“Oh, you two can kiss my ass.” She turned and craned her neck toward the bar. It was crowded, but she could see the guys at the front of the pack. “I need alcohol if I’m supposed to deal with the two of you tonight.”
...
“So, can you feel how much they are talking about you right now?” Aiden asked.
Micah laughed and looked over at the man causally leaning against the bar next to him. He immediately understood why Kelsey was friends with him. Aiden was about six feet tall with dark hair and blue eyes, and a quick grin and easygoing manner, but it was his voice that drew your attention. Smooth and deep, it was the kind of voice that you immediately trusted. He couldn’t describe it any better than that.
“I feel like I have this burning spot on the back of my head,” Micah said, raising his hand to touch the spot. He was joking but he wouldn’t be surprised if it was on fire with the scrutiny aimed at him tonight. It was to be expected when a new guy showed up on the scene, and he was glad that Kelsey had such good friends.
“Ah, that would be the bull’s eye of the best friends. If you screw over Kelsey, then their X-ray death glare will hit that spot and your head will explode.”
“Nice to know. I’ll make sure that I’m on my best behavior.” Micah paused as Aiden gave the drink order to the bartender, shouting it over the social chaos. When he turned back to face him, he couldn’t resist asking. “So, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be back there with them?”
He shook his head. “I’m here to talk to you as a guy and see if you’re a dick.”
“Got it.” Micah was tempted to ask him what the verdict was, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He also wasn’t sure where Aiden fit in this equation. “Are you dating one of the girls?”
“Oh, no. See, while I’m supposed to see if you’re a dick, I like dick.” Aiden said, accepting the first of several drinks from the bartender. “So, the girls are really never going to be my type.”
“That’s cool,” he said with a laugh. He liked Aiden, weird sense of humor and all. He took the next beverage from the staff, doing a mental check on what they were waiting on. “What do you do?”
“I’m a voiceover artist. I do commercials, documentaries.” He shot Micah a smirk. “I did two of your books, dude.”
“Really? Oh shit, that’s embarrassing.”
“No worries, man. It’s not like we ever talked about the deal. My agent set it up, but I gotta tell you that the checks are amazing. You sell a shit-ton of books.”
“Glad I could help you out, man.” Micah reached for the last drink, pausing when Aiden nudged him with his elbow. His expression was serious but also apologetic, and Micah knew what was coming.
“I have to ask if you’re a good guy. I’m not Kelsey’s dad, but the guy is huge, and if you fuck her up, we’ll both be on your ass.”
Micah nodded, appreciating his asking. He had sisters and he did what he had to do to protect them, and that included letting the guys sniffing around know that they weren’t long for this planet if they made them cry. He could only be honest.
“Per Kelsey’s rules, it’s just for fun and only until I’m gone on Sunday.”
Aiden contemplated his answer, nodding in understanding. “Kelsey has been burned. Scorched earth with her in the emotions department so I’m not surprised, but she’s not so tough underneath all of her armor. She’s a strong woman, but everyone can be vulnerable to the right person. Just be careful. I don’t want to have to kick your ass.”
Micah couldn’t resist asking. “You want to give me a clue to what happened to her? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like her. She’s funny, gorgeous, smart. It’s only natural.”
“Oh, that’s not my story to tell, but I’ll caution you to keep to the rules. Kelsey doesn’t deviate from her plans very often, and if you think you’re going to sweep her off her feet by the weekend, you might be nursing some pain on the plane ride home.”
They were jostled by people anxious to get to the bar, and by unspoken agreement they moved back toward the table, dodging dancing bodies and clusters of people. Kelsey moved to his side when he passed out the drinks, allowing him to slip his arm around her waist as they all enjoyed the coveted drinks.
“Did you get the third degree?” Kelsey asked, her breath tickling his ear.
“He wasn’t so bad.” Micah glanced over at where Aiden stood chatting with a group of people nearby. “He’s a good friend. You’re lucky.”
“I really am.”
“I’m pretty lucky tonight as well,” he said, pressing a hot kiss to the side of her neck. She shivered against him and he did it again, relishing her reaction.
“You keep being so sweet, and you might get even luckier.” She trailed a hand down his chest, hooking her finger in the belt loop on his jeans and dragging him closer. His groin pressed against her and they both groaned a little, laughing when a passerby jostled them into the table.
He reached out to steady the drinks and noticed the laser-like focus of her two friends on everything they did. Sarina arched an eyebrow, and Lilah winked.
“How did you all meet?” Micah directed his question to include Sarina and Lilah.
“Our condo complex,” Sarina said before taking a quick sip. “I bought at the same time as Aiden and Kelsey, and Lilah moved into the sublease about six months later. That was three years ago, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“Are you going to dance with me?” Kelsey asked, tugging on the arm looped around her waist. “Come on. I promise you’ll like it.”
“I told you that I don’t dance,” he shook his head, looking toward Sarina and Lilah for a rescue. They shook their heads, laughing when he huffed out his indignation. “You guys are going to throw me to the wolves?”
“You look like you can handle yourself,” Lilah said, her eyes and smile sparkling with mischief. “Send up a flare if you need a rescue.”
He gave in, not really minding any excuse to rub against Kelsey and curious to see what she looked like when she danced. She moved like sex when she was just walking around. She pulled on his hand and he stalled her, gulping down the rest of his drink before following her out onto the floor.
“I really can’t dance,” he murmured against her ear, catching his breath when her breasts brushed against his chest. His cock jolted in his jeans and he decided that if this was how his body would react to her movement, then he might not mind giving in this one time.
She laughed, placing his hands on her hips as she began to move her hips. They swayed to the beat of the music for half a song and then there was too much room between them, so he dug his fingers into her and pulled her as close as they could get without committing an act that would probably get them arrested.
The music ebbed and flowed between popular rock and techno crap, and all of it would have made his skin crawl if he hadn’t been entirely focused on the woman in his arms. He still couldn’t dance, but he could definitely remain in her orbit, allowing her to use his body as a balance or a stripper pole depending on the song and her mood.
“You lied, Micah Holmes. You can dance!” she yelled in the middle of a song with a driving beat of sex and lust. He was enjoying the feel of her body against him, really glad that the dark of the club disguised his erection from everyone but Kelsey. She ground into him, her eyes bright with mischief.
“You’ll pay for that later,” he growled into her ear before she playfully spun away. This Kelsey was fascinating to watch, no trace of the buttoned-up woman from the hotel. That girl was replaced with hair that was wild with her movements, miniskirt showing off miles of leg, and a tank top that left nothing to the imagination. As much as he wanted to get to the hotel and get Kelsey into his bed and peel back all those layers of reserve, he hoped that the club Kelsey would join him as well.
The girls bounced up to them, interrupting his thoughts with their laughing, drunken movements. Lilah was blitzed, her eyes closed as she undulated to music that was only playing in
her head, while Sarina did the bump with Kelsey. He looked around, spotting Aiden near the back of the club with a tall, dark-haired man. They didn’t look like they were having as good a time. In fact, Aiden looked like he needed ten more drinks.
“Who’s that guy with Aiden?” he shouted to the girls, pointing when they craned their necks to look around the space. When they found him, all three of their faces fell and their steps faltered. Apparently he’d found the one thing that could ruin the party.
“That’s his ex,” Kelsey said, her nose scrunched up in dislike.
Sarina added her two cents. “He’s still in the closet and wants to drag Aiden back in there with him.”
“Fucker,” was all Lilah added to the conversation, but he got her point.
The music cut out, and the lights went up a little as an announcer’s voice railed out over the sound system as staff walked around handing out noisemakers and party hats.
“Okay, people, it’s close to midnight so grab a noisemaker and someone to kiss, and get ready for the countdown.”
The crowd around them went wild with shouts and catcalls, and Micah couldn’t help but get sucked up into the excitement. He knew it wasn’t New Year’s Eve but it didn’t matter, his pulse still sped up at the idea of the impending faux countdown.
He grabbed Kelsey around the waist, pleased when she came eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
The announcer burst out again as a live feed of the ball outside on the roof flashed up on every screen in the place. “Okay, people we are at twenty seconds. Fifteen.” His voice rose with his own excitement as everyone on the floor joined him.
Micah locked eyes with Kelsey, pulling her in closer as they counted down together, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart.
“Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six.” He moved his hand up her back until he cupped her neck, his fingers twisting in her hair. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
The ceiling opened above them, and glitter of every color and shape and size fell. It was a waterfall of sparkly plastic and proved that Vegas was the glitter capital of the world. And then he was kissing her, bold and hot as he coaxed her open so that he could taste. Possess. Take. She moaned against him, her arms wrapping tighter around him as she allowed him to dive in deeper, and she plunged in his mouth seeking her own pleasure.
Micah trailed a hand down her back, loving the play of her muscles under his hands. Everything about this moment was magnified as the roar around them became a low throb in the very far distance, and they were alone in the crowd of people. His hand cupped her ass, his fingertips finding the hot swell of her just beyond the short hem. He traced the curve, the desire to peel back her panties, the skirt, and all of her clothes was overwhelming.
He pulled away, loving the way her lips were swollen and a deep red from their kisses. He dipped in and bit her bottom lip, tugging on it with a gentle pull before releasing it again. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. She asked him what had been on the tip of his tongue.
“Will you come home with me?”
Chapter Ten
Thursday night
“This place looks really familiar,” Micah said.
He let go of her hand and made a complete circle in the courtyard of her condo community. In the center of the brick paved terrace was a large rectangular pool surrounded by the two-story building on three sides. The architectural design was Spanish–style villa with terra cotta walls and red tiles on the roof. She watched and waited, loving the way his grin spread when he figured it out.
“Holy shit. It’s Melrose Place,” he said, looking at her for confirmation.
“Yep.” She nodded and laughed. “The builder was a huge Aaron Spelling fan. There’s a development on the southern side of Vegas with houses that all look like they are straight from Dynasty on streets named Carrington Drive and Alexis Place.”
“That’s insane, and strangely I feel the need to go find them and take a look.”
“You’ll have to take that excursion on your own.”
“I see how you are. Just for that I’m going to talk about how sucky the customer service is on my feedback card at checkout.”
“Do it, and you’ll never get extra towels ever again.” She pouted, trying to hide her chuckle.
He laughed and stepped closer to the pool, turning when Kelsey tried to move past him. He snagged her around the waist and pulled her against him as they looked at the blue water glowing with underwater lights. She twisted in his arms, and Micah leaned down and kissed her, slow and sensual but hot like all kisses were when you first touched each other.
He tugged her closer until they were tight against each other, not even the slight breeze in the air was able to get between them. He was hard all over, the muscles under his skin flexing against her as she arched into him, desperate to get as much contact with him as she could.
“Who else lives here besides you and your friends?” he asked, his mouth trailing along the exposed skin of her shoulder. She shivered a little, either the chill in the night or his touch was raising goose bumps on her flesh.
“No one. The last unit is empty.”
“Good.” He grinned against her neck before pulling back to look down at her. “We can go for a swim without an audience.”
She let him lead her around the edge of the pool to the shallow end where the lounge chairs were lined up like little soldiers.
“Did you wear a swimsuit under your jeans?” she asked, watching as he toed off his boots and kicked them to the side.
“Nope.” Micah leaned down and pulled off his socks tossing them onto the pile with his boots. His grin took on that wicked edge that made her stomach clench when he flashed it her way. He reached over his head and gathered up the material of his T-shirt, pulling it up and over his head and dropping it to join his growing pile of clothing. His chest was a solid mass of muscle, his pecs covered with the right amount of dark hair that narrowed down his abs into the most lickable treasure trail. “Where I come from, we might not dance, but we do skinny-dip with a beautiful girl.”
“Really?” Kelsey smiled, stepping lightly out of his reach when he reached out for her. Micah watched as she kicked off her shoes and dipped her toe in the water. It was warm after absorbing the heat of the day, and it would feel delicious against her skin. He would also feel delicious against her, but she wanted to draw out the anticipation just a little while longer. “We don’t do a lot of skinny-dipping here in Vegas.”
“Well that’s a shame. You have the weather for it all year.”
Damn. The slow drawl was back, covering the sex dripping from every word he said with slick, sweet honey that matched the moisture between her legs, making her wet. It was decision time. The precipice of taking this a step further and doing something with Micah she could never take back. But what scared her most was the whisper in her ear that there would be nothing with this man that she would want to take back. She felt the need to make sure they were on the same page.
“No strings,” she said. He stopped all movement, his eyes sharp and focused on her. He looked solemn, as if he sensed how important this agreement between them was to her.
“No strings. No entanglements,” he whispered, his voice a rough, silky glide of seduction carried across the short distance by the water and the hush of the secluded courtyard. “Kelsey, this is whatever you want it to be. I’m following your lead.”
“That’s what I want.” It was also what she needed to keep whatever was happening between them separate and apart from her job.
Still, in the end there was no question that she was getting in the damn pool with him, but she still wanted to draw this moment out a little bit longer. Micah was watching her, his eyes tracking the swipe of her tongue along her lips, gaze dropping to see the heavy rise and fall of her chest as she tried to catch her breath. His hands dropped to the waistband of his jeans and she couldn’t help but follow the movement, her body stepping forward to see him better in the scan
t light given off by the lights surrounding the pool.
“Take them off,” she whispered, her voice husky and deep with her own need. She considered walking over and helping him with the task, but the sight of him unfastening the top button riveted her in place. Micah kept his eyes on her as he grasped the zipper pull and eased it down, shoving down his jeans and kicking them away in one, fluid motion.
“Now, you’ve got a choice here,” Micah said, his voice low and gravely, making her shiver. He hooked two fingers in the waistband of his boxer briefs and tugged them down far enough for her to see the top of his dark pubic hair at the end of his happy trail. “I can leave these on, or I can take them off, too.” He grinned, that lopsided twist of his mouth that made her want to bite his bottom lip. “Ladies’ choice.”
Kelsey took a step forward. Then another. And another. She was standing right in front of him and she reached out, her hands trembling from the want running through her veins. But her aim was sure, even though she never looked away from his face, and she added her own fingers to his where they rested against his waistband. The silence between them got hotter, thicker as it stretched out second by second until she thought she might break before it did.
“Take them off, too,” she whispered and tugged down.
Micah sucked in a breath and then leaned forward, taking her mouth in a sweet, slow kiss. His eyes were still open, locked with hers, as they jointly eased his boxer briefs down. She couldn’t help it; Kelsey broke off the kiss and looked downward, the sight of his hard, thick cock compelling her to touch. One light stroke from root to tip and then a whisper-soft tracing of the vein that pulsed along the hard length of him.
“Fuck. Yeah.” Micah groaned as he removed his underwear and kicked them to the side. He took one step and then two, shaking his head when she made a sound of protest at his abandonment of her. “If you want it, take off your clothes and join me in the pool.”
Her Secret Lover (What Happens in Vegas) Page 8