She moaned against his palm, his hand silencing her screams of bliss as he stroked the last few waves of her climax from her, his fingers inside her and outside her, sending her far into the beautiful abyss of pleasure and love.
Eventually, when her body stopped shuddering, he smoothed out her skirt and blouse and licked her taste off his fingers. “Do you think we just violated your morals clause?”
She laughed. “If anyone saw us, surely we broke all the rules of decorum.”
“If anyone is looking, I hope they’re jealous as fuck because I get to have the most fantastic woman in the world.”
* * *
Back at the hotel a little later, he gave her another present wrapped in shiny paper. When she opened it, she ran her fingers over the silver metal of the handcuffs, inscribed with the name of the manufacturer, Joy Delivered, a high-end maker of sex toys.
Then he cuffed her, held her wrists behind her back in one hand, grabbed hold of her hair in the other and delivered more joy to her as he took her bent over the bed, the only man who would ever make her feel this way, the only man who would could fuck her when she was on all fours and still make her feel like a queen.
But she did. She felt like queen of the world, ruler of the heavens and earth even with her ass in the air, her hair pulled tight, her hands shackled. In that pose—that bound pose of submission— he sent her soaring, owning her body, because he wanted her to feel extraordinary. She did, oh God, she did as he pleased her, over and over and over.
* * *
Judging from the report of his associate, there’d been no card hustling going on tonight with those two, just a whole lot of public near-fornication at Tao. His dick twitched angrily as he thought of that man having his hands all over that luscious redhead. She was a hot little thing, and it pissed him off that he was horny for her.
It made him want to get to the bottom of this even faster. Get her out of his way. She was a target, nothing more.
Besides, a deal was a deal was a deal, and the fact that she was here, sniffing around his turf, made it clear that terms had been broken. She was the evidence of clauses not being followed.
On his way out of the Allegro he spotted the guy she’d been having drinks with at the pool earlier. At least, it looked like him from the picture he’d seen: young face, skinny build, the guy with the hoodie again. He was playing the slots right now, trying to ring up some money from Dolly Parton. Hmmm. He looked like a regular old casino tourist, and he wasn’t sure what to make of him, or how the guy was connected to Julia.
He went home that night, determined to handle her tomorrow. He couldn’t risk fucking up this gig; the last one had been botched, and this was his chance to make good. Once inside his home, he dug through a carton of leftovers in the fridge, hunting for something to eat before bed. But what he found was a week old, maybe more, judging from the smell. He tossed the rancid carton in the trash and went to bed hungry, mad as hell and ready for tomorrow.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Saturday, 11:14 a.m., Las Vegas
After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and home fries, Clay took another swallow of his coffee, finishing the cup. They sat at the breakfast table by the window of their hotel suite, him in his boxer briefs, her in a cami and lacy underwear. If he hadn’t just enjoyed two rounds of morning sex—one in bed, one in the shower—he’d have ripped off the panties. But he was sated.
For now.
Julia chewed the last bite of her toast, then checked her phone. She’d been antsy to hear from Tad after the meeting yesterday when he dispensed his be-a-good-girl rules. Clay was eager too to get a look-see at the morals clause. Strange item for a liquor company, but he could also see how stipulations like that might be necessary. A beverage-maker wouldn’t want a drunk representing its drinks. In fact, such clauses might even be more vital for a product that loosened lips and relaxed judgment.
She tapped the screen. “I knew it. Saturday morning and he’s already all over me. Here’s a note from Tad, and he wants to know if I received the contract addendum and if I plan on signing it.”
He motioned with his fingers for her to hand him the phone. “Let me see those documents.”
She clicked open the PDF in her email and handed it to Clay. He took a minute to read it over. When he set down the phone, he simply said, “Hmm.”
“Hmmm what?”
“This hardly seems necessary. Which makes me think it’s personal.”
Julia pointed to herself. “Personal about me?”
“Or him.”
“In what way?”
“It might be a hot-button issue for him. Let’s see what we can find out.”
“You figured that all out from looking at a one-page contract addendum?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.