Only in Vegas (6 page)

Angel gave an involuntary snort, her hand flying to her mouth to muffle the laughter. 

It wasn’t
that
funny.  Why couldn’t they be mistaken for a couple?  He was a hell of a lot better choice for her than Rick-the-Dick ever would be. 

Angel leaned closer, keeping her voice low.  “What on earth have you been telling her?”

Him?
  He didn’t have to tell the woman anything.  She was creative enough on her own.  “Don’t worry, Angel,” he whispered back, his lips brushing lightly over her hair, “I’ll set her straight and tell her I’m just along for the sex.”

“Trey!” she gasped.

He sat back in his seat, chuckling.  “I’m just kidding.”

“You enjoy torturing me, don’t you?”

“Damn right.”  Trey reached for her drink, handing it to her.  “You’re so cute when you squirm.”

“I’ll bet.”  She eyed him from over top the rim of her glass as she drank, a mischievous glint in her eyes.  And when she returned the ginger ale to his tray, she had an impish grin to match.  “Oh, by the way, Trey...”

“Yeah?”

“Just remember what they say...”

“What’s that?”

“That paybacks are hell.”

CHAPTER FIVE

The Luxor was something to see with its realistic pyramid design and Egyptian decor.  It was like stepping into another country, Trey thought as he followed Angel into the hotel.

They moved across the gleaming marble floor.  Into Egypt.  Land of Pharaohs and Sphinxes, and huge leafy palm trees.  Bells from slot machines rang out in the distance, blending in with the clinking of coins against metal and murmured voices.

Angel turned to him.  “What do you think?”

“It’s really something.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

They made their way over to the reservation desk where Angel promptly pulled the confirmation from her purse.  “Reservation for Rossi, Sunset Travel.”

“Welcome to the Luxor, Ms. Rossi.”  The hotel clerk punched her name into the computer.  “Angelina Rossi?”

“Yes.”

“I’m showing one Jacuzzi Suite reserved.  I’ll need to see your travel agent I.D. card.”

The conversation went on, but all Trey heard was one suite.  He was certain Angel had told him they would each have their own room.  She had even called the hotel from an airport phone to confirm their reservation while he waited for their luggage.  Hadn’t she?

Then, he recalled Angel’s warning regarding pay backs.  Apparently, this was it.  Trey stepped up to the desk next to her.  “That should be for two rooms.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m only showing one room held under Ms. Rossi’s name.  It comes with a king bed and a separate sitting area.”

“What ever happened to two double beds?” Trey grumbled.

The clerk, obviously sensing Trey’s hesitance, gave them both a hospitable smile and asked, “Would you like to change your reservation?”

“No,” Angel replied before Trey had a chance to.  “It’s fine.”  

Of course she wasn’t worried about their sharing a room.  Hell, a bed.  It was all part of her plan to have him school her in the ways of seduction.  How he was going to share a bed with her and not give in to the desire to make love to her completely was beyond him.

Especially now that the woman from the plane had him noticing things about Angel he’d never given much thought to in the past.  Her hair.  Her eyes.  Those full, pink lips. 

“Excuse us a moment.”  Trey caught Angel by the arm and pulled her aside.  “Separate rooms.”

“Don’t be silly.  How am I supposed to learn anything with you sleeping in another room?”

“We don’t have to share a room for me to teach you some things.”

The impish look that came into her eyes was nowhere near angelic.  “I suppose you’re right.  You can tell me all about pleasuring a man in your room or mine, the elevator for that matter.  I hear that elevators–”

“Will you cut that out?” Trey demanded, biting back a groan.  For someone who claimed to have very little experience in seducing a man, Angel was doing a damned good job of it right now.  Here he was, standing in the middle of the extravagant lobby of the Luxor, his cock as stiff as the statues surrounding him.  

Angel laughed softly.  “Boy, are you touchy.  I was just teasing you.”

She had no idea how successful she had been in her efforts.  Trey raked a splayed hand through his hair with a muffled groan, trying damn hard to regain and maintain his usually calm demeanor, but it wasn’t happening.

“Sorry,” he managed.  “Blame it on jet lag.”

“Trey, we were only in the air for a few hours.”

He wasn’t going to stand there and debate the reason for his moodiness.  Not when there was a more pressing matter that needed taken care of. 

“I think it would be best if we got two rooms.  I’d pay for both, but I know yours is covered through the travel agency.  I’ll take care of mine.”

“No, your coming along on this trip was my idea,” she told him.  “And you already refused to let me pay for your flight.  The least I can do is share my room with you.”  Angel leaned in close and added with a grin.  “I promise I won’t bite.  That is, unless you want me to.”

She definitely didn’t need any lessons on seduction.  She was killing him right there
in the middle of a busy lobby.  “Okay, Angel, you win.”  He shifted, hoping she wouldn’t notice the erection he was sporting.  He could do this.  It was all a matter of self-control.  Hopefully he still had some left. 

“Good.”

“Stubborn woman.”

“Guilty as charged,” she chirped, seeming quite pleased with herself.

“But only if you agree that the meals while we’re here are on me.” 

She thought about it for a moment and then nodded.  “You’ve got a deal.”

Had he actually won that one?  He smiled.  “Glad to hear it.”

Her playful expression turned serious.  “Trey...”

“Yeah?”

“I really want to thank you for doing this for me.”

“You’ve already thanked me.”

“I know, but I want to make sure you know how much your helping me out means to me.  I couldn’t do this...be here with Rick this fam trip without you.”

“You would have done fine without me, but I’m glad to help out.”  Angel was a good friend.  No, she was his best friend, and she needed a favor.  A big one, albeit, but he would do whatever it took to build up her sexual self-confidence and help her find the kind of guy she deserved.  One who would treat her right both in the bedroom and out.  He owed her that much.

Angel had been there for him when his mother died.  And then when he was struggling to get his medical imaging company off the ground.  Now he intended to be there for her.

His gaze shifted and his jaw clenched.  Rick-the-Dick had just strolled into the lobby from outside with some blonde who couldn’t hold a candle to Angel.  “Speak of the devil.”

She glanced back over her shoulder.  “Shit.”

The newly arrived couple noticed them right away and headed in Trey and Angel’s direction.  Without a word of warning, Trey grabbed his soon-to-be roommate and pulled her up against him, covering her mouth with his in a passionate kiss.

She gave a startled gasp that was swallowed up by the intimate kiss and started to push him away.  That effort lasted all of two seconds before Angel was clutching the front of his shirt and kissing him back.   

“Angie?”

She succeeded this time in breaking off the kiss and looked behind her with another gasp.  “Rick.”

Trey drew her closer, smiling at the slack-jawed idiot across from him.

“What’s he doing here?” Rick demanded, his expression not a happy one.

“Well, he was kissing me until you interrupted us,” Angel said with more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

Trey bit back a grin.  That was his Angel. 

“This is supposed to be a business trip,” Angel’s ex complained even as he stood clinging to the arm of the blonde at his side. 

“All work and no play makes for a dull boy, Ricky,” Trey told him.

“It’s Rick.”

“Yeah, sure,” Trey responded nonchalantly.  As if he gave a shit. 

Rick’s eyes narrowed as he gave Trey the once over.  Then he turned to Angel.  “I see it didn’t take you long to reel another guy in.”

Angel’s smile was tight.  Trey knew how hard this must be for her, but she was certainly holding her own.  “My personal life stopped being your business when we broke up.”

“Now if you’ll excuse us,” Trey said, stepping before Rick could reply.  “Angel and I need to get
our
room key.”  He guided Angel past the couple and back to the reservation desk.

Angel glanced back over her shoulder, then back at Trey.  “Can you believe the nerve of that arrogant ass?  Making that remark about me when he was standing there with that fake blonde.”

“Forget about it, Angel.  You put the guy in his place.”  And he was quite proud of her for that.

“Yeah, and it felt good.  Speaking of good, that kiss you gave me was something else.  No wonder women line up at your door.”

He chuckled.  “Don’t start.  You wanted it to look real.  Request granted.”  It wasn’t hard to do.  Kissing her felt real to him.

“You’re so good at this,” she whispered with a glance back over her shoulder.  “Did you see Rick’s face?”

“Unfortunately, yeah,” he said with a teasing grin.  “Not sure what you ever saw in the guy.  Now me, I’m a lot better looking.”  Why had he felt the need to say that?

“I can’t argue that,” Angel said as she rose up to press a kiss to his cheek.  “You’re the best.”

*              *              *

Trey stood in the doorway of their hotel suite looking around.  Its Egyptian theme was played out from ceiling to floor, the atmosphere enhanced by intentionally low lighting.  The far window wall slanted inward as would be expected if one were inside of a real pyramid.

Angel made a bee-line for the oversized bed.  Tossing her purse onto the night stand, she dropped back onto the bed.  “Ah, what I wouldn’t give to have one of these in my apartment.”

He laughed.  “It wouldn’t fit.”

“I know,” she replied with a sigh.  “A girl can dream, can’t she?”

“Absolutely.”

She squirmed her way to the center of the bed.  “A person could get lost in a bed this big.”

He sure as hell hoped so.  Because he knew exactly what Angel would find if she slept too close to him.  No wonder Las Vegas was known as Sin City.  The place was a non-medicinal form of Viagra.  Ever since they had arrived, his sexual need had gone into overdrive.

And the fact that her jean skirt had worked its way up her thighs, thanks to all her wiggling on the bed, wasn’t helping matters one bit. 

Trey averted his gaze from the temptation.  That’s what he got for putting dating on hold while he was trying to close this latest deal for Multi-Med.

Angel rose up on her elbows to look at him, and then patted the bedspread beside her.  “Come on, Trey, try it out.  See how it feels.”

He choked, his head snapping back around her direction.  “W...what?”

“The mattress.  It’s not the least bit hard.”

He sure as hell was.

As if to prove her point, Angel bounced a few times, her breasts joining in beneath the clinging cotton of the turquoise tank she wore beneath her open jacket.  “Lots of spring.”

And she wanted lessons on how to get a guy aroused?  Trey swallowed hard.  If she had this kind of effect without even trying, he could only imagine the power Angel would have over a guy when she knew what she was doing.

Angelina Rossi was going to be a walking weapon and he had a sinking feeling that he was going to become the first casualty of her sexual seduction war.

“I told you I don’t bite.  Come on.”  Angel scooted over to make room for him.

He wasn’t afraid of her biting him.  Hell, he might even like it.  Trey gave himself a mental head slap.  What was he thinking?  He wasn’t into kinky stuff.  But looking at Angel lying there made him think it might not be too bad. 

You’re losing control here, buddy.

Trey forced aside the unwanted sexual thoughts, tossed his room key onto the night stand, and lowered himself onto the bed beside her.  She was right.  The bed was huge.  Together, they barely took up half of it.

He stretched out with a sigh.  His six foot frame, though usually pushing the limit on his double bed back in Pittsburgh, had plenty of room now.  Trey made a mental note to make the master bedroom in the house he hoped to someday build big enough for a king-sized bed. 

Angel rolled onto her side and smiled at him.  “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Feels right was more the thought to come to mind as he lie there beside her. 
Too right.

Trey shot up, then pushed off the bed, springing to his feet.  “It’ll do.” 

She sat up.  “You don’t like it?”

He offered a casual shrug.  “A bed’s a bed.”

“Maybe to you, but I’m picky about the beds I sleep in.”  She caught herself and managed a halfhearted grin.  “I guess in more ways than one.”

“I’m glad,” he admitted.

“What?”

“That you’re not one of those women who have sex just for the sake of having sex.  It has to mean something to you first.”

She sank back down onto the bed with a soft sigh.  “You know me so well.”

He’d like to know her better.  Only with her lying there like that it wasn’t her mind he was wanting to better acquaint himself with.

Trey made his way into the separate sitting area, needing to get back some of his composure.  What was wrong with him?  He’d never felt like this around Angel, like all his senses were working overtime.

He was going into sensory overload.  Everything about her affected him.  The sound of her voice.  The sweet scent of her.  The feel of her touch as innocent as it may be.  The sight of her lying on that bed.

“Trey?”

He turned to find Angel standing in the archway, her expression not as bright as it had been a moment before.  It killed him to know he had caused that change.