Operation: Stripped & Stranded

by E Kay Sims

  “Then I’ll drop out of the workshop,” he said, his gaze intense.

  “No! Don’t do that! Stay! It’ll be good for you…” I dropped my eyes to the floor. “You need this program,” I reasoned as I dragged my eyes back up to meet his.

  A muscle in his cheek twitched as he visibly clenched his teeth. “Good night, Everett.” He turned abruptly and stormed toward the door. “I had a great time,” he threw over his shoulder just before the door shut, blocking my view of him.

  Dammit! I stomped my foot on the carpet. Now what? What should I do now? His ‘good night’ had sounded so final; I wasn’t sure if I should expect to see him in class tomorrow morning.

  GIL

  P

  iper snatched the phone from me, hung up, and threw it onto the back seat of the sports car. “You really shouldn’t be driving while you’re on the phone.”

  “I have to call Eric to tell him we’re taking off,” I replied. I glanced back at the device that was now half-buried in the crease of the back seat.

  Piper sighed dramatically. “He’s a big boy, I’m sure he can take care of himself. You don’t want to get a ticket, now, do you? It would ruin our plans.”

  “What plans, exactly?” I asked.

  A sneaky smile touched her lips. “You’ll just have to trust me, Mr- I mean, Gil.”

  I laughed. “I guess I can do that.”

  I could feel her watch me as I guided the car back towards the strip. She leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, “Faster.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted me to get a ticket?”

  Her hand gripped my knee and pushed it down, forcing me to accelerate. Her touch turned me on in an instant. I tried to keep my eyes off her cleavage and on the road ahead of us. We made our way to the New York New York Hotel and Casino. Piper urged me to hand the care of the car over to the valet before she dragged me into the bowels of the resort. Her hand was small in my own, the skin soft, but with a few calluses, and her grip was firm. Piper took me through an adventure park and we joined a line.

  I looked around in surprise. “It’s a theme park?”

  “Yep,” she said with a nod.

  “A theme park inside a hotel?”

  “Yep,” she said again, her head bobbing once more.

  “Are you taking me on a ride?”

  Her hand tightened around mine. “The ride of your life.”

  I fought the urge to kiss her. That would’ve been inappropriate. We’d just met, at a strip joint, no less. And though I felt there was something between us, I didn’t want to make assumptions. What if she didn’t feel the same?

  But she kept looking at me. And smiling at me. And I felt myself leaning closer to her.

  “Hey! You riding or not?” the ride attendant snapped, interrupting us.

  I lifted my gaze to the ride. “We are not—”

  Piper didn’t even let me finish. “Yes, we are.”

  She dragged me past the guy and towards the yellow carriage that looked suspiciously like a New York cab. She pushed me in ahead of her and we both sat in the seats. The attendant locked the safety barrier over us. I barely had time to relax my breathing before the carriage began to roll forward, out of the confines of the building, around a bend, and up an incline. That was nothing compared to the second one. As the machine took us to the top, clearing the building below, I realised we had emerged on the roof of the casino. I barely had time to register this fact before we were plummeting again. The lights of the Strip zipped through my line of sight as the coaster took us on loops and turns and tumbles. I wasn’t sure how fast we went, but it was over quicker than it started. My throat was raw. Had I just screamed like a sissy? Was I laughing like a crazy person possessed by a kookaburra?

  As Piper and I tumbled from the ride, I noticed she was laughing just as maniacally.

  “Oh my God, that was amazing!” I laughed as Piper gripped my wrist.

  “Right?”

  We clung to each other as we continued to laugh.

  “Why are we laughing?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.” She drew in a steadying breath.

  My eyes travelled over her, drinking her in. “You just rode a rollercoaster in a formal gown.”

  “So I did. And it was fun.”

  “If this is the Vegas experience you were talking about, I approve.”

  One of Piper’s eyebrows ticked upwards incredulously. “That was just a taste, Gil. An appetiser.” She stepped closer to me.

  “It was?” I heard my voice grow husky.

  Piper leaned towards me so her lips were as close to mine as possible without actually touching. “You have no idea.”

  I squeezed her hand. “Where to next?”

  “Let’s go, get the car.”

  I wasn’t sure why we got the car. We were in and out of it in five minutes flat. Piper whipped out a cell phone from between her breasts and I gawked. I couldn’t help it. With a gulp, I averted my gaze, and she laughed at me as she dialed a number and pressed the device to her ear.

  “Mal? It’s Piper. Hi, it’s so good to hear your voice! Look, I know you’re closed up by now and I totally shouldn’t be asking you this, but could you maybe do me a huge favour, pretty please?” She paused. “Awesome, thank you! See you a couple of minutes.”

  “What are you up to?” I asked when she hung up.

  “You’ll see.”

  All thoughts left my mind as we entered the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. The place was tranquil. A fit guy with the broad shoulders of a swimmer greeted us. He greeted Piper with the familiarity of an ex-lover. Or perhaps a client? Had she danced for him? A spike of jealousy stabbed through me.

  Piper’s green eyes glowed with enthusiasm. “So, did you get us in?”

  Mal looked across at me with a frown. He was sizing me up. I knew he was because I was doing the same to him. “Are you certified?”

  Now I was frowning. “Certified?”

  “For diving.”

  “No, why?”

  Mal sighed. “Then we can’t do this, Piper.”

  “Oh, come on!” Piper insisted.

  “Sorry, gorgeous. We have strict rules about this kind of thing. It’s a safety issue.”

  “Can’t I try? I’m a strong swimmer, and I’ve always wanted to go scuba diving. I don’t have to be down there for long.” I suddenly felt myself wanting to compete with this god of the ocean who called my Fountain Girl gorgeous so easily.

  “You want me to risk my job for you?” Mal asked with a scowl.

  “Oh. Well, uh… I mean, no, when you put it like that—” I stumbled over my words. Jocks always made me uneasy—except Eric. Ever since high school, I’d stayed away from them on purpose. Mal would be able to wipe the floor with me if he wanted to, no doubt about it.

  Piper punched his arm. “Mal, be nice… and let us in.”

  Mal sighed. It was a long, laboured, frustrated sigh. “Fine. But if I get fired, I’m blaming you.”

  “Are you going to go diving in that dress, too?” I teased Piper as Mal escorted us into the bowels of the aquarium’s behind-the-scenes area.

  “No, she is not,” Mal stated, gritting his teeth together adamantly.

  “This is a thousand-dollar dress. I’ll side with Mal on this one. Besides, Elizabeth would kill me.”

  “Who’s Elizabeth?” I asked.

  Piper faltered, her eyes and mouth grew wide. Instead of answering me, she turned around. “Unzip me?”

  My mouth went dry. The woman I hadn’t stopped thinking about for the last twenty-four hours was asking me to undress her in a less-than-private place. Self-consciously, I glanced across at Mal. But he wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he was getting the gear ready. My fingers shook as they gripped the tiny zipper. I gulped back the lump in my throat as I drew the zip down, exposing the creamy skin of her back. I noticed a single, small mole to the right of her spine. It wasn’t an unsightly growth, just a dot on her skin. I stroked my fingertip across it,
and I felt myself beginning to grow hard in my dress pants. There was no denying how much I wanted Piper. But this was hardly the time or place.

  “Done,” I muttered.

  “Thank you.” She turned to face me again. Her dress slipped slightly as her fingers worked the buttons of my dress shirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You have to get undressed, too.”

  I ought to have stopped her, but I didn’t want to. I tried to keep my eyes level as she pushed my shirt open, despite her breasts beginning to peek over the top of her gown. I felt her hands skim my chest as she parted my shirt and her gaze left mine.

  “It appears you’ve been holding out on me, Gil.”

  I gulped. “I what?”

  “You work out, man. Holy hell, these abs.”

  I’m pretty sure I turned radioactive as I blushed at her observation. “I have to work off all that ice cream somehow.”

  “Ice cream?” she repeated.

  “Come on, you two! No dawdling. I want to get this over and done with before I get caught!” Mal shouted, interrupting our moment.

  We shuffled away from each other and with Mal’s help, got into our wetsuits. There was that jealous pang again as he helped Piper. I was acting like a crazy boyfriend and I was neither.

  “What the hell is this for?” I demanded when Mal fitted me with chainmail.

  “What the hell do you expect for a dive like this?” Mal demanded.

  “A dive like what?” I shot Piper a dubious look. She looked guilty as sin. “Is this a trick? If this is a trick, Piper—”

  “It’s not a trick. We’re going diving, for real.” She walked over to me and kissed my cheek. “Trust me.”

  I felt myself go beet red again. A kiss from her would get me to do anything. Fucking hell. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

  Piper didn’t seem to understand what I meant, if the tiny shake of her head was anything to go by.

  Mal took us through the safety checks with our hoses and breathing regulators and led us to the edge of the tank. “One last buddy check,” he ordered.

  We checked each other’s connections, checking for faults and inconsistencies. Then we were led into a shallow area of water, much like a small cement pool, where we slipped flippers onto our feet, pulled goggles over our eyes and were made to put chainmail gloves on. My entire body was weighed down with this stuff. I would be the first to admit that I wasn’t up on scuba diving practices, but I never recalled chainmail being a part of the customary scuba diving gear.

  “Mouthpieces in! Remember, I’ll be right beside you the entire time, so don’t worry.”

  Why did he slap me on the shoulder? What the fuck was I getting myself into?

  Mal opened a grated metal door, and we all swam through the narrow doorway that opened out into a large reef aquarium. I tried to gasp in awe as a marine turtle glided by us. It was beautiful. Then my gaze fell upon something that wasn’t so beautiful.

  Panic filled me as a shark swam by us, close enough for me to feel the brush of his fin. He wasn’t even the biggest one. I felt Mal pat my shoulder and Piper took my hand to calm me down as bubbles exploded from my mouthpiece. Mal gave me the thumbs up and the universal sign of ‘okay.’ I wasn’t fucking okay! I was a goddamned tank filled with man-eating monsters!

  Piper somehow managed to wrap her arms around me and even in gallons of water with gear that weighed a tonne, and with the devils of the deep circling us, eyeing us off with their beady, hollow eyes, I felt comforted by her. My hands found her hips and we slowly sunk to the sandy bottom of the tank. Our flippered feet hit the ground, and we —stood—or floated—in place, taking it all in. I was scuba diving. I was scuba diving with my Fountain Girl. I’d found her in this crazy party city twenty-four hours after I’d first spotted her. I hope she never found out about that; I didn’t want to come off as all stalkery. But she was here with me, showing me the sights of Vegas in a way only she knew how. I cursed the presence of my breathing apparatus—all I wanted to do right now was kiss her.

  Piper gestured with her head and we pushed off again. Steeling myself, I followed her and we swam through the tank. Past the fake shipwreck, through schools of fish, by sharks who didn’t give us a second glance. Now that I was relaxed, I could admire the majesty of these creatures. Piper pointed to a big, black ray skating along the bottom and as the marine turtle came by us again, I held out my hand. He sniffed it for a millisecond before he was off again, clearly telling me he wasn’t interested, but I was stoked to come so close to him.

  The whole thing lasted all of twenty minutes and when Mal indicated it was time for us to leave, my shoulders slumped. I didn’t want to go anywhere. We’d only just gotten here. But I didn’t want him to get into too much trouble because of us, so I reluctantly obeyed.

  I ripped the regulator from my mouth and laughed in delight. “That was incredible!”

  “I thought I saw you panic for a second there, man,” Mal said with a playful snigger.

  “Me? No, not at all. I was… getting used to this thing, that’s all,” I lied.

  Mal clearly wasn’t convinced. “Okay then.”

  “I swear—”

  Piper interrupted us, “It’s okay, Gil. Come on, let’s get out of this stuff.”

  PIPER

  I found Gil standing in the observation tunnel, gazing up at the ocean creatures swimming lazily around their aquatic home. He was back in his navy slacks and leather shoes and was slowly doing up the buttons of his shirt as I approached. I wished he wouldn’t hide that sexy body from me. His abs were perfect. Not out of control, like some guys I’d known, but pronounced enough to make me want to nibble them. His muscular arms, they were like arm porn. Again, not too bulky, but well defined, and that V? As if I hadn’t noticed that.

  Oh my god, I was being such a girl.

  I couldn’t deny that there was something between us. There was a spark every time I touched him, every time he looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman on the planet, how he got flustered so easily. I found the whole package irresistible.

  “So, that was fun, right?” I asked as I tucked my hands behind my back and pushed my chest out.

  His eyes flickered for an instant before they were back on mine again. “It was great!”

  I smiled at the way he honorably tried to avoid staring at my tits, even though I was trying my darndest to get him to look.

  “You tricked me, though, Piper; and you said you weren’t.” His narrowed eyes belied the playfulness reflected in them.

  “I didn’t trick you. I simply didn’t tell you what you were diving with.” A mischievous smile snuck onto my face.

  He laughed and lowered his blue eyes to the floor.

  I stepped forward and fiddled with his collar. I wasn’t sure why, I just needed some excuse to touch him without layers of rubber and chainmail between us.

  He slowly lifted his gaze to me again. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

  “You keep asking that. Why?”

  The backs of his fingers brushed against my cheek as he whispered, “Because it’s true.”

  I pulled him down until his lips were on mine. His kiss was tentative as he tested the waters between us. I pressed my advantage. Pressing my tongue against the seam of his lips, I silently begged for entry. When he gave it, I freefalled. I was vaguely aware of his hand resting on my hip as he turned to press me up against the glass of the aquarium. So, he did have a little wild boy in him. I was elated. His sexuality was pressed so far down inside of him, and every time it came to the forefront, he tried to repress it. Like now, as he broke off the kiss and refused to meet my gaze.

  “I’m sorry, Piper.”

  “What for?” I asked in confusion.

  “I don’t mean to take advantage.”

  Wow, where did this guy come from? “You’re not taking advantage, Gil. I kissed you.”

  “But then I—”

  “Threw me up against a wall? Let me tell
you how hot that makes a girl!”

  He looked at me in surprise. “It does?”

  “Oh boy, I have a lot of work to do with you, don’t I? It’s okay to want me, Gil. Because I want you, too.”

  His resulting smile was sweet as we kissed again. My hand gripped his fine ass and he groaned into my mouth.

  “Let’s go and get a room,” I suggested between kisses.

  “I have a room. Just not here,” he answered.

  “Then where?”

  “The Palazzo.”

  With a gasp, I pulled away from him. Of all places, why did he have to be staying where I worked? What if someone recognized me and used my real name? No what if about it, they would. Guaranteed. But I needed this right now. What the fuck was I going to do?

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah.”

  No, I fucking wasn’t. But hell, there was no way I was taking him to my condo.

  “Okay, The Palazzo. So, then… let’s go there.”

  Gil stepped away from me and we went back to the car. I reached over the center console and squeezed his leg as we took the thirteen-minute drive to The Palazzo, all the while trying my best to shove my fear of being found out way down inside myself. I dragged him through the place without giving anyone a sliver of a chance to acknowledge me. I bashed my hand against the elevator button, my patience wearing thin. I was aware of Gil sending me a sideways glance, a questioning expression on his handsome face, though I chose to ignore it.

  “Look, if you’re nervous all of a sudden, that’s okay. We don’t have to—”

  The elevator doors pinged open and I dragged him inside as I kissed him passionately, cutting off his inquiry. The doors slowly closed and I broke off the kiss. “What level are you on?”

  He hit the corresponding button and the car took us to his level. I practically devoured him on our way down the hall, though I paused long enough so he could let us into his suite. Before I could pounce on him again, he pushed me back. “Wait.”

  What was I waiting for? Had he changed his mind? The state of his pants told me otherwise. He stared at me. “What are you staring at?”