Page 61 of Inflame

“Smartass. I can’t wait until you are in the same position and asking me to keep an eye on your love.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, bro. I’m never going to fall in love.”

Graham takes a sip of his drink, tapping his fingers along the side of the glass. “We’ll see.”

The dots are color coded and show the location of the girls in the Bellagio. The only issue that we have not been able to work out is knowing which floor they are on. I know they are across the room, tucked away inside Claire’s closed doors. But if there was a true emergency, I would not be able to locate them easily if they were a floor below or above. The Bellagio has thirty-six floors.

Graham knows the limitation to the current devices. They are worldly issues. I don’t need to remind him. I just need him to relax his reins and have a chill guys’ night with me. I promised Claire she would get her Meltin’ Men show. As much as I don’t want her putting herself at risk by going out without one of us, I know she needs this to get the whole Vegas experience and fulfill her duties as maid of honor. I want her to leave this city knowing she conquered all the items on her list.

As much as Claire’s unpredictability causes me stress, I love that she has a zest for life that I rarely see anymore. Girls these days are glued to their phones, addicted to selfies, and lack the emotional layers that add depth. Fuck. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I used to prefer the shallow girls I just described. The ones who easily spread their legs for me to enter freely. The ones who didn’t need me to call them the next morning, because I was just one of many they also rotated through.

“I’m ready for a night out. I could use a mind cleanse. You game?” I ask Graham.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I have a few places in mind, actually. Let me go check on the girls and see what time they are leaving. Everything is flexible for us. We don’t have a schedule to follow.”

“You sure we can’t force them to stay?”

“Yeah, bro, I’m sure. It’ll all be fine. I have a couple of associates watching out for them and paid off the bouncer to keep his eyes out for them.”

Graham nods. “That does relax me a bit more. They have a driver lined up?”

“I’ll make sure it is one that I run through the background checker first or hand select myself,” I reassure.

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

“Yup,” I say, exiting the master suite and walking across the common area to Claire’s room.

I give a series of knocks and wait for permission to enter. Angie opens the door just a tad, and I can see she is dressed in red glitter. I swallow hard and try not to look. She is like another sister to me. I know for a fact that Graham is not going to approve of this—

Outfit?

I look through the crack in the door and see Claire dressed in only a black strapless bra and a black lace thong walking into the bathroom. I must let out a breath different than the rest, because Angie quickly turns back and pushes me out of the room, following me.

“We’re still getting ready. What’s up?”

The image of Claire’s lush ass cheeks, accentuated only by a scrap of lace, floods my mind. I have no space up there left for anything else except that vision of her. I want to pull her cheeks apart, rip off the thong, and bury my face in that pussy of hers.

I need to clear my head. I need to take a step back and reevaluate my desire for her. She is going to drive me crazy. I am not some teenager, and yet I stand here trying to think of anything but her so my hard-on can soften.

“Nic?”

I look at Angie’s probing gaze. “Hmmm?”

“Why are you impeding on our time to get ourselves glammed up?”

“I need you to accept a driver of my choosing.” I am coming off harsh and soften my tone for her midsentence. Angie has been through a lot, and I don’t need to prove I am an asshole for the sake of her listening to me. She doesn’t deserve that. “I also need you to keep your phone on and check it periodically. Please, if anything goes wrong or if anything seems off, you call me or Graham. Do not accept drinks from anyone other than the bartender or waitstaff. Do not leave—”

The door opens again and Claire slips out. Her hands are on her slender hips and I can tell she knows exactly why I am here, so why should I even try to hide it? She is dressed like a seductress in black and red. Straps wrap around her shoulders and neck, making her seem like she is in sexy bondage. Her hair is down, and the wavy locks make me want to wrap them around my hand and tug her closer to me. I want to devour this little sexy vixen. I want to push her against the door, lift her legs around my waist, and pump into her with pent-up need.

“You cannot dictate and micromanage the entire night, Nic. We’ll be fine,” she reassures. “And I’m bringing weapons.”

“Weapons?” I scoff. “What the hell, Claire?”

She prances back into the room, leaving the door wide open for me to see her rummaging around on the bed for her handbag. Every bend of her body exposes more flesh of her legs. She is petite but has curves in all the right places.

“Here,” she says proudly, waving two small black tubes in the air. “Found them!”

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