Wild Nights (Vegas Nights 3)

“Well, that leaves our possibilities wide open,” he called after him as James fled. Noah turned to Natalie to find her watching him, those big eyes as wide and blue as the ocean. “Since your girls’ weekend seems to have fallen apart, at least for tonight, is there anything special you’d like to do while you’re in Vegas? My treat.”

Those eyes went even wider, if that was possible. “Anything?”

He nodded. “Anything. I have connections. I could get you into just about any show you want to see.” He’d seen just about every show Vegas had to offer too, even the secret, underground, dirty ones. Strip clubs put on special performances for their finest clients, and he and the rest of Wilde & Wicked had spent their fair share of time wasting tons of money at strip clubs.

Not his finest hours, he knew this. But the past was the past and he couldn’t change it. Though it might be fun to take sweet Natalie to a scandalous strip club. One where she could get a lap dance and enjoy it while he sat back and watched.

The more he thought about it, the better he liked the idea.

“Or we could go gamble for a bit. Have a couple of drinks,” he suggested when she was silent for too long. He didn’t want her to overthink this. And he wasn’t looking to get laid…though if she volunteered, he’d say yes, he couldn’t lie. She was beyond tempting, but he just wanted to spend the evening with a pretty woman and enjoy her company.

Getting naked with her would be an unexpected bonus.

“Ooh, let’s gamble. I saved up all year so I could splurge,” she said, her entire face lighting up at the possibilities.

“How much did you save?” he asked as he took her elbow and turned her toward the front doors so he could steer her out of here. Sparks seemed to fly where they made physical contact and he wondered at that.

“Three hundred dollars,” she said proudly. “Some of it is Christmas and birthday money. Most of it is from my you-don’t-need-a-latte fund. Instead of buying a latte, I’d put the amount I would’ve spent in savings,” she explained.

He pushed open the door and led her out into the hushed quiet of the hall. “Lattes are fucking expensive, aren’t they?”

She burst out laughing. Damn, she had a sexy laugh. One he wanted to hear again. “Yes, they are. I don’t need them anyway. All that sugar goes straight to my hips.”

Noah let his gaze drop to her curves. “You have very nice hips,” he murmured.

A blush stole across her cheeks. “Thank you.”

They stopped in front of the elevator and he pushed the down button. They waited in silence, and all he could think about was her saving three hundred dollars for a year just so she could gamble it away. He could easily blow three hundred dollars in one hand, probably more.

Fine, definitely more.

“What do you do for a living, Natalie?” he asked when they walked into the elevator. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. I’m a nurse.” She smiled, her features softening. “I work in pediatrics. With sick kids. It’s tough sometimes, but so rewarding.”

She had a tender heart. He could appreciate that. From the little he knew about her, he could tell Natalie was a good girl who gave up lattes for meager gambling money and tended to sick children as her profession. While he was an egotistical singer who made millions just shitting out a dumb song that didn’t come close to saving the world or anything monumental like that.

He wasn’t worth the gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe.

“Sounds fascinating,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.

She stared at him for a long, quiet moment, then seemed to shake herself. “It is,” she said, her voice clear and true. “I love my job, but I needed the vacation, to get away from it all if only for a few days. That’s why my friends and I decided to come to Las Vegas.”

“Yet they ditched you,” he pointed out, noting the offended look crossing her pretty face. The last thing he wanted to do was irritate her. “Not that I think less of them, but they did leave you all alone.”

“Yes, well, I guess I can forgive them for it, considering who they left me for,” she said, her lips curved into the faintest smile.

Huh. Was that all he was to her? A famous guy she could spend the night with? He had the feeling she wasn’t that type of girl, but he’d been fooled before. Plenty of times, too numerous for him to count.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, the loud constant

hum from within the casino floor hitting them full force. He rested his hand on the small of Natalie’s back and escorted her out of the elevator, steering right when they should’ve steered left.

“The casino’s that way,” she pointed behind her.

“I’m looking for the concierge,” he told her, noticing the discreet desk only a few feet away. “There’s a special service within the casino for their more…” His voice drifted.

“Famous guests?” Natalie supplied for him.