Tex (Burnout) (48 page)

Hilliard smiled at her and produced a different sheaf of papers from his briefcase. Apparently he had anticipated that Abby wouldn’t be going down without a fight. He filled in the appropriate numbers and called the casino floor to issue a cashier’s check.

As they waited he loosened his tie. “You should stay, Abby.”

Abby returned the smile, but shook her head. “I can’t. This is not my town, Mr. Hilliard.”

Undeterred the old man said, “It could be.”

“Vegas killed my father,” Abby said, somewhat wearily. “It killed Mick, too.”

Hilliard sighed and nodded, his Old Vegas eyes showing that he understood that while the death certificates might say “Pancreatic Cancer” and “Heart Disease” it was years of trying to keep your soul relatively clean in this dirty little town that eventually did both men in. Abby silently wondered how long the old man in front her had left, and whether he thought it had all been worth it.

Twenty minutes later Hilliard handed her the check and offered her a heartfelt handshake.

Abby returned the friendly sentiment and headed back upstairs.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

As Abby entered the suite, Tex stood up from the chair he was lounging in. She tossed her purse on the couch and kissed him.

“Sorry I took so long,” she said.

“You alright?” he asked, stepping back to look at her.

She nodded. “Yep. Better than alright.”

He smiled at her. “Good. Because if you’d taken any longer, I was coming to find you.”

She laughed. “It was fine. Honestly.”

“Well, you’re late, but not that late. Come on,” he told her. “It’s time for dinner.”

At the elevators, Tex pushed the button for the top floor rather than the ground floor where the Canyon’s restaurant was located.

“Um,” Abby started to say, but he shook his head.

The car traveled up to the top floor and they both got out. Tex led her to the end of the hall where he produced an electronic key card from his pocket. With a swipe, he unlocked the door to the stairway.

Abby giggled. “And here I thought I was the one who had this place wired.”

Tex grinned at her as he held the door open. “Apparently it’s all about who you know.”

“Oh, is it now?” she teased as he led her to the roof.

Outside it was a beautiful evening, not too hot with only a slight breeze. A room service cart had been brought up and a small table, lined with a table cloth overlooked Sin City as the sun was beginning to set.

“Your friends had some ideas about the best place to eat in the city.”

Abby looked out at the glittering oasis that lit up the desert surrounding it. “I’ve been up here,” she admitted. “But I’ve never had dinner here.”

Tex held out her chair for her and as she moved to sit in it he leaned close to her ear. “Always nice to be your first,” he half-whispered.

She blushed in spite of herself.

They finished the meal just as the sun was about to sink into the horizon. Abby was about to head to the edge of the roof to watch, but Tex lifted up the tablecloth that was draped over the food service cart and fished something out of the lower shelf.

“Dessert?” she asked, hopefully.

“No,” he replied and made his way over to her. “Like I said,” he declared, producing a flat, blue velvet box. “Your friends have been very helpful.”

She took it and opened it. Inside was a gold snake chain necklace with a large flower made of rubies and diamonds. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She couldn’t even begin to guess at the cost.

“Oh, Mark-”

“I love you. It’s not just the kink, Abby. That’s part of it, but it’s not the only reason. I wanted to give you something you could wear all the time. No one at work will know what it means. And it’s not a play collar, Abby. By wearing it, you’re not required to obey me any more than you already do. That’s still for the bedroom only. This is just...a symbol of our relationship.

“I know I just said I love you for more than kink, and then I gave you a collar. But it’s also vintage. From 1950. Like the movies you love. I saw it and I knew it was perfect for you. It’s you, Abby. All of you. The sassy, beautiful, kinky, adorable woman who knows all the lines to every classic movie. I want everyone to see how much I love you. Even if most of them won’t know all the reasons why.”

Tears rimmed Abby’s eyes. “Mark-”

“Shhh. All that matters is you keep giving me you. That’s the most precious thing you could ever give me. Your love, your trust, your obedience in the bedroom. I can’t put a price on that. It’s worth everything to me.”

He took the necklace out and handed it to her while pocketing the box. Then he took it back, stepped around behind her, and slid it around her neck. The jeweled flower nestled perfectly in the hollow of her throat.

“I couldn’t have wished for anything more perfect,” she told him.

He took her in his arms and nuzzled her ear. “I feel the same way.”

Back downstairs, the rest of the group showed up at the suite, ready to head downstairs and hit the casino. Sarah headed off to find Abby, who was still getting ready in the bedroom and was only there a few short moments before she let out a piercing shriek.

"Oh my God! Oh my GOD! OH MY GOD!"

Shooter glanced over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door, then to Tex who was positively beaming. "I got Abby a permanent collar," he announced proudly. The men were stunned.

Shooter rubbed his face with his hand. "Please. Please tell me it's not a spiked dog collar. You'll scare Slick."

Loud squealing ensued from the bedroom, but none of the men knew if this was a good thing or not.

Tex scowled at Shooter. "I wouldn't put a spiked dog collar on a
dog
, let alone a woman."

The bedroom door flew open and Sarah darted out. She threw herself at Tex and hugged him. “Oh, it’s so beautiful!” she cried.

The men rounded the women to get a better look at Abby who emerged from the bedroom wearing a red dress that matched the jeweled flower at her throat.

"It's so beautiful!" Sarah proclaimed again. "It's a collar? It doesn't look like it. It's gorgeous!"

Abby laughed. "Well, it's a necklace. Vintage Tiffany's. Unless they know us, no one will know what it means."

Sarah squealed. "It's so perfect for you!" She turned to look at Tex. "Mark, it's...amazing!"

When Slick had calmed down, Tex looked at their friends. "Thanks, you guys. For being cool about it. It means a lot that we don't have to hide."

Hawk chuckled. "Are we gonna have a group hug now? Might lead to an orgy."

"Fuck you," Tex replied, but he was grinning.

Doc put his arm around Abby's shoulders. "Well, aside from Slick, I've never seen a man make a woman so happy. So whatever it is you're doing,” he told Tex, “and I probably don't want to know what it is, but you must be doing it right.”

At the craps table, Hawk laughed. "Now, you're going to be shopping for jewelry," he told Shooter. "You know this, right?"

Shooter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Nah. Not me. Slick likes panties. Lots and lots of panties. We have weekday panties and week
end
panties."

The men laughed. "You mean they have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday written on them?" asked Hawk.

"No. I mean the weekday panties are just Victoria's Secret. Thirty bucks a pair. Very cute, but no big whoop. The weekend panties she orders online. From
Paris
. I got excited and tore a pair. That did not go over well. Weekend panties are purely visual aids. Hundred bucks a pair."

Hawk coughed on his beer. "
A hundred bucks a pair?"

"I know," Shooter said. "I know. But I figure, I have my bike, she has her panties. And it is sooooo worth it."

"A hundred bucks a pair worth it?" Hawk repeated.

Shooter grinned. "Well, each one comes with it's own little backstory. She's got this french maid thing. A naughty nurse thing. She's even got some frilly little knickers for Princess and the Pirate. Every weekend is like Sexy Halloween. What am I gonna say? No more Sexy Halloween? Yeah, that's not happening. I love Slick's little panties. Plus they make her feel pretty, and that's worth every dime I make."

The men frowned. "You guys talked about maybe plastic surgery?" Doc asked

Shooter nodded. "Yeah, but she doesn't want to spend the money right now or have to be out of work with Maria needing so much help. Later, when things are calmer, we'll discuss it some more. I'm okay with whatever she does. I just want her to feel good about herself."

"Maybe you guys could get a his and her discount," Easy replied, lightening the mood.

Shooter chuckled. "No, my scars are rugged, manly scars that make me more attractive. Or so says Slick."

The girls found them, Slick apparently having lost at the roulette wheel. "What are you talking about?" she asked as everyone got quiet.

Her husband put one arm around her. "Nothing baby. Just...you know...weekend panties," Shooter told her.

Sarah rolled her eyes at him. "Weekend panties?" Abby asked.

Sarah turned to look at her. "He ripped my La Perla's."

Abby gasped. "Part of a set?"

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Sheer lace balconette bra."

"Brute!" she cried at Shooter. He grimaced contritely.

“I lost,” Sarah announced.

“I told you not to play,” Abby admonished.

“I need more money,” Sarah told Chris. He dutifully fished some bills out of his wallet.

“Don’t cheat,” he warned her.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at her husband, took the cash, and pulled Abby toward the Blackjack tables.

As they sat side by side at a table with two openings, Sarah looked at Abby and a smile crossed her lips.

“What?” Abby asked.

“I was worried, when you two met.”

“Worried?” Abby shook her head. “No. You were right. Tex would never, ever hurt me.”

“No, it was him I was worried about.”

Abby was shocked. “Why?”

Sarah leaned in a lowered her voice. “Well, I’ve known him a while now. And he was always pretty open about the fact that he was...dominant. I tried to be upbeat and positive about it, but he had a laundry list of things he was looking for. I’m not even talking about the kinky stuff. I don’t even know about that part. But he was holding out for an intelligent, independent, sexy woman who could hold her own against him outside of the bedroom, but still be strong enough to wear this,” Sarah said, running a finger along the necklace. “And like I said, I tried to stay positive for his sake, but honestly it seemed like the tiniest sliver of a Venn Diagram, finding a woman who could be both.”

Abby toyed with the felt at the edge of the table. “He’s everything I want, too,” she admitted.

****

Two hours later the group had splintered. Doc had found a woman at the bar and was about to close the deal with her. Easy and Hawk were trying to outshoot each other at the craps table. Slick and Shooter had wandered to off to no one knew where and Mark was busy nuzzling Abby’s ear from behind.

“Ready to go upstairs and be naughty?” he asked quietly.

She smiled and ran her hands along his arms. “More than ready.”

They practically sprinted toward the elevator and when they were inside, Mark jammed the button to close the doors before anyone else could get on with them. He pushed her up against the side of the car and ground his cock into her. She paused in their kissing long enough to hiss, “Cameras!”

“Let them watch,” Mark declared, sliding a hand up Abby’s leg, but stopping just short of truly indecent.

When the car stopped and the doors slid open, he tugged her out and hurried toward their door. After fumbling with the electronic key card for a moment, he finally got it and the door swung inward. They made it as far as the couch where he sat down, pulling her on top of him, and his hand found the spot he’d refrained from caressing in the elevator.

Abby moaned appreciatively.

And then the phone rang.

She tore her lips from his and glared at it.