One Night in Vegas (Entangled Lovestruck) (Gambling Hearts) (5 page)

Chapter Six

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy or anything. I got curious and started looking around.” Her words came tumbling out all at once, as if she had only one breath left to ever speak again.

Chris leaned against the doorframe. There was something very right about seeing her in his bedroom. He’d always considered himself a breast man and, certainly, that blouse had done her a lot of favors, but seeing the way her ass and
legs filled out those jeans could make a convert of him. Shame she turned around and cut off that view, but there was still plenty more of her to admire. The memory of briefly sliding his hands across the back of her skirt in the Ferris wheel came to mind, then how close he’d just come to taking her mouth again, and arousal shot through his system.

He cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about it. Kind of a boring house right now, huh?”

She gave him a relieved smile. “It’s a little bare.”

“Yeah. I’d probably go poking around trying to find something interesting if I was just seeing it for the first time, too,” he teased. “I need to do more with it, but I just don’t have the sense for that kind of thing.”

“A few pictures and some more color would make a huge difference.”

“Maybe you could help me pick some out.” Any excuse to see her again after the night was over would be good, but there was a strange appeal in taking her decorating assistance. He couldn’t resist that little intimacy, even if it set off a few warning alarms in the back of his head.

“If you wanted, sure. Not that I’m much for decorating, but I think just about anything could be a step up from this.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re so cruel.”

She rested her fists on her hips. “You’re the one whose house looks like he’s just camping in it.”

“Well, if I have too much furniture it’ll get covered in cat and horse hair, and lighter colors are easier to bleach if they get stained.”

She blanched. “Oh no. Is that why your hideous couch looks like that? You wash it with bleach?”

“What would you suggest?” Drawing back from the doorway, he gestured down the hall so they could leave.

“Upholstery cleaner. There are plenty of enzyme formulas for dealing with pet messes, too.”

He searched his memory for what she was describing. The constant dust and grime associated with horses had kept him from ever worrying too deeply about keeping things pretty, but it wasn’t an entirely foreign subject to him. “I think we’ve got some of that enzyme stuff at the office.”

“I guess there your concern is keeping things sterile instead of pretty.”

“Most of my work involves going out to people’s properties, so I only go into the office about once a week unless the other vet needs me to take over something for him.” He handed her two bags and grabbed his own supplies from beside the door. “I really don’t know all the ins and outs of the place. They mostly deal with cats and dogs.”

“So what is it you do in the office?”

“Hope nobody notices I know next to nothing about cats and dogs.”

She gave him a look caught between laughter and horror. “I really hope you’re joking.”

He only grinned. Keeping her guessing was too much fun to offer a real answer.

He tossed the things he’d carried into the back of his truck, then reached out to her. The incidental brush of her fingers as he took the fireworks from her sent another jolt of lust through him, making him itch to say the hell with his plans and drag her back to his bedroom instead. That ponytail would be the first thing to go so he could bury his fingers in her wild curls, followed closely by everything else she was wearing. Her gaze met his. She drew her hand back and, despite the dim light, he could see the rising pink in her cheeks, the green of her eyes looking deeper and darker in the night. He couldn’t be the only one thinking it.

Her full, tempting lips parted. “Is it legal to be lighting fireworks out in the desert after the Fourth of July?”

He closed his eyes as he searched his memory for the laws, finding it easier to think without looking at the enticement in front of him. Besides, his driveway was probably the wrong place to get worked up. “You know, I’ve got no clue. I guess the important question is if it’s illegal, are we gonna get caught?”

“Probably not,” she said slowly, her brows drawn together.

“Then problem solved.” He gave her another grin.

He knew the road he wanted fairly well, but even familiarity wasn’t enough to make it a smooth drive. Deeply pitted dirt roads through the desert would be rough under the best of circumstances, and at night it only got worse. As they bounced through the dark, Eliza clutched the handle over her door. To his gratification, she looked thrilled instead of annoyed.

“Oh, look!” She pointed to a pair of eyes that glowed briefly in the reflection of the truck’s lights before the animal disappeared into the night once more.

“A coyote, I think,” Chris said.

“I heard they’re getting worse these days. Any issues with them going for people’s horses?”

He shook his head. “People worry about it, but there’s no real danger there. Somebody had a couple miniature horses that got spooked badly one night, but that’s the worst I’ve heard. Mostly they eat smaller house pets if they’re bothering anything at all.”

She made a soft sound of concern over that, frowning. “So I guess an outdoor cat isn’t a very good idea.”

“Probably not. I mean, a lot of people do it, but I’d be worried. I don’t think they’re as much of a concern deep in the city where your brother lives, but traffic’s a danger to cats.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to risk that either.”

When they finally reached their destination, Chris parked the truck and climbed out to survey the view. They were perched on one of the mountains that ringed Las Vegas Valley so that the Strip off in the distance was displayed below them. He heard Eliza gasp behind him.

“Wow. This is even better than the view from the Ferris wheel. It’s been so long since I’ve been out here and it’s just…so much bigger now.”

With her close by, he couldn’t resist reaching out to brush her hand with his fingers. She caught his fingers with her own, tangling them together. Using their clasped hands, he tugged her closer and she came readily. Even without their bodies touching, he could have closed his eyes and known exactly where her every limb was, based on the warmth.

His free hand went to her cheek and, before he could make another move, she darted forward to catch his lips with hers. The boldness won a pleased groan of surprise from him. She’d been the one who left, but when he kissed her he felt like he was the one coming home after a trip that lasted far too long. Every memory—from the past and newly created—returned in force. Her warmth. How she fit against his body. The way her skin smelled faintly of roses, even after all these years. The taste of her lips under his, more practiced than they’d been the first time they’d kissed but no less sweet. Those full lips parted and took the invitation, his tongue sweeping past them. Just like the kiss on the Ferris wheel, he was intoxicated by her touch.

Holding her close to him, he gently pressed her back against the tailgate of his truck and trailed his mouth down the side of her throat, where he teased with kisses and soft nips of his teeth. Dimly, he was aware of an alarm going off on her phone, but it was the least important thing he could imagine at that moment.

“Fireworks,” she breathed.

His hand freed itself from hers to slide up inside her jacket, resting on her stomach for the moment, though the urge to feel her breast in his palm was strong. “I agree.”

She laughed and drew back from him a few inches. “I thought we were going to light off
actual
fireworks before the big show at midnight.”

He groaned. “Really? That’s what we’re doing?”

“Maybe I could be convinced to do something else instead.” Eliza closed the distance between them, and he felt her soft lips brush his throat.

Chris’s eyes automatically snapped shut and he leaned into her, sighing. “If you really want me to light them off, I guess we could stop.”

Her teeth scraped lightly over his pulse. “It just seems like a waste to come out all this way and do things we could have done back at your house.”

“If I’d known you wanted to do this at my house, I never would have left.”

She drew away again, slipping out from between him and the truck. Before he could protest, she’d pulled herself up onto the bumper and climbed into the back of the truck. “It’s almost midnight. Do you want champagne?”

He wondered for a moment if it would be possible to climb into the truck when he was aching for her so badly. Rather than test it, he opened the gate and hopped up with far less effort. “I think you might be trying to kill me.”

“Maybe. You know, I’m a terrible tease.”

He got the champagne out of the cooler and worked the cork free while she was laying out the sleeping bags on the bottom of the truck bed. Well, at least if he died of blue balls he’d be fairly comfortable, he mused. He passed her one of the champagne flutes he’d brought and filled his own before setting the bottle aside. Once she had the sleeping bags arranged, he settled down to sit beside her.

“How long until midnight?”

She checked the time on her phone. “We’ve got three minutes.”

Chapter Seven

As soon as Eliza looked up from her phone she found Chris leaning in again. He was impossible to resist, despite her best efforts. She met him halfway to give in to the kiss and sighed. Every brush of his lips set off a small explosion of nerves. Her heart was pounding as he pulled her against him. Each time his arms came around her, she was sure she was going to melt into a puddle. There couldn’t be anything in the world more tempting than his touch.

They were alone on an adventure in
the middle of nowhere, just like it had been the first time she kissed him. Desert surrounded them instead of the Mount Charleston forest, but the similarities were close enough to make her heart ache until she pushed the thought aside. Dwelling on that pain would do her no good. She couldn’t keep losing him, because she’d never had him. Enjoying what they had, in whatever capacity he was willing to share himself, was better than mourning everything she lacked.

His lips moved back to her ear and the tickling heat of his breath there made her shudder, before his teeth tugged on her earlobe and drew the soft flesh between his lips, tearing a moan from her throat. Just holding her champagne without spilling it was nearly too much for her as his delicate onslaught continued.

She felt his hand moving inside her jacket again, resting at her stomach. Like a sunflower seeking out the sun, she arched her body forward into his touch. Soon his hand was working up higher until it finally cupped her breast through her sweater.

“God, Eliza.” He kissed down the side of her neck, his breath warm on her skin.

His thumb traced her nipple through the fabric and she whimpered, biting down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stay quiet. But what use was there in being quiet? They were alone in the middle of nowhere. Yet being too vocal, too obvious in her interest, seemed as if it was just opening herself up for humiliation. It was why teasing and avoiding intimacy was so much easier and safer than simply giving in to his earlier touches.

After a moment his hand slid back down her body to slip under her sweater. The callused fingers felt cool from the night air when they first touched her skin, but the chill faded quickly as his hand moved higher, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. His hand slipped under the cup of her bra and kneaded the soft mound of her breast.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, her entire body burning with need. She shifted closer to him and ducked down to kiss along his throat, feeling the light scrape of stubble against her lips. He had a clean, masculine spice to his scent, with just the faint earthiness of his horses lingering.

A distant popping sound caught her attention and she drew back from him breathlessly to look down into the valley. Fireworks were exploding over the casinos. Looking down on them from above, they looked something like fiery flowers rapidly bursting into bloom before falling away.

“Happy New Year.” The whispered words tickled her ear.

“Happy New Year,” she echoed, trailing off into a moan as his thumb swept over her nipple again.

She brought her champagne flute to her lips and drained it in one long swallow, which left her gasping for breath. He mirrored her and when his lips found hers again the taste of him was faintly masked by the champagne.

She blindly set her glass down somewhere behind her and wrapped both arms around him to pull him tighter to her. He must have set his glass down, too, because soon both of his hands were under her sweater. Eliza slid closer to him until she was straddling his lap and could feel the hot, hard press of his arousal beneath her. She moaned softly into the kiss, growing louder when he rolled his hips up to grind against her, and shuddered.

“Are you cold?” He brought his hands to her shoulders to push her jacket down.

She shrugged it off, feeling the night air on what skin she had exposed. Even in the desert, winter nights could be cold, but nothing had quenched the feverish heat inside her. “Not yet.”

His broad hands settled on her ass and pulled her tight against him, letting her feel every little movement much more acutely when he rocked under her. With shivers racing down her spine, she rocked with him, working herself against the frustratingly still clothed heat of him. She pushed his jacket off and slid her hands appreciatively over his chest.

Apparently unworried about the cold, he pulled his T-shirt over his head. “I’ve been dying for this all night.”

The dim light from the stars and moon weren’t nearly enough to give her the view she wanted of him. Spectacular as their view of the valley was, she regretted not staying at his house for that alone. She could see his muscles outlined in silver, hinting at the definition there, but she needed to touch him to really appreciate him. Her fingers traced across his chest, following the curves of his pecs, then down lower to his hard abs. Light sprinkles of hair slid between her exploring fingers, growing thicker and coarser as she found his happy trail leading under his jeans.

“You have?” She leaned back to tug her sweater over her head and he groaned.

“Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”

She thought of the way he had been looking at her all night. The kisses. The touches. The thrill of being in his arms over five hundred feet above the ground. It wasn’t just about his attraction to her, she realized. She felt sexy. Sexier than she ever had in her life and it made her want to revel in it.

“Unspeakably sexy,” she countered.

She could see the flash of white teeth from his grin in the dark, and then his hands were on her hips again. Gripping her tightly, he rolled so that she was on her back beneath him.

“I’ll keep you warm.” He pulled the open sleeping bag beside them over his back. Just like that she found herself encased in a warm, safe cocoon with him and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere better.

She squirmed under him to kick off her boots. “Then I’ll keep you hot.”

He chuckled and she felt him shift, kicking off his own boots. His hands skimmed over her skin as if he were in awe of her. A quick flick of his fingers popped open the clasp of her bra, and she slid out of it. That step closer to nudity was rewarded with him ducking down below the sleeping bag to circle one of her nipples with his tongue.

Her body tightened in response and she gasped, raising up to him. He teased her other nipple the same way, making them both contract into hard little pebbles. Finally he closed his lips around one to roll it under his tongue, and the relief of that contact made her whimper. His teeth took delicate hold of her nipple and gave a small tug. She swore in shock at the sensation, and tension tightened her arms, her hands drawing him closer.

He seemed to be everywhere at once, filling her every sense. As his mouth worshipped her breasts, his hands unzipped her jeans. One of his hands slipped inside her panties to cup her. His middle finger lightly teased between her folds.

“God, Chris.” She exhaled the words as she nuzzled into his hair.

He continued teasing her as he switched to her other breast. His finger slid back and forth, stroking up and down before circling her clit. When he finally brushed that sensitive flesh, lust made every nerve ending sit up and beg. Leaving her aching in need for the moment, his finger slid back down again. He teased her entrance, then sank his middle finger into her, curling it slightly to stroke her inner walls as he thrust. His thumb brushed over her clit in time with his thrusts.

Unable to even think of holding still, she rocked under him with soft moans. Off in the distance, a coyote called out into the night, but other than her moans and the sound of his rapid breathing, there was only the crisp calm of the desert night when the call faded.

With her cheek against his hair, she inhaled the combination of clean male and horse that would always be his scent to her, the taste of their kiss still fresh on her lips. She ached to see more of him, wanting to memorize every inch of his body with her eyes instead of just her fingers, though her fingers were doing their best to explore his back and follow down the corded muscles in his arms as he touched her. Her eyes fluttered open to take in the glow of stars muted and dimmed by the neon of Vegas below them.

He worked a second finger inside of her, his fingers thrusting more quickly. His thumb mirrored their speed, making her toes curl. His lips abandoned her breast to kiss back up her body, then press hard to her own lips in a sudden kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest. Everything she’d wanted was here. Chris was giving it all to her, except the one thing that really mattered. Knowing all she could hope for was this one night added a bittersweet edge to every touch.

When she felt herself tumbling over the edge into orgasm, her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip, muffling her whimpers and cries. He groaned her name softly and pressed closer to her, his hand never slowing its movements even as her body grasped hungrily at his fingers.

Only when she began to relax back into the sleeping bag under her did his hand slow and then stop. “You feel perfect.” He brushed her lips with another kiss. “I want to do so much more than just touch. Later I’m going to kiss and lick every bit of you until you can’t even speak.”

The thought of feeling his expressive lips and tongue there made her moan softly. She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him. There was a desperate hunger on his side of the kiss this time, and she gave herself up to it willingly, letting him claim and plunder her mouth.

His hands were busy again, working her jeans off. She raised up under him and helped him slide them over her hips along with her underwear, then kicked herself free from both. Once the last of her clothes were gone, she knew exactly where she wanted her hands.

They went to his belt to unbuckle it, brushing his straining shaft as she did. With her left palm, she rubbed the heat of his arousal through the denim while her right hand worked his zipper down. He groaned into the kiss, pressing into her hand and making her want him all the more. Under his jeans she found boxer briefs, which really weren’t enough to contain him. Her fingers wrapped around him through the soft fabric, stroking, teasing.

He broke off the kiss with a groan, then nuzzled her cheek. “Do you want me inside you?”

There was no hesitation to her answer. “Yes.”

“Let me get a condom.”

Chris slid out of his jeans and boxer briefs the rest of the way, then found a condom in his wallet. Between the darkness and the sleeping bag she couldn’t keep track of his every movement, but she heard the package rip open and felt him shift to roll on the condom.

The first press at her slick entrance made her roll her hips, her legs parting wantonly to invite him. Instead of thrusting into her immediately, he rocked there slowly, sliding his shaft back and forth between her folds until every nerve was jumping.

Her hands at his back were desperate. “Please. I need you.”

Only then did he move to her entrance and push forward slowly. His thick head worked into her as he took his time, her body stretching around him to accommodate his delicious width. He gave her only a few inches at first before drawing back, then working forward a little more. Bit by bit, tease by tease, he pressed into her until he was as deep inside her as he could possibly go, his hips cradled between her thighs.

Every sense filled with him until she thought she would explode.

“You feel so good, Eliza.” The words were a breath, nearly drowned out by the sound of her own pounding heart.

She slid a leg around his hips and rocked up to meet him. “So do you.”

He drew back to thrust forward into her again and they found a rhythm together that felt downright hypnotic. With her eyes closed, she gave herself over to sensation, which seemed so much safer than the tumult of emotions rising within her. Her hands kept sliding over his back or up into his hair, needing to touch him as much as possible even as they were as close as two people could ever be.

Every long stroke from him drew soft moans from her, which were answered by his own sounds of pleasure. Nothing had ever sounded so sweet as him groaning her name in her ear and murmuring how much he’d missed her, how badly he wanted her, and dirty little nothings about how good she felt around him.

This was home, she realized with a shock. Not Vegas. Not the house she’d grown up in. Chris’s arms around her held more meaning than four walls and a roof or a spot on a map. Hell, at the moment they didn’t even have a roof and it didn’t bother her one bit. All she could do was shift and rock to his thrusts, her body drawing tighter and tighter around him as if she could hold him inside her forever. The cool of the night was entirely forgotten amidst the heat they created together.

His thrusts came faster, his breath less steady. He worked his hand under her to grip her ass and pulled her up slightly with each thrust. The change in angle was too much for her and her fingers curled at his back as she mewled.

“Chris.” More needed to be said—more burned to be said—but it was all she could get out. She cried his name and, without drawing another breath, everything snapped, tremors of pleasure racing through her muscles.

Burying himself in her, Chris answered her with a groan of his own, his voice muffled against her hair. He collapsed, their limbs comfortably tangled together, and she could feel his heart pounding beside hers.

“I hope this is a very happy new year.” He kissed her shoulder and adjusted some of his weight so it wasn’t all pinning her, though she hadn’t particularly minded.

“Me, too.” She curled in against his side, noting how comfortably she fit there, and wished every night of the year could be like this.