I’m holding on to him as I do it, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his back. I feel the way his body tightens beneath my touch. I hear the low groan that he tries to stifle, and, yes, I smile.
“Naughty,” he whispers as I lower myself. But I just gaze innocently at the table and the wheel that has started to spin.
I hold my breath as the ball bounces, around and around, and then—yes—it lands on red. I glance sideways and see that Ryan is watching me. I smile triumphantly. “I had to want red,” I tease. “There was no way I could come up with enough cash to pay you.”
He laughs. “Fair enough, kitten. I promise, though, that I’ll make sure that landing on red was very much worth it. For both of us.” He nods at the table as the croupier pays out our winnings. “Care to stay in the casino and gamble a bit longer? I’m feeling lucky.”
“I’m feeling lucky, too,” I say. “And I absolutely do not want to stay.”
He makes a noise I interpret as satisfaction, then pockets our winnings. He takes my arm and leads me out of the casino. I’m completely turned around, but I’m pretty sure we’ve been moving away from the lobby. My instinct is confirmed when I realize that we are in a wide-open, bright shopping area. The ceiling is a mural of the sky, arching across the space above our heads from sunrise on one side to sunset on the other, with day and night between.
In the area in which we are standing, the night sky is spread above us, and thousands of small electric lights wink down at us. It’s cheesy, but it’s also romantic, and when Ryan takes my hand to lead me through the mall, I cannot stifle my little sigh of contentment.
For right now, anyway, all is well in my world.
Like most of the shops on the pricier section of the Strip, the ones that fill this mall are high-end, full of designer goods and hefty price tags. Those extravagant items are balanced with markdowns so that the overall result is a store full of products for both the lucky and not-so-lucky gambler.
We pass by a window display overflowing with diamonds and emeralds, along with price tags that make clear that this is not the store for part-time gamblers and two-bit winners. This is where the high rollers come to shop.
Ryan takes my hand and leads me inside.
“That would look lovely on your wrist,” he says, pointing to a diamond and platinum bracelet that costs more than my condo.
“You’re insane,” I say.
He grins at me. “Not your style?”
“No,” I admit because my taste tends toward funkier.
He eyes me critically, his gaze skimming up and down. “No,” he murmurs, “you’re right. You need something more...” His voice drifts off as he walks the length of the glass counter. A clerk comes by, apparently sniffing a sale, but Ryan waves him away with a flick of his hand. “Like this,” he says, pointing to a circle of lovely pounded silver. It is a choker-style necklace made so that it catches the light at a variety of angles. There is a hinge on the back with a pin that fits through a corresponding cylinder to keep the thing in place. At the center there is a single loop upon which one could hang a charm.
“It’s lovely,” I say.
“It’s practical,” he says.
I raise a brow in question.
“The loop,” he says. “So simple to attach a leash.”
Oh. I swallow. “It’s like a slave collar,” I say, then lick my lips. “Is that why you think it suits me?” I say in a voice full of challenge. “Because right now, I belong to you?”
He looks straight at me. “Yes.” The word is simple and direct and so full of meaning it makes me tremble. I think of the way he bound me back in Malibu. The pleasure of surrendering to his mercy.
I remember, and it makes me wet.
I turn, then leave the store, going back out into the mall, my breath now shallow.
He follows me, and when I look up to meet his eyes, I find I cannot read his expression.
“Did you leave because the idea makes you uncomfortable?”
I consider lying. It would be so easy to just say the words and walk away.
But I don’t want to. I want the truth between us. I want to see where we go. “No,” I say. “I left because I like it.”
His expression doesn’t change. Only the slight increase in the tension of his jaw lets me know that my answer has gotten to him. “All right,” he says, and then continues to walk down the wide, store-lined corridor.
I follow, a little on edge. I’m not sure he understands my confession. Or, if he does, what that means for me.
As far as I can tell, though, the subject is dropped.
“So what are we shopping for?” I ask after five minutes have passed in silence.
“You, of course.” He gestures to the jeans and T-shirt I’ve been wearing for two days now. “You can’t live in those clothes.”
The man has a point.
“At the very least, you’ll need something for dinner tonight,” he says. “And something for tomorrow’s interview. Here,” he says, pausing in front of a store wherein every item probably costs more than my entire credit card limit.
“I can’t afford this,” I whisper as we step through the door.
He shoots me an amused expression. “I can.”
The store is apparently arranged by layer, and the first thing I see when we enter is a bin with lingerie. He reaches in and pulls out a pair of thong-style panties. He looks at them, then looks at me. I try to keep a straight face, but the whole idea of him picking out my panties is amusing me. “Why bother?” I finally say. “I’m just going to take them off.”
“I certainly hope so,” he replies with at least as much humor. “But that’s part of the fun.”
I swallow because he’s definitely called that right.
He lifts a finger to signal a salesgirl, and she comes running. He hands her the panties, along with a few other pairs in assorted colors, then tells her we need a business outfit and an evening gown. She practically genuflects toward the both of us as she leads us further back to the uncluttered displays of designer clothing.
We handle the interview suit first, and as Ryan waits on a low, black leather couch, I go into the dressing room to change. I try on three options and end up going with a classic black suit and a white silk shell. It’s more conservative than my usual style, but when we match it with three-inch black pumps, I can’t deny that I look sexy as hell.
“You’re going to knock ‘em dead.”