Luck of the Dragon

by Susannah Scott

  Slowly, Alec pulled off her glasses. “I like these.” His fingers folded the glasses closed, and his thumbs pressed against the lenses. He smiled and set them on the table.

  Lucy stared at her glasses on the white tablecloth. Alec’s buttery thumbprint had smeared the lens. Elation swept from her belly to her ribcage. She stepped into his open arms, going on her tiptoes, and met his mouth in an abandoned kiss.

  Alec’s lips opened above hers in surprise, and she pressed her advantage, winding her arms around his neck, inhaling the wonderful male scent of him. Her head spun with pleasure, and she dove deeper into the kiss. Alec pulled her groin snug into his. Her stomach coiled and desire spun, threatening her balance.

  “Mary, Joseph, and Peter.” She broke away and wiped the back of her mouth with a shaky hand. She was hot, under her skin, in her veins, like she would burst into flames. Sweat dotted her forehead and she wiped that away, too.

  “What was that about?” Alec held his hands away from his sides in question.

  “It was just a kiss.” Lucy smiled but her mouth trembled. She shook her head and laughed, and the carefree sound bounced around the room with a maniacal lilt.

  “It was not just a kiss.”

  She ignored his confusion and carefully put the contract and thumb-printed glasses into her briefcase. She had her print. Joey would be safe while she spent some quality time at the spa with a gorgeous man. She could reschedule their flight to tomorrow. The day couldn’t get any better. She might even have to relax a little…Explore the tingling that Alec started every time he touched her.

  “I need to take my briefcase to my car and make a call,” Lucy said. And make a pit stop in the women’s bathroom on the first floor where Gino was expecting the print drop.

  “I can send someone for you.”

  “No, no I don’t want to bother anyone.”

  “It’s no bother.” Alec frowned and opened the curtain behind the table. Blue Nevada sky stretched in every direction.

  Lucy stared at the top of the New York, New York replica of the Statue of Liberty, and her head spun a warning dial. “How high up are we?”

  “130 stories.” Alec opened the sliding door and stepped onto an open porch. His shoulders veed to muscled hips, his legs shifted with animal-like grace. He turned in a circle with his arms wide, as if he wanted to jump off. “I need a little air.”

  “Be careful.” Lucy’s brain whiplashed from pleasure to panic, reactions she could not control. She needed to get away from the porch, hunch against an interior wall, lie down on the ground. She took a step backward, then another. “Heights really do bother me.”

  Alec frowned, then stepped inside and latched the door. “It’s okay.”

  “A walk to my car would do me some good.”

  He steadied her arm. “If you insist.”

  Alec’s tone sounded suspicious, and Lucy’s eyes snapped to his face. Did he know? Was he just playing along? Had her elation clouded her judgment?

  What if it was all a gilded trap?

  Chapter Seven

  In the entryway of The Cathedral Spa, Lucy paused. The spa took up two floors and was made with stone arches and balustrades, making it look like a medieval cathedral. Along the exterior wall were authentic flying buttresses resembling those at Notre Dame. A stream, complete with foot bridges and waterfalls, wound through the entry and disappeared beside an arched doorway. The sound of birds, real birds singing, twittered through the air.

  “I’ve read about this place,” Lucy said to Jane, Alec’s always-handy assistant.

  Jane nudged her forward to the front desk. “It’s only been open for a month, but it has already received a five-star rating from Condé Nast and the Refined Traveler.”

  A limestone balcony peeked above their heads, and colored cushions and Persian carpets accented serene seating areas. Stained glass panels with pictures of colorful dragons in flight and woodland and meadow scenes adorned arched windows. The effect was like being inside a glittering jewelry box. Lucy’s fingers curled with pleasure.

  “This is Dr. De Luca,” Jane said to a woman dressed in light green medical scrubs. “Mr. Gerald will be joining her for a morning of services.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The woman typed on her computer. “Rosa and Lilly Belle are ready for them now.”

  “I’m not much for facials and pedicures,” Lucy warned the anxious-to-please attendant. The woman just smiled and looked unconcerned.

  “I’ll have suitable clothing sent up for the rest of the day. Size 8, petite?” Jane asked.

  Lucy nodded. It seemed Jane was less friendly than before, but it was hard to tell beneath her overly professional manner. “I’ve never spent the day in a spa before. This wasn’t my idea.”

  “Try to enjoy yourself anyway. Before we enticed Rosa away from the Venetian, she had a five-month waiting list.” Jane left, her closed-toe heels tap-tapping across the cobblestones to the elevator.

  “This way.” The attendant led her along the stream, through the limestone arch, and into a private locker room. She handed Lucy a fluffy white robe and rhinestone flip-flops. Lucy looked at the sparkly shoes. Pure paste. Really, someone should complain about the quality of their fake jewels. Lucy smiled wide and kicked off her practical shoes.

  “It’s lovely, isn’t it? I’ve worked in three spas, and this one is the best.” The attendant pointed through an iron gate. “You’ll join Mr. Gerald for your services in the atrium.”

  “What services?”

  “You’ll start with steam therapy and then have a hot stone massage, followed by aqua therapy. Mr. Gerald has arranged for you to have a mani pedi and facial at the end of the morning.”

  “Mr. Gerald isn’t staying to have his nails done?”

  “No.” The woman seemed slightly appalled at the idea and turned to leave. “You can put your clothes in the locker.”

  “Wait,” Lucy called. Lucy didn’t like being naked with her gynecologist. She was way more than just uncomfortable about being anywhere near Alec Gerald naked. “What clothes am I changing into?”

  The woman paused with her hand on the door. “Most people prefer to be nude. You’ll be completely alone.”

  “With Mr. Gerald and Rosa.”

  “And his masseuse.” The woman tilted her head politely. “I can get you a swimsuit if you would prefer it?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  The woman nodded and left.

  Lucy folded her clothing, feeling as if she were shedding her armor. She tucked her lacy bra and panties inside her folded suit and pulled on the soft robe. It fit her perfectly, making her wish she had a book, a couch, and a lounge chair under a sunbeam.

  No doubt, Gino was discovering the changed codes to the exhibit room and would want her to steal another keycard. But he couldn’t get to her here, ensconced with Alec in a medieval world. Just for this day, she would escape her troubles.

  The attendant returned with a scrap of a red bathing suit with the tag still on it.

  Lucy stretched out the string bikini. The bottom was a tiny cloth triangle held together with leather buckles. The top was strapless with a buckle between the breasts. The price tag said $323.50.

  “You’ve got to be joking.”

  You can’t even get leather wet, her mind protested. It could probably only be worn once. Her normal suits were a la Targét, $29.99 at the most, and they worked just fine. And she could wear them until they wore out.

  Pulling off the tag and putting the suit on, Lucy glanced in the mirror. She looked and felt as if she could be on the Gold Coast of Spain, except for her scout–troop-leader hair. She considered taking it down but decided it might provide some semblance of normalcy to the surreal experience. Best to not get too soft and mushy.

  She slipped on the flip-flops and moseyed to the atrium—and found her sunbeam.

  Sunlight poured through the glass-vaulted ceiling, casting a rainbow on the tiles below. The stream bubbled and rushed to a waterfall next to her, a
nd chimes danced somewhere on an artificial wind.

  Alec reclined on a chaise, wearing a black robe. He smiled when he saw her and stood as she approached. “Here you are.” His black robe parted at his chest, showing hard pec muscles and dark hair that trailed down to his chest. Something twisted below her own navel, tight and needy. “How do you like the spa so far?”

  “It’s good.” Lucy swallowed, dear Lord help her. The tingling in her belly was not letting up. He was oh-so fabuloso. Uncertainty flooded her with a feeling akin to shyness. What did one do when spending the day with an uber-hot gazillionaire you had plotted to steal from? She laced her hands in front of her robe, feeling like an uncertain sightseer landed in Oz.

  “Are you sure?” Alec stepped closer. His hand lifted her chin with warm fingers.

  Lucy stared into his navy eyes. In the sunlight, they were multi-faceted sapphires with hints of gold circling the pupils. He shut his eyes and leaned down to kiss her.

  The gentle kiss hit her with the force of a cherry bomb exploding underwater. The vibration ran from her lips, to her stomach, and down her shaky legs. Alec deepened the kiss, his tongue coaxing her mouth open. The tension in her groin began to pulse in time with her heartbeat, loud in her ears. Alec snaked his hand into her robe, his palm rubbing the curve of her hip. She wanted to pull him inside the beat of her body.

  “Come on, we’ll start in the private sauna area.” Alec threaded his fingers through hers and led her to a glass door.

  “What about the masseuses?”

  “They’ll join us afterward.” He untied his robe.

  Lucy held her breath. Was he naked under the robe? Her mind filled in the blanks: tapered shoulders, taut butt, powerful legs…

  Alec smiled wider, showing even white teeth. His eyes watched her face, as if he knew what she was thinking. Slowly, he pulled the lapels of his robe to the side, displaying his chest and modest blue bathing shorts.

  “Nice…shorts,” she managed. Her mind was melting down with her body. Get a grip.

  She unbelted her robe and handed it to him matter-of-factly, feeling self-conscious about her own body. She was fit and toned, but she wasn’t like the models he was probably used to seducing.

  “You look lovely.” Alec hung her robe beside his and placed a gentle hand under her forearm before opening the glass door. Wet steam scented with eucalyptus gushed out. Lucy followed beside him, trying to get her bearings. She held up her forearms, surprised to find her skin already wet.

  “I know you’re just checking out the goods.” The wet stream billowed through the space so that her voice sounded muffled inside a rainforest cloud.

  “Your goods look especially good in that suit.” His smile was pure seduction, salted with good-natured lechery. The compliment spread happiness through her chest and a spark of abandon. She had already decided to enjoy herself, why not really enjoy herself?

  Why not have a fling?

  Alec eased her into the steam room until wet tiles touched her back, cold and slick in comparison to the moist heat. Water dripped into her mouth, salty and organic. Through the steam, his eyes where dark and intent.

  “I’m going to kiss you again.” He kept his hands on the tile wall and leaned his head close, his body surrounding her. The kiss hit her hot and open and pulled the turmoil of the past few days from her mind so that all she could think of was that she wanted this. She wanted him.

  For once in her life she wanted to do something selfish, impractical and utterly decadent.

  “Tell me you want this,” he whispered.

  “I want this.”

  “Good. That is good.” Lifting her right leg, Alec ran his hand up her slick calf to her knee, and then wrapped her leg around his hip. He steadied her with his hand and body, and his erection pushed against the soft skin at her belly. Hard and throbbing, it made her inner core clench and tremble. Her raised leg contracted and brought him closer into the space between them, until she was surrounded by his wet, hard warmth.

  Alec ran his hand up the curve of her bottom and slipped his fingers under her suit, until his wandering fingers found the seam of her desire. Lucy’s insides burned in response, but Alec removed his hand and ran it up the side of her breast. “You’re important to me. I want you to know that.”

  His words were a splash of cold water in the face, and Lucy pulled back. She didn’t believe him. She wished he had said nothing rather than ruin the moment.

  “You don’t have to lie to me. We’re both adults here.”

  “It’s true.” Through the haze, Alec frowned. “This is important to me.”

  “Please.” Lucy shook her head. “Let’s pretend I’m one of your typical women—just shorter and brainier, maybe less tan.”

  Alec laughed and set his hand on her shoulder. “Shorter and brainier, eh?” He moved his hand up her neck and brushed his thumb over her lip. “You’re so much more than just that.”

  A hiss of scalding water echoed around the room, and Lucy crossed her arms between them. He could seduce her body in a hot second, but her head and heart were off limits.

  “All right. Peace, Lucy.” Alec shook his head. “Let’s go to the dry saunas. You’ll start to prune if we stay in here.” When she didn’t move, Alec waited until she met his gaze. “Okay?”

  “Okay.” She exhaled her frustration and followed him into a corridor tiled from floor to ceiling.

  “This way.” He put a wet hand on her lower back. Sweat slid under her bathing suit top and trickled down her stomach. Alec opened another glass door. The dry sauna rooms surrounded a foyer with a round pool, inlaid with turquoise and cobalt blue tiles that reminded Lucy of a Mediterranean tide pool.

  Alec walked to the pool and stepped off the edge. His large body disappeared under the water for a few seconds, then he came to the surface in rush. “Wooaawo,” he said, treading water and flipping black, wet hair off his face. His blue eyes were lighter in the pool, his expression playful. “Come on. It feels great.”

  Lucy went to the side, feeling the air temperature drop dramatically against her slick skin. She hesitated.

  “Don’t think about it,” Alec coaxed. “Just jump in. You’ll love it.”

  “I’ve been in the baths in Turkey and Japan. I know what I’m doing.”

  “But you’ve never been in them with me.”

  “True, but I managed to enjoy them all the same.” Lucy jumped in. Shards of freezing water enveloped her body. All sound disappeared in a whirling vortex of icy sensation. Nerve endings made sluggish in the moist heat jumped to the surface of her skin, and tiny hair follicles puckered to sharp attention.

  “Ahh,” she said when her head broke the surface.

  “Just not as much.” Alec smiled a cocky smile. At her confused look, he continued. “You enjoyed your previous experiences without me, just not as much as you will with me.” He rested with his elbows on the ledge of the pool.

  “You are the most confident man I have ever met.” Sharp metallic clarity followed the rush of cold sensation in her body. “You know, I don’t usually have flings with men I barely know.”

  “That’s good.”

  “So could we tone things down a bit between us?”

  “Absolutely.” Alec hulled himself out of the pool with enviable strength. Water cascaded off his body and puddled around his bare feet. He walked to her side of the pool and reached for her hand, pulling her out beside him. Her body swayed toward him, and her heightened senses clamored at his touch. He held her a moment too long before turning to open one of the dry sauna doors.

  “You use this one. I’ll go in the one beside you.”

  Lucy swallowed a hard ache of longing. His good-natured willingness to give her some space was the sexiest thing he had done yet. Nobody in her life gave her space. Everyone demanded everything of her.

  His consideration of her request made her want to reach for him all the more.

  Hold on until she had to let go.

  “Most people prefe
r to lie down on the ledge.” Alec was pointing out the features in the ten foot by five foot dry sauna room. “But you probably know that.” He held the door wide for her to enter. “I’ll set the timer for you.” He stepped out and shut the glass door, leaving her alone.

  Lucy lay down on cinnamon-colored teak boards. Immediately, sweat pooled on her bare belly. When she lifted her pale legs in the air, white clouds obscured her ankles. Water ran from her calves to her hips, and her hair spread around her head in a loose mess. So much for the Girl Scout leader.

  Her heart beat loudly in her ears, demanding more oxygen, less heat. Her mind wandered from Alec to Joey. What if Gino continued to threaten Joey to get her cooperation? How far was she willing to go to save her twin?

  She turned over, but the air was just as hot. The timer said only ten minutes had elapsed. The suffocating room and her worrisome thoughts had her bolting up and grabbing for the door.

  In the round foyer, the eucalyptus scent was welcome, cool, the smell of renewal and a distant San Francisco spring. She pulled the refreshing air into her lungs and leaned against the damp arabesque tile.

  In an adjoining chamber, Alec sat on a bench, his legs wide apart and his bare feet solidly on the ground. His head rested in his large hands, and his dark hair pushed through his fingers. The muscles of his back flexed over his rib bones as he breathed. She had never seen him so still. He seemed troubled, probably wrestling with some mega-casino problem.

  As if sensing her, he lifted his head and stood. He opened the door and came to her. “Too much heat for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then it is time for the rain shower and massages.” Alec stepped into a narrow alcove, and she followed. The sound of cascading rain and the occasional macaw monkey serenaded them when he flipped a lever. Cool water poured from the ceiling, sending a waterfall flowing down his face and back. His cheekbones and slightly crooked nose stood out under the rush of water. When he opened his eyes, he looked at her directly, with a gaze that was both curious and patient, a seductive combination that made Lucy want to stand closer and lean in.