Vegas Miracle (2 page)

 Ryan put his drink on a small table and put both hands behind his head.  His long legs stuck out in front of him and Grace pulled her feet back so as not to risk contact.  She didn’t think she could handle it.

"I earned money as a teenager working summers at a resort not far from here," he waved an arm in the general direction of Mackinac Island, the city at the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula.  "By the time I graduated high school, there wasn’t enough money for me to go to college.  So I applied for scholarships related to my "life experience" and came up with a full ride to UNLV where they offer "the best hotel restaurant management program on the planet" as they say."

"You went to college in Las Vegas?"

"Yep.  And I worked the door at a strip club.  It’s a rite of passage.  Made damn good money at it, too."

She widened her eyes.

"Yessiree, graduated in three and a half years and got hired by Hilton right off the commencement floor.  Cut my teeth on the far flung shit locations no one wants like Pittsburg, Birmingham and other meccas of cosmopolitan living."

"Well excuse Pittsburg for not being cool enough for you, Mister Strip Club Bouncer."

He leveled that killer smile at her again and Grace's insides resumed their meltdown.

"Yeah, I know.  Anyway, I ended up a regional manager there and got cherry picked by Marriott.  Even more glamorous locales--Louisville, Cleveland, Portland.  Never at one site longer than about a year."

"Makes settling down sorta tough."

"That wasn’t a priority for me.  Making as much money as I could was my priority."

She leaned back and sipped at her drink.  Crossing her legs slowly, Grace watched him watching her and tried to suppress a shiver of sheer, unmitigated lust.   To her amazement, Ryan’s gaze became hooded and he reached out to graze her dangling ankle with a fingertip.  She yanked it out of his reach before realizing what was happening and Ryan sat back, shooting her an inscrutable look.

"Long story short," he continued as if the moment never happened.  He held out one hand and ticked off the countdown as he spoke.  "Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham, a very brief moment at Holiday Inn--don’t ask, then after twelve years of using my experience to benefit others, I was asked to work for a small group of boutique resorts on retainer.  Haven’t looked back."  He shook his glass.  "I have a penthouse in Detroit, a suite under construction at the Aria on the Strip, which I'm helping open on time and under budget by the way, and more frequent flier miles than any decent human being should have."

Grace sipped her drink.  "And what, two ex-wives, a couple of snot nosed, spoiled kids in both places and perhaps even an estranged, soon to be ex Missus Sullivan?"  Grace wasn’t sure where that came from but was pleased when he shook his head.

"God no.  I’m proud to say not a single Ex Missus Sullivan though not for lack of trying on the part of a few."

"Full of ourselves much?"  She didn’t know why but his extreme confidence was making her want him even more.  Usually she hated braggers, chest pounding alpha males who tried to prove something at every turn with the size of their wallets and their string of broken hearts.  But this guy just seemed to be stating the facts of his life.  A life that had to be lonely.  She smiled at him and was thrilled to see his bright grin return.

"No, not really." He drained his drink and clinked the ice.  "So soon to be bestselling author Grace.  A boyfriend you’re escaping here at the idyllic casa de bookstore owner?"  She pretended for a minute she saw yearning in his quick glance.  But her laughter cut that short.

"Me?  Not exactly.  I don’t really go out much. You know, trying to get the next great American young adult novel off the ground.  Or at the very least make as much money as that Twilight chick. That and earn rent money."

"Ah, yes, rent money," Ryan’s eyes moved away from hers and cast out over the lake.  When he seemed to hone back in on their conversation, Grace felt their little moment pass and cursed herself for moving her leg out of his reach. And for burdening a guy who obviously has less than zero money worries.

Chapter Two

Ryan stood and stretched a minute before strolling over to the railing and Grace felt her eyes move in their sockets as she tracked his slow saunter across the deck.  Anger flared when she realized he knew damn good and well she was admiring him.  The phrase "two can play" flashed through her mind giving her the courage to stand and stroll down the last flight of steps to the beach leaving him to observe her for a change.  She let the small strap of her sundress covering her bikini slip off her shoulder as she took the last of her drink with her.  Sensing his gaze as if it were a laser beam, she  stopped at the bottom step, took a long drink of the juniper infused alcohol and set the glass on a table that had once been part of a large tree.

As she stared out into the bright, sunlit lake, Grace wasn't a bit surprised to find the fine male specimen who’d just been flirting with her standing at her elbow.  He brushed past, slipped off his deck shoes and walked into the shallows and she gripped the weather beaten railing to keep herself from following him.  She wasn’t quite sure how to approach him but the raw chemical pull of the man was nearly too much to bear.  So she started walking barefoot in the opposite direction.

"So how does one go about getting a book published?"  Every nerve in Grace’s body zinged in unison as Ryan’s arm grazed hers.  He'd caught up to her and ambled along, hands in pockets, well inside her personal space bubble.

"You mean you don’t already have an agent and a nice fat advance to write your memoirs?" Grace held both hands up as if framing a photo.  "How I made millions off stupid tourists and traveling salesmen?"

Ryan chuckled.  "Do you need an agent?"

He seemed honestly interested so she regaled him with her own personal journey seeking agents, getting rejected, the round robin of query letters, partials, rejections, more query letters.  By the time she finished and had him gasping for air after laughing so hard at her description of the "predator editor" loser who’d actually asked her on a date, they were a good two miles from the party.  The sun was a glowing ball of pink and purple as the evening clouds closed in and Grace’s skin pebbled from the chill.  As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Ryan put an arm around her and pulled her close.  She sighed, molding into his side, still trying to convince herself these last hours hadn't been a dream.   Grace had never felt so completely at ease with a man. When she stopped and turned to face him, going up on her tip toes, their lips met as if they'd been lovers forever.

The kiss started gently as Grace wasn’t usually the type to instigate, but as the afternoon wore on, she knew in her soul she had to at least taste him. Just once.  If he was shocked and pulled away then that would be that.  But he didn’t.  Ryan let her lead, let her part his lips with hers then let her break away first.  Grace knew her flushed skin and glowing eyes betrayed how she felt but she no longer cared.

"That was nice," Ryan muttered before pulling her back and slanting his mouth over hers, his kiss very much an alive sort of thing, questioning her without words.  She answered him by wrapping her arms around his neck, nearly off balance by the effort to stay on her toes to reach him.  He tasted of gin, like summer, like a man.  And his subtle cologne suffused her senses, making her dizzy while his firm, urgent lips possessed hers. She moaned as his lips broke free and trailed down her jaw and neck to the tops of her breasts.

His arms encircled her but his hands started to roam up her sides, brushing against her breasts.  Grace felt her pussy clench in near agony. But when she heard laughter from above them, she pulled away and took a step back.  Ryan stood, and put his hands in his pockets again.  In the waning light, Grace She tried not to stare at the clear evidence of his desire under the cotton shorts.

"Sorry," he grinned.  "I, um, don’t usually, well."

She laughed at the absurdity of him saying the words that were on the tip of her tongue but a strange panic settled in her gut.  This man was bad news.  Never settling down, always traveling to strange cities and hotels where female staff and clientele were bound to be lying in wait for him.  Yet that wouldn’t matter if they just had a quick fling. Would it?  She had no desire to get married for crying out loud.  And he obviously was commitment averse. So why not?

Grace’s heart fluttered.  She was falling for a guy she'd just met.  No. That was ridiculous.  She’d had a few boyfriends but had never once jumped into bed with a man after just meeting him like she was poised to do with Ryan.

"Something tells me you have more experience with this sort of thing than I do though."  Lame, but it was all she could come up with in her lusty haze.

He sighed and looked up at the darkening sky while Grace bit the inside of her cheek and waited.

"Maybe, but something about you, Miss Almost Famous, has me as nervous as a middle school kid.  It’s sort of pissing me off if you must know."

Grace giggled, nervous energy getting the best of her. She covered her mouth with one hand but in the next second she gasped as Ryan crossed the sand between them and began running a fingertip over her lips.

"Something about you," with each word he pulled her closer until their lips were millimeters apart.

"Kiss me again," she whispered.

"With pleasure," Ryan obliged.

Grace felt the press of his erection against her belly and to her surprise, she reached down to touch it, to run a hand over his amazing length barely contained by fabric.  Her body was on fire and it centered right at her clit, which was in dire need of attention.  As if he sensed this, Ryan shoved a strong thigh between her legs, allowing her something to press against, without taking his amazing lips from hers. "Oh my," she pulled away and let him cup her ass as he pulled her up higher on his leg.

"Mmm hmmm," Ryan nuzzled her neck, keeping one hand on her ass while the other reached up to cup a breast, his thumb running over the nipple straining her bikini.    The world was spinning on its axis and Grace had the sudden impression her universe was about to be upended.

Letting her thin swimsuit cover shift aside, Grace pressed her throbbing sex on Ryan’s thigh.

"Good God woman," he breathed into her ear.  "You're enough to drive a man insane." He grasped her neck and pulled her in for another kiss when Grace felt tears form behind her eyes.  How was this happening to her?  She wasn't the sort of woman who had this affect on men.  She felt a finger along the edge of her bikini bottoms and she pulled away from his leg, breaking the kiss to look into his deep azure eyes.

"Feel what you’ve done to me," she shocked herself all over again.  "God, Ryan."

He smiled a lazy expression that made her body shiver.  It would become one of her favorite things about him, that smile.  He teased her, using his lips on her neck, as she grasped him tightly to keep from falling backwards.  Just as he reached her soaking wet core, Grace’s knees gave out and she stumbled backwards, taking him with her, their bodies tumbling to the soft sand with a whump.

"Ow! Shit!" Grace propped herself up on her elbows sore from sand burn.  Ryan was on top of her, his arms braced on either side.  They laughed and she relaxed realizing she'd gladly let him take her right there on the beach if he wanted.  He leaned over her as the laughter faded just short of her lips.

"I want you, Grace," he said without preamble.

She pushed a lock of hair that had fallen over his brow and ran her hand down his face.  Dear Lord she was a goner.  Even if she let him fuck her and leave, her life would never be the same.  Her body was crying out for him, her pussy ached with a new sensation of emptiness as she nodded, unable to speak.

He lifted himself off her, regained his footing and held out his hand which Grace accepted, shocked all over again by the heat of his skin.  He pulled her up then kept going until she was wrapped around his neck again.

"You feel incredibly right to me," he muttered into her hair, which had broken free from its messy tie and was tumbling over her shoulders.  He sighed and Grace closed her eyes against the sensation of happiness that would no doubt be followed closely by sadness.  She was going to let him fuck her. She was certain of it.  As a matter of fact, if she didn’t get him inside her soon, she might just explode with lust.  For now, Grace would settle for his body, his lips, tongue, hands and that cock throbbing against her. But later she knew she'd want more.

She stepped away and held out a hand that Ryan accepted as they started back, silent at first before picking up the publication woes conversation again.  He asked the right questions, which got her thinking about her strategy anew and she nearly forgot she was halfway to being madly in love with a man she'd just met.  At the foot of the stairway, he stopped and pulled her in, possessing her mouth with his, his tongue aggressive, his hands all over her enervated skin.

He groaned and pulled away.

"I know they have a guest suite in back on the first floor. It’s where I was going to stay if I spent the night."

He cupped her chin with a hand and met her gaze.

"Can I convince you to sneak past everybody and meet me there?"

"I thought you’d never ask," Grace got up on her toes and nipped his thick bottom lip as she ran a hand across his erection.  "We might want to cool this down a little before we walk in, hmm?"

"Uh, yeah, without a doubt," he picked up her empty glass and indicated she should lead the way with a wave of his hand.  They stopped and kissed on the deck where they'd met, hiding in the corner by the chairs, Ryan reaching all the way into her bikini and stroking her clit just fast enough to make her cry out and clutch his arm as a knee-jerk orgasm took her.

"Jesus," she gasped. "No fair."  She licked her lips and started to unzip him, not willing to wait until they got inside before Ryan stopped her with a firm hand.

"No, wait."  He brought the fingers he’d just had deep inside her to his lips and sucked, never taking his eyes from hers.  Grace thought her knees would give out again.