All of this could have been avoided if I had just offered to walk her up to her room. I'm such an idiot, totally unlike myself. It's like I can't think straight where she is concerned. I wanted to walk her up, I wanted to go inside and lay her down on her own bed. Maybe that's why I resisted. I knew it wasn't a good idea. Somewhere inside, I know exactly how her father would react if he knew what I was thinking of doing.
But still, I don't want to stop thinking about it. I want to see her again. I want to touch her, get to know her, kiss her so deep that her eyes roll back in her head. If I leave things as they are, I'll probably never see her again. She will finish her vacation in Vegas, and return back home to Texas. I rarely go back, and even when I do, it's usually for a business meeting. Conferences that last all day long, leaving me no time to go and see old friends. It would be strange of me to drop in unannounced, and I rarely have the time, and even if I did, who's to say she would still be living at home? She's an adult now, graduated, and grown. The second she gets a job, she'll probably be out of her parent’s house and into a place of her own. For all I know, she's not even planning to stay in Texas.
All of this means that if I leave things how they are, I might not ever see her again. I have to see that as a reality. And it's a reality that I can't risk. I need to make sure that I can see her again this week before she goes home. I need to find her.
Las Vegas is a small enough place when it really comes down to it. I know she's here on the strip, and I know she's staying in a hotel. I can even narrow it down to a section of the strip. That means I can find her. Or, I could just call her father and ask for her number. Tell him we bumped into each other and she left before I could give her some complimentary tickets, or something. Anything to make him believe that I have her best interests at heart.
And I do. It's just that I think her best interests include spending the night in ecstasy, calling out my name at the top of her lungs, losing all control as I bury myself deep inside her. And that's not something I can really say to her father.
Still, one way or another, I'm going to find her again. It's something I know as surely as I know my own name. Whatever hold she has over me, it's not going to let her escape anytime soon.
I’m going to make her mine before the week is out.
Chapter Ten
Savannah
I spend a long night in turmoil, hardly getting any sleep. I toss and turn, my few snatches of rest plagued by both dreams and nightmares. One moment, I see Jonas coming towards me, pulling off his clothes, ready to pull off mine. I know he wants me, I know he finds me attractive enough to take to his bed. It feels good, like the only thing I've ever wanted.
But then a minute later, I'm stuck there in an alleyway, my back against the wall as three larger than life men crowd against me. They won't let me get away. And it's their hands that land on my body, not his. They take my bag, my money, my phone, everything I need to keep me safe. They take more than that. I wake in a sweat, panting for breath, wishing I'd never come to Las Vegas.
In the morning, full of indecision I don't know whether I should stay or go. I don't want to go through anything like that ever again, and I've come to realize that Las Vegas might not be as safe as I thought it might be. For a single female traveler, maybe I've been a little ambitious in choosing my destination.
But on the other hand, I came here to get away, to be independent. I came here to prove to myself that I'm an adult, able to handle any situation that life throws at me. And isn't this just one of those situations? Shouldn't I just brush myself off, get back up, and take more precautions in the future as I go around the city?
And, on the other hand, there's the motivation to stay here in order to see Jonas again. Not that it's likely to happen unless I call him and tell him to meet me. He said I should call him if I need help, which means that I shouldn’t use the number for anything else. I shouldn't abuse the trust he put in me by giving me his number.