5. Amber
We”ve eaten, drank a bottle of champagne, and now we’re sitting around the pool with a dessert platter. The fairy lights brighten up the space and the music is soft and romantic.
“So, how are you planning to win the bet?” he drawls, and I want to curl underneath his arms and listen to him talk to me all night. I’ve heard lots of gorgeous accents since I’ve lived in the US, but none are like his.
“Well,” I sip on another glass of champagne and take a nibble from the tasting platter Jack ordered after I turned down his offer for dinner.
And the more champagne I drink, the more I need food, and the more I’ll spill my life on him. “I’m not planning to. This is my time to kick back from my work life. To be honest with you, I’ve mentally already handed over the check.”
He laughs, a deep hearty sound, and I’m so in trouble, I could get hooked on his voice.
“And what brings you to Vegas?” I ask.
“I’m here helping my friends celebrate a business merger,” he replies, nodding in his friends’ direction, then he leans back against the lounger.
“And you’re sitting here with me,” I say.
He turns and smiles at me. His hand reaches for my hair, and he starts playing with a lock, twirling it over and over. “Your hair is like silk,” he says. “I’ve been desperate to touch it.”
“That feels nice,” I respond, letting this stranger get closer and closer.
When our eyes meet, I am entranced by his gaze. I know this could just be a holiday romance. Not that it is. But if it is, I shouldn’t treat it as anything else, but I still want to get to know him better.
“So, you’re permanently single?” I say, surprising both him and myself with the suddenness of the statement.
“Up to now, you?”
I nod. “I am now.”
“Lucky me,” he says with a grin.
I laugh.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks.
“I know Jade and Bree have agreed with the bachelorette Piper and her party to watch a show which involves naked men.” She lifts one shoulder. “I didn’t argue against that one.”
“Ah, so you want to see a naked man?”
I gnaw on my bottom lip as I chuckle. “Changing the subject... Then we’re taking a trip on the High Roller.”
“Please, don’t change the subject.”
“I want to see him strip.” I tease. “Take his clothes off so slowly, it makes me salivate.” His eyes pop open and I burst out laughing. “Your face.”
He grins. “What time will you be back? Because you know, I can do that for you.”
I shake my head, laughing again.
“No, seriously, it’s because I was hoping we could do something together.”
I blink at him and smile. Maybe a short holiday romance would be the perfect end to my US adventure. “We should be back just after twelve, but then we’re watching the show at eight.”
“Okay. So we have a date at one o’clock?” he checks. “And we can celebrate.”
“A date?” I echo, feeling a bit silly. “Celebrate what?”
“That I came to Vegas and thought I was going to have a terrible time, instead I met the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.”
A grin spreads across his face while I feel a wave of embarrassment heating my cheeks. No one has ever been as straightforward with me as him.
“Oh, you’re smooth, Jack.”
“Amber,” he says, kicking his legs off the lounger and leaning forward. “I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you since I first saw you.”
My blood races around my body at this stranger’s words and his proximity.
“So, what do you say?” he asks. “Tomorrow—our first date?”
“Where are we going?” I ask in a breathy voice.
“Lunch and then wherever you want.”
I slide my eyes over his body, taking in every inch of him. Our eyes meet again and he’s smiling at me. “I think you like the look of me, too.”
I laugh, throwing my head back. “I love modesty in a man.”
He laughs and reaches for my hand, taking it in both of his. A powerful electric current flows between us. My lungs seize as my breath gets caught in my throat.
He stares at his fingers as he strokes them over my palm. The gentle touch is so soothing that it gives me tingles down my spine.
He glances up at me again, his face so close I can see the dark rim of navy blue at the edge of his irises bleeding into pale blue, turning his eyes darker.
We’re adults, we can control this.
“Move over,” he says, not giving me a chance to make the move myself. He places one large hand under my thigh and the other on my shoulder, lightly shoving me until there’s a gap for him to lie next to me.
“You”re obviously used to getting what you want,” I say.
“Yeah. It’s easier than waiting for ten minutes for you to get flustered, calm down, and then do it anyway,” he replies arrogantly.
But as his body touches against mine and I inhale his woody scent, I don’t seem to mind.
He brushes my hair behind my ear. As our eyes connect, he gently brings his face closer to mine.
I close my eyes.
Waiting.
And then our lips touch.
My spine tingles with shivers as an electric surge of power courses through my body. And when he gently slides his tongue into my mouth, intertwining it with mine, I emit a soft moan.
He groans above me, the sound so erotic, and he’s already hard as he lies beside me. The kiss deepens as his hand covers the back of my head, and we never stop kissing as he moves himself on top of me.
He cups my cheeks in his hands and the kiss becomes more urgent. His tongue licks along my lips before probing into my mouth, deeper, harder.
I wrap my arms around his shoulders, opening my legs slightly to give some relief to his cock. That is so hard that it rubs against my core.
“It’s been like that since I saw you,” he murmurs against my lips. “And now it’s worse. Now I can smell you, now I’ve tasted you. I want more.”
One side of his mouth curves up in a smile before his mouth crashes against mine again, letting me know the effect I have on him. I’m the same as him. I’m soaked.
His delicious weight holds me underneath him as our tongues tangle and dance together for what feels like an eternity, but I love it.
When we finally break apart to look at each other, his eyes are two inky pools of lust.
“Do you want to take this further?” he asks. His gaze penetrates mine, like he can’t stop staring at me.
As he waits for an answer, I glance away, watching Charlie chatting to his friends around a table. Piper and all her friends are now with Bree and Jade at the pool bar, laughing with the bartender.
I turn my head back to him. “Not tonight.”
I’m not that girl.
I’ve never had a one-night stand in my life and am not about to start now.
I’m not a foolish girl.
I’m sensible.
“Then we can stay here all night and watch the stars together,” he says, taking hold of my hand. “And you’re right, we shouldn’t have sex until we’re married.”