Sinning in Vegas (Vegas Morellis 2)

I guess that’s unfair. Impossible. I can’t have full access to her if I want her to move on with someone else. I don’t want her to move on with him, it’s just what needs to happen.

I shouldn’t draw her deeper into my web, but I also don’t want to die. If Rafe has said something to her, I need to know. As it is, I know I need to watch my back, but that sounded specific. If he’s already made up his mind to get rid of me, that’s information I damn sure don’t have. If he hasn’t, I don’t want to jump to that conclusion. I need information, and I can’t use my usual methods of information retrieval on Laurel.

Locking an arm around her waist, I pull her back against my body. I drag my other hand down the column of her throat, trail my fingers lightly over her exposed collar bone, then grab one of her breasts like it belongs to me and squeeze. Laurel gasps, and that time her head lolls back against my shoulder. I have her, I just have to keep her. I massage her other breast and bend my head to murmur in her ear, “You want me to fuck you, don’t you? I can’t fuck you if I’m dead.”

“You’re not going to fuck me if you’re alive either,” she mutters at me with her eyes closed. “You’re just a terrible tease.”

Can’t argue that. “Tell m

e what Rafe said.”

“He said you’re an asshole.”

I crack a smile, then nibble on her earlobe.

Sighing with pleasure or defeat, I’m not sure which, Laurel says, “I can’t tell you. I don’t want him to get hurt, either. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t guess. He’s keeping an eye on the situation.”

I release her earlobe, rubbing her nipples through the dress. “Which situation?”

“He wants me to get over you.” Opening her eyes, she looks up at me. “I haven’t had sex with him.”

Something inside me drops. “What?”

“I mean, since… Obviously I slept with him over Easter, but since I met you, I haven’t. I didn’t sleep with him last night.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not ready,” she states.

I try not to feel too pleased as she leans against me, letting me toy with her body, and tells me she’s not ready to fuck someone else—especially Rafe. He has a way of drawing in women, making them want him even when they shouldn’t. This one should want him, but she wants me instead.

“But it’s a problem,” she adds. “He knows the reason I don’t want to sleep with him is because of you, and he doesn’t like it.”

“Well, sure.”

She hesitates. Her gaze drops. Now she’s thinking about whatever it is he said to her. “So, while I could try the ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ approach and just pretend to be, it’s not that simple. In order to convince him I’m over you, it’s not enough that I can be around you…”

I nod my understanding. “You have to sleep with him.”

“I think he knows I could fake him out otherwise,” she murmurs.

“Could you? You’re not a great liar.”

“I can lie if I have time to prepare myself, I just can’t lie on the spot—and I can’t always lie to Carly even with prep time. It’s like lying to your mom.”

“I lied to my mom,” I offer.

“Well, you and I are very different people,” she points out, dryly.

Smiling faintly, I say, “That’s right, you’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

Some of the vulnerability I wanted appears in her eyes. “I’m not being very good right now.”

“Sure you are.” She’s just my good girl, not his. I won’t torture her by saying that. In fact, now that I know he hasn’t told her directly he’s going to take my ass out, I need to get her back on track. “Did he give you a time frame?”

“He said a few days. He was a jerk about it. Taunted me about my four day love affair.”

“Well, he wasn’t there.”