Wild Aces (11 page)

“And what feelings are those, Trapper?”

I tucked the bottom cuff of my jeans into my boot and straightened my shirt on the way up. Then I dropped a long silver chain over my head. “That I can’t wait to finally taste your body and have you wiggling underneath me while I taste it for hours. That I’ll get to whisper good night into your ear…and good morning when you wake up.”

“You’re not going to let me go home?” She sounded excited and nervous at the same time.

“Baby, I’m not going to let you leave my bed.”

“Oh God. Is it morning yet?”

“Soon.” I went into the bathroom and stuck in my earbuds, so I could squirt gel into both hands and run them through my hair. I messed up the front a little, spiking it in both directions, and pulled the rest of it back. “How far are you from the Back Bay?”

She laughed. “It’s where I live.”

“Then I want you to meet me at Rick’s on the corner of Boylston and Exeter at eight o’clock tomorrow night.”

“I know the place. I’ll be there.”

“What will you be wearing?”

“You want me to decide that now?”

The clothes I’d played in were on the bed. I balled them up and dropped them into my suitcase. “Is that a problem?”

“You know, that’s sorta asking a whole lot of me.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Garin had sent up a bottle of champagne; it was waiting in ice in the living room. I opted for an IPA from the mini bar, using the counter to pop the top off.

“Ooooh, yeah. Ordinarily, I’d change at least ten times before meeting you. Now, you’re locking me into an outfit. That’s a ton of pressure.”

“It doesn’t matter what you wear, Brea. I just need to know what to look for, so I can find you.”

She sighed.

“Once dinner is over, your clothes will be coming off.”

“Are you sure you can’t get on a flight right now?”

I could get on a flight. I flew private. It wasn’t just a perk of the business I was in; it was a necessity, the method in which we moved the imports. Private planes allowed us to keep things anonymous and controlled. It would only take a phone call to get one here now, and I’d be home in less than five hours. But I couldn’t go back tonight. Jameson and I were having dinner and then heading to Garin’s place afterward.

“One more night,” I reminded her. I liked that she was impatient and anxious to see me. I was feeling the same way. My dick was, too. I’d been hard the whole fucking time we were on the phone.

Brea hummed as I waited for her to answer my question. “Then I’ll be in…black skinny jeans, I think. And black knee-high boots.”

I might just have to leave those knee-high boots on while I fucked her. The spiked heels digging into my back, the smell of leather as I licked up her thighs. Yeah, those weren’t going anywhere. “You’re making my dick even harder than it already is.”

“Now, you’re just teasing me.”

I laughed and gulped down some of my beer. “It won’t be a tease tomorrow. You’ll be getting all of me.”

“And I’ll be wearing a light-blue shirt on top,” she spoke right past my last comment. “It’s flowy in the back, tight in the front.”

“Same color as your eyes.”

“Yes.” There was that tone again, the one that had an equal mix of excitement and nervousness. “You remembered.”

“I remember everything.”

“The shirt will be hidden underneath a black jacket. It’s double-breasted and a little puffy.”

I checked the time. I only had a few minutes before Jameson would be here. I knew if I kept her on the phone any longer, my hard-on would be permanent, and I wouldn’t hang up until I heard her come. “I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“How will I know it’s you? Aren’t you going to tell me what you’ll be wearing?”

“I’ll find you.”

I hung up just as a text message from Adrianna showed up.

Adrianna: Jameson’s paperwork looks really good.

Me: You ran the full background check and confirmed all his financials?

Adrianna: I haven’t received the detailed report yet. Just the preliminary stuff. Funds appear to be very solid. From what I’m seeing, I have a feeling he’ll check out just fine.

Me: I’ll give him an update when I see him tonight.

Adrianna: Okay. Call me before you fly out.

There was a knock at the door. I shoved my phone into my back pocket and checked the peephole. “Right on time,” I said as I opened the door.

“I like being punctual.” Jameson looked inside the room. “So, this is where Garin puts his high rollers. Nice.”

“You’re not staying at the hotel?”

Garin and Jameson were good friends. They were also business partners. Garin owned a percentage of Jameson’s online gambling site. I’d learned that earlier when we’d all met in Garin’s office. I was surprised to hear Garin wouldn’t put Jameson up in one of his suites.

“I own a condo on the strip. That’s where I stay when I’m in town.”

We left the room and walked to the elevator.

“Are you set up in one of the islands?”

“You haven’t checked my paperwork?” He smiled and hit the button to the lobby.

“Nah, haven’t had the time, but Adrianna has.”

After leaving Garin’s office, I’d only had an hour before Jameson was picking me up for dinner, and half of that was spent on the phone with Roman. Even if I’d had the time, I didn’t like logging in to our system from my phone. It wasn’t as secure as my laptop, which I hadn’t brought with me.

“I’m in Costa Rica. Until online gambling becomes legal in the States, I’ll be running the business from there. Who knows? I might even stay there if it does pass. I live in paradise. It would be hard to give that up.”

“I bet.”

“You should take a week off and come check it out. I’ll put you up in my guesthouse. You won’t want to leave either.”

“I might just take you up on that.”

We walked through the lobby and into the SUV waiting for us out front. The driver was either employed by the hotel or Jameson.

Either way, I was still going to watch what I said. “I heard your paperwork looks good.”

“How good?” He checked his phone and tucked it into the pocket of his sport coat. “My plane is all fueled, and I’m flying out after we leave Garin’s. Maybe I should stop in Boston on my way home?”

“It’ll take at least another week to finalize things before we bring you in.”

“If it wasn’t winter, I’d come hang in the city while I waited. But fuck that. I can’t handle the cold. I’ll head home and come when you’re ready for me.” He rubbed his hands together, as though he were warming them. “Funny how this all worked out. When Garin told me he had a guy for me, I never would have imagined it was you.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Brea

“What are you going to wear?” Frankie asked as she stood in my closet, flipping through a rack of shirts like they were pages of a magazine. “A sweater is too clunky. It’s too cold to wear—”

“A pair of black skinny jeans and a blue top.” I pointed to the other side of the closet where the shirt and hanger were dangling from a hook. “That one.”

She moved over to it, stared at the front, then turned it around, and ran her fingers over the back. “Who are you?”

I laughed and leaned against the doorway of the closet. “Why? Because I know what I’m wearing?”

“No, because of
what
you’re wearing. Where’s the short, tight, extremely revealing dress and heels that are at least four-inches high?”

“So, you’re saying you don’t like the shirt?”

She hung it back on the hook. “What I’m saying is, this doesn’t seem like you. You’ve surprised me.” She came closer and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. “In a good way.”

“I was in a dress when he met me—a short, tight, extremely revealing one. And I love dresses; you know that. But I want to show him that I have a softer side, too. Something that isn’t so boobs-in-his-face, you know?”

“Wow. You actually like him, don’t you?”

“I told you I did.” I pulled her out of the closet and over to my bed where we both sat on the edge of the mattress. “There’s just something about him that’s got me sorta hooked. He makes me feel comfortable and nervous as hell at the same time. I don’t know what to expect from him…and I like that. I’m not sure why that’s so different with him.”

“Maybe it’s because he hasn’t had a chance to disappoint you.”

I sighed, feeling the memory start to tug. “Nope, not yet.”

Cody ran his hands under my eyes, wiping away the tears. “Brea, I love you. How can you even question that?” he spoke so close to my lips, I felt his words.

Yet, no matter how hard those words hit me, they weren’t enough.

“I don’t question it, Cody. But I question how much you want this relationship. This is the first night off you’ve had in two weeks, and you’re spending it with your friends at a bar instead of spending it with me. And you didn’t even call me, so we could talk about it. You texted me when you were already here.”

I wasn’t the crazy girl who showed up to where her boyfriend was to make sure he wasn’t flirting with another girl. But I was the girl who showed up to speak to him when I received the text that broke my heart.

“You’re angry. I’m sorry…”

“I’m crushed.” I tried to calm the knot in my throat, the quivering in my lips, my overflowing eyes. Outside a bar wasn’t the right place for any of this.

“I’m sorry. Work has just been—”

“Crazy. Yeah, I know. I always know because it’s what you always say.”

“Cody!”

Our heads turned at the sound of his name.

“Greg just got a round of shots. We’re waiting on you, buddy.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said. Then he turned his focus back to me. “I’ll make it up to you.”

This was my senior year of college. I’d missed hanging out with my friends, parties, quality time with them that I would never get back because I’d chosen Cody first.

I didn’t want him to make it up to me. I wanted him to choose me.

I wanted to know my door would be the one he’d knock on when his day wasn’t so crazy. But it wasn’t. There were others he’d knock on before mine. And as that truth began to wash through me, it did more than just crush me.

It demolished me.

“Brea!” he yelled once I began walking away.

I didn’t turn around until I reached the end of the block. By that time, he was already gone, back inside, drinking Greg’s shot.

Frankie squeezed my hand and disappeared into my closet, returning with my black knee-high boots. “It really doesn’t matter what else you wear. It’s all about the shoes anyway, right? And these are the winners right here.”

She was dead-on.

“You don’t have to convince me. I told him I’d be wearing those when he asked me to pick an outfit for our date.”

“Why in the world did he ask you to pick an outfit for your date?”

She still didn’t know the details about the way we’d met.

“He asked, so he would know how to find me.”

A furrow appeared between her brows, and her mouth opened, but she stayed silent and let me continue.

“We…might not have seen…each other’s faces yet.” I cringed, realizing how stupid it sounded. “So, I don’t know what he looks like, and he doesn’t know what I look like.”

“I’m really confused. I thought you guys kissed.”

“We did, but we were wearing masks at the time.”

“How kinky is this guy?” Her face registered her realization. All the clues finally clicked. “Oh my God, you met him at my party, didn’t you?”

I laughed.

“You little shit! Why didn’t you tell me that?”

I gripped her shoulders. “Don’t kill me, please. I wanted to tell you so many times, but more than that, I wanted to go into this without having your opinion—or Derek’s—weighing on me.”

“Well, who the hell is he? And how could you not have seen each other yet? It’s the twentieth century. There are apps for that, Brea.” She laughed. “And you had
phone sex
with him!”

“Yeah…I did.” The thought of it made my stomach warm. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything now.”

“You’d better.”

I pulled my knees to my chest and made myself comfortable on the bed. Then I explained how Trapper and I met at the bar in her living room while I was ordering our wine. She didn’t look at all surprised that we had ended up kissing in her dining room. Or that if he hadn’t left the party early, a whole lot more would have happened.

“Does he have a name?” she asked.

“Trapper.”

“Ah, yes, I saw him on the guest list. Derek mentioned he was coming, but I don’t know him at all. He was in and out of the party so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to meet him.”

“Well, he’s really something special, I think.”

“You guys have talked a lot then?”

I paused. “Uh…not really.”

“But you’ve gotten to know each other?”

I felt myself starting to fidget. “Not exactly. A little maybe.”

“Brea…”

“I know, I know. It sounds horrible. But, I swear, Frankie, he isn’t just one for the cock collection. I haven’t even seen that part of him yet or how golden and delicious it might be.”