Make Me Melt

15


CAROLINE LAY IN bed at the beach house in Santa Cruz, and listened to the distant crash of the waves against the shore. A week had passed since Marisola Perez had tried to kill her, and she still had a difficult time believing that the nightmare was finally over.

Her father was safe.

She was safe.

Jason had spent most of that day at the courthouse in San Francisco, where her father normally presided, as a different judge listened to preliminary findings on the case. Marisola had spent several days in a psychiatric unit, while doctors determined if she was well enough to stand trial. She’d made her first court appearance that day, and Caroline was grateful that she didn’t have to appear. She would, eventually, but not today.

Rolling to her side, she picked up the bedside clock. It was still early, barely nine o’clock, and she knew that Jason was on his way from San Francisco to join her for the weekend.

Now she heard his footsteps on the staircase, and she waited, breathless, as he made his way down the hallway. When he finally pushed the bedroom door open, she sat up.

“Hey,” he said, silhouetted against the light in the hallway. “Are you okay?”

“Absolutely okay,” she assured him. “Just waiting for you.”

She knew he could see her clearly. She wore pale blue baby-doll pajamas with satin straps. The top plunged low in the front and left little to the imagination. Leaving the door ajar, he walked over to the bed, and it wasn’t until he stood directly by her side that she could see the smolder in his eyes.

Without taking his eyes from her, he dragged his shirttail out of his waistband and slowly began unfastening the buttons. Peeling the shirt from his body, he fisted his hand in the material of his undershirt and dragged it over his head in one fluid movement.

Caroline’s heart lodged in her throat. Shirtless, Jason Cooper was the embodiment of every fantasy she’d ever had. She made no move to touch him when his hands fell to his belt, and he deftly unbuckled it before opening the clasp of his jeans. Slowly, as if he enjoyed tormenting her, he drew his zipper down and then pushed his jeans down the length of his body, toeing his shoes off at the same time, until he stood before her wearing nothing more than his boxer briefs.

“Come here,” Caroline whispered and hooked one finger into the waistband of his shorts. She drew him onto the bed, feeling the hot jut of his arousal against the back of her fingers.

He eased himself down on the bed beside her, propping his head on one hand. Reaching out with his free hand, he traced a single finger down her cleavage.


“How was your day?” he asked.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you over at the courthouse and wondering how it was going. What happened?”

“I think Ms. Perez understands just how wrong her actions were,” he said quietly. “She’s very remorseful.”

“Poor woman.”

“Don’t you feel sorry for her,” Jason commanded. “She made her own choices, and she has nobody to blame but herself. Other people have lost children without resorting to attempted murder as a coping mechanism.”

“So it’s pretty clear that she acted alone?” Caroline asked.

“She enlisted the help of her brother for the break-in here,” he said. “It was her brother who disabled the electrical and actually broke in. But she was here, too. For what it’s worth, I think her brother was an unwilling accomplice, and I don’t think he had any idea of just how far his sister was willing to go to settle the score.”

“Wow,” Caroline breathed, hardly able to comprehend it all. “So her daughter gets admitted for a routine appendectomy, but nobody knows she has an underlying heart condition. She has a bad reaction to the anesthesia, and dies on the table. They resuscitate her, but she’s brain-dead, and after a few days, Marisola has to make the decision to remove her daughter from life support. Worse, when she files a medical malpractice case, the judge finds on behalf of the hospital.”

“Yes.”

“So Marisola needs closure. She wants revenge on the person she feels is responsible, and she focuses on my father.”

“That’s right,” Jason said, dipping his head to kiss the soft swell of her breast above the pale blue fabric of her negligee. “But because the judge keeps such late hours, and is hardly ever home, she can’t establish a schedule of his activities. She knows if she just sits outside in her car and watches him that people will notice. Like Steven Anderson did that night. But then it seems luck is finally on her side.”

As his lips brushed over her sensitive skin, Caroline’s fingers curled into the blankets, and she had to struggle to keep her thoughts straight. “My father’s neighbor puts out an ad for a housekeeper, and Marisola applies. Now she can watch my father’s house. She knows when he’s home, and when he’s not. Even better, nobody questions her presence in the neighborhood.”

“You got it,” Jason purred and tugged the fabric down, until her breast sprang free. He devoured her with his eyes. “She blended in. She and her brother did the same thing when they came here. She dressed as a housekeeper, and her brother dressed as the gardener. Nobody thought twice about it or even noticed them.”

“Hiding in plain sight,” Caroline gasped as Jason dipped his head and drew her dusky nipple into his mouth.

He skated his mouth along the side of her neck and gently bit her earlobe before soothing the area with his tongue. “She waited for him, hiding in the shrubbery until he came home, and then she simply walked up to his front door and rang the bell.”

“He probably didn’t even recognize her,” Caroline said. “He simply saw a woman in a housekeeping dress, and probably thought she needed help. He was always helping people.”

Jason raised his head and looked down at her, his eyes filled with empathy. “Yes. But your father is going to make a full recovery, and Ms. Perez is going to get the help that she needs.”

“What a tragedy,” Caroline murmured. “I remember reading the case file and thinking that it didn’t seem fair for the hospital to get off scot-free. Why did my father rule in their favor?”

Jason made a sympathetic sound. “Without knowing her medical history, there was no way they could have predicted what would happen on the operating table.”

Caroline shook her head. “I’m glad she’s been caught, but I can’t help feeling sorry for her. She lost her daughter.”

“And I almost lost you,” Jason growled. “Don’t feel too sorry for her.”

“All this time, we thought it was Eddie Green or Sanchez. But it was a grieving mother.”

“You did try to tell me that our most likely bet in finding the shooter was to examine the malpractice cases.” He kissed her chin. “Sure you want to become a child welfare advocate? You’d make a great private investigator.”

“Hmm.” Caroline pretended to consider, winding her arms around his neck. “My powers of deduction are exceptional. Like right now, I know how much you want me.”

* * *

HE DID WANT HER. He’d spent most of the day thinking about how very differently this whole thing could’ve gone down, and how close he’d come to losing her. Even before Marisola Perez had attacked Caroline, Jason had decided there was no way in hell he was letting her go. He’d done that once. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. He’d spent the entire day in court, listening to the preliminary testimony so that the judge could make a ruling on whether or not there would be a trial. When all the facts had been presented, he’d been a little horrified at how close he’d come to losing the two people he cared most about in the whole world.

As he’d driven back to the beach house, knowing that the judge would recover and that Caroline was waiting for him, he’d felt like the luckiest son of a bitch on the face of the planet. He didn’t deserve to have so much happiness. He didn’t deserve to have his life turn out so freaking good, but he was long past the point where he would question his own good fortune. He’d grab on to it with both hands and be eternally grateful for it.

Now Jason brushed his mouth over Caroline’s, their breath mingling as he drew his free hand slowly over her body. “What would cause you to believe that I want you?”

“This,” she replied and reached down to cover him with her hand. He was already hard. “And this...”

Leaning into him, she pressed her lips against his in a kiss that made his toes curl. He’d been aroused since he’d opened the bedroom door and spotted her in the bed, looking like a sugary confection in her little blue nightie. He wanted to lick her everywhere.

“God,” he muttered against her mouth, “you drive me crazy.”

He felt her smile, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and explore the damp silk of her mouth with his tongue. He captured her moan, fusing their lips together as she held his head in her hands.

With supreme effort, he tore his mouth from hers and bit a tender path along her jaw to where her heart pulsed erratically against the base of her throat. She gasped and arched upward, then slid one hand to the small of his back to urge him closer. Bracing his weight on one forearm, he lifted himself away from her enough to grasp the hem of her short nightgown and drag it upward. She helped him, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside until she was gloriously bare beneath him.

“Jesus,” he muttered, cupping his hand around one breast. “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve seen all day.”

He bent his head and flicked the dusky nipple with his tongue. Her breathing hitched and her hips shifted restlessly beneath him. He stroked the curve of her hip until he encountered the waistband of her silk panties and put his fingers beneath the fabric.

“Take these off,” he demanded.

“Yes,” she murmured and lifted her hips to help him as he pushed the material down and then she kicked them free.


Jason sucked in his breath at the sight of her pale skin and the shadow of curls at the juncture of her thighs. Her breasts rose and fell rapidly, and when he stroked the back of his knuckles across her stomach, her muscles contracted.

“I’ve thought about this all day,” he growled.

Two weeks ago, he’d have been scared to death at the intensity of his feelings. Until Caroline had come back into his life, he didn’t believe in meaningful relationships. He was committed to his job, and that was it. He’d have run in the opposite direction if any woman had suggested he commit himself to her. But with Caroline, that was all he seemed to want to do. He wanted to commit himself to her—mind, body and soul. He wanted to imprint himself on her so that she would have no doubts that she belonged to him, and that he loved her with every breath he took.

He knew they had some logistical issues to work out, but as far as he was concerned, he’d already won the battle—she wasn’t returning to Virginia. Even if she decided to remain in San Francisco, they could make it work. He’d been making the trip from San Diego about every month in order to see her father. He figured he could do it every weekend, if he needed to. Or he could fly her down to stay with him.

Right now, with her sprawled beneath him, his own arousal was such that he pushed his own misgivings about their future aside. He wanted her.

Badly.

She still cupped him through his briefs, and the sensation of her hand on his rigid cock caused him to groan. He bent his head once more and caught her mouth with his own. She responded by arching against him and sliding her lips against his so that pleasure lashed through him. She stroked him through the fabric of his boxers, before easing her hand beneath the waistband to grasp him in her fingers. Her touch was like an electric shock, and he quivered reflexively in her hand.

“You’re so hard,” she murmured against his mouth, stroking one finger across the head of his erection, “and hot.”

Oh, yeah.

He eased himself to his side to give her better access to his body, holding her in the curve of his arm as he used his free hand to explore her more fully. She turned into him, and he ran his hand along the curve of her waist and over her hip before cupping her buttock, enjoying the satiny softness of her skin. But when he dipped his fingers between her cheeks and stroked her intimately from behind, she gave a cry of surprise and jerked against him.

“Shh,” he soothed, stroking her. “Let me.”

She made an incoherent sound and pressed damp kisses against his throat, even as her hand continued to explore him. He was stiff and aching and wanted nothing more than to turn her onto her back, spread her thighs and thrust himself into her, but he forced himself to slow down. He separated her feminine folds with his fingers.

“Ah, sweetheart,” he said. “You’re already wet.” Slowly, he eased one finger into her, feeling her inner muscles contract around him even as she closed her hand around his cock. She was incredibly tight, and his balls ached with the need for release.

She withdrew her hand from his body and wordlessly pushed his boxers down until he could shimmy them free. Then there was nothing between them.

Jason hooked a hand behind her knee and drew her leg across his hip, opening her for him as he resumed stroking her and swirling moisture over the small rise of flesh until she made an inarticulate sound of pleasure and shivered in his arms.

“Good?” he murmured against her ear before tracing the delicate lobe with his tongue.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “So good.”

Easing two fingers into her, he thrust them slowly in and out, and then caught her mouth with his own, using his tongue to imitate the movement of his hand. She moaned deeply.

Pushing her onto her back, Jason came over her and began working his way down the length of her body with his mouth while continuing to torment her with his fingers. She watched him through hazy eyes, her lower lip caught between her teeth. He licked her breasts, suckling first one nipple and then the other before moving lower, skating his tongue along her smooth stomach while his fingers worked strongly inside her. Her hips lifted into his hand, and when he reached her navel, he dipped his tongue inside before trailing his lips lower, to kiss the inside of one thigh. Then, as he continued to stroke her, he bent his head and touched his tongue to her *oris. She gave a strangled cry and her hips bucked, but Jason had no mercy. He continued to lave her with gentle laps, while his fingers caressed her until she cried out and her whole body convulsed. He felt her muscles contracting around his fingers, but he didn’t stop until he’d wrung every last shiver from her and she collapsed weakly against the pillow.

Only then did he come fully over her, using his knee to spread her thighs. He was completely jacked, but he still had enough sense to reach over and jerk open the drawer of the bedside table and pull out an unopened box of condoms. Watching her come apart had been a total turn-on. With hands that weren’t quite steady, he ripped the box open and peeled a condom from a foil packet.

“Okay?” he asked, husky with desire.

She gave a shaky laugh and drew him down. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “Am I still alive?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said and covered himself. “Let me show you.”

* * *

IT SEEMED LIKE hours later when Caroline lay sprawled over Jason’s chest, her breasts flattened against his skin as she gazed at him and ran one finger along the seam of his lips.

“How do you do it?” she marveled.

He lay back against the pillows, one arm bent behind his head as he leisurely stroked her hair. “Do what?”

“Make each time with you even better than the last.”

He grinned. “I thought that was you.”

Caroline rested her cheek against his chest and let her fingers trace lazy patterns around the flat nub of his nipple.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

He dragged in a deep sigh. “Well, we caught the shooter, so you and your father are safe. We’ve pulled his protection detail off the assignment. He no longer needs the services of the U.S. Marshals.”

She didn’t look at him. “So I guess the same goes for me, too. I expect you’re ready to get back to San Diego and pick up the reins again.”

“I expect so.”

She raised her head and stared at him in the dim light. “Really?”

He shrugged. “There’s no reason for me to stay here any longer, Caroline. I came to protect you, and now you no longer need that protection. What would you have me do? My job here is done.”

“Is it?” she mused.

“Why don’t you tell me?” he suggested.

Caroline inched herself up his body, until she could straddle his hips and frame his face in both of her hands. Jason swallowed convulsively, and she didn’t miss how his eyes dropped to her breasts, or how he shifted restlessly beneath her.

“Jason Cooper,” she began, “I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember. From the time you were nothing more than a skinny boy with a bad attitude.” She leaned down to kiss him. “I wanted you when I was sixteen and just learning what it was like to be a woman. And now that you’ve shown me how wonderful that is, I don’t want to be with anyone else.”

“Caroline—”

“I trusted you with my body. I trusted you with my life.” She smiled down at him. “And you’re the only man I’ll ever trust with my heart.”


He made a sound of protest, and Caroline laid two fingers over his mouth. “So you see, I’m going to need you around for a very long time, because all three of those are now yours to keep and to protect.”

Reaching up, Jason caught her fingers in his hand and turned his mouth into her palm, kissing her reverently. When he looked at her, the emotion reflected in his eyes was enough to stop her breath.

“Caroline Banks,” he said, his voice low and a little rough. “It looks like you’ve got yourself a deal. But I have to warn you that I take my job seriously. I’m going to be around for a very long time.”

With a sigh of relief, Caroline lowered her mouth to his. “I definitely like the sound of that, Marshal Cooper.”

And then no more words were spoken, and the only sound was that of the distant surf as it pounded the beach.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from WILD WEEKEND by Susanna Carr.






1


NEON LIGHTS FLICKERED inside the dark casino. The cold air was thick with cigarette smoke and the scent of sugary cocktails. Frank Sinatra blared from the loudspeakers.

So this is what hell looks like. Travis Cain automatically surveyed the room, although any sudden movement from the patrons was unlikely. Most of them were slumped in front of tables and slot machines, their expressions glazed over as they waited for something—anything—to happen. “There are other things I could be doing right now,” he muttered.

“True.” His friend Aaron nodded as he drank a fruity cocktail. “But how often do you get a chance to make money just by sitting around?”

Aaron made it sound so easy, but Travis was never good at sitting still. “Do you know what I could be doing right now? Wingsuit-flying over the Eiger.”

“As if you had enough cash to fly to Switzerland,” Aaron said as he motioned the blackjack dealer to hit him with another card.

“Surfing the big waves in Tasmania.” Travis smiled as he thought about the crystal-blue water.

“You’ve already done that.” Aaron sighed when he lost the hand. “You never repeat yourself.”

“I saw something about bungee jumping.” He’d jumped before, so it wasn’t that much of a challenge, but it was better than staying in the casino.

“Dude, this is Las Vegas. Why would you want to do that when everything you need comes directly to you? Entertainment,” he said as he placed another bet. “Cheap drinks. Spa services.”

The spa? Was he serious? Travis cast a glance at his friend’s hand and belatedly noticed the manicured fingers. He looked at Aaron with horror, noticing everything from his long blond hair and groomed beard. Aaron’s hands used to be caked in mud from digging up treasures. Now he was getting manicures? “What happened to you? Don’t you crave adventure?”

“I started craving comfort. It happened the moment we kayaked that waterfall.” Aaron closed his eyes and shuddered as he remembered that moment. “That was stupid.”

It was a miracle that they had survived. “You’ve gotten old. Cautious.” Travis made a face. “Married.”

“My priorities have changed and I decided what I really wanted in life,” Aaron corrected. “My dreams are bigger.”

Bigger? Travis wanted to scoff at that statement. His friend’s dreams had become safer. He now focused all his reckless energy on gambling. Unfortunately, Aaron turned out to be good at it.

“Wait until you get married,” Aaron said as he motioned for the blackjack dealer to give him another card, “and then you’ll know what I mean.”

“Never going to happen,” Travis said gruffly. Women only wanted one thing from him: a good story to tell their friends back home. He was the rebound sex or the vacation fling. Not that he had a problem with that.

Only the brave ones tried to make the affair go longer. He’d had a few serious relationships in the past and tried living in one place with one woman. Turned out he was horrible at it. No big surprise there.

His exes quickly realized he couldn’t be domesticated. He did try. They wanted him to bring excitement and adventure to their daily schedule, but at the same time they didn’t welcome chaos in their lives. His boundless energy was no longer attractive and his need to explore became less inspiring and more exasperating.

“Travis?” Aaron lightly punched him in the arm. “Are you listening to me?”

He hated sitting still. It gave you too much time to think about mistakes and regrets. Limitations and personal flaws. “No, but let me guess. You don’t trust hotel security.”

“After what happened in Rio? Hell, no,” Aaron said with feeling. “The thieves tore up my room and almost got the emerald. Good thing I had it on me that night.”

That was the problem with all his friends settling down, Travis thought as he took a drink from his beer bottle. He may be envious that they’d found someone to share their lives with, but settling down meant embracing the sameness. Same conversations. Same retelling of their adventures. His friends were content with that, but he wanted more stories to tell.

It was only a matter of time before Aaron launched into the story about the emerald that was tucked in Travis’s pocket. How he won it from an unscrupulous guy named Hoffmann in a game three years ago. Aaron had already reminisced about that moment when he called Travis for backup. Aaron was in Las Vegas on a poker-playing circuit with Hoffmann and some high rollers and he was using the emerald again as collateral. Unfortunately, the other players were not known to be law-abiding.

“And yet you still want to play poker with these guys,” Travis muttered. “If breaking and entering is part of their routine, something tells me cheating is going to be second nature to them.”

“There is no evidence that Hoffmann or anyone from the circuit was behind it.”

“Right,” Travis said sarcastically. “It’s only coincidental that a break-in happens when you enter a high-stakes poker game with these guys.”

“The only time that emerald is out of the vault is when I enter a high-stakes poker game. That emerald you’re keeping safe in your jacket is my collateral.”

“And your lucky charm,” Travis added. His friend’s superstitious nature brought them more problems than protection.

“That, too.” Aaron leaned back in his chair and had a faraway look in his eyes. “If I didn’t have that when we were chased out of that village on the Amazon River...”

Travis rolled his eyes. Why did his friend give all the credit to a rock? “I still would have saved you.”

“Yes, but would I still have all my limbs? We’ll never know.” Aaron straightened in his chair. “Anyway, I’ve had that emerald with me whenever it counted. I had it when I met Dana.”

“Had it when you married her,” Travis finished for his friend. “I’m surprised you didn’t add it to her engagement ring.”

“She said emerald engagement rings are bad luck.”

“Can’t have that.”

“Damn straight. But when I win this poker game, I’m going to buy her something nice. I saw this necklace in the window—”

Travis raised his beer bottle to his lips and paused when he saw a woman walk into the casino from the hotel lobby. She stood out from the crowd of T-shirts and jeans, wearing a skintight blue dress and platform heels. His gaze traveled lazily down her body. Travis did a double take when he saw what was in her hand. Instead of a designer purse or a weekend bag, she held a vintage mountaineering backpack. Only this backpack had never been used.


He slowly lowered his beer onto the table as his curiosity deepened. Travis glanced at her face and his heart gave a violent kick. She was a natural beauty. She didn’t need to highlight her wide brown eyes or her full pink lips with a heavy layer of makeup.

The woman reached up and flipped her hair back. The movement pulled at her dress, emphasizing her gentle curves and athletic build. His gut clenched when he saw her long, bare legs. He’d bet they were silky smooth. Warm and strong. He wondered what those legs would feel like wrapped tightly around him. Travis gritted his teeth as his imagination bloomed.

“She’s out of your league,” Aaron said.

It was true, but that didn’t make Travis ignore the woman. “Dana is out of your league, and look what happened there,” he said gruffly.

“Dana is different. That woman? High maintenance. I see that kind of woman all the time in the casinos. Do you see how she’s dressed? How she isn’t with anyone? She’s on the hunt for a big spender.”

Travis shook his head as he watched the woman walk past a row of slot machines. She was a breath of fresh air in a kitschy casino filled with gold furniture and red carpeting. She was looking around, taking in everything. He had recognized the look in her eyes. She was ready for anything. “No, she wants excitement.”

But what kind? The backpack indicated she wanted adventure but it didn’t seem a natural fit. Her do-me-right-now shoes suggested she was looking for a good time, but she tugged at her dress as if she wasn’t comfortable with the short length.

“She wants a glamorous lifestyle,” Aaron corrected. “Financial security. Two things you don’t possess.”

“I’m getting big bucks to babysit the emerald,” he reminded his friend. He would have done it for free to help out but Aaron had insisted. It was the only reason Travis would visit a place like Vegas.

“Which you plan to spend on climbing the volcanoes in Indonesia. Waste of money, if you ask me.”

Travis reluctantly dragged his gaze away from the woman. “You’re just saying that because you want to come along. Dana won’t let you, will she?”

“Hey, she worries about me,” Aaron said with a smile. “And I kind of like that.”

Travis frowned. It had been a long time since someone had worried about him. He used to prefer it that way. After being raised by his grandmother, who saw danger in every corner, he didn’t want to be held back because of someone’s fears. But the idea of a loved one caring about him didn’t sound as suffocating as it should.

“You know,” Aaron continued, “if you stopped spending your money on adventures and started investing it, you could have a very comfortable lifestyle.”

There was that word again. Comfortable. The idea of comfort was a trap. If you’re comfortable, you’re too scared to take a risk. You’re too busy protecting what you have instead of going for something you want.

“You could even have a chance with a woman like that.”

“I could get her now,” Travis declared, ignoring Aaron’s bark of laughter as he looked for the brunette in the shadowy casino. He jerked his attention back to two men sitting next to the slot machines. They hadn’t been there before. He noticed only one of the guys was playing. The tall one sat silently, his attention directly on the blackjack table. Their dark suits didn’t hide their bulky physiques.

“Aaron, do you see the two guys at the slot machines?” Travis asked as he made brief eye contact with the pale guy with blue eyes. “Something’s off. They’re positioned to look directly at us. How much do you want to bet they are looking for the emerald?”

Aaron took a long sip of his drink as he casually glanced over at the slot machines. “You’re being paranoid.”

“Do they look familiar?” Travis asked as his instincts started tingling. “Did you see them when the thieves tore up your hotel room in Rio? They may have blended in with the crowd, but they don’t fit in with this clientele.”

“Neither do we,” Aaron pointed out as he set down his glass.

“Exactly.” The players for the high-stakes poker game purposely chose a cheap and shabby casino for privacy and secrecy.

“Those guys are part of Hoffmann’s security team,” Aaron said.

“How rich are these poker buddies that they need security?”

“Very. Although I think security team is another way of saying enforcers.”

“Terrific.”

“I think the one with the crooked nose is Pitts. The tall one is Underwood.”

“You really need to learn the definition of buddy,” Travis asserted. “A buddy does not put you under surveillance. I think you are being watched.”

“You mean we are being watched,” Aaron corrected.

“Do you think these guys are working for their boss or for themselves?”

Aaron frowned. “Hoffmann has been trying to win back the emerald. He says it’s a family heirloom. He’s getting a little desperate and he’s had an unlucky streak.”

“So if he can’t win it back, his security guys are going to find it while you’re in the game.”

“We’re making it too obvious that we’re friends,” Aaron said. “If they tear up my room and don’t find the emerald, they’ll search your room.”

“Why me? You’re the one who owns the gem.”

“Process of elimination. If I don’t have it on me or in my room, they will go after my closest buddy.”

“Time to split up,” Travis muttered. “Text me when you need me.”

“They’ll go after you,” Aaron predicted. “You need to throw them off. How will you do that? You’re a single guy who doesn’t gamble. A lot goes on in Vegas, but you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. You need to look less suspicious.”

It was true. He needed to blend in with a group. Unfortunately, most of the guests in this place were senior citizens. He could infiltrate a bachelor party. Find a group of businessmen here for a convention. Travis looked around and his gaze landed on the brunette in the blue dress.

An idea formed in his mind. Travis rose from his seat, his pulse quickening with anticipation. Forget a bunch of drunk, rowdy men. He knew exactly how he wanted to spend his weekend. “I’ll be with the brunette.”

His friend snorted at the claim. “Her? Never going to happen.”

“How can you say that? I’m holding on to your emerald,” Travis replied. The emerald suddenly felt heavy in the breast pocket of his jacket.

Aaron laughed. “That emerald is lucky, not magic. But you’ll find out soon enough.”

* * *

SHE WOULD NEVER listen to Jill again, Christine Pearson thought as she tugged at the hem of her dress. Her friend insisted on this fancy outfit, telling her she would blend in with the crowd. Did Jill think she was staying at the Bellagio or something?

Christine took a step forward and felt her skirt rise up her thigh. She tried to yank it down as she walked, but she wasn’t used to wearing high heels. She turned her ankle and almost tripped.

I should have stayed home. That had been the thought running through her mind the moment she got off the plane at McCarran Airport. She had headed straight for the restroom, found an empty stall and struggled into her tight dress and high heels.

The moment she had stepped out of the stall and seen her reflection in the mirror she knew the plan wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t the kind of woman to wear this dress. It was no use pretending. At least no one back in Cedar Valley would see her make a fool of herself.


Christine closed her eyes, but the chimes and bells from the machines were distracting. She took a deep breath only to inhale the stench of smoke. You’re here. Might as well make the most of this weekend.

She opened her eyes and blinked as the bright lights flickered in the dark casino. It was time to focus. Flipping her hair back, Christine tried to remember her to-do list.

She sighed and rolled her eyes in self-disgust. That should have been her first clue that this plan wasn’t going to work. Who made a to-do list for a wild weekend?

Her thoughts only proved that somehow, somewhere, she had lost her impetuous spirit. She hadn’t realized it until she discovered the list of dreams she had written when she had turned eighteen. She really wished she hadn’t found it. Every naive, ridiculous and impractical goal was on that list.

And yet, ten years later, she hadn’t accomplished any of them. Not one. The regret weighed heavily on her. Where had all the time gone? What had she been doing? She marched across the casino floor. Was it possible that she had changed so much in ten years? Was she a completely different person now?

Christine stumbled to a halt in the middle of the casino as she considered that question. Was it too late to follow this list? Should she let it go and move on?

No. Christine raised her chin and rolled back her shoulders. If she were a different person, it wouldn’t have hurt so much to see that list. She would have laughed it off and thrown it away.

Instead, she’d memorized it and decided to take action. It was time to resurrect her wild side and become the bold woman she’d always wanted to be. She was starting it all off with a three-day weekend in Las Vegas so she could have the freedom to try something daring.

She walked by a row of old-fashioned slot machines and paused. Fishing through her backpack, Christine pulled out a crisp dollar bill and fed it through the machine. She pulled the lever, but didn’t feel any excitement as she watched the row of symbols spin and settle.

She lost.

No surprise there. But that was dream number forty-three. Win money. She knew why she had written that down ten years ago. Back then she had big dreams and a poorly paid summer position at the bank.

Now she was the manager of that bank.

Christine’s shoulders slumped. That hadn’t been the plan. The plan had been to get out of Cedar Valley and find her passion. She’d failed on both counts. Worse, she had a pristine dream list with nothing checked off.

Her eighteen-year-old self would be horrified.

Her twenty-eight-year-old self wasn’t that impressed, either.

But she was changing that. All she had to do was check off one thing. She could do that in Vegas, where no one would judge her or rein her in.

Christine sat down next to the slot machine as she considered her list. What about number nineteen? Climb Mount Rainier. Yeah, that’s in Washington state and she was in Nevada. Perhaps number eight? Get a tattoo. No. Christine immediately discarded that idea. It was too permanent. She needed to take a baby step.

Christine reached into her backpack for another dollar. She saw a movement from the corner of her eye and looked up to see a man stride down the aisle of slot machines.

Wow. Christine’s eyes widened. The man was tall and lean. She was mesmerized by the confident and smooth way he moved. Her gaze went from his scuffed boots and his powerful legs encased in low-riding, faded jeans. She noticed how his dark jacket hung from his broad shoulders and the way his white-collared shirt stretched against his muscular chest.

Christine glanced up and found herself staring. The man did little to control his dark wavy hair and her hands itched to sink into the softness. And then she would trail her fingers along his high cheekbones and angular jaw. She wanted to trace the grooves that bracketed his firm mouth and the lines that fanned from his sparkling brown eyes.

The man flashed a lopsided smile and Christine’s breath hitched in her throat. Excitement bubbled inside her, heating her body and pressing against her skin, ready to burst.

Christine slowly looked over her shoulder, wondering if he was smiling at a pretty waitress or an exotic dancer. No one was behind her.

She frowned and turned around. The handsome stranger stood in front of her. His smile was brighter, a slash of white against his golden-brown skin. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes.

“You have so many games to choose from and you try the slot machines?” The man’s husky voice sent a thrill down her spine. “Where’s the challenge in that?”

Why did that sound like a metaphor of her life? Christine cautiously returned his smile. “It doesn’t require any skill.”

“It’s also the simplest way to lose money.” He leaned against the machine. “The odds aren’t in your favor.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” She nervously shifted in her seat and felt the short hem inch up. “I don’t think the casino will offer a sure thing.”

“Depends on what you’re looking for.”

Christine saw the gleam of interest in his eyes. She dragged air into her lungs as her skin felt tight and flushed.

No, no, no. She shouldn’t entertain this idea. He was just chatting with her. He wasn’t flirting. He wasn’t suggesting he was a sure thing. That was just wishful thinking on her part.

Anyway, hot sex was not on her list. There was no mention of a fling or a one-night stand.

But that didn’t stop her from allowing her gaze to drift down his body. There should be something about sex on her dream list, she thought as she bit down on her bottom lip. Something impossibly wild. A fantasy that would rock her world.

In fact, there was no reason why she couldn’t add this sexy stranger to the list.

“I’m Christine.” She held out her hand and belatedly realized her formal manner.

He wrapped his large, calloused hand around hers. He was big. Strong and masculine. She hoped he didn’t feel the fluttering pulse at her wrist.

“Travis.”

Hello, Travis. Otherwise known as number one hundred and one: have a weekend fling.

She froze as the words tumbled in her mind. One hundred and one. This was a mistake. How could she add him to the list when she hadn’t crossed anything off? Was she trying to sabotage her goals the moment her vacation started?

Christine reluctantly withdrew her hand from his grasp. She immediately missed the warm, masculine touch, but she tightly folded her hands on her lap.

She wasn’t going to get distracted from her dream list. Especially not with a man. She couldn’t let that happen again.