“I can’t imagine growing up here,” she said.
“Why not?”
“It just seems it’d be a hard place to live. Kind of like Jamaica. I visited there on a cruise last summer, and there was such a duality in the lifestyles. Wealthy cruise passengers buying stuff in town and the natives who made do with so little.”
She’d hit it on the head. That was Vegas in one brief sentence. It was very important that she never realize that he’d been one of the natives.
He didn’t say anything else, just took her elbow and led her back down the hallway. He loved touching her. Her skin was so soft and smooth. He knew she didn’t need his hand on her arm to guide her, but he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to touch her.
He opened a door to a darkened staircase. He lifted her into his arms and carried her down the one flight of stairs quickly. When they reached the landing and viewing platform, he let her slide down his body. Keeping her in his arms, but turning her so that her back was pressed to his front. He lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “Prepare to be awed.”
He couldn’t resist nibbling at the smooth expanse of her skin by her ear. She shivered in his arms, her head falling back against his shoulder. He lifted his head and waited until the golden light of El Dorado filled the landing before taking her mouth in a kiss that asked for nothing. That took her completely with the intention of putting to rest any of the questions she might still want to ask.
Five
S
he knew in her heart that he was using the physical attraction that ran so strongly between them to distract her, but she didn’t care. The darkness in Deacon’s eyes spoke to her lonely soul. She needed to soothe him in whatever way she could.
But it wasn’t only to soothe him that she lifted her arms and leaned more fully into his kiss. She kissed him to ease her battered heart, as well. Deacon touched a part of her she’d forgotten. The deep heart of her dreams that involved her ideas of life, love and forever after.
She sighed, opening her eyes to look at him. His eyes were open and he watched her with an intensity that shook her. She pulled back.
He said nothing, just continued to watch her with the gaze that reaffirmed what he’d stated earlier. He wanted her. He wasn’t giving up until he had her.
She had to be honest. She was excited and flattered that he thought she was worth the struggle. But another part of her, the wounded part, wondered if she could live up to what he’d expect from her.
She cupped his face, rubbing her fingers against the stubble on his chin. “Don’t expect too much from me.”
In reply he lowered his head and took her mouth again. Thought fled and she surrendered herself to him completely.
Deacon seemed to have all the time in the world and was interested in only exploring her mouth. Taking his time to learn all her secrets. She realized she was passively lying in his arms. Letting Deacon, with his strong will, mold her as he would.
She lifted her hands from his shoulders and shoved her fingers into his hair, then held his head while she took control of the kiss. She had little experience with men. Her ex had been very aggressive and liked it best when she just let him do everything. But she mimicked Deacon’s actions. He’d made her feel cherished and sexy and she yearned to evoke the same feelings in him. Hungry and needing something that only Deacon could provide her.
She kept her eyes open. Noticed that his had narrowed and the hands that had been resting so patiently only moments before started to move. His hand under her breast moved to cup its fullness, then rubbed the globe with a light teasing circular motion.
She undulated against him until his palm was right over her nipple. He lifted his head, looking down at her with eyes that glowed with primal need. His lips were swollen from their kiss.
She felt pulses of awareness shuddering through her. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she wanted nothing more than to push him to the ground and fall on top of him.
Before she could act or speak, Deacon lifted her and pivoted to rest against the wall. She grasped his biceps as he lifted her higher and pulled her closer.
“Put your legs around my waist.”
She did as he asked. A minute later she felt his mouth on her nipple through the material of her bra and dress. She shuddered again, rocking against him. She felt helpless in her passion. And totally under his command.
She grabbed his head and held him to her breast. He suckled strongly and then scraped his teeth over her aroused flesh. She squirmed against him, needing more than he was giving. He switched his attention to her other breast, which intensified the ache between her legs.
She tunneled her fingers through his thick dark hair and held him to her as he suckled her breast. Each pull of his lips and touch of tongue sparked an answering pull deep in her center. She tried to tighten her legs, but he was there between them.
She rocked against his hard middle seeking something she couldn’t find there.
“Deacon,” she gasped.
He raised his head, then took her hips in his hands and shifted her on his body. He held her still until his penis nudged the center of her body. Exactly where she needed to feel his hardness. They fit together well.
She reached between their bodies, caressing him through the fabric of his pants. His hips jerked forward under her touch and she reached for his zipper. Lowering it, she slipped her hand into his trousers.
Deacon reached down to adjust himself and zip his pants before answering his phone. He listened to his duty manager explain that they had a couple of con men in the security office. It wasn’t something that Deacon could ignore.
But he wanted to. He was still hard, and only the thought of carrying Kylie upstairs to his bedroom had kept him from entering her moist body moments earlier.
“I’m sorry, angel, but I’ve got to go take care of a problem.”
Her lips were swollen from his kisses. Her nipples still stood out against the bodice of her dress, and her hair was mussed. He didn’t want to leave her. For the first time since he’d begun his quest to be the ruler of his own kingdom, he resented that kingdom.
“I know you have a business to run,” she said.
He wanted to ask her to wait for him but it was late; just because he only needed four hours’ sleep to function didn’t mean that Kylie did.
“I’ll walk you back to your room,” he said.
He wanted to see her safely to her bed. To tuck her in and make sure she was safe before he went back to his world.
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is to me,” he said, cupping her elbow and leading her down the hallway. The corridor was still dark. He knew he should carry her up the stairs, but didn’t trust himself to take her in his arms again. He wanted her too badly.
Even standing this close to her was torture. The scent of her filled his nostrils, and it took all his willpower not to lower his head and breathe in the scent of her.
“Careful,” he warned, guiding her with a hand on her back as they climbed the steps.
He stopped her at the top of the stairs. The well-lit landing showed that her skin was still flushed and her pupils were still dilated. Her breathing was shallow. He pulled her close to him, realizing he’d moved too fast for her. She’d warned him earlier, but he’d never been good at not reaching out and taking what he wanted.
He should apologize. Dammit, tonight was supposed to have been a slow seduction. Too bad his body had other ideas.
He cradled her face in his hands and tipped her head back. He couldn’t say the words he knew a gentleman would say. The words that perhaps a guy like Mac, who’d grown up in a world where women were different, might. The words that would somehow magically make their encounter, which hadn’t lasted long enough, seem right.
So instead, he kissed her. Showing her with his body that she was precious to him. Making promises he knew she wouldn’t recognize or understand. He sipped at her lips with a restraint he was amazed he had.
When Kylie slid her arms around his waist, he knew he had to pull away, stop this before it went any farther. He was being noble here, and she needed to understand that right now he was all illusion. He was playing to her image of what a gentleman should be.
He held both her hands in his. She watched him with eyes that were wide and hungry, and again he cursed the very thing that had enabled them to meet—the Golden Dream.
“Why don’t I wait in your office for you?” she said.
“No.”
She stepped back as if he’d slapped her. Crossing her arms, she raised one eyebrow at him. He’d forgotten her feisty side and knew he was about to become reacquainted with it.
“I thought we had some unfinished business,” she said.
“Not tonight. I want it to be right for you, angel.”
He wanted to continue the discussion with her but didn’t. He opened the door leading to the executive offices and Kylie followed him reluctantly.
“I don’t want to be sent off to my room. I’m going back to the bar to find my friends.”
“Kylie, don’t—”
“Don’t what?”
He had no answer for her. He wasn’t going to tell this sweet woman that she made him feel weak in ways he’d never felt before.
“That’s what I thought. I guess this is goodbye.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s good-night.”
She gave him a half smile, then fluffed her hair and started down the hall. He knew she didn’t understand why he was sending her away. Hell, he didn’t, either. It was just that he wanted everything to be perfect for her.
“Angel?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. His breath caught in his chest, and he wanted something he’d never wanted before. Not money, which seemed to come to him easily once he’d understood the order of the world. Not acceptance from society, which still eluded him, but the longing to be her hero. To have that woman look at him with respect because he’d earned it, not because he’d surrounded himself with the trappings of wealth.
“I want our first time to be memorable,” he said at last.
She walked back toward him, her hips swaying with each step she took. How could he ever have thought this woman was meek and shy?
She stopped when barely an inch of space separated them. Every nerve in his body was acutely aware that he could lift her up and carry her to one of the empty offices along this hall and take her.
Standing on tiptoe, she braced her hands against his shoulders and whispered right into his ear, “How could it be anything but memorable?”
He shuddered as she gently bit his earlobe and walked away. Any doubts he had about Kylie being the perfect candidate for his wife disappeared, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt he’d met his match. This ride was going to be a wild one.
Kylie awoke the next morning to the sun streaming in the windows and a note propped in front of the clock. It was from Tina.
Hey, roomie! Going biking (Harley!) with Bob today. Catch you in the lounge at 7 tonight for drinks. Sorry about last night.
Kylie stretched and dropped the note back on the nightstand. She’d dreamed of Deacon all night. Erotic dreams that continued the lovemaking they’d started under the waterfall. She ran her hands down her body, remembering his touch.
She’d played another game of roulette before heading up to her room. It hadn’t been the same without Deacon pressed to her back, and she’d lost. It drove home the fact that everything in this town changed on a dime. She’d be wise to remember that. To remember that anything between Deacon and her was only fleeting.
She’d never had a vacation fling before. Never contemplated having sex with a man she’d never see again when she returned home. In fact, what they’d done under the El Dorado waterfall was the farthest she’d gone with sex since Jeff. But it didn’t bother her. She felt as if she was awakening as the woman she was meant to be with Deacon.
She pushed the covers off the bed and stood. The message light was flashing on her phone.
The message was from Deacon, his dark voice bringing every nerve ending to tingling awareness. He invited her to breakfast in his suite at nine.
It was twenty minutes after nine. She’d never been a morning person, and she usually had a hard time dragging herself out of bed for work. She bit her lip. Should she keep her distance from Deacon?
She dialed the private number he’d left on the message. He answered on the third ring.
“Prescott.”
“It’s Kylie.”
“Good morning, angel.”
“Morning. Is your breakfast invitation still good? I just got up.”
“How about if we change it to brunch? I’ll be in meetings until eleven.”
“If you’re busy, we can do it another time.”
“I’m not.”
She needed to get it together, except that Deacon made her feel very…not like herself. She’d always thought she was the steady and predictable one. But Deacon made her want to be…wild.
“Where should I meet you?” she asked. She’d hoped to have time to explore the hotel a little. The resort’s theme was “all things Golden,” according to the pamphlet in her room.
“I’ll come to you. What are your plans for the morning?”
“I thought I’d go to the pool to read.”
“I’ll join you there.”
“I’ll have to change clothes if we’re going to eat.” She didn’t want him to see her in her old granny bathing suit, complete with skirt. Any woman who was going to be a mate to a man like Deacon would wear a bikini or something sexy.
“No, you won’t. I’ll arrange for brunch in my suite.”
She’d go shopping in the hotel. Surely it had a clothing boutique. She’d need something sophisticated. “Okay.”
“Good. I’ll see you then,” he said, and disconnected.
“Not Angelo?” she asked.
“God, no. That’s someone’s idea of a joke.”
A silence fell between them. It was the kind of awkward moment she was used, to though she doubted that anyone who didn’t have her terminal shyness ever experienced it. She remembered the tip that Tina had given her long ago. Ask about work.
“So does the gaming commission keep an eye on the merchandise operations, as well?”