As I moved closer to get a better look and pulled Ace along behind me, he let out a low laugh.
“Just wait until you see it at night,” he said, letting go of my hand to wrap his arms around my waist.
I stopped his hands. “What if someone sees?”
“We can see out perfectly, but no one can see in.” When he resumed his hold on my waist, he kissed me beneath my ear. “Over dinner tonight we’ll be able to see the volcano exploding in front of the Mirage.”
“Volcano?” I asked, turning my head to see if he was pulling my leg. But he looked sincere as he nodded.
“Just wait.” Ace pressed a kiss to my lips and then let me go, walking over to the coffee table to pick up the manila envelope I’d seen his driver hand him at the airport. Then he sauntered back over to me with a face full of mischief.
“The first thing is this,” he said, holding up a plain white business card.
“And that is…?”
“The name of the personal shopper who will be assisting you while I’m gone. You’ll need something a bit…high-end casual for what I have planned for us tonight. The shop is located on the second floor, so you won’t have to go too far, and don’t even think about taking your wallet. They’ve got my information on file, so get anything you want.”
“What?” I sputtered, barely able to comprehend what he’d just said. “You want me to go shopping while you work?”
“That’s exactly what I want. You mind?”
“Do I
mind
? Ace, this is some
Pretty Woman
shit right here.”
He laughed and handed me the card, which I promptly stuck in my pocket. Then he held up what looked like the keycard to my suite, except it was black and had a strange symbol on it that I’d never seen before. The symbol seemed to glow blue, then green, then purple under the light, and as Ace put it in my hand, it felt heavy and warm, and the mystery of it sent a thrill up my spine.
My eyes flicked up to his, but his expression gave nothing away. “What is this?” I asked.
“A promise…” he said, as I flipped the card between my fingers.
“Of?”
When he looked at me then, the heat in his eyes ignited a fire in my veins. “Everything,” he said. Then he took the card away and placed it back inside the envelope before walking over to a painting on the wall just behind the spiraling golden staircase. He pushed the painting to the side and typed a code into a keypad hiding just behind it, and when the safe popped open, he shoved the envelope inside.
Damn, it’s something that requires a safe?
That had me more than a little intrigued, and as Ace closed the safe and put the painting back in its place, I admired the way the black suit jacket spanned the broad expanse of his muscular back. Because of the sheer size of him, he’d told me all of his clothes had to be tailored to fit, and thank God for that, because the way he looked in that suit right then was enough to have me falling to my knees and begging to run my hands all over his body.
When he turned to face me, I tried to find the words I’d been searching for since he’d arrived on my doorstep this morning. Hell, since I’d met him, if I were honest.
“Ace, I…” But they wouldn’t come out. Nothing felt like
enough
in that moment, and I let the unspoken words linger in the air between us, a silence that was thick with sexual tension.
Ace strode forward then, his hard body exuding raw power and triggering every carnal desire I had, and when he stopped in front of me, I didn’t hesitate. My lips were on his before he could take his next breath, my tongue slipping inside to tangle with his as I tried to convey what I was feeling. I gave as he took, his body pressed so hard against mine that it was hard to know where he ended and I began. But all too soon it was over, his strong arms pushing me away, even as a regretful half-smile crossed his face.
“I’m about two seconds away from canceling that appearance,” he said, and it was a stroke to my cock to hear the breathless yearning in his words.
As I reached out to straighten his tie, I said, “I suppose I shouldn’t do anything like get naked to entice you to stay.”
Ace’s hands came up to grip my wrists. “No, you really shouldn’t do that.”
“Don’t worry. Consider me on my best behavior while you’re gone. The only place I’ll get naked is the dressing room.”
Groaning, Ace pulled me forward and crushed his lips against mine. “Fucking tease,” he murmured against my mouth, and then he let go of my wrists and pushed away, putting some much-needed space back between us. I couldn’t trust myself not to reach out for him again, especially when he adjusted the erection in his pants, so I forced myself to dig the card out of my pocket just to have something mindless to look at instead of the sultry man moving farther across the room.
Pierro at Brioni
was all that was written on the card, no website or phone number, as if the person with the card should know who and what it meant with just those three words.
“I shouldn’t be too long,” Ace said, slipping the room key into his pocket and walking toward the door. “Maybe two, three hours tops. Make sure you’re dressed and…hungry. And yes, I mean that in both meanings of the word.”
And then with a devilish smile, he walked out of his presidential suite, leaving me standing there in his wake, rearranging an erection of my own.
Oh my fucking God.
I was in the presidential suite. Of Syn. I pivoted around to take in the extravagant suite, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the second-floor ceiling, and the roaring fireplace that didn’t seem to give off any heat. There was no way I belonged here, but I didn’t mind pretending for the night. I tapped the business card against my palm and looked down at it again. What had Ace said? High-end casual? I didn’t even know what that meant.
From the other suite, my phone rang out, a heavy rock beat that could only mean one person, and I jogged over to catch him before the call went to voicemail.
“Derek,” I said when I picked up.
“Hey, asshole. What’s with the Vegas pics? Aren’t you supposed to be shooting a movie?”
“I’ve got the weekend off,” I said, and then remembered I hadn’t exactly come clean to him about what was going on with Ace, and quickly added, “From the movie, I mean. I’ve got a modeling gig this weekend here. In Vegas.”
There was a long pause and then Derek said, “Right. And what’s the name of that gig?”
“The name?”
“Yeah, who’re you shooting with this weekend?”
My brain wasn’t working fast enough to come up with a lie that he’d believe, and even though I had a feeling the bastard knew I was talking out of my ass, I said, “Jergens.” And then immediately slammed my palm into my forehead, because seriously? That was the first fucking thing I could think of?
“Jergens?” Derek repeated, and then let out a barking laugh. “For real?”
“Yeah, they, uh…have a new line of tanning…oil and stuff,” I said, and hoped he’d drop it so I didn’t have to dig the hole deeper.
Derek chuckled again. “You have got to be the worst liar ever. You know that, right?”
“Fuck you.”
“Nah, I’m good right now, and something tells me you are too. How’s that hot movie star boyfriend? Oh, I’m sorry,
costar
?”
“I’m sure he’s fine back in L.A.”
“You’re really sticking to that story, huh?”
“What? There’s nothing to tell.”
Liar, liar, you set Ace’s pants on fire.
Jesus, what was I, fucking five?
“If you say so, Prescott. If you say so.”
I went to run my hand through my hair, but I was still holding the card, and that gave me a thought. “Hey, is Jordan there with you?”
“Maybe. What do you want with my guy?”
“Can you put him on? I got invited to this…” What the hell was I supposed to say?
Hey, I got this weird-ass keycard thing that glows and I need to know if you know what it means?
Yeah, that wasn’t going to raise flags or anything. “It’s just some fancy shit that I figured he might know something about, being a gazillionaire and all.”
“Last I heard, it was only in the millions, but yeah, fancy shit is more his deal. Hang on.” There was a muffling sound as if the phone was switching hands, and then Jordan Devaney came over the line, a breath of fresh air and as animated as ever.
“What are you being so secretive about over there, pretty boy?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes at the nickname.
Ignoring his question, I said, “What does high-end casual mean?”
“High-end casual? Is that what you need to wear tonight or something?”
“Yeah, he…uh, my agent gave me a card for someone named Pierro at Brioni and told me to go shopping for something high-end casual, whatever the hell that means.”
“Brioni?” Jordan said, and then whistled. “Damn, your
agent
brought out the big guns for you, didn’t he?”
As I looked around the enormous suite again, I had to agree. “Looks like it. So can you help?”
“Honey, you don’t need my help. Trust me, Pierro will take good care of you.”
“Okay. Second question, you’ve been to Vegas, right? Have you ever been to Syn?”
“Only every time I go. Why?”
“Have you ever seen a black…keycard…looking…thing that…um, glows? With a weird symbol on it?”
That must’ve gotten Jordan’s attention, because the amusement left his voice. “Is that what he—your agent gave you?”
“Yeah. Do you know what I’m supposed to do with it?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Jordan let out a trilling laugh. “Oh, sweet thing, I can’t tell you what that is, but I
can
promise you that you won’t end up in a garbage bag along with the night’s trash, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“So you know what it’s for but you won’t tell me.”
“That’s correct.”
I let out a frustrated growl. “And you think I’m secretive.”
“Well, the difference between you and I is that no one knows
my
secrets. But you, pretty boy…you’re not fooling anyone. We’ll let you play a bit longer, though.”
“I suddenly regret answering this call.”
The phone switched over to Derek then. “We miss you too, Prescott. Have fun getting rubbed down with Jergens this weekend and call me if anything…well, comes
up
,” he said, and then gave a roaring laugh.
“No offense, man, but you’d be the last person I’d call if
that
happened.” I glanced down at the card in my hand and felt a thrill zing through me over whatever possibilities the night might hold, and then said, “Okay, asshole, I have to go and buy something fancy, according to your man. I’m not sure if he eased my mind or made me more fucking nervous. Thank him for that, would you?”
Derek told me he’d thank him
real
good, then hung up, leaving me standing there holding the business card that would, apparently, have me dressed, pressed, and ready for whatever Ace had in store for us—and damn if I wasn’t eager to impress.
22
DESTINATION UNKNOWN
FINALLY
, I THOUGHT, as I stepped into the private elevator and inserted my keycard. Never had a product launch felt as long as today’s had, but when I glanced at my watch I noted it had only been a little over two and a half hours. It didn’t surprise me that it had felt more like ten, because any time I wasn’t with Dylan seemed like too long to me.
What
was
shocking was how much his presence seemed to affect the kind of mood I was in. A little over a month ago I would’ve spent the entire evening partying it up with the guests downstairs, but now, now it felt as though something was missing. No, not something—someone.
Without Dylan, life wasn’t half as…exciting. And I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that yet. I knew what I hoped for, what I really wanted to come out of this burgeoning relationship, but I was also aware that this thing—whatever it was Dylan and I were doing—had happened fast.
From the moment we’d met, life had been a whirlwind. Chaotic. Not your average dating scene. But I was also aware that that was my life. It wasn’t normal. And I wondered just how long we would be able to stay in this little bubble I’d created before the rest of the world would intrude. And when it did, would Dylan stick around?
God, I really hope so.
Because the alternative was too painful to even think about.
Tonight, however, we had to ourselves. I had planned everything down to the last detail, and I couldn’t wait for it to get started. The entire way through the Sapphire vodka launch I’d been amping myself up for what I wanted to ask of Dylan tonight. I didn’t want him to feel pressured or rushed, and before we went through with this I needed him to be one hundred percent onboard with what I had in mind.
To say I was nervous was an understatement. I was about to put myself out there in a way I never had before. And while that was scary, I knew if Dylan said yes, then I would do everything in my power to make him happy.
When the elevator reached my floor, I inhaled and shook my hands out by my sides as I made my way down the hall to my suite.
This is it.
I stood at the door and counted back from ten.
Open the door, step inside, and do it. You got this. You can do this. You’re Ace Locke, for fuck’s sake.
And with that little pep talk, I reminded myself what this was about, inserted my hotel key, and opened the door.
As I stepped inside, the first thing I noticed were all the lights in the massive suite were turned off. The second thing was the table set up across the room in front of the windows overlooking the Strip. And the reason my eyes were drawn to it were the flickering candles in the center of it, and the candelabra on either side illuminating the immediate area around it.
Good, dinner had arrived.
I slipped my key into the pocket of my jacket and walked farther into the room, passing under the elaborate staircase, searching for the man who was to share the meal I could see had been left on a sterling silver serving tray beside a wine bucket stand, but Dylan was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was still getting ready. I unbuttoned my jacket and reached for the knot of the tie at my neck. I needed to grab a quick shower and change before we headed out tonight, but I planned to do that after we ate and Dylan had…agreed to the evening’s activity.