Buried Secrets (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES) (12 page)

     Aleesha could only shake her head to indicate she didn’t want to discuss that. Pausing, Marcus nodded in understanding. Her belonging to another man wasn’t something he wanted to think about right now either. He lowered his mouth to hers and captured her lips in a slow kiss which left them wanting more.
     Aleesha slid her hand toward his waist, making her destination clear. When her fingers finally found what they were searching for, Marcus was still hard and ready; he was by no means finished. As he reached over to pull her on top of him, they heard a muted noise coming from the floor.
     Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
     Marcus’ body froze for a second before his head fell back on the bed in disbelief. Aww, no! Not now!
     Aleesha had been scattering kisses along his chest. When the noise sounded again, it finally penetrated her lust filled brain. She raised her head and looked at him then at his pants where the irritating beeping was coming from. “What’s that?”
     Sighing deeply, Marcus gently moved her to the side as he sat up and reached for his pants. Digging in his pocket, he took out a small beeper and pushed a button to turn the sound off. He cursed under his breath when he saw the number displayed.

     Damn.
     Marcus pulled his cell out and swung his legs off the bed before gathering his clothes. Reluctantly he turned back to Aleesha. “I’m sorry, baby. I gotta go.”
     Aleesha blinked. “What do you mean, you have to go? Now…?”
     Placing his hand on side of her face, Marcus drew her to him and delivered a series of hungry kisses. She could definitely become a habit. If only circumstances were different... 

      Aleesha circled her arms around his neck and pulled him back down on the bed with her. Marcus indulged her until the beeping started again. “Shit.” He reluctantly pulled away from Aleesha and pressed the button to silence the alert.
     “Marcus? What’s going on?”
     Not answering her question, he hit speed dial on his phone as he slipped his pants on and pushed his feet into his boots. Reaching for his shirt, he spoke when the voice on the other end answered. “Dr. Bennett. Yes…I understand. I’m on my way.” Inhaling deeply, he finished buttoning his shirt and grabbed his keys off the nightstand before turning back to Aleesha. “I’m sorry.”

     She swallowed the lump of disappointment and loss that suddenly washed over her at the prospect of not seeing him again and tried to add an air of teasing playfulness to her words. However, they sounded flat and hollow even to her own ears. “Well, at least I know you haven’t lost your mind and thrown away your career to become a stripper.” 
     He stared at her for a moment before it dawned on him what she meant. Laughing, he pulled her out the bed. “No, baby,” he said, chuckling under his breath. “I’m still a doctor. I was just filling in and helping Darrell out because they were one man short tonight. Yeah, I used to strip, but that was a side job that helped put me through medical school,” he explained while still grinning. “I’m afraid that was an emergency. I’m on call and…I have to go.”

     “Another emergency, huh?” Aleesha wasn’t aware of the sadness reflected in her eyes. Marcus understood the emotion. An ‘emergency’ is what came between them so many years ago.
     The smile fell away once he realized he would most likely never see her again. Drawing her closer, he hugged her tight and kissed her. “Take care of yourself, Aleesha.” He swallowed hard as he said the next words and tried to project some semblance of sincerity in his voice. “I hope you and…Amir…have a long, happy life together.”
     Eyes shining brightly, Aleesha could only nod. She was on an emotional rollercoaster right now and she didn’t understand why.

     Marcus stood there for a moment as if imprinting her image into his mind before walking to the door. As he opened it, he looked back at her one more time and blew her a kiss. The next second he was gone. 
     Aleesha forced herself to stay where she was and not run after him. The urge to do so was overwhelming and made no sense at all. Tonight had only been a last fling before she got married 

     Hadn’t it?

Chapter 14

    In her room, Jerra paced in agitation.  She’d come back to the suite thirty minutes after sending Keisha a quick text to let her know she was at their hotel. Walking over to the window, she looked out at the bright lights of Vegas.     

She wished she was anywhere but in this city right now. How could she have been so stupid?

     She was angry for not following her first instinct, which had been to ignore Darrell’s not so subtle advances. Jerra thought back to what that skank had said in Darrell’s room. It all made sense now. He seemed to be the type to participate in juvenile behavior such as putting a wager on bedding a woman. At the same time, she closed her eyes to block out just how good the sex had been.
     Jerra had no inhibitions with him because she knew she’d never see him again. She’d let the side of her that she kept hidden and under control run wild tonight, taking everything he offered her and giving just as much in return.

     Sighing heavily, she tilted her head. The more she continued to think about things, the rational part of her personality took over. There was really no reason to be upset. They had both been using each other. She’d wanted satisfying and explosive sex and he’d wanted to win his childish wager. They’d accomplished what they’d set out to do.
      Jerra started taking her clothes off, wanting only to soak in a tub full of hot, steamy water. As she did so, she heard screams and deep moans of pleasure coming from Aleesha’s room. Images of Darrell and the things they’d done vividly and suddenly returned. She shook her head to clear her mind of any thoughts related to what occurred between them as she made her way to the bathroom.       

     Closing the door on the sounds of the serious sexing going on in Aleesha’s room, she couldn’t help but think again: What in the hell is it about the damn strippers here in Vegas??
 
                                                            ****

     Early Sunday morning, Aleesha performed one last check around the bedroom to make sure she had packed everything, then pulled her suitcases into the front and placed them alongside Keisha’s and Jerra’s. After all the shopping they’d done, the amount of luggage they were bringing back was twice the amount they’d arrived with.
     Knowing she couldn’t avoid them any longer, Aleesha joined her two friends at the dining room table for a cup of coffee before they left for the airport.
     “I can’t thank you guys enough for arranging this weekend for me. I knew you’d throw me a bachelorette party, but Vegas? You outdid yourselves. I guess you’re putting that much more pressure on me when the day comes where I’ll have to throw you two a…”
     “Oh cut the crap, Leesha. Tell us what happened last night, and don’t leave out a single detail.” Keisha interrupted with her usual bluntness. Jerra averted her eyes as guilt consumed her when she thought about her secret rendezvous with Darrell.
     Aleesha stirred her coffee. “Well…let’s just say if I had to have a ‘pre-wedding fling’, I definitely chose the right person.”

     Keisha and Jerra sat and waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, Keisha almost shouted, “Oh, hell to the nah. If you think you’re going to get away with that watered down, one line, vague description of what happened, you have another think coming.” Aleesha gave Keisha a calm look and carefully sipped from her steaming mug.
     Looking at Keisha, Jerra shook her head in exasperation and tried a different approach. “Leesh, it’s just that this is so out of character for you to even do something like this. Now yes, if it had been Keisha having a one night stand, we wouldn’t question it.” The comment earned Jerra the middle finger from Keisha. “But you’ve always been crazy over Amir and devoted to him from the moment you two got together. You’ve never cheated on him. Why now?”
     Aleesha was silent as she went over to the window and stared out at the early morning view of Vegas. Vaguely, she noticed how different it looked during the day than it did at night.
     Turning to her friends, her voice was quiet and emotional. “And you think Amir has been just as ‘devoted’ to me as I’ve been to him?”
     Frowning, Jerra asked, “What do mean? Are you saying…?”
     Sighing, Aleesha said, “He cheated on me, about a year ago. Actually, cheating is putting it mildly. It was an out and out affair.”
     “What? Why didn’t you tell us, Leesh?” Keisha asked, shocked. “We knew that you and Amir went through a rough patch around that time, but all couples do. We thought it was a bump in the road because later you guys seemed to be fine.”
     “I couldn’t bear to tell you. I guess I didn’t want to lose face, but…it’s just that I loved him so much, and he swore it would never happen again. We talked and cried it out and I decided to give him another chance. He hasn’t given me any reason to doubt his love or fidelity since then.”
     Jerra and Keisha were stunned. Aleesha and Amir seemed like the perfect couple and Amir was the epitome of the perfect man. He was handsome, successful, and seemingly worshipped the ground Aleesha walked on. They never would have thought in a million years he’d cheat on her.
     “I know that doesn’t justify what I did last night. I told him I forgave him, but deep down, maybe I never did. Maybe I felt a need to get even. I can tell you that I don’t feel guilty. I know I should - but I don’t. The way Marcus made me feel….” Aleesha closed her eyes as the memories of the things they’d done ran through her mind. She opened her eyes and looked at her friends. “There’s something else…”

     She explained that she and Marcus first met three years ago here in Vegas, and how they’d ditched the afternoon meeting and spent the rest of the day together. She told them how she’d decided to sleep with him that night, but he hadn’t attended the remainder of the conference. Jerra and Keisha were clearly shocked. 

     “And you mean to tell me that out of all of the people in this city, you two end up connecting again?” Keisha asked. “It’s almost like it was meant to be or something.”

     Jerra glared at Keisha. “No, it was just coincidence, but at least now you have closure Aleesha. When we get back to Atlanta, you and Amir can begin your lives together as man and wife with a clean slate.”
     Aleesha looked at her two best friends and wanted to believe that statement more than anything in the world. “I just need you to support me, no questions asked. Amir will never know about this weekend. We’ll go home and finish the final details for the wedding and everything will be back to normal.”
     Jerra and Keisha got up and went over to Aleesha. They wrapped their arms around her, silently letting her know they had her back.
     Keisha told her, “It goes without saying that you have our support. And as far as this weekend, what happens in Vegas - stays in Vegas.”

                               ****

Spring Valley Hospital
     Marcus wearily walked out the hospital and climbed into his truck. It had been one hell of a night. A multiple car pileup on the interstate had turned the emergency room into a living nightmare as victim after victim was brought in with life threatening injuries. Marcus had worked on pure adrenaline. He’d made a conscious effort to separate his feelings from the patients he had to try and save, some of them children - he had lost two of them. All because of a drunk driver.

     Slamming the door of his SUV, he briefly leaned his head back against the headrest of the seat. When would people learn not to drink and drive? Letting out a pent up breath, Marcus felt the fatigue finally catching up with him now that the crisis was over. As he started the ignition, he heard the faint roaring of a plane taxiing down the runway to prepare for takeoff. He immediately thought of Aleesha. Was she on the plane?

     If nothing else, this emergency kept his mind off of her and the night they’d shared. Closing his eyes, her face came into view. He remembered the way she smiled, the way her body looked, the way she smelled - the way she tasted…

     With his eyes still closed, he took a trip down memory lane to the time they’d spent together at the conference. Would things have been different if he’d come back that night? Would they still be together? Would he be the man she was preparing to marry instead of Amir?