Home Is Where the Heat Is (28 page)

Kurt groaned and pinned her wayward hand to his chest. “Go to sleep, woman.”

She sighed and settled between them. JT slid his arm around her waist and pulled her snug against him, using the back of her shoulder for his pillow. He pressed his lips on her skin, smiling as she purred. He’d taken a huge risk with that bet, but it paid off even better than he’d hoped.

I did her right.

***

Once enough light floated through the open curtains for Kurt to see without tripping over the furniture, he got up and searched for his glasses. Without making a sound, he gathered his clothes and got dressed in the other room.

Claire had fallen asleep in his arms, but at some point during the night, she’d rolled over and entwined her body with JT. The gambler had kissed her cheek and wrapped himself around her, mumbling something Kurt couldn’t make out completely, but he understood enough to keep him awake.

JT loved Claire, and he’d do anything to make her happy. Their decadent tryst proved that. Kurt couldn’t compete with the gambler in his Vegas playground, but he’d be off his game once they got back to the DA’s office on Monday. At least in Denver the playing field leveled out, and Kurt stood a chance of showing Claire she belonged on his team.

Sports metaphors? You’ve been hanging out with JT too much.
Kurt crept back to the bedroom for one last look at the woman he wanted. The sheet was bunched up around her waist, exposing her beautiful breasts to the early morning light. JT’s arm covered her nipples, and she smiled when he stirred. His lips brushed her hair.

They looked happy, like they belonged together.
Damn it.

Kurt left the room and called a cab when he got to the lobby. Last night he’d feared Monday’s awkward encounter, but as he waited in line at security, he steeled himself. He’d abandoned his rebel princess in the arms of a scoundrel before retreating to his base. He needed time to plan his counterattack, and then she’d see him as her hero.

He just hoped she wasn’t one of those girls who couldn’t resist the bad boy.

Chapter 22

A cold blast from the air conditioner tickled Claire’s backside. She rolled over and groped the sheets, finding them cool. Kurt had been gone for some time. She got out of bed and searched the other rooms for him, but his glasses no longer lay on the end table and his clothes were missing, too.
Why did he leave without saying goodbye?

She checked her phone, but he hadn’t called or sent a message. Maybe he felt awkward. Maybe JT had scared him off. Or maybe she wasn’t that important to him.

She crawled back in the big bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin. The brilliant desert sun should’ve given her day a jumpstart, but waking up with just one guy cast a gloomy shadow over her orgasmic buzz.

Just one guy? Boy, are you ever spoiled.

JT rolled up against her side and groped her breast while he nuzzled her neck. “Mornin’, gorgeous.”

“Hi.” She slid close to his hard body, letting his warmth stir her senses.

He groaned and nibbled her earlobe. “I have aches in places I didn’t know existed.”

Ha.
Knowing she’d rendered him sore and exhausted brought a smile to her face. The room brightened and she rolled, touching her lips to his prickly jaw. “Me too.”

Sweet sparks danced on her skin as his thumbs flicked her nipples. “When does Genius need to go to the airport?”

The light in her heart dimmed. “He already left.”

JT lifted his head and blinked at the empty space, then dropped back on his pillow. “Good. I had a nightmare about him missing his flight. You made me spank him.”

Claire laughed. “I would’ve loved to see that.”

“Not gonna happen.” He laid flat on his back and pulled her on top of his chest, her hair spilling over her shoulders, and he gathered it in his fist. “Did you have fun last night?”

She pushed back until she met his gaze. “Do you have to ask?”

His gloating grin answered that question. “No, but I just want to be sure.”

Smoldering embers ignited as memories of their wild tryst flashed into her brain. “I had more fun than is allowed by law… I think. I’ll have to research that.”

He wound her hair around his hand, and she let him pull her down for a kiss. More erotic images filled her head, and her body tingled as she relived each one. “Have I thanked you… today?”

“Nope.” He pressed his lips against hers and parted them with his tongue as his hand slid down her back, stroking in circles and awakening her skin.

His mouth chased her as she pulled away. She let him catch her lips, then pulled away as an idea sparked. “But ‘thank you’ isn’t enough. I’m going to spoil you today. I’ve got ten thousand dollars to spend. Let’s go blow it.”

“On me?” His eyebrow quirked.

“And me, and us. Whatever the hell we want.” A hundred ways to spend her winnings and absolutely zero reasons not to set her body buzzing again.

“Mmm… getting excited already?” He stuffed his hand between her thighs and slipped a long finger between her tingling folds.

Her nipples pebbled on his chest. “Let’s take a quick shower, get dressed, and go out for breakfast.”

He stroked her, fanning the flames. “You and me in the shower isn’t gonna be quick,” he said.

She moaned as his fingers circled her clit. “It will be if you keep doing that.”

JT flipped Claire onto her back and took advantage of her splayed legs to palm her hot mound. “We could order breakfast in bed.”

“Mmm… I want to go
out
.” She arched into his body. “We never left the hotel last night, and there are so many wicked things we could do here.”

“Then get your sweet ass out of bed and let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and they scampered to the bathroom, kissing and groping their way into the shower.

JT turned the water on, and Claire yelped as the cold spray blasted her shoulders. “Sorry.” He pulled her aside, kissing drops from her skin until steam collected on the glass.

She slid her arms around his neck and tipped her head back, giving him full access to her wet breasts. Just a few hours ago, she’d stood in this same shower with another man while JT watched. She peeked over his shoulder, but this time they were alone.

JT gave her little time to dwell on the loss. His hands swept her body and his mouth touched her every need. He flicked his tongue on her nipple. “What kind of wickedness do you want to indulge in today, Rebel?”

He meant sex, no doubt, and while she knew they could buy any fantasy imaginable here, she had other plans. “I want to spend my money on things that are completely useless and totally impractical.”

Water splashed her face as he lifted his head and blinked at her. “
That’s
wicked?” Then he slipped his hand down her slippery ass and between her thighs as if demonstrating what he had in mind.

She sighed as his fingers probed. “It is to me. We weren’t poor, but my mom kept us on a tight budget. Feed the family, pay the bills, nothing more. Every dollar had a purpose. So I’m going to waste everything I won last night.” Lengthy showers had been a restricted luxury too, not to mention two of them in less than twelve hours.

She reached between them and stroked his stiff cock, but he pinned her against the wall and grabbed the back of her thighs, lifting her up while she dug in to his shoulders.

“Mmm… you are a bad girl.”

Claire’s body heated from the inside out, and she laughed. “I just spent last night fucking two guys. I think that’s a little more than bad.”

JT eased his cock into her, keeping her back pressed to the glass while he rocked. “Mmm… it’s pure evil—and you loved it.”

“Fuck yes.” She sighed and tried to thrust down on him.

“Don’t move.” He adjusted his grip and breathed hot on her neck. “Just let me hold you and fuck you. All you have to do is take it.”

She grabbed the back of his neck and gasped, staring into his eyes as he impaled her. “Did you love it, too?”

“Oh yeah.” He groaned and a perfectly naughty smile touched his lips. “Every mind-blowing second.”

But weren’t men supposed to be possessive, keeping competitors away from their women? “Why?”

He slammed into her greedy pussy with a swift upward jab, jarring her senses and knocking her world off-center. “Because I love fulfilling your cravings.” Another quaking thrust. “For attention. For mind-blowing sex.” He pulled out slowly, groaning as her body gave him up an inch at a time. “For coming in first.” His eyes sparkled with unrepentant mischief as he drove in hard, owning her body and soul.

He gets me. All of me—everything.
She smacked her head against the glass as he claimed her. “Fuck me with…!” Her cry echoed and she grasped his face. “You.” He’d given her everything she’d dreamed of and more. Unable to comprehend the thought, her mind shattered and her body went right along with it.

JT growled and bit her shoulder, holding her still as he pounded her aching flesh. He gasped on her stinging skin. “I’ve never been so lucky.”

She regained her footing as he slid her to the floor, but neither one of them relinquished their grip. They stood under the streaming water, flowing around and over their melded bodies—inseparable, unmovable.

When their heartbeats returned to some sort of normal, Claire found her breath and sighed. She didn’t want to end the moment, but her growling stomach was doing it for her. “I’m hungry.”

JT leaned back and grinned. “Then I will satisfy your need.” They shared a lingering kiss, before he shut the water off and pushed the door open.

She held his offered hand and stepped out of the shower. “But I’m buying.”

“No problem.” He draped a towel over her shoulders and grabbed one for himself. “You’re the big winner.”

Whoa. I’m the winner?
No one had ever been able to call her that before. She’d always been the gracious loser, but this weekend
she’d
been crowned champion—queen of the casino—and the bedroom. Time to live like one.

“And then we’re going shopping—all over town. The most expensive stores, five-star restaurants… what else can we do here?”

JT rubbed the towel over his chest. “Strip clubs, dance clubs, magic shows….”

“Oh.” She slapped his arm. “Let’s get tickets for one of those topless shows. I’ve always wanted to see one.” Claire could let him watch other women dance naked because none of them could do what she did for JT.
I won him.

“Ha. You mean you’ve always wanted to
do
one.”

“Hell yeah.” She wrapped the towel around her waist and shimmied, laughing at her jiggling breasts in the mirror. “I could totally be a Vegas showgirl.”

He ripped the towel from her body, leaving her naked. “Keep doing that and we’ll never leave this room.”

Claire giggled and ran back to the bedroom. “Try and catch me first!”
Afraid of competition? Pfft. Bring it on.

***

He’d caught her, pressed her up against that open window and eaten her pussy until she pounded on his shoulders and cussed him out for refusing to stop.

Now that he’d satisfied that craving—for both of them—JT could relax and watch Claire go crazy spending her winnings. She’d said she wanted to leave Caesar’s Palace, but they didn’t manage to accomplish that until after noon because they’d had to pass through the Forum Shops on their way out….

She bought shoes that cost more money than he made in a week, and a shiny silver dress that lit her hair and made her eyes sparkle like diamonds. He had no idea why clothes that barely covered her curves were so pricey. Apparently some famous person slapped his name on the label and that made it valuable.
Whatever.

After heading back to the room to drop off all that stuff, they finally made it out to the Strip. The desert sun heated the day and made Sin City shine, but Claire’s smile beamed brighter than any sunlit jewel.

“Ooo… look at this.” She skidded to a stop in front of a store window packed with brilliant gemstones. “I’ve always wanted a ruby.” She grabbed his arm and dragged him inside, then spent forever salivating over the precious stones. He helped her choose a blood-red pendant, and nearly had her out the door when something else caught her eye.

“What now?” JT’s stomach growled as he stumbled back into the store.

“I’ve been buying stuff for me all morning. Now it’s your turn.” She pored over a display of men’s accessories.

He shook his head and tugged her toward the door. “I’m not a jewelry guy.”

She fingered the chain around his neck.

“That’s not a necklace.” He grabbed the stone and tucked it under his shirt. “It’s just the thing that keeps my lucky arrowhead from getting lost.”

“Uh-huh.” She turned and strolled back to the display cases. “You need a watch.”

He rolled his eyes and followed her. “When am I ever late?”

“Never. But I want to get you something nice.”

“So buy yourself some sexy lingerie and call it mine.”

“Now there’s an idea.” She glanced at the designer shop across the street. “But I want you to have something that’ll make you think of me whenever you look at it.”

“As if I could stop thinking about you.” But her sparkling eyes and pouty lips won him over. “All right. Let’s look at the watches.”

He gritted his teeth as she perused the too-shiny designer collection.

But she shook her head and passed them by. “These are too pretty. You need something with balls.”

JT laughed and directed her toward the leather collection. She picked up a black cuff strap with a silver face embedded with diamonds. “Beautiful and manly,” he said as she draped it over his wrist. He fastened the buckles and cupped her face in his hands. “Like us.”

Fuck me with the perfect gift.
He’d thought she just wanted to blow her money, but she’d found a souvenir that not only made him think of her, but represented both of them.

A gesture this meaningful deserved an equally grand ‘thank you.’ Right now she’d have to settle for an amazing kiss. He touched his lips to hers, softly, savoring the warm silky feel, then he opened her mouth with his and swept his tongue inside, still holding her face while he pressed his hips against hers.