The fourth book in the Sin City Brotherhood series throws together strangers Gabe and Ellie for a sexy weekend in Vegas. But after Gabe discovers Ellie is his boss’s daughter, their affair only gets hotter!

Gabe Foster is a successful lawyer on the verge of promotion and he’s just returned home from a business trip—he’s ready to let loose. A flirty encounter with a beautiful stranger turns into a racy, lust-fueled night in a penthouse suite. But the next morning, Gabe wakes up alone...with a wedding ring and drunken memories of a Vegas chapel. He hurries into the office, only to be introduced to his newest colleague, Ellie Carrington—his boss’s daughter and Gabe’s new wife.

Former wild child Ellie is desperate to show her father that she’s turned her life around, so the last thing she needs is a scandal at work. She and Gabe agree to quietly annul their marriage, but when they meet to sign the papers, the connection between them proves irresistible again.

What started as a sexy fling becomes an illicit affair that could jeopardize Gabe’s career and Ellie’s relationship with her father. They know how much they’ve got to lose...but a secret this delicious is always worth the risk!

Harlequin DARE publishes sexy romances featuring powerful alpha heroes and bold, fearless heroines exploring their deepest fantasies.

Four new Harlequin DARE titles are available each month, wherever ebooks are sold!

J. MARGOT CRITCH currently lives in St John’s, Newfoundland, with her husband Brian and their two little buddies Simon and Chibs. She spends equal amounts of time writing, listening to Jimmy Buffett’s music and looking out at the ocean—all the while trying to decide if she wants coffee or a margarita.

Forbidden Sins

J. Margot Critch

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08712-4

FORBIDDEN SINS

© 2019 J. Margot Critch

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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For my mom, Marilyn. My biggest fan.

Thank you for loving and supporting me.

Even though I’m well into my thirties, you always

make sure I’m eating, and wearing my heavy coat

when it’s cold out.

I couldn’t do any of this without you.

I love you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

IF THERE WAS ever a time for Gabe Foster to be content, it was right now. He had everything a young man could want—wealth, prestige, a successful career and promising future, any woman he wanted and good friends. He’d just returned home to Las Vegas from a month-long work trip to Hong Kong, where he’d helped facilitate a merger of one of his biggest clients. The trip had earned him and his firm, Burnham & Associates, a significant amount of money, and because of it, he was a shoo-in to become a senior partner, the position he’d been groomed to take since he’d been a young adult.

“Your shot, sir.” A voice at his side broke his reverie.

“Sure, thanks.” He covered for his lack of attention, reaching for his glass.

“No, you’re still the shooter.” The stickman gestured once more to the pair of dice on the craps table in front of him.

“Oh damn, sorry!” Gabe snatched up the dice and surveyed the table. Just like him to zone out in the middle of a heater with nine hundred dollars at stake.

Everything was going well for Gabe. He should have been on top of the world. But there was something missing. But with a table full of gamblers, he didn’t exactly have time to consider what it was. Introspection was for quiet mornings over coffee, not at a craps table during a winning streak.

He rattled the dice in his hand and tossed them down the table, expertly bouncing them off the end. Five and three.

The dealer flipped the button to the eight on the felt-top table, his hands moving nimbly as a flurry of bets descended on the surface. A pair of frat brothers were clapping their hands, praying for protection from “Big Red,” the seven roll that would end this streak. To Gabe’s right a retired dentist and his wife were having the time of their lives in a real Vegas moment.

Gabe was flying solo tonight. He’d met with his friends, the Brotherhood, at Di Terrestres. But they’d all gone home early in the evening—heading home, or to the office.

Gabe hadn’t wanted to stick around Di Terrestres—the erotic club they owned, where people could come together, socialize without having to worry about their extracurricular activities and more basic, biological proclivities being reported by the press or gossip blogs. Of all of the businesses owned by the Brotherhood, Di Terrestres was the crown jewel. The ultra-exclusive club, which boasted clothing-optional areas and playrooms catering to more erotic tastes, had made them all millionaires many times over, and made them a hot commodity among the rich, famous and influential.

It wasn’t his problem that all his friends had headed home to wives and fiancées, or had chosen to work on his first night back in the city. He was a young, single, rich and reasonably good-looking man in one of the hottest party destinations in the world. He could find fun on his own. He looked up at the crowd that had surrounded the table, all winning, urging him to keep playing. Strangers who he held—their chips on the table—in his palm along with the hottest pair of dice he’d ever encountered.

He looked past the group, across the casino floor, as two women left the nearby nightclub. Speaking of the hottest he’d ever encountered. Both were gorgeous, but one held his attention. She was tall, her long dark hair falling past her shoulders to the center of her back. Her fair skin told him she hadn’t spent much time underneath the scorching Las Vegas sun. Definitely a tourist. The women stopped at the nearby casino bar. The brunette turned her head, and somehow, their eyes connected over the frenetic energy of the floor. He smiled, and so did she, before she turned back to her friend and sipped from the glass the bartender had brought her. The noise, the chaos, the bright lights dimmed, and all he could focus on was the elegant, beautiful woman in the short strapless dress, as she said something to her friend and again looked in his direction. She smiled. Gabe knew a signal when he saw one.

Taking a step back from the table, Gabe handed the dice to the dealer. “I think that’s it for me tonight,” he told everyone. “It’s been fun.” He started to turn away and, removing his phone from his pocket, checked the time—the night was still young and so was he. The man who’d been standing next to him—the one who, thanks to Gabe, had won a substantial stack of chips—called to him as he walked away. “Hey, buddy, what about your chips?”

He looked down at his own newly won stack and pointed to the man. “You’re up. Let it ride.”

* * *

Ellie Carrington wiggled her toes in her stiletto booties. Her feet were tired, her toes most likely covered in blisters, but the two straight hours of dancing with her best friend, Rachel, had been worth it. “That was so much fun,” Ellie told her. “I can’t believe I almost spent the night at the office.”

“Aren’t you glad I convinced you to ditch work and party?”

Ellie thought about the unopened emails filling her inbox and tried to contain her grimace. Since the day she’d started work at her father’s law firm two weeks ago, she’d gotten right down to work, aiding some of the more senior associates with their clients. “Despite the things I’ll have to catch up on tomorrow, yes I am. But just this one time, though.” This was just one small step back for her, a slip back into the world of old Ellie.

“Why were you working anyway? I thought you had dinner plans with your father,” Rachel said.

Ellie’s laugh was short and humorless. “He canceled.”

“Again?”

“Yup. That’s the third time.”

Ellie had arrived in Las Vegas two weeks ago. After completing law school, she’d started working at her father’s law firm as a junior associate.

Her reasons for coming to Las Vegas had been threefold. She mentally ticked them off again in her head, as she’d done dozens of times before: 1) to practice law and work for her father, one of the most prominent and well-regarded lawyers in the state; 2) rehab her image—the celebutante party girl she’d been had finally grown up and gotten her life together. She was an adult, she had a career and hopefully the gossip blogs would forget about her forever; and 3) most important, to rebuild her relationship with her father, Charles. Ellie had figured that number three would be the easy part. “I don’t know what he wants. I moved here to work for him, hoping we would have the relationship we never had, but it turns out I’m still the daughter he never wanted.”

Rachel put her hand over Ellie’s. “Don’t think like that. It’s his loss. But that means that your weekend has been freed up, doesn’t it? What do you say tomorrow night we stay in? You can do whatever work you need to catch up on, and then we’ll power up Netflix, throw on our pj’s and indulge in some pizza and prosecco? Been a while since we’ve done the Three Ps.”

Ellie laughed. Ellie had met Rachel years ago, back in their wilder, party-hopping days. Rachel had been a popular teen music sensation in a self-destructive downward spiral, and in her, Ellie had found the perfect outlet for her own teen angst and partying antics. Together, they’d had some wild times, and then both cleaned up their acts. Ellie chose law school, and Rachel had taken to acting. They’d stuck together into adulthood, and despite it all remained the best of friends.

“Sounds like fun,” she said, and sipped from her wineglass. She looked around the casino. She was new to Vegas, but she loved it. Ellie fed off the energy, and she smiled. The chaos fueled her, and for the first time in a long time, she felt at home—she was built for Vegas.

It was a different world to her. In Vegas, she could live her life without paparazzi following her every movement. Nobody tried to get photos of her or Rachel being drunken messes outside of nightclubs, or even when either of them made a trip to the grocery store, just because she had been the rebellious teenage daughter of an aging D-list actress who couldn’t leave the spotlight. In Vegas, Ellie blended into the crowd, and in a weird way, the wild debauchery of the crowd made her feel safe. Shouts from a nearby craps table caught her attention. Someone was on a winning streak. Unlike in LA, regular people could be the center of attention in Las Vegas. Everyone was only a roll, a hand, a pull of a slot machine away from celebrity or notoriety. She looked at the excitement at the table and she saw the man behind the ruckus.

His excited smile turned serious when his eyes met hers. She was too far away to see what color they were, but from her seat, she could tell they were more vibrant than any flashing light in the casino. His white shirt was open at the collar, revealing tanned skin. He was gorgeous. She looked away and turned back to Rachel, who was watching her.

“You might as well go talk to him,” Rachel said.

“Nope. This is a girls’ night. No boys allowed.”

“Who made that rule?”

Ellie looked back to the man and saw that he was still watching her. She smiled again, knowing she had him. She watched him pass the dice to the dealer, and walk away from the table to the disappointed groans of the other patrons.

Ellie stood. “I’ll be right back,” she told Rachel, and headed in the guy’s direction. Rachel said something she didn’t hear over the din of the busy casino, and she turned her head. “What was that? Oof—” the air rushed out of her lungs as she smashed into a hard, male chest. She was unsteady on her high heels, but he reached for her, dropping his phone and catching her before she fell, while his cell phone cracked against the floor instead.

“Oh hey,” he said, his strong fingers gripping her upper arms, supporting her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ellie looked down and saw the cracks that lined his screen. “I’m doing a lot better than your phone, at least.”

He looked down. “Oh, dammit.”

“Sorry about that,” she told him as he released her and picked up the device.

“It’s okay. I really should have been watching where I was going. It was time to get another one anyway.” He shrugged. “I was on my way over to talk to you, so mission accomplished, I guess.” He extended his hand to her in introduction, and when he looked at her, she could see the interest in his eyes. “Gabe,” he said, a grin producing deep dimples below his chiseled cheekbones.

She shook his hand. His fingers were large around her own. “Hi, Gabe. I’m Ellie.”

“Ellie,” he repeated, as if indulging in her name. “That’s pretty. Are you here alone?” he asked, looking around.

“She’s here with me,” Rachel said from somewhere behind Ellie. She couldn’t believe she’d completely forgotten about her friend, who’d been sitting at the bar.

When Gabe’s eyes widened, and he smiled, Ellie could read the question in his expression. “Not like that,” she clarified. “We’re here together. But not here together.”

He reached past Ellie and extended his hand to Rachel. “I’m Gabe.”

“I heard.” She shook his hand. “Rachel.”

“Why so interested if I’m here alone?” Ellie raised a playful eyebrow.

“I was wondering if there was a boyfriend around here who would try to kick my ass for offering to buy you both a drink.”

“What makes you think we won’t try to kick your ass?” Ellie asked him. She already liked the guy, and would definitely have a drink with him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to give him a hard time. He had to earn her time.

“I think you might try,” he concurred. He cleared his throat. “At the expense of my physical well-being, would you ladies like to have a drink with me?”

Ellie looked at Rachel, who was doing something on her phone, ignoring them, and she knew her friend wasn’t interested in being part of the conversation. She turned back to Gabe. “Excuse us,” she told him, and took Rachel’s arm, pulling her a few feet away from Gabe.

“What’s up?” Rachel asked, looking past her in Gabe’s direction.

“Would you mind going home without me?” Ellie asked, looking over her shoulder at Gabe, who was watching them.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll be fine.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

Ellie shook her head. “Probably not. But when have I ever been a fan of good ideas?”

Rachel shrugged. “All right, I’m not your mother—although, your mother would be all over this—so I’m going to go. But you have to promise me you’ll be careful. You don’t know this guy.”

“I’ve got pepper spray in my purse, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Rachel nodded, and walked past Ellie to Gabe. “Hey, Mr. Smooth-Talker. Let me see your driver’s license.” Following behind, Ellie laughed at her friend’s brashness.

“What?” he asked, clearly taken aback.

Rachel held out her hand. “Let me see it.”

Gabe didn’t argue, and Ellie watched as he produced his ID.

Rachel was lightning quick in snapping a picture of it with her phone. She grinned at Gabe. “Now if anything happens to my friend, I’ll know right where to send the police. Ellie, text me later so I know you’re safe. Let me know anytime if you need me to pick you up.”

“Cross my heart, I will.” She watched Rachel leave, and when she was out of earshot, Ellie turned to Gabe. “Sorry about her.”

“It’s fine,” he said with another amazing smile. “She’s just looking out for you. Being a good friend.”

“She is. She’s amazing. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers.”

“That’s nice. It’s good for someone to have your back.”

“She’s like the only person,” Ellie muttered. She hadn’t meant to say that, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

He frowned at her, and she knew she’d inadvertently revealed too much. “How about we get that drink?” He reached for her hand, but she pulled back from him.

“Why are you so sure I’m eager to go anywhere with a stranger?”

“Because you let your friend go home without you.”

“That’s true,” she conceded.

“All right, why don’t I tell you a little about myself? Then I won’t be such a stranger.”

“Okay,” she said, leaning casually against a cement pillar. “Tell me. You from here?”

“Yeah, I grew up here. Proudly battle-born-and-raised,” he told her, referencing the Nevada state nickname. “Except for the time I spent in England for university.”

“How nice.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a lawyer. Business law,” she answered, still not used to saying the words. They didn’t feel natural.

His eyes widened, then narrowed in scrutiny. “Me, too,” he answered. “Strange we’ve never crossed paths before. I would have definitely remembered meeting you.”

“I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks. I just finished school back east.”

“New to the city,” he said with a nod. “I’d pegged you for a tourist. So, you’re brand-new and fresh-faced?”

“I guess so.”

“I guess it makes sense that we haven’t met. I just returned from Hong Kong, myself. I’ve been working over there the past couple of months.”

“Oh nice. So corporate law isn’t all filings and research.”

“It’s all of those things. But sometimes they let you go to exotic locales to file and research. How do you like practicing so far?”

“It’s a lot of work. Which I don’t need to tell you.” She started to think about her father, and how he would more than disapprove of her night spent on the Vegas Strip instead of in her office. She pushed it aside. “You know, can we not talk about work? I really need to take a night off.”

He looked relieved at her suggestion. “That sounds good to me. Can I buy you that drink now?” He held out his hand to her and looked around the busy casino. “I know a great place here. It’s quieter. We’ll be able to talk some more.”

She looked Gabe over. The smart, sensible thing would be to thank him for the offer, catch up with Rachel and go home.

But for one night, Ellie didn’t want to be smart. She wanted to have fun. Between her years in law school and her new job, she’d been working so hard lately, in her sensible suits, that it was time to finally release old Ellie for one more wild night. One more night of fun, that’s it. She’d earned it. And as she watched Gabe, with his cocky grin and mischievous eyes, she knew that he was the way to do so. Curving the corners of her lips upward, she put her hand in his and said, “Sure.”

As her fingers interlocked with Gabe’s and her palm flattened against his, an electric shock shot through her body, and she looked up at his profile. He must have felt her gaze on him, because he looked down at her and winked. It was dumb, reckless even, to go off with a stranger, something that she’d never done before. But something about Gabe made her brain shut off and follow her intuition—it told her that she was right where she wanted to be.

The crowd seemed to part before them as they made their way across the casino floor. Ellie was barely aware of the people around them as Gabe led her through the throngs, expertly navigating the crowd. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining many of them looking in their direction. She stiffened, wondering if any of them knew her from the days when she topped the gossip blogs, or maybe they knew Gabe, or maybe they were just admiring him, paying attention to the sexiest man in the room. He had certainly gotten her attention, Ellie reasoned.

She was surprised when he didn’t lead her to the trendy nightclub, but instead bypassed the lineup and led her to a staircase that took them to a quieter area above the casino floor. The bar had an air of sophistication and exclusivity. Class. It was quieter, less chaotic than the casino below. The place felt like Gabe.

After he shook the hand of the doorman, palming him some amount of money, an attendant led them to a secluded corner at the far end, a semicircle booth ensconced in a nook built into the wall to ensure them privacy. Ellie settled into the rich, leather booth, as Gabe did the same. When the server came to take their order, Gabe plucked the menu from the table.

“What’s your poison?” he asked, passing her the drink menu.

“I’m not picky,” she told him.

After a brief deliberation, Gabe ordered a bottle of champagne for them.

“A bottle?”

“Well, they don’t exactly sell the good stuff by the glass,” he told her with a sly wink.

“Champagne, though?”

He shrugged casually. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like celebrating.”

She sat a little closer to him, bringing her knee in contact with his thigh, pivoting her upper body to face him on the couch. “What are you celebrating?”

“I have a feeling I’m going to become the newest partner at my firm,” he told her.

Ellie’s eyes widened in awe. Gabe was clearly a young man, and making partner at a law firm was quite an accomplishment. “That’s awesome. Where do you work?”

He shook his head. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about work?”

“You’re right,” she said.

“But I guess there’s something else I’m celebrating,” he told her, his voice dropping to a dangerously low and sexy murmur, as he tilted his head toward her.

She inhaled another lungful of his light, but spicy cologne. Ellie had never been a connoisseur of male cologne, but she needed to know what Gabe used, so she could cover her pillow and everything else she owned in the scent. “And what’s that?” she asked, her voice an almost breathless whisper.

He grinned and leaned closer, bringing his lips to her ear. “Meeting you,” he said with a whisper. His breath warmed her skin, dancing over the sensitized nerve endings of her throat.

The sheer cheesiness of the line made her eyes roll. “Oh please.” Ellie laughed and lightly pushed his shoulder. But touching him proved to be a mistake, because instead of removing her hand, she smoothed her palm over his chest, under his jacket, over the fine material of his shirt. His chest was firm, warm, solid muscle. The man worked out. But when he put his hand on top of hers, stopping the movement, trapping her hand in the spot over his heart, she could feel a gentle thrum travel through her, until it settled in a pool of desire between her thighs. So in tune with Gabe was she that she was sure she could hear the beating of his heart—maybe it was her own—and their eyes connected as the rest of the room disappeared.

Ellie’s mouth went dry and a heat radiated from her chest upward. Gone was the moment of levity they’d shared, the air heavy with sensuality. She was so caught up in the man—the stranger—sitting beside her that she failed to notice the server approach. She backed up and, startled, reluctantly pulled away from Gabe, as the waitress presented the bottle and poured them each a glass before placing it in the ice bucket and quietly walking away.

Alone again, Gabe passed her one of the glasses and took the opportunity to sit closer to her, shifting to more fully face her in the center of the booth, placing his arm across the back. Even though he wasn’t touching her, she could feel his proximity, his gravity forcing her closer, drawing her near. She couldn’t fight it if she wanted to—she didn’t want to—so Ellie pivoted her body in his direction, crossing her legs, bringing her calves into contact with his shin. They didn’t speak, but Ellie could feel the waves of sexual tension that radiated between them.

Gabe held his glass aloft. “To us.”

“To new starts,” she added, clinking her glass with his.

They sipped their champagne, watching each other over the rims of their glasses, and she sighed when Gabe made the first move, dropping his hand on her thigh.

“You know, I’m pretty sure you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he told her.

High-class club or dive bar, men, it seemed, were the same all over. She rolled her eyes. “That’s original,” she told him. Ellie wondered how many women fell for a line, especially when it was uttered by a man who looked like Gabe. He would have to do better than that.

“Okay, what if I asked you if your legs were tired?”

“Or if it hurt when I fell from heaven?”

“Well, that’s it, I guess.” He moved his arm away and shrugged. She missed his warmth almost immediately, and all she wanted was for him to put his arm back, to touch her again. “Those are all of my good lines.” He laughed, a deep, rich sound that filled the space around them, and he raised his glass to his mouth and drained it. He leaned toward the table and poured himself another. “More?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” she said, holding her own now-empty glass out. He filled it and she sipped again. The carbonated bubbles tickled her nose.

Gabe’s hand found her thigh again, and somehow, through the lust-and-champagne-heavy fog, a moment of clarity shone through. Ellie backed away slightly. “Wait a minute,” she said, and he removed his hand, leaning away from her, thankfully giving her the space she needed, where she wasn’t under the influence of him and whatever cologne he was wearing. But when she caught her breath, all she longed for was another indulgent breath of him.

But she didn’t do this. Ellie Carrington didn’t fall so hard for men. She didn’t chase them. She didn’t jump into bed with just any good-looking guy. She needed to keep her cool. She wanted Gabe, and she could tell he wanted her. But he was going to have to work for it. She couldn’t let him know that he’d already won her over.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Don’t think that just because you got us this table and forked over way too much money for this bottle of champagne, I’m going to sleep with you,” she warned him. Even though Ellie would probably end the evening riding him like a cowgirl, he didn’t have to know it would be that easy.

A quick grin split his face. Those dimples again. “What makes you think I’m going to ask to sleep with you?”

She could still feel the ghost of his touch on her thigh. “The way you’re looking at me, the expensive champagne. Stuff like that normally comes with a price, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know what you mean, but maybe I’m thirsty.”

“I’ll bet you are.” She quirked an eyebrow and he laughed.

“Maybe I wanted to share a drink with a beautiful woman.” He took a drink from his glass, as if to prove his point. “But so we’re clear, Ellie, there’s no obligation on either of our parts here. We can just sit here, two strangers sharing a bottle of champagne. And if the evening leads to more—and I hope it does—that’s great. If not...” he shrugged and drank again. “Who knows, later tonight you might be begging me to fuck you—” she nearly crumbled at his use of the word, but he shook his head “—and I’ll just put you in a cab to go home.”

Ellie laughed, knowing he was full of it. She could see the way that he looked at her, the way he’d caressed her thigh, and knew that if she was willing, there was no way he’d be putting her in a car. At that moment, Ellie knew that she would end up in bed with this man that evening. There was no other option. She felt powerless to the hold he had over her, his captivating emerald eyes, the upward curve of his lush lips. Ellie didn’t make a habit of sleeping around, or having one-night stands—nor would she judge anyone who did—not since she’d left her partying days behind her, but as she watched Gabe over the rim of her glass, she knew she would make an exception for him. Ellie was intrigued by Gabe, and she liked him already. So, she decided not to fight whatever was happening between them, and drank her champagne instead.

* * *

After an hour, the lights at the bar had dimmed a little, setting a more intimate mood. Gabe poured the last few drops of champagne into his glass, returned the bottle to the ice bucket upside down, and settled back in the booth, feeling as mellow and relaxed as he possibly could with the intense hum of desire buzzing through him. Ellie had kept her position, turned facing him, her long legs curled so her feet were underneath her, knees resting on his thigh, dangerously close to his dick.

He wasn’t sure when he’d last enjoyed the company of a woman like Ellie. She was gorgeous and sexy, but she was also smart, quick, funny, and they shared some sort of connection that had eluded him for a while now. She was easy to talk to, and when the server came back, he didn’t want to leave so they ordered another bottle.

“So, 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.”

CHAPTER TWO

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 asked. “It’s okay.” She dismounted from his lap to fetch her purse. Reaching inside, she pulled out the condom she’d put in her makeup bag and resumed her position, straddling his thighs. “I’ve got you covered. Literally.”

The relief on his face was obvious as she moved in to kiss him again. He plucked the condom packet from her fingers as his lips trailed across her jaw and down her throat.

He went to her again, taking her face in his hands, kissing her sweet lips, tasting her champagne-flavored tongue. “This isn’t very romantic,” he said, between kisses.

“Are you kidding?” she breathed. “Look at the view. It’s incredibly romantic.”

“What view?” he asked. “All I can see is you. You deserve better than a quick fuck in a tourist attraction.”

“Don’t worry about me. Right here with you. This is exactly where I want to be.”

His hands skimmed over her skin. “Next time, I’m going to take my time with you. So I can explore every inch of your body.”

Ellie looked forward to that. Those were nice words. But she wouldn’t count on another round with Gabe. This was a one-night stand and she knew it. So she focused on the present, and having Gabe for the next thirty minutes or so. She covered his mouth again with her own for another scorching kiss, before it was time to get down to business.

“Oh Christ,” Gabe whispered against her. Her fingers made quick work of his belt and the button on his pants. She unzipped him, and reached into his boxer briefs to his cock. He was so hard. So thick. She wanted to fall to the floor between his knees and taste him, but there wasn’t time for that. She wanted him inside of her more than anything.

Ellie plucked the condom back from his fingers, opened it and rolled the latex over his length. At her touch, he closed his eyes, wincing. He was so hard, and she was ready for him. She thought she might burst if she didn’t feel him inside of her. Gabe pushed up the short skirt of her dress, and thankfully she’d skipped panties when she’d dressed for the evening, because there was now no barrier between her and Gabe. She held him by his base, and guided herself down over him.

Ellie exhaled as he filled her, and she shuddered against him. She rose again, withdrawing almost all of his length from her, before lowering and taking all of him again. With his fingers digging into her waist, he guided her as she bounced in his lap.

The lights of the Strip danced in her periphery, but all she could see was Gabe, and she was only somewhat aware of the glass on either side of her. “Can people see us?” she asked, through heavy breaths.

“We’re pretty obscured right where we are,” he told her. Pulling down the top of her dress, taking her bra with it, he exposed her breasts. He bent over, taking advantage, and took one beaded nipple into his mouth, as he pinched the other between two fingers. Ellie yelled out and arched her back, pushing her chest against him. Gabe took the lead and, pushing up with his hips and holding her aloft, he pumped into her, again and again.

Ellie felt her heart rate ratchet higher, and heard the hitch in his breath. She was close, and she could tell from the way that he clutched her, how his fingers dug into her waist, that he was, too. He turned her attention to the view, which slowly descended toward the earth. They didn’t have much time. But they didn’t need much more. Wrapping her arms around Gabe’s shoulder, Ellie felt the beautiful crescendo of her climax, and she screamed out her release. Gabe released her waist and about growled against her shoulder, as his body tensed, and then loosened. He lifted his head and looked at her. They locked eyes, their connection fierce and unbreakable.

Startled by her closeness with this stranger, Ellie’s breath caught in her chest. It was too intimate a moment for her. This was supposed to be a onetime thing with a sexy stranger, but she already wanted him again. “We’re close to the ground,” she whispered, willing her body to move away from him.

“Yeah,” he agreed and released her. She pulled up her dress, covering herself before she stood and came into view of the other riders and people on the ground, while Gabe stood and discarded the condom in the garbage near the empty bar area.

“Well, Gabe,” she said, fixing her hair in her dark reflection in the mirror, trying to not look like she’d been fucked senseless on a Ferris wheel. “That was something else.”

He came up behind her and turned her head in his direction, gaining access to her lips. Gabe kissed her until she ran the risk of running out of oxygen. “Yeah, sorry about how quick that was,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“Well, I know exactly what got into me,” she said, turning in his arms to face him.

“Next time, it won’t be like this, though,” he promised her.

Her heart fluttered at the prospect of another time with Gabe. “Next time?”

“Yeah, I already told you that. You can guarantee there’s going to be another time. Definitely tonight, probably in the next thirty minutes.” He looked around the observation pod, as it neared the ground and the end of their ride. “But it won’t be in here.”

She sighed and leaned into him. “I’ve got some stories, but this might be the wildest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Me, too,” he admitted.

She looked at him, and one corner of her mouth ticked upward. “A guy like you? A city like this? I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true. Compared to everyone I know, I’m the straitlaced, boring one.”

Frowning, Ellie brushed her lips lightly to his. “You sound sad about that.”

Gabe shrugged. “I sometimes wonder how much time I wasted in my twenties with my nose in the books, working and studying.” Ellie understood that; while she’d sown many wild oats before she’d been legally allowed to drink, or be admitted into clubs, she’d spent many of the past few years doing the same.

“Not that there was anything wrong with being diligent and working hard, and I’ve certainly learned how to have fun since then,” Gabe continued. “But when I think of myself as a younger man, I can only imagine myself in a dark corner of a law library.”

Ellie watched him carefully. “I can already tell that working hard has made you successful, but life has to be about balance, right?”

“Sometimes I just wonder what sorts of things I missed out on when I should have been young and stupid.”

Ellie took his lapels in her hands and pulled him closer. “You’re in luck,” she started. “Because young and stupid is one of my specialties. Wonder no more, Gabe. Why don’t we take the rest of this night, and we’ll make some stories?”

“I like the sound of that. Why don’t we get a room?” he suggested. She almost said yes. Spending the rest of the night naked in a hotel room with Gabe would be one hell of a way to spend a night—and they would no doubt be there in a few hours—but she wanted to show him a wild, stupid, reckless night. She couldn’t help it. Old Ellie was on the loose, and she couldn’t be leashed yet. “As tempting as that idea is, no way. We’re going to have a little clothes-on excitement before we do that.” She winked. “Then you can ravish me all you want.”

“Deal. So where to now?”

“More drinks?” she asked. “It’s still kind of early. We can hit a nightclub. How do you feel about dancing the night away? And we can see just how much trouble we can get into,” she suggested, hoping he wouldn’t say no.

His chuckle was low, husky. “That sounds good to me. The night is young, and so are we.”

“Come on.” Taking the lead, Ellie grasped his hand in hers and pulled him toward the door of the pod. When the attendant unlocked it they exited, and Ellie knew that based on their rumpled appearance and flushed cheeks, it was probably obvious to everyone in the vicinity what they’d been up to five hundred and fifty feet above the Las Vegas Strip. “Sorry, ladies,” Ellie whispered to a group of women looking to board next, as she tilted her head in Gabe’s direction. “But look at him. Can you blame me?”

Gabe chuckled as some of the women in line laughed and cast him interested looks, but Ellie pulled him away before he could say anything. They were on a mission. A stupid and reckless one.

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