Stripped Bare (Vegas Billionaire 1)

“Are you . . .” She closes her eyes, gathering herself. “Share me?”

“Fuck no,” I seethe. “You’re mine, Macey. No one will touch you this week.” Unfortunately, I can’t tell her what to do next week and I have a feeling Brady will be knocking on her door. Maybe she’ll use some of the money she’s earning to move out of the seedy hotel I took her out of or head back to wherever her home is. I’m honestly not prepared to answer questions about her and what she does for a living.

“Okay,” she says softly, nodding along with her statement.

“Let’s go. The car will be waiting for us.”

She follows me out of the penthouse and into the elevator. The ride down is quiet, not that I expected us to enter into a full-blown conversation. Truth be told, we haven’t talked a whole lot since we made the agreement, unless you count the words falling from our lips while we’re fucking. We’ve definitely done more of that.

With my hand on the small of her back, I lead her out of the hotel, staying a half step behind. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do and allows me to put her in a position of power. Anyone who sees us will assume we’re a couple, and for this week, I’m okay with that.

The ride to tonight’s gala is ridiculously short, but nonetheless a necessity. Being a power player in Vegas means I have to always play the game. When we arrive at the Bellagio, her mouth drops open.

“Have you been here before?”

“No, but I hear it’s amazing.”

“Extraordinary,” I tell her as I offer her my arm, helping her out of the car. We walk arm in arm into the hotel, through the lobby and into the grand ballroom.

“Holy shit! Who would’ve thought a girl like me would be in a place like this?”

I lean into her and say softly, “Please don’t put yourself down, especially in front of these people. They’re vultures and even I can’t protect you from their discerning looks. Tonight, women will be jealous of you because you’re with me. Let them kiss your ass. Own the room,” I say, kissing her below her ear. She sighs and leans into me, nodding before I pull away.

An usher leads us to our table, front and center. Before I can pull her chair out, my name is called. The voice is familiar and from someone I wasn’t expecting tonight. I turn in time to see Brandy approaching, her eyes like daggers as they glare at Macey. I slip my hand into hers and squeeze, silently begging that maybe she’ll protect me from what’s about to happen.

“Finn,” Brandy says, all too happy for my liking.

“Good evening, Brandy.”

“Who is your friend?”

Looking at Macey, I smile brightly. “Macey Webster, allow me to introduce you to Brandy, Brady’s sister.”

Macey is kind enough to extend her hand and it doesn’t go unnoticed by me that Brandy barely returns the gesture.

“Charmed,” Brandy says, grating my nerves.

“How’d you get in?” I ask, knowing full well that she’s not on the list.

“Brady, he said there was going to be someone here that he wanted to see.” Brandy looks over her shoulder to where her brother is, only for me to see that his gaze is set on Macey. That motherfucker is supposed to be my best friend and he’s eyeballing my date.

“Incest is illegal in Nevada,” I remind her. Her mouth drops open, but I don’t give her time for a rebuttal. “Shall we, Macey?” I ask, motioning to our seats. Dinner is about to be served and I’m starving.

Throughout dinner, Macey is quiet. I think it’s because of Brandy, but I’m secretly hoping it’s because the food is so good that she’s focusing on filling her stomach. I should’ve warned her about Brandy, but never thought we’d run into her here. It’s a ballsy fucking move on Brady’s part, bringing her as his date, especially knowing Macey would be with me.

“She’s in love with you,” she says, interrupting my thoughts.

“At one time, yes, but that was a long time ago.” I take a sip of my wine and dab my napkin over my mouth.

“You’ve dated?”

“In college, but I’ve taken her as my plus one to a lot of events. Her family is well known in the area and having her with me is a conversation piece.”

Macey turns in the direction of where Brandy and Brady are sitting. People around her are laughing, enjoying her company. I probably would too, but she’s needy and I can’t stand that in a person.

“So why not pay her to be at your beck and call?” she says, facing me.

It takes me a minute to see the jealousy, but it’s there. Even with the tiny bit that I know about Macey, her life was hard, is still hard. Brandy has had everything handed to her on a silver platter and she still wants more. I remember driving Macey home that night after the party and thought about how my parents would kill me if they knew I had gone into the ghetto, but I wasn’t going to let her take the bus home.