Pleasure (2 page)

Helen checked into the hotel/casino and now wasn’t quite
sure what to do with herself. Being here, intentionally planning to hire an
escort was so far out of her realm that it scared her just to think about it,
let alone to actually make the call.

After unpacking, she changed from her traveling clothes into
a simple black dress and went down to the dining room to eat dinner.

As she finished her meal and the waiter poured her coffee,
she leaned back to study the other patrons of the restaurant.

As she scanned the diners, one person caught her eye, and
she turned back to study him closer. Now there was an attractive man. Delicious
to the extreme. Spread him out on her table and she would be one happy lady.

He was dressed in a black tuxedo, his skin darkly tanned,
his thick short hair a mix of caramel and chocolate, looking like he belonged
on the cover of any sophisticated men’s magazine you care to mention—and a few
women’s magazines she could think of.

His teeth gleamed white and perfect as he smiled at the beautiful
woman seated across from him. As he lifted her hand and brought it to his lips,
his dark-lashed eyes never left the woman’s face.

Helen’s heart fluttered, her stomach somersaulted, as the
man suddenly turned his head and it seemed as though he stared across the room,
directly at her. She could feel the color rise to flood her face as she quickly
turned her gaze away, feeling immediately like a voyeur intruding on an
intimate moment between two other people.

She really tried not looking their way again, but it was
just too difficult. Taking a sip of her coffee, slowly Helen angled her head,
the hairs on the back of her neck rising when she realized he was watching her
intently.

The woman was nowhere in sight, probably having gone to the
powder room to freshen up.

Long moments passed as her gaze locked with his across the
crowded room. Heat surge through her body and a bolt of desire shocked her
right down to her pussy, making her throb with a need she hadn’t experienced in
a very long time.

The attractive stranger’s dark eyes traveled over her,
studying her, caressing her in the ways a lover might do, but from a
significant distance away. He lifted his hands and caressed the coffee cup in
front of him, still watching her. He raised the cup and brought it to his
finely chiseled lips.

His tongue stroked across his upper lip. Her body tingled at
the thought of what that tongue could do to her body. It was too much and she
felt her pussy convulse.

He smiled a deliberate, sensuous smile, then brought the cup
to his lips. She watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. Then he set the
cup back down.

Moving his chair back from the table, he splayed his legs,
drawing her attention to his groin. It came to her suddenly that he was putting
on a show for her, drawing her across the room. Making her want him. Maybe not
physically, but mentally he seduced her, tantalized her. But why?

Her focus feasted on the prominent display of male dominance
bulging from between his legs. It was as though there was no one else in the
room but them. Her breathing increased, rising to rapid pants of need.

She wanted to get up from the table, to join him, to have
him take her in his arms and kiss her with all the passion she surmised was
sheathed inside that delectable, sexy man across the room. She could smell her
own arousal keenly. In that look, no distance separated them. No one else
existed.

Using all the self-control she could muster, she broke the
contact, thinking a fan would not be so out of place right this minute. Hot
flashes were nothing compared to the heat raging through her right now. What
had he done to her?

Without turning her head, she slid her gaze back to the
table and, with regret and a bit of envy, realized the woman had returned and
they were leaving. His attention had apparently returned to his companion.
Helping her from her seat, he escorted the lucky woman from the restaurant.

Helen had never experienced anything so heady and thrilling
in her life. It felt decadent and, yes, sinful. A stranger making love to her
across a crowded room, someone in the company of another woman for all intents
and purposes. Beyond that was the fact that he looked to be about half Helen’s
age. Yet he came on to her like any man trying to seduce an attractive,
desirable woman.

And he was just the kind of man she was looking for on this
trip to Vegas. She finished the last of her coffee. Something told her this was
a lost cause, because now that she’d seen the man of her fantasies it was
unlikely anyone else would measure up to her expectations. Too bad, but it
looked like this was a wasted trip after all.

Her gaze returned to the now empty table, watching as the
bus person expertly cleaned it, readying it for the next patrons.

She couldn’t help wondering who he was. Was he a high roller
like many of the people here? Maybe a businessman on a business trip
accompanied by his wife or lover to mix a little relaxation in with his work?

More fantasies came to play in her mind. She was certain she
would never have the guts to call the escort agency now that she was here. It
would be just too embarrassing. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the
concept of paying for companionship. Was she that hard up?

Rising from the table, she signed the tab and then exited
the restaurant. So what was she going to do with her time now that she was in
Vegas? She could gamble a little she guessed. Do a little shopping, maybe take
some time to relax in the spa. Take advantage of at least some of the
entertainment offered.

She heard the deep vibration of music and turned her head to
the left, noticing the hotel bar. It might be a good place to start. She could
grab a dark corner and just watch people for a while. She liked watching
people, wondering what their lives were like, how different from her own. There
would be no harm in that. Maybe a drink would help to relax her, so she could
make that call she’d come all this way to make. She simply wasn’t ready to
return to her room. Not yet.

It wasn’t that easy to break out of a mold that seemed like
eons in the making. But she had to give it a try. All she needed was a little
courage to get the ball rolling. One drink and she’d be in a better frame of
mind to make the call. A little false courage could go a long way right now.

There were no available tables in the dimly-lit bar when she
walked in, so she grabbed a padded stool, hopped on, and ordered a glass of
Chardonnay. As she sipped at it, she turned to survey the room.

The music changed from slow and mellow to a driving, deep
bass rhythm. She watched as dancers moved toward the small dance floor.

Their bodies undulated to the rhythm, and she tapped her toe
against the rung of the stool. The cadence stirred the embers inside her as the
bass reverberated through her.

The young, lithe bodies parted on the floor and her gaze
widened in surprise as she saw who was the center of attention.

His body melded with that of the woman he danced with as
they dipped and swayed. It almost seemed as though they were one with the
music, sensual and smooth, his hand splayed over her naked back at her slender
waist.

It was the man from the restaurant, the one who had her
wetting her panties just thinking about him. His full attention was now focused
on the woman, stroking her with his eyes, capturing her close to his body,
rubbing against her.

Helen gulped down the remainder of her wine, unable to look
away, and she noted a number of people had the same problem as they watched the
tableau at the center of the dance floor.

He turned the woman and pressed her back close to his chest.
Even from here, Helen could see the clear outline of the woman’s taut nipples
through the thin, sexy dress as she arched back and curled her arms around the
neck of her partner.

The dress clung to her like a second skin. As Helen watched,
the man slid his hands down over her slender hips to anchor there, pulling her
closer.

Their bodies circled and rotated on the dance floor like
some primitive mating ritual of long ago. The woman’s head was turned to the
side, submissive to the man, beckoning him with her seductive body.

Her knees bent as they lowered toward the floor, her dress
dropping between her thighs, completely outlining her shadowed, intimate
center.

Helen waited, breath caught in her chest as the man’s hands
inched upward, dragging the dress up along her thighs. Helen’s pussy convulsed
at the scene playing out before her, pressing her own thighs together in an
attempt to quench the hunger that watching them instilled inside her.

But it was a tease, only that, as they again lifted upward
and the dress dropped back into glimmering silken folds around her body. Again,
the woman turned to the man, cupping his face, drawing him down to her, lips
touching and teasing, feathering across his firm jaw, down the column of his
neck.

The music ground to a halt and Helen blinked as though
waking from a trance. Embarrassed, she turned back to the bar and asked for
another glass of wine. Her cheeks felt hot and flushed, her body needy in ways
she’d never imagined it could be. It had been a long time since she had felt
this horny. A really long time. Maybe never.

What she wouldn’t give to be a braver, more daring woman.
But wasn’t that why she had come here? To break out of her mold? Could she do
it?

Someone approached the bar and stood next to her. Helen was
afraid to glance at the person, afraid they’d see what was in her eyes, the
need that bore down on her.

“Jim, can I get a couple of glasses of ice cold water?”

She slid just a quick glance in the direction of the deep,
sexy voice and almost fell off the barstool. It couldn’t be.

“Sure thing, Fallon. Hot little number you’ve got with you
tonight,” the bartender said as he placed a couple of tall glasses on the bar.

“She likes dancing,” was Fallon’s simple response.

His dark hand passed along a couple of nice bills to the
bartender. Jim palmed it, smiled, and turned away to tend to another customer.

Fallon pinned his dark gaze on her before picking up the glasses
and he paused. His gaze passed over her and she saw appreciation in the look.
And maybe recognition.

“Here on business?” he asked in a deep, smooth voice.

She sipped at her wine before answering, needing something
to wet her dry throat. Her gaze slid back to his.

“No, not this time.”

His lips curved upward. “Alone or with someone?”

“Ummm, I’m here on my own. Needed to get away for a bit.”

He studied Helen for long moments, then slipped a hand into
his shirt pocket and pulled out a card.

His lips formed a sensual smile as his gaze again tangled
with hers. “For pleasure, Vegas has a lot to offer.” He nodded as though
understanding. “Here. I hate to see a lovely lady all alone in Las Vegas. Maybe
you could use an escort while you’re here. I’d love to have a chance to show
you around. I’m quite…experienced.”

He didn’t place the card on the bar, nor in her hand. He had
the audacity to slip it into the opening at the front of her dress, until it
was tucked neatly into the side of her bra, lying securely against her naked
breast. Her nipples tightened in response to the warm, firm touch.

“Jim,” he said and then pulled his attention from her. He
pulled out another bill from his pocket. “Another drink for the lady. On me.”
Another smile at Helen and he picked up the two glasses of water and sauntered
away.

Helen shook with reaction. She’d never met anyone as bold as
Fallon whatever his name was in her life. She turned to look at the bartender
as he placed the drink in front of her.

“Who is that?”

Jim grinned. “That’s Fallon. He’s in here a lot. He works
the hotel.”

She was afraid to turn around again, to see him with the
young, beautiful woman. “Excuse me?”

“He’s a paid escort. High priced and in demand, too. A lot
of the regular hotel guests use his services. But he’s real particular about
what new clients he’ll take on these days. I hear he’s quite the stud, if you
know what I mean.” He winked in a knowing way. “Damn good tipper, too.”

Again, the bartender moved away to head off to the other end
of the bar. Helen could feel the edge of the card pressing into her skin like a
brand. With a shaking hand, she pulled it out and looked at it.

Why was she not surprised to find “Fantasy Escorts”
emblazoned across one side, with a phone number and a website address?
Confidential
and Attentive to Your Needs. Call for an Appointment.
On the other side was
one word:
Fallon.
Below it was what appeared to be a voicemail number.

She raised the card and inhaled the faint, expensive scent
clinging to it. Helen dropped the card into her purse.

Fantasy Escorts. There was that name again. She slid from
the stool, picked up the glass of wine and left the bar, returning to her room.

Once inside, she dropped into a chair at the small,
nondescript circular table and looked out at the brilliant, glittering lights
of Sin City. She pulled the card from her purse and looked down at it. Then she
found the ripped-out advertisement from the newspaper. It was the same phone
number.

Something had pulled her here, away from her solid, peaceful
life. It was reaffirmed by the seductive presence of the man, first in the
restaurant and then in the bar.

It should matter that he was a paid escort and earned his
keep escorting women throughout the city. Among other things. One shouldn’t
have to pay for companionship, should they?

But he was attractive. He was exactly what she’d come here
for. He was exactly what she wanted. What could it hurt to pay for a little
attentive companionship for an evening? It certainly would help her to break
out of her solid, ordinary mold, something she really wanted to do. Her life
was so predictable she wanted to scream. She hadn’t realized just how
unsatisfied she was until tonight.

Helen turned the card over in her hand. Fallon. He intrigued
her—the man and the name. According to the bartender, Fallon was rather
selective in his clients. So why had he approached her if he didn’t normally
take on new clients?

She shouldn’t do it, but she’d been drawn to the ad, the
idea of uncomplicated companionship, and that’s what had brought her here. No
expectations. A man who wasn’t looking to gain recognition because he was
escorting the mayor.

Yes, a paid companion. Without strings. But it was upfront
and about as honest as it was going to get. She paid him, he gave her…whatever
she desired, more or less. And then it was over. No commitments. Just a little
fun.

She pulled out her cell phone. It didn’t mean she had to
have sex. In fact, it was probably better if she didn’t. It was much too iffy a
proposition these days even with someone you knew really well.

It excited her at the thought of going out with a handsome
stranger. A young, handsome stranger. One who catered to her needs and every
whim. From what she’d seen both in the restaurant and in the bar, he was
extremely attentive. Could that by any stretch be considered the interview? A
sampling so to speak of the merchandise? She couldn’t help it when a giggle
erupted at the idea.

The ad said their employees were skilled in massage as well,
and she liked the idea of that. Sensual massage. She wondered what exactly that
would entail and was rather excited by the idea of finding out.

Looking down at the card, she called the number.

“Fantasy Escorts,” a sexy female voice answered. “How may we
help you?”