by Shana Gray
“Temptress, I would gladly see this to its natural conclusion, but I do have to go. I plan on winning this tournament,” he told her.
Quinn slid out from beneath Bonni, practically dumping her on the bed. The towel provided scarce concealment for his sizeable erection. Feeling wistful that another round wouldn’t be forthcoming right this second, Bonni replied, “You’re awfully confident.”
He crossed back over to his clothes and dropped the towel. She felt her mouth practically water at the sight of his firm ass. “Damn right I’m confident.” He looked at her from under his brows as he pulled on his clothes. “I’m good at what I do.”
She wanted to tell him: So am I.
“I like confidence, as long as it doesn’t lead to arrogance.”
“You saying I’m arrogant now?” he teased.
Bonni shook her head. “No, not at all. We hardly know each other, but arrogance is a trait I don’t like.” She switched the conversation. “Is the tournament open to the public?”
Quinn fished out his phone from the pocket of the pants he’d been wearing yesterday and tapped at the screen. “To play in—no; this one is invitation only. But spectators can come watch, if that’s what you meant.”
Bonni’s phone buzzed with a text. Glancing down at the screen, she saw it was from Quinn. If you and your friends come by, I promise to kick ass for you.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up. She walked to him, smiling and still not the least bit shy about her nakedness.
Quinn gave a low whistle through his teeth, reaching for her. “You were the most wonderful, unexpected surprise last night.”
She stepped into his embrace, feeling deliciously naughty at the sensation of his clothes against her bare skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her tight, shivering when he ran his hand down her back to cup her bottom. He kissed her deeply and she moaned into him. They definitely had a connection. A simple kiss brewed up their passion, but Bonni wanted to be the one that broke it this time.
She looked deep into his eyes. “That’s the kind of behavior that will get you going nowhere.”
“I know, you are a temptress. I gotta go. I’m sorry.” With one last kiss, Quinn drew in a breath and stepped away from her, but he paused at the door with one last lingering look. “Later.”
She nodded, and was hit by a shock of loneliness when the door closed behind him.
Chapter Ten
After Quinn left, Bonni checked her phone for messages and scrolled through the multiple texts from her friends in their group text.
Ava xo: I hope you had a sexy night.
Ceez: I hope u can barely walk! #rodehard
Fredi: This isn’t Twitter, why do you insist on hash-tagging texts?
Ceez: Bc Im awesome! #youwishyouwereme
Ceez: I see you rolling your eyes at me! #justjealous
Ava xo: You guys, stop! You might wake them up. Let’s go get breakfast.
Ceez: Yaasss! Mimosas! #theluxelife
Fredi: Why are we texting when we are in the same room? This suite’s not that big.
Ava xo: So B will feel included when she wakes up and know where we are!
Ceez: Fredi, no one forced you to finish that bottle of Jack. #hangovergrumpy
Fredi: STOP HASHTAGGING.
Ceez: #no
Ava xo: Okay, so Bonni, we’re going down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. If you don’t text us by 11 a.m., we’ll unleash Fredi (she’s SO cranky) on the front desk to get Quinn’s room number and come rescue you!
Fredi: You know I can read that, right?
Laughing at her friends’ antics, Bonni quickly texted back, Still alive! Gonna run to rm for quick shower + change of clothes. Will meet u downstairs.
Bonni just had a quick elevator ride, so she slipped into her dress and heels. Bonni scooped up her stuff and headed toward the door. As she walked past the room’s mirror, she paused to look at herself. She was different. A perma-smile seemed stuck to her face—she’d have to be careful she wasn’t a smiling fool with the girls. Otherwise, she’d never hear the end of it
“I suppose that’s what a night of good sex does to you,” Bonni told the empty room.
On her way to her suite she reflected on her night with Quinn, ignoring her friends’ increasingly demanding texts for details. There was obviously so much more to get to know about Quinn. He was a professional gambler. She’d really have to give that some consideration. Did he have a gambling problem? Bonni had no patience for any kind of addiction. Gambling, alcohol, drugs—it didn’t matter. She shook her head. She had her reasons, having been exposed to the harsh reality of addiction. No way would she ever get involved with someone she’d have to babysit.
“Stop, girl. This is just a little fling. A holiday tryst while here in Vegas. Nothing more.” She let herself into the suite and got ready to start the day, which would begin with her friends’ inquisition. Another quick elevator trip downstairs, and Bonni soon saw her friends all sitting at a table next to the railing of a café on the other side of the lobby. Weaving her way through the early-morning gamblers, she slid into the empty seat and held up a hand before they could start slinging questions at her. “Give a girl a chance to settle down, huh? And I need a coffee. Now.”
Celia jumped up and waved for the waitress. “Coffee, please, stat!” She sat back down and dropped her chin into her hand. “We’re dying to hear all about it.”
The waitress poured her a large coffee and Bonni watched the liquid gold flow into the mug, desperately needing a taste. She added a generous amount of cream and drew the cup between her palms, the heat warming her, as she felt suddenly chilled in the air-conditioned restaurant.
“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell, you know,” she said, and took a big gulp.
Celia shook her head. “Nope, that’s a guy’s line. We’re your friends and you have to spill. Is he hung?”
“Celia, oh my God! You can’t ask her that!”
“Shut up, Ava, you know you want to know, too!”
Bonni picked up the menu and looked at the meal choices. “Did you guys order already? Are you getting breakfast or lunch?”
Celia yanked the menu out of Bonni’s hands, nearly giving her friction burns. “Bon-Bon, I have two kids under ten and, for the next decade, my chances of a non-self-induced orgasm are pitiful. If you don’t start talking, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Ava leaned forward. “At least tell us if he treated you right. Did you, y’know, enjoy yourself?”
Debriefing on guys the morning after had been the norm in college and, even now, they still texted when a date turned into a disappointment, but it didn’t feel the same to talk about Quinn that way. Quinn was different. Bonni took another sip of coffee and then gave in. “Yes, I ‘enjoyed’ myself and Quinn is, uh, well proportioned.”
Celia squealed.
Fredi had been quiet but now she smiled at Bonni. “I’m glad to hear that. It would have been such a disappointment if he wasn’t.” She winked at her, and Bonni laughed.
Ava sighed happily and took a delicate sip from her Mimosa. “I knew Quinn was a good guy. How was your first kiss? Was it soft and gentle or fierce and passionate?”
“It was in the elevator on the way up to his room. It was definitely in the passionate category, until these kids got on.”
“Rotten kids.” Celia drained the last of her Mimosa then twisted to flag down the waitress for another.
Bonni laughed. “Actually, no, it gave us some breathing room. And it showed me a little bit about him. He was pretty good with them.”
Ava sighed and nodded. “He likes kids. That’s good.”
“What?” Bonni turned to her. “Do you have us having kids now? Ava, c’mon, be serious.”
Fredi leaned forward and tried to diffuse the questioning. “Bonni’s right. This is a fling. Nothing more.”
The waitress came with Celia’s Mimosa. They ordered food, and Ava waited until the w
aitress left before she asked, “So are you going to see him again?”
“Oh, no, wait, we’re not done talking about the sex.” Celia tapped the table demandingly.
“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not going to give you a play-by-play, you can forget about that.”
“But we want one,” Celia insisted.
Bonni shook her head, and the image of Quinn, firmly between her thighs, flashed through her mind. Heat warmed her cheeks and she ducked her face down so the others wouldn’t see.
“Holy shit!” Celia cried out. “You’re blushing. Bonni, I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen you blush. It must’ve been really good. How many times did you come?”
“For the love of God, Celia, only dogs can hear you at that pitch. If she doesn’t want to talk about it, she doesn’t want to talk about it!”
An awkward silence fell on the table at Fredi’s outburst. Then Bonni held up her hand and flashed four on her fingers. Ava gasped, and Celia squealed again. Fredi just huffed and said, “I’m running to the bathroom.”
After Fredi left the table Bonni looked at Ava and Celia. “Okay, what did I miss?”
“So, we left the club around 2 a.m. in the cab Quinn got for us—’
Bonni interrupted Ava’s retelling. “Wait. Quinn got you a cab?”
Celia answered as she idly doodled in the condensation on her Mimosa glass. “Yeah. I guess he’s a regular at the club, so he made arrangements with that security guard to make sure our drunk asses weren’t roaming around Vegas at dark o’clock.”
“I had no idea.” A wave of softness swept Bonni that Quinn would do such a thing for three women he had just met.
Ava continued, “It was really a sweet gesture. Anyway, we’d just stumbled into the suite when Fredi’s boss at DWD called her on her cell. Apparently, some bride who’s getting married next week started harassing them about the lace on her train or something and they wanted Fredi to fly home to fix it. She told them no. There was this whole big argument and curse words I’ve never heard before. I don’t think she got much sleep last night.”
“Yep, and the whole conversation ended with a bless your heart.” Celia gave them a wide-eyed look and shook her head. “Aves, you are so PG-13, if you didn’t know some of those curses. I keep telling Fredi to quit and open her own studio, but no, it’s never the ‘right time.’”
They all had stubborn streaks, but Fredi was the most loyal. It took a lot to get her to walk away. Bonni finished her coffee, and the waitress came over with a pot to refill her mug. Just as she left, Fredi came back and slid into her seat, snapping her napkin back on to her lap.
Fredi asked, “Did you answer Ava? Are you seeing Quinn again?”
Bonni, Ava, and Celia glanced at each other and silently agreed to ignore Fredi’s red eyes and freshly reapplied makeup. Bonni fidgeted a little and then answered, “Well, he did give me his number. And invited us to watch him work.”
“He gave you his number? I knew it wasn’t just a one-night stand!” Ava nodded her head.
“Watch him work? Is he a stripper? Oh, we are so going. We need the check,” Celia announced.
Ava and Celia were speaking over each other and Bonni had to grab Celia’s arm to stop her from enthusiastically calling over the waitress. “No, he’s a poker player. There’s a tournament at the Bellagio.”
Both women visibly deflated. Ava said, “That’s not a real job, is it?”
Celia agreed. “And what are you supposed to watch? A bunch of men sitting a table trying to be the alpha male and attempting to out-bluff each other?”
Now it was Bonni’s turn to be deflated. She hadn’t realized until now that she had been hoping to convince her friends to check out the tournament. Her body remembered quite nicely how good she and Quinn were together. She hungered for him almost as much as for the bacon and eggs she’d ordered.
Fredi regarded her thoughtfully for a beat then said, “You want to go, don’t you?”
“No, no,” Bonni said, probably not fooling any of them, “This is a girls’ trip.”
Now it was the other three’s turn to silently communicate. Then Celia said, “Since we didn’t know when you’d leave your love den, we made our own plans for the morning. Fredi and I are going to hit the casino and Ava is taking a tour of the locations where famous movies were filmed. You totally have time to watch him do his thing.”
She seriously had the best friends ever. “Are you guys sure? I don’t want you to think I’m ditching you.”
Celia airily waved her Mimosa in the air. “Bitch, please.”
Ava was dreamily staring off into space, probably trying to figure out what their couple name would be, and Fredi just smirked at her. Bonni said, “Okay, so I’ll go check out Quinn and his tournament, but I’m also going to book us spa treatments for this afternoon. My treat, of course.”
Fredi said, “I’m not going to argue with you. See if you can book a masseuse that gives a ‘happy ending.’”
Celia bounced in her seat. “Yesss, totally. I need a ‘happy ending,’ too!”
Ava remarked wistfully, “I bet Quinn and Bonni are going to have a happy ending.”
Bonni looked at Ava, trying to figure out if she was making an innuendo or if she was serious. You could never tell with her friend. Before Celia could say something outrageous, the waitress brought over their food.
“Oh, thank God. Okay, no more sex talk.”
Ava happily dived into her food while Celia and Fredi shot Bonni looks of betrayal. She didn’t care, though, as she bit into a crispy strip of bacon. Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
“Bonni, don’t think you can distract me with tales of a hot masseuse.” Celia was clearly on a mission.
“What? I’m not distracting you. We’re going for a massage later, right?
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to talk more about the sex,” Celia said, around a mouth loaded with scrambled eggs.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to speak with your mouth full?” Bonni teased her friend, glad that she was enjoying herself and being silly.
“Yup, same thing I say to my kids, too. But they’re not here. No kids! Yay! So rules don’t apply. Plus, my mom isn’t here.” She took another big forkful of eggs and her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s. “Now I really have my mouth full. Only it’s not what I really want to have a mouth full of.” Celia swallowed and then cackled like a hyena.
Bunny burst out laughing. So did Ava and Fredi.
“Holy shit, I haven’t heard that laugh in years!” Fredi said between giggles.
“Celia, you know that laugh is enough to twist us inside out. Good God, I love your crazy old laugh.” Bonni was crying, she laughed so hard, and had to hold her stomach.
They had just begun to calm down when Ava did her infamous snort, which sent them all once again into peals of laughter.
“This is going to be one great trip,” Bonni said.
“For sure.” Fredi took a deep breath before stirring her fruit salad, looking for the choicest bits of melon.
“I’m so glad we are doing this,” Ava agreed, cutting her pancakes into four quadrants, her fork and knife making little clicking noises against the plate.
“Oh, hang on. My phone’s ringing.” Celia stood up and pulled her cell from the back pocket of her jeans.
She let out a cry of delight and held it up to show her friends. “It’s my kids. They’re calling me!” A huge smile lit up her face. Gone was the wild party woman and in her place was a mom. A mom who loved and missed her kids.
Celia tapped the screen, and the biggest, happiest, most loving expression crossed her face when she laid eyes on her beloved children. Bonni’s mouth quirked into a half smile. If you’d asked her ten years ago where Celia would be at the end of the decade, it wouldn’t be here, but Bonni privately thought that Celia’s kids made her the best possible person.
“Oh, my babies. How are you doing? I miss you guys.” S
he blew kisses into the screen, and Bonni heard exaggerated kisses coming through the phone.
These kids really loved their mom.
“Are you FaceTimeing?” Bonni asked, craning her neck to see. She was Jilly’s godmother.
“Yes,” Celia answered, and turned her phone around so everyone could see. “Say hi to my babies!”
“Hey, Colin! Hi, Jilly. Are you guys having fun?” Bonni asked them, as she blew them a kiss.
“Hi, Auntie Bons!” Jilly said, and Colin waved at her.
“Wow, are you guys growing up! I have to come for a visit soon.” She suddenly realized how much time had gone by. This was what happened when you dedicated your life to saving the world. The world moved on without you.
Ava grabbed Celia’s hand and turned the phone toward her. “Hello, my two favorite little monsters. I’m so happy to see your beautiful faces. Oh, but wow, you certainly don’t look like little people anymore. You’re getting all grown up.” Ava gave them a pout and then a bright smile. Colin and Jilly laughed, clearly thrilled to be told they looked all grown up.
“You certainly are looking like the handsome young man, Master Colin. And look at your hair, Miss Jilly, it’s getting so long.” Fredi also blew them a kiss, and smiled. Bonni watched her and was a little surprised at the wistful expression Fredi momentarily let slip across her face. That made Bonni a bit sad. Fredi never gave any indication she was wanting kids, let alone to be married.
It made Bonni wonder if she herself was mother material. She’d never even thought about it before. To have another human being completely and utterly dependent on you… It was a rather frightening and exciting concept.
The kids giggled and jockeyed for position in the camera screen. They argued a little bit. “Hey, you two!” Celia said. “Stop fighting. I can’t referee you from here. Where’s your dad?” As soon as Celia said the word “dad,” Bonni saw her shoulders tense up.
“He’s in his office,” Jilly advised. The little girl was the oldest, at nearly eight. She wore a battered soccer jersey and her blonde hair, the same color as her mother’s, was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail with strands flying out all over the place.
