Operation: Stripped & Stranded

by E Kay Sims

  “EZee!” Shakti kicked me under the table, startling me out of my fantasy. “Are you dozing off?”

  “Uh,” I paused, “I am a little tired, it’s way past my bedtime.” I feigned a yawn, covering my mouth.

  “It is late––where is that waitress, anyway?” Aurore turned in her seat to look around toward the bar. “We’ll get one drink and get out of here. This place is too expensive, and so far the service sucks.”

  Just then our server came over with a tray of wine glasses filled with red liquid. “From the big gentleman over at the bar.” She tilted her head indicating Mr. Gorgeous as she set the glasses one by one in front of us.

  We all turned at the same time just as the blond Adonis lifted his glass in a salute. His ice blue eyes were locked on mine as he took a rather big gulp of his red wine. I was mesmerized as he swallowed it down, his muscular throat worked which caused his prominent Adam's apple to bob up and down.

  “Sweet baby Jesus,” Aurore breathed. “Who the hell is that?” She turned to look back at me following his gaze. “And why is he looking at you like he wants to devour you, EZee?”

  Oh my God, she was right. He did indeed look as if I was his next meal and he was starving. I felt like a mouse being stalked by a lion as he slid his tight butt off his stool and quite literally stalked as gracefully as the king of the jungle toward our table. He now had the eye of every woman in the place––and several men, for that matter. The man commanded the attention of the room with the charisma of a movie star. He oozed sex appeal as he came closer to our table. I sucked in my breath, no longer able to breathe with each step he took toward me. The way his body moved so gracefully for someone so huge, defied reason. His posture was magnificent––from a yoga teacher’s perspective––and it became very clear to me that this man was in the military, probably Special Forces, by the way he carried himself. I recognized the swagger of a warrior. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on, truly.

  He made his way around the table, completely ignoring Aurore, Lauren, and Shakti. “Nice to see you again,” he said, holding out his large square hand with long tapered fingers. Fuck! Even his fingers were beautiful. “I’m Eric, by the way. I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name earlier.” He held his hand out waiting for me to take it.

  I barely managed to lift my hand from my lap and the moment his fingers touched mine, I felt a jolt of electricity shoot straight to my core. He felt it too, I could tell by the slightest tremor of his hand just before he squeezed my hand a little tighter. The moment seemed to freeze in time as I craned my neck to look up at him. He towered over me even as I sat on the tall barstool before him. I was so stupidly stunned, I had forgotten my name.

  “Uh.” That was the only thing I managed to get out when I finally released the breath I’d been holding. The memory of him standing naked before me less than an hour ago was permanently burned on my hard drive. “Uh,” I tried again, “EZee, I’m EZee.” I immediately regretted it the moment my nickname had left my mouth.

  Both his eyebrows jacked up to his hairline and a sexy smirk curved the corner of his mouth. His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Nice to meet you, Easy? Interesting name.” He still held my hand.

  “Everett!” I blurted. “Everett Zaffino––EZee for short.” I finally found my voice. I felt my face flame with my mortification and I snatched my hand back. My fingers were still tingling from his grip.

  It didn’t help that Aurore, Lauren, and Shakti were twittering like school girls with their first crush. I gave them all the evil eye, shutting them up. “These are my friends, Aurore, Lauren, and Shakti,” I introduced them, finally in control of my voice as my yoga teacher persona kicked in.

  Eric nodded but did not offer his hand to them. “Nice to meet you,” he said politely, his eyes never left mine. “Mind if I join you?”

  Before I realized what happened, all three of my friends scooted over, making room for Eric to sit next to me on the only remaining barstool at our tall pub table. As he took the stool, his elbow brushed against my bare forearm and the sparks once again jolted through me. Good grief! I am in trouble!

  The girls attempted small talk only long enough to finish the round of wine that Eric had bought. It was clear that he had eyes only for me. I was the only single girl in our group, anyway. Both Aurore and Lauren were married, and Shakti had been living with her boyfriend for so long it could’ve been considered a common-law marriage by then.

  Eventually, they decided to eat somewhere less expensive and said their good nights. “It was nice meeting you, Eric. Don’t keep Everett here out too late. We’ve got an early morning.” Aurore kissed my cheek and took the opportunity to whisper in my ear, “I’ll cover for you until lunch tomorrow, just text me. Have fun.” She stepped back squeezing my arm before leading Lauren and Shakti out of the bar looking back and giggling.

  EVERETT

  I

  ’d watched my friends’ retreating backs as they left me to fend for myself. The farther away they got, the harder my heart hammered in my chest. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with Eric. I hadn’t dated anyone in years. I was so out of practice.

  “Are you hungry, EZee?” His voice resonated through my body causing fresh waves of desire to roll through me. It was the way he said my name as if it were an erotic innuendo.

  This is ridiculous! Get ahold of yourself! I chastised myself internally. “Actually, I’m starving,” I said truthfully. It’d had been hours since I’d eaten.

  “Me too,” he laughed, “but I’m always hungry. I have to eat six or seven times a day just to maintain. You wanna eat here or go somewhere else?” He turned his gaze on me and my heart skipped another beat.

  Suddenly I panicked. I’d just met this guy and knew nothing about him. I didn’t feel comfortable going anywhere with him. “Um, I… ah,” I stammered, not sure how to word my decline of his offer after I’d just said I was starving. He saved me from having to do so.

  “It’s okay, you don’t know me, I get it.” His smile was crooked as he nodded his head in understanding of my dilemma. “We can stay here. Eat with me.” He rested his hand on the table within inches of my own making me acutely aware of his size. “I promise I don’t bite… hard, anyway.” He chuckled at my expression.

  “Yeah, sure,” I scoffed, “I’ve heard that before.” I smiled in spite of my reservations. He really was quite charming.

  He signaled the server who bee-lined a path straight to him. Wow! I don’t remember ever getting that kind of quick response from a server before.

  “Hi, I’m Talia. How may I serve you?” Her eyes were all up and down Eric, not once did she acknowledge me.

  He barely glanced at her, instead he turned to me. “We’d like a menu please, the lady is hungry,” he winked at me, “and a refill on drinks.”

  “I aim to please,” she said much too eagerly. With that, she gave him a broad, salacious smile that showed all of her teeth. But it was lost on Eric, as his eyes once again zeroed in on me.

  “Be right back,” Talia sounded annoyed as she turned on her black stilettos and sashayed back to the bar swinging her hips in a blatant attempt to flaunt her wares at any swinging dick that would give her the time of day.

  “She’s shaking her ass for all she’s worth, isn’t she?” Eric asked, eyes on my face, with a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth.

  “Ha!” I couldn’t help but laugh. He’d caught me staring after her. I’d barely been able to suppress an eye roll. “Yep,” I nodded, “how’d you know?” He hadn’t seen her departure.

  Instead of answering, he grinned and shook his head before he downed the rest of his wine. “This wasn’t too bad. What’d you think of the wine?”

  “I’ve had it before actually. It’s quite good. Thank you, by the way,” I said and took another sip.

  By then, Talia had returned with the menus. “Here ya go! I’ll be back to take your order.” Her hand slid to Eric’s forearm for just a second before she sa
untered off again.

  “She’s going to throw a hip out if she’s not careful,” he deadpanned as he opened the menu.

  I laughed aloud at that, my anxiety had begun to melt and I was beginning to relax a little. At my laughter, Eric looked up and grinned back at me. God, he was gorgeous. I could see why Talia was trying so hard. The look he gave me turned my insides to warm honey and I found myself returning his smile.

  “At the risk of sounding ridiculously cliché,” he paused, getting my full attention, “you have the best laugh and the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen.” He didn’t wait for a response, he’d simply returned to his perusal of the menu.

  Heat flooded my cheeks at his compliment and I hid my face in the menu, too flustered to say anything more than a mumbled ‘thank you.’

  “You’re not a vegan, are you?” he asked a minute or so later, not looking up. It did not come across as judgmental at all.

  “Why, are you?” I asked in a serious tone.

  “Nope, I just don’t want to order something you won’t eat.”

  “Oh,” I said, “no, I’m not vegan.”

  “Thank God!” He let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling in mock prayer.

  I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips. “I enjoy a good steak or a burger once in awhile, though not often,” I said, still laughing at his obvious relief.

  “So what looks good to you?” he asked and looked back at the menu.

  “I definitely want the Bang Bang,” it was my turn to deadpan. The item sounded delicious––a beer battered jumbo jalapeno stuffed with lobster. Yum!

  “The guys are never going to believe me when I tell them,” he said nonchalantly.

  “Oh? What’s that,” I asked.

  “That I went to Vegas and met a drop-dead gorgeous brunette who ‘definitely’ wanted the Bang Bang.”

  We both started laughing. I loved the way his eyes lit up and how they crinkled at the corners. He had perfect white teeth against his deep tan. I don’t know if it was the wine I had finished or if it was Eric’s personality or both, but I was finally loosening up. Our laughter faded as Talia chose that moment to return as if she’d been watching and couldn’t wait to ruin my fun. She shot me a glare across the table before smiling sweetly at Eric as she set down our waters and switched out our empty glasses with fresh glasses of wine.

  “Sooooo, what did we decide on?” she asked with her over the top enthusiasm. “Separate checks?”

  “No, put it on one,” Eric said, firmly. “She’ll have the Bang Bang and the Lobster Tacos,” Eric ordered for me, “and I’ll have the Grilled Skirt Steak, medium rare, please. Oh, and the Chocolate Covered Strawberries.” He handed her back his menu.

  I reached across the table to hand her my menu, and she just couldn’t resist snatching it out of my hand, then marched back to the bar to turn in our order.

  “Well, then…” I trailed off.

  “She’s got a delightful personality, and she seems to really like you,” he said, giving me a wink.

  “I hope she doesn’t spit on my food,” I said in all seriousness.

  “She’s jealous because you’re so beautiful.” He took a drink from the water that Talia had brought with our refills, almost as if he hadn’t intended on saying it.

  “Hardly,” I said, “more like she wants you to herself.” I immediately regretted saying that aloud. Damn the wine for giving me a loose tongue.

  “I’m sure that’s not it at all,” he said modestly.

  We made small talk for the next few minutes as we waited for our food. I was feeling pretty good after that second glass of wine, but that was my limit. I made sure to finish my water to dilute the wine in my system. One couldn’t be too careful as a female alone, especially in Vegas, no matter that I was in a high-end establishment. I still needed to keep my wits about me.

  I’d learned to trust my instincts a long time ago. My impressions of Eric were positive; I didn’t sense anything untoward about him. In fact, my attraction for him grew exponentially by the minute.

  Our dinner arrived, looking and smelling divine. I was grateful someone from the kitchen had delivered our food. He’d informed us our server had gone on her break, alleviating my fears that Talia might have sabotaged my meal. I grabbed my fork and dug in wholeheartedly.

  “You are totally sharing those with me,” Eric interrupted my reverie. I momentarily stopped chewing the bite of Bang Bang with its succulent lobster filling to look at him.

  He only laughed and said, “I’ll share mine if you share yours.” The sight of his steak made my mouth water.

  “Deal,” I said around a bite of jalapeno and nodded my agreement. I no sooner swallowed before Eric had a bite of the juicy steak on the end of his fork waiting to feed it to me.

  I parted my lips and allowed him to feed me. The action suddenly became so erotic that I felt my panties dampen instantly. God, it had been so long since I’d last made love with anyone. Not since before my injuries three years ago. Holy crap! Had it been that long?

  I don’t know what came over me, but I decided at that moment I wasn’t going to let this moment slip by. Who knew when the next time I’d ever have an opportunity like this again, if ever! I’d made up my mind right then and there that I was going to sleep with Eric if he gave any indication at all that he was willing. I must be out of my freaking mind.

  I loaded my fork with a bite of my lobster taco and held it up to his mouth. “Your turn,” I said in my most sultry voice.

  I think I caught him by surprise because he visibly swallowed twice before he opened his mouth to me. I slipped the fork between his teeth, but a rather large chunk fell off the fork before I got it all into his mouth. He caught it in his palm deftly and fed it to me at the same time I drew the fork back from his lips, causing me to make a mess at the corner of his mouth. I set my fork down, mesmerized, watching him chew his food.

  “Sorry,” I whispered, grabbing my napkin and gently wiped the corner of his mouth.

  Before I could pull back, his hand came up to circle my wrist with his fingers as he drew me in closer. He leaned forward, having swallowed the bite I’d given him. His other hand came up to cup the back of my head and before I knew what hit me, I felt his mouth cover mine gently. His lips were surprisingly soft and sensuous against my own as his fingers massaged the back of my head. Wetness pooled between my thighs, and my body began to burn as if my blood had turned to molten lava flowing through my veins. My pulse jumped and shot through the roof as he fitted his mouth more firmly over mine. Then he slowly released me. A second later, he held out another bite of steak between his thumb and forefinger.

  His eyes had grown brighter, almost neon blue and his pupils dilated. I stared into those eyes, unable to resist. My lips parted of their own free will, and I eagerly ate from his fingers. We went on like this, feeding each other every delectable bite until we’d eaten everything and had drunk all the wine. My arousal was beyond any level I’d ever reached before. My body tingled as if every cell was ready to explode with my desire for this man. Holy hell! He’d put a spell on me.

  “You wanna go somewhere?” he asked after paying the bill, his intent clear. His voice had deepened, becoming rough around the edges.

  I knew without a doubt that he desired me every bit as much as I desired him. “Yes,” I whispered, then boldly added, “Your place or mine?”

  GIL

  S

  omehow, I had made my way out of the maze that was The Palazzo and onto the famous Las Vegas Strip. I’d seen the glitz and glamour of this place on TV a million times but being here was something else. The lights were dizzying, and there were masses of people from all walks of life.

  I made my way to the Bellagio’s famous water fountains and light show. I had always wanted to see this.

  An elderly couple dressed in matching Las Vegas T-shirts, too-long shorts, and sneakers glanced around and their gazes brightened when they fell on me.

>   “Excuse me, son. Would you be so kind as to take our photograph?” The man held up an old Kodak camera, the kind that took film. They still made film these days?

  “Sure, mate. I’d be happy to.”

  The man wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

  “Three, two, one.”

  They smiled and I snapped the photograph.

  “One more for luck.”

  The pair laughed as I took a second shot. I stepped back over to them and handed the device back.

  “You’re so kind,” the woman gushed.

  I shrugged off her compliment.

  “Say, where are you from, boy?” the old man asked.

  “Australia,” I answered.

  “I thought as much. Is it your first time in the States?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope. First time in Vegas, though.”

  “Right. Well, happy vacation.”

  “Thank you so much. It was lovely to meet you,” the lady added.

  “The pleasure was mine. Take care.” I waved as they moved off. Glancing at my watch, I realised the show was going to start soon. The crowds had begun to gather, so I made sure I found a good vantage spot.

  I heard her before I saw her. She was humming the Star Spangled Banner, and lo and behold, that’s what started playing as the show began. When I saw her, I was entranced. She had long blonde hair and a substantial chest. But these weren’t fake and overdone like the Barbie Dolls. She was all natural, all curves, and fucking beautiful. I watched her place her hand over her heart and then I remembered to do the same—I’d forgotten about that tradition. In Australia, we simply stood and sang. Or didn’t sing. Sometimes we just stood there like brainless, mute automatons. Most Aussies weren’t nearly as patriotic as Americans, and I remember in school most of us kids grumbled when we had to stand for Advance Australia Fair.