Seven Nights of Sin - Lacey Alexander [8]
Pausing on the sidewalk, she found herself staring across wide, bustling Las Vegas Boulevard at the grandeur of Caesars Palace with its manicured lawns and pristine white Roman-style structures—when the view was suddenly obscured by a moving billboard being pulled up the Strip by a truck, displaying a busty woman in barely-there lingerie and the words WANNA PARTY WITH ME? along with a phone number. Something in Brenna’s chest tightened, and indeed, already she understood that she’d landed in a place of true contradiction—more specifically, a place where manicured lawns and hookers coexisted peacefully.
Continuing on, she passed families complete with baby strollers followed by groups of young women in slinky dresses clearly headed out clubbing. Limousines sleekly traveled the same streets as crowded city buses. Mexican men stood on corners foisting cards bearing pictures of nude call girls and their phone numbers at every person who passed by, regardless of age or gender. When Brenna unknowingly accepted one and on it found Bambi, age 21, she flinched and let it drop, only then realizing the walkway was littered with them. Sin literally covered the ground here.
Approaching the Paris Hotel, Brenna spotted the café that fronted the building, looking much like she imagined the cafés that lined the Champs-Elysées in the real Paris, where she hoped to go someday. The Vegas version of the Eiffel Tower shadowed the streetside eatery, and she couldn’t help being delighted by Damon’s choice of restaurant. She knew it wasn’t really Paris, but she was willing to enjoy the imitation and happy to be reimmersed in the more opulent aspects of Sin City.
That’s when she spotted him, already seated and perusing the menu. He wore two small hoops in both earlobes, and even sitting down, his muscular frame made his simple vintage Ramones T-shirt and ripped, faded jeans look like the height of fashion. The mere sight of him caused her breasts to swell within the confines of her bra, her jeans feeling snugger at the crux of her thighs and making her tingle.
He didn’t see her, of course—because she looked so different from the last time he’d encountered her—but that gave her a chance to pause and study him privately, from a distance, for longer than she ever had before.
When he raised his eyes to a waitress, pointing to a selection from the wine list, his brown gaze sparkled so vibrantly that Brenna’s heartbeat kicked up. The way the young waitress smiled down at him, Brenna knew she’d caught that heart-stopping twinkle, as well. He smiled back at the girl, another thing Brenna had never witnessed, at least not at length, and—oh my—it was so stunning she nearly melted into the sidewalk.
And she had to spend a week with him? Concentrating on work? Trying to hide her lust? Trying to fight it?
She let out a sigh—just as Damon’s gaze fell on her.
He must have felt me looking at him.
Except he clearly didn’t recognize her, still. Which was at once embarrassing…and thrilling.
Because his expression was blatantly sensual, sexual, the look of a man silently making a move on a woman using only his eyes. And very effectively, too.
Oh God, Kelly was right—Damon Andros actually thought she was hot!
Trying her damnedest to be “new Brenna,” she took her best shot at offering him an easy smile, then made her way inside the hotel to reach the gated patio enclosing the café. On her way, she lectured herself—but not with her usual I don’t need a man mantras. Now she had switched over to: You can do this. You can be cool and confident and sexy. You can be new Brenna.
Not that it would lead anywhere, of course. Once he realized who she was, it would be strictly business between them.
And that was okay. Because she might not be doing her affirmations right now, but despite everything, she remained resolute about not needing a man, least of all one she couldn