Page 16 of Sin City Lights

For a few seconds, he calmly surveyed the audience.

One corner of his mouth kicked up in a slight smile. He leaned toward the microphone, waited for another beat, and then smoothly said,“Good evening, everyone. I’m Adam Larssen.”

It couldn’t be. Yet there he was.

She would have recognized that voice anywhere. She’d heard it, murmured in the dark. But now, at full volume, his speaking voice could put a double bass to shame. Her viewing angle didn’t let her see the color of his eyes, but their intensity was unmistakable.

The man was beautiful. Not one of her imaginings of what his face might look like could have matched up to this.

“When you start a company,” he began,“you dream that one day, you will be fortunate enough to have an evening like this.”

His nose was masculine perfection, as was his whole face, really. A strong, square jaw, high cheekbones, and full, perfectly shaped lips. Lips made for kissing endlessly.

What insane thoughts are these?

“I see a lot of hard work, loyalty, and dedication in this room, which made this night possible. We have always aimed to take our passengers to their dreams faster, with the care and comfort others like to talk about, but LarsAir delivers.”

All eyes were riveted on him, but he was completely comfortable before an audience, conveying easy confidence despite his perfect posture.

His hands came to rest on the corners of the lectern. Broad palms, strong fingers. Those hands had been all over her last week. The memory of what he could do with those long fingers made her nerves fire.

“We are here tonight to let you know that we have begun the quest to move you faster than the speed of sound. We have become the majority shareholders in Schnell Aviation.”

Murmurs of surprise and excitement rippled through the audience. People turned to look at one another. Adam smiled and paused to let them settle down.

“Their design of the large cabin corporate Mach 2 jet is ready for wind tunnel testing, and with our help, the project will accelerate tocompletion. This will allow us to give our customers the most valuable thing there is: time. Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced,“allow me to present to you the LarsJet 2024.”

With that, he reached for the blue cloth covering the mystery box and gripped the corner. The fabric slid off, revealing a clear cube containing a striking mock-up of a plane. Angling steeply upward, with its sharp nose, streamlined wings, and sleek tail, it looked like a more compact, elegant version of the Concorde.

“Yes!” Devon hissed beside Eve.

The audience gasped, then burst into enthusiastic applause. A few whistled. Some cheered. Fists pumped in the air. Excited chatter filled the room.

Adam’s million-watt smile could have powered all of Las Vegas, and Eve felt her knees go weak at the sight.

He was breathtaking, really. No other way to describe him.

A moment later, her breath did stop.

Because Adam’s eyes wandered over the crowd, then skimmed the front row, moving right past Eve.

But then his gaze snapped back to land on her.

Adam

She looked a hundred times better than her pictures.

Huge doe eyes stared up at him out of a heart-shaped face, and that little rosebud mouth of hers was puckered into a pretty, plump pinkOthat instantly conjured images of him doing all kinds of things to it.

He couldn’t believe it. Of all the places on planet Earth where Eve could have been tonight, she was at his unveiling.

Why was she here?

She wore a killer red dress that clung to every curve and bared the rounded, creamy skin of her shoulders, and her hair framed her sweet face with chestnut waves he knew were soft as silk. Curvy little body, tiny waist, great legs, small feet in gold shoes that let him see her red-painted toes. Christ, even her feet were pretty.

She was a pinup come to life, hotter than all of his erotic fantasies of her put together.

“Larssen! That was great!” Devon Thomason, his partner and chief pilot, left her side to run up to the podium.“They ate it up. Congratulations.”

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