Notorious

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “You were afraid I’d be jealous because your room’s cooler than mine, weren’t you?”

  “Well…” It was as good an excuse as any.

  “Don’t worry about it. And I appreciate the offer to switch, but I don’t want to do that. Jenny told me she loves the idea of a hot tub in the bedroom, so we can go in it naked and fool around. I already have that picture in my mind and I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “I’ll bet.” And thanks to Brandon, Noah had a picture in his mind of fooling around with Keely in the hot tub.

  “The thing is, I don’t think she’d feel the same way about a hot tub on a terrace. She’s kinda timid about things like that, getting naked outside and all.”

  Keely wasn’t the least bit timid, Noah thought. She’d be willing to make love on that balcony. Now, if only he could forget that for the next three days, he’d be all set. But he didn’t suppose he would, short of getting amnesia.

  “Besides,” Brandon said, “you earned this room, with all you went through. Are you gonna buy new clothes here, or do you want to borrow some things from us? I’m close to your size, and so’s Clint.”

  “I hate shopping for clothes.”

  “Then just take the money and wait until you get home. We’ll bring some things up when we come. Now, how do we get there?”

  “I’m not sure. You can ride the elevator, but then you need a room key to get the door to open. I—oh, wait a minute. Maybe I do know how to do this.” He glanced down at the remote and found a button marked Elevator. “Take the executive elevator. When you get to the top, I can open the doors from here. Go on into the hall, and it’s the first set of double doors to your left.”

  “This is unbelievable. You’re probably in the same damn room Garth Brooks stayed in when he played the Tahitian last month.”

  “I don’t know about that.” But Noah had no trouble imagining celebrities in this room. No trouble at all. And he wondered where a celebrity would stash his secret sweetie, if he had one.

  “Okay, we’ll be up there in a few minutes, after we grab some clothes for you.”

  “Great. Bye.” Noah hung up the phone and headed quickly toward the bedroom. “Keely? Keely, the guys are coming up here. We need to figure out what to do.”

  She wasn’t in the bedroom, but her dress and underwear were. She’d tossed them across the end of the white bed like pale blue warning flags.

  He screeched to a stop. “Keely?”

  “In here. I felt like taking a bath.”

  “Oh.” He looked warily toward the bathroom. A heavenly scent drifted toward him, and he heard the sound of soft splashing, although he couldn’t see what was going on, thank goodness. But he could imagine her lolling around in a bubble bath, with foam only partially concealing her golden skin, and her breasts bobbing on the surface of the water. Maybe imagination was more seductive than actually seeing her in the tub, but he wasn’t going to take the chance on looking at the real thing.

  “So your friends are coming up to the suite?”

  “Yeah.” He tried not to sound as panicked as he felt. “In just a few minutes.”

  “No problem.” She splashed around some more and water gurgled, as if going down the drain. “I’ll hide in the closet.”

  “Naked?” He didn’t know why it mattered, but the thought of her hiding naked in the closet was ten times more anxiety-producing than if she put on clothes first.

  She laughed and appeared in the doorway wearing a large white towel, her hair caught up in a loose topknot. “Naked in the closet. Now, that creates a real mental picture, doesn’t it?”

  He gulped. She’d wrapped the towel around her and tucked the end between her breasts. One flick of a wrist, either his or hers, and it would fall at her feet.

  “There are two robes in that closet,” she said. “I checked.”

  “I’ll get one for you!” He nearly tripped in his eagerness to get to the closet. Of course the sliding door was mirrored, and the bed was perfectly reflected in it. Of course.

  He pulled the terry-cloth robe from its hanger, rattling all the hangers on the rod in his haste to get her covered up. Then he turned.

  “Thank you,” she said, and let the towel drop.

  Sweet Lord in heaven. He clutched the bathrobe and tried to remember how to breathe. No wonder people had been willing to pay for a glimpse of such beauty. Women with a body like hers had toppled empires, so maybe he’d be forgiven if he couldn’t stop looking at her.

  The fantasy atmosphere in the room must be getting to him. As he gazed at her, he started zoning out on weird thoughts of Keely making love to the sun, allowing it to kiss her skin until her body was golden and dusted with freckles. He thought of her lying under the sun being licked by tongues of flame until she was wet and eager.

  She would be easy to arouse. He knew that from her response earlier this afternoon, and from the rapid, shallow way she was breathing now. Her nipples darkened and puckered, inviting him to linger in appreciation of her full breasts. Not long ago he’d touched, but he hadn’t tasted.

  Now he could. Now he could kneel before her and kiss the soft skin of her belly. He could explore lower, parting her auburn curls with his tongue until he reached…heaven. And then he could hear her cry of release, a sound he’d only imagined in his dreams. Then he would seek his own release from the hard, grinding pressure building relentlessly within him.

  “The robe?” she asked softly.

  He glanced at the robe, then back at her. If he didn’t activate the elevator doors, his friends wouldn’t be able to get onto this floor. He and Keely could be totally, completely alone for as long as they wanted to be, for as long as it took for him to satisfy this unbearable craving. His mouth grew moist as the possibilities beckoned to him.

  “Now’s not the time,” Keely said, her voice gentle.

  His voice rasped in his throat. “Why not?”

  “You need to get fitted for your tux in a few minutes. I was only giving you a sneak preview.” She reached over and took the robe from him. “We have all weekend, Noah.”

  While he watched, his body trembling with the urge to have her, she slid her arms into the sleeves of the bathrobe. The motion jiggled her breasts and he groaned. The robe gaped open a moment as she adjusted the collar, and her hour-glass figure was perfectly framed by the white terry lapels. That view was even more erotic than when she’d worn nothing at all.

  Then she overlapped the lapels and tied the belt, eliminating his view. But like a bolt of lightning, the image of her perfect body was burned into his retina.

  6

  AFTER NOAH LEFT the room looking shell-shocked, Keely gathered up her clothes, purse and the drugstore bag before stepping into the closet. Sitting on the floor, she slid the door shut, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. A smile tugged at her mouth. What a great moment that had been.

  She hadn’t planned to drop the towel, but it had started to slip as he’d turned to grab a robe from the closet. Rather than fumbling with her towel like a self-conscious virgin, she’d let it go.

  Impulse had turned out to be more effective than inspiration. Although she wasn’t about to let him ignore his wedding duties, she wouldn’t mind having him think about her in the process. He would certainly think about her now.

  Taking a bath had also been an impulse, but once she’d seen that huge tub, she’d looked at her somewhat grimy knees and decided to indulge in a quick soak while Noah dealt with his phone call. Yes, all in all her impulses were leading her in the right direction.

  Rummaging through the drugstore bag, she took out her raspberry lotion, released the plunger and filled her palm with some creamy lotion. No reason to waste the time she was trapped in here.

  Excited male voices filtered into her little hideaway. Noah’s friends had arrived and were obviously impressed with the setup. She listened to them rave while she smoothed lotion over her legs. God, she loved this scent, and it seemed to be amplified by her confined
quarters.

  “We should have the bachelor party here, guys!” one of Noah’s friends said. “I feel an orgy coming on.”

  “You always feel an orgy coming on,” said another. “But it won’t work, Clint, old buddy.”

  “Why not? It’s perfect. It’s decadent. It’s—”

  “And what about the entertainment, Einstein?”

  Keely figured their idea of “entertainment” involved women wearing next to nothing and dancing around wildy for their benefit. She pumped another helping of lotion into her cupped hand.

  “We could import the entertainment, couldn’t we?” said the guy who was apparently named Clint. “This is Vegas! Girls, girls, girls!”

  Then the conversation became a jumble of suggestions and countersuggestions. Keely pulled a foot into her lap and rubbed lotion into her sole and between her toes. She loved wearing sandals in the summer, but she had to keep massaging lotion into her feet every day to keep them smooth, plus she indulged in regular pedicures. She could just imagine what her ranch-foreman father would think of that extravagance.

  While she applied lotion, she tried to guess how many men were out there besides Noah. She finally identified three. One was Brandon, the groom. Then there was Clint, who seemed to be the idea man, and a third person named Greg, who sounded like the joker of the group.

  “I don’t care if you want to use the place,” Noah said at last, “but personally, I think it’ll be a lot of extra trouble to bring in the entertainment.”

  Keely wondered what he’d do if she popped out of the closet and offered to take care of that for the boys. Have a heart attack, most likely. It was a fun concept, though. Noah was such a sitting duck for stunts like that. She’d have to be careful not to overdo it just because it was so easy to shock the pants off of him—literally. She rubbed lotion on her other foot.

  “Noah’s right,” said Brandon from the living room. He seemed to be the organizer. “Maybe we can just come back here to hang out afterward and drink ourselves silly.”

  Now, that could put a real crimp in her plans. She wondered if Noah would come up with something to kill that idea. After all, she had just given him a dramatic glimpse of what he could look forward to once they were alone tonight.

  “That would be okay, I guess,” Noah said.

  Keely grimaced. He must be having another attack of conscience and wanted some built-in safeguards to keep him from acting on his urges. Corrupting Noah wasn’t going to be quite as easy as she’d first thought.

  She untied the robe and slipped her arms out of the sleeves so she could put lotion on her upper body. As she smoothed it over her breasts she thought of Noah’s calloused hands caressing her. She was looking forward to a repeat of that experience.

  “Then let’s plan on coming back here,” Brandon said. “We’ll start the evening at that topless bar we picked out and then head back to the hotel. Oh, and these are the clothes Clint and I came up with for you, Noah. Two pairs of jeans and three shirts.”

  “You’re sure you guys don’t need them?” Noah asked.

  Keely cupped her breasts and closed her eyes. She wanted to hear that voice of his murmuring in her ear. Soon. She’d figure out how to get rid of his friends tonight.

  “I always pack too many clothes,” Clint said. “Besides, Sharon and me are gonna be enjoying that saltwater beach. I bought some bathing trunks, and—”

  “Trunks, my ass!” Greg chortled. “You bought yourself a Speedo, boy. You are into the Vegas lifestyle, big time!”

  Clint laughed. “Why not? Hell, I can wear those cowboy duds anytime. This weekend I’m gonna be a beach bum.”

  Keely wouldn’t mind seeing Noah in a bathing suit, come to think of it. She might have to include a shopping trip in her evening plans.

  “And you make a great beach bum, old buddy,” Brandon said. “Listen, we need to get down to the tux-rental place.”

  “I have to hand it to you, Brandon, for staging this shindig in a Vegas hotel,” Clint said. “Tux rental, bridal shop, florist, chapel and reception hall, everything together in one building. When Sharon and I got married we ran all over the damn place.”

  “I remember,” Brandon said. “I ran all over the damn place with you, and Greg and Tina’s wedding was no better.”

  “Tell me about it,” Greg said.

  “Okay, guys. We gotta jet,” Brandon said again, sounding a little more impatient.

  “Can’t we see the bedroom and bathroom first?” Greg asked.

  “If we make it quick.” Brandon said. Footsteps sounded over the bamboo footbridge. “I’d love to know what this room goes for per night.”

  The closet was getting a little warm, Keely thought. Or maybe she was heating up the space with her lusty thoughts about Noah in a bathing suit.

  “They don’t charge for these kinds of rooms,” Greg said, the sound of his voice coming closer. “The guys who stay here are the ones who fly in by private jet and drop thousands at the tables. Something you clowns can only dream about.”

  “Excuse me?” Clint said. “I did pretty good in the casino last night.”

  “Oh, you were awesome,” Greg said. “That bucket of nickels sure impressed Tina and me. Any minute now they’ll roll out the red carpet for a big spender like you.”

  “At least I had a bucket of nickels, while a certain cowboy I could mention had a whole lot of nothing in his bucket,” Clint said.

  Keely decided against putting the robe back on for fear she’d start sweating. She leaned her bare back against the wall, which was smooth and cool. Ah, that was better.

  “Wow, will you look at this bedroom?” Brandon said. “It even smells good in here. Like raspberries.”

  She smothered a giggle.

  “And the crime of it all is that Noah is staying solo in this layout,” Greg said. “Hey, Noah, maybe you should look around tonight and see if there’s anybody worth bringing back for the weekend.”

  Sitting up straighter, she listened for his response.

  “I don’t think so,” Noah said.

  She relaxed back against the wall.

  “What do you mean, you don’t think so?” Clint said. “This is Vegas, cowboy. Vegas girls. You’re the only one of us who’s free to sample. We were counting on you to perform for the group so we can get some secondhand thrills.”

  “I guess you’ll have to get your thrills someplace else,” Noah said. “I’m not in the mood.”

  Liar, liar, pants on fire, Keely chanted softly to herself.

  “How can you not be in the mood?” Greg said. “This place cries out for a hot interlude with a temporary babe.”

  “Yeah,” Clint added, “and you didn’t exactly avoid that kind of experience when you were on the rodeo circuit.”

  Keely blinked. Noah had hot interludes on the rodeo circuit? That didn’t fit her picture of him at all. Although the idea of him getting it on with another woman made her pea green with jealousy, she was dying to know the details.

  “Yeah, I remember a certain lady in Cheyenne,” Brandon said. “You two were holed up in that motel room for forty-eight hours at least. And there was that little gal in San Antone, the barrel racer. And then at the Pendleton Roundup, you—”

  “Never mind,” Noah said, sounding very tense. “No point in dredging up ancient history.”

  “Well, damn.” Greg sighed. “Obviously our buddy Noah is over the hill.”

  “I am not! I just—”

  “The facts speak for themselves,” Greg continued. “We need a moment of silence, boys, for the late, great Noah Garfield. The guy’s in Vegas and he can’t get it up.”

  “Maybe he’s not dead yet,” Brandon said. “Maybe staying in this passion pit will inspire him to regain his former glory.”

  “God, you would think so, wouldn’t you?” Greg agreed. “Look at that bed. It’s criminal to sleep alone in that bed. And right across from that great bed, you’ve got mirrors on the closet doors.” He sighed again. “I had mirror sex
once. It was great.”

  “You had sex with a mirror? Are we talking self-gratification for the Gregster?” Clint asked, laughing.

  “No, I had sex with a woman in front of a mirror, lamebrain. And no, it wasn’t with Tina, so I’d appreciate keeping this discussion between us.”

  “Always is,” Brandon said. “Listen, y’all take your bathroom tour and then we’re outta here. Time’s getting short.”

  “Wow.” Clint’s voice echoed slightly in the tiled bathroom. “That tub’s big enough for six Playboy bunnies. And look at this! Suds in the tub! Noah, did you just take a bubble bath?”

  Keely clapped a hand over her mouth. She’d forgotten that somebody might notice that.

  “A bubble bath?” Greg said. “Noah Garfield? This I gotta see. Oh my God. Looks like somebody took a bubble bath. Come to think of it, there was a towel on the bedroom floor. So the evidence mounts that a bubble bath was indeed taken. And the occupants of this suite are Noah Garfield, and…well, nobody, so the incriminating finger points to you, old buddy.”

  “Gotta be Noah,” Brandon said, laughing. “No wonder you didn’t want us up here, bro. Did you hide your rubber ducky? I don’t see it anywhere.”

  The laughter grew louder and the comments more crude.

  Finally Noah’s voice rose above the hubbub. “You morons should try a good soak in the tub once in a while,” he said. “Clears the mind.”

  “It wrinkles your privates, is what it does!” Greg said. “Maybe that’s your problem, son. Too many bubble baths. Only good time to take a bath is when you have somebody in there with you. I can’t see the advantage in sitting there by yourself. Well, unless you’re into that.” More laughter followed.

  “This has been most edifying,” Brandon said, “but we really have to leave. Want me to put these clothes in your closet, bro?”

  Keely froze. Then she fumbled around frantically as she tried to put her arms in the sleeves of her robe without making any noise. She couldn’t seem to find the armholes.