Let It Ride (7 page)

Until now, Alex had been enjoying Mitch's misery from afar, listening to reports from the women who'd been streaming in since yesterday afternoon. She must have called almost two dozen of Mitch's ex-lovers yesterday morning. Many still stationed here at Nellis had willingly gone all-in on the prank, and called more women they knew Mitch had slept with.

These two made six who'd shown up so far.

“No hero, just doing my job.” Cole gave the women a lazy salute from the doorway.

“Jackson, this is Cynthia and…” McCabe's voice trailed off.

“Meagan,” the other woman supplied with a tinge of irritation in her voice.

Cole pushed off the door frame and extended his right hand. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”

The women shook his hand, and then glanced at Alex as if asking her permission to take Mitch's offer of Cole.

Alex shrugged. What did she care? Their work was done here.

They each bent over to give McCabe long, sultry kisses on the mouth, and then the brunette grabbed a pen off the desk. “I have to be at work in half an hour, but I'll be home tonight.” She took Cole's hand and wrote a phone number on his palm. With a wink to him, she followed her friend out.

While Cole's attention was on the departing women, McCabe scowled and ran a hand through his hair. He probably thought no one was watching him, but Alex saw it.

“What's the matter, McCabe?” she asked as she sauntered into his office. “Not
up
for a threesome tonight?”

McCabe raised a brow and leaned back in his chair, locking his hands behind his head. “Why? You wanted to watch?”

Alex scrunched up her face in disgust. “Rather watch training vids.” The truth was, and a tinge of pain sliced through her at the acknowledgment, she was sick of knowing about McCabe's escapades with women.

“You still need training vids on sex?”

“You offering to let me borrow yours?”

McCabe's grin widened and he rocked forward in his chair. “You need them to get off?”

“Oh, I think you're going to need them more than me for the next twenty-eight days.”

“At least I have a reason. What's your excuse?”

Alex folded her arms and shrugged. “It's hard getting a date when I hang out with you all the time.”

McCabe nodded his understanding. “Guys do tend to feel inadequate around me.”

“Hey,” Jackson cut in. He'd taken a seat, his gaze shifting back and forth between Mitch and her as if he were watching a tennis match.

“Present company excluded.” McCabe glanced at Jackson, then his attention went right back to Alex. “But are you sure I'm the reason you can't get a date?”

If only he knew…Hughes raised one brow. “I did just fine in D.C.”

“Those boys in Washington are a bunch of pussies. Every damn one of them has a screw loose.”

Alex forced a contented smile. “Some screw loose, and others do it nice and tight.” Wasn't that a joke? Though she'd come close to getting some a couple of times, she hadn't had a man in her bed in years. How sad was that?

McCabe sighed. “How many more are going to show up? And I need my cell phone back, by the way.”

“All I can say for sure is—” Alex grabbed his phone out of her pocket and tossed it to him “—I had no idea you'd pissed off so many women, McCabe.”

He caught the phone, slid it open, and started pressing buttons. “Should've put a lock on this thing,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, maybe you should put a lock on your zipper while you're at it.”

J
ORDAN PRACTICALLY
ran to the employees' dressing room Friday night. Ten o'clock already. The casino floor was so busy she'd barely been able to get away for this quick personal break.

She'd taken her last final exam Thursday morning and the professors were supposed to have posted grades on the university's Web site sometime today. She'd asked a classmate to send a text message to her cell phone when the results were up.

Her nerves a scattered mess, Jordan shifted her weight from one heel to the other, bouncing in impatience as she messed up the combination on her locker three times. Finally she yanked the door open, grabbed her cell out of her purse and checked her messages. Mrs. S had sent her usual mother-sleeping-all's-well note.

“Where's the fire, hon?” Sherri asked, sauntering into the dressing room.

“I'm checking my text messages. I was hoping—”

“Oh, that's right. Your finals.”

Jordan nodded as the next message appeared on her screen. “Here it is.”

Sherri leaned in to peer over her shoulder. “You aced them all, girl!” She put an arm around Jordan. “I knew you were worrying for nothing.”

Sherri's words sounded far away. Jordan dragged in a ragged breath. The text message blurred as reality sank in.

It was over. Jordan went back to work in an endorphin-induced euphoria. It was over. The past few years of burning the candle at both ends had finally paid off. Her thoughts flashed from walking across the stage next weekend and accepting her diploma, to hoping Mom was lucid when she told her, to wanting to celebrate with a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

The ice cream made her think of Cole. She'd caught herself thinking about him way too much since he'd left Tuesday evening.

“Girl, I'm outta here.” Sherri dropped her tray of unsold cards at the Keno window. “My babysitter called. The kid just threw up.” Bending close, she pecked Jordan's cheek. “Congrats, again, Ms. Brainiac. Go celebrate those grades!” She darted out the door before Jordan could respond.

Jordan slowly made her way to the dressing room and changed out of her uniform. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around. Employees were coming and going as they did every night at shift change. It seemed weird to think she might not be working here soon. This job had been her savior after Ian left her with no money and behind in the rent. But she'd always planned for it to be temporary. And yet, now she felt nervous. What if she'd spent all these years
earning this degree and still couldn't find a job? Or what if she found a job and couldn't cut it?

Come on, Jordan. You did it! She should celebrate. But it was hard to have fun alone. Her mom would be proud—that is, if she remembered who her daughter was.

A hollow sense of loneliness rolled over her.

She wondered…No, Cole had probably already left town. He'd said he was just here for a week, and she hadn't seen him around the casino since she'd returned from her days off. She should have thanked him. Should have told him how much he'd helped her Tuesday. He'd gone above and beyond, and she'd been too proud to appreciate it.

Instead of leaving the back way, Jordan wandered into the casino. She wasn't ready to go home yet. Maybe she'd have one of those huge frozen drinks with an umbrella in it. Why not? She wasn't driving. And Mom usually slept through the night if Mrs. Simco remembered to give her the bedtime meds.

Decided, Jordan headed for the Centrifuge. As she approached the counter she froze in her tracks.

Cole.

He sat three stools down, his head turned away from her. Alone. His fingers tipped a tumbler of light gold liquid back and forth, and he rubbed the knuckles of his other hand across his mouth.

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them, he was staring at her.

His gaze seemed to echo the loneliness and need inside her.

She slid onto the stool beside him. “I—I thought you'd left town.”

He blinked and dropped his gaze to her mouth, then returned to her eyes. “Checking out tomorrow.”

His voice was raspy. His posture tense. Did he want to be left alone? But he was leaving in the morning. She'd never see him again after tonight. “I wanted to celebrate. Maybe I could buy you a drink?”

Idiot. He already had a drink.

“Celebrate?”

She swallowed, clenched her fists around her backpack strap. “I aced my finals, and I wanted to thank—”

“I never doubted you could do whatever you set your mind to.” He lifted his hand and softly touched her cheek. “Be with me tonight, Jordan.”

Her stomach contracted. Every cell in her body yearned for him. Common sense, caution, none of that mattered now. He'd be gone tomorrow.

She took his hand and headed for the bar's exit, tugging him after her. He hesitated only long enough to toss a couple of bills next to his drink.

The bank of elevators seemed miles away, and the wait for one eternal. Eventually a ding announced the arrival of the elevator, but it took forever for it to open. Cole's fingers entwined with hers and tightened.

The doors had barely swooshed shut before she turned and covered his lips with hers, shoving him against the wall. He clutched her waist and took control of the kiss, taking her desire and returning it. As his hands moved up to the sides of her breasts, he
moaned into her mouth. “I haven't stopped thinking about you all week.”

“I've been thinking about you, too.” She kissed each corner of his mouth.

“I needed to be with you again,” he said, pressing his open mouth to her neck. “I never thought I'd need someone, never expected to feel this way.”

A bittersweet joy ramped up the emotions bombarding her. She hitched a leg around his hip and pressed herself against the rigid length in his jeans.

A soft bell chimed and the door slid open. Still moving his mouth sensually over hers, Cole grasped her bottom and lifted her against him. She tightened her legs around his hip and he staggered out of the elevator and down the hall.

At the door to his hotel room, he had to set her down to fish for his key card, but his mouth still moved over hers, hot and demanding. He'd unleashed the dangerous current of emotions she'd sensed lay just beneath his surface.

After the third try getting the door open, he pulled back to watch what he was doing and Jordan blinked away the haze of lust. How had this happened? In an instant he'd convinced her to be with him again.

No. She'd wanted this. Had hoped for this even before she'd seen him in the bar. Before she knew he'd be checking out in the morning. Her mouth laid claim to his neck, inhaling his cologne as he tried to swipe his card. Tomorrow, she'd return to her sensible self and her lonely life. But tonight, she'd abandon responsibility for just a little while. For one last time.

“Jordan.” He groaned and she looked down. His hand shook.

Something primitive stirred. She'd made him tremble. She began unbuttoning his shirt while he opened the door. He took her mouth again and walked her backward inside. There were no words, just an urgency that quivered between them. Faster than she would have believed herself capable of, she pulled at his belt, unbuckled it and unzipped him.

The door closed, engulfing them in darkness. He made an impatient sound and she heard him fumbling for the light switch.

An insane urge to giggle rose up, to arch her back and throw her hands in the air and cry out in delicious freedom. Freedom from the restrictions she'd set for herself six long years ago.

The overhead light snapped on. Cole framed her face with his palms and dipped his head to resume the kiss. She could taste the bite of the Cuervo Gold and his raw hunger. Both fed her appetite for him. His hands slid to her shoulders and around her back, edging up under her T-shirt. “Take it off,” he mumbled against her lips.

While she jerked her shirt over her head and flung it onto the dresser, he grabbed a condom packet from his jeans, then tossed them aside and pulled her back into his arms. His lips traveled down her jaw to her collarbone, nuzzling down to the edge of her bra. With a hoarse moan, he tugged it down, lifted her breasts, and mouthed one nipple, suckling hard.

Jordan clutched his head. Too much. Too many sen
sations at once. Sharp aches at her core. Stinging, swelling clit. Liquid desire flooding her passage. He moved to the other nipple and drew it into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.

The room tumbled and she closed her eyes as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. She lay back, stretching like a cat as his hands fumbled with her jeans. Cool air hit her hips and legs as he slid them and her panties down to her ankles. Another grunt of impatience as her sneakers and socks came off, along with her jeans. Her bare feet were caught in warm hands and placed flat on the mattress so that her knees bent and she let her thighs fall open. She rubbed her aching nipples, wet from his mouth.

“Oh, man,” he rasped. “Do that again.”

She opened her eyes and rose up on her elbows. He was staring at her hands as they cupped her breasts.

Their gazes met and she began caressing herself and lightly pinching her nipples. She should be self-conscious, embarrassed. But she loved how his lids drooped as he watched and his eyes turned all hazy.

He moaned. “You're so beautiful.” Still watching her, he wrenched off his shirt and briefs and for the first time she saw the scars that covered his right side. But even they couldn't detract from the breadth of his shoulders and his muscled torso. His chest was the perfect combination of dark hair, small, tight nipples and rock-like abs. Her stare wandered down to his strong erection and his large, muscled thighs.

He raised a knee onto the bed, crawled up to settle
between her legs, and caressed the back of one hand along the inside of her thigh. “I've been dreaming of this since that night in the desert.” Slowly, he lowered his head and slid his tongue into her entrance.

She cried out and her hips lifted off the bed.

His teeth lightly scraped as he sucked and licked. He took his time, pleasuring her with patient thoroughness until he reached her clit. His tongue teased and his lips caressed until Jordan was a whimpering, wiggling mess. But he allowed no resistance. He clamped one hand around her thigh to hold her open and nuzzled in deeper, using his fingers inside her.

Need spiraled, the pressure built, swirling into a hurricane of sensation as his mouth and tongue and fingers worked in her, around her. Her back arched off the bed and she screamed his name as white-hot, blinding pleasure burst from the inside out.

Before she could recover he moved over her and pushed inside. Her body adjusted to the length of him as he filled her completely. Another round of spasms shot through her as he pulled out and thrust again, then lowered to his elbows above her, his hard chest hot against her breasts.

“Jordan.” His face was tense, but his eyes were warm, filled with wonder. “I don't want to go tomorrow. I don't want to leave…you.” He began to move.

His words overwhelmed her. Too many feelings she'd suppressed for too long swirled around, confusing her. She combed a dark strand back from his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair, then rose up to kiss him.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clung to his bunching shoulders as he pumped inside her with deep, driving motions. “I love being inside you.” He clamped his jaw shut, wrapped his arms beneath her back and his thrusts got harder, faster, until he drove into her one last time. His eyes squeezed closed, he shuddered, tense and straining. Then he collapsed beside her.

They lay there a long time, damp, sweaty, till their breathing calmed and bodies relaxed. Tentacles of a deep languor pulled at Jordan's body and spirit. But she awakened when she felt Cole get up. She heard him pad to the bathroom and then heard water filling the tub.

He came back to the bed and unhooked her bra and slipped it off. With ease he carried her to the bathroom, lowered her into the hot water, and then stepped in, facing her.

As he sat, he lifted her foot and began massaging her instep with both his thumbs. Jordan moaned and leaned her head back against the rim. Heaven. His large hands wrapped around her foot, strong, and yet gentle, soothing.

“I'm sorry. Maybe you wanted to go out to celebrate?” He cupped her heel in one hand and squeezed, while his other thumb kneaded into the ball of her foot.

“No. This is amazing.” With her eyes still closed, she smiled.

He lowered her foot and took the other one, massaging it with the same expertise.

When the silence went on too long, she opened her
eyes, lifted her head and looked at him. Simmering chocolate-brown eyes pierced her. “What?”

“How'd you end up in Vegas?”

She stilled. Why talk about her past with him? This was supposed to be a one-night fling. “How do you know I haven't lived here all my life?”

His brows drew together. “Your mom mentioned a few things.”

Jordan pulled her foot from his grasp and drew her knees up, hugging them to her. Talk about a mood killer. Who knows what else her mom had told him?