Page 10 of Decoded
“Shit,” he quickly follows up, “I didn’t mean that. I mean I don’tjustwant to fuck you. I want to talk to you and hold you and sleep with you. Not the sex kind. I mean, yeah, the sex kind. But the other kind, too. I want to know your favorite color and what songs you sing in the shower. I want to know everything there is to know about you.”
The tears that were forming dry up as fast as they came on as I realize Keaton is trying to say that he likes me and not just for a hookup. I swallow down the lump that had formed in my throat before I speak.
“Green,” I say. “My favorite color is green.”
His lips tilt up as he hums, “Hmm, like your gorgeous eyes.”
“And in the shower, I’m definitely belting out ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. Or ‘Oops I Did It Again’. Really, anything by Britney Spears.”
“I’m more of a silent showerer myself, but I’m man enough to admit that Tay Tay comes up in my shower karaoke rotation every now and then.” Picturing this man singing in the shower has a smile spreading across my face, but I force myself to be serious for the next thing I'm going to say.
“And I don’t want to just fuck you either,” I admit and my heart pounds in my chest. This is the part where he runs. In the past, I've been told that I'm more of a "behind closed doors" type of girl. I'm not the one that hangs on a man's arm as he proudly introduces his partner. But I should have known Keaton isn't like the boys I've been with. Tonight I'm with a man. A man who looks at me as though I’ve just bestowed upon him the greatest gift in the world and that makes me feel pretty damn special.
“I really fucking like you, Anna.” Before I can return my sentiment, his lips descend upon mine causing an inferno to build inside me. I can’t seem to get enough of him, grabbing his shirt and pulling him into me. My hands find their way under the shirt he has on that matches the shade of his eyes. The rest of the world has faded away and it’s only the two of us here in this tower, devouring one another knowing it’s likely this is our one and only night together. It’s not until Keaton pulls my leg to wrap around his thigh, and we hear a gruff voice rudely telling us to get a room, that we crash back into reality and become aware of our very public surroundings.
“I need you," he growls out, "are you ready to go back to the hotel now?” I must admit that falling into bed with him sounds so fucking good. Just as I'm about to say yes, I look back outat the view and my eyes land on a place they scanned over moments earlier.
There's probably enough alcohol in my system to tranquilize an elephant, but I know when I want something, and by golly, I want Keaton. The desire I have for him, along with the fact I'm three sheets to the wind right now, are a lethal combination and I quickly realize that I’m a goner. More than anyone else in my life, he has made me feel seen, beautiful, and desired. Maybe that knowledge paired with the liquid courage coursing through me is why I risk saying the next words that come out of my mouth.
“Would you mind going to one more stop with me?”
Chapter seven
Keaton
T
ypically on business trips I arrive, grab dinner somewhere, and then stay in my room and work until it's time for my meeting. Instead, Anna has dragged me all over the Vegas strip tonight and I can't lie and say I hate it.
If I were a stronger man, I would be in my room right now, hunched over, reviewing logistics, and preparing for my meeting tomorrow. Caruso Enterprises is the fastest growing casino and resort empire in the country, and currently our newest and largest client. Such a high-ticket client demands extra support and care which our smaller clients have no current interest in. Thank goodness, because what this company is asking for is a lot.
On top of the layered encryption protocols, custom-built firewalls, and twenty-four hour monitoring most of our bigger clients ask for, they're demanding "invisible redundancies," shadow networks that even their own staff can't access. They want contingency systems without explanation, private channels locked down tighter than military grade grids.
All the additional expectations have me wondering if they are looking to simply keep hackers out, or hiding something they don't want uncovered. Throw in the fact that the men we worked out negotiations with wore sleek and expensive all-black suits and looked more like the people who throw the drunks and cheats out of casinos than the type of people who want to invite the lucky and the losers into them, and it had my mind recreating scenes from some of the old gangster movies I used to watch with my dad.
This company would probably have me 'sleeping with the fishes' if I mess up our meeting tomorrow to sign the contract, or any meeting after that. Which is exactly why I should be back in that hotel room like the controlled, responsible company CEO I am.
But Anna's laughter pulls me from any hesitating thoughts about being with her and inviting her to stay with me tonight. I'm completely intoxicated, not from the alcohol I've consumed, (okay, maybe a little from the alcohol I've consumed) but mostly from how this woman I was lucky enough to meet teases me with her curves and pulls a smile from my lips faster than anyone I've ever come in contact with before.
She's the type of addiction that has me taking pictures with indecent statues, drinking far too much to know how I'm even standing upright at the moment, and falling head over heels for her.
Tomorrow I will be the man Caruso Enterprises needs. But tonight? Tonight I will be anything Anna allows me to be.
“Would you mind going to one more stop with me?” Anna asks, sweetly. Her golden hair and beautiful face look ethereal as we stand here on the observation deck looking over the illuminated city.
If this girl knew just how far gone I was for her, she wouldn't even have to ask. There is no doubt in my mind that I'd go anywhere with this woman. But I can't let her in on that, just yet.
I wrap my hands around her waist, pulling her into me and kissing the skin on her neck. It's smooth, though slightly warm from the heat of the desert evening. "Hmm, it depends. Are you naked at this next stop?"
"Keaton!" She pushes at me to get away, but I just bring her in closer, this time capturing her delicious lips. They press back against mine, soft, but needy. When I dip my tongue inside her mouth, a delightfully gentle moan escapes her, an invitation for more. My hands twirl the strands of hair brushing her shoulders and when I tug at it, a gasp of excitement sounds from her.
"I need you so bad," I say between kisses, never wanting to let this woman go.
"One more stop," she answers breathily, "and then I'm yours."
Chapter eight
Anna
