Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Taking a deep breath and marshaling my courage, I returned to the living room to find Jacob sipping on a drink. When the light caught on his glass from above, I guessed it to be whiskey. Probably the most expensive kind you could find.

  “Were you planning to gamble while you were here?” he asked as I approached him across the room.

  The sound of my low, kitten heels clicked as I walked across the marble before going quiet on the plush carpet. He stood beside a bar that ran along the far wall.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked when I reached him.

  “Well, it is Vegas, after all. Gambling is a requirement. And whatever you’re having is fine.”

  “Would you like to know what I’m having?” he countered, a teasing glint entering his gaze.

  My body could not seem to be normal around Jacob Taylor. My belly did a few flips and sparks flew through me.

  I imagined he had this effect on every woman. It was a bit annoying. Men didn’t usually get to me, not like this. I chalked it up to being completely out of my element, and rattled even more by Wayne showing up and being more of an asshole than he’d already been.

  “I’m guessing that’s whiskey,” I finally replied.

  I could smell the rich, woodsy scent of it, just barely.

  This time, Jacob smiled. The smile unfurled slowly, from one corner of his mouth to the other, and sent my pulse into the stratosphere.

  Without a word, he turned and set his glass down, quickly filling one for me and handing it over. I took a few sips, savoring the rich flavor and the burn of it on my tongue. I could use the liquid courage just now. Although it was past midnight, this was Vegas, and I knew the night was just beginning.

  Jacob seemed relaxed, leaning his hand against the edge of the bar and watching me quietly. “Shall we go out then?”

  “You mean, you and me?”

  His eyes were assessing. I felt as if he were trying to read something in me. I felt far too exposed, sensing he could pick up on how off-kilter I was.

  “What other ‘we’ would there be in this room?” he countered.

  I laughed softly before gulping the rest of my whiskey, perhaps too quickly.

  “Why not? I came to Vegas, and I’ve never been here. I might as well do it right.”

  Jacob nodded, seeming pleased with my answer. “I’ll make sure of it. I hope you don’t mind, but I texted Aidan and let him know you were with me.”

  I did mind. “Whatever for? My brother is certainly not my keeper.”

  “Precisely what he said you would say. I figured he would want to know you were okay.”

  I stared at Jacob and gave my head a shake. “You’re a bit presumptuous, aren’t you?”

  “So I’ve been told,” he replied smoothly, before he drained his whiskey and set the empty glass on the bar.

  He seemed entirely unperturbed at my frustration toward him, turning smoothly and gliding his hand down my spine in a heated pass. Butterflies spun in my belly, and my sex clenched. Somehow, the anger mingling with this disconcerting desire had my body feeling crazy.

  “Do you have a gambling preference?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator.

  “Blackjack.”

  He didn’t reply, he simply tapped the button on the elevator. Without a sound, it began moving rapidly. In a flash, he was standing in front of me. He leaned one hand on the wall behind me, his presence suddenly overwhelming. His scent hit my nostrils, crisp and musky, an overtly masculine scent. I wanted to burrow into him.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m a selfish man too,” he said, the gravelly sound of his voice sending a prickle down my spine.

  I was confused. “Excuse me?”

  “Well, I did overhear your ex being an asshole, but I overheard because I was on my way over to invite you to dinner. Because you’re fucking beautiful.”

  My mind went blank. Before I knew it, he dipped his head and brushed his lips across mine, the contact so electric my entire body vibrated with its force.

  My brain tried to fire off a rational thought, but all reason was swept away in the melting heat of Jacob’s exploratory kiss. Another brush of his lips across mine. There was no hurry, no intense, demanding kiss.

  He nipped at my bottom lip, dusted kisses on each corner of my mouth, and swiped his tongue across the seam. Heat flooded my body and spun through my veins like sparks of fire. When his tongue swept into my mouth, I didn’t even hesitate, sighing and inviting him in with a gasp.

  In a distant corner of my mind, I was quite startled. When Jacob stepped closer, my hand slid up to cup his nape, his hair silky against my fingers, and I arched into him.

  This kiss was everything—delicious, decadent, and the hottest kiss I’d ever had. Maybe it was because he surprised me. Maybe it was because he was about the most handsome man I’d ever seen. Maybe it was because my pride was still stinging a bit from my encounter with Wayne.

  None of it mattered, nothing except for the feel of Jacob’s mouth over mine—a slow, sensual tease unraveling me inside and leaving me hot and breathless, bordering on needy.

  I didn’t even notice the elevator stopping. I heard the sound of the casino spilling into my awareness when the doors whispered open. Jacob gentled our kiss slowly. As he drew away, his gaze held mine for a few beats. I felt stripped bare, as if he could see right into me, and it rattled me. This wasn’t the kind of thing I did, kissing men I barely knew in elevators. Yet, I was entirely out of my element here in Las Vegas, roaming casinos alone.

  I tried to speak, but my voice was lost in a rasp. Clearing my throat, I attempted again, this time succeeding. “What was that for?”

  Jacob was quiet, and I sensed he was considering his response carefully. “I wanted to kiss you,” he said simply.

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said, “Oh.”

  Jacob turned, his hand sliding down my back and guiding me as it rested in the dip at the base of my spine. His touch felt like a brand, the heat of it warming me straight through.

  It was now going on one a.m., and it felt as if the night was just beginning. And not just because I’d had a crazy kiss in an elevator with an insanely handsome man. The pulse of Las Vegas spun me into its storm of glitter and lights and energy. I couldn’t help but ride the waves.

  CHAPTER 3

  Jacob

  Ellie McNamara was, simply put, stunning. With her glossy black hair, bright hazel eyes, and body of lush curves, it was a miracle she was here alone. I’d seen her only once before at a fundraiser with her brother. But she was with her boyfriend then, the fucking idiot.

  I hadn’t known what a jerk he was at the time. I don’t know how I would’ve known. While her brother was a friend, it was mostly in the business sense. Calling Aidan up to check on his little sister wasn’t exactly on my radar.

  I’d been seated at a bar set back from the crowd and walkways in the casino when I saw Ellie from a distance, walking by herself and, frankly, looking a little lost.

  Las Vegas could make anyone feel lost. It was a wild place. I didn’t come here often myself, but I was here on business. I finished my drink and headed in her direction, and my timing couldn’t have been better. I heard most of her interaction with her ex.

  Aside from the fact that I wanted Ellie for myself, I also hated that he cheated on her. I’d been on the receiving end of cheating in my last so-called relationship. A number of problems were associated with being wealthy. There were plenty of women who wanted me, but very few who wanted me for anything other than the social status and the money that came with me.

  I’d always been a rather skeptical person, yet my skepticism shifted to cynicism after I made a fortune when I wasn’t even after the money. I wasn’t looking for much from Ellie. I wouldn’t take advantage of her, but I sure as hell wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to kiss her. Or more, if she allowed it.

  Humiliating her ex and the woman who appeared to know Ellie was my pleasure. I had gladly taken the opportun
ity they handed to me. I hadn’t meant to offer up my suite, but I wasn’t about to let her ex call the shots on his credit card. If she insisted, I would get her another room.

  As it was, I was going to show her Las Vegas tonight. If she let me. I was a little thrown by the depth of lust that bolted through me the moment I was close to her, but I would manage it. Kissing her was like diving into a fire of heaven and hell. Heaven, because it felt so damn good. Hell, because she was so damn tempting, I could hardly bear it. I didn’t like to feel out of control.

  “Have you had dinner?” I asked as we rounded a corner in the hallway that led us away from the private elevator bank.

  Ellie glanced up, her gaze catching mine. Her eyes were incredible. I hadn’t seen them up close until tonight. Layers of green, gold, and nutmeg swirled together into a kaleidoscope of hazel.

  “It’s morning,” she replied, her voice slightly husky, the sound of it alone sending a lash on the whip of lust, striking me.

  I grinned. “It is, but it’s Las Vegas, and time takes on its own meaning here. Let me rephrase. Are you hungry? And what shall we call your meal?”

  Ellie returned my grin, and I was far too pleased. I shouldn’t care whether or not she smiled, but I felt like a randy boy around her. There was an innocence to her, a refreshing, wholesome sultriness.

  “I am hungry. Take me somewhere where they serve everything, so I can decide.”

  “Your wish is my command,” I replied, sliding my hand from the center of her back to curl around her hip and savoring the soft give of her flesh under my fingers.

  Ellie elicited a sense of possessiveness, and I didn’t quite understand why. I barely knew her. None of it made sense, but I didn’t give a damn. Not tonight.

  I took her to a restaurant that served everything, as she requested. They had all meals available twenty-four hours a day. As I said, time took on its own meaning here in Vegas.

  It was near impossible to find anything other than a nice restaurant in this part of Las Vegas. In my younger days, before I had money, I would’ve searched out an off-the-wall dive. That still would’ve been my preference now, but I had my reasons for queuing to the lines drawn by money. More than anything, I valued my privacy, and I would get it at a place like this.

  After the hostess escorted us to a circular booth tucked into a corner, Ellie smiled over at me. I wanted to slide my arm around the curve of the table and tug her into my lap.

  “Well, this is nice,” she said as she glanced around.

  Unlike many of the spaces in the casinos in Las Vegas, by some miracle, this place had stolen a little quiet. Although, I supposed it wasn’t a miracle. It was a miracle wrought by carpeting, drapes, and doors that held the almost constant cacophony of noise in Las Vegas at bay.

  Considering this place was housed in the casino attached to the same hotel where I frequently stayed, I had discovered it one morning. I often came here to work because of its quiet.

  “It is nice. The food is good, and it’s mostly quiet,” I replied.

  As if conjured by my words, a waiter appeared dressed in crisp black slacks and a starched white shirt. He looked to Ellie first. “Welcome. Would you like anything to drink?”

  “I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks, please.” She glanced to me after she responded, and I had a hard time focusing on her question. Her mouth was nearly perfect. Thick, plush lips, glistening and still a little puffy from our kiss in the elevator.

  “Mr. Taylor,” he said with an inclination of his head. “What can I get for you?”

  I forced myself to look away from Ellie. “I’ll take the same.”

  With another nod, he added, “Please take a look at the menus. I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”

  He turned away, and I brought my attention back to Ellie. She didn’t wear makeup. At all. She glowed, as if lit from within.

  “So, what brings you to Las Vegas?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m sure you could deduce from my conversation with Wayne that we had planned a trip here. That was before I came across a text from my former friend, Cheryl, on his phone,” she explained with a twist of her lips and a shadow chasing across her features.

  “As we’ve established, Wayne is a fucking idiot,” I said flatly.

  Ellie shrugged. “It’s for the best, but it still sucks, you know?”

  “I do know. I’ve been burned myself. It’s quite enlightening.”

  She brushed the silky fall of her hair off her shoulder and angled her head to the side. “You?”

  “Yes. Me.”

  “That’s crazy. I mean, you’re rich, powerful, and handsome. I would think women would be falling all over themselves for you,” she said, so earnestly I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Comments on looks aside, I get your point, but people often go for the superficial.”

  “You heard my sob story. Tell me yours,” she said, leaning back just as our waiter arrived with our drinks.

  “Do you need a few minutes?” he asked politely, glancing from Ellie to me after he served our drinks.

  “I haven’t even looked at the menu yet. You’re so efficient. Give us a few minutes. Unless you’re ready,” she added with an arch of a brow in my direction.

  “A few minutes would be nice.”

  Ellie dutifully opened her menu as the waiter smiled politely and turned away. “Oh my God, you weren’t kidding! They have everything. There are three pages for each meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You’re not paying,” she said, narrowing her eyes in my direction.

  “Don’t even argue about it with me. It doesn’t need to be a point of pride. I wasn’t always wealthy. Your brother would kill me if I let you rack up a credit card bill for the sake of a meal I can easily cover.”

  Two red spots appeared on Ellie’s cheeks. I could practically visualize the thoughts careening around her mind.

  After a moment, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. It would be a point of pride, and I’m stubborn, but I’m not stupid. Thank you,” she said with a twist of her mouth.

  CHAPTER 4

  Jacob

  I didn’t know what the hell it was about this woman, but she got to me. She had a straight line to the heartbeat of lust in my body. I had definitely thought her beautiful back when I first saw her, but she was taken, so I kept my distance. A glimpse of someone also doesn’t give you much.

  But this? Seeing her steely pride and the vulnerability so close to the surface, it caught me and drew me in. About five years ago, my life exploded. My little sister was killed by her ex who had stalked her. He tracked her down through one of those social media apps. On the heels of that, I dedicated my knowledge of computer coding and hacking to create software and apps that could shut down all those online tentacles that created openings for unsavory people to exploit.

  Although I had very personal reasons for the work I did, my timing was unintentionally perfect. Social media giants were faced with increasing calls for managing privacy. That was how I met Ellie’s brother. He ran a high-end security company based in Seattle and offered to do some beta testing when I ran into him at a conference.

  I’d gone from a young man a few years out of college, grieving the loss of my sister, and furious about it, to wealthy beyond anything I could’ve imagined. A side effect was far more attention was paid to my private life than I ever wanted. I tried not to get jaded, but it was damn near impossible.

  Ellie was right, women did chase me, or rather the idea of me. My last girlfriend screwed around on me—quite a bit, in fact.

  What it was about Ellie that got to me, I couldn’t say. She was genuine in a way that was rare these days. I knew nothing but a sketch of her life. Aidan had only told me their parents had passed away, and she was an artist.

  “I’m going to have the biscuits and gravy,” she announced out of the blue, effectively bringing my attention to the moment.

  “With whiskey?” I asked, fighting a grin.

  “Yes, I love biscuits and gravy. It
’s delicious and mild. It should taste just fine with the whiskey,” she said with a laugh. “When do people sleep here anyway?”

  I shrugged. “I suppose whenever. Truth is, I don’t usually gamble, but tonight, I was attending a scheduled game of poker. It’s not that common for me to be up this late either.”

  She sipped her whiskey and eyed me. “What are you having?” she asked, shifting the topic.

  “Now that you mention it, biscuits and gravy sounds delicious.”

  “I doubt it’s gourmet,” she commented with a sly grin.

  “Gourmet or not, I’m confident it will be delicious. Nothing here has failed me before,” I said, just as the waiter arrived.

  After we ordered, he glanced between us. “Anything else?”

  Ellie shook her head. At my nod, he turned away, assuring us our food would be out promptly.

  Ellie looped the conversation back to our earlier interruption. “So, back to you, what’s your sob story?”

  “I wouldn’t call it a sob story, more a learning experience.”

  Sipping her whiskey, she circled her hand in the air, indicating I should continue.

  “It’s a trite story. Back when my business first took off, things were crazy. I had more money than I knew what to do with it, and more attention than I cared to manage. But I’m a man, and I’ll admit, I didn’t mind some of the perks. I wasn’t jaded at first. It didn’t take long. I dated a woman who I thought was exclusive with me. Turned out, she wasn’t. In fact, she was far from exclusive. Unlike you, it didn’t involve a friend of mine, but rather a business acquaintance. I learned my lesson. Quite well. She wanted my money and the cachet of being with me, but she certainly didn’t want anything serious.”

  “How was that a lesson?” Ellie asked.

  “The lesson was to remember expectations.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most people don’t want me for me. They want the package, the superficial benefits. So, I leave it at that. While I think Wayne was an idiot, you don’t need to worry that I want something serious from you.”