Chapter Eighteen
Susan was ready by the time Marcus returned to their suite and he was forced to hurry along, leaving no time for any detailed discussions.
As much as she was looking forward to a girl’s night out, she decided it might be best to let the others do the convincing.
Surely Marcus would go along with the rest of the men.
She wore a short gold cocktail dress with a flared chiffon skirt and one of her favorite pairs of stilettoes.
Her legs and butt looked marvelous and had she asked Marcus he would have agreed despite his conviction that the shoes were dangerous.
With her hair up in a simple twist she looked elegant and refined, hardly the kind of woman a man would mistake as looking for a cheap thrill.
In a group, it might be safe to allow her to have her fun, but he would wait and see.
Dinner was wonderful and served with plenty of champagne for pre-nuptial toasts. Every man in attendance was proud of the beautiful woman on his arm and if they were a little possessive, who could blame them.
The conversation was lively and entertaining and Marcus found himself relaxing and going with the flow.
Apparently none of the other men had any concerns about the girls going solo for a few hours, but then none of them were as familiar with Susan as he was.
Of course Ty, the wimp, would have agreed with anything Kelsey wanted to do, Marcus thought.
Although Kelsey had never given Ty any reason to truly worry about her, Marcus was not the besotted fool his brother apparently had become.
If he heard one more ‘Yes Darling’ out of him he was going to slap him upside the head.
After dinner they headed to the Bellagio to see O by Cirque du Soleil where for the next two hours they were enthralled by the skill of the performers. A limo was waiting for them outside and they soon arrived back at their hotel splitting into groups.
The men opted for some poker and the women kissed them goodbye and headed to the clubs. Erica was almost dancing in the hall she was so excited and she never noticed the narrow-eyed look John gave her as she walked away.
“Is the bloom fading from the rose?” Marcus asked him as they started toward the poker room.
“Not at all,” John replied smiling. “I’m actually quite glad I came along on this trip. It’s amazing what you can learn about a person in just a few days.”
“And what have you learned about our little Miss Erica?” Sam asked, curious.
“I’ve learned that the perfectly packaged image she presents to the world is as phony as a three dollar bill.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Sam interjected. “Erica is the most professional woman we have on staff and I think very highly of her, we all do.”
“You misunderstand, Sam,” John responded smoothly. “I’m impressed with her work ethic and her ability to anticipate problems before they become crises. She’s remarkably talented and cool as a cucumber, but under that facade I believe she’s a real firecracker.”
“Erica, our Erica?” Sam snorted. “I hate to burst your bubble, but I think you’re mistaken. I’ve never seen her lose her temper or her composure, even in the most difficult situations. If you’re looking for excitement and a woman with fire, you’ve made a mistake.”
“You’re obviously a gambling man, aren’t you Sam?”
“I’ve been known to make a wager or two, why? What do you have in mind?” Sam replied intrigued.
“I say we give the girls oh, about three hours, and then go check up on them. I’m willing to bet a grand you may see a side of them you never knew existed.”
“You’re on, John,” Sam replied. “And you could be right; I just hope Erica’s the only one who surprises us.”
Marcus smiled. “Don’t count on it friend. I was against this from the beginning but was out voted. There’s not much Susan could do that would surprise me and I’m wise enough to realize it. The rest of you suckers are probably in for quite a night.”
It turned out Marcus wasn’t quite as immune to surprises as he’d thought.
When the allure of high-stakes poker faded away, the men decided it was time to recover their women.
After checking out several hot spots, they finally located them in two different clubs.
Brandy, Kelsey, Johanna and Elena had opted for an all-male dance review.
Although the very large bouncer at the entrance wouldn’t let them in, Ty could see Kelsey on stage.
She was sitting on the shoulder of a nearly naked man as the crowd cheered on the bride to be.
Elena was stuffing money, or trying to, into the G-string of a gyrating young man who in Jeff’s opinion was dancing obscenely close to their table.
She had one hand over her eyes as she felt her way down his body, attempting to locate the proper area.
Brandy and Johanna gave her verbal directions of left and right, up and down, laughing hysterically each time she missed her mark and ended up caressing the delighted young man with her silky fingers.
A waitress came around with another tray of shooters and the men groaned as the girls all took one and tossed them back.
“Look buddy,” Ty addressed the doorman, “I realize this is a women only affair, but I really need to retrieve my future bride.”
“Sorry, no can do,” the man replied.
“What happened to the other women who were with them?” John asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a roll of bills.
“The little redhead and the cool brunette?” the man answered, eyeing the wad of money.
“Yes, they were supposed to all stay together.”
“Those two left a while ago. I think they headed over to Desperado’s. Go down that hall on the left and check out that club. I wouldn’t waste any time if I were you; that club makes this place look like a daycare.”
“Great,” Marcus sighed.
“Look, my name’s Joe,” the big man said.
“This show lets out in about ten minutes and things always get worse from there. I’ll let you in just before the final dance and you can retrieve your women, but don’t waste any time.
These women are drunk and crazy most nights.
I wouldn’t want you to end up getting your clothes ripped off. ”
“Thanks,” Sam said shaking his head. Slipping a substantial tip into Joe’s hand Sam signaled to John to put his money away. “We’ll be in and out before they know what hit them.”
“Okay,” Joe laughed, pocketing the money, “but you better be. You have no idea how rough it can get.”
“Marcus, we better hang around until they get out of there in one piece,” John suggested. “Then we’ll go find Sue and Erica.”
“I think you may be right,” Marcus agreed, checking his watch impatiently, “but I hope they hurry.”
At the bouncers signal, Sam, Mike, Jeff and Ty all entered the club.
Moving swiftly Ty headed to the stage as the others swarmed the table their women were at.
In a matter of minutes Elena, Jo and Brandy were being escorted toward the entrance, barely keeping up with the long strides and fast pace their men set.
As Ty approached the stage, Kelsey spotted him and began bouncing up and down on her dancers shoulder, waving and calling out to him, a huge grin on her face.
The crowd began chanting “Here comes the groom” and the band picked up the music giving it a sultry beat as the women went wild.
Stepping up on stage, Ty held out his arms and Kelsey leapt into them, throwing her arms around his neck as he held her close.
“You are a very bad girl,” he whispered into her hair as he held her far from the floor.
“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” the crowd chanted, pounding their glasses on the tables.
With a groan, Ty set Kelsey on her feet and tipped her chin up with his finger before sweeping her into a bowed embrace and claiming her lips passionately to the delight of the audience.
The whoops and whistles were deafening as the onlookers roared their approval.
Many wished they could change places with the beautiful girl on the stage, but could not help noticing that the handsome groom clearly adored his bride to be.
By the time Ty released her, Kelsey was standing on wobbly knees that had nothing to do with how much alcohol she’d consumed. Her hands were gripping his suit jacket tightly. He swept her off the floor and into his arms, carrying her off the stage to thunderous applause.
Hiding her face in his neck she recalled his words when she flew into his arms. He’d called her ‘a very bad girl’ and she couldn’t suppress the shiver that raced through her tiny frame.
“Ty,” she said, lifting her head and speaking into his ear. “Am I a bad girl?”
“You know you are,” he replied, moving swiftly to the exit as stray hands caressed any part of him they could reach.
“But sometimes bad can be good, right?” she smiled.
Ty laughed and pinched her bottom. “Yes, sometimes bad can be very good, Sweet Pea,” he replied, thinking about how sexy she would look in a little while with her bottom all hot and pink from his hand.
Maybe tomorrow, before the ceremony, he would warm it up again so it would be nice and red as she stood before the minister and promised to love, honor and obey him for all eternity.
Yes, that was a pleasant thought indeed.
Marcus and John found Desperado’s with no difficulty after refusing assistance from their friends.
All four women were quite intoxicated and it would be best if they were not left unsupervised.
Besides, the day he couldn’t handle one little redheaded terror, he would burn all his spanking implements and join a monastery, he informed them with a laugh as he waved them off to their suites.
“Pretty sure of yourself,” John observed as they walked down the hall.
“Susan and Kelsey are tight,” Marcus replied. ‘They are closer than most sisters I’ve known. Kelsey’s sweet as can be, but if I show any weakness, I’ve no doubt she’d be pointing out each and every soft spot to Susan.”