Maria came to a sudden halt, her jaw going slack in shock at my announcement. Her friends stopped with her, and they all watched as I approached the man I planned to kiss. His gaze swept down my body, and as I got closer, I was able to see the male appreciation in his dark eyes. Knowing the attraction was reciprocated helped settle most of my nerves at doing something so out of character.
My newly discovered confidence took a nosedive when I stumbled and crashed into his chest, but I wasn’t going to allow that to stop me. With his strong hands wrapped around my upper arms—conveniently holding me steady—I rose as high as I could go on my toes and pressed my lips against his. I felt his fingers tighten as a deep groan rumbled up his chest. Emboldened by his response, I gently stroked my tongue across his bottom lip. I figured that would be enough to satisfy the dare, but when his lips parted, I took the kiss further. My heart raced as my tongue swept inside his mouth to tangle with his. When I heard my cousin and her friends hooting and hollering, I reluctantly pulled away from my mystery man.
We stared at each other for a long moment, but as soon as I felt the awkwardness creeping in, I pivoted on my heel and started back to the girls. He didn’t let me go far, though. I’d barely taken a step when he curled a finger through one of my belt loops and tugged me back, spinning me around and hauling me against his chest. Then one of his arms wrapped around my lower back to anchor me there. “Not so fast, beautiful.”
That was all the warning I got before his lips crashed against mine, and his tongue swept inside. Where I’d been tentative with my exploration of his mouth, he was bold. It felt as though he was devouring me as his hand tangled in the back of my hair to tilt my head exactly where he wanted it to deepen the kiss. I whimpered into his mouth when he flattened his other palm against my back and ground his hips against me. His hard length was pressed against my belly, and I felt every single hot inch of him—and there were a lot of them.
“It’s okay, beautiful. I’ve got you,” he soothed in a deep murmur against my lips.
I was about to press my mouth against his again when I heard a whistle and a masculine voice yelled, “Get a room!”
My cheeks heated with a deep blush, and my mystery man twisted around to glare at someone over his shoulder. While he was distracted, I jerked out of his hold and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
His focus returned to me as I stumbled away, getting just far enough out of his reach that his hand missed when he reached out for me. Feeling an overwhelming mixture of desire, confusion, and embarrassment, I was willing to risk the chance of breaking my neck as I raced into the hotel. The girls rushed after me, crowding around after we made it into the lobby.
“Holy crap, Amelia!” Maria cried, her eyes wide in shock as she stared at me. “When I dared you to kiss a guy, I didn’t expect it to turn into a full-on make-out session on the sidewalk. What was that?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered before pressing my fingers against my slightly swollen lips. I’d never experienced anything like it before, but spotting my mystery man through the glass doors of the hotel, I felt a twinge of regret that our moment was over. It was too bad that what happened in Vegas stayed here because I doubted I’d ever have the chance to experience anything like that kiss again. Especially since I’d probably never see him again.
2
Zack
Stunned, I stood there like a fucking idiot while the woman of my dreams disappeared inside the Lennox Hotel and Casino. My tongue darted out to run along my bottom lip, hoping to find her taste lingering. I’d never been knocked so off-balance before.
The whole situation must have been orchestrated by fate because under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have been there. I’d just pulled out of the parking garage to head home from my hotel, which was directly next to the Lennox, when I received a call from my security manager. So I’d driven to the front of the hotel and left my car with the valet so I could run in. I was on my way back to my car when my eyes had locked onto the most beautiful brown eyes I’d ever seen. Her long, curly black hair floated around her in the slight breeze, and her silky-looking sparkly top showed off smooth, tan skin. I was about to charge through the crowd to get to her when I realized she was headed straight for me.
Her touch flooded my body with warmth, and beyond the electricity and blazing lust, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. Kissing her was like coming home, and I knew this beauty was meant to be mine.
But before I could act on my newfound clarity, she was gone, stumbling into the hotel with a group of tipsy girls. After my stupor cleared, I considered running after her, but I was afraid to scare her. Instead, I’d use my connections to learn as much as I could about her and make a plan.
The valet had my car idling in front of the hotel, so I jumped inside and started for home. A lot of hotel owners lived on-site, but when Becket and I inherited our trust funds and The Artemis at twenty-one, I decided that I didn’t want to raise her at the hotel, so I bought a house fifteen minutes from the Strip. I kept the penthouse apartment in case I needed to grab a nap or crash after a late night. Although now that Delia was seventeen and about to leave for college, I’d been considering moving into the penthouse permanently. That idea blew away the moment my lips touched my mystery woman.
I’d had my daughter at twenty, the result of a youthful indiscretion. Since her mom had no desire to be a part of her life, I’d raised Delia on my own. I was thirty-seven, with an almost college-age daughter, so while I’d been open to finding someone to spend the rest of my life with, I was done with the diapers, late-night feedings, dance recitals, coaching softball, etc. I had no desire for more children. Once again, my beauty had changed my world in an instant. Suddenly, I saw us filling our house with little ones, raising our family, and growing old together.
I hit a button on my steering wheel and said, “Call Knox.”
The sound of dialing filled the car, then a few rings, before Knox picked up.
“Parker,” he greeted. “What can I do for you?”
“I need some information on a guest,” I informed him.
“Don’t you have your own head of security?
“She’s a guest at your hotel, not mine.”
Knox made a tsking noise, and I could practically see him shaking his head and giving me his steely-eyed stare. “You’re asking me to violate the privacy of a guest? I would never do that.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “You think I don’t know about everything you’ve done in the past five years? Drew and my brother try to deny it, but they gossip almost as much as their wives.”
“True.”
I laughed at his exasperated tone. Knox was a hard-ass and impossible to crack unless he was willing or it had to do with his wife. Which gave me the perfect weapon so I didn’t have to beg.
“She’s it, man. I need to know how to find her.”
Knox sighed and grumbled something under his breath. “Give me some specifics.”
I gave him a description, the time she entered, and told him she was with a group of women. Then I waited silently, listening to the click-click of the keyboard. Finally, as I was passing through the gate to my driveway, he spoke up.