Not only did I get the dress, I got a black wrap that offset the dress beautifully. Los Angeles is basically a desert, and the temperature can swing between extremes from day to night – so imagine what it’s like with Las Vegas, which is all desert. At this time of year, once the heat from the day radiated off and the night really took hold, it was going to get really chilly.That was how I rationalized the wrap, anyway.There wasn’t much of a way to rationalize the shoes, though. (They were absolutely jaw-dropping, though.)Or the seductive bra and panties. (Although I guess you could say Connor was going to really enjoy them later. Or enjoy taking them off, anyway.)At any rate, I left the store a completely new woman – sashaying around in luxury, feeling like the clothes were kissing my skin with every step, and looking like a million bucks.At least it didn’t cost that much. A million bucks, I mean. Because I’m sure it cost plenty.Although I have no idea what the final price tag
The dinner eased by in a sumptuous parade of dishes, things I’d never tasted – or even seen – before. I’m more of an onion rings kind of a girl than an haute cuisine chick, but I was so dazzled by the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that I completely surrendered.If that sounds naughty… it kind of was. In a culinary way, anyhow. There was a strawberry soup to start, both spicy and sweet. Foie gras, which is definitely not my favorite food in the world – but the shavings of truffle scattered across the top quickly became my favorite (at least for the next fifteen minutes). A carpaccio of a delicate fish, followed by scallops served on half a scallop shell. A truffle tart with smoked bacon. A cheese soufflé. Abalone and leeks in a ginger broth. Roasted lobster with lemongrass. Grilled seabass with spinach. A tiny veal chop flavored with pesto. Three or four desserts, including a chocolate mousse with a Fuji apple compote. (I was in heaven with the chocolate.) Not only was the food
Things got less dark after that.Although it took me awhile to recover.Connor knew he’d frightened me a little, and so he spent the rest of the time regaling me with stories about playing pranks on schoolmates at boarding school… and bizarre tales of business deals gone wrong… and funny bits about how much Sebastian hated Connor’s family, and all the snide remarks he would make when he talked to them. Eventually the wine took over and put everything into a nice, soft haze… and the food overwhelmed me with the sheer sensual delight of it all. And I forgot about the creepy family history.For a while, anyway.We finished dinner – all sixteen courses – around 11PM. I swear I almost asked the restaurant staff to cart me out in a wheelbarrow. As we walked out into the lobby, Connor did the worst thing he could have possibly done under the circumstances.“So… want to go back to the hotel and have crazy sex?” he whispered in my ear.“UGH. NO,” I said, not wanting to admit that I felt abou
He bent down to my mouth, his lips warm and forceful.I opened my own lips to let him in.I could feel the heat of his body against mine in the cold night air as he kissed me passionately. His wild enthusiasm from a moment ago became feverish motion as his hands roamed over my body.I draped my arms around his neck and pulled him deeper into me.His hands cupped my ass, ran up the red dress, caressed the bare skin of my back. Then I felt one hand circle around to the front of my body and softly move over my breast, feeling its weight in his palm.And I felt something else stir below his waist.I pressed my body against his hips and thighs, felt the delicious weight and size of it as it grew by the second. I dropped my left hand from around his neck and let one finger trace its way down his shirt – over his firm chest, down the ridges of his abs, and to the front of his pants, where I let my palm gently cup the thickness under the cloth. I stroked him, back and forth, slowly, sensuousl
We drove back in silence – at least at first – with Connor holding my hand.I just reclined in the leather seat, feeling wonderful and flushed and completely happy as I stared out the window. This time, though, I wasn’t looking at the sky; I was watching the dimly lit desert landscape as it rolled by in the starlight.“You know,” I said, “it’s kind of ironic that you took me out to see the future site of the largest solar energy installation in the world… in a Lamborghini.”He laughed. “I thought about getting a Tesla.”“That would have been more apropos.”“Yes, it would have. But there aren’t many charging stations between LA and Vegas, and the ones that exist are pretty damn slow. But… I’ll fix that.”“You really think you can do it?”“What, put in high-speed charging stations between here and Las Vegas?”I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”He gave me a little half-grin. “Change the world.”“Yeah.”“Yes I do, or I wouldn’t attempt it.”I thought carefully about what I was goin
We got back to the hotel long after 2AM. Connor opened the door slowly, scanning for any angry Asian bodyguards – but the penthouse was dark, and Johnny was apparently sound asleep in his room.We tiptoed into the master bedroom and closed the door.“I need to take a shower,” I said. I had a thin layer of dust and fine grit over my skin and hair, and there was no way I was getting into bed like that.I peeled off my dress and bra. The panties, as far as I knew, were still in Connor’s pocket.He watched me as I undressed.I enjoyed feeling his eyes roving over me.“I’ll join you,” he whispered when I was finished.I looked back at him and smiled. “Fine by me.”While Connor undressed, I went into the bathroom. There were a number of small candles on the counters; I decided to light them rather than turn on the bright overhead lights.And… y’know… just in case.There was a light tap at the door.“Come in,” I whispered.The door opened, and he walked in.Totally naked.I caught my breath.
He didn’t let me get away with it for long, though.I was about ten feet away from the bed when he came racing out and almost tackled me from behind, his wet, powerful body smacking hard against my back. I half-shrieked, half-laughed as his arms wrapped around me and pressed me hard against him.“That wasn’t very nice,” he whispered hoarsely in my ear.I tilted my head up and turned it towards him.He kissed me hungrily as his hands founds my breasts and fondled them, hot and wet in his hands.I broke off the kiss this time. “How do you want me to make it up to you?” I asked innocently, batting my eyes.“I can think of a few ways,” he whispered, then turned me around so we faced each other. Then he grabbed my ass and began kissing me fervently again.I ran my hands over the wet skin of his back, and felt his throbbing shaft – slick from my own mouth – slide across my belly.Then he pulled back, and I swear he would have twirled his mustache if he had one.“…I know,” he whispered.Uh
I don’t remember much after that.In fact, I don’t remember much of anything until I woke up the next morning.The room was dim, but light was glowing through the curtained windows.I remembered Connor making love to me… …an amazing orgasm as I stared up at the stars……and an even hotter orgasm doing something really, really naughty.Maybe it was time for round three.I rolled over and reached for Connor.He wasn’t there.His side of the bed was empty, just rumpled sheets and a pulled-back comforter.But there was a note.Lily,Sorry, had to go tip over the first domino.Johnny’s with me, so you’re on your own.Order some room service – and DON’T PAY FOR IT. Put it on the room tab.Give me a call as soon as you read this.ConnorHe left his cell number at the bottom of the sheet of paper.The first domino…?Then I remembered what he had said the night before:All the pieces are already in place. It’s just a matter of tipping over the first domino.I grinned… and then lay back in bed,
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend. His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in r
But as far as wedding days go, it wasn’t the only one.Come on, I’d gotten married in sopping wet clothes, on a deserted island in the Caribbean, with only four people total in attendance.Did you really think I wasn’t going to have a billionaire-style shindig, with all my family and friends?Connor and I decided on it spontaneously, as soon as we got back home. But rather than hold it in New York City, with all its bad memories from the last couple of weeks, we held it two weeks later in Lake Cuomo, Italy. Have you ever seen pictures of Lake Cuomo? It’s like an Italian Renaissance fairytale. George Clooney bought a residence there, with good reason – it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And that’s where we had our wedding.There was only one shadow hanging over the entire day.After we were escorted back to St. Vincent by the policemen, Connor immediately hired a team of divers to go down to inspect the yacht’s wreckage. There was one body in particular he wanted found.B
It turns out Johnny was right: we didn’t see a single shark the entire way.That doesn’t mean it was a piece of cake. What with Johnny and Connor’s wounds, and my needing to rely on their help when I was tired, it took us almost an hour. By the time we got to the island, we were exhausted. But Sebastian was there to greet us. As we approached where the waves started to break, he saw us and started yelling and waving ecstatically from the beach.“A little help!” Johnny shouted at him. Sebastian immediately raced out into the waves and dragged me to shore. “Thank God, thank God,” he kept sobbing as he helped me lie down on the sand. Then he went back out and helped Johnny and Connor limp their way onto the beach.We all collapsed next to each other. Connor and I held hands as we stared up into the blue sky, too weary to speak.“I thought I’d never see you again,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his face.I was touched; it was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him.“No such luck,” Co
The happiest moment of my life was when Connor proposed to me.The second was when he burst through that door.And the third was seeing the look of surprise on Miranda’s face when she realized what I had done to her.While Connor kept her talking, I picked the lock and undid the handcuffs from my right wrist. (Bobby pins to the rescue!) Then I grabbed Miranda’s arm and slapped the cuffs on her.Anytime I’m ever depressed about anything from now on for the rest of my life, I’m just going to remember the look of surprise on that murderous bitch’s face, and everything will be better. Instant anti-depressant.Miranda yanked her arm up with a clank! of the chain, but she was locked to the metal armrest of the chair – which was bolted to the floor.She screamed in fury, and pulled the gun’s trigger.BLAM!But I’d purposefully bumped her aim away from Connor – so all that happened was one of the creepy glass spider cases shattered into tiny shards.The gunshot hurt my ears, but I’d been expe
I couldn’t take the shot. I wasn’t Johnny; my aim was good, but not stellar, and the floor was already at a 20 degree tilt. Miranda had her gun at point blank range to Lily’s head. If she pulled the trigger before I got her – I slowly held my .45 away from my body and let it fall to the floor.All the ugliness I knew was inside Miranda revealed itself on her face. It was the evil leer of a serial killer, the grin of a Great White Shark.“I win,” she gloated.My heart sank.It was over. I had failed.I looked at Lily, both sorrow and love welling up at once. She was seated in some sort of chair bolted to the floor, and was handcuffed to the metal armrest.Lily’s eyes were frantic, but her lips were moving. She was mouthing something…Keep her talking.I couldn’t tell for the life of me what she had in store, but I complied. I looked up at Miranda. “You win. You can do with me whatever you want, but please – let Lily go.”“Don’t waste your breath,” Miranda snarled. “Walk towards me w
The door suddenly burst open, and there stood Connor with a gun in his hand, just like the star of an action movie.My heart soared with love – and fear. Because Miranda was standing behind my chair, just like the villain in an action movie.I was between them – Miranda’s human shield.I felt the barrel of Miranda’s pistol jam against the back of my head.“Drop it,” she commanded, “or I kill her.”Connor looked at me helplessly.“Don’t worry about me – shoot her!” I begged him.But he wouldn’t take the chance. He held the gun slowly away from him and let it fall to the floor. CLUNK.I felt Miranda’s pistol stop pressing against my scalp, then saw it appear next to me as it pointed at Connor.“I win,” she said, and I could hear the sneering triumph in her voice.
I rushed over to Leo’s body, staggering in the tilting hallway as I ran.He was lying face-up on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him on the floor.He saw me coming. Tried weakly to lift his AR-15 – I put two more rounds in him with my .45.BLAM BLAM.He lay still after that.Adrenaline coursed through me like a drug, sharpening my senses while making everything unreal.I felt sick. I had just killed a man. I had just taken a life. He was a traitor, yes, and someone who was planning to hand me over to be killed – but still, I felt queasy.Lily.She was all that mattered. I pulled myself together.“Nice shooting,” Eve said in my ear. “Oh ye of little faith.”“What?” At first I thought she meant something about me doubting my abilities to shoot someone, which didn’t make any sense.“You thought I was a turncoat? AGAIN?”“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”“Hmph. We’ll talk later. Go down the hallway the way you were originally heading – there’s a half-dozen g
BOOM.There was a massive explosion somewhere on the ship. Every glass pane in the spider terrariums rattled, and a couple cracked.“What the hell?” Miranda said, and stumbled to her feet as the yacht began to tilt to one side.After my initial shock from the blast, I watched Miranda’s face. She was reacting with more fear – in fact, with more emotion – than I’d ever seen her display before.She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.After all the indignities the bitch had put me through, I couldn’t resist. “Guess my fiancé’s here,” I said, and gave her a little smile.
I was halfway down the deck when Eve spoke in my ear. “Connor, there’s a problem.”“What?” I whispered.“Juan and Leo are on the other side of the yacht, but I’m not getting any video feeds of them.”There was a dull WHUP in the distance, then another one a few seconds later.Not like gunshots, exactly. But they did sound like a heavy book being dropped on a wood floor.I ducked into an alcove with a door in it, and hunkered down into a squatting position. “Juan? Leo?”“We separated, and Juan ran into a guard,” Leo’s voice said. “Juan’s dead, but I got the other guy before he could sound the alarm.”SHIT. Already things were going to hell, and we’d barely engaged the enemy yet.But… something didn’t make sense…I frowned. “I heard two silenced shots. How come I didn’t hear any regular gunfire?”“They’ve got suppressors, too. The first one was the guy shooting Juan, the second was me shooting the guard.”I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. I just chalked it up to