Steeling My Haart (10 page)

        
Within
twenty minutes, they had arrived at the main entrance to the MGM Grand Hotel
and whatever issues Bruce was having seemed to have him slightly rattled. His
face was set in a grim frown and his previously immaculate hair was now all
ruffled from the fierce attack his hands had waged on it. He appeared agitated
and looked to be almost at war with himself over whether or not he should look
at his phone or throw it in the nearest trashcan.

Taking in a huge
breath, he seemed to finally remember Emma was still there.
 
He looked like it was an effort to brush
off his sour mood and after taking a few more deep breaths and wiping his
shaking hands down his face he finally composed himself.
 
With a shaking hand, he helped her from
the car and leaned into the car to quickly tip the driver.
 
He turned and headed to the hotel lobby
in a hurry, leaving Emma trailing behind him. His face was pinched and his brow
furrowed into a deep scowl. Emma followed him as he headed to the nearest bar.
He ordered himself a double scotch and handed her a gin and tonic when the
bartender returned with his order. He knocked his drink straight back and
immediately ordered another before turning to Emma and sighing, his face like
thunder.

        
“Everything
okay?” she asked as she became increasingly concerned at his sudden change in demeanor.

        
“Fuck,
no, it isn’t.” He growled as he raked his hand through his already disordered
hair, mussing it up more as he downed the second glass of scotch. She saw him wincing
at the burn as the liquor went down. He raised his eyes slowly and looked at
her, taking in her shocked expression.
 
“God, Emma, I’m so sorry.
 
That was… that was… nothing, and I’m
sorry I’m letting it spoil our evening. Please excuse my unforgivably rude behavior.
Come, we have tickets for the show that starts in a few minutes. This way.” He
ushered her forward as she quickly knocked back the rest of her gin and tonic.

        
On
top of the wine she’d had at dinner she was beginning to feel marginally drunk.
She followed slowly behind Bruce wobbling a little in her heeled pumps that now
felt much taller than they had at the beginning of the evening. An angry and
brusque man had replaced the attentive gentleman she had started the evening
with and she was still slightly perturbed at how agitated that message had
appeared to make him.
 

        
As
they approached the auditorium, Bruce made an effort to relax and he turned to
her, “I hope this is your sort of thing. Cirque Du Soliel is a must for any Las
Vegas virgin, in my opinion. It has some of the most stunning choreography and
skill I think I have ever witnessed.
 
This particular show hasn’t been running for too long either so I’m
pretty excited myself to see it.” He explained, his words clipped and short.

        
“I’ve
enjoyed everything we’ve seen and done so far and it appears our tastes aren’t
dissimilar, Mr. Jenson, so I have high hopes,” she teased, feeling excited at
the prospect of seeing a true Las Vegas show. Bruce had done well so far this
evening except for the recent interruption. As they took their seats, she heard
Bruce’s cell buzzing, but instead of answering whatever message had come through,
she heard him curse under his breath. He simply switched it off and shoved it
in his back pocket in a show of defiance.

        
 
The performance was stunning and they
were both so engrossed that it was coming to an end before either of them knew
it.

        
“That
was truly spectacular! I have never had my heart in my mouth as much as I have
tonight. The performers, if that’s what you call them, were out of this world,”
Emma gushed as they were leaving the theater.
 

        
“Yes,
it is pretty special isn’t it? I always try and catch the show when I’m here.
It’s one of my guilty pleasures.” He winked and led her back to the hotel
lobby. The Limo service had gone and as he was about to hail a cab, Emma
grabbed his arm, “No, let’s walk. I’m feeling a little lightheaded with the
drinks from earlier and would love a walk to try clear my head a bit.
 
I can see our hotel from here, so it
can’t be too far.”

       
“Sure,
that will be nice. It’s too warm here during the day, but it’s much nicer at
night. Here, let me help you.” He wrapped his arm protectively through her arm
to keep her from wobbling so much on her heels and they walked the relatively
short distance back to their hotel, animatedly replaying the show they had just
seen.

        
As
they entered the lobby, the place was buzzing.
 
It had been busy earlier in the day, but
the evening seemed to have drawn the masses to the casino floor. The slot
machines were louder than she had remembered from before and there seemed to be
a constant ringing of winning machines that echoed around them. The murmuring
and occasional cheering coming from a winning gambler added to the atmosphere.
This was the Vegas she had been waiting to see, and although the day had been
almost perfect, she was curious.

        
“Can
we take a walk around? I’ve never seen anything quite like this before,” she
said as she scanned the room in awe.

        
“Yes,
shall we have a nightcap before we head up to the suite?” he suggested as she
looked at the bar in the corner.

        
“That
sounds like a great idea to me.” She smiled, wondering if it was a good idea, considering
she still felt a little intoxicated.

        
After
a quick circuit of the main casino floor they ended up in the Orchid Lounge, a
classy cocktail bar just off the lobby area.
 
Ordering another scotch and gin and
tonic, Bruce sat them both down in a quiet corner booth.
 
It was quite an intimate setting, away
from any other guests and with the lighting subtle and the low music playing,
it really would have been a perfect place to end a date. Emma couldn’t help
staring at Bruce. He was incredibly good-looking, now that she had the opportunity
of really taking him in. She admitted to herself that she was attracted to him.
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but as he shrugged off his jacket, loosened
his bow tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, she realized that he was
starting to really have an effect on her. As she continued looked at him, her
woozy mind started to drift. Like any other time she had considered intimacy
with a guy, an image of Charlie popped into her head, threatening to chase away
any feelings she was having. She tried hard to push away the image of the longhaired
guy she had seen today, but she was convinced it could have been Charlie. Her
mind began racing with thoughts of what her now heated body would like her to
do with Bruce. A big part of her brain was telling her to back away because
anything she did right now could jeopardize everything she has worked so hard
for.
 
But the even bigger part of
her was flattered and extremely turned on.

        
As
if he could sense her watching him, Bruce turned his head and flashed her a
crooked smile. “Hey, pretty lady, you checking me out again?” He chuckled, the
laughter sticking in his throat as he saw the desire creeping across her face.
“Emma, you know this is a bad idea, but if you keep looking at me like that…”
He stopped short as she shuffled nearer to him, gently rubbing her hand up and
down his solid thigh. He flinched then froze at the contact, as if he was not
quite sure what to do with himself. Staring down at her hand that was inching
closer to his groin, he coughed nervously and took her hand in his.

        
“Come
on, Emma, I think we need to get you to bed before we both do something we
might regret in the morning.”

        
She
exhaled and nodded, but the frustration boiled from within. He stood, helping
her out of the booth and across the lobby to the elevators.
 
Emma followed sheepishly, swaying
slightly behind him, her hand held firmly in his and the contact was causing
tingles to radiate from where his hand met hers. As the elevator arrived, she
swayed a little too much as she started to walk and stumbled.
 
As she felt herself falling, a strong
arm reached out and grabbed her, pulling her tight against his firm and
well-toned chest and into the elevator.
 
As Bruce hit the button for the floor, they were both panting. He bowed
his head towards her neck and rested it lightly just by her collarbone.
 

        
“You
know this is a really bad idea,” he whispered still, holding her close to his
perfect, chiseled body.
 
She moaned
breathlessly at the contact, and as the elevator signaled its arrival on their
floor he scooped her up into his strong arms. She ran her hands up his chest,
over his shoulders and round the back of his neck and she could feel his lean
muscular body through the thin dress shirt as he carried her to their suite
door.
 
He placed her gently onto her
feet so he could open the door and swaying again, she threw her arms around his
neck and went to kiss him. He froze again, but slowly started to respond to the
kiss. Closing his eyes tight, he began thrusting his tongue hungrily into her
mouth.
 
Emma was surprised in the
midst of the passion of the moment to notice he was quite harsh with his
kissing, brutal almost.
 
Very unlike
any other time she had been kissed, and it was actually turning her on more.

        
She
hated that the earlier incident where she swore she saw Charlie in the hotel
had caused this desperation to surface again. It was the same every time she thought
she had spotted him. She needed to seek solace in someone to make the hurt go
away. Chasing thoughts of Charlie out of her mind, she turned her attention to
Bruce. Had she been thinking straight, she would have been able to stop herself,
but the kiss felt too good, and although it wasn’t the leg weakening feeling
she had every time Charlie had kissed her, it was enough. She wasn’t thinking
right then that this could jeopardize everything, but she just needed to not
feel for a while.

        
Strangely,
Bruce just kept on kissing her and held her tightly as he explored her mouth
more thoroughly with his tongue. He was powerful in his delivery and she was
almost in pain with the ferocity of the kiss. She quickly ditched her heels,
and after inching up the skirt of her dress, jumped to wrap her legs around his
waist. Had she been thinking clearly, she would have perhaps have noticed the
lack of hardness she should have felt beneath her damp groin. Bruce broke the
kiss and carried her to her bedroom, gently laying her on the bed.
 
Lowering his head again, he took her
mouth in another harsh assault, Emma groaning at the contact. He reached down
with his left hand and went to cup her breast, giving it a squeeze. All of a
sudden, something didn’t feel quite right. She started to realize that this
wasn’t right for a number of reasons, and as she sobered enough to break
through the fog of the evening’s alcohol, she tried to back away. Bruce was
relentless, though, and as intoxicated as he was, she began to panic slightly
when he wasn’t responding to her.

        
As
Emma opened her eyes, she saw that Bruce appeared to be in a world of his own. His
eyes were closed and he looked like he wasn’t there with her at all. She
couldn’t decide if it was a mixture of the alcohol clouding his thoughts or the
events of earlier this evening that were troubling him. She was acutely aware that
he was not putting the same feeling and effort into the kiss, and it caused the
brewing panic to bubble within Emma. He continued his passionless assault on
her mouth. She felt like it was as if his mind was drifting and he was barely
registering what was happening.

        
 
Suddenly, as she started tapping him
frantically on the back he shrugged her hands off.
 
She hit him harder and tried to scream
at him to try to get him to let up and stop.
 
She tried pulling her mouth away, but he
just grabbed her face with both hands and ruthlessly kissed her until she had
no choice but to bite his lip to get him to stop.
 
Immediately he backed away and as if he
was awakening from a cruel dream, he realized what was happening and leapt away
from Emma in one movement, cursing repeatedly to himself.

        
“Fuck,
fuck, FUCK,” was all she could hear over her thundering heart and own heavy
panting. She was left on the bed, her lips sore and her chest heaving after the
exertion she had to put in to get Bruce to stop.
 
She wiped her lips and noticed there was
a spot of blood there, no doubt from the bite she had just inflicted on him.
Sobs erupted violently from her chest as she slowly curled herself into a tight
ball on the top of bed.

        
“Fuck,
oh my God, I am so sorry, Emma. I can’t do this. Fuck, I don’t know what came
over me. Are you okay?” His concern was genuine and he looked utterly desolate
as he glanced down on the small cowering form on the bed. He took in the scene
in front of him and dragged his hands through his now messy hair, pulling at it
painfully as if punishing himself for his own actions.

        
“Just
leave please. I’m sorry if I led you on, but this is all wrong. I’m sorry for
doing what I did tonight. I hope it doesn’t ruin anything between us.” Her
quiet voice emerged between sniffles, giving away the panic and shame she was
feeling.