Her Sexy Vegas Cowboy(14)

She seemed content to just enjoy their time together, and he didn’t want to ruin that by discussing anything outside the present.

As they walked down to the elevator, he laced his fingers through hers, happy to be able to at least pretend she was his. They strolled through the lobby and got into the car he had ordered for them, not letting go. The grin she gave him as she slid into her seat was such a genuinely happy smile that lit up her eyes, and it settled into a warm spot deep in his chest.

When they arrived downtown, they wandered through the classic casinos, looking at the fish tanks and the golden nuggets that were displayed for the tourists, and meandered along Fremont Street. He nodded toward one of the casinos and said, “Do you want to do any gambling or anything? I don’t want you to miss out on any of the Vegas stuff you planned on doing because I’m around.”

Jessica tilted her head a little as she looked around. “Well, I just came in for the bachelorette party, so my plan was to hide in my room whenever I got the chance. Now that I’m out, we could do something like that. I don’t know how to play any of the games, though.”

“Do you know how to play blackjack?” She shook her head. “Want to learn?” he asked.

She scrunched her face, as if the topic was a little bit of a sore one for her. “I don’t really have much extra money to give to the casinos, but we could play a little bit.”

“You don’t have to use your money. We can play with mine.”

The look she gave him made it abundantly clear what she thought of that. He stopped her before she could argue. “Don’t say no yet. Just think of it this way—I’d like to play, and I want to teach you how. It would be fun for me.”

She still looked uncertain, so he gave her his biggest “now I’m begging” look, and her expression softened. Reluctantly, she answered, “Fine, but we’re not spending ridiculous amounts of money at this. I don’t need that kind of stress.”

He wondered why she was so tight on money but didn’t ask. Staying away from details was becoming hard already, and it was far less fun than it had seemed at first. He wanted to know more things about her.

They sat down at the cheapest table they could find and he bought in. When he tried to put three hundred-dollar bills on the table, Jessica pulled two of them back and shook her head, as if he’d just done something completely insane. He put the two bills away and scooted his chair close to hers under the guise of helping her. With his leg pressing against hers, it didn’t matter how much money was on the table.

Though she’d never played before, he was impressed to see how quickly she picked up the game’s logic and how confident she was in her ability to make the right choice. After only a few hands, she was hitting and staying as though she had played for years.

Most women he’d sat at a table with at various rodeo weekends would constantly ask what to do or make plays that didn’t make sense. They’d giggle and shrug when they lost.

Jessica was not like most women. She watched the cards with such intensity Aaron was half worried one of the pit bosses would think she was counting cards, except for the fact that she refused to play more than the minimum five dollars a hand and panicked a little every time she needed to double her bet. Watching her amused him no end. She was cute when she was anxious.

When the dealer placed an ace on the queen in front of Jessica, she gave Aaron a brilliant smile and clapped her hands a little. “I got blackjack! What do I get, seven dollars? What am I going to buy with all that?”

He gave her his most confused look. “Why do you think you get the seven dollars? We’re playing with my money, remember?”

She rolled her eyes and shoved her shoulder against his, grumbling. He laughed and held up his hands to make it clear he was joking. Sitting next to her was worth it, even if she lost every penny of his money.

The dealer, a man about Aaron’s age whose name tag identified him as Cody, smiled at them. “You two seem to be having a nice time. Are you just in town for the weekend?”

Aaron and Jessica exchanged a split-second glance. They both realized what he thought, but it didn’t seem worth explaining the situation to this stranger. He wasn’t sure what he would say, anyway. They both nodded.

Aaron could tell Cody was going to ask him some more questions and headed him off. “How long have you lived in Vegas, Cody?”

Cody said, “Oh, about six years now. It’s not a bad place, once you get used to it.”

Jessica studied her cards thoughtfully, and Aaron could practically hear the gears whirring in her head as she tried to remember what to do in that situation. She stayed—the right move, of course—and looked back to the dealer. “What made you move out here?”

Cody flipped his card, took another and busted. As he paid them, he said, “I came out here for school. It’s much cheaper to live here than it was in California. I’m finishing up a law degree at the university.”

Before he could say more, another dealer came up and tapped him on the shoulder. Cody said, “It was nice to meet you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. It’s always great to see two people in love.”

He left before Aaron could respond. Not that he had anything to say to that. He almost didn’t want to look at Jessica and see her reaction. What if she agreed with Cody? What if she scoffed at the idea? Neither sounded particularly appealing.

Jessica’s hand dropped to his thigh and squeezed his leg, sending a thrill up through his groin and settling in his stomach. She knocked him with her shoulder again. “You hear that, sweetie? We must be quite adorable.”

Aaron couldn’t quite bring himself to joke about it, but he smiled at her. The silence lingered for a minute. He didn’t think he’d be able to stand it much longer. Luckily Jessica looked down at her chips. “Well, I think I understand the game, and it looks like we made you twenty bucks. Shall we go?”

Aaron agreed, glad to change the topic. They took their chips to the cashier. Aaron had lost a little of his fifty, but Jessica was up over thirty. When he tried to hand it to her, she pushed it back at him. “There is no way I’m keeping that,” she said.

He looked at the money and considered the options. “How about we use it for food or something?”

“That works for me. I’m a huge fan of food.”

She was being deliberately casual, trying to get past the whole “in love” thing. Aaron wasn’t sure if he was grateful or irritated about it. There was no point lingering on it, though. Their weekend would be over soon enough, and there wasn’t time to waste on wondering about a passing remark from a dealer.

Jessica thankfully broke the silence before it could get too thick around them. “How do you play the other games?”

Something to talk about. Perfect. He rattled off descriptions of pai gow, craps and casino war—which was easy, since she knew war, and it was pretty much that with betting—and he could practically see her absorbing the information and filing it away in her brain. It was a wonderful thing to watch.

He wondered what it would be like to sit across from her at a poker table; he imagined she’d quickly become a force to be reckoned with. He doubted they would have time for it this weekend, but maybe next time—

He cut off the thought. Someone else would need to teach her that.

He examined her, focusing on her beautiful eyes and the strands of hair falling against her cheek. He imagined her glancing at her cards, her manner cool and confident whatever they might be, and tossing her chips all in with that little smile he’d seen play across her face throughout their night together. The mental image shifted seamlessly to one of her sitting on the poker table and wrapping her legs around him, unbuttoning his shirt—and he had to stop it there when he remembered they were in public.

He breathed deeply, keeping his body from getting aroused through sheer force of will. Aaron wanted her again. He loved feeling every part of her, the explosive reactions as he buried himself in her, saw her eyes close and heard her breath catch with pleasure. He wanted them to get out from the cloud that was hovering over them, get back to where they had been that morning. What better way was there than licking the small spot at the base of her neck that made her tremble?

He couldn’t spend too much time considering that, or he’d be grabbing her and running back for the car. He didn’t want her to think he was some oversexed caveman, and based on that encounter at the strip club, that could very well be her impression of him even now. He hoped she saw he was more than that.

“Did you want to try any of them out?” he asked after he finished explaining the games.

Jessica shook her head. “I think I better quit while I’m ahead. I don’t want to lose all of my winnings, and it looks like luck isn’t on your side today. You might end up being one of those guys flying home without his shirt because he lost it at the tables in Sin City.”

Aaron was pretty sure luck was very much on his side this weekend, if the woman with him was any indication. And if he ended up flying home without his shirt, it would have something to do with her, as well.

He was getting too attached to this woman who would disappear out of his life in two days, or even earlier. He had no idea when her flight home was. The most rational part of his mind told him to break it off before he got invested any deeper into the relationship, but he knew he wouldn’t do that.