Cat Schield - With Love From Las Vegas

The long silence that followed left Sebastian wondering if she’d heard him. Heart thumping, he waited, his muscles bunched in anticipation. When he heard the lock turn, he pushed back and waited for her to open the door.

To his intense disappointment, she wore a sophisticated cocktail dress of dark gold that bared her arms, showcased her tiny waist, and emphasized the flare of her hips. The color enticed gold highlights from the cinnamon locks tossed about her creamy shoulders.

“You look beautiful.”

“I’m having a hard time reading you,” she said. “One second you’re my grumpy boss with high moral fiber, the next you’re flirting with me. What’s going on?”

He tugged her through the doorway and backed her up against the wall.

“You’re driving me crazy, that’s what.”

“I’m driving you crazy?” She gazed up at him, eyes widened by his forceful handling. “How exactly?”

Gentling his touch, he coasted his palm up the generous slope of her hip to the valley of her waist, his caress aided by the silky material she wore. For all its sensual decadence, it couldn’t compare to the hot, luxurious texture of her skin.

“You’ve changed since arriving in Las Vegas, both in looks and attitude,” he said.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“It is when you wager five thousand dollars and a night with me on the turn of a roulette wheel.”

“You could have said no.”

“I’m not the sort who backs down from a challenge.” He grazed her collarbone with his fingers. “But you know that, don’t you? In fact, you’d probably counted on it.”

“Are you accusing me of something?”

He followed her neckline to the start of her cleavage. There, he picked up the gold locket he’d seen her wear many times. The piece of jewelry had never fascinated him when it had rested against fabric. Against her skin … that was another thing entirely.

“You played me.”

“Hardly.”

“You knew the instant I walked into the bar that I wanted you and you took advantage.”

“Wait. Are you trying to tell me that I took advantage of you?” Her husky laugh made him mad with wanting. “Is that even possible?”

“It’s possible.”

Comprehension dawned in her eyes. “You want me.”

He reached between them and cupped her breast, kneading the round contours. “I think we’ve established that.” He eased his hips forward, letting her feel how much.

Her lashes fluttered and her breath hitched. He knew what would happen if he kissed her. They’d never make it to dinner, and he had two-dozen people converging on the restaurant at that very moment. This was his leadership summit. He was supposed to be playing host.

“And in your mind that’s bad because what keeps your world all nice and tidy is me, working as your assistant.” Her voice gained strength as she ferreted out all his secrets. “But you think I’m sexy.”

“Missy.”

She ignored his warning growl. “And you want to make love to me again.”

“We have dinner reservations.”

“The fact that you won’t let yourself must be what’s driving you crazy.” She fanned her hands across his abdomen, nails digging into his muscles. “I’m not driving you crazy. You’re driving yourself crazy.” Raising on tiptoe, she breathed in his ear. “Let yourself go, Sebastian.”

Yesterday at the pool she’d made it clear she wanted him. He sure as hell wanted her. Telling himself he was keeping his distance to restore their relationship to a professional level had kept him from acting on his desire for her. But she’d hinted last night that she was close to accepting a job offer.

Once she was gone out of his life, how long before he would no longer be tortured by the longing to skim her curves and spend hours drifting kisses over her skin?

“I can’t.” He pulled her hands away and pinned them to the wall. “People are waiting for us.”

“Typical.”

“What does that mean?”

“You always do the right thing. The thing everyone expects.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It gets old pretty quick. I offered you a free pass for one night of uninhibited sex—sex without expectations of anything more—and it’s as if the whole thing made your world a bad place to be. You need to loosen up and learn to have fun or you’re going to miss out on all the wonderful things life has to offer.” She drew a deep breath and kept going. “Everybody at Case Consolidated Holdings lives in terror of not being completely perfect. Have you ever wondered why we’ve had so much staff turnover in the last year? It’s because working for you makes people crack up.”

Had she just called him a tyrant? “You’ve survived for four years. It can’t be that bad.”

“Survived?” She stared down her nose at him, a monumental feat, considering he towered over her by at least eight inches. “Do you think surviving a job is something I should be grateful for?”

Perhaps not. “What do you suggest I do?”

“Well, for starters, you could lighten up. Have some fun. Stop trying to manage every single thing around you.”

“I don’t manage everything .”

“You’ve scheduled the summit down to the minute.”

“We have a lot to get through.”

“Not at night, you don’t.”

“Part of what makes this summit work is that all the executives spend time together.”

Missy rolled her eyes. “Right, but they’re together all day.”

Sebastian had worked with Missy long enough to know when she had a point to make. “What do you have in mind?”

“Cancel the group dinners and let everyone go their own way.”

“It’s too late for tonight’s dinner.”

“True.” She nodded, her eyes shining. “But it would be a simple thing to cancel the rest of them. I know you’d make the wives very happy if you gave them more time alone with their husbands. With the amount of traveling you have got everyone doing, your executives don’t get to see much of their wives or their families.” Her gaze lifted no higher than his chin. “And about the tours …”

Raw impatience burned in his gut. “What about the tours?”

“No one wanted to go to the Hoover Dam.”

“You didn’t go?” Sebastian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This summit was coming apart. Not one thing had gone according to plan since he and Missy had stepped off the plane. “Dare I ask what you did instead?”

“We hit a couple casinos then I suggested they might like to try skydiving.”

“Skydiving?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It was indoor skydiving,” she said in a breezy tone. “I wasn’t out to get anyone killed. They found it fun rather than terrifying.”

“Fun,” Sebastian muttered. “Your idea?”

She looked surprised that he’d even asked. “Of course.”

“Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Did you rearrange tomorrow’s summit schedule without telling me?”

“Now that you mention it—” She broke off when he growled. Her laughter filled the suite and took the sting out of everything he’d just heard. “I’m kidding. I wouldn’t dream of messing with your precious summit.”

“Because, I’m assuming, you’ve already promised my agreement on the change of plans,” he said. “Fine, I’ll go along with it.”

“That was too easy.” For the first time she sounded concerned. “What did I miss?”

“The fact that from now until the end of the summit, you have seen to it that my nights are free.”

“And?”

“So are yours.”

“She almost started to cry today while we were shopping.” Alicia Darby’s voice lifted over the laughter bouncing off the glass walls separating their private dining room from the rest of the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.