Let It Ride (7 page)

“Normally, no. I came in for some pain medication.”

He held up a small bag bearing the hotel’s logo. “Do you mind some unsolicited advice?”

“I guess not.”

He took the two tank styles she’d chosen and put them back on the rack. He pushed some suits aside and pulled out a bikini in a tropical print. Then he pulled out a matching red scarf and handed them both to her.

“This is something that Deacon will want to see on you.”

It seemed odd to be having this conversation with a man old enough to be her father. But there was masculine knowledge in his eyes, and she knew he was right.

Before she could change her mind, she checked the sizes and went to the register to pay.

Mandetti winked at her as he walked out of the shop.
“Ciao, amico.”

“Bye, Mandetti.”

She wondered if Deacon would recognize the signals she sent him. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d ever tried to seduce a guy, but this was the first time it had really mattered. And that scared her way more than anything ever had before.

Six

D
eacon knew that he shouldn’t use the security cameras as a tool to aid in his seduction but he’d been unable to resist stopping by the security room to check on Kylie. He’d seen her in the boutique purchasing a swimsuit. He’d watched Mandetti talk her into one that he knew was going to look exquisite on her slender frame. And he’d debated the merits of skipping his meeting to join her early.

In the end he’d opted for business. Kylie was important and he didn’t intend to ignore her, but he had a strategy. And part of that strategy was to make her want him with the same intensity he wanted her.

Of course, it was a double-edged sword, and he was uncomfortably aware of the cut of his pants as he sat in the meeting imagining Kylie lying in the sun and waiting for him. Finally he could stand it no longer, and he ended the meeting fifteen minutes early.

He doubled-checked with Martha to make sure his orders had been carried out before leaving to meet Kylie by the pool. He saw Mandetti on the floor and stopped to talk to him.

Mandetti reminded him of a guy his mom had dated when he was about twelve. For some reason Marco had never dismissed him and had taken time to talk to him. There was a slight physical resemblance between the two men, but what really struck Deacon as similar was their eyes. In Mario and Mandetti’s eyes Deacon saw the same thing he’d observed in his own shaving mirror.

It was a cold and bleak place where he and these two other men existed. A place without commitment or family. A place that Deacon sincerely hoped to leave by marrying Kylie.

“Mandetti, how’s things?”

“Eh,
compare
. Things are good. I like your operation. Makes me wish I’d wised up a few years sooner than I did and gotten into this kind of thing.”

“What’d you do before?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I know where you’re coming from,” Deacon said.

Mandetti nodded. “I saw your lady earlier.”

“I noticed.”

“Keeping close tabs on her?”

Deacon shrugged, feeling a little foolish.

“She’s shy,” Mandetti said. “How’s the bet going?”

“I’ll win. I never lose when I set my mind to it.”

“I’m rooting for you.”

Mandetti’s cell phone rang and he turned away to take the call.

Deacon made his way through the casino out to the pool. In the distance was the huge structure they called El Dorado. It was an Aztec-like structure with a huge waterfall that even during the day had plumes of water that turned gold every fifteen minutes. It had cost more than Deacon had wanted to spend on a water display, but he’d learned from Mac that the more you invested in your resort, the higher the profits down the road.

He paused at the bar to order a Scotch for himself and a strawberry margarita for Kylie. He spotted her lounging in the sun. Her chair was pulled a distance away from those around her. She wore large sunglasses and her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her book was in her hand, and Deacon knew he would have to work hard to make a place for himself in Kylie’s world. She was very self-contained.

He didn’t dwell on his doubts. He fixed an image of Kylie in his head where before a faceless woman had been. Kylie would be his wife. Things had progressed too far for him to pick anyone else. At least that’s what he told himself. He didn’t want any other woman.

He moved across the pool deck, intent on Kylie. She was an island of calm amidst the chaos that was Vegas. People were talking and laughing. Smoking and drinking. Kissing and fighting. And there, apart from them, sat the woman he’d chosen for his own.

He didn’t feel worthy of her, and he hoped she’d never realize how little in this life he’d done right. Last night he’d come close to lying about his past. She was just too innocent of life in general for him to contemplate telling her the truth.

“May I join you?” he asked.

She glanced up at him over the rims of her sunglasses. The smile that broke over her face was tentative. Did she have doubts about him already?

“Sure,” she said, glancing around for a vacant lounger. There were none.

He lowered himself onto her lounger by her thighs. They were smooth and tanned and, he knew from last night, strong. He handed the margarita to her and took a stiff swallow of his own drink. Tried to remind himself that they were in public and he should keep his hands to himself.

He studied her in the sunlight. Last night in the shadows he’d become acquainted with her body, but much of it was still a mystery to him. Her tropical-print bikini left little to the imagination. The top lovingly hugged the full curves of her breasts. Her trim midriff was bare, and her bikini bottom was barely visible beneath the translucent red cover-up she’d wrapped low on her hips.

He hardened in his pants and knew that lunch was going to be a very quick meal—he didn’t think he could draw out this seduction much longer.

“Did your meetings finish early?” she asked.

Clearly she wasn’t on the same track. He took another swallow of his Scotch, trying to quench the desire pulsing through him with each breath he took. Each breath that was filled with her unique feminine scent. Each breath that felt hotter than the one before.

“Yes,” he said when he realized she was staring at him.

“Thanks for the drink,” she said. He watched her take a delicate sip and then lick her lips. God, she was killing him.

He rested his hand on his leg and knew if he moved his fingers the slightest bit to the left, he’d be touching her. He wasn’t a subtle guy. He downed the rest of his Scotch and gave his empty glass to a passing waiter.

Hands free, he was able to caress her the way he’d been wanting to. He traced a random pattern on her thigh and was rewarded when she shifted her legs under his touch. Not out of his reach but into his caresses.

“Are you ready for brunch?” he asked, needing to get out of this very public area because the things he wanted to do with her were very private.

“Yes,” she said. Her husky voice shot right through him, and he reached for her hand to help her to her feet. He knew that nothing had been decided, but when he slipped his arm around her waist to lead her back to the hotel, he had the feeling that everything was coming up sevens and he was riding a winning streak that couldn’t be broken.

Kylie was acutely aware of Deacon’s hand on her waist as they walked toward the hotel. Even though the pool area was busy and noisy, she was totally focused on the man next to her. Her pulse pounded in her ears and heat pooled low in her belly.

She leaned closer to him as they walked and felt his hand dip lower on her waist, resting on her buttocks. She shivered in purely sensual awareness. She’d never thought of herself as sex-crazed, but no less than twenty-four hours after meeting Deacon Prescott, she could easily see herself becoming just that.

The man exuded sexuality the way other men exuded power or wealth. There was something so purely masculine in his eyes that it called forth everything feminine in her. It made her want to preen and toss her hair. To switch her hips and send out every signal she knew that said,
Take me, big boy.

The sun had warmed her through and through, leaving her feeling almost lazy with lassitude But it was tinged with the excitement she’d only experienced with him. An excitement that was quickly waking every nerve ending.

“I tried the roulette table without you,” she said to distract herself from the memory of how those lips of his had felt under hers last night. God, she wanted to kiss him again. Instead, she was playing a waiting game. She’d always been a good girl, a rule follower, and that had never bothered her until now.

“How’d you do?” he asked. He maneuvered her through a crowd of college-age kids near the bar, protecting her from a wildly gesturing young man. Deacon put his arm around her and hugged her close for a minute. The guy gave them a halfhearted apology, and they moved on.

She savored the moment resting her head on his strong shoulder. It had been a long time since she’d even thought about letting a man into her life.

“Did you win?” he asked.

“No. I didn’t do very well without you. I think you must be my good-luck charm.”

“That’s a first.”

“I thought you believed in fate and luck.”

“I do for me, but I’ve never brought it to someone else.”

“Well, you did for me.”

He appeared unaware that he’d used his body as a shield for her, but she tucked the knowledge away. As they neared the hotel, he directed her to a shady grotto hidden from the main path. There was a small bench beside a water fountain.

She looked at him questioningly.

“I wanted a few minutes alone with you before we’re immersed in the crowd,” he said. He pulled her into his arms again and lowered his head, taking her mouth in the sort of kiss she’d been craving from the moment he’d arrived at her lounger with drinks.

She tipped her head to the side to allow him deeper access. She stood on tiptoe, pressing her breasts against his chest and shivering as his big hands slid up her back. He slipped one finger under the fastening of her bikini top and caressed the skin between her shoulder blades.

She ran her hands up his chest and knotted her fingers behind his neck. Holding on to him gave her the illusion of control. With tentative sweeps of her tongue, she tasted him. He was patient, letting her set the tone of the kiss until she tickled the roof of his mouth with her tongue.

He groaned deep in his throat and leaned back against the low rock wall surrounding the grotto. Cradling her against his hips, he lifted his head. His lips glistened from their kiss and she lifted her hand to wipe away the moisture.

“Is this what you had in mind when you invited me to brunch?”

“More or less. I’d forgotten what a temptation you are.”

“It must be this new swimsuit.”

“Did you buy it for me?” he asked.

She nodded. She wasn’t used to doing things for men. Her independence meant standing on her own two feet. It also meant doing things that pleased only her.

“Model it for me.”

She stepped away and held her arms out from her sides, then spun slowly.

“I can’t see your legs.”

She had the scarf wrapped around her waist. Even out in the pool she’d kept her legs covered. In the privacy of her own backyard, she sunbathed with her legs exposed, but in public kept her legs covered. She hated the way her hips looked. Her mother always said, she’d have no trouble birthing babies with those hips.

“I’ve got secretary spread,” she said.

He arched one eyebrow, but said nothing. Finally she sighed and untied the scarf from where it rested on her hips. She held the fabric open and watched his eyes narrow as her body was revealed to him.

“Turn again,” he said. She let the fabric slide from one hand to trail on the ground as she slowly pivoted. She stopped when her back was toward him, glancing over one shoulder.

His skin was flushed and his eyes were narrowed as he watched her. “Damn.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to get to know you today.”

“And now you think you won’t be able to?”

“I don’t want to do anything but get you naked.”

She trembled, hearing the intent in his voice. She turned back toward him. “I’m only in Vegas four more days.”

“Do you object?”

“I probably should.”

“Come on,” he said.

They entered the casino. The air was cool and she shivered a little as her body adjusted to the temperature. Mandetti was waiting for Deacon as they stepped inside.

He gave her a look of approval. “Nice suit.”

“Thanks,” she said with a smile.

Deacon watched the interchange but said nothing. She noticed he tended toward silence.

“What can I do for you, Mandetti?” Deacon asked.

“Sorry,
compare
. I’ve got my director breathing down my neck. I need to see the safe and talk to you about your deposit information.”

“We were on our way out for brunch. Would you like to join us?” Deacon asked.

Huh?
She’d thought that Deacon was planning to seduce her in his suite. At the very least, she’d hoped to maybe seduce him. She’d even shaved her legs and dabbed expensive perfume on all of her pulse points in hopes of not smelling sweaty after lying in the sun.

“I don’t want to interrupt your plans,” Mandetti said.

“We’d be honored to have you join us. Kylie wants to know about the casino business.”

“I do,” she said. “I was asking Deacon about it last night. I’ve never had the opportunity to see the inner workings of a hotel/casino before.” That much was true. And Deacon did have a job to do. She might be on vacation, but he wasn’t. Just once she wanted to mean more to a man than his career did. But she cut Deacon some slack considering she’d known him only for a day.

“What do you do?” Mandetti asked.

“I’m a secretary at an ad agency in Los Angeles,” she said. She thought about her job at Leiberman and Vox. She liked working for the VP, and it kept her busy most days. But it wasn’t very rewarding; it wasn’t her life, the way she sensed Deacon’s casino was for him.