by M. S. Parker
“How about I buy you a drink?”
Geez. The man wasn’t getting it. Looking over at him, I said, “I’ve got one. I’m not interested, okay?”
“Hey, I’m just being friendly.” He leaned a little closer. “Seeing as how you aren’t here with anybody–”
“Piety.”
Kaleb’s voice was entirely too welcome. I didn’t let myself smile or show any other response as I glanced over my shoulder at him. I just nodded before looking back at Sausage and Onion. “Actually, I am here with somebody. My husband is that Australian shit you were insulting.”
Face going a florid shade of red, the man glared at me before looking over my shoulder at Kaleb. “Hey…I didn’t…look, buddy, I wasn’t meaning nothing. We were just talking.”
“Of course you were. Now you’re done.” Kaleb’s voice was cold.
I smiled into my coffee as the seat next to me quickly became vacant. Kaleb sat down, placing a fresh coffee down in the empty space between the machines. “Was he bothering you?”
“Yes.” Looking over at him, I offered a smile of gratitude. “I was handling him, but he had a head like a rock. Getting through would probably take a sledgehammer.” I paused, head cocked as I considered. “No. Just the right amount of testosterone. Some men only respond to that.”
He skimmed his fingers along my shoulder. It was a light, friendly touch, almost platonic. “Makes me want to apologize for my gender as a whole.”
“No need.” I traded out my nearly empty coffee cup for the one he’d brought over. “Is this mine?”
“Yes. You seem to inhale it.”
“It’s my addiction.” I sighed lustily and took a sip before focusing back on the machine. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that, Kaleb?”
“A nice quality to have in a temporary husband, I suppose.”
“Well, I think it’s a nice quality to have, period.” Before I could get too wrapped up in my pretend spouse, I pulled the lever on the machine and watched the numbers spin.
“No.” I looked at the ride in front of me. The damn thing looked like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a roller coaster or a giant see-saw. Nerves jangled in my belly, and I stared at it a minute longer before shaking my head and backing away. I ended up backing right into Kaleb and almost, almost, stayed there. Laughing nervously, I turned to look at him. “Sorry. And um…no. Hell, no.”
“Oh, come on. It'll be fun.” He moved in a little closer and the scent of him flooded my head.
Flooded my head and threatened my senses too. It was mid-afternoon, and with every passing hour, I had to remind myself more often that we weren’t on any sort of date.
This was…well, it was business.
Kind of.
Sorta.
Business that had brought us to the infamous roller coaster located on top of one of the tallest hotels in Vegas – the one that went speeding over the edge of the hotel itself. And he looked excited about getting on it.
“Look, I’m all fine and dandy with regular roller coasters,” I said. “If you want to ride Space Mountain or something like that…” Inspiration struck. “Hey, I know! We can go to Disneyland. Maybe skip my family reunion and go to Disney, and I’ll send them a postcard. Sorry we missed it. Honeymooning at Disney with my new husband.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Now you’re just trying to distract me. Okay. If you really don’t want to ride, do you mind if I do anyway?”
“Um…” I glanced at the ride again. “Sure.”
“Awesome.” He squeezed my arms and moved around me, heading toward the ride.
He got maybe ten feet away, and I swore, telling myself that if I went plummeting off the side, I’d at least die a relatively painless death. He shot me a look when I caught up with him. “Change your mind?”
“You’re up here because of me,” I said sourly. “If that thing breaks down and you plunge to your death, you shouldn’t do it alone.”
To my surprise, he broke out into a deep, sexy laugh.
The sound of it sent shivers down my spine, my nipples tightening in response. Thoughts whirled through my brain as I tried to remember something, anything about last night. I was so distracted by that, I didn’t realize how little of a line there was until he came to a stop just a few feet away from the gate and announced, “Looks like we’ll get to be on the next one.”
“Great…wait, the next one?” I looked around, panicked.
“Hey, look at me.” His voice, low and cajoling, had me doing just that, and I sucked in a breath when my eyes met his. He’d dipped his head, and we were practically eye to eye. “It’s just like any other roller coaster. Anchored with steel into concrete. It’s safety checked just like any coaster.”
“It’s hundreds of feet in the air,” I said weakly.
“If you don’t want to ride, don’t ride.” He crooked a grin at me. “I won’t plunge to my death, I promise. Wouldn't want to make you a widow, after all.”
I almost got out of the line, but for some reason, I couldn’t walk away. Not from him. “I…no, I’m riding.”
“Then look at me. Don’t look around you. Don’t think about it being on a building.” He brushed my hair back from my face and his thumb came in contact with my skin.
Rough, calloused…different from what I was used to. In my social circle, I typically only met a certain type of guy. It sort of limited my dating to that certain type of guy. Most of them had manicures about as often as I did.
What would it feel like to have a man with calloused hands touching me in more intimate places?
My breathing hitched, and I tightened my hand around his wrist. I didn’t even realize I’d reached up to grab him until I felt his pulse beating against my fingers.
“You’re scared,” he said grimly. “Come on. Let’s forget this.”
“No.” I startled myself with the strength of my response. “I’m…well, yes, I’m scared. But…”
“Tickets, please.”
I backed away from him, swallowing nervously. What would he think if he knew the reason I’d grabbed him, that the reason I was breathing hard had nothing to do with the coaster and everything to do with him?
“We’re getting out of line,” Kaleb said.
But before he could take action to echo his words, I grabbed the tickets from his hand and shoved them at the ride attendant. Blindly staring at Kaleb, I said, “No, we’re not. Come on, hubby. It’s kind of our honeymoon, right? Let’s live a little.”
“But…”
I pulled his arm. “Let’s do it before I lose my courage!”
He chuckled and started to walk with me. “You’ve got more courage than a lot of people I know.”
Once we were sitting and had to deal with the restraints, I squeezed my eyes closed. He must have noticed because he took over helping me with the safety harness when I fumbled. When he took my hand in his, my heart flipped a little.
“You’re going to love it, Piety.”
“Yeah…right. Just like dinner with Mom and Dad,” I said glibly. I opened one eye a fraction. Oh, no…
In my head, I was screaming, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I’d hit my head and was suffering massive personality changes. I’d hit my head and was delusional. I’d hit my head and lost my free will. I was having a nightmare. Something…
Then he squeezed my hand. “It’s almost ready to go.”
No…no dream. He was rubbing his thumb up and down the inside of my wrist. It was a slow rhythm, probably meant to be soothing. But I felt each stroke in places that had nothing to do with my wrist – or my arm. My nipples had contracted to hard little points, and my pussy throbbed. If I could have moved, I might have been squirming in my seat.
What is wrong with me…?
“Here we go…”
The rest of his voice was drowned out by the shouts of others and the roar of metal on metal.
I opened my eyes. “I changed my mind! Let me off!” I shouted desperately as t
he lights of the city began to rush closer. We were going to fly right off this damn thing.
Then we were being pulled right back.
“Oh, shit. I don’t…”
He squeezed my hand again.
We plummeted forward. The lights whirled, and Kaleb’s knee pressed into mine.
Oh…
I didn't know when I started to laugh, but I was still laughing when he helped me out of the car, and I collapsed against him, feeling almost delirious from adrenaline…and want.
“It looks like you had fun.” He brushed my hair back. The wind had blown it all over the place.
I returned the favor, still giggling even as the feel of his soft hair sent a wave of heat through me. “I didn’t. I hated it. I think it’s…” Another snort of laughter escaped me. “I think it’s stress giggling.”
“Is that a thing?”
We started to walk, and I elbowed him in the side. “Don’t make fun.”
“Want to ride again?”
I shot the coaster a look. “No!” But the thought of having him holding my hand, feeling the hard length of his thigh against mine…Shit. “I don’t know. There are other rides in Vegas. Or we could go get dinner.”
To my surprise, he pulled me against him for a hug, and this time, he was the one laughing. “You did have fun, see? You almost thought about getting back on, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” I blushed and caught his hand, tugging him along with me so he wouldn’t notice. I wasn’t quite ready to tell him the only reason I was even tempted was because he would be on there with me. I felt like I was in ninth grade all over again, crushing over the cute boy who had helped me with advanced algebra two.
“What time should I meet you in the morning?”
Kaleb had walked me back to my room, and now that he’d retrieved his bag, he looked like he was about ready to take off again.
“I don’t know. Where’s your…” I stopped, feeling like an idiot. “Son of a bitch. You don’t have a hotel now, do you?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, no. I don’t see why you’re calling me a SOB for it though.”
“I wasn’t…”
He grinned at me, and I realized he was joking. “Ha, ha.” Rolling my eyes at him, I gestured at the bag. “What were you going to do? Wander the strip until you found a place? Go down to the desk and see if they had anything here?”
“The idea occurred to me.” He shrugged, looking unconcerned.
“Oh, for crying out loud.” I passed my key in front of the door, and as the electronic lock slid open, I said, “You can stay here. The couch has a fold-out.”
My cheeks went red, but I continued talking as though we hadn’t already shared a bed the night before. What we’d done while we were drunk was different. We were stone cold sober now, and while I was seriously attracted to him, we didn’t know each other.
That small fact couldn’t be overlooked.
“That’s not necessary.” He backed away a step.
I caught the handle of his duffel. “No, it’s not, but it makes more sense than you trying to find a room. If it takes you an hour or so, then you might not get much sleep, and we’ll have to make an extra stop on our way to the airport. Why not stay here? We can order up a pizza, a few beers…”
“You know how to tempt a man.” He blew out a breath, staring off down the hallway. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he nodded. “I’ve got to make a call though.”
“Sure.” A giddy sort of excitement unfurled through me as he followed me into the room. “No problem. Use the one in the bedroom suite if you want. Totally private.”
He nodded and left his bag on the floor in the entryway, tucked neatly against the wall.
As he walked off, I leaned my back against the door and watched him walk away.
How crazy was it that part of me almost wished this was real?
I’d had more fun with him today than I’d had in a long, long time.
If only I’d…
No. Don’t go thinking about kissing him, Piety. He’s a stranger.
Yes, that was the voice of comment sense. I wanted to stuff a sock in its sensible mouth.
Seven
Kaleb
Of course she’s going to make me sleep on the couch.
Various parts of me – from my dick to my bruised ego – were arguing that I hadn’t spent last night on the couch.
But last night we’d been drunk and stupid.
Today we were sober, but I was clearly still stupid because I still wanted to get naked with a woman I barely knew. My cock was trying to lead me around, and I couldn’t let it. I had too many things going on. No, I actually only had one thing going on. One thing because I’d pretty much given up everything else for this. For her.
Camry.
She still hadn’t called back.
I couldn’t keep letting myself get distracted over Piety, even as…distractible as she was.
Like now. She bent over the table, putting something down, and my eyes strayed over the curve of her ass. I could see myself moving up behind her and cupping her hips, moving against her. She had a nice ass, round and tight and her legs were long, strong, and muscled. She’d mentioned a few things off and on during the day that made me think she was probably as physical active as I was – or as active as I had been before everything went to shit.
Brooding, I turned away and carried my duffel over to the couch, staring at it for a long moment as I thought about Camry, the money I had to make – the money Piety was going to pay me. If this didn’t work…
“What do you think?”
I whipped my head around. “What?”
Piety had moved up next to me, and I hadn’t even noticed. Staring down at her, I found myself wanting a taste of her mouth – one that I remembered.
All I had in my head were disconnected bits and pieces, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
She grinned. “You’re a little distracted there.”
“Yeah. Thinking.” I focused back on the bag in front of me and unzipped it, as though something in there would be terribly fascinating.
I had a feeling the woman next to me was on to me though. She knew I was preoccupying myself so I wouldn’t look at the real thing that fascinated me – her.
“I was just wondering if you had anything specific you wanted on your pizza.”
“No. I’m easy.” Then I paused. “Unless you’re going to get really crazy and put fish or fruit on it.”
She laughed softly. “Okay. No anchovies and no pineapple. Maybe a supreme? I’m craving a big, messy pizza.”
“Yeah. Fine.” From the corner of my eye, I glanced at her, hoping she’d leave. Hoping.
But she still stood there.
Straightening, I met her eyes. “Did you want to go out and get it or are we ordering in?”
“Oh, ordering in. Definitely.” She grimaced and dropped down on the couch, kicking off her bright yellow sneakers. “I’m worn out, and my feet are killing me. I just…well, I wanted to say thanks. I know this is an odd kind of job.”
I laughed. “Odd? You think this is odd?”
It felt weird to stand there, practically looming over her, so I sat down, careful to keep a few inches between us.
“Okay, if you want, we can call it outright insane.” She sniffed primly, crossing her legs, and folding her hands in her lap. She gave me a look of mock affront, but I could see the humor dancing in her eyes.
Already some of the worry and fear were melting away, and I struggled to hold onto them. I couldn’t forget why I was doing this. Slowly, I sat down on the huge slab of wood that served as a coffee table in this decadent hotel room. My flat back in Sydney hadn’t been this nice. Not even close.
“I should be the one thanking you, really,” I said, meeting her eyes.
“Why?” She laughed. “You’ve always wanted to get hooked up to a crazy chick with parental issues, and then get dragged to a family reunion where you’ll be the object of stares and awkwa
rd questions about a baby that doesn’t exist? That’s what will happen, you know. They’ll assume you got me knocked up and we had to get married.”
“They do realize it’s not exactly 1955. That isn’t how things go anymore.” I meant it jokingly.
But Piety wasn’t smiling when she looked back at me. “They do in my world. You’ll see when you meet them. And trust me, by the time this is all over, you’ll think you’re getting ripped off.”
“No, I won’t.” The sadness in her voice tugged at me, so I did something stupid. I touched her.
She looked up at me, and I felt myself drawn even closer. Instead of moving back, I brushed her hair away from her face, then skimmed my fingers along her jawline. She had silky, soft skin. And she smelled so good – so damn good.
“It won’t be all that bad. You’ll be around, right?”
She laughed weakly. “That’s not much of a bonus, Kaleb. I’m the one who got you into this mess to begin with.”
“See, I should be the one thanking you.”
“You’re sweet.” Her gaze dropped, and it hit me straight in the chest when I figured out just where she was looking.
Straight at my mouth.
I’d been careful not to spend too much time checking her out today, although I was probably wasting my time, trying to hide the fact that I found her attractive. We’d already ended up in bed – and married. But this…
The tension between us began to simmer, and when she laid her hand on my cheek, I decided that I was overthinking this. Why bother being cautious about this of all things?
I was just about to kiss her when she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to mine, taking the debate out of my hands.
Her taste…
I groaned and reached for her waist, pulling her toward me even as I went to my knees in front of the couch.
She came willingly, and I wrapped one arm around her, pushing the fingers of my other hand into her hair. Her breasts went flat against me, and in the back of my mind, an image flashed, my hands on those pretty little tits, her tongue stroking out to dampen her lower lip.
Then it was gone – and so was she.
“Damn. I’m sorry,” she said, breathing hard as she backed away from me.
