Up in Flames (Rosemary Beach 13)

“Are you married?” I asked, needing to know.

He grinned. “No.”

“Engaged?” I continued.

“No.”

“Wanted for a felony?”

This time, he chuckled. “For future reference, it’s a little too late to question a guy if he is wanted for a felony when you have him in your suite and trust him enough to stay there while you sleep.”

Good point. I nodded and took another bite of pizza.

“That all you wondering?” he asked.

I finished chewing, then took a sip of my drink. “What do you do for work?”

He thought about that for a moment and then replied, “Construction.”

Construction? How was he in Vegas for business if he was a construction worker? And how could he afford the Bellagio? “Really?”

“Really. I own a construction company that builds casinos.”

Well, that made a lot more sense. “Is that your book? It looks like it’s been read a lot,” I said.

He glanced over at the book, and a smile touched his lips. “I’ve had it more than twenty years. It’s my favorite. I’ve read it thirty-five times.”

Wow. The layers on this man just got deeper and deeper.

Major

My Texas charm wasn’t totally lost on the Bellagio receptionist. She gave me the name of the tower Nan was staying in, but she wouldn’t give me a room number. That was all she would do for me. At least I knew Nan was here.

Which meant I’d been sitting at the bar beside the elevator bank, drinking and watching for any sign of her. Cope had probably already spotted me and was making sure she didn’t come this way. Either that, or he was playing games with my head.

The waitress with the tiny halter top and the paid-for tits that I’d like to get my hands on kept flashing me a flirty smile. As tempting as that was, I didn’t have time for that. Girls like her were why I was in this fucking mess in the first place.

Focusing on one girl, especially one as shallow as Nan, was hard to do. I liked variety, but I sure as hell didn’t like the idea of Nan having variety, so what did that mean? That I was being a bastard? Yeah, that’s what it meant. I was calling her shallow, but I was pretty damn shallow myself.

The waitress walked over to me and slid a new napkin my way. This one had writing on it. I saw a phone number and a name. She was making it pretty easy for me to fuck her. How was I supposed to work with shit like this? Jesus, if I was like Cope, I wouldn’t have this problem.

I glanced up at her and winked. She was sexy as hell but not the sexy I needed tonight. I had another girl to win back. If I could find her first. By ten, she would be heading to a club, I figured. Only thirty minutes until ten. I needed some food, but leaving this spot wasn’t possible.

“Y’all got anything to eat back there?” I asked.

“Nuts and pretzels,” she offered, with a hopeful smile.

Not exactly food, but it would help. “That’d be great.”

She quickly fixed me a large bowl and put it in front of me.

“Thanks, sugar,” I replied, and watched her beam. Yeah, she thought we were getting it on tonight. That was a shame.

I looked at my phone to see if by some chance Nan had texted me back and I’d missed it. Nothing.

Please talk to me. I’m down here at this bar right outside your elevator waiting for you.

I thought for a second before pressing Send, because she might find a way to avoid me now. But I knew Nan, and she wanted my attention. If she thought I was this close and had fought to find her this hard, she’d be sure to show up. I sat back and munched on my bar mix while watching the elevator doors.

My phone finally vibrated in my hand.

I’m busy right now. Won’t be going out. If you insist, I can meet you around noon tomorrow.

I read the text twice before accepting that she was seriously blowing me off. What the hell was she busy doing if she was in her suite?

Cope’s words came back to twist in my gut, and I fought the urge to throw my damn phone across the casino floor. Damn him. He was up there with her. That shit he’d been spewing had been real.

Too busy to come have one drink with me? I texted back, refusing to believe she was choosing Cope over me.

Yes, I am. Sorry.

Fuck me. My chest tightened, and I grabbed my whiskey and downed it, hoping it would ease the anger and disbelief boiling up in me. I knew she was cold, but this was worse than I had been warned.

“Can I get you another drink?” the waitress asked, with those red lips that promised dirty things.

“Can you get a break?” was my response.

She glanced at the clock and nodded. “Yeah. Give me five minutes?”

I nodded. I had five minutes. Then she was going to give me a good thirty somewhere in this casino. I had steam to blow off, and her perky tits needed to be in my mouth and hands soon.

When she walked back out, she looked at me with a grin that said she knew exactly what I wanted. God, I loved girls in Vegas. I needed to get a damn job here. Fix all my problems, and get far away from Nan.

“Come with me,” she said, reaching for my hand. I followed her to a back room with a sign that said Employees Only and then into a closet that was stocked with linens.

I closed the door behind us, and she pulled the little halter top off and let those boobs bounce free. “You can play with them now,” she said teasingly, as she walked up to me. “As long as you fuck me while you do it.”

My cock was hard instantly. I jerked her skirt up and found she wasn’t wearing panties. Easy access. I liked this one. I pulled a condom out of my pocket and ripped it open with my teeth before pulling my jeans down and covering myself.