

“I have a VIP high roller who wants his sixteenth bride to have a superfan moment with Mr. Holmes, and if I can arrange it, he’ll give me the recommendation I need for the management program.”

Sarina nodded, her shoulders relaxing. “So, you took out the sexy professor to get him to agree to the superfan thing. That sounds like business to me and not something that can get your ass fired. Good job.”

Ouch. If it was only that straightforward.

“Not quite.” Kelsey laid it all out there, hoping that her friend would see it with a better spin or have a brilliant solution. “He likes me.”

“What?” Sarina wrinkled her nose at her, eyes narrow with disbelief. “So, you used the fact that he likes you to get him to agree to the superfan thing? I know you’ve capitalized on someone’s attraction before, but going out with them is pretty cold.”

“I know. I feel really shitty about it.” She leaned both elbows on the countertop and put her face in her hands. This was already confusing. “It’s not completely mercenary. I like him, too.” She took a deep breath, “He kissed me.”

“Did you kiss him back?”

She nodded. “I did.”

It wasn’t much of a kiss, to be honest, but it had rocked her world for those few seconds, and she’d spent the rest of the night with the weight of his mouth on hers, the taste of his tongue on her lips.

“So when are you going to come clean and not mess up something that might have potential?” Sarina asked.

That had her popping her head up, surprised at the question. “There’s
no
potential. He’s a guy in Las Vegas for a few days. We both know that is never anything but a fling.”

“Oh, so you think
he’s
playing an angle?” Sarina asked, her features loosening up with this bit of news. You didn’t look like Sarina and not get hit on by every guy who passed through Vegas. She had bruises on her heart just like Kelsey. “It’s still dangerous if you get caught.”

“I don’t know if he’s got an angle. He seems like he’s a nice guy,” Kelsey murmured, her gut telling her that she was right. None of her alarm bells went off with Micah, which only made her situation worse. “I don’t mind jamming up a jerk, but I get the feeling that I’m the user this time and not the used.”

The customer from earlier was approaching the counter and Kelsey had to go, but she looked to her friend for some last minute advice.

“What should I do, Rina?”

“I don’t know, Kelsey, but I know you’re not that girl. You might wheel and deal and pull rabbits out of hats, but you’re not the girl who goes this far to manipulate a nice guy’s feelings to satisfy the whim of some VIP asshole who’s been married sixteen times. At least, I hope you’re not.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,” Kelsey said, biting back the urge to reach over and shake Sarina. She needed advice, not judgment.

“Well, then you already know what to do,” Sarina said, and turned her attention to the customer.

Kelsey walked out of the store, the conversation not making her feel any better. She was stuck in a place where she was going to disappoint someone who could help her out at a critical point of her career. If she didn’t get the superfan moment for Babette, it was anyone’s guess if she would get the program slot. She was qualified, but she wasn’t the only qualified candidate.

If she confessed and told Micah, she knew it would hurt him; he gave off the “good guy” vibe in waves, and he’d done nothing to deserve that kind of crap. And it could hurt her career progression as well. She was assigned to him for the convention, which was a huge business partner for the hotel, and if he requested someone else or if he reported that he had less than stellar performance from her, it could take her out of the running.

In truth, she didn’t have many options. Tomorrow she would spend the day with Micah, get to know him, and watch him with his fans. She’d take that data and figure out a way to make this work without getting more involved.