“You don’t have a key?” he asked.
“Where in this dress do you think I’d be able to hide a key?” My chest was practically heaving with all the heavy breathing I was doing. I was completely flustered and frustrated, my hands refusing to sit still. I could feel his six-pack through his shirt. His muscles actually rippled when I touched them. The bulge in his pants was huge. I needed to see this man naked soon or I was going to have a stroke brought on by pent up sexual desire. Like spontaneous combustion but without the gas or the fire parts.
He ran his fingers past my ribs to my back. “Hmmm, no key here.” His fingers went down to my rear end. “Not here either.” Putting his hand just under my right breast, he smiled. “And not here either.” He grabbed my ass once and let go. “You’re right. You don’t have a key.” He grinned, making me grab his face in my hands and kiss him all over again.
The door rattled and we jumped apart before I could start my next move, namely feeling up his bulge. I forgot Kelly’s shoes were there on the floor and somehow got tangled up in them when I tried to turn around. I fell to the side as the door opened, landing in Mack’s open arms.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t The Lady Gambler and her cowboy hero,” said Candice, sounding a little put out and a lot mischievous.
I pushed off Mack’s chest to get back on my feet and bent down to grab Kelly’s shoes. When I stood up, I swayed on my feet, the room doing a full spin in front of me. Mack put his hand on the small of my back and stepped forward to put his body closer to mine. It was comforting to know that if I fell, he’d be there to catch me.
“Whoopsy. Sorry, lost my balance there.” I grinned at Candice, trying to play off the fact that I’d shown up in our room with a random guy. “What took you so long?” I asked, walking past her and dragging Mack in by the hand. “I waited forever. Look what I won.” I held up the chips he’d gathered off the floor for a second before dumping them on the table. Several of them rolled off an fell to the floor.
“Nice.” She only had eyes for Mack. “And you won some chips too?”
I moved so I was standing next to him. “Ha, ha. I didn’t win this cowboy, I beat him at blackjack.” I snorted out a laugh at the frown on his face. I gestured to the cowboy and then at my friend. “Candice, this is Mack. Mack, this is Candice.”
She shook his hand while raising an eyebrow. “Mack? Are you for real, that’s your name?”
“Mack’s a nickname. Short for MacKenzie, my last name.” He grinned, and I saw the effect it had on Candice. Even her hard ass wasn’t immune to his charms. I melted into him a little and he put his arm around me.
“Where’s home?” asked Candice, sliding on her shoes. I noticed with a trace of bitterness that they were lower than the ones I’d been subjected to.
“Baker City, Oregon.”
“You’re a long way from home, cowboy,” she said, standing up straight and pushing her boobs up in her bra.
“That I am, ma’am.”
Candice’s face fell and she ceased her wiggling around, her shoulders drooping down. “He just called me ma’am. I’m going to go drown my sorrows.” She grabbed her little purse off the table and walked to the door, all hunched over.
“Where are you going?” I asked, mystified.
“I’m going out to find me a man. A younger one with a big dick. Keep an eye on Kelly if you feel like it. Otherwise, just lock her in. She’ll be fine. She’s sleeping it off in the bedroom on the left.” She stepped out the door.
“But … wait, Candice! You don’t have to leave!”
She stuck her head in the door, her smile back. “Sorry, babe, but three’s a crowd.” She winked. “I’ll catch you later, kids.” The door shut behind her with a click.
“I think your friend just green-lighted me,” he said.
I grinned big. “I think she did too.”
He swept me off on my feet again, only this time the spinning wasn’t nearly as bad since I was staring into his eyes the entire time. “Which way to the empty room?” he asked.
I pointed over my shoulder. “That way.”
Chapter Twelve
I SAT ON THE EDGE of the bed so I could watch the show.
The first thing he did was take off his shirt, button by button. I thought for sure that the cowboy hat was going to go flying first, or maybe that he’d set it down on the table before starting the strip tease. But no … it was the shirt that he started with, and damn, was I glad for that. Never in my life have I seen a cowboy with his shirt off and his hat on, but I decided right then and there that I wanted to experience that on a regular basis for the rest of my life. It made me wish I had a video camera going so I could re-live the scenario over and over again. This event being just a one-night stand really started to suck in that moment.