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Jared rolled onto his back, struggling to catch his breath. Mikki lay close enough the heat of her skin brushed his, teasing his thoughts with possibilities and memories. Condom disposed of, he pushed onto his side, propped himself up on one elbow, and rested his hand on her stomach. “You were right. Just this once, being impulsive was worth it.”
A gentle smile played on her lips—he liked that look. It was natural and carefree. If he wasn’t careful, he could start to miss it when it wasn’t around. She scooted closer until her side pressed against his chest. “Just this once, huh? Last night was a disappointment after all?”
He traced light lines along her skin, memorizing each silken dip and curve. “Okay, maybe it paid off twice.” He made sure teasing was evident in his tone.
She tilted her head up long enough to kiss him before dropping back again. “I hope all this nasty impulsiveness didn’t take you away from anything important.”
Christ, after feeling that steel ball roll along the head of his cock, he wondered what they could get up to that actually fit the word “nasty.” Just the thought of it was enough to make his pulse race. “I’d say I got quite a bit more out of the evening than I hoped to. Besides, I’m not the only one who snuck out early.”
She studied him for a moment, amusement still dancing on her lips. “But you had a plan, didn’t you?”
He was still trying to figure out how she thought, but he was getting a better idea. It seemed to fall along the lines of the more random, the better. “And you didn’t?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Believe it or not, I had a destination in mind. But I suspect this was better.”
“You just suspect?” Pride bristled to the forefront of his thoughts, prodding him to remove any of her doubt. He glided his hand up her stomach and along her ribcage between her breasts. “What can I do to make it certain?”
She laughed and intertwined her fingers with his. “It’s not that. You were incredible. This is incredible. I can’t believe...” She jolted upright, taking his hand with her. “Anyway. There’s still time. You should go with me.”
Uh... “Where?” He couldn’t peel his gaze from her as she tugged on her bra, and then pulled her top on. She fastened buttons starting from the bottom. Watching her hide her curves was almost as seductive revealing them. She left the top few buttons open, just enough to tease.
She gave her panties a sad glance before shaking her head and shoving them into a side pocket on her purse. She finished dressing and dropped back onto the edge of the bed. “Outside.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I can see how you might not want to get tied down by details.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’ve never seen the strip before. I’m going to see the casinos, be a tourist, everything fun and non-professional that Hayden would lecture me for hours on end if he knew I was doing on his time.”
Jared was pretty sure they could check one thing off that list already. “The strip. Like The Thunder from Down Under?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Should I ask why you know that?”
He smiled at the lilt in her voice. “It’s nothing scandalous. Viv has been talking about it.”
“Mmm.” She sank back into him and rested her cheek against his. “So I’m not keeping you from checking out the male strippers yourself?”
The quiet banter was pleasant, lulling him into a comfortable spot he didn’t mentally get to rest in very often. “Nah. I don’t want those poor men feeling inadequate.”
“Too bad. I think you’d look good up there with them.”
He nipped her earlobe with his teeth. “I don’t need to advertise. I win people over with my personality.”
“You’re so arrogant.” Her entire body went limp, her weight pressing into him. “But I still buy it. That’s how you suckered me.”
Her familiar scent filled his head as he nuzzled her neck. He couldn’t help the serious tone creeping into his voice. “If I thought for a moment you were easily suckered, I wouldn’t be interested.”
“So brains really are sexy?”
He dipped under the bottom of her shirt, palm resting flat on her stomach. “Your brains are sexy, just like the rest of you. I just want to know how to keep seeing more.”
Great, now he was taking a light-hearted conversation and turning it intense in just a few swapped words. He wasn’t even sure what he meant. More after the show? No, that wasn’t possible. More of the fascinating mind behind this sexy creature? That was certainly alluring. And just more of her in general. He scrambled to slide things back to neutral territory. “So you’re really ducking out on me to hit up the card tables?”
“I was really hoping you’d go with me.”
He needed to tell her no. If he was going to have another sleepless night, it should be spent catching up on work, making sure all his ducks were in a row everywhere, not meandering through Las Vegas, gawking at the sights. He had plans to implement and a promotion to secure. Part of him roared in protest even as he forced the words out. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Her back stiffened, and she pulled away. He beat back his disappointment. It wasn’t like he could keep her wrapped up in his arms all night. He needed to get dressed. To move past this infatuation.
The smile she gave him didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re sure? I might get in trouble wandering the streets alone.”
He swallowed hard but couldn’t choke back his regret. He grabbed his own clothes. “I’m sure. Is it a mistake to ask if you have a starting destination in mind?” Why was he still making small talk?
Her brows furrowed, and her mouth twisted in a frown. “A mistake? No.” She stepped back when he reached for her hands. “Presumptuous? Yes. Probably Circus Circus.”
He shoved his hand in his pocket to hide the fingers that wouldn’t stop twitching, and to keep them from tugging her back to him. “Sounds like fun. Enjoy yourself.”
*
MIKKI WALKED STRAIGHT past the line of cabs. Her insides were twisted in sick knots, and she didn’t even know why. Sure, the brush-off had stung a little. But it wasn’t like she and Jared could just abandon the rest of the world because they’d had a little fun together. She had her life, he had his, and she needed to let him get back to important things.
A lump swelled in her chest at her own implication that she wasn’t important to him. But why would she be? They didn’t know anything about each other.
She stepped out of the flow of foot traffic, leaned her back against the concrete of the building, and tried to bring her racing thoughts under control. Maybe playing fast and loose was catching up to her. Was it possible living for the moment had its drawbacks? No, she refused to believe that. She’d learned to step out of her shell, she’d taught herself lust was lust and shouldn’t bleed into the rest of life, and she could force herself to remember Jared Tippins was just a fling.
Several minutes and breaths later, she had managed to smooth the wrinkles in her thoughts. It wasn’t a big deal. She inhaled a few more breaths of exhaust and heat-laden air and pushed away from the wall. At least she’d gotten out for the night. She could still see the sights.
Going out alone was something she’d learned so long ago; it was a part of her. Growing up around people who didn’t share her interests had taught her early on that if she wanted to have fun, she had to be willing to leave everyone else to their own devices.
Circus Circus still sounded like a good starting spot. The thought tugged some positivity back to the surface. Her step lightened as she headed toward the bright lights and garish carousel top. She stepped through a side door indicating it led to the casino and stopped as joy rushed inside her. It wasn’t the same as Cesar’s. There was something brighter about it. Less...adult.
She smiled and picked her way across the floor. The slot machines were vibrant and eye-catching—cartoon characters, gems, some digital and some mechanical, spinning in relentless circles. But if she wanted to play video games, she had her phone.
She came to a stop at the edge of the pit of card tables. Her hands twitched at her sides. That could be fun.
“You don’t strike me as a poker person.” Jared’s smooth voice flowed over her skin.
Her heart kicked against her ribs, both from being startled and the sudden sensation of him standing so close. His warmth caressed her back, and the intoxicating scent of his cologne made her light-headed. Her smile grew, and she faced him. “Are you following me?”
“If I say yes, does that make things better or worse?”
Good question. The heat and excitement rushing through her hoped the answer was yes. But since she’d just told herself they needed to tone things back less than ten minutes ago, not to mention the less-than-sweet brush-off in his hotel room, she needed to ignore her rampant hormones. Then again, they were surrounded by people. That would make it difficult to get into too much trouble. Probably. “If you say no, you have to convince me it’s a coincidence you’re here.”
“Not quite a coincidence.” His eyes never left hers, as if he was searching for something. “It turns out I can’t do my work until I have someone on site in the morning, so I thought I’d take a walk. I was hoping you wouldn’t be too hard to find. I’m sorry I blew you off.”
She wanted to push the apology, and the events leading up to it, aside. Act like it was no big deal he’d sought her out. But the rhythm of her pulse tearing through her veins wouldn’t let her ignore how happy she was to see him. “I’m glad you changed your mind.” There, that sounded casual, right? If so, it defied every giddy bubble flitting through her.
He gifted her with one of those rare, genuine smiles she hadn’t seen him use anywhere else. “Me too.”
Silence sank between them, filled with the clatter of bells and chimes in the background. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. If she stayed here, she was going to do things she shouldn’t. Flirt, be impulsive, hope for another sleepless night. She didn’t know what bothered her more—that he might think less of her for being so flighty, or that she cared. Maybe she should see the town another night.
He locked his gaze on her, eyes searching hers. “I was wondering something, but I don’t know how you’ll take it, and I don’t want to spoil the mood.”
Not what she expected. Was it about the sex? Oh jeez, they weren’t going to have an “it didn’t mean anything” conversation, were they? The subtle lead-in didn’t really seem to be his thing. “I pretty much expect the conversation to go south when you start things off like that.”
“No reason to hold back then. Why did you sign with NSS?”
She felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs. Her eyes grew wide and she looked away. Her gaze flitted around the casino before finally landing on him again, but she didn’t look him in the eye. She should be over this. However, the reminders from Hayden in the last twenty-four hours had her paranoid. Jared already knew she’d taken the NSS offer because of Vivian’s reaction to her hack. Was he just trying to trip her up? “I was under the impression Vivian’s offer wasn’t on the table anymore.”
He frowned, but seconds later the expression melted into neutrality. “Why would you—” He shook his head. “What would we have had to do differently to secure your talent?”
She twisted the edge of her shirt around her fingers. This was too much like the conversation with Vivian. Her racing pulse and thoughts had shifted away from how close he stood.
Hayden had told them what she did—everything she knew—six months ago. Hadn’t he? She couldn’t fathom why he’d keep something so important from them, competition or not. But Hayden seemed far more fixated on the entire thing than either Jared or Vivian. Maybe they’d gotten past their anger? None of it made any sense. What was she supposed to say? She struggled for an answer that wouldn’t turn into a rambling, incoherent ball of thoughts that didn’t quite make sense to her.
His brow furrowed. The seconds dragged on between them, his attention never leaving her. Finally he said, “As long as you’re happy there.”
Of course she was. Wasn’t she? For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, she questioned her own certainty. And it honestly had nothing to do with Jared. Though, she was going to be daydreaming for a long time about the different ways he made her moan. “I guess.”
He shook his head, the creases around his eyes and on his forehead taking a moment to fade. He nodded at the pit behind her. “Were you going to play?”
This was neutral. This she could do. “I’ve never played at tables. I’ve played Texas hold ‘em online. I’ve played at parties.”
“So I’ll show you.” He reached for her, then dropped his hand at the last moment.
Disappointment tickled her senses. She kept her voice low, embarrassed at what she was about to admit. “Not poker.”
“You just said you knew how to play.”
She stepped closer, watching the floor instead of him, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “But I always lose. I’m really bad at reading people.” Like Hayden? She didn’t obliterate the thought but tucked it aside to let her secondary processors deal with it. “I always bluff at the wrong time.”
“So no cards? You’re just observing?”
She still wanted to play. And maybe if Jared was here, he could teach her a couple of things. Besides, if she didn’t ask, she’d never do it. “I didn’t say that. I was thinking blackjack. But...I don’t know what I’m supposed to do at the tables.”
“You have to pick one first.”
She already knew the one she wanted. The signs said it was a five-dollar table, and the dealer was only using a single deck, which meant she could count cards. She crossed the short distance, relieved when he followed her. She hesitated a few feet back, her voice a whisper. “What now?”
He nudged her forward, breaking contact again quickly after. “You take an empty seat, you buy into the game, and you’ll be dealt in.” He nodded at the dealer. “She’s a little new.”
The woman behind the table gave her a warm smile and explained the basics.
Mikki dropped her hand by her side, a pleasant rush greeting her when she brushed Jared’s fingers. It spread through her when he gave her a gentle squeeze before letting go.
She’d picked blackjack, and this table, because she’d be playing against the dealer, not the other players. There was no bluffing; it was all about the odds. And she knew how to read the odds.
Her confidence grew as the clock ticked away, and she won more hands than she lost. It wasn’t supposed to be this easy. Warmth flowed through her from the spot along her spine where Jared’s arm rested, occasionally making contact.
She pulled in more chips and was about to buy into the next game when his hand rested on the small of her back. “Cash out.” His low voice sent tingles running through her, but the abrupt words filled her with a doubt she couldn’t place. He almost sounded irritated, or upset. God, now what had she done?