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"I have a spare bedroom. I can get you set up in there," I offered, and she looked guarded but smiled and nodded.
"Thank you for this," she told me. "Not everyone in this city would do what you just did. Most would just look the other way. But...I appreciate it. I really do."
"I guess I’m just trying to set an example for everyone else, then," I replied, and I led her up the steps to the opulent townhouse I had been renovating for the last few months. It was starting to look just how I had imagined it, and I was proud to call it my home.
Inside, the place was quiet, and after the rush of the city and the road, it was a relief. She peered around, and grinned.
"This place is amazing," she remarked. "Way better than the hotel room."
"Glad I could be of service," I replied, dipping myself down into a playful bow. "Are you hungry—thirsty?"
"I guess...a drink, maybe?" She replied, pulling a face like she was worried she was being an imposition. "I could use something to settle my nerves..."
"Sure thing," I nodded, walking over to the liquor cabinet at the far side of the room. It was stocked with the most expensive wines, spirits, and whiskeys in the country. I didn’t like to bother with anything but the best. Why waste time with so-so, when you could indulge in the finest?
I poured her a generous glass of brandy at her request and handed it to her. Our fingers skimmed against one another’s for the briefest moment, and I was sure I could see a small smile pass over her face as we touched.
"Thank you," she murmured, and as she lifted the glass to her lips, I couldn’t help but notice how her lips brushed over the rim. They were soft, full, and damn appealing.
And maybe this was about more than rescuing a damsel. Maybe there was something in it for me, too. Maybe I wanted to find out exactly where this was going to take us.
Chapter Three Thea
"Excuse me a moment," the man said as he rose to his feet and left the room. I stared after him as he went and felt the flutter in my stomach that told me this was going way, way better than I thought it would.
I didn’t even know how I had ended up here. I shouldn’t have been running off with strangers, I knew that. But there was something about him that just drew me in, something I couldn’t deny, though maybe I should have. The way he had stepped in to help me, scared off those guys as though it was the most normal thing in the world, had me intrigued. He clearly held some sort of power over them, and I needed to know where that came from.
And, shit, my instincts hadn’t been entirely wrong because this guy must have been loaded. I mean, loaded loaded, judging by how incredible his house and car was. I knew his name—Scott—but I didn’t know much more about him, let alone what he had been doing at my brother’s hotel.
I gave him my first name but hadn’t mentioned to him that I knew the owner of the hotel or that I was a member of the family that had run it for so long. I wasn’t sure why, but there was a part of me that wanted to hold that back. I wasn’t ready to share every detail with this stranger yet. Maybe because I thought it might put him off. And I was enjoying his attention way too much to let something like that happen.
Yes, Scott was hot. Hot as hell, actually. Not just the way he looked, though that was a part of it—no, it was the way he walked, talked, moved, and acted like he had this whole city in the palm of his hand. Hell, judging from the way those guys had reacted to him, maybe he did...
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as he returned to the liquor cabinet.
"Would you like another?" He asked, and I nodded. I probably should have stopped boozing, but I was going to need liquid courage if I would get up the nerve to make a move on someone like him. And I didn’t intend to let this opportunity slide through my fingers. It would be good to blow off some steam, and forget about everything that had been going on in my life. Because this? This was a total fantasy. Some gorgeous, rich guy, sweeping me off my feet, stepping in to help me when I needed it most. I wasn’t even sure if any of it could be real, but I didn’t want to look this gift horse in the mouth, not when I was having so much fun.
He poured me another drink and handed me the glass. Our fingertips grazed just slightly, and I felt a shiver of electricity run up my arm. Did he know the effect he had on me? I got the feeling he wasn’t exactly oblivious to how women were around him. No guy in the world carried himself with that much confidence unless they were certain they had game, and he had more of it than he knew what to do with.
"Thanks," I murmured, watching as he slipped into the seat next to me. God, he was hot—the way he stretched his arm out over the couch, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows to show off his muscles. He was getting me all hot and bothered in ways I knew I shouldn’t. I was a grown woman, for goodness sake, I wasn’t the kind who would just trip over herself with sheer thirst when she saw someone hot.
But he was more than just sexy. And he seemed interested in me and only me right now, which sent shivers down my spine. I hadn’t been the center of anyone’s attention like this in a long time, as though he was totally fascinated by me.
"So, you’re just back in Vegas, huh?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Yeah, just graduated."
"In what?"
"Charitable business studies," I replied proudly. I could still hardly believe I got to say that out loud. I had worked my ass off for that degree, and knowing I had finally achieved my goal felt like a miracle.
"Worthy causes your thing, then?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think so," I replied. "Plenty of people in Las Vegas who need help, that’s for sure."
"Oh, tell me about it," he chuckled. "Though I doubt most of them would actually accept the help they actually need."
I laughed, and took a sip of my drink. Was it the alcohol that had me feeling tipsy, or was it something about the way he was looking at me? I could normally hold my drink well, but with his eyes on me, I felt myself getting a little dizzy.
