Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
After a very late lunch, Riley and Aaron headed back to the spot where the clerk at Sal’s said they would find Bubbles. They’d nearly reached the corner when Riley stopped mid-stride.
“ Holy shit,” she muttered, her gaze falling on Bubbles.
Aaron had gone two steps farther when he spotted the woman as well and halted.
“Jesus,” he said.
Riley stood rooted to the spot, blinking several times. The clerk hadn’t been lying about Bubbles’ love of animal prints, but she hadn’t really fully appreciated his joke about them not loving her until this moment.
Aaron walked back toward her. “Wow.” His grin proved he was enjoying Riley’s reaction.
Riley looked at him and shook her head in disbelief. “Tit Mecca.”
“Oh yeah,” he agreed. “Not sure I’ve ever seen…” His words faded away unfinished as he turned to look at the hooker again.
“That woman has managed to squeeze her 34DDD boobs into an extra-small shirt. It’s like…”
“Like she’s defying gravity,” Aaron finished for her. “The animal print certainly accentuates her…”
“Her everything.”
Riley studied Bubbles, prying her eyes away from the woman’s chest to take in the rest of her. She was tall, close to six feet—not including her hair, which added at least another three or four inches to her towering frame. Her hair was long, teased to within an inch of its life and—as they’d been warned—pink. Hot pink. Her dark skin and eyes betrayed her Hispanic heritage and she was wearing a wildly patterned spandex shirt that barely contained her girls.
Riley could now understand the woman’s nickname. Her “bubbles” were very impressive, given the fact the woman possessed such a lanky frame. She wasn’t sure how Bubbles was remaining upright with all that weight in front. She had on super-tight pants that outlined her shapely ass and legs, and strangely, despite her crazy outfit and hair, Riley considered Bubbles one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen.
Aaron turned to face her again and from the corner of her eye, she saw his smile grow.
“You doing okay, Riley?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Think I just got my first serious girl crush.”
He laughed. “On Bubbles? Jesus, I’m gonna have to get you out of Vegas soon. You’re starting to fit in here.”
“Didn’t know this place was Titty City. Don’t you think she looks sort of hot?”
“I’m trying to look at her face, Riley, I swear to God. It’s just—those boobs. It’s like a train wreck. I can’t make myself look away.”
She laughed. “Men. So typical. Come on. Let’s see if she knows where Bella is.”
They approached the woman as she appeared to be offering her services to a tiny bald man who was sweating profusely.
“Excuse me,” Riley said. Bubbles turned. The hooker’s gaze landed on Riley for a split second before it flew to Aaron.
“Well, now. Hello there,” Bubbles purred at Aaron. Riley grinned as her new husband blushed under the hooker’s intense scrutiny. Bubbles looked back at the bald man, dismissing him. “Sorry honey. Just got a better offer. Adios.”
As she spoke, she wiggled her fingers in a short wave. The bald man sighed heavily before walking away. Riley felt sorry for the poor man who looked as if his beloved puppy had just been run over by a truck.
“I think you may have misunderstood,” Aaron said, trying to warn Bubbles she was sending away her paycheck. “We’re not here to, um…” He looked at Riley for help and she laughed at the utter panic on his face.
“My friend isn’t propositioning you for sex,” Riley explained.
Bubbles grinned and Riley sucked in a breath. The woman had perfect white teeth, and again she was struck by her beauty.
Shit. She was going loopy in this freaking city.
“Maybe he’d like a sample before he throws away what I’m offering.” Bubbles took a step closer—all that was required to leave her chest a hairsbreadth away from Aaron.
“Miss, um—” Aaron started.
“Bubbles, bebé . Everybody calls me Bubbles.” As she spoke, she thrust her bubbles closer, her erect nipples brushing against Aaron’s T-shirt. He took a giant step back but Bubbles was undaunted, following him. Riley fought back the laughter Aaron’s terrified face stirred in her.
“Bubbles.” Riley tried to draw the woman’s attention toward her in an attempt to save Aaron. “Hello, over here,” she said, waving her hands.
Bubbles turned and Riley sensed it was the first time the woman really saw her. “You can play too, chica . There’s plenty of Bubbles to go around.”
“I can see that,” Riley said, “but we’re really not interested in sex.”
The hooker narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “Oh, you can’t lie to Bubbles, chica . You expect me to believe you’re walking around with this sexy number and you’re not thinking about gettin’ in that big boy’s pants? Sell that shit to somebody else.”
Riley glanced at Aaron and had to admit the woman had a point. She was so hot for him, she felt as if she could spontaneously combust on the spot.
Jesus, when did life become so complicated? She’d spent twenty years with Aaron and never felt a ripple of desire. Now it was as if every wasted second of the past two decades was crashing in on her at once and she needed to fuck him or die in the attempt.
She tore her attention away from Aaron, who was now grinning delightedly since Bubbles’ attention had turned toward her.
Revenge was such a sweet thing.
“Oh Bubbles, the dirty, nasty things I want to do with Aaron and to Aaron would make you blush. I just think it’s more correct to say we’re not interested in a threesome.”
Aaron groaned at her words and Riley laughed when he adjusted his jeans. “Dammit, Riley,” he muttered.
Bubbles’ eyebrows rose and Riley suspected she’d earned the woman’s respect. “Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, sweetheart.”
Riley considered her comment for a moment and then glanced at Aaron. A threesome might be fun.
“No,” he said quickly, obviously seeing where Riley’s thoughts had wandered.
Bubbles turned her attention back to him, but before she could speak, Aaron cut her off. “My wife and I are here on our honeymoon,” he told her. “Hell, I haven’t even had a chance to have sex with her yet, so you can both forget the threesome thing.”
The hooker turned to her. “You married this guy and you haven’t even had sex with each other yet? Risky.”
Riley had to agree. She hadn’t considered it until this moment. What if the sex sucked? “She’s got a point.”
He shook his head. “We’ll set the sheets on fire, Riley, and you know it. Could we try to keep the conversation on track? Trev,” he reminded her.
“We’re looking for a friend of ours,” she said to Bubbles. “The clerk at Sal’s said he saw you talking to him and his date last night.”
“I don’t know anybody named Trev,” Bubbles replied.
“Yeah, but I think you know his date. Her name is Bella.”
Bubbles went off like a bottle rocket. “That cunt! That whore! How dare you say that bitch’s name to me!”
Riley threw her hands up in surrender when Bubbles took a menacing step toward her. “Hey, I’m just looking for Trev. I’ve never even met this Bella bimbo.”
“That’s not completely true,” Aaron muttered and Riley shot him a dirty look.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I was drunk last night. I don’t remember anything .” She stressed anything and a scowl crossed his face.
“Remember or not, the things that happened last night still happened and trying to avoid the truth?—”
“Um, hello,” Bubbles interjected, “but I don’t know what the fuck you two are talking about.”
“Sorry.” Riley threw a nasty glance in Aaron’s direction. “Our friend Trev hooked up with?—”
“The cunt.” Bubbles interrupted her with the nasty nickname and Riley grinned at the sound of it. She’d never used the word as a curse before, but she had to admit it had a certain ring to it.
“Forget it,” Aaron said, stepping up behind Riley.
“What?”
“Forget you ever heard that word. I know you. You’ll start flinging it around as easily as you do the food at the pub. Your pop hears that and he’ll wash your mouth out with soap and then blame me for letting you use it.”
“You have to admit it has a certain pizzazz.”
“It’s vulgar and crude and you’re an aunt. Erase it from your mind right now.”
“Spoilsport,” Riley muttered.
“Are you two on fucking drugs or something? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Bubbles asked.
Aaron stepped forward. “Trev ran off last night with?—”
Bubbles started to interject her nasty nickname for Bella, but Aaron cut her off.
“With Bella,” he said loudly. “Trev’s wife has shown up in Vegas now and she’d like her husband back. We told her we’d track him down for her.”
Bubbles’ head swayed sideways and Riley fought not to laugh at the woman’s haughty expression. “Hmpf. You might wanna tell that wife her two-timing husband has dipped his stick in a well of STD-infested poison. I wouldn’t take a man back who’d fucked Bella even if he’d been dunked in a vat of bleach and scrubbed off with twenty-two cases of Purell.”
“Lovely imagery,” Riley muttered.
“We’ll pass your advice along to Trev’s wife, but for now, we really just need to find him,” Aaron said.
Riley was impressed with his calm, matter-of-fact manner. In the meantime, she was hungover, horny and torn between laughing her ass off or curling into a fetal position and crying her eyes out. She was going to knock every tooth Trev had left down his throat when she found him. Nobody was worth this much hassle.
“I don’t have any clue where the cunt is and I don’t really care to know.”
“Fine,” Aaron said. “Thank you for your time.”
He took Riley’s hand and turned to leave, but Bubbles stopped him. “You could always ask Johnny.”
“Johnny?” Riley asked.
“Johnny Sparks, Bella’s old man. If she’s run off with this friend of yours, you can be damn sure Johnny’s looking for them too. You better hope you find them first or there won’t be too many parts of your friend left to find.”
“Any idea where we could find this Johnny guy?” The question seemed to be pulled from Aaron’s gut and Riley could appreciate the sentiment. The idea of tracking down Bella’s pimp, especially if he was dangerous, didn’t seem like such a good idea.
“He hangs out at Jacko’s—closes it down every night, the drunk asshole. It’s a bar on the edge of town. Kind of a rough place.” Bubbles looked at Riley as she spoke and Riley appreciated the woman’s warning.
“What does he look like?” Aaron asked. “Might help us find him if we have a description.”
Bubbles laughed. “Oh, bebé . You don’t gotta worry ’bout that. You can’t miss Johnny Sparks. He thinks he’s fucking Wayne Newton. Dresses like him, looks like him, acts like him. Shame he can’t sing like him. Maybe he wouldn’t be such a loser then. Stuck with cunts like Bella.”
“Thanks for the help, Bubbles. Listen…” Riley pulled a tattered receipt and pen from her purse. “Here’s my cell number. If you see Bella again, do you mind giving me a call?”
Bubbles took the number and nodded. “I’ll call you right after I beat her silicone-infested jugs into the ground.”
“Why do you hate Bella so much?” Riley asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Cunt knows this block is my territory. She went into that casino and picked up your friend knowing he shoulda been my john. Then he wins that jackpot and she’s flitting all over town acting like a big shot. He was my Richard Gere.”
Riley was confused. “Richard Gere.”
“Didn’t you ever see the movie Pretty Woman ? Rich guy falls for the hooker. Saves her from a life on the streets by proposing.”
“Trev isn’t rich,” Riley explained. “And he’s already married. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t qualify for the Richard Gere role.”
Bubbles shrugged and then laughed. “Then maybe I’ll let Bella live, just so I can laugh at her sorry ass when she realizes her Prince Charming is a frog.”
Riley nodded.
“I’ll tell you this,” Bubbles said. “Last time Bella ran off with a guy, Johnny put a hit on him. You find your friend, you’d be smart to get him and his wife outta Vegas.”
“That’s the plan,” Riley agreed. “Thanks again, Bubbles.”
“Sure thing, chica . You ever convince your man to play at the threesome, you come find me. I’ll give you two the full-service deal for free.”
Riley glanced at Aaron, who was shaking his head.
“Free,” she said with a laugh as he wrapped his arm across her shoulders and led her back to the hotel.
“Dammit, Riley. Can I get into your pants first before we start exploring ways to jazz up our nonexistent sex life?”
She shrugged, not ready to let go of the joke. “I guess so. Just seems to me you don’t get an offer like that every day, sugar.”
“I’m not worried,” he assured her. “I’ve known you forever and believe me, those sex offers come your way all the time.”
She laughed. “Like when?”
“Like when Bobby Arthur offered you twelve dollars to touch your boobs in middle school.”
“Twelve bucks was a lot of money in middle school.”
“Like when Jules Rodgers came out of the closet our junior year and announced to everyone she was in love with you,” he added.
“Well, now I’ll admit that was awkward. But we’re fine now. She’s still a really good friend.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “All I’m saying is it’s not that unusual for people to offer you sex in whatever variety or form.”
“Everyone except you.”
He frowned. “What’s that mean?”
“It means that until this morning, you’ve never even hinted at being interested in me sexually. Don’t you find that odd?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I knew it was all or nothing with you. I’ve always known that.”
“All or nothing?”
“I would never have been able to have sex with you, Riley, without wanting a committed relationship, without wanting marriage as the end result. Until last night, that never seemed like a possibility.”
“What happened last night?”
He grinned. “You let the mask slip.”
She paused to consider his comment. Had she revealed the reason she’d been so depressed lately? Had she confessed her secret desire to get married? Obviously she had, hence her current dilemma. “I’m never drinking again.”
“You always say that. This too shall pass.”
As they approached their hotel, they paused outside. It was early evening and Riley’s energy level was nearly depleted. It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a long weekend and it was showing no signs of slowing up. “What now?”
“Let’s cruise through the casino again. It’s probably too early for Johnny to be at the bar. I figure we have a fifty-fifty chance he’s a mean drunk.”
“You want to wait until he’s drunk and mean?”
“No,” Aaron said. “I want the other fifty percent. Drunk enough to be helpful and harmless.”
“You do realize our luck in this godforsaken city hasn’t been all that great so far.”
Aaron smiled. “Are you kidding? I’m having the luckiest weekend of my life and I’m about to hit the jackpot.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “How so?”
“After we determine Trev isn’t hanging out by the slot machines, I’m taking you up to the room and making you my wife. Once and for all.”
* * *
Riley pulled her sweater over her head as they entered the hotel room. Aaron had pushed buttons in her she didn’t know she had.
Fuck it.
She was having sex with him and to hell with the consequences. The sound of leather swishing against denim proved Aaron was in a hurry too as his belt hit the floor. He kicked the door shut with his foot as he reached out for her, turning and pushing her against it.
“Haven’t I seen you here before?” She recalled they’d been in the exact same position this morning.
Aaron grinned. “Same place, different ending. Take off your clothes.”
“I’d rather take yours off.” She reached for his T-shirt, pulling it over his head, her heart racing at the sight of his bare chest. She’d seen the man shirtless a thousand times in the past, but for some inexplicable reason, she felt as if she was seeing it clearly for the first time and a strange sense of possessiveness gripped her.
He was hers.
She leaned forward to kiss him, her lips grazing his pecs before cruising over to visit his nipple. She ran her tongue around the tiny bud as Aaron’s hands gripped her waist. She could sense his growing need. Hell, she shared it. She wasn’t an innocent, not even close. But for some reason, this time with Aaron felt as if she would be losing her virginity all over again. She pulled away from his chest to look at him, her breathing ragged.
She was inundated by so many emotions, she was finding it hard to know what to do next. She wanted him. There was no question of that, but while her body was urging her to claim and conquer, her head was warning her to proceed with caution. Overpowering all of that was her heart, screaming at her not to fuck this up. Proclaiming loud and clear she’d finally gotten something right.
Aaron offered her a crooked grin and kissed her forehead. “Never pegged you as a thinker, Riley. Always saw you as more of a doer.” His taunt hit the nail square on the head, just as he’d known it would, and she narrowed her eyes before unhooking her bra and sliding it off.
“I thought I’d better take it slow for you, sugar. Don’t wanna overwhelm you.” She cupped her breasts, toying with the tight nipples with her own fingers. “Think you can keep up?”
He growled. Jesus, a growl? She didn’t have more than a second to process that thought before his lips descended on her breasts. He brushed her hands aside, grasping her breasts, holding them still for his assault. There was no part of her chest left untouched as he licked around her areolas, lightly bit her nipples, kissed the sensitive skin and massaged the plump flesh.
“God.” She wondered where the hell Aaron had learned to play like this. She’d always imagined sex with him would be staid, gentle…boring. Where had this tit connoisseur come from?
She shook the thought from her head. This was going too fast, getting too serious. She felt completely off balance and grasped the only thing she could still call on to work in her defense. “Hope you aren’t disappointed,” she joked. “I’m no Bubbles.”
He sucked her taut nipple into his mouth…hard, the suction producing a pleasurable pain she’d never experienced. Her head fell back against the door, thudding loudly against the wood.
He moved upward from her breasts, planting hot, wet kisses along her neck. “It won’t work,” he whispered into her ear.
“What won’t work?”
“The jokes. I’m not stopping and neither are you.”
“Who’s asking you to stop?” She gripped his hair with her fingers, holding his mouth to her neck. She loved having her neck kissed. He moved, taking her earlobe between his teeth, biting it lightly while his fingers pinched her nipples and she trembled under his forceful, sexy-as-shit attack.
“Still with me, Riley? Didn’t leave you in the dust, did I?”
She grinned. Smart-ass. Jesus, she was going to make him pay for that.
She unbuttoned his jeans, taunting him with her eyes as she slid the zipper down. “You might want to pay attention.” She knelt as she gripped the waistband of his jeans and boxers, pulling them down his thighs. “Maybe take some notes,” she added as she dragged her tongue along his cock in one long lick. She looked up in time to see Aaron’s palms land on the door, no doubt to hold himself up as she took the head of his cock into her mouth. Her gaze never left his as she sucked his hard flesh into her mouth.
“So fucking hot.” He moved one hand to her head, tangling his fingers in her curls as he continued to praise her. “You’re so goddamn gorgeous, Riley.”
She smiled around his cock and he groaned when she took him deeper. Reaching down, she fondled his balls for a moment before exploring further, touching the tip of her index finger to his anus. He jerked and she almost lost her grip on his cock.
He took her head in his hands and pulled her away. “Bad girl.” The heated look in his eyes contradicted his words.
“You started it,” she said, alluding to his sex-store purchase.
He grinned. “And I’ll finish it. Later.” He reached down to help her up. “Take off your pants.”
She quickly shed her jeans as Aaron kicked off his shoes and finished removing his pants. She started to walk toward the bed, but he surprised her by picking her up and carrying her.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought you might not remember me carrying you over the threshold last night. Thought I’d reenact it for you.”
“You carried me over the threshold?”
“Of course I did, Mrs. Young.”
She felt a lump form in her throat at his romantic gesture. She’d never thought herself susceptible to such mushy-gushy nonsense. She’d always been too practical, too cynical, but every word he said, every move he made cut straight to the heart of her and she found herself melting like a teenage girl with her first crush.
He placed her on the bed like she was made of glass and she fought to regain her composure. She’d spent the entire day fighting to return to common ground, struggling for some sense of normality only to have him rewrite the rules of their relationship time and time again. He lowered himself over her, their bare bodies touching from chest to feet. She could sense his strength—and his desire—and it lit her body on fire. She ran her hands along his back, savoring the deep kiss he offered.
When they broke apart for much-needed air, she realized resistance was futile. “Fuck me, Aaron.”
He shook his head. “No. Our fucking days are over, Riley. I’m making love to you.”
She wanted to roll her eyes, wanted to snort or do something completely like herself, but all she could do was nod and pray to keep the tears she felt clogging her throat from reaching her eyes. He reached to retrieve his pants but she halted him.
“No condom. I’m on birth control. Just us. Nothing in the way.”
He considered her words for a moment and then grinned. “Just us. From now on.” He leaned down to kiss her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He nudged his cock against her pussy and she reached down to guide him home. He entered so slowly she wanted to protest, but his lips devoured any words she might have spoken. He wasn’t lying about the making-love comment. Riley had never felt more cherished, more protected…more horny.
She pulled her lips away from his when he retreated just as slowly.
She started to complain, to demand he move, when she caught his mischievous gaze. He was teasing her.
Her honeymoon. Their first time together and he was making a damn joke.
She laughed. God, she loved him. “Had your fun?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t this how you imagined sex with me would be?”
She frowned. “How the hell did you know that?”
“You told me so the night of Teagan’s wedding. You’d had too much champagne and I foolishly mentioned that we’d never kissed.”
She nodded, recalling her heartless reply. “You wanted to kiss me that night.”
“It was midnight. New Year’s. Besides, I’ve always wanted to kiss you. Always known?—”
“That we were perfect for each other,” she finished.
He grinned. “Yep.”
“But that night, I said you and I could never be together romantically because we were too different.”
“Because I was too boring and you were too wild.” He repeated her reasoning.
“You aren’t boring, Aaron. You’ve never been boring. I don’t know why?—”
“You were having a bad night, Riley. I understood.”
She leaned up to kiss him. She’d been a bitch to him far too often in the past and he’d never left her side, never failed to support her. “I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” His smile was easy, genuine. “I got my way in the end.”
She laughed. “Because you’re stubborn.”
“Determined.”
“Shut up and kiss me, sugar.”
He bent down, his lips hard and possessive. His hips began to thrust and she marveled over the fact he’d been inside her the entire time they’d talked. It felt so natural. He began to move faster and she had to push away from his lips, gasp for air as he took complete ownership of her body. She tightened her legs around his waist, moaning when he reached down with one hand to touch her clit.
“Oh my God,” she cried as he rubbed the sensitive, throbbing flesh. “So good.”
He continued to pound inside her pussy, caressing her clit until she exploded in orgasm. She screamed at the incredible sensations pummeling her body but Aaron never wavered, dragging out the climax until she feared she’d pass out. As the feeling began to wane, she felt him pull out of her body.
“Roll over.” His voice was deep, commanding, and she responded to it in an instant. “Hands and knees. I’m not finished with you.”
She shivered at his hot words, surrendering control into his very capable hands. The moment she got into position, he was back inside her, his cock thrusting so deeply, she couldn’t hold back her cries of delight. Within moments, she felt another climax building. Christ, he was going to kill her with all this pleasure. He reached around to grip her breasts, halting their movement as they swung under his forceful motions. He pinched her nipples while telling her all the dirty, lovely things he wanted to do to her.
His words—as much as his powerful fucking—pushed her over the edge again. Her body shuddered as it came down from the most intense orgasm of the century. She collapsed on her stomach, struggling to catch her breath.
“Not finished yet,” Aaron whispered, kissing the nape of her neck.
“You’re going to have to go on without me.” Her words were muffled by the pillow. “Think I died halfway through that last orgasm.”
He chuckled but remained undaunted. He rolled her onto her back. “One more, Riley,” he insisted. “One more time, together.”
He came over her once more, nudging her legs apart. This time he took her the way he’d promised at the beginning. His motions were slow, steady and loving, and her body embraced them. Every pulse of his cock teased her sensitive flesh, driving her to the peak. She’d never come this easily, this quickly.
Aaron thrust deeply one last time and she gave herself up to the feeling and to him. He cried out above her, his climax driving hers even higher.
“Love you,” he said as his cock erupted inside her, filling her with his come. “God, I love you, Riley.”
He lowered himself, pulling her toward his chest and enveloping her in his comforting embrace.
She didn’t give him the words back. She couldn’t. Her heart was too full of the emotion and it was spilling out everywhere. She wrapped her arm around his waist and fought back tears. She didn’t cry. She never cried, but with his words and actions, he had claimed her heart, her soul, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she would love him until the day she died. But she’d have to tell him tomorrow. Tonight, the sentiment was too strong.
Too potent.
Too new.