going to sleep in that bed over there?” She saw no reason to skate around the subject anymore.
He looked straight into her eyes. “Where else would I sleep?”
“Seriously?” she asked. “You want an engraved invitation? Because I’m fresh out at the moment. Of course, we are in Vegas and we can probably get anyth—”
He kissed her. Not hard, but just enough to shut her up. His lips moved tenderly over hers and memories from last night lit her up like a Roman candle. Warmth spread from her stomach to her chest and fanned up to her face. He could turn her into a ball of fire with a simple kiss.
Julie snaked her hands around his neck and raked her fingers through his hair. It felt so good to taste his tongue against hers, to feel the heat of his mouth. He tasted salty like the party mix snacks he’d swiped from her pantry. He cupped her face in his hands and pulled away.
“I accept the invitation,” he whispered. “I just need a minute in the bathroom and I’ll be right out.”
Relief seeped through her sore muscles and she relaxed against the headboard. She should probably go to the bathroom too and get ready for bed, but she was so tired and she didn’t want to lose any extra time with Troy. The warm glow of his kiss still lingered on her lips and she snuggled deeper into the bed. She could go take her turn in the bathroom after they had wild monkey sex. She grinned as he disappeared behind the door.
Chapter Fourteen
Troy barely spent five minutes in the tiny bathroom. He hated this place almost as much as he hated taking Julie away from everyone and everything she loved. Sure, it was for a good reason, and if he thought he could get away with setting her up at the Venetian, he’d have done it in a heartbeat, but they both knew better. Had she said one thing about the shithole he’d picked for them? Not a word. How much did he appreciate that? When he came out, the sight of her stopped him cold. She’d pulled the comforter over herself and fallen fast asleep sitting up. He pulled down the covers on the other side of the bed, then gently slipped her between the cool sheets before lifting the blankets over her again. She didn’t stir one bit.
She’d had a hell of day; no wonder she’d passed out. The three-plus hours in the car had only been the tip of the iceberg. Guilt already reared up and bit him in the ass because he planned on waking her up early to hit the road before the traffic got too ugly.
He looked from her bed to the empty bed and back again. Sex had been out of the question even if she’d been awake. He wouldn’t risk opening the stitches on her thigh, and judging from her enthusiasm last night, that was a real possibility. The way she’d wrapped those gorgeous legs around his hips and rose to meet him with every hard thrust...
Damn. His hard-on grew as the memories flashed in his mind. The way she held his head steady when he tasted her. The way she moaned his name and begged him to quit teasing her. Sixty-nine.
Troy looked up to the chipped paint on the ceiling and exhaled hard. This was going to be the longest fucking road trip of his entire life.
No, he couldn’t have sex with her now and probably not in the near future. The sooner his dick got used to the idea, the better off he would be. But that didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t wanted to be alone. She needed someone. Needed comforting because her world had been tossed upside down.
Like the patsy he was, he climbed into her bed, rolled onto his side and pulled her close against his chest. She made that sound he loved so much, the little purr in her throat that made his pulse quicken. He breathed in the fresh smell of her shampoo and scent of her skin. He willed his dick to stay down. No such luck. But having her safe in his arms was what finally made him relax enough to sleep.
Voices outside woke him up and he blinked awake in the dark room. Clock said five-twenty. Ten minutes before his watch alarm would’ve gone off. Julie’s hand cupped his over her breast and the hard-on he’d gone to sleep with begged