The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,312

then she let him thread his fingers with hers. He knew he was sending her a confusing mix of signals. Part of him needed to know that she wanted him physically as much as he wanted her, but his gut told him the time wasn’t quite right yet. Not if he wanted his plan to work.

They walked to the elevator hand in hand, and when the doors opened, he released her and followed her into the car, moving his hand to the side of her hip.

She gave him an inquisitive glance, but the seven other people in the elevator stopped her from asking questions. She was taller tonight, wearing shiny, black, fuck-me heels that spiked his lust even higher.

Libby St. Clair was the sexiest woman he had ever known and he had no idea how he was going to keep his hands to himself all night. Let alone sleep with her in the king-size bed in their room.

God help him.

The door opened and a well-dressed middle-aged man stood in the entrance. His gaze landed on Libby’s face and quickly zoomed down to her cleavage. Noah’s hand tightened on her hip and he locked eyes with the asshole as the guy made a move toward Libby. The look in Noah’s eyes made him hesitate and alter his course.

Libby’s body sank into Noah’s side, and he glanced down to see if she’d noticed the silent exchange between him the fucker who was now sneaking glances at her ass. If she had, she didn’t let on.

The top of her head hit right under his chin and the smell of her shampoo filled his nose—jasmine and a faint hint of apples. It was her scent and he realized now that he’d missed it the last couple of days. The complimentary hotel toiletries she’d been using smelled fine, but this . . . well, this was the essence of Libby St. Clair.

The elevator reached the first floor and Noah kept his arm around her as the doors opened, then ushered her into the hall and toward the gambling area. Several people from the elevator followed them, including the guy.

The fucker was still checking out her ass.

Noah tensed, about to turn around and confront the bastard, but Libby looked up at him, her mouth pursed in disapproval. “I have no idea what’s gotten into you tonight. Just ignore him.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, I know when guys are checking me out. It’s a survival skill,” she teased. “Ignore him.”

“But—”

She pulled him aside and waited until the guy passed them, giving Libby a slight backward glance before rounding a corner. Noah jerked against her hold, but her fingers dug into his sleeve. “Noah, I think it’s sweet how you’ve taken on this protective role, but beating the shit out of someone in my defense isn’t going to help a thing.” She gave him a dazzling smile. “Now come on. You promised to spot me a few games of blackjack.”

Sweet? Protective role? He forced himself to calm down, surprised at how outraged he was on her behalf. How many times had he himself checked out a woman? It had to be equivalent to the number of breaths he’d taken since his birth. But this was his Libby—she was a person with feelings, not some mannequin to be ogled.

Dammit, taking a good look at himself in the mirror sucked donkey ass.

She reached up and kissed his cheek and then rubbed the spot with her thumb. “Don’t let this ruin our night.”

“You said you hate to gamble.”

She stared into his eyes for several seconds. “It depends on what I’m gambling on.”

Before he could respond, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Could she be talking about him? Them? Was she thinking about a quick fling or something more? Maybe she was talking about moving to Seattle. Or even choosing a new deodorant. The possibilities were endless.

He barely registered where they were going. The truth was, he hated Caesar’s Palace, but Scott Abrahams was staying there, and as massive as Vegas was, it made sense to stay in the same place. He hadn’t heard from Tiffany, and that had him more than a little worried. He still hadn’t let her know he only wanted information from her, but he’d deal with that when the time came.

Libby headed for one of the blackjack areas, but Noah pulled her back. “We should eat first. You have to be starving.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m not hungry.”

“We have to eat sometime tonight and