“Damn. Speaking of Jace, I’m supposed to give him a message from a friend of mine. I keep forgetting.”
Sed fished a cell phone out of his pocket. “Do you want to call him?”
Jessica shook her head. “I’ll tell him tomorrow. I don’t think Aggie is working tonight anyway.”
“Aggie?”
“She’s a dancer at the club I used to work for.”
“Dominatrix chick with long black hair?” Sed pointed to his head. He also had black hair, though he kept it very short—like a military recruit.
“How’d you know?”
He laughed. “Lucky guess. A thousand bucks says Jace already picked up your message in person.”
Jessica grinned. “Don’t expect him to be able to move for a couple of days then. When’s your next show?”
“Not until Tuesday. We’re heading to Phoenix.”
“We’ll have to go sightseeing together there, as well.”
His hand flattened over her belly as he drew her closer to his side. “We’ll go sightseeing in any city you want. Let’s catch a cab. I don’t want you to wear yourself out with all this walking.”
Was he thinking of her comfort or her sexual stamina? It didn’t matter to her either way. She smiled. “Okay.”
Inside the cab, he took her hand. When had he gotten so affectionate? Tender kissing. Holding hands. He’d never been like this when they’d been engaged.
“So how’s school going?” he asked, a little too nonchalantly.
Her heart skipped a beat. Why did he want to know? He’d never wanted her to go in the first place.
“It’s all right. I do have this one professor who hates my guts and won’t give me a break.”
“Why would anyone hate your guts?”
Jessica shrugged. “She just doesn’t like me. She failed…” Jessica cringed. “She failed me on my final paper. Totally has it in for me. That’s what Beth thinks.”
“She’s probably jealous of your gorgeous legs.” He slid her skirt up to reveal her thigh. A little further to expose her mound. His fingers brushed over the curls he found there.
Jessica tugged her skirt down and rolled her eyes at him. “Give me a break.”
“And who’s Beth?”
Jessica smiled. She hoped Beth was having a nice summer. “My roommate.”
“You have a roommate?”
She couldn’t figure out why he looked so astonished. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged. “Too proud to split the rent.”
She scowled at him.
He scratched behind his ear. “Forget I said that.”
“I’m not too proud to split the rent. Splitting the rent is fine.”
“You’re yelling.”
Of course she was yelling. Why wouldn’t she be? “No, I don’t want someone to take care of me like I’m incompetent and boss me around and tell me how to live my life, but—”
He covered her mouth with one hand. “You’re still yelling.”
She slapped his hand away. “Let me finish.”
“Don’t be mad.”
“Don’t tell me how to feel.”
He pulled her onto his lap and sank a hand into her hair to tilt her head back. His mouth claimed hers. She stiffened and tried to twist away, but his free arm tightened around her body and pinned her against his chest. He kissed her until she was clinging to his shoulders like a drowning kitten.
He drew away and looked down at her with a self-satisfied grin. “That’s better.”
God, she hated him sometimes. She gulped several deep, calming breaths. She needed to get a grip and quickly. He was turning her game against her and playing by his own rules. She had to regain control of this situation before she lost herself to him.
“You’re so sexy when you’re pissed,” he whispered into her ear. “I couldn’t help myself. I had to kiss you.”
She slapped his chest. “You’re such a jerk.”
“I know.” He cupped her jaw and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Forgive me?”
No, but she could pretend. Her hands slid down his hard chest. “Kiss me again.”
He hesitated, looking leery of her intentions.
“Sed, please,” she whispered breathlessly. “I want you.” That wasn’t a lie. She did want him. She also wanted to beat the crap out of him.
He leaned forward in the seat and claimed her mouth, his tongue brushing her lip tentatively. Her hands moved around his body beneath his coat. She slid her fingers up under his shirt, stroking the smooth skin of his back.
He shuddered and tore his mouth from hers. “If you keep that up, I’m going to offend our cab driver by f**king you right here.”
“Do you want me?”
His tugged her closer. “Always.”
She squirmed in his lap, his c**k growing hard against her hip. Yeah, that’s the condition she wanted to keep him in. His hand moved under her skirt and up the inside of her thigh. She opened her legs for him. He hesitated, but when she spread her legs further, he took her cue and plunged two thick fingers into her swollen pu**y. She shuddered and rocked against his hand, driving his fingers deeper.
“You wanna come right here, baby?” he murmured. “I’ll take you there.”
His thumb brushed against her throbbing clit and she sucked in a deep breath. Damn, she’d forgotten how sexy it was to do this kind of thing in public.
Unexpectedly, his fingers withdrew and he removed his hand from beneath her skirt. Confused, Jessica followed Sed’s glare to the front seat. Their driver had lifted his butt out of the seat so he could see what they were doing through the rearview mirror. He wasn’t watching the road at all. When he noticed they were staring at him, he cleared his throat and settled back down in his seat. “The Bellagio, right?”
Sed nodded curtly.
The cab driver did a U-turn near the end of the Vegas strip so he could drop them off in front of The Bellagio. The final sounds of the song accompanying the fountains faded as they stepped out of the car.
“I think we missed it,” Sed commented.
“It starts over every fifteen minutes at night. What time is it?”
“Almost midnight, I think.”
“I hope we didn’t miss the last show.” She took his hand and led him through the crowds. She rounded the edge of the semi-circular man-made lake that housed the fountain and headed toward the hotel.