The pleasure was cleansing once it ebbed to a warm buzz of contentment. He finally pulled out of her to crawl onto the bed and insure he wasn’t the only one who felt renewed. He was relieved to see Melody looked as satisfied as he felt. The flush of pleasure still stained her cheeks. Her eyes were closed, her face serene. Clay reached out and pushed wet wisps of hair off her forehead as he studied her. She blinked, revealing sated green orbs that stared up at him with a gratified happiness he wanted to remember forever.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She touched his lips once more and smiled. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” he said with a laugh. “You heal me, Mel.”
Her smile grew broader. “Ditto.”
Chapter Ten
On the first day of the rest of her life—Las Vegas was the place to be.
Melody found herself awed with the lights and sounds. It pulsed with a life that was energizing. The casinos smelled like cigarette smoke, stale perfume, and adrenaline. It should have been off-putting, but oddly enough it compelled her.
The thrill drew Melody in, and she watched the gambling like a voyeur. Being on the outside let her see the excitement of the risk was in the not knowing, in the wild wish that this roll of dice would be the one that solved life’s problems. After it was over, win or lose, wasn’t nearly as exhilarating as those few heartbeats before the cards were dealt.
Hope was perfect. It was untouchable. Untarnished.
If only life would always exist in the space between the risk and the outcome. She wanted to stay in Las Vegas forever. It was the space between for her and Clay. The lever was pulled; the slots were spinning; there was no going back. They were suspended in the place where hope flourished. The past didn’t seem to matter, and the future could be magnificent.
Or she could lose everything.
But the pulse of Las Vegas didn’t recognize fear or failure. Its very air reeked of possibility. The impossible seemed effortless in Sin City. Insurmountable problems had simple solutions, and she fell for it as easily as all the other naive dreamers who showed up on the strip hoping for a better tomorrow.
“You could gamble if you want.”
She turned to Clay as he leaned on a pillar at the edge of the casino next to her. Melody smiled, finding him handsome even if the aftereffects of the fight showed on his face. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him cut and bruised. Melody was starting to think the evidence of battle was part of his mystique.
“That’s okay. I just like to watch.”
She turned back to the casino once more, watching two old ladies sit side by side at slot machines. One had a cigarette in her mouth; the other held a cup of coffee. Melody was pretty sure she’d seen both of them in the casino before she left this morning doing the exact same thing.
“Do you wanna play?” he asked, studying her curiously. “I’ll give you money to play. I’ll even play with you.”
“Do you gamble?” Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I know you come here a lot.”
“Not usually, no.” He looked out to the casino with disinterest. “If ya wanted to, I would. It could be fun.”
“Well, I don’t think I’d like betting my own money.” Melody laced her arm through Clay’s and leaned into him. “But I like seeing ’em win. It’d be exciting to see someone win really big, like a million dollars or something. I’d love to watch that happen. That’d change their life.”
“You’d think. But it doesn’t. Money’s just money. It don’t change much ’bout who you are.”
“Shoot.” Melody laughed. “You’re just saying that ’cause you ain’t broke.”
Clay reached out, fingering a lock of her hair she wore down just because she could. He tugged on it playfully. “You ain’t broke neither; you know that, right?”
“Not today,” she agreed, her smile still bright because the slots of her life were still spinning. “Today’s perfect.”
Clay laughed and tilted his head away from the casino. “You ready to eat? They’re probably already sitting down.”
Melody winced. “Why didn’t you say something? I don’t want them to wait just for me.”
“You were having fun.” Clay pulled his arm free of hers only to drape it over her shoulders. “Jules said you’ve been peeking in at casinos all day.”
“Not all day,” Melody argued as they turned and walked away from the casino. “I bought this dress.”