Her Sexy Vegas Cowboy(10)

This wasn’t the regular Jessica she normally saw in the mirror at home. This was a super version of Jessica: Jessica 2.0. She was tall and beautiful and sexy. That had never been a word to describe her, but it certainly described this new version staring back at her.

She took a calming breath and turned away from the mirror, feeling a mix of discomfort and pride with the image she was projecting to the world.

As she followed the others out the door, she felt a small sense of foreboding. These shoes were even higher than the ones the night before, and with how low the scoop of the dress went—and the fact that she wasn’t able to wear a bra with it—she was very aware what a dangerous combination it could be. It might end very badly indeed, if she wasn’t careful.

Except for that little episode at the airport, she tended to be pretty steady on her feet, but the red heels she was wearing were something else entirely. She wished she could switch into a more reasonable pair, but the others insisted she looked amazing, and her mirror self agreed. So stilettos it would be.

On the outside, she looked like a woman from a club scene in a movie, the confident and attractive girl who would go home with a stranger if the mood took her. On the inside, she was still the unsure introvert who was on the defensive against anyone who might try to get too close. But she wanted to be that outside version, if even for just a weekend.

The group of women, dressed to the nines and ready to devastate the city’s men, went down to the lobby to meet Marilyn’s Jeremiah and whatever friend he was bringing along. Marilyn wrapped her arm through Cindy’s. “So, Cindy, there is a possibility that Jeremiah and I might break away and have our own little party, if you don’t mind. You can totally say no, though.”

Jessica knew Cindy well enough to see that she was less than thrilled about one of their party taking off with a stranger, but Jessica knew she’d never say anything to that effect. She just smiled at Marilyn and said, “Of course! Have fun. How often are you in Vegas?”

It wasn’t in Cindy to be anything but supportive of her friends’ decisions. It was one of the reasons Jessica had called Cindy first when she and Russ broke up, and why she was planning on telling her about the whole embarrassing Aaron fascination she’d been having and the entire strip-club story. When they were safely back home, of course, and it could just be a funny Vegas anecdote.

As they walked up the few steps toward the lobby, Jessica watched her feet carefully to avoid an embarrassing tumble. When she was at the top of the stairs and looked up, Marilyn was moving quickly toward a smiling man, and—

And Aaron. She couldn’t believe it. His eyes were taking in each girl, but when they landed on her, he stopped short, his eyebrows rising in surprise. They stared at each other in shock. Aaron was the friend Jeremiah was bringing to dinner; Jeremiah was the guy who’d been calling Aaron back to the group when he was drunkenly hitting on her. It all made ridiculous improbable sense.

The rest of the girls walked up to meet the men, but Jessica was frozen to the spot by his stare. Her cheeks flushed, her heart sped up so much she could feel it pressing against her chest.

You can do this. Just breathe and smile and walk forward, pretend this is normal.

Her silent pep talk did nothing to move her feet or stop her heart from slamming away. It didn’t erase the look of astonishment and slight panic she knew was plastered across her face.

She didn’t know if she wanted to run into his arms or back up to the hotel room, but neither of those involved casually walking up and shaking hands.

By this time, the other girls had met Jeremiah and were being introduced to Aaron, who had to be smacked on the arm by Jeremiah in order to pull his attention away from her. She felt oddly pleased about the stunned expression on his face, and the way his eyes stayed on her until he was forced to acknowledge the others. Even Miss New York couldn’t take away his focus from her.

Once Aaron’s eyes finally shifted away, Jessica felt free—for the moment at least—to think and walk, but she couldn’t stop her gaze from sliding down his well-cut suit jacket, to the fitted shirt underneath, to his dark blue jeans.

Everything looked as if it was made perfectly for his body, showing him off without looking intentional. Did he do that on purpose, or was that just how clothes looked on a body that magnificent?

She walked toward the men slowly and very carefully—she definitely didn’t want to trip over her own feet now—but stayed behind the rest of the women so she wouldn’t have to do something as mundane as shake his hand. There would be no way to keep from melting if she got too close to him.

Jessica tried to come up with a plan. She was usually great at having plans in difficult situations, but this time she was completely at sea with nothing to grab on to. She thought about her anger the night before, and about her thoughts when she’d seen him running. Oh, the running.

She was physically attracted to him, no doubt about that. More than she’d ever been to anyone. He clearly wasn’t looking for anything serious this weekend, so why should she? She was a single woman in Vegas for a few days for a bachelorette party—didn’t that give her the freedom to do anything without regret?

By the time they’d all started walking to dinner, she had begun telling herself that one night with the man of her dreams would be enough, that it was probably just a physical attraction she’d get over after acting upon it. She should go up and talk to him, at least. Smooth things out from when they’d last seen each other.

What she did, however, was stay as far away from him as possible and blush a fiery shade of scarlet that deepened every time he glanced her way, which he did every few seconds while they walked to the restaurant.

At dinner, she tried to place as many people between them as possible, but after she sat down, he slid into the chair next to her. Jessica cursed inwardly, feeling his stare as she looked everywhere possible but into his eyes. Sitting just a few inches from him, she could feel the heat coming off his body, and every inch of her skin felt as if it was being shot through with electrical currents. Her heart was beating so wildly, she was sure he could hear it, and the struggle to keep her breathing normal was pointless.

“Jessica,” he half whispered, trying to get her attention.

When he said her name, his voice wrapped around her like a silky blanket, and she wanted, more than anything, for him to say it again. He didn’t seem to realize that all of her attention was on him at the moment, no matter where she forced her eyes. She finally looked at him, her breath catching in her throat.

“Jessica,” he whispered, and she felt that thrill again. “I’m so sorry about my behavior last night. I was drunk and I was excited to see you again. I can’t believe I did any of the things I did. I swear I’m not a drunken idiot. Most of the time.”

His eyes were pleading for a positive response from her, a crooked sheepdog smile playing on his lips. He looked almost innocent and like someone who was just trying to make amends, but she could tell by the lower pitch of his voice, the darkness of his eyes and the tense hold of his sculpted jaw that he wasn’t saying everything on his mind.

With mild astonishment, she understood what was happening. He was barely holding himself together, too. She had assumed that he thought she was attractive, but that he couldn’t possibly be feeling the same thrill of sensations. But really, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

An amazingly handsome cowboy wanted her with an intensity that cut down her already shaky control even more. Even if he just wanted this makeup-covered, cleavage-showing Jessica 2.0, that intensity was a surprise she hadn’t expected.

She suddenly realized he was waiting for her to say something, but what could she say? She’d given herself permission to allow the physical attraction, but now that he was so close, so obviously wanting her, she wanted more than ever to run away and hide.

Jessica cleared her throat a little, giving her mind a chance to settle down. It didn’t work. “It’s fine. I’m sorry I got so upset at you over nothing, really. It was just a weird moment. Friends?” she asked.

No! her mind screamed at her. Friends! Are you kidding? Not friends! She wished she could drop under the table as soon as the words left her mouth. The last thing on earth she wanted at that moment was to just be friends. How could they be friends when they were only going to see each other for this one weekend, and spending even a few seconds near him made her want to jump out of her clothes and curl herself around his body?

She could see from the flexing muscles in his jaw that it hadn’t been the word he’d wanted to hear, either, but he smiled at her, showing a row of perfect teeth she could almost imagine nibbling on her ear. “Okay. Friends. I’m Aaron.”

Berating herself internally, she smiled back. “Hi, Aaron.”

Although she’d memorized his name from the paper he’d given her, had looked at it so many times that she could picture the way he’d written every letter, that was the first time she’d said it out loud, and she felt a dropping sensation in her stomach as his eyes darkened a little more and his cheeks flushed, but not from embarrassment. She could feel the heat wafting off his body, could smell his intoxicating, indescribable manly scent and suddenly she felt far too close for comfort. She could hardly breathe.