Stud

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  I styled my hair straight and put on heavy eyeliner and blue eye shadow. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized I kind of looked like my Egyptian character. I was totally going to wear this on the conference floor. Maybe I should rethink the underwear then. Tossing them in my purse, I called down to Lionel to pick me up.

  Enjoying the looks I was getting as I strolled to the front of the casino, I smiled at Lionel when he opened the door for me and then handed me into the car.

  “Now, can you tell me where we are going?” I asked.

  “Dekandanz,” he said, naming one of the newest resorts that had gone up off the strip. I took out my phone to look it up, and noticed that Billy hadn’t called to check in. No news was good news, right? Nibbling on my lip, I shot him a quick text saying that I landed all right and was settling in.

  Dekandanz was a swanky hotel that promised to fulfill all your fantasies. I raised an eyebrow. We were eating dinner there? I leaned back in my seat and enjoyed watching the comings and goings of people on the Strip. The billboards were alive with flashing lights and videos. I pushed the button on the window so I could hear the street vendors play while we waited at a stoplight. Then zoomed it back up when the heat became stifling. It was almost ninety degrees and the sun was just going down. It was hard to remember that Las Vegas was a desert, but the wind and the weather reminded you. Off the Strip, the view wasn’t as enticing. I thumbed through Dekandanz’s web page and saw there were private swimming pools and a members-only dance club. The three restaurants on the property looked amazing. In one of the pictures, there was a pyramid of sushi rolls that made my stomach growl, and in another was a barbecue pit and I could almost smell the sweet tang of the sauce.

  And opposite me at the table would be Mick. I wondered if he would dress up too or if he just wanted to make me happy with the cosplay outfit. It was easier than I remembered having a boyfriend. It helped that Mick was as busy as I was during the day and that not only did he not resent the time I spent with Billy, he understood and tried to make things easier.

  Billy still hadn’t warmed up to him because, he said, “He just throws money at problems and hopes they go away.”

  Which I thought was unfair, especially since he had a catered dinner sent over so we didn’t have to eat burgers for another night in a row. I think deep down Billy thinks I’m a gold digger.

  I touched the bracelet on my wrist and admired how the gold flashed in the sunlight. It wasn’t like that. Mick knew that and I knew that. So that was all that mattered. Still, I wished Billy could be happy for me. He had been thrilled that I had access to the pre-beta and beta versions, so that had sweetened his temper a bit. I hated using the office laptop for everything. Mostly because I knew it wasn’t mine and I had to be careful what to download on it. But I didn’t feel right about spending the money on a three-thousand-dollar gaming rig for Billy. At least not until I had a few more months into this job.

  Lionel pulled the car up to the resort. It looked a bit ominous from the outside, all sleek black marble with gold accents. I waited for Lionel to open my door and help me out so I didn’t flash my hoo-hah to anyone who was looking.

  When he paused outside the car door and froze, I wondered if I was violating some type of unspoken rule. Was I supposed to open the door? I saw a woman walk up next to the car, and peering through the window I recognized Mick’s mother. She was dressed in gold lamé pants and a sequined halter. I didn’t think she was wearing any underwear either because of how tight those clothes were.

  “Open the damn door,” she snarled and Lionel fumbled to do her bidding.

  With one hand on the hem of my dress, I got out of the car as carefully as I could.

  “Who are you?” she sneered.

  Part of me wanted to say, “one of your son’s whores,” to be a smart-ass, but the words tasted wrong in my mouth. I fiddled with my bracelet and said, “I’m Terri. You must be Mick and Simon’s mother. Pleased to meet you.”

  She squinted at me. “Which one are you fucking?”

  Lionel cleared his throat.

  Apparently the whore comment was just assumed. The high road was that way, straight through the hotel doors. And yet I couldn’t seem to let it go. “What were you going to use the six million dollars you stole from your sons for?” And because I was behaving myself, I didn’t add Botox? to the end of that sentence.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” she gasped.

  “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  Tapping her chin, she cocked her head to the side. “You’re Mick’s girl. Simon married his bitch. I guess my sons like loudmouthed women.”

  There was an Oedipus joke in there, but I wasn’t going to go there.

  “I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve been trying to reach my son all day, but he’s avoiding me. I want you to give him a message for me.”

  “No.” I shook my head and walked away.

  She chased after me, stumbling a bit on her stiletto heels. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m not listening to your poisonous shit. And I’m sure as hell not going to pass it along to Mick. Bye, Bette.” I waved at her and ducked into the revolving doors at the last minute so she had to wait a full rotation to follow me.

  I heard her banging on the door as I ducked into a row of slot machines and zigzagged through the casino tables so following me would be nearly impossible. The casino was dark, but the amber lights recessed in the walls made it easy to navigate. I sat at an Alice in Wonderland slot machine and put in ten dollars. By the time I was out of credits, I was in the clear.

  I texted Mick.

  I’m here. I dodged your mother. She wanted me to give you a message, but I didn’t want to hear her bullshit.

  That’s my girl.

  Where are we eating dinner?

  Suite 508. The elevator passcode is your birthday.

  How did he know…? Oh, right, the HR paperwork I had to fill out. Very sneaky, Mick. After asking a few casino employees, I finally got to the right bank of elevators and punched in the correct code to get it moving up.

  The elevator doors opened into Egypt. As in no shit, there was sand on the floor and fig and date trees along the walls. I stepped out of the elevator before the doors closed on me and whirled around. How big was this place? It had to be a whole floor. I was almost expecting a camel. As I walked in, I saw the murals on the wall depicting a great Egyptian city. A movement caught my eye and Mick was there, dressed as a Roman gladiator. He held out a goblet of wine to me.

  “Welcome, Kitten,” he said.

  “Hiya, Handsome.” I took the wine from him and placed it on the table. “I can’t believe you did all of this for me. You look amazing.”

  “We look like Antony and Cleopatra. It was the best they could do on short notice.”

  “I love it.”

  I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. We had made a pact not to fool around in the office and that had been more difficult than it should have been. Mostly because we had a hard time keeping our hands to ourselves. Often a meeting behind closed doors was an invitation to play grab ass. We wound up leaving the office door open at all times to keep us honest. This entire week, though, he had been in Vegas working GameCon and meeting with the Lemmingware executives. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him and our Friday night geek fests until this very moment. While we vowed to behave during the workweek, the weekends were ours. And this was officially the weekend.

  “I missed you,” he groaned. “I miss how you taste.”

  My stomach took that moment to growl, and we both laughed.

  “Come on, Kitten. I’ve got a meal prepared for us.”

  On a low table, surrounded by throw pillows—well away from the sand—were bowls of grapes and olives, three different types of hummus, and crusty and soft bread to dip in it. Kabobs of meat and chicken were piled on brightly hand-painted pottery platters. We ate the meat with our fingers, wiping away the grease with
thick napkins. As for dessert, I was almost too full to eat. But the Turkish coffee and flaky honeyed baklava convinced me. The meal was far from authentic, but it was close enough, and so darned tasty. All that mattered to me, though, was that I was with Mick. And even though we would have two hard days of working the conference together, it felt like a vacation.

  “Do you mind if I get out of this armor? It’s beginning to pinch,” he said.

  “Take it all off, baby.”

  I shamelessly watched him do a striptease, admiring his taut abs and the curved muscles on his legs. Crawling to him on my hands and knees, I took his cock in my hand and admired it. Its thickness expanded to full attention while I was looking at it. I gave him a few long licks before I took all of him in my mouth. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed his long, satisfied moan.

  “Fuck, Terri.” Mick’s fingers tangled in my hair. The circlet went flying, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to be as crazy for me as I was for him because I was pretty sure I was in love with the prick and if he didn’t feel the same, I was going to make sure he at least fucking remembered me and this.

  His hips twitched against me and I knew he wanted to fuck my face. I grabbed on to his hips and took his cock deeper into my mouth, signaling with my eyes that it was okay. The sexy groan he gave as he tightened his hold on the back of my head drove me crazy. Moving his hips in a slow rhythm, Mick pushed deep down my throat. He was moving too fast for me to latch on and suck, but I was trying. He grunted and groaned. The dirty curse words flying out of his mouth just made me more desperate to make him come. My tongue swiped along the sides of his thrusting cock. Finally, he held still deep enough that I almost gagged, but I moved so it was more comfortable for me and I could suck hard on him. He let me lavish attention up and down his shaft.

  “I’m going to come,” he warned.

  Grinning, I tortured his tip with tiny licks and long sucks. He shoved himself full and exploded down my throat. His eyes were still crazy when he picked me up like I weighed nothing. The next room was just a circular bed with soft blankets. I landed on them with a thud. On the wall was a painted mural so lifelike I could almost imagine I was in Egypt looking out at the pyramids. Mick made short work of my wrap dress and now it was my turn to hold his head in place. I was so worked up, I came as soon as his tongue licked me a few times. Luckily, Mick knew that wasn’t enough for me and he dug in, kissing my pussy like it was my mouth. All tongue and teeth and playful tugs and I was breathless, boneless. I needed him so badly that it was becoming an addiction. I craved the rasp of his beard on my stomach and thighs. I dreamed about his kisses and I fantasized about his cock inside me. Now I was fucking his face, grinding against him, using him to come. I shook apart as he let me and I realized I was making the same grunting noises that he had been making.

  “I needed that,” he groaned, kissing up my stomach. Pausing to tongue my belly button ring. It never failed to curl my toes. “Missed these too.” Mick buried his face between my breasts, sucking and groping them.

  Opening my legs, I felt his cock settle against me. He was hard again and I couldn’t control my moan of pleasure. He was teasing me with the tip while he was playing with my tits.

  “More,” I demanded, thrusting my hips up.

  “Mmm,” he moaned, ignoring me while he worshipped my chest.

  “That feels so damned good,” I told him and I spread my legs wider, hoping he’d slip inside me.

  “You want this?” He dipped in.

  My entire body locked in pleasure. “Yes.”

  And then he slid all the way out.

  “No,” I cried in outrage, reaching for him to pull him back. The bastard had the nerve to chuckle. “Don’t worry, Terri, I’m going to fuck you all night long.”

  Shivering, I hooked my leg around his hip. “Start now,” I ordered.

  “I need to put a condom on first.”

  I didn’t want him to leave me, but I also didn’t want to end up like Janet. So I waited as he rolled on a condom. It took an eternity. I closed my eyes.

  He slammed into me so quickly, I gasped.

  “Like that?” he asked, innocently.

  “Just like that. Only faster and harder.”

  He obliged. Oh, fucking hell, did he oblige. There was nothing to hold on to so I just gripped the sheets. He bent me in half so my ankles were around my ears. Pistoning in and out of me, Mick shouted in pleasure.

  Playing with my clit, he rubbed me fast and I knew he wanted me to come before he did. I tried to fight it, but the combination of his thumb on my sensitive bud and the hard pounding of his cock threw me over the edge. He released my legs to take off the condom and I let them sag to the bed.

  Mick gathered me close and we kissed until he was hard again. This time I put the condom on him. Straddling him, I rode his cock at my pace. His eyes were half closed as he watched me. Every now and then his hand on my hip would tighten as he thrust up, but for the most part he let me bounce and grind until I was gasping for breath.

  “Mick,” I stuttered, moaning as I felt my orgasm build. He pulled me to him and kissed me while I squirmed, chasing my orgasm. Letting me up, he tugged on my nipples and I found my rhythm again. I came, grunting in satisfaction. “Fuck, that’s what I’ve been waiting for all week.”

  Chapter 21

  Mick

  I was dreaming that Terri and I were Egyptian pharaohs and a band had come to entertain us. They were singing “Highway to Hell” and I couldn’t figure out what AC/DC was doing in ancient Egypt. But then Terri flew out of bed and I was wide awake staring at the ceiling trying to get my bearings.

  Terri came back into the room naked. Her gorgeous body made my cock hard. That belly button ring really did it for me. Then I realized she wasn’t speaking. Her face was ashen and her knees were about to give out. Launching myself at her, I caught her just as she tumbled to the floor.

  “Hello?” I heard Elaine’s voice through the phone.

  Terri was shaking uncontrollably. Fumbling for the phone, I brought it up to my ear. I wrapped my arms and legs around her so she couldn’t go anywhere. She held me just as tight.

  “Elaine,” I said. “What’s going on?”

  “Mick? I’m so glad you’re there with her. Billy’s in a coma. I came in to check on him this morning and he was unresponsive. They took him to Montefiore. The doctors are running tests now.”

  “Okay,” I said. “We’ll be on the first flight back.”

  Terri was shaking her head, but I ignored her.

  “Can you stay with him until we get there?”

  “Of course, Mick. It doesn’t look good.”

  Fuck.

  “Thanks, Elaine.”

  I hung up. “All right, let’s get in the shower and get dressed. I’ll have Lionel take us to the airport. I’ll make arrangements in the car.”

  “No,” she said, wiggling to get free.

  I let her go and helped her to her feet.

  “No what?” I asked.

  “You can’t leave Lemmingware right now. I have to go back. But you have to stay.”

  “Terri, I love you. I’m not letting you deal with this on your own. You’ve got me now.”

  Her head whipped up, her eyes filling with tears. “What did you say?”

  I rubbed my thumb over her cheek. “I’m not letting you deal with this on your own.”

  She punched me in the gut.

  “Ow, what the hell was that for?”

  “Not that part, you idiot. The first part.”

  I blinked at her and replayed what I said back in my head. “Oh. I love you.”

  “You couldn’t have said that last night?”

  “I’m saying it now.” I pushed her into the bathroom. “Take a long, hot shower. By the time you come out, I’ll have this taken care of.”

  “Oh, Mick,” she said, hugging me. “I don’t think you can fix this. What if it’s too late? What if I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye?” Terri broke down into huge, gulping
tears.

  I carried her back to the bed and lay down with her. Wrapping myself around her, I let her cry while I spoke soothingly to her. “We don’t know that. All we know is he’s in a coma. The doctors are running tests. We’ll know more this afternoon and by then we’ll be there. You can’t stop believing now. He’s a tough guy. He’s a fighter.”

  She hiccupped. “He has a DNR. They’re going to take him off the respirator.” She struggled. “I can’t let that happen.”

  I let her go again. “That’s the last resort. They’re not going to do that in the next few hours.” I pulled her to her feet. “Shower. I’ll take care of everything. Trust me.”

  I ran the shower for her until it was steaming hot, just like she liked it, and helped her in. “Say it again,” she said.

  “I’ll take care of everything.”

  “Don’t make me punch you again,” she said, between her teeth.

  “I love you.” I kissed her. “Now it’s your turn.”

  “You’ll take care of everything.”

  I dunked her head under the shower spray. She came up with a watery laugh. “I love you too, you prick.”

  “Warms my heart,” I said and left her to her privacy. Fucking hell. I called Lionel and told him to pack her stuff up and bring it over ASAP. I called the airlines and didn’t make any headway, so I called in a favor. We would take my friend Rory’s jet back to Manhattan. It was currently at LAX, but by the time we were ready to go it would be fueled up at McCarran waiting for us.

  I ordered up room service breakfast and a pot of coffee and wondered what the fuck time it was. Squinting at the digital clock, I saw that it was seven a.m. We were three hours behind New York. What the hell had Elaine been doing over at Billy’s house at ten a.m.? She usually couldn’t be pried out of the Beanery until after the lunch rush. Maybe she was off today. Or maybe she never left from the night before. Billy, you dog, you.

  Rubbing my face, I hoped Elaine hadn’t given him a heart attack. I decided to keep this to myself. Terri might put it together later, but right now the when wasn’t as important as the what.