The shoes she’d splurged on had no practical purpose either. Why did she need two pairs? She couldn’t choose between them. One pair matched the dress perfectly, with a flash of silver and sparkling crystals, but the others gleamed red, providing a striking contrast and a splash of color. Both had five-inch stiletto heels.
She could wear one of each.
Claire giggled and tried that out as she gazed in the mirror, deciding which ones to wear to dinner. She doubted JT would let her come back to the room to change them, so she decided on the red shoes, then picked up the ruby.
The gorgeous stone complemented her skin tone and highlighted her hair. She draped it around her neck and caught her breath. So beautiful. So expensive. Between the dress, the shoes, and the jewel, she must’ve been wearing close to five thousand dollars. Oh, and the panties.
Am I insane? She’d won ten thousand, six hundred and thirty-five dollars last night, and the cost of dinner tonight would wipe out what remained. All of it—gone—in one day.
Her knees wobbled and she reached behind her, groping for the bed as a wave of sickening dizziness hit. Where had the money gone? Clothes, shoes, food, alcohol, and sex if she counted the topless show she’d bought tickets for. Pointless extravagances that served no purpose other than to please her. The lingerie made both of them happy, but wow. That’s a pricey orgasm.
And speaking of orgasms… in the last twenty-four hours, she’d slept with two men. At the same time. Repeatedly. She’d grabbed excess by the throat and throttled it. Big winner? Oh yes, in every way imaginable: a bloated glutton smacking her lips and gloating over her spoils.
“Hey, sweet thing, ready to go?” JT walked through the suite and stopped short in the bedroom doorway. A low whistle slipped through his teeth. “Wow. You look… rich.”
So not what I needed to hear. Claire tipped over as she stood, and he leaped into the room to catch her.
“You okay?” He swept her hair behind her ear.
“Yeah.” She kicked up a sparkly shoe. “New heels.”
He grinned and cradled her elbow, sweeping his hand toward the door in a grand gesture. “This way, beautiful.”
But she stood her ground and pulled him back. “Are you, um, okay? With all of this?” She glanced back at the bed loaded with her loot.
He cocked his head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You don’t think I went a little… crazy?”
“I think you went completely nuts.” He cracked a grin and caressed her hot cheek. “But I loved watching you. You deserve to have a little fun.”
“That was more than a little fun.”
“I could tell. Relax, Rebel. There’s more to come.” He laced his fingers with hers and they walked to the elevators.
More… when she’d already spent so much. My God. Where will it end?
Chapter 23
“I have been completely and totally spoiled. Rotten to the core.” JT grinned and slipped his arms around Claire’s waist.
She cuddled against him, leaning on his shoulder as they strolled through the lobby. “You were rotten before I met you.”
“My steak was perfect. Amazing. I’ve been to some good restaurants, but that meal gets the gold medal.”
She bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Worth every penny,” she said. But she suddenly got interested in her shoe, leaving him unconvinced.
“I could’ve helped you pay for it.” He tilted her chin up, searching her eyes.
“No. I said I wanted to spend all my winnings. I won that contest.” She shook her head and sighed. “Maybe blowing it all wasn’t the smartest thing to do. I spent ten thousand dollars—and more-- in a day! Oh my God.” She wobbled on her expensive heels and pressed her hand to her heaving chest.
He pulled her close, holding her steady as he chuckled in her ear. “You’re overreacting again.”
She snarled and jerked her arm away. “I am not. Where do you get off judging me?”
Whoa.
JT backed off a step and changed the subject before they could get further off track. “Did those half-naked dancers turn you on as much as they did me?” He reached down and flicked a nipple through her shimmery top.
She crossed her arms over her chest, but the tension left her body and a giggle escaped her lips. “They were so beautiful, dancing with nothing but jewels draped over their hips and gorgeous nude breasts.” She held her arms out and stood straight, strutting down the hall as if half-naked herself. “Breathtaking, and yeah….” She peeked down at her perky nipples. “A big turn-on.”
JT swept her into the elevator bank and kissed her, groping her ass while the guy waiting gawked at them. “Dance for me in nothing but your new panties and that ruby.”
She giggled and wedged her fingers between their melded hips. “As soon as we get upstairs, I’ll put on a show like nothing you’ve ever seen.”
The onlooker cleared his throat. “Going up?”
JT’s crotch tingled. Hell yeah. He wanted to get her alone as soon as possible, butthis particular elevator wouldn’t take them to their destination. “We’ll get the next one.”
Claire fondled his zipper, and he caressed her breasts through her top, envisioning a quickie in the elevator. Unfortunately, an older couple stepped on behind them, and Claire adjusted her dress to cover a nipple-slip. She pressed the button for the fifteenth floor.
“Nope.” JT pulled out his keycard and slipped it into the slot allowing access to the penthouse suites. “Tonight, we’re going all the way to the top floor.”
Her breath caught and her cheeks turned pale. “How did you manage that?”
“My little secret.”
She stood beside him, hands clasped in front of her while she stared at the floor. The car stopped at fifteen, but no one moved. The other couple exited at seventeen, leaving Claire and JT alone as they rode to the end of the line.
The doors whooshed open directly into their new suite. Opulent lighting gleamed off polished mirrors, leading them down a sparkling hall to an enormous living room. A full-sized bar loaded with expensive liquors beckoned from the right, while a large balcony overlooking the city lured them outside.
“Wow.” Claire peeked over the railing and shook her head. Then she clamped her arms over her stomach and walked back inside.
He’d expected bouncing and giggling, maybe a thank you grope, but her subdued reaction threw him off. “Check out the tub,” he suggested. Maybe that would generate some excitement.
She slumped against the doorframe and peeked in. The heart-shaped Jacuzzi filled half the room. Rich marble covered every surface, and luxurious towels begged to be touched. “Nice.”
“Fuck me with an understatement.” He scratched his head and led her to the bedroom. “You have to like this.”
The room opened up into an elevated platform with a gigantic bed on center stage. A crystal chandelier dazzled above it, and two walls of windows framed the sparkling Strip.
Claire hunched over, small and shivering, surrounded by luxury and excess. “This must have cost you a fortune.”
He shrugged and pulled her close, enveloping her tiny frame. “I’ll have to eat Ramen noodles for a month, but you’re worth it.”
“Am I?” She pushed back and turned away, gazing out the window and rubbing her clenched shoulders. “All this… I’m sorry, but it’s too much.”
JT chose his words carefully, forcing them through clenched teeth. “Obviously it’s not enough. I gave you everything you said you wanted. I let you experience your fantasy.”
But he hadn’t told her he loved her. No way am I gonna do that now.
“I did all of this for you!” He threw his arms wide, encompassing the room and the view. “But you… What else do I need to do? What can I give that you won’t throw back at me?”
She spun and gasped. “What are you talking about? I never rejected you.” She unclasped the ruby pendant he’d helped her choose and flung it on the bed.
Un
til now. He sank down on the bed and raked shaking hands through his hair as she shoved her dress to the floor and kicked off her shoes.
“Where are my clothes?” she demanded.
“Probably in a drawer.” His stomach churned, threatening to send dinner back up. “What are you doing?”
She stepped into her jeans and yanked a shirt over her head. “This is so overboard. How can we live like this?” She pulled her suitcase from the closet and tossed it on the bed.
What is she talking about? “It’s just a weekend fling, a getaway for fun.”
Clothes, old and new, flew from drawers as Claire yanked them out. She snatched her dress off the floor and dumped it in her luggage, then tripped over her expensive shoes.
“Damn it!” She grabbed the spiky heel and pointed it at him. “What were you thinking? Take Claire to Vegas and shower her with shiny trinkets and fancy suites? Did you think that would impress me?”
“I thought you liked flash and sparkle.” They seemed to be having two different arguments, coming from two different places. Maybe the connection he’d felt never existed at all.
“I do… when it draws attention to me. But this…” she waved the glittering heel at the room, “isn’t about me. It’s a noisy, garish distraction that takes away from me—from us.” She tossed the shoe in the suitcase and zipped it shut. Then she dragged her bags down the hall toward the elevator.
He jumped up and followed her. “Where the hell are you going?”
“Home.”
She’s leaving me? “How? You don’t have any money left.”
A sob escaped her and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’ll find a way.”
He grabbed her arm. “Stay here. We’ll go back to our old room and figure this out.” Whatever the hell this was.
She jerked away and shook her head. “I need to think, but I can’t do it in the middle of all this.” She waved her hand wildly at the flashy room, then punched the elevator button.
“Think about what?” Good question. First they needed to settle on which fight to have.
“I don’t know. I thought you understood me.”
My God. He’d fulfilled all her cravings, including the ones she never admitted to. “I do.” Why doesn’t she see it?
“How can you if you don’t know why I’m leaving?” The elevator doors opened.
“Explain it to me.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry.” She stepped inside, staring at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t come after me.” The doors closed and took her away.
JT staggered back. What the hell just happened? He wanted to make a big romantic gesture, do something special just for her, and it blew up in his face. What had set her off? The bedroom.
He ran back to the bed, searching for answers, but nothing made any sense. Nothing that might’ve offended her jumped out at him. His knees buckled, and he flopped back on the huge empty mattress. He’d paid for the room in advance, knowing sharing it with her would justify the cost, but now he lay there alone with the walls spinning around him.
He ran his hands through his hair, and his fingers tangled in a delicate chain. Claire’s ruby. The stone dangled, sparkling as he caressed his thumb over its facets. She’d wanted this more than anything. Why did she leave it behind?
Don’t come after me. But she’d left him a reason to see her again, a tiny hope that maybe….
Still, he’d helped her pick it out, so in leaving it behind, she’d rejected anything to do with him. The room turned dark and cold, closing in on him with suffocating dread and all too familiar pain. He wrapped it around him like a comforting blanket, refusing to leave his safe cocoon.
Not for Claire, not for anyone.
***
Why am I leaving? Something he’d said.
What can I give…?
No, JT had spoiled and pampered her, fed her needs and nourished her desires. He’d enabled her, and she’d consumed it all like an addict desperate for a fix. So why walk out on him?
Claire dropped her bags with the concierge, and gazed into the crowded lobby. Could she go back? And then what? She’d screwed herself the moment she stepped on the elevator.
“Can I call a cab for you, miss?” The valet smiled and waited for her reply.
“Um….” How would she pay for it? She could put it on her credit card, but covering the extra expense of dinner had nearly maxed out her limit. She wouldn’t get paid until next Friday, and all the spending money she’d brought along had been gambled away or spent on frivolous things. “No, I’m waiting for a ride.”
Now what? She quickly searched travel sites on her phone, but any kind of ticket home exceeded her budget: air, train, even the bus. She’d have to call someone and borrow money or beg for a ride. But who?
Kurt had given her his cell phone number last week, and told her to call him if she needed anything. How did he define ‘anything’? Irrelevant. He’d do it, but—my God—she couldn’t ask him. Seeing him Monday would be awkward enough without that added embarrassment.
Alex? No, he’d ask too many questions, and she always cracked under his cross-examination. She scrolled through her contacts and came to the bottom of the alphabetical list.
Will.
Noooo… maybe? He’d never promised her anything, but since he’d resolved his feelings for Talia, his heart had grown bigger. He’d become a victim’s advocate, fighting for justice with a passion that ran deep.
I’m not a victim. But as tears stung her eyes and her throat swelled up, she could think of no other option. She pressed the button. “Please answer.”
Three rings. “Hello?” His sleepy voice barely reached her ears.
“I need help.”
“Claire?” His muffled tone cleared instantly. “Where are you?”
“I’m stranded in Las Vegas. I can’t get home.”
“How did that happen?”
She heard noise in the background as if he was fumbling to get dressed. “It’s a long story. I just wanted to know if I could borrow some money, or if you know of someone who could lend me enough to—”
“I’ll come get you.”
“What? No. That’s too far to drive, and I can’t pay for gas.”
“Don’t worry about it. Where can I find you?”
“I’m at Caesar’s Palace. I’ll have to wait in the casino.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“No, Will, it’s too far.”
“Don’t argue with me.”
“Please don’t tell Alex.”
“Why?”
“It’s too embarrassing.” Not to mention unethical. “I’ll explain it to him on Monday.”
“All right. Find someplace safe to wait. I’m on my way.”
The phone clicked off, and she pictured him scrambling for his truck. She collected her belongings and wandered back into the casino, scanning the surroundings for a seat to plant her broke ass in.
Someplace safe? Doubtful.
She choose a stool at the bar with a clear line of sight to the front door. The bartender threatened to make her move on unless she ordered something, so she bought a yard long margarita she was sure would get her credit card declined, but the charge went through, and she nursed the drink all night long, keeping an eye on the lobby in case JT decided to pursue her.
He didn’t.
Chapter 24
JT sat in the cockpit doing a second final pre-flight check while waiting for clearance to take off. He’d slept little and didn’t trust his instruments or his instincts this morning.
“Cessna 455, you’re headed for Denver, right?” The controller’s voice crackled through his headset.
“Yes.”
A snicker broke through. “You’re cleared, but don’t forget to make a big one-eighty. Denver is east, not west. You’re on the wrong runway.”
“Roger.” He switched off the intercom. “Fuck you.” Second fuckup of the day. He’d gotten out of the shower without
rinsing the shampoo out of his hair and hadn’t noticed until he rubbed the towel on his head. Simple tasks, but apparently he couldn’t do anything right.
He taxied down the runway and made the turn, trying to focus on flying, but failing. Claire had told him not to come after her, so he hadn’t, but he’d lain awake half the night wondering if he’d made the right choice.
Should he go find her, or should he stay and wait to see if she came back?
He’d gotten up twice, made it all the way to the elevator the second time, before caving and going back to the empty bedroom, cursing himself for his indecision.
Why did she leave? Splurging on a high-roller suite couldn’t have been a deal-breaker. She’d spent all day blowing her money, and he’d gone along for the ride, but when he did the same… poof… she’d left.
When the sun came up, he’d crawled out of bed and attempted to shower, gathered his belongings and stuck her ruby in his chest pocket beside his lucky arrowhead. After checking out, he’d searched the lobby, the casino, the restaurants, and even the dance club for her. Nothing. She’d either found a way home or had done an excellent job hiding from him. She could’ve been anywhere in the city, and he had no idea where to start looking.
He’d called the police and intended to report her missing, but the officer snidely informed him that a breakup did not demand help from them. No, that had been his second fuckup.
Shit, I can’t keep track.
JT called a cab and waited at the concierge stand. He’d sent her a text message: ‘Just tell me that you’re safe.’
Half an hour later her reply came in: ‘I am.’ Finally something going right.
He radioed the tower in Denver and requested permission to land. The empty passenger seat caught his eye, mocking him. You’re not good enough for her. You went over the top to impress her and she rejected you. Give up now before you make a bigger fool of yourself.
Ugh. Why had he heard that in his mother’s voice?
The landing gear touched down without a hitch, and he pulled into the hangar a few minutes later. He unloaded his bags and tossed them in his truck, and as he started the engine, a nagging question circled his brain. Give up or go after her?
Home Is Where the Heat Is Page 23
