“I’m not worried about what she thinks. But let’s go somewhere private.”
“Back to the room?”
“No, I need to do a couple things down here before I go upstairs and shower.” Nate took her hand and pulled her into an empty corridor that connected the pool area to an older section of the casino. This part of the hotel didn’t get as much foot traffic, especially when it was filled with poker players who were generally disinterested in the hotel amenities.
He backed Annie against the wall and stood close to block her from view. His hand went to her back, checking the battery pack. The red light was on, the cord connected. “It must be the microphone,” he said.
Annie’s eyes widened slightly. “That’s, um...between my breasts.”
“Maybe the underwire in your bra has pinched it.” He slipped his hand beneath her sweater, gliding his fingertips over her stomach and up the length of the wire to where it met with the rough lace of her bra. “I’m not sure what this thing is supposed to—”
Nate caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone was coming down the hallway. Without hesitating, he leaned in and kissed Annie. He moved his hand from the wire to the round curve of her breast beside it.
Annie gasped at the sudden change but followed along. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him to her. It might be a kiss to cover their tracks, but this was nothing like their kiss outside of Carolina’s. She’d caught him off guard last night, but he could still sense her holding back. Now there was only their very public location to restrain them.
Whoever was in the hallway was long gone, but it didn’t matter. The kiss grew harder and more desperate the longer it went on. Her teeth nibbled at his bottom lip. His tongue thrust inside her mouth, tasting her. Annie’s body molded against his.
Nate groaned. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up taking her on a nearby blackjack table. He forced himself back, breaking the electric connection that held them together.
“Sweet lord,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Yeah,” Annie agreed. “Do you think we’re good now? With the reception?”
The radio at Nate’s hip squawked out Gabe’s reply. “We’re good,” he responded. “Not as good as you two are, though.”
Annie pulled away, smoothing her green satin top and brushing at the edges of her smeared lipstick with her fingertips. “Since we’re done, I’m going to go,” she said, walking unsteadily toward the cashier.
Nate took a deep breath and turned to keep from watching her leave. He didn’t think he could take the sight of her sauntering away from him in that tight skirt. He might sweep her over his shoulder and carry her through the casino again.
This time to ravish her.
* * *
The suite was silent as Annie stepped off the elevator. She’d expected Nate to be there getting ready, but there was no sign of him. It was just as well. She needed to dress, and the fewer...distractions...the better. She’d already killed too much time lingering downstairs.
She’d been afraid to come up too soon. Afraid to walk in on Nate, wet and naked from another shower. Their kiss in the casino had been to cover their activity in the hall, but once he touched her, the world around them could have vanished. It was unerringly clear—their resistance to one another was wearing away quickly. Their magnetic pull was stronger than her fears or his sense of injustice. None of that mattered when he touched her.
He would have her soon. And she would give herself freely. And enthusiastically. But she would draw the line there. She would indulge no thoughts about a future or a real reconciliation. That’s where she went wrong the last time.
Annie stepped quickly down the hall to the bedroom. Nate’s suit was thrown across a chair in the corner. The bathroom mirror was still foggy. He had been there. Just briefly.
She kicked off her heels and started absentmindedly undressing, pulling together the pieces of her outfit for the evening.
The heels that matched her royal-blue dress rubbed miserably if she didn’t wear stockings. She selected a pair of lace-topped thigh highs from the drawer along with panties. She couldn’t wear a bra with her dress, so the wire was out tonight. She peeled away the tape and switched off the battery pack before leaving it on the nightstand. From there, she slipped into the low-riding black lace boy shorts that wouldn’t show panty lines. She followed them with the silky, sheer stockings.
Annie stood to retrieve her dress from the closet but stopped when she heard a soft groan from behind her.