Only in Vegas (2 page)

“Wish I was so lucky,” another chimed in.

Comments were bouncing off the walls.

Were they nuts?  He’d never think of Angel that way.  The fact that they were neighbors in the same apartment complex now was pure coincidence.  Nothing more.  Not to mention she was his sister’s best friend.  Hell, Angel had practically lived at their house during her teen years.

Trey couldn’t keep the irritation from his voice.  “There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious.  She was practically begging you to go to bed with her,” another chortled, eliciting more comments from the other men.

Laughter reverberated off the newly painted beige walls of the meeting room.  “What are you waiting for, Trey?  She’s ready to close the deal.”

A scowl embedded itself in Trey’s face, every muscle in his jaw taut.  He might have found the whole incident just as amusing if it didn’t involve Angel.

He straightened and rounded his desk.  “It’s getting late.”  He made his way across the room to the conference table, taking his place at the head of it.  “If you gentlemen will please have a seat.”

His no nonsense tone
succeeded in getting the message across.  Any discussion pertaining to Angel was over.  The men, coffee cups in hand, moved with tempered grins to their seats.

“I’d like to go over our proposal one more time before McGuire’s group arrives
,” he told them, determined to redirect his associates’ focus from Angel and her sexual needs before he gave in the urge to start rearranging some faces.  And that wouldn’t be good for business.  Not good at all.

*
              *              *

“Angelina Rossi, sexy, sultry, Italian love goddess.”

Angie gyrated her jean-clad hips to the music and puckered her lips in an exaggerated manner, eyeing her reflection in the mirror that hung next to her bedroom door.

Her efforts to produce something even remotely resembling a seductive move were more comical than anything. 
She dropped back onto her bed, sprawling across the bright yellow comforter with a defeated groan.

Pathetic. 

That’s what she was.  She might be full-blooded Italian, but somewhere along the way her genes had forgotten their heritage.  Just because she had what Cindy referred to as exotic eyes and a great bod, not that she thought it was all that great, didn’t mean she knew how to use them to her advantage in the bedroom.

Being sexy was supposed to come naturally to Italians.  At least, according to the t-shirt she’d recently purchased to give her a boost of confidence in the sex department.  A soft, black cotton tee with the words ITALIANS: BORN TO BE LOVERS printed across the front in big, bold silver, glittering letters. 

She let out another groan.  This one even longer than the last. 

“Bad day at the gyno?”

She shot upright with a startled gasp and then broke into a welcoming smile at the sight of Trey lounging in the open doorway, suit jacket slung ever so casually over one broad shoulder.

“I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I’m not surprised with the stereo cranked up the way it is.  What the heck are you listening to?  Stripper music?”

Warmth crept up her neck to flood her cheeks.  “No.”

“Sure sounds like it to me,” he said with a grin.

She rolled onto her side and jabbed at the power button on the CD player, then turned back to Trey.  “Did you need something?”

His grin widened.  “Yeah, I need to know what that was I just walked in on.”

Her cheeks grew even hotter
.  “I was...uh...”

“Stripping?” he teased.

“No!”

He didn’t have to say a word.  The combined grin and raised brow said it all.  He didn’t believe her.

“For your information, I wasn’t stripping,” she explained.  “I was practicing my seduction techniques.”

“Hmm, let me see
.  Sexy music...  Beautiful woman...  Roomy bed...  Works for me.”  He ducked just in time to avoid the throw pillow she sent hurtling toward his head.  Then, with a chuckle, crossed the room to stand next to the bed, dangling her key ring above her.  “Sorry, couldn’t resist.  By the way, you left these hanging in the front door lock
again
.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did.”  He clicked his tongue.  “Bad habit you’ve gotten into, Angel.”

Angel.
  She’d always liked that he was the only person to call her by that nickname.  She smiled up at him.  “At least, I always know where they are.”

“So does every Tom, Dick and Harry who pass by your apartment.” 

This time she was the one doing the tsk-ing.  “Always the worry wart, aren’t you?”  Angie held out an upturned hand for her keys.

“Someone has to worry about you,” he replied
as he dropped them into her cupped palm.  “You certainly don’t.”

She could always count on Trey to be the responsible one.  And it was a good thing because she wasn’t very good at
thinking things through.  No doubt the result of having been raised by a grandmother who’d had no desire to raise another child. 

If it h
adn’t been for Trey’s parents and the sense of direction they had so generously given her during her teen years, she had no idea where she would be right now.

Trey waved a hand in front of her face.  “Hello.  Earth to Angel.”

Drawn back from her thoughts, Angie blinked then looked up at him, meeting his gaze.  “I promise to try not to leave my keys in the door anymore.”

“Good.”  Loosening his tie, he sat down next to her.  “So, what gives?”

Angie flopped back onto the mattress with a sigh.  “It’s me.”

“What about you?”

“I’m twenty-six and a total flop as a woman.”

“So you’re thinking about becoming a man?” 

She reached out to smack his arm, smiling as she did so.  “Trey, be serious.”  

“Let me guess
,” he said, easing back onto the mattress until he was lying next to her, one arm tucked behind his head.  “This has something to do with that phone call I got from you this afternoon.”

“Sorry about that.  I didn’t realize you were busy.  I just needed someone to vent to.”

He chuckled, glancing her way.  “Well, you got your wish and then some.”

She
wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.  “What do you mean?”

“It means that I still can’t work that damn phone system we just put in and our entire conversation was on speaker phone.”

Once again, heat surged up her neck to pulse in her already warm cheeks.  “Everything?”

He nodded, grin still intact.  “Everything.”

She groaned.  “Oh, shoot me now.”

“Imagine how I felt.  The
pre-meeting gathering immediately turned into a question session.  The top question being ‘Why aren’t you taking care of business and giving her what she wants?’” 

Her eyes widened.  “You?” 

“I tried to explain to them that I’m not your boyfriend.”

She laughed
.  “Hardly.”  Best ‘male’ friend – absolutely. They didn’t come any better than Trey. 

“I’ll admit it’s a crazy thought, but you can bet you wouldn’t have to ask me twice to go to bed with you if I were your boyfriend.
  And you could be damn sure you’d be leaving that bed a very satisfied woman.”

This time it wasn’t her cheeks that experienced the rush of warmth.  This particular surge had gone south. 
“Cocky much?” she teased, her words oddly breathy.

“Just telling it how it is.  But this isn’t about me.  It’s about you
settling
when it comes to relationships.  You deserve so much more.”

Trey knew all about her past relationship flops and had clearly kicked into that supportive friend mode.  The kind of mode where they say whatever the down-in-the-dump friend need
ed to hear.  Even things like she wouldn’t have to ask twice to get him to take her to bed and make her a happy woman.  He really didn’t mean it.   

Or did he?

She immediately pushed that thought away.  Ridiculous as it was.

“My advice is to dump the dud,” he said, pulling her back into the conversation.
 

She
looked over at him with a frown.  “Too late.  He already dumped me.  And if anyone’s got claim to being a dud it’s me.”

A dark brow lifted and then his gaze moved
down between them as they lie there.  “You?”  He snorted.  “Hell, Angel, there’s not a thing wrong with you.”

“Thanks
,” she told him as his attention shifted back to the ceiling fan above them, even if she knew his words were far from true.  Something was definitely wrong with her.  “You’re so good for me.”  She leaned in to plant an affectionate kiss his cheek, but he turned at that moment to look at her and her lips met his instead.

What should have been a simple thank you
peck on the cheek turned into an unexpected lip lock as Trey’s fingers slid through her long hair, dragging her closer.

His tongue swept across the seam of her lips, urging them open, she leaned further into the heated kiss with a needy moan.  Their tongues mated in a purely sensual battle, tangling and thrusting until all rational thought fled, the incredibly intense heat of this unexpected moment sweeping her away
. 

CHAPTER
TWO

“Angel…”

It was the feel of her name
being spoken in a whispered caress against her lips that brought Angie back to reality.  She pushed away with a gasp.

Trey looked every bit as stunned as she felt.  Eyes wide, he looked as though he’d been wearing an electric dog collar and had just hit the invisible fence head on. 

She watched the slow bob of his Adam’s apple as he stood looking down at her.  What had just happened?  She fought the urge to press her fingertips to her lips.

“The dud’s gone by the way,” she blurted out, hoping to distract Trey from what had just happened between them.  Whatever
it
was.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it
, muttering, “What?”

“Rick and I
broke up.”

“You did?” he
said, his voice huskier than normal. 

She nodded.

The corners of his mouth twitched, but he managed to hold back his smile, despite his obvious delight at her announcement. 

“Go ahead and say it.”

“What?” he said, sitting up.

“
The old ‘I told you so’,” she said, sitting up and sliding from the bed.  “Let’s face it,” she began as she crossed to the window, hoping the light breeze coming in through the screen would help to cool the heated flush that had spread through her body.  “You did try and warn me.”

Trey hadn’t liked Rick from the first time she’d introduced them.  Come to think of it, he
’d never liked any of her boyfriends.  Classic case of Overprotective Brother Syndrome. 

Trey
moved toward the door, resettling his suit jacket over his shoulder as he went.

“Where are you going?”

He turned back to her with a grin.  “Rick-the Dick is out of the picture.  This calls for a celebration.  I’m going to my apartment to grab us a bottle of wine.”

“Since when does breaking up with someone call for a celebration?”
she asked, not feeling anywhere near as heartsick as she had earlier over the failure of her latest attempted relationship.

His grin widened. 
“When the person you broke up with is Rick-the-Dick.”

She
couldn’t help but smile.  “Maybe you’re right.  I should be celebrating.”  

“Of course, I am,” he replied.
“The man couldn’t light a fire in the bedroom and you deserve to burn.”

She blushed with the reminder of what had actually doomed all of her relationships.  Rick might be a dick, but it was her icy bedroom demeanor that eventually
ruined things.  She’d never had even a healthy spark with any of the men she’d dated.  Would she ever really experience the ‘burn’ Trey was referring to? 

“It’s not
all his fault,” she admitted.  “Not when he was dealing with a sexual ice maiden.” At least Rick had stuck around a few months before giving up on her.  That was longer than most of the men she’d dated had hung in there.  Once they realized they weren’t going to get any action between the sheets, they were history.

Trey pivoted in the doorway to
pin her with his gaze, his blue eyes questioning.  “I know I probably shouldn’t go there, but how is it
not
his fault?”

“Because I turn into an ice princess in the bedroom,” she muttered in embarrassment.  “Every single time.”

“Ice can be thawed, Angel,” he said, his tone softening.

“
Yeah, well maybe this glacier’s not worth the time it would take to thaw it.”

“All good things are worth waiting for.  If a man can’t handle the wait, then you don’t need him.”

“I don’t think I’m capable of being a passionate woman.”

“Could have fooled me,” he
said, his grin edging higher.

Her gaze slid to his lips, t
he memory of the kiss they’d just shared etched deep in her mind.  She tore her gaze away, forcing it to the wall of framed photos beside him.  “I mean it, Trey.  Something’s missing.”

He gave a dismissive grunt. 
“I can assure you, Angel, nothing is missing.”  He did a visual sweep for emphasis.  “You’ve got all the right parts.”

She glanced
down with a groan.  “What good are the parts if I don’t use them?”

Trey hesitated in answering.  They were traveling into dangerous territory.  Not that they hadn’t discussed things sexually related before, but this time it felt different.  And it was all because of that kiss they’d somehow gotten caught up in a few moments before.  It had him thinking like a man instead of as her friend.  She wanted advice.  He wanted another taste of those sweet lips.  What had gotten into him?

“I’m not sure this is something we should be discussing.  Maybe you should call Kathy.”

Angel shook her head.  “Can’t.  She’s still in Chicago on business.”

“She has a cell phone.”

The look she gave him told him that wasn’t the response she wanted to hear. 

“Forget I asked.”  She pushed off the bed and stepped around him.  “I’ll work things out on my own.”

Damn.  Now he’d gone and hurt her feelings.

He followed
her into the kitchen, hung his jacket on the back of a chair at the breakfast bar and then walked over to where she stood at the sink, running water for dishes. 

The tilt of her chin told him she was upset.  He swung around to lean back against the counter beside her and crossed his arms.  “Look, Angel, I
’m not sure what you want me to say.  Kathy’s better at these things than I am.”

“You’ve never had trouble giving me advice before.”

No, he hadn’t.  He decided swinging the conversation back around to Rick-the-Dick instead of Angel’s body was the safest route.  “You want my advice?  Fine.  Stop beating up on yourself.  The right man will come along when you least expect it.  And when he does, you  aren’t going to have any trouble using what God gave you.”

’ll tell you right now I’m not about to apologize for my feelings where your last ex is concerned.  I never liked the guy.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

“Talk to me, Angel.”

She let out a frustrated sigh.  “I’m just so tired of feeling like my lack of passion is an embarrassment to the female race.”

He shifted uneasily, trying to figure out a way to tell her just how hot their kiss had made him.  What if that admission only complicated things for her?  Theirs was a friendship.  Kisses like that weren’t supposed to happen.

He dragged a hand back through his hair.  “I wish I could make you see how wrong you are.”

Her frown deepened.  “Me, too.”

Her woeful expression tugged at something deep inside him, had him wanting to do whatever he could to bring that beautiful smile of hers back.  “I’m not sure how I can help you with your problem, Angel, but you name it and I’ll do it.”

The cordless on the kitchen counter rang out interrupting their conversation.  She managed a half-smile as she reached for it.

“Hello?”  After a moment’s hesitation, she pointed to the phone and mouthed that it was her work calling.

Trey nodded and walked over to the fridge where he helped himself to a much needed cold beer.

“But Rachel is supposed to be doing the agent trip with me, not Rick.”

He turned at the sound of distress in Angel’s voice. 

Her face had gone pale.  “Cindy, do something,” she pleaded.  “I can’t go to Vegas with him.  Not now.” 

With who?  Rick?

Trey closed the fridge door and walked back over to where Angel stood talking on the phone, her frown back in full force. 

“I know.  It’s my job.”  There was a long drawn out silence before she spoke again.  “Separate flights would help.  Thanks, Cindy.  I owe you one.”  Turning, she dropped the phone onto its base on the counter.

“Angel?”

She turned to him.  “Did you mean what you said?”

“Excuse me?”

“If I name it, you’ll do it for me?”

He had said that.  And, hell, he’d meant it.  But going by the look on her face, he had to wonder what he’d just gotten himself into.  “Name it.”

She took a deep breath.  “Okay, here goes.  I need you to go to Vegas with me.”

“Vegas?” Trey blurted out, certain he hadn’t heard her right.  “As in Las Vegas?” 

“I’m supposed to be going on an agent familiarization trip to check out a couple of the newer hotels.  Rachel was scheduled to go with me, but she just had to have an emergency appendectomy and can’t go.  Rick’s going in her place.”

Shit.

“Don’t go.”  The last thing Angel needed was to be stuck in Sin City with her sagging confidence and her ass of an ex.

“I don’t have a choice.  It’s my job.”

“Then call Kathy.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can.  Pick up the phone and—”

Angel cut him off.  “I have no intention of using your sister and my friendship in that way.  I created this situation with Rick.  I’ll deal with it.  At least, Cindy’s seeing to it we have different flights.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, if he doesn’t stop this Ice Princess crap he’s been spreading around your office, he’s going to have to deal with the Ice King.”

That brought a smile to her face.  “I really appreciate your chivalrous offer where Rick’s concerned, but I have something a little less violent in mind.”

“And this is where I come in?”

She nodded.  “Yes.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Cindy said that Rick’s taking his latest fling along with him on the trip.”

“Asshole.” 

“My thoughts exactly.  While I’m over Rick, I don’t think I can stand to be there alone while he parades some other woman around on his arm and taunts me for my sexual deficiencies.”

“Angel, I have to ask you something.”

She looked up at him, waiting.

It took all he had in him to get the question out.  “Are you feeling that way because you’re pissed at him?  Or is it something deeper?”

“Deeper?”

“Are you in love with Rick?” 

“Love?” she gasped.  “Are you crazy?  Love is the last thing I feel for him.”

Thank God.

“I had to make sure.”  Had to know she wasn’t pining away for a man who would only hurt her.

“I’m tired of failing in my relationships and seeing him there with another woman will be a constant reminder of it.”  She reached for his beer, took a swig and then handed it back to him. 

“Damn it, Angel, you need to stop thinking you’re a failure.”

“Why?” she argued.  “It’s the truth.  But I don’t intend to be one any longer.  That’s why I need you to you to come with me to Vegas.  I’m counting on you to give me lessons on how to seduce a man.” 

Trey nearly choked on the swig of beer he had just taken.  “Y...you what?”

“I need a man’s point of view on what it takes for a woman to be considered sexy.  I want to be able to seduce a man to the point of drooling.  Want to find that inner passion you tell me exists.”

“Angel...”

She held up her hand.  “Let me finish.  What better place to accomplish that than in Sin City.  You know what they say.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  So can I count on you?”

He studied her for a long moment, trying to determine if she was serious or if this was all some sort of joke.  Angel was good at playfully trying to get a reaction from him.  Concluding it had to be the latter, he chuckled.  “Real funny, Angel.”

Her expression fell.  “It wasn’t meant to be.”

She’d been serious?  Trey swallowed hard, trying to digest what she’d just asked of him.  Memories of their heated kiss came rushing back, causing his cock to stir.  His body’s reaction stunned him.  This was Angel.  Hell.

“Are you saying you want us to have...  That we’re going to have...”  Three little letters and he couldn’t get the damn word out of his mouth.

Come on, Landers, spit it out.  You can say anything.  This is Angel, remember?

“Sex!”  There, he’d said it.

“What?”

Why was she looking at him that way?  Her expression reminded Trey of a carved pumpkin, eyes and mouth perfectly rounded.  Something told him he had this all wrong.

“Us?”  Desire flickered briefly in those brown eyes before she looked away.  The laughter that followed sounded forced.  “You thought I was asking you to have sex with me?”

“No,” Trey blurted out.  It was a lie.  That was exactly what he’d thought.

She flashed him an incredulous look, the corners of her mouth curling up in humor.

“Okay,” he relented.  “Yes.  For a moment, a very brief moment, I thought you were wanting us to...well, you know.”  He frowned at his own stupid assumption and his inability to force the word out.  Sex sounded so cold and impersonal.  Not something he could be with Angel.