what are you doing on the Strip tonight?” she asked. “I might be new in town, but I know that this is mainly a tourist place.”
Gabe thought about his response. With his friends all busy with their own lives, he had headed out on a solo mission. Not wanting to be alone in his empty house, the Strip seemed like a good way to kill a night. He’d been right. He’d been craving excitement. Something different. Something new. Something wild before he signed his life away to Charles Burnham, his boss and mentor, and as he looked over at Ellie, he knew he’d found it with her. “I came here tonight because I knew I wouldn’t see anyone I know here. I was looking for something different.”
He could feel Ellie watching him and he knew he’d revealed too much. “It feels like there’s a story there,” she said.
She’d hit the nail on the head, but he felt like a spoiled fool for complaining about all of his blessings and the success he’d had in his career. “There is. But not one I’m interested in telling.”
She leaned closer to him, as if she were studying him. The air between them had become even more charged. Heated. It was a point of no return for him, as they both moved in slow motion. With his fingertips, he caressed her smooth jaw and drew her closer. He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted his next breath.
The second her lips touched his, he was a goner. A gentle caress at first, testing her boundaries, he took her bottom lip between the two of his and nipped. Her sigh urged him on, and he stroked his tongue against the seam of her lips, before she opened to him, allowing him access to her hot, wet mouth. Soon, the kiss wasn’t enough. He grasped Ellie around the waist and lifted her, settling her onto his lap, so that her thighs straddled his. She moaned into his mouth and the sound shot straight to his dick. He was hard, and she ground against him, and she felt so good, it stole his breath when she tilted her head and deepened the kiss.
His hands went to her ass, and he held her in place and controlled her movements as he ran her hot core against his length. Christ, Gabe wanted her, and he pulled away. He surveyed their surroundings—the walls of the nook kept them obscured from the view of the other bar patrons. He could take her right there, but a part of him held back. That sort of behavior would be welcome at Di Terrestres—he cursed himself for not bringing her there—but not in a booth at a public club. Whether or not they were in Las Vegas—Sin City—public decency laws still applied. “Fuck, I want you, Ellie,” he breathed against her skin, his fingers digging into her waist. He cursed his more practical, law-abiding side.
“I thought I was supposed to be the one begging.”
“You aren’t yet. But you will be. Let’s go somewhere where I can do everything I want with you.”
Ellie nodded. “Good idea.”
Gabe took some bills from his wallet and threw them on the table to cover the cost of the champagne and tip. Ellie and Gabe stood and casually walked outside.
Gabe pressed his hand against Ellie’s lower back, leading her to the taxis waiting outside of the casino entrance, but on the horizon, something caught his attention. The High Roller, the giant observation Ferris wheel that had been added to the Las Vegas skyline a few years before. He had an idea. Just as bad an idea as he’d had within the confines of their cozy booth in the club—but one that would be even more fun.
“Where are we going?” Ellie asked, as they bypassed the waiting cars and crossed the street.
“I’ve got an idea.”
GABE TOOK ELLIE’S hand and, with a brisk pace, all but dragged Ellie toward the huge Ferris wheel that rose high into the sky. On her dangerously high heels, she could barely keep up with his long-legged stride. When they arrived at the ride, she looked up. Groups of probably ten to fifteen people boarded and gathered in each of the large observation pods, taking in the view of the lights of Las Vegas Boulevard with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces.
Ellie wondered why—when she was about to hike her skirt up a few minutes ago and have sex with him in a private booth—he would suddenly want to show her the view high above the Strip. There was a small lineup of groups waiting to get on but Gabe held back, waiting until the line dwindled. Ellie almost squealed when Gabe grabbed her ass. She looked up and saw the wicked grin that had perched upon his lips. And she knew exactly why Gabe had brought her there—what his intentions were.
When all the other groups had been escorted to their pods, they walked up to the attendant. Just like with the host at the club they’d visited, Gabe palmed a bill to the attendant. The man knew how to operate, to get what he wanted. “We’d appreciate it if we could ride alone,” he told the other man.
The attendant winked at Gabe. “I’ll see what I can do.”
They were escorted into an observation pod, and instead of bringing in another group, the attendant closed the door after them—ensuring that they were alone in the round pod, which had a maximum occupancy of forty people. The pod was large, luxurious and even featured a bar on one side. Go Big or Go Home was Vegas’s motto, it seemed.
The wheel continued on its way upward, and the lights inside the pod were dimmed, to allow its occupants to fully appreciate the nighttime Strip view. For a brief moment, she found herself drawn to the view. The lights of Sin City twinkled as she took in the Eiffel Tower, the beam atop the Luxor pyramid, the neon lights of the Flamingo... The crowds of people reveling in it. The energy of Las Vegas Boulevard was incredible, infectious, and it fed her.
But she forgot about all of that when Gabe came up behind her, cupping her hips with his large hands, watching the view over her shoulder.
“It’s incredible, right?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
“I can’t believe I live here.”
“I’ve lived in this city almost my entire life. I’ve never seen it quite like this.”
She turned in his arms, forgetting the outside view and focusing on the one inside the pod. “How long do we have in here?”
“A half hour or so,” he told her, his lips grazing her neck. “Still not enough time,” he whispered against her skin.
She shivered under his touch, and smoothed her hands over his chest. “Well, we’d better get down to business, then,” she said, pushing him backward until he landed heavily on the cushioned bench that stretched along the opposite side of the pod. Reminiscent of how they’d kissed in the booth, she mounted his lap, bracing her thighs on either side of his. Tugging on the front of his shirt, it was her turn to kiss him. And she did so, using more roughness than she needed to. She couldn’t get enough of Gabe. His full lips, his insistent tongue.
He gripped her thighs and ventured upward underneath her skirt, and when his hands found her ass, he cupped her, his fingers digging hard into her flesh. But still, he pulled his mouth away. “Goddammit,” he muttered, throwing his head against the back of the bench.
“What is it?”
“I don’t have a condom.” His chest heaved with what she imagined was frustration.
“Is that all?” She
