Hot Number by V.K. Sykes Page B

a coffee. Try to ease
down his jacked-up hormones, since they were clearly to blame for
catapulting him into this screwed-up state. Since he’d come back to
Vegas four months ago, he’d been too busy taking care of his mother
and working crazy casino hours to have much of a sex life. Sure, he
could have settled for a few one-night stands with horny tourists
on the prowl, or taken up some of the spoken and unspoken
invitations thrown his way by hostesses and dealers, but nothing
had felt remotely right.
    Until Sadie Bligh. Somehow, she felt kind of
right. And that realization had caught him completely off-guard. He
could be wrong, but he’d finally pegged her as a shy geek trying to
masquerade as a wild child. Though that wasn’t exactly an
endangered species in Vegas, she seemed different—her cheeky verve
and her oddly encyclopedic vocabulary, all layered over a shy
clumsiness. There was something really endearing about that. At
least to him.
    Okay, and then there was her body. Man, was
she hot. Last night in the interview room had been hard enough on
his system. Today, watching her at the pool had tested every bit of
his self-control. In fact, when she’d draped herself across that
poolside bed—funny how she’d lost her shyness once he’d showed
up—he hadn’t been able to repress a particularly stimulating
fantasy, one that involved her luscious tits and a bottle of suntan
lotion. And the way her gaze had latched onto his zipper, she’d
damn well noticed his cock stirring in response.
    Like it was stirring now, just thinking about
her.
    Shit. He was so screwed. Nick knew
there was no chance he’d be able to leave Sadie Bligh to the pack
of horny jackals that would be trailing her around Vegas all week.
Buzz Carson be damned.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    “Of course Nick’s interested in you!” Cassie
shook her blond, perfectly coiffed mane in obvious exasperation.
“You really think it was a coincidence that he showed up at the
pool this afternoon?”
    Sadie started scanning the crowd as they
passed into the flashing chaos of the casino, pretending she didn’t
give a hoot what Nick Saxon felt. “Maybe. But if the sheriff really
is interested, he’s got a perplexing manner of demonstrating it.
I’m convinced he just disapproves of me, plain and simple. Like I’m
some pain in the butt, trailing trouble in my wake.”
    “Well, there’s that…”
    Cassie had to dodge Sadie’s quick punch.
    “Don’t laugh,” Sadie said, grimacing. “I feel
like that cartoon character that goes around with a black cloud
over his head. That’s probably what Saxon sees when he’s anywhere
near me. Monstrous, doom-laden thunder clouds.” She shouldn’t let
it bother her, but just once she wished she wouldn’t make such a
fool of herself around a cute guy.
    Grimly determined to have a good time, Sadie
forged her way through the craps tables toward the blackjack pit.
No matter whether the sheriff disapproved or not, she would have a great time if she had to kill herself trying.
    Cassie hurried to keep up with her. “You are
so wrong, Sade. Trust me. You are hands down the smartest person
I’ve ever known, but you get a D-minus when it comes to figuring
out guys. You totally turn Saxon on. Anybody with eyes can see
that.”
    Craning her neck, Sadie checked out the
blackjack tables for one that had two empty chairs side-by-side.
“Let’s try that one,” she said, pointing to a ten-dollar table.
“Look, I hope you’re right. I really do. But I’m not going to hold
my breath waiting for him to make a move. We’re here to have a good
time, and Nick Saxon sure isn’t the only hot guy in this town.”
    Cassie grinned. “Atta girl. You’re right. We
always have to be open to the gifts presented by the universe.”
    Sadie nodded in stout agreement as they took
the two vacant middle seats at an otherwise full table. She asked
for two hundred in chips. Cassie, looking dubious, asked for
fifty.
    “I know I’m going to