Chapter 5
5
RYLAN
Take your blackjack. Take your jackpot win. Take all the thrill rides in the world. Because nothing could compare to what it felt like to kiss Joss.
Before I’d been able to grip her face and take control of her mouth, she beat me to it. She grabbed my face and held onto me like we’d known each other for years. Like this connection between us wasn’t just some vacation fling but something that was worth fighting for.
When her tongue swept out and tentatively touched mine, I wanted to fucking die. She was sunshine and adventure. She was sweet torture and perfect possibility.
Most importantly, she was mine.
A thick shot of lust flooded through me as she shifted her body. Her ass settled on my lap like she was always meant to be there, and my body reacted as if it had other ideas. I gripped her thigh, yanking her closer until there was no doubt she could feel what she did to me.
It only egged her on.
Joss lost that tentativeness. She slid her fingers into my hair and clenched her fists as she met my tongue with her own, diving in and clutching at me until I was sure I was going to embarrass myself in front of her and everyone else right here on this patio. Each breathy moan had me wishing we were anywhere but here—anywhere with the kind of privacy that would let me show this woman how she should be treated.
Not with the kind of touch that left bruises marring her beautiful skin, but instead left goosebumps and an arched back, moans and a slick center that begged to be filled.
I wanted her.
I wanted this woman in a way I’d never wanted anyone in my life. I wanted her tears and her cries, her smiles and eyerolls. I wanted her hand in mine, her body wrapped around me, her mouth and her breasts and her goddamn pussy mine for the taking.
Mine to love .
I wanted her, and I wanted to do everything possible to make sure she wanted me too.
“Fuck, gorgeous.” My breath heaved from my chest as she smiled against my lips. “What are you doing to me?”
“Me?” She said it all coy and innocent, but with the smirk pulling at her lips, she was anything but. She lifted her gaze, then swept her fingers through my hair, like she’d made a mess of it with her hands and felt the need to put it back in place. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
Smoothing my hand up her thigh, I wrapped my fingers around her hip. “Liar.” I swooped in and pressed my lips to hers. When she tried to lean in, I pulled back. And again. I dodged her as she tried to kiss me, even though everything inside me screamed to let her win. Let her take what she wanted and give her everything she could ever need.
Finally, I let her. And when her lips met mine, it felt like I was dying again. Dying for her taste and her touch, for the feel of her body against mine.
She pulled back with a gasp, her breaths coming in short pants, her fingers smoothing at my hair once more.
“What do you want to do, gorgeous?” I didn’t want to give her a choice. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to my hotel room. Make love to her until my boss called me and threatened to fire me for missing work, then make love to her again because I could.
Those millions I’d won wouldn’t be mine if it hadn’t been for her, and I’d be damned if I let this lucky streak go to waste on some trivial nonsense like a job.
A little hum sounded from Joss’s throat as her attention locked on my kiss-swollen lips. She shrugged, then smoothed her hand across my cheek. “Zip lining?”
A smile split my lips before I dove back in and captured hers in a brief kiss. “Girl.” I pressed another to the side of her mouth. “After.” Another. “My.” And another. “Heart.”
She let out a giggle as I kissed her again. I could have sat there for hours, kissing and touching and listening to the sounds of her breathy moans and the sweet song of her voice. The only reason I didn’t was the waitress who came to check on us, interrupting what was surely becoming indecent, even by Las Vegas standards.
I tossed a twenty on the table to pay for our drinks, then snagged Joss’s hand and led her away. We didn’t make it far. Every time I looked at her, I felt the need to kiss her, and I was never very good at denying myself my needs. I had her up against a wall, my willpower failing me, when Joss tossed her head back and sucked in a breath.
“I think I need a drink.”
Her bared throat was pure temptation, but I wasn’t sure I could stop myself if we continued on this path. I needed a moment where we weren’t attached at the mouth to remember that being thrown in jail for public indecency wasn’t the way I wanted to finish this night.
Glancing up and down the street, I zeroed in on a country bar with music blaring so loud we could hear it from where we stood. I strung my fingers through Joss’s and fought the urge to kiss her swollen lips.
“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s go get your drink.”
We pushed inside the packed bar and made our way past the half-wall built around a mechanical bull. Customers were lining the ring, watching as people tried—and failed—to hold on. Once we each had a beer in hand, Joss turned to me with wide eyes and an even wider smile.
“Let me guess, you want to ride the bull?”
“You don’t?” I had to lean in for her to hear me, and the luscious scent wafting off her skin had my fingers itching to touch her. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her hips into mine.
“Looks like fun.” She pulled her lip between her teeth and gave me another one of those coy smiles, dragging her gaze down my body before she looked up at me again. “Pretty sure I can hold on longer than you.”
“Ohhh.” Laughter rumbled through my chest. “Those sound like betting words.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged, then grinned. “I bet I could beat you.”
“I like my odds.” I leaned in closer, nudging her nose with mine before I captured her lips in a slow, decadent kiss. “Let’s do it. Let’s see who wins.”
“What do I get if I win?”
“I’ll give you whatever you want. And if I win?”
I could feel her smile against my lips before she pressed a kiss there. “Same.”
We both gulped down our beers as we made our way to the ring. I watched hesitation settle itself over her as we got closer to the front of the line. She had her lip between her teeth again, her body pressed close as I draped my arm around her shoulders.
“What is it, gorgeous? You scared you’ll lose?”
She pasted on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No. No, not at all. You go first?”
Letting go of her shoulders, I rubbed my hands together. “Gladly.”
The atmosphere was wild—bar patrons yelled and jumped and screamed as the guy in front of me entered the ring. He looked like a Russian mobster, with his shiny blue tracksuit and a thick gold chain hanging around his neck. With a crooked grin showing off his golden grill and a few missing teeth, Tracksuit jumped up onto the bull…
Only to slide right off.
Even though the room was loud, I swore I could hear his head thunk against the bar under the bull as he tried to keep himself from falling. Silence fell over the crowd as they realized what happened, right before most of them started laughing their asses off and a few others rushed the ring to try to get to Tracksuit.
“Oh, my God!” Joss scooted toward the ring, stopping only when I grabbed her arm to pull her out of the way of the rushing crowd. “Did you see that?”
Nodding, I pulled her closer. “Heard it too.”
“He’s hurt, he needs help!”
Help had arrived in the form of Tracksuit’s minions. I wasn’t about to let Joss run into that mess, even though she struggled to do so. “Hey, baby.” I cupped her shoulders and directed her attention at me. “He’s got help. There’s nothing you can do that those guys can’t.”
Joss looked over her shoulder at the crowd gathered around the man. We couldn’t even see him, there were so many people there.
Pulling her back with a finger under her chin, I told her, “I don’t want you getting hurt.” Her face was unreadable before something soft passed over her features. She took my cheeks between her palms and pressed a kiss to my lips.
“You’re right,” she said as she pulled back. “There’s nothing I can do. I might as well stay here with you.”
I matched the grin that pulled at her face. Glancing up, I scanned the room, only to do a double take.
That woman was here. The one with the white nighty and the tiara on her head. The one that Joss had come to Vegas with before being uninvited to all the things that Joss had planned.
The one who was getting felt up by not one, but two guys who looked like they were in Tracksuit’s entourage and was thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.
“What is it?” Joss started to turn around, to turn toward her ex’s sister. I couldn’t let her see her. If Joss was the kind of woman who would risk getting trampled to help someone she didn’t know, what would she do when she saw that woman stepping out on her future husband? I couldn’t risk losing her to that toxic relationship.
I couldn’t risk losing her, period.
Grabbing Joss’s face to keep her from turning, I leaned in close and nudged her nose with mine. “I’m thinking this might be a lost cause. The guy hasn’t sat up yet. What do you say we skip this and try again later? There are so many other things we can do. And I still want to take you ziplining.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. “I like the sound of that.”
This time, Joss grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the bar. We almost crashed into a line of shirtless, oil-slicked men dancing on the sidewalk as they tried to entice people to come in and watch their show. Joss giggled as she picked up speed, pulling me along with her past costumed street performers wearing too few clothes and shoes that would surely kill me.
As we walked across the city, we held hands and laughed and got to know each other. I learned that I didn’t want to be away from her. Not even for the time it took for us to get suited into our harnesses or to fly down Fremont Street on the zipline.
“I’ll race ya!” Joss tossed a smile my way before we both got the signal to go.
I gave her a thumbs up and called, “You got it!” a second before we started to move. We flew over Fremont Street, watching the lights flash and the people on the streets below party like it was New Years.
When I got to the end of the line and the workers unhooked me from my harness, I turned around and stared out over the city. Through the flashing lights and the wild, party atmosphere, I couldn’t find her. Joss had been right behind me, but she wasn’t on the platform beside me. She wasn’t flying over the street with her arms spread as she laughed and screamed for joy.
Then I heard her scream, and it was me who was laughing.
She was stuck, her body not heavy enough to get her all the way to the end.
“Rylan!” She kept her wild eyes on me as the workers messed with the controls, trying to get her to move forward. “Don’t laugh at me!”
“I can’t not laugh, gorgeous!” I called back. Her dark hair had fallen free from her tie in places, the long locks hanging in front of her face. I could practically see the streaks of tears from the wind, and I wanted to swipe them away the way I had after she’d jumped off the Strat.
Finally, after five full minutes of her hanging from the zipline high above the street, the workers were able to get her moving again. I was waiting for her when she disembarked. She rushed toward me once she was free, and just like she had at the landing zone earlier, she jumped into my arms.
I swung her around the same way, only this time, it was better. Because this time, Joss’s lips were smashed against mine, and I swore life couldn’t get much better than this.
“I won,” I murmured between kisses. “Do I get to pick my prize?”
Joss gasped, throwing her head back and baring her neck. I swooped in and sucked at her skin as she let out a breathy, “Yes!”
We fumbled our way down the stairs to the street, unable to keep our hands to ourselves. I wanted her badly. Wanted to take her back to my bed and have my way with her.
But there were a few more things I needed to do first.
I pulled her into a casino to bypass a crowd on the sidewalk, and I planted my feet right inside the door. “Come here.” I dug my wallet out of my pocket and grabbed a twenty. “Come play this for me.”
“Are you serious? You’re supposed to pick your prize.” She cautiously took the twenty from me, looking at me like I shouldn't be trusted.
“Completely serious. You’re my lucky charm. Come on. You pick the machine. Stick the twenty in and push a button. I bet you win.”
“I bet I don’t.” She held the crisp bill in front of me, her free hand on her hip. “In fact, I’m so sure I won’t win, I’ll give you whatever you want if I do. Anything I have, anything you want, it’s yours.”
Rubbing my hands together, I leaned in, my lips hovering over hers. “I like those odds, and I raise you. If you win, I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll take you anywhere, give you anything, make you feel like the queen that you are.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. After a quick kiss, she turned away, walking around until she found a machine that she liked. With one last glance my way, she stuck the money into the slot and pushed the button to play.
“You just wasted twenty dollars.” She crossed her arms over her breasts, not even realizing I’d already won. I had her. I had the sight of her long, luscious legs. Of her glorious tits pushed up by the way she was standing. I had a girl I had only just met but knew I wanted for the rest of my life.
As we watched the wheels turn, I took her hand and pulled her close. Finally, the first wheel stopped. “Oh! Seven’s my lucky number!”
“Yeah?” Another seven stopped on the screen, and Joss’s grip tightened on my hand. “It’s my lucky number too.”
The last wheel stopped, and the machine chimed as lights flashed, a row of sevens lit up on the screen. Joss turned her wide eyes to me, then squealed as she threw her arms around my neck.
“I won! Oh, my God! We won! Rylan, we won! ”
“We sure did, baby,” I whispered near her ear. “Told you, you’re my lucky charm.”