What Happens in Vegas

An arm slid its way around my waist. Rather than hook my hip and yank me against him, Corey pulled the belt of my bathrobe through every one of its loops. He raised an eyebrow as it fell open, exposing me.

“Well congratulations on upgrading,” he said. “That guy was batting way out of his league anyway, if you ask me.”

Brody stepped into me, sliding his hands over my bare body. His palms moved upward along my sides, and then forward, to settle over my shower-warm breasts.

“Besides,” he said, thumbing my nipples slowly. “You’re our girl now.”

I sighed as he lowered his mouth over one of my breasts. He sucked gently, while still playing with the other.

“Am I really?” I asked, needing to hear it. “I’m your girl?”

“Hell yeah you are,” Corey whispered, coming up behind me. He slid the robe from my shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. By the time he started kissing my neck I was already gushing.

“And with you not having a job right now,” he murmured softly. “And a bit of free time…”

His hands glided down, cupping my ass. I could feel his fingers moving further, probing my wetness. Sliding their way inside me, from behind.

“We were thinking you should come back to Vegas with us,” he continued, his lips brushing my ear. “Maybe see the club. Stay at our place…”

My legs went weak. My mind was spinning. Between Brody’s face buried between my breasts, and Corey fingering me from behind, my whole body was turning to jelly.

“And of course Mason would drive out too,” Corey whispered sexily. “So the three of us could take r

eally good care of you… together.”

Fifty-Five

LAUREN

There were a few things I had to do before I could escape back to Vegas. One of them was to line up work for when I got back. I accomplished this easily enough, setting up meetings for the week afterward, which was better for most of my prospective clients anyway.

My next task was a little harder, and it took some extra time. I needed a place. An office, even a very small one, from which to launch my new venture. Judging from the size of my bank account, and the commercial rent averages around Manhattan, ‘small’ would be a godsend. More likely I’d end up with something tiny, or maybe even sharing a space with someone else.

Either way, it took me an extra two days to get the ball rolling on that. Heather’s sister was a real-estate agent, and within minutes she was of course promising me the world. I would’ve settled for a little stretch of space to call my own: four walls and an internet connection. But setting her in motion before I left gave me peace of mind that I’d have several options to check out when I returned.

One week…

That was all I was granting myself. It was all I really could grant myself, if I wanted to be serious about beginning a fresh new company. Still, I could do a lot of damage in one week. And so could the guys…

My last task was the easiest of all: I had to reconnect with my friends. This was made simpler because they were already overeager to meet up, have lunch, and hear all about my poor situation. Noelle had pre-briefed them, of course. But getting them all in one spot — so I only had to tell the story once — was like killing five birds with one stone.

“I can’t believe you’re gone…” Noelle sniffed. I couldn’t tell if the tears were a hundred-percent real or mostly for the others’ benefit. Either way, I didn’t care. “I can’t believe you won’t be—”

“Save it,” I grinned, digging back into my chocolate mousse. “You shouldn’t be crying because I’m gone, you should be crying because you’re still there. With Lilith.”

She forced a smile, and I raised my fork in salute.

“Lilith’s not so bad if you stay out of her way,” Noelle mumbled. “She always seemed to butt heads with you, though.”

“Lilith is pure, personified evil,” I said, squinting hard to emphasize my point. “And she butted heads with me because she never liked me. Not even from the very beginning.”

“That’s because she’s threatened by you,” said Bella. She added a shrug. “Hey, when you’re the best in the office, they come for you. And I would know.”

Victoria laughed. Deanna rolled her eyes.

“It’s hard being at the top,” Bella added, smiling smugly. “Everyone wants the crown.”

“Everyone wants the glory that comes with the crown,” I corrected her. “But none of the responsibilities.”