Yes, she used her readers to justify the crazy decision to come back into town, but the reality was that she had to come back here for herself. She and Chastity had a major fallout before accepting the invitation to come here. But she needed to see if she could do it—stay in control in the midst of every temptation, in every direction. Her grandmother would be so proud. True, she’d failed within her first twenty-four hours back in town. But she’d managed to survive. She hadn’t tried to go back to the poker tables after Jack had found her. He made damn sure of that.
She wasn’t kidding when she told Jack that he kept her calm. As fine as he was, he provided the distraction she needed to keep her demons under control. The odd thing was it wasn’t always lust that drove her desire to be around him. Just his presence, even if in the sitting area of her suite, made her feel alive again. Her confidence began to overshadow her stage fright. Her word count flowed easier. Her plot twists and ideas had been more abundant. And that was only from sharing a room with him for a couple of hours.
The doors opened and the readers poured into the ballroom. A long line formed quickly for her. More than a few readers had contacted her on social media to let her know they would be there. But she never expected this. Not everybody wanted an autograph or a picture. Some stood in line just to stay thank you or to shake her hand. As she predicted, more than a few people “recognized” Jack as the cover model on that book. The way some of those women looked at him—he might as well have been wearing a thong instead of a suit. That made her stomach tighten with jealousy. Well, until Jack began asking her about what else this Antonio did besides bone some chick on the beach.
A female gasp broke her musings. “Oh-oh-oh, it’s Antonio. Kamaria, girl, how did you manage to get him here without letting anyone know?”
“Actually, he isn’t the same guy…” she started.
An older woman with honey-blonde braids tapped Kamaria on the arm with her rolled up program. “I hope you have a plan for getting him out of here. Once the masses get a hold of him, it is going to be a straight up problem in here. We might need to call casino security in to save you, young man.”
Up until the woman said this, Kamaria had managed to keep a relatively neutral expression on her face. But the “casino security” comment, in combination with her nerves, basically destroyed what was left of her composure. Kamaria clapped her hands to her mouth, but that did little to cover her peals of laughter. “Girl,” she whispered through her hands. “He is casino security.”
She could see Jack’s body tense out of the corner of her eye. More and more people had crowded around her table. Maybe the honey-blonde braids woman was right.
She saw Jack tap his radio earpiece and mouth the words, “We have a situation.” The room temperature continued to increase from the amassed body heat of several hundred conference attendees. As the buzz about Jack spread, the crowd swarmed like bees to get a glimpse of him, jamming forward in a way that pushed her table a couple of feet. She shoved her chair back to compensate, but with a wall not far behind her, in a few more seconds, they would be trapped.
Jack leaned down to her and whispered, “We need to get out of here. Now.”
He reached for her arm to help her up, but she pulled away. “You go. There are still readers waiting for an autograph.”
“You can sign their books later. Right now, I’m trying to save your life.”
She saw some random hand pinch Jack’s ass. He jumped. She was out of her seat a second later, jealousy making her ball her signing hand into a fist.
“That’s like the twentieth time. My ass cheek is completely numb.”
His comment defused some of her jealousy and had her fighting the urge to laugh, but a glance around her at the crowd pushing closer and more aggressively had her agreeing with Jack’s earlier assessment. They did indeed have a “situation.”
The tension in the room was palpable. But then again so was the excitement. It was hard to gauge which way the energy would flow. Was this just a bunch of women having a good time? Or was this the calm before the storm? Another surge of the crowd and the table bumped into her, pushing her closer to the wall.
Jack wasn’t taking any chances. “Kamaria, we have to go. Now.”
She handed the book she had just finished signing back to its owner with a shaky hand. The woman gave Jack a shy smile, then thrust the book in his direction. “Would you sign it too? I never thought I’d get to meet Antonio in the flesh. You’re way more gorgeous in person.”
That one gesture turned the tide of the crowd toward chaos. A number of women in the vicinity had lurked around the table, trying to engage him. Once the woman asked for Jack’s autograph, the others took that as permission to flock toward him.
“Ooh, I want an autograph too.”
“Take a picture with me.”
“Do me like you did Keisha in the book!”
The women mobbed around Jack, reaching, pushing, and, unfortunately, grabbing. This was bad. Kamaria felt like the world was closing in tight around her. Her breath caught in her throat. She used her short height to her advantage by ducking and reaching into the crowd for Jack’s arm. When she finally caught it, he clapped his other hand on top of hers. She flexed her fingers into a death grip around Jack’s hand.
Jack pulled her forward, but fear locked her legs in place. So he swooped his arms under her knees and across her back instead.
She made the mistake of blinking and missed the whole fairytale moment. One second they were in the bright yellow ballroom. The next they were in the purple and green hallway. Her attention immediately went toward the direction of the casino entrance. She could see there were only a few people there. It looked like a safe space. Her safe space.
“What about the…?” She began to twist out of his arms.
He tightened his grip, holding her closer to him. “No, look at me. Only look at me. I have you.”
Jack elbowed them through the stunned crowd, away from the chaos. Kamaria shivered. “Stay focused, baby. We’ll be out of here in a sec.”
Look at Jack. Only at Jack. If not for her damned weaknesses, there was nothing, no one else she would want within her sights. His jet black hair, not short but not too long either. The way his beard framed his mouth. Oh, those lips and the things they did to her. The nose that had been broken at some point.
The determined look in his eye made her feel the safest she had been since she had last been this close to him. Had last been engulfed by his arms with him looming over her, stroke for stroke. His intent stare made her feel like the only thing in his world. She tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes. He cradled her closer to his body, like a running back with an oversize football. Everything about this moment felt incredibly right. She had been wrong about the casino. He was her safe space.
She might have to kidnap this guy on her way out of town.
The sounds of the slots and the rest of the casino faded away. The vice-like tension around her torso loosened. Her pulse felt less like an imminent heart attack. They were in the lobby now, but Kamaria could tell they had passed the elevators that would take them back up to her suite. She pulled her head out of the crook of Jack’s chin and looked around. “Where are we going?”
“I’m getting you out of here.” Jack pushed through a more visible service door that led them back into a hallway very similar to the one outside of the security office. “Those ladies were trolling the area by the elevators. There’s no way I’m getting stuck in close quarters with them again. Especially when you need time and some space to get yourself together.”
“Good luck with that. There aren’t many places in this city where I’m not going to be around something that would tempt me.” Especially with you attached to my side. It had taken her almost two hours of searching the internet to find that dive where she met Jack.
Jack pushed through one last door. “I know. That’s why we’re taking the service elevator.”
Chapter Five
She relished having a moment where someone else took charge. She may have argued otherwise when he first came upon her with security, but that had just been her pride talking. Jack had “rescued” her then and he was doing it again now.
“Tell me what you need, baby girl.”
She slid down his body until she was standing on her feet. What did she need? She needed him. But no… “I, uh, just need a few moments to process what happened.”
“I can do that.” He held out his hand to her. “Come with me.”
She took his hand without hesitation. Those three words together could mean so many things. They could mean something as simple as coming inside the room or allude to a promise of more to come. But from what she’d seen so far, Jack wasn’t one to hide his emotions. So she knew she could literally take his invitation at face value. And, right now, his face told her he was simply being a gentleman.
She had no good reason to be nervous. He wasn’t leading her to a seduction. He wasn’t some random hot guy she picked up at a bar anymore. Her emotions weren’t cloaked by the fog of alcohol. He was Jack. This man had her on the verge of breaking her most basic rule regarding men within the first twenty-four hours of knowing her: don’t get caught up. But, more and more, she found herself wanting more from this man than just sex. She did not need any reason to linger in Vegas past Sunday, nor a reason tempting her to return. But…
She tightened her grip around Jack’s hand like the emotional anchor it was. It wasn’t the fact that he was assigned to be her babysitter that kept her out of the casino. It was him. His mere presence made her feel like she might be not only good enough, but strong enough to kick her gambling habit for good. He made her want to be a better person.
“Have a seat.” He guided her toward the loveseat. After settling her on the couch, he stepped back, took off his suit jacket and laid it over the arm. “I’ll be right back.”
He went into the bathroom without another word.
She could hear Jack puttering around. She assumed he was throwing some water on his face to give himself a moment to compose himself. That mob downstairs had been intense. It wasn’t like he had anticipated being stuck on a babysitting detail requiring mob control when he reported to work this morning.
Kamaria was grateful to have this moment of quiet. She leaned back and closed her eyes. And tried not to think about how this could be an everyday scene of domestic bliss for them one day. Conflict sold books, not depictions of the actual “happily ever after.”
Her brief semi-solitude was broken by the sound of running water. She flicked one eye open. He must be one of the uber neat freaks, she mused. The type to obsessively wash if he even broke out into a single bead of sweat. Kamaria sucked her teeth. Finally! Something to make Mr. Jack Alderisi a little less perfect.
The next thing she knew Jack was gently pulling on her hand. “Come on. I have a surprise for you.”
“Does this surprise have anything to do with the water I heard running?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Jack’s mouth quirked into a mysterious smile. A flash of them naked and intertwined in the shower overtook Kamaria’s imagination. The side of her face pressed against the cool tile as Jack slid into her from behind. She stumbled over an imaginary pucker in the rug. Jack’s other hand reached for her arm. “Are you all right?”
Kamaria pulled her face into a well-practiced mask. “I guess I’m still out of it. The last twenty-four hours have been a little crazy.”
“Then I feel even better about surprising you with this.” Jack led her into the bathroom. The calming scent of lavender filled her nose. Jack leaned over the bathtub and turned off the faucet. “Take off your clothes.”
“Excuse me?”
Kamaria searched his face. His eyes held no glint of humor. “You. Naked. In the tub. Take a break.”
She stepped past Jack and gripped her clothes close to her body. “Okay.”
“I put the bath salts from your welcome basket in the water.” A proud grin spread across his face.
“Thanks.” Dammit, he was back to Mr. Perfect again. They stood there staring at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. “Did you want to join me, or…”
“No, this is your time. There’s a towel on top of the sink for you. Is there anything else you need before I step out?” Her insides fluttered. Now he was Mr. Too Perfect. Jack grabbed the door handle and backed out of the room. “Enjoy.”
“Damn.” She let out the breath as she wriggled out of her denim jacket. She looked back at the door from which Jack had exited. “That man isn’t just perfect. He’s a keeper.”
Exactly the kind of man who didn’t deserve to get swept up in her drama-filled life.
She lifted her dress over her head and chucked it onto the floor. The rest of her garments quickly followed. She lowered herself into the tub. The water sloshed around as she settled herself. The temperature was perfect.
She soaked for about twenty minutes before she pulled out the stopper. She still wasn’t ready for the world yet. Now was as good a time as any to wash her hair.
Kamaria pulled out the few hairpins securing her updo. She got out of the tub and swiped her toiletries from the sink. As she entered the separate shower stall, she didn’t miss the fact that it was big enough for two.
She turned on the showerhead and backed her head into the spray. With shampoo pooled in her palms, she wound her fingers through her locks and scrubbed at her scalp. Her homemade peppermint oil shampoo tingled as it worked through to her roots. Twisting her hair back into decent shape would take forever. Normally, she would balk at the task. But, right now, taking time to take care of herself was just what she needed.
Kamaria leaned back and let the showerhead rinse the concoction from her hair. What was she going to do about Jack? The way he had swept her into his arms had her walls crumbling. She could tell he wanted her again just as badly as she wanted him. But he had kicked into protective mode rather than taking advantage. She had no defense for that.
Sneaking out of his apartment while he had been asleep was supposed to avoid this very situation. One night of amazing sex. No strings attached. Even if she’d never set eyes on Jack again, she’d been tied to him. The night they’d shared was something she’d forever cherish. Not that she wanted to admit that, even to herself.
Once her hair was clean, Kamaria squirted some of her favorite jasmine-scented body wash onto a loofah. She started lathering her inner thigh, but had to stop as memories of Jack washed over her.
Turning her life into one of her romance novel plots had never been the plan…
It was just her luck that the chapters she needed to finish this weekend were the steamy ones. Maybe she should just type up all the things that Jack had done to her last night. Then, she wouldn’t be tempted to spread her legs for him a second time.
Maybe it was time for her to look into a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. She’d blown three years of sobriety within the first twenty-four hours back in town, and she had three more days to go. See? Drama. But who wanted to sit in a room with a bunch of addicts when sexy-assed Jack Alderisi could be naked and ready in her bed when she stepped out of the bathroom? More sex with him was all the therapy she needed.
She slid open the shower door. She wrapped one towel around her head, another around her body, and moaned as its soft fluffiness embraced her. This had to be Egyptian cotton with a thread count of a bazillion or something. Now that she had officially hit the New York Times bestseller list, maybe she would splurge for a couple of these towels once the royalties started rolling in. She would have to ask Chastity about ordering some for her. Until then, enjoying all of the luxuries within this suite might make the torture of being in Sin City a little more tolerable.
&nbs
p; She dried off the rest of her body and left the towels in a heap in the middle of the bathroom. She drew on the thick purple robe left for her by the convention planners. It impressed her that they had gone out of their way to find one in her favorite color. Their attention to detail touched her and left her with a twinge of guilt that she had left the book signing like she had. She would have to find a way to make it up to them, and to the readers who had still been waiting.
She reached for the door leading to the bedroom. “I have to do better,” she resolved, staring at her reflection in the giant mirrors. “I need to stop leaning on Jack as a crutch and figure out how to deal with being in Vegas on my own.”
She stopped short of entering the bedroom and closed the door again. She was so lost in her thoughts that she had forgotten to grab the hair lotion and oil she needed to re-twist her damp locks. The sash on her robe loosened and fell as she grabbed the bag that held her hair care products. Just at that moment the door leading to the suite’s living room opened.
Confused, Kamaria looked up into Jack’s shocked face. Her toiletry bag slipped out of her fingers, further widening the gap between the already gaping robe lapels. Jack’s gaze immediately zeroed in on her nudity. His eyes momentarily shone with desire. Silently, she urged him to make a move. There was no way she would resist the hungry way he looked at her. But then, the corners of his eyes crinkled with regret.
“I heard the door shut. I thought you were in your room. My bad.” Jack swallowed. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. But he didn’t look away. “You look great when you’re naked.”
Her breath caught at Jack’s last blurted out statement.
“I’m an asshole for saying that.”
She shook her head. “No. But, you do have a great ass.”
“Isn’t that what Chastity said?” Jack threw up air quotes. Now that his suit jacket was off, she could see how his biceps bulged under his dress shirt. Her new resolve to not use Jack as a sexual crutch was crumbling. Oh, who was she kidding, it was totally crushed.
Calling Her Bluff (What Happens in Vegas) Page 5
