Text Appeal

by Lexi Ryan

  He pulled Riley into his side, wanting to sleep with their bodies pressed together. The clock read 3:00. She needed to work in the morning, so he wouldn’t wake her, but the smell of her skin mingled with the scent of sex on the air made him ready for her all over again.

  He still couldn’t believe he’d taken her in the elevator. She’d been so terrified and so vulnerable. As crazy as he would have thought it was if someone else had said so, she’d needed him to slide into her in there. She’d needed him to replace the bad memory with a good one.

  Something about it still nagged at him. As if he’d exposed her. As if—

  “Shit.” The word came out a puff of breath against her hair, and she turned in his arms, moaning softly before settling into the soft bed again.

  Carefully, so as not to wake her, Charlie shifted her and slid out of bed. He tugged on a pair of basketball shorts and trod out to the elevator. He held his breath as he waited for it to open.

  The door slid open and a curse slipped from his lips as he spotted what he had wished against sense he wouldn’t: surveillance cameras.

  He closed his eyes. The surveillance specialists in the Grand Escape Resort and Casino surveillance room would have seen everything. Worse, they now had access to the evidence. Charlie didn’t have to be a rag mag journalist to know that footage of him and Riley going at it in the elevator would be the kind of ratings spike any network would kill for.

  He didn’t bother getting dressed. He headed to the surveillance room with bare feet and chest.

  He pounded at the door and waited. Nothing.

  The mechanisms in the camera above the door whirred as the camera swiveled to focus on him.

  Shit. They weren’t going to let him in for nothing. He stared straight into the camera and said, “Someone’s cheating on the casino floor.” Then he said a swift prayer he wasn’t lying.

  Sure enough, the big steel door swung open and a surveillance officer stepped out. The door closed behind him.

  “Charlie Singleton.” Charlie extended a hand.

  The man, whose badge identified him as “Crew Chief,” took Charlie’s hand reluctantly. “I know who you are. What can I do for you Mr. Singleton?”

  “Do you know why I’m here?”

  “Not a clue,” the man said, his voice dry and unamused.

  “How long have you been on duty tonight?”

  “My crew came on at midnight.”

  Charlie let out a breath. They wouldn’t have been the ones behind the camera when he and Riley had been in the elevator. “I need to see some footage from around ten o’clock from the suite tower elevator.”

  “It’s nice to want things.”

  “I’m willing to give you something in return.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I can show you someone who’s at the casino tonight scamming you.”

  “My crew would have seen it.”

  Charlie raised a brow. “Can you be so sure? You know how bad it looks when another crew finds something your crew should have seen weeks ago.”

  The man studied Charlie for a long beat. “Fine. But I’m not showing you anything until you deliver.”

  Charlie nodded, a rush of breath leaving him as he followed the man inside. The surveillance room was filled with screens monitoring every angle of every public space in the casino.

  “Where are the cameras covering the baccarat tables?” he asked.

  The officer pointed to a group of screens in the corner of the room being monitored by another officer.

  “There she is,” Charlie said, pointing to a woman who frequented Grand Escape. Tonight the woman wore a long black dress. He’d seen her at Grand Escape enough times to guess when she’d be at the tables, and he’d watched her closely enough to know what she was doing.

  “Run facial recognition software on her,” the crew chief directed to his seated officer.

  With a few key strokes, the woman’s vital stats appeared on the screen: her name, occupation, dates she visited the casino, games she played, wins and losses, even her credit history.

  Charlie let out a low whistle. “I’m impressed,” he said, referring to the system.

  “Not so much,” the officer said, misunderstanding. “She loses more than she wins, and any wins she’s had have been small.”

  Charlie shook his head and reached up to tap the screen that showed the woman placing a bet on another man’s hand. “How’s he doing?”

  “We’ve been watching him,” the crew chief said. “He’s raking it in tonight, but he seems clean.” He narrowed his eyes at the screen. “Search the computer for a connection between the lady in black and our man here.”

  “They haven’t played in the same table game here before,” the officer said, scanning the results as they came up on the screen. He looked up at his boss. “She used to work at the Black Diamond,” he said, “and according to this the man who profited off her bets is a bouncer there.”

  “How’d you know they were playing the system?” the crew chief asked.

  Charlie shrugged. “I noticed her the other night.” Maybe it was years of playing poker, of watching for the bluff, but he had a decent eye for cheats.

  The chief nodded. “I’m true to my word.” He looked to the officer seated before them. “Rodney, pull up—”

  “No,” Charlie said. “Your eyes and mine only.”

  The chief gave him a knowing grin. “Oh, I get it now. Who’s the special lady?”

  “Like I’m going to tell you.” Frankly, if Riley’s identity wasn’t clear from the video, he’d let it go. A sex tape of a man with a reputation wasn’t the kind of news it would be if said man appeared with a woman known for her straight-laced life.

  “I guess I’ll see for myself soon enough,” the chief said. He led Charlie to an inconspicuous corner and sat down at the keyboard. “May I ask, Mr. Singleton, what you hope to gain by seeing this footage?”

  Charlie released a breath. “Right now I’m just gathering information.” It all depended on whether or not the camera revealed Riley. If it did, well, he’d go from there.

  “What time?”

  “Around twenty-two hundred hours.”

  Suddenly the image of him walking into the elevator appeared on the screen, the time stamp on the bottom of the screen read 22:02.34. He stood in the elevator, hands in pockets as he rode down to the lobby to meet Riley. Just as the elevator doors slid open, there was a blip in the recording. The screen read 22:14.41 and Charlie was exiting the elevator behind a brunette whose face was hidden from view.

  “What the hell?” The crew chief tapped at the keyboard and replayed the same sequence. He moved to another computer and repeated his keystrokes with the same results. “Holy shit,” he said, looking over your shoulder. “You must have some sort of fairy godmother.”

  “I don’t understand.” Charlie narrowed his eyes at the screen.

  “You’ll have to come back tomorrow and talk to the guys who work the shift before ours.” The crew chief stared at the screen and shook his head. “I don’t know why or how, but your elevator rendezvous with the mystery woman? It’s gone.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Charlie woke up, his legs tangled with Riley’s, his arm wrapped securely around her waist, as if he’d been afraid she’d run away in the night.

  He slid his hand down her belly and between her legs and she made little moans in her sleep. She was still wet from last night, and it was easy to slip a finger inside her. He wanted her to wake up turned on, wet, and halfway to orgasm.

  He swept her hair aside and nibbled down the side of her neck, tasting the sweet-salty tang of her smooth skin after a night of lovemaking.

  She moaned and rolled her hips, rubbing her ass against his cock. “Charlie.”

  He liked the sound of his name from her sleepy lips. He could get used to waking up like this. Riley in his arms, the smell of sex in the air.

  She moaned softly as he withdrew his finger. He traced its damp
tip up her body, over her stomach. He found her tight nipples and rolled them softly. He was rock hard again and was thinking of sliding into her from behind when she bolted upright in bed.

  She yanked the sheet to cover herself. “Oh my God!”

  He grinned and tugged at it. “Nothing I haven’t already seen, love.”

  “It’s seven thirty,” she said wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “How could I have been so careless?”

  “I took the liberty of calling the concierge and sending him on a special errand for a new suit for you. It’s hanging in the foyer.” He ran a finger down her bare arm, resenting the hell out of the fact that she’d be leaving his bed so soon. “You won’t be late.”

  She pushed herself off the bed, studying the floor. “I don’t even want to know where he bought a suit in the hours I was asleep,” she muttered.

  “You of all people should know a Grand Escape VIP need only ask to see his wish granted.”

  Last night, after he’d taken her on the bed, he’d led her to the shower. Her dark hair had been wet when they’d fallen back into bed, sated and exhausted, and now it fell in ringlets around her face as she paced. “I like your hair like that. Why do you straighten it?”

  “I must look like an ungroomed poodle.” Her hands slipped into her hair as she searched the floor.

  “It you’re looking for your panties, you needn’t bother. I took care of everything.” He motioned his head toward the other room. “See for yourself.”

  She frowned and left him without a word.

  “You’re welcome,” he muttered, pulling himself out of bed to follow her. Since she clearly wasn’t in the mood for naked—damn shame—he tugged on some jeans.

  She was already in the bra and panties when he joined her, but something had stopped her progress. She stood frozen by the desk. “What is this?”

  Charlie took a breath. There was no use trying to hide what she could see with her own eyes. “It’s a subpoena for paternity testing.”

  Finally pulling her eyes off the papers, she looked up at him. The hurt in her eyes was a punch in the gut.

  “I have to go.” She grabbed the skirt off the hanger and slid into it.

  “Can I ask why the rush?” He cast a glance at the clock. “You don’t work until nine and your office is just over in the other tower.”

  “We have a seven o’clock breakfast meeting this morning,” she said, her fingers shaking at the buttons on her blouse. “An important meeting.”

  “So you overslept. It happens to the best of us, Ry. It’s not the end of the world.”

  “It doesn’t happen to me. My father—” She shook her head. “—you wouldn’t understand.”

  Charlie flinched. “No. I guess I wouldn’t.”

  She brushed her hair back with her fingers, pulling the curls straight and yanking it into a tight twist at the back of her head. “My purse?”

  He picked it up off the table and handed it to her.

  She pulled a clip out of the front pocket and slid it in her hair. Hidden were the soft and sultry curls, gone was the wildly sensual woman who’d looked at him across the elevator threshold and asked for his help to conquer her fears.

  She pulled on the suit jacket as she walked to the door, and he didn’t bother following.

  Only as she stood in the open doorway did she turn back to him. “I’m sorry to run out like this, and thanks. For the suit and everything.”

  So that was it. She was just going to sum last night up to and everything.

  She slid out before he could find his voice to respond.

  “Any time,” he whispered against the click of the closing door.

  Across the room, he spotted the skirt and top she’d worn last night. He padded over to it and picked it up. He pressed it to his nose. Jesus, he loved the smell of her.

  He didn’t want to keep her this morning, but he would explain about the papers. He’d explain that he’d never been told about his son. He’d never been given the chance to do the right thing.

  It had spooked her. He’d seen it in her eyes, but she didn’t know the whole story. And he didn’t plan on letting her run away without listening.

  Riley didn’t know whom she was playing with if she thought Charlie Singleton would fold that easily.

  ***

  Riley stood frozen outside of Charlie’s suite. Her body was frozen but chaos reigned inside her. She stared at the elevator and the gleaming doors stared right back at her. Her pulse quickened and her stomach pitched.

  He has a child.

  Words played on repeat in her mind, like a scratched record: paternity testing. Part of him had wanted him to deny it, but he’d been so matter-of-fact. As if this was just part of being Charlie ‘the Devil’ Singleton.

  Another part of her was panicked at the possibility of what would have happened if she hadn’t seen those papers.

  Charlie was amazing. The way he’d fed her at dinner. His text messages after. The way he’d helped her overcome her fears and step into an elevator twice in as many nights. The way he’d touched her and tasted her.

  Charlie was a man who made a girl feel like she was the only thing that mattered, and it would have been easy to leave his room this morning believing their affair could turn into something…more.

  She fought the urge to turn back and tell him to explain away the papers. The man could so easily turn into an addiction she didn’t have control over. Then what would happen when she wanted more and he couldn’t give it?

  “Let this be a lesson to you,” she mumbled to herself. Her father may not have been in her life before her mother died, but no one had needed to draw up court papers to get him to step up to his responsibilities. He’d taken her in without question and before she’d even settled into her new life, he’d given her his last name. Those papers were proof that Charlie wouldn’t do the same.

  She pushed those thoughts aside. She had to get to work, and the elevator was her only viable option.

  She could do this. She’d done it twice, now, hadn’t she? Sure, once the elevator had been glass and really not that scary, and the second time Charlie had been…distracting her, but if she’d done it twice, she could do it again.

  Palms sweating, she lunged forward to press the button before she could talk herself out of it.

  The arrows above the elevator lit up, and she held her breath. When the doors opened, she could run inside, press the button for the lobby and just close her eyes until she got there. She could do this.

  The doors opened and she rushed inside. Her heart pounded. Illogically, she wondered how she was supposed to face her greatest fear when the most amazing man she’d ever been with had turned out to be exactly the kind of man she needed to steer clear of.

  “Shit.” She shot a hand out and stopped the doors from closing. When they slid back open, she hurried back into the hall. She fumbled in her purse for her phone. It was already a quarter to eight, and her father’s retirement breakfast would be half over by now.

  She pressed two on her speed dial and prayed Lacey had her phone on her today.

  She only had to wait through two long, torturous rings before Lacey picked up.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Lacey greeted, her voice sing-song sweet. “Where did you sleep last night?”

  Riley looked at the ceiling and swallowed. “I don’t have time to go into it right now. Are you near the front desk?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I’m in the penthouse tower, and I can’t take elevator.”

  Lacey squealed. “You’re where? What are you doing up there? Wait. Isn’t that where my brother is staying?”

  “Lace, I’m in a hurry, and I need to take the stairs.”

  “Oh.” Lacey’s voice grew serious. “I see,” she said.

  Riley chewed on her lip. “Do you?”

  “The best I can do is shut the alarm off the second it sounds.”

  Riley closed her eyes. Stupid, stupid, stup
id. This was her fault. Had she forgotten last night that what goes up must come down? “You’re going to get complaints,” she said.

  “I have a few leftover vouchers for free drinks in the bar. I can handle complaints.”

  “Okay. I’m heading that way in about ten seconds.”

  “Got ya covered, sister.”

  “Thanks, Lace.”

  She ended the call and turned to the stairwell. The closed door had a large sign: EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. ALARM WILL SOUND.

  Riley counted backward from ten and pushed through, wincing when the fire alarm blared overhead. In less than two seconds, the alarm was silenced, but she knew the shrill sound was loud enough to wake any hotel guest who’d been sleeping in—and since this was a hotel/casino, there was a large number of them.

  She rushed down the stairs, and pressed through another set of marked doors when she reached the lobby. Again, the alarm sounded, and again was silenced almost immediately.

  After darting across the lobby, she tugged off her shoes and sprinted up the stairs in the business tower. Perspiration beaded on her brow and at the back of her neck by the time she reached the executive level.

  She straightened her suit as she scurried toward her father’s boardroom, and tried not to think too much about how angry he would be when she walked in almost a full hour late.

  His was the first face to greet her as she slipped in the side door. “Riley. I was wondering if you were going to join us today.” Her father’s voice tried at playful, but his disapproval hardened his eyes.

  People were milling around, the remnants of a concluded meeting.

  Riley forced a smile. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

  He gave a curt nod and turned back to Chaz, who extended his hand and smiled like the cat happily digesting the canary. “Congratulations on your retirement, sir. I will see you this evening.”

  Her father shot a hard look at Riley and retreated to his office.

  Her stomach clenched as the door shut behind him.

  “Riley,” Chaz said softly.

  She took her attention off her departing father and gave it to Chaz. “Yes?” She wasn’t sure how she should feel after last night. Angry? Hurt? Bitter? One of those would make sense, but none came to the surface as she looked at his face, took in his furrowed brow. Instead, she only felt a hollow grief for the life they might have had together, the life she had imagined for years.