“The hell is this?”
“From the mini bar.” She beams and raises a little bottle of her own. “Cheers!”
“Wait…”
“To Vegas, baby!” She knocks back the drink and makes a face. “Whew!” Her eyes drop to my hand. “Dom, you’re supposed to drink.”
“Yeah, I got that. But I’m working, Lucia. I’m here to protect you, not party with you.”
“Well, suit yourself.” She snatches the nip from my hand. She brings it up to drink and I frown.
“Whoa, whoa. Slow down.”
“In Vegas?” She gives me a coy smile and drinks the vodka down. “Well? Shall we?”
I groan. “Fine, lead the way.”
The Strip is like a living organism. There are people everywhere. Lights flash, and music throbs from a hundred nightclubs.
“Vegas!” Lucia yells at the night sky. Yeah, so much for a low fucking profile. We walk by a club when she suddenly grabs my arm. “Ooo! I heard this band is supposed to be amazing!”
I glance into the club. It’s fucking packed. “Let’s pick a different spot.”
“Let’s not.”
She lets go of my arm and waltzes towards the door. “Come on, Dom,” she says when I follow. “Let’s get drunk.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, let’s not.”
“Well, I am.”
“One drink. Then we’re leaving.”
The doorman pauses while checking our IDs. He shakes his head at me and jabs a thumb at a sign by the door that says, “two drink minimum.”
“What the hell is that?”
He shrugs. “Two drink minimum for the show.”
“Fuck that.”
He shrugs again. “Then stay outside, man.”
Lucia turns and grins at me. “Well? Coming, Dom? Just so you know, I’ll only be drinking at places like this all night.”
My jaw grinds. “Fine. I’ll drink soda.”
“There’s no soda,” the doorman grunts.
“You got fucking water?”
He smiles. “Sure. But it’s free. Doesn’t count for your two drinks.”
I roll my eyes. “Let me guess, just booze.”
“Just booze.”
“What if I’m sober?”
“Then I’d stay out here.”
Lucia suddenly darts inside. I groan. God fucking damnit. The bartender smirks as I push past him and into the club. I follow Lucia’s blonde hair through the crowd. There’s miraculously two empty stools by a side bar. She sits in one, and I slip into the one next to her as she gets the bartender’s attention.
“Four tequila shots, please?”
I turn and stare at her. “Seriously?”
“What?” She smirks. “Two for me, two for you. I thought you’d want to get through your drink minimum quickly.”
“By taking shots?”
“I did say quickly.”
The bartender slides four shot glasses of tequila and a plate of salt and lime wedges in front of us. Lucia grabs one and raises it. “To Vegas, Dom.”
I’m not doing fucking shots with this girl. The place has a two drink minimum. They mean buying at least two drinks. No one says I have to physically consume them. When I don’t raise my glass, Lucia groans.
“Oh my God, you are the lamest.” She takes her shot and reaches for the next. I frown.
“Slow it down,” I growl.
“No thanks, dad.”
She takes the second one and grimaces. “Oof, fuck.”
I groan to myself. There’s something about that dirty word from her sweet mouth that makes me want her even more.
“Are you drinking those or not?”
“Not.”
“Well, then don’t mind me.” Lucia reaches for one of my shots. I scowl and grab her hand away. “No.”
“Well, if you’re not going to…”
“Then neither are you.”
“Watch me.” She darts her free hand out and snatches one. Before she can drink it though, I grab it back. I bring it to my own lips and toss it back. Lucia grins. “See? Was that so bad?”
I sigh contentedly. No, it wasn’t. It was fucking needed is what it was. She reaches for my other shot, but I snatch that one back and drink it down too. She beams.
“Atta boy, Dom.” She turns back to our bartender. “Four more, please?”
“Whoa, whoa,” I shake my head. “Not a fucking chance.”
But the four shots hit the bar in front of us in seconds. Lucia turns and smirks at me. “So, are we going to play this game all night?”
“What game,” I grunt.
“The one where you make a big show of not drinking, I try and steal your drinks, and then you drink them to stop me from getting wasted?”
Yes. If that what the job mandates.
“Dom, how about instead, we just have some drinks together like normal people?”
“You know why not.”
“Then I’m just going to have to drink all of these,” she sighs dramatically. “Gee, I’d hate to be the one to tell my grandfather that you let me get alcohol poisoning in Las Vegas.” She makes a face. “Yikes.”
I glare at her. She smirks right back at me. Don’t do this, I want to tell myself. Don’t play her little fucking games. But I can’t say no. Whatever the hell magic she’s using on me, I can’t. I try and tell myself that it’s to make sure she doesn’t get blackout drunk. But it’s more than that.
I want to drink with her. I want to be sitting here with this gorgeous girl, with the whole fucking club seeing us and thinking she’s mine. I reach for a tequila. She does too.
“Cheers?” She grins.
“To Vegas,” I grunt.
“To Vegas.”
Our glasses clink. The shot goes down easy. Too easy. See reaches for her second one, and I frown.
“You need to slow down.”
“I’m fiiiine, Dom.”
Like hell she is. The girl is like hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. She already had two drinks before we left the hotel about half an hour ago. And now she’s had three shots of tequila. This is going to go downhill fast if she keeps it up. And like hell am I letting Don Salvestro’s fucking granddaughter end up in the ER getting her stomach pumped.
She reaches for her next shot again. Before she can, I grab it. I bring it to my lips and knock it back. Then I snag my own shot and drink that too. Lucia looks at me with a mix of curiosity and amusement.
“My my my,” she purrs.
“You’re not the only one who can play games.”
“And you’re more fun than you look.” She turns to the bartender and raises four fingers. “Four more please?”
I stare at her. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Having fun. This is my vacation, Dom.”
“Going to the hospital isn’t going to be fun.”
“Well, guess you better stop that from happening…” Four more shots hit the bar in front of us. Lucia grabs one. I grab another. “Cheers,” she winks.
“Bottoms up,” I groan. I knock mine back. Then I grab the last two and do those too. Shit, this is not a good pace. I open my eyes to see Lucia grinning at me like a cat again.