Vegas, Baby: The Complete Series by Fiona Davenport

8

Anna

Waking up with Julian’s arms wrapped around me was better than I imagined—and I’d done plenty of imagining during the month I’d tried my best to avoid him. One of his hands was splayed across my stomach, and the other cupped one of my breasts. The center of his palm rested directly over my nipple, and the pebbled tip pressed into his faintly callused skin, basically begging to be caressed even in my sleep.

Wait.

What time was it?

I jerked out of his hold to twist and stare at the clock on the nightstand. When I saw that it was almost two o’clock in the afternoon already, I was in shock. “No, no, no!”

Julian curled up to look at me, his elbow pressed into the mattress, as I frantically crawled off the bed. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“What’s wrong?” I echoed on a gasp, twirling around to glare at him. He looked hotter than usual with his dark hair mussed, his green eyes at half mast, and the sheet hanging low on his hips. I forced my gaze away from his sculpted chest and hissed, “The workday is almost over! My boss has no idea where I am”—I waved my hand around the room—“and it’s not as though I can tell her you carried me out of the office before anyone else got there so you could take my virginity, and then I passed out due to an orgasm-induced stupor!”

Julian glanced at the clock and sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “Well, shit. I missed a rehearsal for a new trick I’m planning to use in the show next month.”

Finding my panties and pants on the floor, I tugged them on in a hurry. After I grabbed my bra, slid it on, and hooked the clasp, I turned back to him. “You missed a practice. Whoop-de-doo. You’re the freaking star of the show, Julian. Nobody is going to yell at you, and they’re not going to replace you. But I’m brand new here, and my job very well could be at risk because of this.”

“I get why you’re freaking out, Anna. But you don’t need to worry because I’m not going to let anything happen to your job.” He rolled off the mattress, snagged his pants off the floor, and pulled out his cell phone. I huffed in frustration when I tried to put my blouse back on and remembered it was ruined. Then I growled when I spotted the smug grin on Julian’s face. Before I could call him out on being an alpha caveman jerk, he turned his phone so the screen was facing me. “As it turns out, I won’t need to throw my weight around because you’re already covered.”

I stomped across the room and grabbed his phone out of his hand. My irritation was the only reason I managed to avoid staring at his dick since he was walking around completely naked. Peering down at the screen, I was surprised to see the text Knox had sent him. “Why would the head of the Lennox’s security let you know he called my boss to tell her I was working on a special assignment today? And what does he mean about wiping the tapes?”

“When I stopped into his office yesterday, he gave me some...relationship advice,” Julian admitted softly as he tugged his phone out of my hold and tossed it onto the mattress.

My eyes widened in surprise. “He what?”

He pulled me close, his hardening dick pressing into the bare skin of my stomach since my blouse was hanging open. “I wasn’t about to let you keep getting away from me, and I figured who better to go to for help than the guy who always knows what’s going on around here.”

Jerking my chin toward where his phone lay on the bed, I said, “I guess his text proves he really does know everything.”

“He’s damn good at his job.” Julian’s eyes gleamed with humor I didn’t understand, but I wasn’t going to get ask him about it right now. Not when I needed to get my butt in gear to make sure my boss truly was okay with me being out of the office unexpectedly today.

Pointing at the front of my blouse, I said, “You need to put your clothes back on and go hunt down a new shirt for me.”

One of his hands slid around to rest just above the swell of my butt and the other tangled in my hair at the back of my head. “Are you sure that’s what you want me to do?”

I gulped as the heat of his hardened length practically burned into my belly. I’d have loved to be able to drag him back into bed with me to experience his exceptional lovemaking skills again, but I was a little sore from earlier and needed to make sure I still had a job before I indulged with him some more. “Right now, yes.”

“I’ll agree on one condition.” He claimed my lips in a passionate kiss, his tongue slipping inside to tangle with mine and his teeth nipping at my bottom lip before he finally lifted his head. “That you come home with me tonight.”

I rose on my toes to softly brush my lips over his. “Sure, I’ll grab some stuff and meet you here after your show.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. That plan doesn’t work for me.”

I tilted my head to the side and shivered at how his hand tugged my hair. My voice was raspy when I asked, “Why not?”

“Two reasons.” He gave me another hot, wet kiss before continuing, “I don’t live here. I booked the suite so I’d have somewhere to take you just in case you didn’t want to come with me willingly this morning.”

“Oh.” My lips formed a perfect O as I felt my cheeks fill with heat. “I guess that’s not a concern for tonight since I’m definitely willing.”

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he groaned, grinding his hips against me. “You can’t say shit like that if you want to leave this room anytime soon.”

“Sorry.” I grinned up at him, not feeling the least bit apologetic since his reaction was sexy as heck.

“Uh-huh. Sure you are.” He shook his head and released me to grab his pants and tug them on.

“What was the second reason?” I asked as I stared at his butt, disappointed when it was covered by his pants.

“You’re going to meet me before my show so I can escort you to my private box.” He flashed me a sly grin. “That way I won’t have to worry about kidnapping you again later.”

“Yeah, I’d prefer to avoid being locked in your disappearing act box again.” I laughed softly and shook my head.

Julian sat on the edge of the mattress and slid his shoes on his feet after putting his shirt on. “I’m sorry about that, sweetheart. Desperate times called for desperate measures.”

Considering all the pleasure I would’ve missed out on if he hadn’t pulled that stunt, I was now willing to forgive him for it. “If you can get a replacement blouse up here that I like in the next fifteen minutes, I promise to never throw that incident up in your face in the future.”

“Consider it done,” he promised before smacking one final, brief kiss against my lips, then heading toward the door.

While he was gone, I used the bathroom and cleaned up a bit. Then I called my boss. “Hey, Anna. How’s the special project going?”

I glanced at the rumpled sheets on the bed and blushed. “Great, but I’m done earlier than anticipated so I thought I’d check in with you to see if you needed me for anything today.”

“You have fantastic timing. I just got a tip that we’ll have an A-list celebrity in the audience during Julian’s show tonight. I’d really appreciate it if you’d pop in and see if his team is okay with us taking some photos for social media.”

Her request was awfully convenient for me since I was already going to be at his show. “Sure! Who’s the celebrity?”

“I don’t know. He registered under a pseudonym, and his team didn’t reach out to us. I wouldn’t have even known about his visit except we got a tip from someone over at McCarran airport. Unfortunately, they weren’t willing to give us his name off the manifest from the private jet. Sorry, you’ll have to figure it out on your own.”

“Will do, boss.”

* * *

Five hours later,I was headed toward Julian’s dressing room with an overnight bag. I was still wearing the gorgeous emerald green blouse he’d bought for me—the one he’d said he picked out because it was a perfect match for my eyes—but I’d paired it with a form-fitting black skirt and a pair of strappy, three-inch heels. I felt super sexy in the silky shirt, knowing Julian had selected it specifically for me.

There was an extra spring in my step as I neared the door with Julian’s name on it, but I paused when I heard the murmur of his deep voice. “Fuck no! It doesn’t matter what kind of publicity I’d get. I’m not interested in fame, and I belong in Vegas at the Lennox.”

“I don’t understand how you can turn down an offer like this, but I guess I have to take no for an answer.”

Oh, crap! I recognized that voice, too.