"No," I said. "I bought it myself just after high school. I needed something to get me to college."
"Ah, yes, the ivy league." Fenton leaned back in his seat.
"University of Chicago," I said. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear."
He smiled. "How many prospective clients get to hear that?"
"None." I sipped my wine and felt warm. Talking with Fenton was easy – no patter, no holding up false impressions.
He rolled up his sleeves and fixed his eyes on the candle between us. "Then I suppose it’s only fair I tell you something true."
"About your reputation?" I asked.
He nodded, his look faraway. "I hit that cop. He'd arrested my sister."
The warmth inside me spread. I raised my glass to Fenton. "Here's to the half-truths that make us regular people."
His smile returned and made me dizzy all throughout the meal. When we were finally walking down the Strip later that evening, it did not feel at all strange to be arm in arm – just like it felt natural for him to walk me back to my room at the Tropicana. And then, it was only right that I invite him in for a nightcap.
As soon as the door closed behind us, he kissed me. I lost track of time – my only anchor in the universe was his lips. I rose up on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck. He lifted me clear off the ground, the delicious heat of our bodies flushe
d together taking me even higher.
We pressed and tangled, the iron bands of his arms holding me as close as possible. I wanted to be closer. The thinness of my dress, that had worried me all night, was suddenly too much of a barrier. Fenton held me aloft so easily, as I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer.
He groaned, stumbling back into the center of my small room. His hands were in my hair, our mouths locked in a deep give and take. I felt as if breaking away from his lips for even a moment would make me spin away into the desert sky. He seemed to hear my thoughts and laid me down on the bed, his weight on top of me a welcome pressure.
"Wait, no," I protested. "Not like this."
"Kya, please," Fenton said.
I wanted to give in. I wanted it more than anything, but I could not. I thought I was wining and dining him, but here Fenton Morris was in my room, on my bed, on me. I was being seduced, and that would ruin everything.
Chapter Eight
Fenton
I felt the honey softness go out of her limbs as Kya pushed against my chest. I turned on my side and trailed a hand down her dress. My God, that purple dress with a low neckline that almost didn't stop.
"Not like this," she protested.
I wanted her so badly it didn't feel wrong to beg. "Kya, please."
She shook her head, and I was surprised her springy, copper-blonde curls were as soft as silk. They defied gravity without being wiry or sprayed stiff. It was almost cruel how desirable she was.
She sat up, those silken curls brushing against her bare shoulders. The sleeveless dress plunged lower in the back than in the front and I traced a finger along its thin border. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. I would do more than beg to have her.
She had hypnotized me the entire evening. Where I normally clocked every attractive woman in the room, I could not even remember what the interior of the restaurant looked like. Kya had me from the second I saw her worried smile. Then, she locked me in with the hint of jealousy when she asked about Talia.
Deep down, I knew I would probably never get Kya out of my system, but there was only one way to find out. I propped myself up on one arm and nuzzled her neck. She shook her head and moved to stand up. I snaked one arm around her waist and kept her in place easily.
"Fenton, please, let go of me," she said.
The hint of panic in her voice sluiced over me like a bucket of ice water. It was true – I could force her. I was strong enough that Kya was defenseless – except for that one tiny hitch in her voice. It undid me. I let her go as if she had stung me.
"Thank you," she said. Instead of standing up and getting out of my reach, she stayed on the edge of the bed and turned towards me. "If I did not know you better, I would think you were trying to seduce me."
"And, what would be so terrible about that?" I asked.