by Candace Shaw
Out of all the men in the world, why did it have to be him?
“I think I’ll just have my SUV valet-parked, and we can self-park the bikes. I don’t see needing my Rover for the rest of the trip. Do you?”
His deep voice pulled her out of her amorous thoughts. For a moment, she was back against the wall with a man she wasn’t sure she could resist for much longer.
“No. I think that’s a great idea,” she croaked out.
Bryce dropped her off at the front, and a bellhop grabbed all of their belongings while he saw to the parking of the vehicles. She fished around in her purse for her wallet as she stood in a long line to check in. It was around three o’clock, so she really hoped her room was ready.
“Hey.” She looked to her left to see Bryce towering over her. “I got the motorcycles in the self-parking lot with tons of other motorcycles, including a few other pink ones.”
“Nothing is wrong with a pink bike.”
“You’ll never catch me on it except to take it off my trailer.” He cleared his throat. “So I guess after we check into our room...rooms, we can pick up our registration information.”
“That’s cool. I registered for some events for tomorrow. I think I may rest for a while and then go down to the meet-and-greet social tonight. I think it starts at six. What are you doing?”
“Um...well I was going to go to the meet and greet.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you in the lobby around five forty-five.” Realizing she was next, she pulled her wallet out. “Hello, I’m Sydney Chase,” she said to a young lady with a pleasant smile.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Chase. I’m Debbie. Just give me a moment to find your name in the system,” Debbie said, typing quickly along the keys with a frown. “Mmm... are you here for the bike fest?” she asked as her eyes scanned over Syd’s leather jacket.
“Yes.”
“When did you make your reservation?” Debbie typed quickly again and frowned.
“On Monday. Maybe you’re spelling my name wrong. It’s S-Y-D-N-E-Y. My mom wanted to be different,” Sydney joked with a smile as she tried not to worry. It had been a last-minute reservation, but there had been a few rooms left.
“I’ll try that way.”
However, the frown appeared again, and Bryce stepped in.
“Is there a problem, Debbie?” he asked in his lawyer voice that Sydney knew quite well, having been cross-examined by it on the stand.
“Well, it says the reservation has been canceled.”
Syd banged her hand on the counter. “What? I never canceled. There must be some mistake,” she said in a curt tone.
Bryce rubbed her back. “Calm down, Syd. I’m sure they have another room available.”
“No, actually, everything is booked because of the motorcycle fest and about five other conferences and events.”
Sydney’s heart sank. She’d come came all this way and now didn’t have a place to crash. There were some other hotels in walking distance, but she really wanted to stay at the Bellagio.
“You can stay with me,” Bryce suggested with a wink as if he heard her thoughts. “Let’s look up mine. Bryce Monroe. I made my reservation a few months back.”
Once again, Debbie’s fingers moved rapidly, and her smile reappeared. “Yes, Mr. Monroe. You have a Salone Suite. Do you need one or two keys?”
Bryce stared down at Sydney with a raised wicked eyebrow and a sly smile. Her breathing halted and tingles of sweat formed on her hairline. The last time that had happened, she’d passed out.
“Do I need two keys, Syd?” he asked in a heavy, deep tone, causing her heart to skip a beat or three and then pound uncontrollably against her chest.
She turned toward Debbie because if she looked at him a millisecond longer, she’d have jumped him right there in the middle of the lobby in front of at least one hundred people. “You said it was a suite?”
“Yes, Ms. Chase. A very nice suite.”
She thought about their sleeping arrangement last time. Knowing Bryce, it was one of the oversize suites with the separate bedroom that she’d glanced at on the website when making her reservation; they were well out of her budget. “Okay...two keys, and put half of it on my card,” she said with a slight gulp, handing Debbie the card, but Bryce snatched it away and slid it into his front pocket.
“Nonsense. I got this.” He handed Debbie his black card, which she immediately swiped and handed back.
“Bryce!”
“Babe, let’s just check in. You can give me your sassy lip later, but there are people in line behind us.”
Twenty minutes later, they were in the suite as Sydney stood in front of him tapping her foot as he tried his best to look confused. She was waiting impatiently for the bellhop to place their luggage in the room and for Bryce to give him a tip. Once the young bellhop left with a wide smile at the generous one-hundred-dollar bill, Sydney turned around with her arms out like a bird ready for takeoff. She faced him again, stepping into his personal space.
“This is not a suite,” she said through clenched teeth.
He smiled mischievously. “Yes, it is. Just because it doesn’t have a separate living room and a true bedroom with a door doesn’t mean it’s not a suite. This is not an average hotel, grasshopper. This is a corner suite with a view of the fountains. And it does have a separate living area. We’re standing in it. The bed is way over there.” He pointed to a bed that was on the opposite side of the room, facing one of the corner windows. “The sofa is a bed, as well, like last time.”
“In the same room.”
“An eight-hundred-square-foot room.” He glanced around it before settling his eyes back on hers. “It’s the size of my apartment in college.” He shrugged with a naughty grin as his eyes twinkled.
“You’re finding all of this funny, aren’t you?”
“I just love seeing you angry. I find it irresistibly sexy,” he answered in a tantalizing way that caused passionate waves of heat to ripple through her body and end at the one place she longed for him to be.
She walked away from him to peer out the window at the beautiful Bellagio fountains and to stop herself from attacking him. If she had to be in the same room, at least she’d have a spectacular view. While the water shooting up was lovely, she was frustrated. Sexually, that is. How could she contain herself and her feelings if he was in the same room for the next three nights without wanting to rip him apart? Well, mainly his shirt. So she could get to his powerful, strapping chest in order to run her hand down its hardness and end up at the top of his belt. The belt that she wanted to yank out of the loops and toss across the room, then unzip his pants so she could see and feel in person his throbbing erection that had rubbed in between her legs. She had craved seeing it that night but unfortunately fear had set in, which was rare for her, and she’d had to push him away. She had to get away from him so she could think clearly. However, all she could think about was being seduced by him and enjoying every minute of the ride.
The ringing of Bryce’s cell phone startled her out of her wild escapade. He sat on the couch in the sitting area and propped his feet on the table.
“Hello? Oh, hi, Mrs. Thomas. How are you?” Bryce asked in a professional yet kindhearted tone.
Sydney glanced at him over her shoulder to see a strained and concerned expression as he nodded his head.
“Oh...that’s not good. That’s not good at all.”
Placing his head on his forehead, he continued listening, rising out of his seat and striding toward the window.
“I’m out of town at the moment. However, I have my laptop so I can get started on this right away for you.” He glanced around the room and motioned to Sydney as if he were writing on his hand. Realizing he needed pen and paper, she spotted a hotel pen and notepad on the desk and handed them to him. He mouthed
“thank you” to her while listening to Mrs. Thomas and jotted down the information.
“Okay, I promise you I’ll take care of this...What?... You’re kidding, right? When have I ever sent you a bill in the past nine years?” He laughed and sat back on the couch. “Yes, your peach cobbler is the bomb! That will be perfect. When is your niece coming?...Okay, have her take you by the bank. I’m going to transfer some money into your account...No...no...It’s not up for debate. I’ll be back sometime on Tuesday night, but I promise to come over first thing Wednesday morning, and you better still have heat. Take care of that today. I’ll call your niece in a bit.”
After he said goodbye, he tossed the phone onto the couch and washed his hands down his face. Sydney stared at him as he sat silently in contemplation mode. She’d seen it before, usually in court when he needed to change his strategy.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“One of my clients is having a hard time.”
“She was arrested for something?”
“Oh...no. Even though I’m a criminal attorney, I do take on noncriminal clients, usually someone who is being wronged, and always pro bono.”
She had no idea he did things like that. He was always on the nightly news being interviewed for his criminal trials. She didn’t realize he took on pro bono cases, as well. The more and more she was around him, the more she understood that she didn’t know him on the inside. Didn’t know his heart. How could a top profiler for the GBI not see all the good in this man?
“Tell me about Mrs. Thomas.”
“Mrs. Thomas used to work on my dad’s campaign team years ago. She’s a sweet old lady with a sassy mouth...kinda like you. I was a young cat then. Fresh out of law school. Just passed the bar. Dad suggested I take on some pro bono cases to get my feet wet before working at a big-time law firm. It’s not like I needed the money, and I wasn’t ready to start my own. I spent the first year and half working with mostly senior citizens like Mrs. Thomas. Anyway, she was injured on the job and had to stop working and was placed on disability. I worked with her against her place of employment because they didn’t want to give her the correct amount that was in her contract. Needless to say, we settled. Trust me, I’m the last person you want to face in court.”
“So I’ve seen. You’re nothing to play with.” And she knew that firsthand in more ways than one.
“Thanks.” He smiled. “Anyway, I’ve helped other senior citizens throughout the years even while working for the firm. I think that’s one of the reasons they were never going to make me a senior partner. They’d suggested numerous times for me to stop taking the outside pro bono cases, but I never would. Sure, they paid my salary, but what I made in a year, my investments and trust funds were still earning more than that on the interest alone. I told them several times they could fire me, and I’d happily walk, but I was their best attorney and a Monroe.”
“I bet they regret losing you.”
“Yep. I’ve gotten a few phone calls this week about going back. Nope. Don’t think so.” He stood and strode his long legs quickly across the room and grabbed his laptop bag by the door where the bellhop had placed their items.
“So what’s wrong with Mrs. Thomas now?”
“Well, her husband died about a year ago, and she’s getting the run around about his Social Security benefits,” he stated, placing his laptop on the desk and turning it on. “She’s on a strict income and is having some problems paying her bills. Plus, she has a lot of prescriptions, which is another issue. She never had children, but she’s very close to her niece, Nancy, who I need to call in a moment. Nancy has been trying to assist, but now I need to get involved and I’m upset because she should’ve told me earlier this was happening. They always think they’re bothering me when they’re not.”
Sydney sat in the middle of the huge king-size bed, tucking her feet underneath her. She was in complete awe of the man before her.
“So that’s why you’re sending her money? To pay for her gas bill, if I’m not mistaken?”
He snapped his fingers. “Yes, thank you for the reminder,” he said, typing rapidly across the keys of his laptop. “It’s not coming from me necessarily. My family has a charity set up for this purpose to help elderly or disabled people with bills, medications and such. My mother is over it. The gas company that Mrs. Thomas uses has sent a final notice that it will be turned off today at five o’ clock. It’s going to be freezing in Atlanta tonight and those people have the audacity to turn off a sweet old lady’s heat. It pisses me off.”
He turned to look at Sydney and tilted his head to the side. “Why are you looking me like that?”
She smirked and wondered how the heck she was looking. Was it showing on her face that she wanted him even more now? “Like what? I’m just listening to you and...realizing I didn’t know you...well...that I didn’t know—”
“That I cared? That I’m actually not a spoiled rich brat from a privileged background? No...wait, I am rich with a privileged background, but it doesn’t define me. It doesn’t define my concern for others. And you thought Steven was the only one.”
“I...” She stopped. She didn’t know what to say. Did he have her figured out, as well?
“Well, look at this. Sydney Michelle Chase is speechless.” He looked around the suite, then back at her. “Have you seen my cell phone? I gotta video this.”
“No cell phone videos, especially with me sitting on the bed.”
He raised a cocky eyebrow and bit his bottom lip. “That’s the perfect place. Just joking, sort of.”
“I will throw your cell phone into that fountain down there,” she teased.
“So...you know about the cloud, right? I could’ve sent it to my email account in a flash.”
“Whatever. Anyway, back on topic.” Because the video phone conversation was making her curious to see what he would do if she invited him to join her on the bed. Instead, she got up and walked toward her suitcase by the door so she could iron her blouse for the evening and take her eyes off him. “Personally, I think the fact that you’re rich has defined you, but in a good way. Because you have the money, you’re more philanthropic.”
“Jot this down in that profiler brain of yours. ‘Bryce is actually a nice guy. I was wrong.’”
“It’s been dutifully noted,” she said, rolling her suitcase toward the bed and placing it on the bench in front of it.
“Thank you.” After shutting his laptop, he slid it into his bag and swung it over his shoulder. “Well, after looking over the forms on the website, I actually need to go down to the business center to use the printer and the fax machine. I should be back by six for the meet and greet, but if not I’ll catch up with you.”
“I can wait for you.” She couldn’t believe she said that, but for some reason she was actually saddened that he was leaving the room for a few hours and may even miss the first part of the meet and greet.
“No. Don’t do that. You came to have fun.” He slid one of the key cards off the coffee table and slipped it in his pocket. “Text me if you need to,” he said, shutting the door.
“Will do.”
* * *
Bryce made it back upstairs after handling everything for Mrs. Thomas. He’d also scheduled a meeting the following week to speak with the Social Security office about her benefits. They were giving her the runaround, but with him on her side, she didn’t have to worry.
A sweet orchid scent hit his nose as he entered the suite, and he knew it instantly. It was Syd’s perfume. She hadn’t used any on the road trip because she’d mentioned something about being enclosed in the SUV and didn’t want to awaken her sinuses. Now she’d sprayed it on before heading down to the meet and greet that he’d finally convinced her over a series of text messages to attend without him.
He stepped into the bathroom to take a quick shower
and noticed her belongings set neatly on the vanity. Makeup, curling iron, facial wash and some other toiletries women used. Syd wasn’t a girlie girl by any means but she did have a soft, tender side to her that he’d always been aware of despite her tough-girl personality. But in her field she had to be tough. However, he could sense her guard slowly coming down, and the last look she’d given him before he’d headed out was soft and delicate mixed in with the heated stare that he loved to see. It was the same look she’d given him when they’d finished their ride, and he’d pushed her against the wall to continue a different kind of invigorating adventure. Today it had appeared again, and he’d had to hold himself back from seizing her to him and releasing the pent-up desire he’d had since the day he had laid eyes on her across the courtroom five years ago.
Bryce quickly showered, threw on some jeans and a brown leather shirt and headed down to the meet and greet. He needed to see her eyes on him once more to make sure the look of promise and realization still blazed.
He scanned the huge ballroom for Syd among a sea of bikers clad in leather and jeans, tattoos and piercings. He spotted a few gentlemen he knew from different fests over the years; they approached him, and struck up a conversation. They were attorneys, as well, and he briefly told them about starting his own firm, but he wasn’t interested in the conversation. Normally, he attended the meet and greet for networking purposes, but tonight his only mission was to find Sydney. He politely nodded and sipped on a glass of Hennessy as he excused himself and walked around the room.
“Damn, she’s fine,” he heard a man say.
Bryce pivoted in the direction of the voice and wasn’t surprised to see Syd talking to another man a few feet away from the one who was ogling her. He gave the man a brusque look, and he immediately turned back around sheepishly to his circle of friends.
Bryce stared at the vision of loveliness before him. She was wearing a pair of black leather pants that insinuated her curvy hips and butt. Her hot-pink halter was tied around her neck and showcased her smooth back, which he wanted to run his hand and tongue along. Her bouncy hair moved along with her head as she laughed at whatever the guy was saying to her.