Vixen in Vegas (Sinful Novellas) (15 page)

I knew what I wanted. It was something that I had never asked for before of any man, of any
one
in my life. This was the first time I felt safe enough to speak the words, this deep secret desire. Gripping the back of his head so he would know how serious I was, I said, “Never leave me. Never
ever
. Promise me that.”

He paused for a moment too long. He had a stricken look on his face. He covered it quickly enough. “I will never leave you of my own volition. How’s that?”

He had agreed. Yet somehow I didn’t feel better. Somehow, I might have even felt worse. Before I could question what his words, he was beside me, wrapping me in his embrace. “Look!” He exclaimed. “A shooting star. Make a wish, Sin.”

Looking at him, I murmured, “I thought I already did.”

Waking up in bed alone still surprised me. Sure, I had years of experience, but historically speaking, I was always the early riser in the relationship. Then I heard the water running in the bathroom, so I slipped out from between the sheets and slid out of the huge four-poster bed. Silently, I peeked through the door to the bathroom to find that Ben was taking a shower. What kind of fake wife would I be if I didn’t offer to wash his back?

Last night we had fallen asleep naked after yet another round of lovemaking. I nearly shuddered at that thought. I never would have called it that in the past, but with Ben, there was no other way to describe it. For us, sex was more than simply pleasuring our bodies or satisfying a physical need. When we had sex, it was a way that connected us emotionally, on a whole new level. I felt stupid even thinking that way, but the impact it had on me was undeniable. I was softer now. Jolie would be so proud of me.

Stepping into his steam shower, I pressed my naked body up against his, making sure not to startle him. That wouldn’t start our morning off well. He held my arms more tightly against him. “Good morning, Sin,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I hope that you had a nice night, just like you wanted.” His eyes had that teasing look that I had grown so accustomed to, the one that set my heart to fluttering because I
loved
to play with that man.

“As usual, you surpassed my expectations.” Then before he could say anything else, I began to stroke his semi erect penis.

Inhaling sharply, he added, “And I see you’ve decided to start our morning off right.”

“You know it,” I said as I dropped to a squat and began to lick and suck on his now erect dick. I could tell that he had already washed up. There were no lingering flavors from last night. For that, I was eternally grateful.

“Up,” he said as he hauled me up into his arms. “I want you so badly.”

My chin jutted out. “So take me. I’m yours.”

With that, he pressed me up against the wet marble tile. Seconds later I felt his cock probing around to find my eager opening. I braced myself against the wall with my hands. Ben made good use of his hands, massaging my breasts, tugging on my nipples, stroking all around my clit. Thank god for the water, since I was absolutely on fire. Thank god for Ben for anchoring me in the moment. I swear I felt like I was going up in steam.

After the shower, I was ready to refuel so I headed straight for the kitchen as soon as I was dressed. “Good morning, Lucy!” I exclaimed when I saw her in the kitchen. “I thought I’d just grab a hot tea. Don’t mind me. I’ll try to stay out of your way if you just point me in the direction of the mugs.

“Oh, I’ll get it for you, miss!” She said vehemently.

“Please call me Sin. And I am not at all accustomed to being waited on. I’m sure you have more important things to do,” I said honestly.

She looked skeptical. “We rarely have company…Sin. And you are too kind to ever be a burden.”

With that she shooed me out to the patio. There I found the table already set and mini chafing dishes lined up along a table on the side of the patio. I’m not a huge breakfast eater when I have to make it, so these weeks of traveling have thoroughly spoiled me. I found scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and ham steaks. Then there was a basket of breads and bagels. I was in breakfast heaven.

Sitting at the table, I didn’t know whether or not I’d be eating alone or if Ben would be joining me. As soon as I had toasted and buttered my bagel, I had my answer. Walking through the door, he smiled at me as he passed me a huge mug of tea. “This is from Lucy. She asked me to bring it to you on my way.” He smiled at me. “How is breakfast?”

“It’s wonderful. Will you be joining me?” I asked with a smile.

“I figured I better. I need my Sin fix before I get to work.” He smiled weakly.

“I thought you had your Sin fix in the shower, “ I teased. And when he didn’t react, I asked, “What’s wrong?” His face concerned me.

“I just feel badly. Working. Again.” He frowned. “I’ll try to be done by lunch. Would you like to meet me at the winery?”

“I’d love to! Just stop worrying about me. I have work to do. The SD card needs to be loaded on the laptop. I have to check my emails, submit my pictures for approval, and maybe take more pictures. “ I sighed at the thought of all the work I had backed up. “I will be plenty busy for the next four or five hours.”

“Okay, that makes me feel better. Ask George for directions if you need them. Or maybe he could drive you down and you could ride back with me on the golf cart.” He grinned and took a healthy sip of coffee. “I know how you love the golf cart.” Glancing at his watch he frowned. “Well, this morning certainly managed to get away from me. It could be that I took a much longer shower than normal.” He winked. “See you in a few hours.” With a kiss to my cheek and quick embrace, he headed back into the house to head down the driveway to the winery.

Just as I promised, I found plenty to do. I began by running up to our room to collect my laptop from my computer bag. I hadn’t brought that out in days and I could only imagine how many emails I had backed up in there. So while my pictures were loading, I starting deleting and responding to the plethora of emails loading my inbox.

There were a few requests from magazines that I had worked with previously. While I declined some of the jobs offered, there were one or two that were perfect for me. The first one was an opportunity to supply pictures for a series of articles on Vegas. I clapped my hands together. It seemed they wanted a road les traveled kind of article and I was just the girl to supply the pictures. There was a second one, was from a horse magazine that wanted some pictures. I might already have something that would work after the pictures I took the other day. I loved offering exclusives. It was so much more profitable. There was a lot more to it than that, but this was the gist of it.

So I created a file for some of the pictures that I intended to sell to the magazines. Then I started organizing the rest for submission to various sites. The requirements were never the same. Plus, some sites paid more than others, so I submitted there first. Some paid less, but had more traffic. It evened out.

Before I knew it, it was closing in on 1pm. I rushed down the stairs, making quite the racket in my new cowboy boots. George heard me coming and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Thank you for meeting me. I was hoping you could give me a ride or directions?” I said sweetly, trying to at least behave a little bit and not embarrass Ben.

“I can’t leave for a while, but I can give you directions if you don’t mind driving,” George said politely.

“Absolutely! We can race each other back to the house,” I joked.

So, armed with directions, I headed out the door and to the SUV. I had been thinking that I needed a hat to go with the boots and complete the look. I figured that Ben might enjoy shopping with me. We could find some cute café to eat lunch at. He could show me around town. I had it all thought out. He loved it when I was assertive.

Walking into the winery, I had my camera at the ready to snap more pictures. I saw the conference room on the other side of the cask room. It was wrapped in windows. Ben was in there. That made my heart smile instantly. Then a really attractive blonde walked into the room. She looked like she was upset with him, but he seemed to silence her with a peck on the cheek and a hug. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and started walking her out of the room.

I was super far away still. It seemed rude to call out to him, so I just kept my same casual pace, kept walking toward the conference room. Then they stepped outside the door.

“I can’t lose you!” She cried. “Do you not understand that I would be completely lost without you? I don’t know how to do this!” There were tears streaming down her face. She threw herself into Ben’s arms and was crying on his chest. He was comforting her.

My throat began to constrict. I was having trouble breathing. Who was this woman that he was comforting? Could it be an old girlfriend? Someone who still wanted to be his girlfriend? The possibilities were endless. My patience was not.

Slowly, I made my way over to them. Ben spotted me first. Smiling, he released the woman who had looked so at ease in his arms. My heart hurt. My mind was reeling. I didn’t understand. At the same time, I wanted to believe there was a logical relationship between the two. After all, he hadn’t behaved in a guilty manner. He wasn’t sputtering and struggling to explain. He wasn’t Kyle. And this…some woman crying in Ben’s arms…was a far cry from Kyle screwing his secretary on the conference table.

My pace slowed. Time stood still. They spoke some more. The woman was growing louder more frantic.

“You’re dying and you’ve given up!” She yelled as she pounded on his chest. “You think I don’t know why you left? You think I don’t know what’s going on in your head? Who could possibly know you better than I do?”

“Calm down, Brenda. Please stop. You know how much men hate over emotional women,” he said gently.

“How can I calm down when you are running yourself into the ground? You are all I have left!” Her sobs resounded throughout the room.

He gave her a wry look. “Seriously.
I’m
all you have left. Stop.” He sighed in frustration. “And I’m not running myself into the ground.” He looked down and pushed her back some. “I’m not trying to kill myself. We both know the prognosis is grim. I think I’m holding up pretty well.”

“You quit. You gave up. It doesn’t have to be like this!” She looked up at him while tears streamed down her face, taking lots of mascara with them.

“I can’t keep going on like that.” His frown deepened. “I can’t keep playing human guinea pig, draining the family till on the remote possibility that I might get a miracle. Why can’t you understand that I just want to enjoy my time, what little I may have left? Just let me live while I’m dying. Is that so much to ask?”

My heart. At least I think it was my heart. There was this wide, open ache in my chest like a cannon ball had plowed through it. My head was pounding as I tried to process it all. There was a strange attractive blonde woman clinging to the man I love, who professed to love me back. There were claims that he was dying. There…there was something wrong here…really really wrong here.

I took a few more tentative steps. My cowboy boots echoed throughout the room this time since the distance between us had shrunk so significantly and there was a break in their conversation. Ben looked up again and saw the look on my face. I’m guessing that he realized what I must have heard because he suddenly pulled away from this woman…this Brenda who was entirely too comfortable in his arms.

Standing there frozen in place, I didn’t know what to do. What was I supposed to say in response to a conversation I clearly wasn’t meant to hear?

“You wanted me to meet you for lunch,” I said quietly. While I spoke I had turned myself around. I was facing the direction I came from. My SUV was out there. I could leave. I wanted to leave.

“Don’t, Sin,” Ben said quietly. When I turned back at the sound of his voice, I saw that all the color had drained from his face. He had peeled Brenda off and was starting toward me, slowly with one hand outstretched as though I was some wild animal he was trying to tame.