Out of the Game3 (7 page)

Chapter Nine

Heading northeast, they passed through the Vegas suburbs. Alex hadn’t said much since they left the mall ten minutes ago and Claire was fidgeting, worried. It was stupid and silly. It didn’t really matter if he thought she was a gold digger or not. She wasn’t. End of story.

But it did matter. There was no way she could spend the next few days with him if he thought of her as a greedy financial vampire.

“I need to get something off my chest,” she said.

“Okay.” He sounded wary.

“I just want you to know when I chose my lawyer for the divorce, I purposely did
not
choose the one who wanted to wring Vic dry.”

“Ah...okay.”

“That woman seemed like she was on a religious mission to make all the men pay, no matter what. She was absolutely certain Vic was hiding assets from me and I was absolutely certain he wasn’t. If I’d let her go after him, Vic would have had no choice but to fight back and then it would have probably gotten really ugly. But we divvied everything up in a civilized way.”

“Well, that’s great to hear. In my line of work, sometimes the divorces get really nasty.”

They passed Nellis Air Force Base and Claire felt a lot better. He might think she was weird for having thrown all that information out there, but she was okay with him thinking she was weird. Better a weirdo than a money-hungry bitch, especially when she’d struggled so hard with the temptation. At first, she
had
been bitter and angry. Vic had cheated on her. Didn’t that mean he owed her? For pain and suffering? That lawyer had assured her the answer was yes and that if they played their cards a certain way, Claire could have been set up for life.

But after a lot of deliberation, Claire decided she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, but she sure wasn’t going waste it sitting around doing nothing but spending Vic’s money. College wasn’t at all appealing. She’d thought about becoming an interior designer. It had been fun helping Tim fix up his apartment after he’d moved here from Chicago, but she wasn’t sure she really wanted to take that up as a profession.

She was lost in thought when Alex pointed to a sign.

“So we are officially leaving Las Vegas. Did you see that movie?
Leaving Las Vegas
?”

“No. Never heard of it.”

“It was pretty good. Not as good as
The Hangover
though. That is my all-time favorite Vegas movie. Did you like that one? I about shit my pants laughing.”

“I thought it was funny, but I liked
Ocean’s Eleven
better. But not the sequels. Twelve, thirteen...How many of there were there?”

“Too many, I agree. But I bought them anyway.”

“You bought them?”

“Yeah. I have a big collection of DVDs.”

“So you’re a movie buff.”

“Hey, I come by it honestly. You spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, you watch a lot of movies.”

“Like
When Harry Met Sally.
”

He glanced at her. “Why do you say it like that? It was a good movie.”

He then surprised her by admitting to having watched more chick flicks like
Friends with Benefits
,
The Proposal
and even
Sense and Sensibility
.

“You’re pulling my leg,” she said. “You do not like Jane Austen.”

“I didn’t watch it because of Jane Austen. I watched it because of Alan Rickman. The man was one of the most kick-ass villains in movie history. Hans Gruber. I wanted to see him in a prissy costume drinking tea and shit.”

“Hans Gruber?” Claire shook her head. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

Alex gasped. “You don’t know Hans Gruber!” he said in a laughable, unidentifiable foreign accent. “
Die Hard
. The original.” He looked at her, then back to the road. “Gruber is the terrorist who holds the building hostage.” He looked at her again, a question in his raised eyebrows.

She shook her head. “Sorry.”

He glanced up at the ceiling of the car. “Okay, get my iPad out. It’s in the back. You can watch it right now.”

She undid her seatbelt and turned to get the tablet. “But you’re driving. You won’t be able to see it.”

“I’ve seen it a million times. I could fucking
recite
it for you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine just listening.”

Claire followed his instructions and they rented the movie wirelessly. She propped the tablet on her knees while Alex continued to drive. The car was a newer model that could project the sound from the speakers.

“Oh my God,” Claire said after they’d watched for a little while. “That reporter has to be the slimiest jerk who ever lived. Like slimier than that guy at the mall.”

Alex chuckled. “Just wait.”

“He gets slimier?”

“Uber slimy. Or
Gruber
slimy! Bwah ha ha ha ha!” He slapped the steering wheel in glee.

Alex pulled into a parking lot just when the action was at its most exciting. Claire barely looked up, but she did tilt the screen so he could see. He leaned closer. Already tense from the movie, she became even more on edge. She could feel the heat from his face, and his upper arm was touching her upper arm and it was difficult for her to concentrate on the film, especially when Alex would occasionally mutter a line under his breath.

When it was over, Claire sighed.

“Did you like it?” Alex asked, moving back, much to Claire’s disappointment.

“I did. Very eighties, but still good.”

“And isn’t it crazy that it’s the same guy from that Sensible movie? Same guy.”

“He’s a good actor. Very convincing as a villain.” She looked around, noticing for the first time where they’d parked. There was a pretty sign that identified the Peregrine Resort. “Is this where we’re staying? It looks nice.”

“It’s a possibility. I found it online while I was waiting for you at the mall.”

As she got out of the car and stretched, she saw majestic red mountains, striated with bands of cream, orange and rust. The air smelled so sweet and clean and the absence of traffic noises blessed her with peace. The buildings were cleanly designed with muted colors that didn’t fight with the surroundings, and above, the sky was a blanket of gray.

Inside, the front desk clerk greeted them. The lobby was decorated in a style she dubbed rustic luxury. Lots of rich wood accents, polished stone, warm colors with a dash of teal. There was a glass jar filled with melon-and-strawberry-infused ice water for the guests, and also a platter of cookies. She took a couple for Alex.

“Good afternoon, sir. Checking in?”

“I hope so,” Alex said. “We don’t have a reservation. We need two rooms.”

The desk agent, Franco, pulled his keyboard forward. “For how long, sir?”

He glanced at Claire. “Four days?” She nodded. “Four days.”

Franco checked his computer, but things didn’t look promising. “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t seem to have two rooms available at the moment. We do have a four-bedroom cottage...”

Again, Alex consulted her with a raised eyebrow. Liking the idea of having an entire cottage to themselves, she nodded again.

Franco smiled. “Excellent. Angels Landing Cottage is the best of the four, in my opinion. You won’t be disappointed.”

Because she insisted, he let her give her credit card along with his to the desk agent. When they were done with the paperwork, Alex systematically took a copy of every activity and excursion brochure on the rack in the lobby. He had quite a stack by the time he was done.

The Angels Landing Cottage was a two-story house on a ridge only two minutes’ drive away. Alex used a real metal key to get inside.

“This is going to be great,” Alex said as they entered. “You can have the master. You’ll probably enjoy the big bathroom more than I would.”

“Thanks. Oh, look at this kitchen. Can you cook?” She put her purse down on the counter. Nice appliances, marble counters, even a gas grill. The living room was done in the same rustic luxury style as the resort lobby.

Alex picked up the TV remote, examined it and put it down. “I can make a few things. I’m pretty good at breakfast. What about you?”

“I know my way around a chef’s knife.” She’d learned how to cook a lot of fancy dishes in an effort to please Vic.

“Oh yeah? What can you cook?”

“A lot of stuff you probably wouldn’t like.”

“Like what?”

“I make a mean quiche.”

“Don’t like it.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“No.”

She gave him a look.

“What? I don’t have to try eating tuna fish ice cream to know I won’t like it.”

“You know what? I’m going to make my quiche for you and you are going to try it.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, “but I reserve the right to find a McDonald’s if I don’t like it.”

“You’ll like it. I know you will.”

He put his hands on his hips. “How about a little friendly wager? If I don’t like the quiche, I get two kisses tomorrow instead of one.”

“No way. Are you kidding? All you have to do is pretend you don’t like it and you get a bonus kiss for nothing.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” He looked indignant for a moment, then gave her a sheepish grin. “Okay, maybe I would.”

She was smiling as she opened the sliding glass door and stepped out on to the deck. There was no fence, no trees for privacy but she couldn’t see any houses near enough to require one. As she breathed deeply of the clean, fresh air, she felt a raindrop on her nose, then another on her cheek.

“Hey, it’s starting to rain.”

“I’m glad it waited until after we got here.”

They made a plan to unpack and then go out to dinner and make a grocery-store run. Claire did take the master bedroom. It had a small balcony that afforded a gorgeous view of the mountains and surrounding wilderness. Even through the rain, the terrain was beautiful. The bathroom was large with both tub and roomy shower.

As she put away her things, she reassessed what she’d bought. It had been challenging. In addition to the essentials—jeans, shorts and tops, undies, bras, toiletries, a pair of athletic shoes, ballet flats, some heels, just in case, makeup, a sweater, sunglasses, and pajamas—she’d gotten something she’d never purchased before in her life. A box of condoms.

Only Vegas would have a mall with an adult store.

Claire opened the nightstand drawer and dropped the box inside just as Alex burst into the room. “Claire, we’ve got to do this hike tomorrow.”

Startled, Claire shut the drawer as casually as she could manage while she telepathically screamed,
Pay no attention to this drawer.
There is nothing interesting inside
.

“You scared me,” she said aloud, moving back to the foot of the bed.

“Sorry. I’m just excited. It’s called The Narrows. It’s famous. Remember the pictures we saw the airport? This is that. Those. Whatever.”

He held out a brochure with several pictures. One showed a man wading in a steeply walled canyon but the water was chest high.

And he was
smiling
.

She looked at Alex dubiously. “Can’t we just go on a helicopter tour?”

He poked his head into the master bath. “No, we cannot just go on a helicopter tour. We have to go in and experience it ourselves.”

“I’m not a big hiker.”

“Me either.”

“But you’re an athlete. You’re fit.”

“Come on, Claire. It says kids can do this hike.”

She examined the photos. Chest deep water. But truly gorgeous scenery. She looked up at Alex, his face primed with boyish entreaty and anticipation.

“All right,” she said, and before the words were out of her mouth, he’d swept her up in his arms and spun her in a tight circle. Her heart was racing when he set her down on the floor again. She wished he’d held onto her longer. Even though she could still feel the hard muscle of his torso where it had pressed against hers, the spin was like a roller coaster ride—thrilling, but over too soon.

And then it wasn’t.

He moved closer again, close enough so that they were only a couple of inches apart. The mood shifted from excitement, to more of a what if. It was strange how quickly her sexual switch could be flipped. All of a sudden, she became aware of his maleness, his size, his strength, the warmth coming off his body. His chin was right at eye level. Without thinking much about it and with her arms still linked behind his head, she pressed her forehead into the hollow of his neck, like they were slow-dancing without music. It was at once exciting and comforting. It had been so long since she’d felt this way. She was so afraid she was making a big mistake, even though she felt so wonderfully alive. Trying to breathe normally, she waited to see what he would do.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Chapter Ten

Alex wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to make a move.

The bed was right there.

Sure, it had all her shit on it, but all it would take was one sweep of his arm to clear it off. There was nothing more he wanted on this Earth than to lay her down on the comforter, pull her dress up, her panties down, and fuck her until she came like she’d never come before.

But even though she was finally in his arms, he felt an underlying tension in her body.

Don’t rush her.

Because who knew how long it’d had been since her last fuck? It was probably safe to assume Shit-for-Brains hadn’t been doing the job since he’d been screwing his girlfriend on the side. And had
he
been her only lover? Alex wondered. In this day and age, probably not, but it wasn’t impossible. He was absolutely convinced, however, that she hadn’t cheated.

With a long, deep breath, he rubbed his face against her short silky hair. “Question for you,” he said.

“Okay.”

“It’s kind of personal,” he said.

She stiffened slightly in his arms. “Then I may not answer.”

“Fair enough.”

“How long has it been?”

She leaned back and tipped her face up to look at him. “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You answer first.”

He realized it had been longer than he would’ve thought. “A few months, I guess. When we’re in the playoffs, it’s too crazy.” But the playoffs were over for the Barracudas back in May, and he only had vague memories of sex from around February.

“Is that a long time for you?”

“Long-
ish
. Depends on the circumstances. Lately...” He shrugged. “I just haven’t been in the mood.”

“Story of my life,” she mumbled, pulling away from him.

Damn. “So, I take it it’s been longer than a few months...”

“Try years.”

His mouth dropped open. “Shit.
Years?
Can I ask why?”

“You know what? You are really nosy,” she said, giving him a look and turning to her bags of stuff.

He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sorry for asking, and truthfully, he
was
nosy.

“New subject, please.” She took out a shirt and shook it out.

“All right. How about let’s talk about what happened at the mall.”

“What about it?”

“You said you almost chirped that guy and I’m realizing I forgot to tell you about the cardinal rule of chirping. You always need to assess the threat before you chirp. You can’t just go shooting your mouth off whenever you want. You have to be able to back it up if they take it the wrong way and decide to get physical.”

“But I had
you
.” She sent him a frisky smile that made a little warning chime go off in his head.

“Hey, now. I’m not going to take on every asshole you feel like riling up, I’ll tell you that right now. Been there, done that.”

He lifted the edge of a bag labeled Trudy’s Intimates, and tried to peek inside. He got a glimpse of several bright colors before she snatched the bag away.

“What do you mean, been there done that?”

With a sigh, he lay down on the bed and propped his head up with his hand. “There was a girl once who really liked stirring things up and watching me come to her defense. The first time it happened, I felt good and she was a wildcat in the sack that night, like seriously rabid. I can’t tell you how many—” He stopped. Claire’s eyebrows were raised. “Yeah, anyway. The second time I had to fight someone over her, she was just as horny, but I was suspicious by then.”

“How many times did you have to fight for her?”

“Three. And a half, if you count the shoving match that didn’t actually come to blows.”

“So, she was orchestrating situations where you’d have to fight guys?”

“Yes. She got off on me being her hero. The sex afterward was off the charts, but not worth the hassle.”

“Was she coming on to them while you weren’t looking and then acting all innocent when they tried to make a move on her?”

“Not always. She did different things, but it always came down to someone being pissed and me having not much of a choice.”

“What a bitch.”

“Yep. Someday, she’ll find the right person, though. Someone who gets off on fighting guys as much as she gets off watching. Now, how about you throw me a bone and let me see what’s in that little pink bag?”

“Alex, it’s nothing exciting.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she tossed the bag at him. “What the hell. Go for it.”

Trying not to seem too eager, but feeling like a kid who had just been handed a box of video games he might be able to play soon, Alex opened the bag, stuck his hand inside without looking and pulled out some silky panties.

“Traditional bikini style. Lime green. A little lacy accent. I like ‘em.”

She chuckled. “Glad you approve.”

He repeated the procedure. “And we got another pair in pink...and purple. A veritable rainbow of underwear.”

“I’m glad you’re having so much fun cataloguing my unmentionables.”

“Seven pairs in seven colors. No bras?” he asked with a pointed glance at her luscious tatas.

She gave him a prim frown. “No, I got bras. They’re in another bag.”

Alex started digging around. He found her bathing suit and took a moment to admire it. It was a bikini and the top was small enough to suggest he was going to really like seeing her in it. His dick was getting hard.

“You know, I think there’s a spa downstairs,” he said, tossing the suit in the pile of clothes.

She picked it up and folded it. “I didn’t see it. Aren’t you going to look at the bras?”

“Nah. It’s not that I don’t want to. I just want them to be a surprise.” He got up from the bed. “I’m going to call the outfitters and tell them to reserve hiking gear for us. They close at six. Meet you downstairs for dinner.”

He snagged the brochure back from her and left to thump down the stairs. He was actually going to make two calls. One to the outfitters and one to the front desk. He needed to find out how to turn on that Jacuzzi. Nothing he liked better than a pair of wet titties floating in a spa.