Slipping an arm around Angel’s narrow waist, Trey stepped up alongside her and looked out over the incredible Las Vegas skyline with its backdrop of mountains.
“Casinos and lights for as far as the eye can see,” he muttered in amazement. “This place is really something.”
She looked up at him, excitement in those big, dark eyes. “And that’s only a piece of it. The things to see here are endless. Themed casinos, every kind of restaurant you could imagine, shows, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.”
Despite having been sent there with Rick-the-Dick, Angel seemed very excited to be back in Vegas. Trey found himself anxious to share the experience with her.
Angel slipped away and walked over to the bureau where she began rifling through the drawers.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for this.” She held up what appeared to be a phone book. “I have some shopping I need to do while we’re out seeing the strip.”
Since when did people come to Vegas to shop? Well, he wasn’t about to make mention of that to Angel. If she wanted to shop, that was fine by him. Anything to keep his thoughts on something other than his best friend and his awakening desire to make love to her.
Trey checked his jean pocket for his room key. “Ready when you are.”
“Just a sec.” She scribbled an address on the complimentary note pad, and then shoved it into her purse. Draping the leather strap over her shoulder, she turned to him. “All set.”
The sooner they got out of there the better. Trey followed Angel from the room where they made their way along the balcony style hallway that overlooked the impressive Egyptian lobby below.
Thankfully, by the time they reached the elevators, he was in control of his senses once again. Mind clear. Heart rate slowed to an easy pace. He was back to his normally calm, cool, collected self. The Trey Landers who took on the corporate world without even so much as a hesitation. Now, if he could just had to keep it that way.
He leaned casually against the wall beside the elevator doors, a confident smile on his face. “So what are we shopping for?” His guess would be souvenirs. Angel always brought things back for him and Kathy, and once in a while for his dad when she went away on her agent familiarization trips.
The elevator chimed beside him, signaling its arrival at their floor. The doors opened and Angel stepped inside. Turning to face him, she replied with a grin, “Leather and a maybe a few sexy nighties.”
The look on Trey’s face was priceless. Eyes seemingly glazed over. Jaw open. So was the fact that he was speechless. He always had something to say. She reached out to poke the ‘door open’ button on the elevator control panel.
“Are you planning to take the next elevator?” Angie asked with a grin.
Trey came out of his mental paralysis and stepped into the elevator. “As in boots?”
She looked up at him. “What?”
“The leather we’re shopping for,” he prompted.
“Oh, those, too. But I was referring to clothes. I’ve been thinking—”
“Uh-oh. Take cover.”
Angie smacked him on the arm and giggled softly. “Don’t be a smart ass. What I was going to say was that I think I really need to change my fashion style if I’m going to convince Rick that I really am a wild woman. And leather seems to be the in thing.” She pressed the lobby button and smiled. “Going down.”
There it was again - that look on his unarguably handsome face. “Trey, are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
“Me? Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“You just don’t seem like yourself.”
“Maybe I should be saying the same thing to you, Miss Leather and Heat,” he snapped, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He averted his gaze to stare at the closed doors in front of him.
Angie opened her mouth to respond, but the elevator eased to a stop at the second floor. The doors opened and Trey stepped aside as another passenger joined them in an exchange of smiles. They rode the rest of the way down in silence.
Miss Leather and Heat? Where had that come from? Angie snuck a glance at Trey whose thumbs were tapping rhythmically against the outside of his jeans’ pockets. She knew that gesture well. He was irritated. With who? Her?
The elevator chimed their arrival in the lobby and the doors slid open. They waited for the other passenger to step out before exiting. Angie moved closer to Trey, her voice low, “Having second thoughts about helping me?”
“No.”
“Then what was that all about back there?” she asked as they moved across the lobby.
He dragged a hand through his hair with a deep sigh. “I’m sorry I snapped at you that way.”
She smiled. “Don’t sweat it, Trey. It was kind of nice being referred to as something other than an ice princess. Miss Leather and Heat. I kind of like it.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with Angelina Rossi, though I’m sort of fond of Angel myself,” he confessed as they moved toward the main entrance.
Trey was the only person who ever called her Angel. Everyone else she knew called her Angie. “You never did answer my question? What’s with Miss Leather and Heat?” They had always been able to talk about anything without hesitation, but she was having to drag an explanation out of him this time.
“This is hard for me, Angel. I’ve known you for so long it’s hard to deal with these changes you’re wanting to make to yourself, temporary or not. And I’ll tell you right now I don’t like the thought of Rick-the-Dick drooling over you in some sexy leather get up.”
Angie laughed softly. “Watch it, Trey. Someone might mistake you for a jealous boyfriend talking that way.”
Then it struck her. He was only doing what she had asked him to do - playing his part. She hadn’t meant for him to continue the charade when Rick wasn’t around. But she had to admit it was kind of nice having a guy be jealous where she was concerned, playacting or not.
*
The store Angel dragged him out to wasn’t nearly as bad as Trey imagined it would be when he first saw the name scribbled on the piece of hotel stationary. SINFUL SURRENDER.
Angel was looking for leather. Well, there was plenty of that in this store, but most of it wasn’t anything he wanted her parading around in. And he’d never heard of half the products lining the shelves in the main showroom.
SINFUL SURRENDER appeared to be an adult needs store that catered to the wealthy judging by the prices he’d seen while Angel was shopping. When he’d suggested they go somewhere less expensive, she informed him it would be worth the money if it helped her get out of the sexless rut she had fallen into.
Trey sank back into the plush chair just outside of the dressing room Angel had gone into. Leafy plants and naked statues surrounded him, while some kind of new age music played out overhead. The subtle scent of new leather mingled with other exotic scents and lingered in the air around him. Not a bad combination he had to admit.
He cast a glance at his watch. How long did it take to try on a leather skirt? From where he sat in the empty waiting area of the dressing room, it felt like forever. Especially surrounded by life-size replicas of the male anatomy.
He drummed his fingers on the thick arms of the chair, making no sound as they sank into the velvet material that covered it.
“What do you think of this one?”
He looked up as Angel stepped from the dressing room wearing a skimpy black leather skirt and breast hugging top. Trey pushed out of the oversized chair and stood, his assessing gaze moving over her.
“It’s short.”
He’d seen paper clips that covered more. Not that she didn’t look great in it. He just didn’t like the idea of Angel wearing it for some other guy who wouldn’t take time to get to know the real woman beneath the sexy clothes.
She flashed him that beautiful smile of hers, perfectly aligned teeth framed by plump pink lips. “It’s supposed to be short. That’s why they call it a mini-skirt.”
; “I suppose you have a point there,” he admitted grudgingly. “But I think calling it a just-below-the-ass skirt would be more fitting.”
She laughed, and then pivoted from side to side in front of the three-way mirror. “Speaking of which…do you think it makes my butt look big?”
Her butt looked perfect to him. In fact, everything from the painted nails on her bare toes to her dark, spiraling curls looked pretty damn good to him. Tempting enough to touch.
Whoa, rein in the thought, buddy. You’re here to advise her, not fantasize about her.
“Take my word on it, Angel,” he said as he lowered himself back into the chair. “If you’re going for what’s going to turn a guy’s head, that skirt has definite head-snapping possibilities.”
She bit into her bottom lip as she eyed her reflection. A gesture Trey found incredibly sexy. “You really think so?”
“I’m a man, aren’t I?” he teased.
“You certainly had the right parts the last time I looked,” she called back as she disappeared through the dressing room curtains.
The last time she looked?
Angel had never seen him naked. Had she? She’d practically lived at his and Kathy’s house while they were growing up, so he supposed it was possible…
The floral curtains Angel had just slipped between settled back into place and Trey found himself unexpectedly aroused. So much so he was tempted to follow her into the dressing room and ask her what she’d meant by that last comment.
But his self-control was already wavering despite his best intentions, so he turned away, determined to distract himself from all thoughts of Angel and sex.
“Black or red?”
Trey swiveled around in the chair, his jaw dropping. Angel stood between the parted curtains dressed in the same black leather skirt, but the look-at-me-I-have-breasts top she had just tried on had been replaced by a skimpy black lace bra that showed him she had all the right parts, too.
“I think you forgot something,” he pointed out, his Adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably as he rose to his feet once again. “Like a shirt.”
Angel laughed and stepped toward him, releasing her hold on the heavy floral curtains. “If I had my shirt on, how could I get your opinion on this?”
“Maybe by dangling it from a hanger,” he muttered under his breath while trying not to take in the sight of her standing there like that.
She propped a hand on her hip and did a pose for him. “What do you think? Too much lace? Not see through enough? Maybe a different color?”
So much for not looking. “Perfect.” Not so much the bra, but her.
“What about the shade? What color do most men find the sexiest?”
Any color you’re wearing.
He wasn’t about to stand there discussing bra colors while every man in the store was ogling her. Or could be if he and Angel weren’t alone in the back dressing room area. There were several men out in the main part of the store and that was too damn close to Angel’s impromptu fashion show for him.
“Let’s discuss this in here.” Taking her by the arm, Trey guided Angel back into the spacious dressing room.
“What are you doing?” she asked as her bare feet padded across the carpet beside him.
He released her, and then turned, pointing at the curtains. “I know you’re trying to find the sexy side of you, but you don’t have to show it to every man in the place.”
Angel crossed her arms and shot him one of those exasperated female looks. The kind men received when they gave the wrong answer to a question that only women knew the correct response to.
“For your information, Trey Landers, I wasn’t showing anyone but you. In case it escaped your notice, there weren’t any other men in the dressing room area.”
His notice had been too preoccupied with other things. “Well, that doesn’t mean there won’t be. This is where the dressing rooms are.”
“Kathy is right.”
“About what?”
“You’ve been overworking yourself lately. You seem really stressed.”
“My reaction has nothing to do with my company.” His gaze fell to the all too revealing black bra. “And everything to do with that.”
She looked down then back up at him. “This bra stresses you out?”
It did more than stress him out. Try turned him on. Heated him up. Drove him crazy.
“Only when I have to worry about some old guy walking into the dressing room area and catching you wearing that,” he replied with a frown. “You might as well strut around the room without anything on.”
Angel laughed. “You are kidding me, right?”
“No.”
“For your information,” she argued with a tilt of her chin, “this bra covers more than most bikini tops do.”
Maybe so, but right now with her arms crossed that way, he couldn’t tear his gaze from the breasts spilling out over the lacy top of it.
Angel’s breasts.
How had he never noticed them before? It wasn’t like he hadn’t known they existed. It was just that he’d never allowed himself to dwell on Angel’s womanly attributes. Until this trip. Now that seemed to be all he could think about.
Maybe it was the hook-a-man-with-one-look black bra she was wearing, or the leg baring leather skirt. Then again, it could be because of the basket of goodies she already had waiting for her at the front counter. Throw in his awakening desire for his best friend…
That last thought floored Trey completely. He wanted Angel like he’d never wanted any other woman. But she needed a man who could give her the commitment she was looking for, and he wasn’t at that point in his life. Right now, he was committed to expanding his company and that gave him very little time for a personal life.
“You never answered my question.”
Her words forced his gaze upward. “Question?” For the life of him he couldn’t remember her asking him anything.
She rolled her eyes. “A lot of help you are. I asked if you would you prefer this bra in black or red. Or maybe I should just buy both to be safe.”
“Both are good,” was all he could manage in his aroused state.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I think I’m about done here.”
“Okay. Go ahead and finish up.” He moved toward the curtain. “Since you won’t be needing my opinion anymore, I’m going to step outside and admire the city that never sleeps while I wait.”
…And pray that flashing neon lights and herds of people would put an immediate damper on his Angel-induced hard on.
CHAPTER SIX
Angie followed Trey into their suite where he deposited an armful of her purchases onto the oversized bed. He’d insisted on carrying them for her on the way back to the hotel.
Rick would never have offered to do something like that for her. In fact, her idiotic ex wouldn’t have even offered to go shopping with her. Yet Trey had gone with her all day and had been such a good sport about it.
She turned to him with a smile. “Thank you for going shopping with me today. I know I took a little too long in that last store, but I was having so much fun that I sort of lost track of time.”
“Having fun is a good thing,” he replied, returning her smile. “Besides, think of all the money you saved me today by keeping me out of the casinos.”
Angie glanced at the pile of assorted shopping bags Trey had placed on the turned down comforter. “Yeah, well, I think I made up for it. The money you saved I spent.”
He nodded in agreement. “And then some.”
Angie groaned as she looked through the SINFUL SURRENDER bags. “I suppose I might have gone a little overboard on my shopping spree.”
“Who knows, Angel, maybe Lady Luck will shine on you this trip to Vegas and make up for all the money you spent on sexy clothes today.”
She nodded. “That would be nice. You know, despite what they say about American Express, I should have left home without it.”
/> He waved a hand over the packages strewn across the bed, a worried frown creasing his brows. “Are you telling me you charged all of this?”
“I always put my charges on my credit card when I go out of town.”
“Oh, hell.”
Angie pressed a finger to his scrunched up brows. “Get rid of that frown and stop worrying. I have the money to cover it. I just don’t like carrying a lot of cash with me on trips and writing checks can be a real pain.”
His troubled expression eased.
“There, that’s better,” she said. She knew Trey worried because he cared about her. He always had. Growing up under the care, if one could call it that, of her elderly grandmother, she hadn’t had much to call her own. Then when she graduated from high school and set out on her own money was extremely tight.
But that was then.
Now she had a great job with Sunset Travel, Rick’s employment there being the only exception. As for money, she was usually very careful not to throw it away on things she really didn’t need. Today constituted a need situation. She was at a point in her life where she wanted to feel like the woman she was.
“Angel? You okay?”
“I was just thinking about how much fun I had with you today. And your reaction to my dressing room fashion show was a real confidence booster. I think I’m going to like this new image we’re creating. The new me.”
“Angel…” He caught her face between his hands, tipping it upward. “Listen to me and listen good. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with the old you. How many times do I have to tell you that before you finally believe me?”
His blue eyes held such warmth as he looked down at her Angel couldn’t help but smile. “Is it any wonder why you’re one of my very best friends?”
He was so good to her. Some woman was going to be really lucky to win his heart someday. She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit there had been times she’d wished she could be that woman. But that was as far as it went…wishing.
He caressed her cheeks lightly with his thumbs. “You’re pretty good for me, too, you know.”
His gentle touch set off a barrage of emotions inside her. Need. Want. Love. It was the last that had her pulling away from Trey.
Only in Vegas Page 7