Two To Wrangle (Hotel Rodeo #2)(26)

“Well, yeah,” she chuckled. “But that’s not all, Ty. This thing between us is all screwed up. We’re business partners, remember? This trip was supposed to be about our partnership in Brandt Morgan, and here we are again.”

“Because you can’t keep your hands off me, but I got no problem with that.” He slid his hands to her ass. “Don’t stop now. We’re just getting to the good part.”

“Is this all we’re going to do for the next week—screw each other senseless?”

The smirk stretched wider. “Sounds like a mighty fine plan to me.”

“I’m serious, Ty. We need to set some ground rules here.”

“You need ground rules? I just need grinding. Quit talkin’ now, sugar. You’re gonna ruin the mood.”

“Please,” she persisted. “We really need to talk about this. We need some parameters for this to work.”

“Fuck it, Monica,” Ty dropped his head onto the leather seatback with a groan. “There’s a time and place for talkin’. And this ain’t it.”

“What did you bring me here for?” she demanded.

“You wanted to know why the hotel is so important to me. I intend to show you, but if we want to spend the rest of our time screwing each other’s brains out, I have no problem with that.” He brought his hands up to her shoulders. “Do you, Ms. Brandt?

She stared back at him with brows furrowed, her mind and emotions raging. Her powerful physical reaction to Ty scared the hell out of her, and her emotions even more, but did she really want to risk pushing him away just to get things back on an even keel? Her brain said yes, but her body and heart both screamed no.

“All right, Ty,” she replied slowly. “Suppose I decide to stay here after this week. What happens then? Do I get an apartment somewhere? Do I take over the owner’s suite?”

“I s’pose that all depends on how much space you need,” he answered carefully.

“Maybe the better question is how much space do you need?”

“Shit, Monica. I’m eight inches inside you right now. I’m not looking for space. Is that what’s really eatin’ you?” he asked. “If that’s all you’re fretting about, we can share the owner’s suite. Hell, we can even share my place.”

“Your place?” she asked warily. “Are you sure about that?” His words filled her with a bittersweet memory of the night he’d offered to show her the sunrise over Red Rock Canyon from his bedroom terrace. It had been their best night together and the last before the ugly breakup that had followed only hours later.

“I’m sure that I’d like nothing better than to wake up every morning buried deep inside you.”

She let loose a snort. “I’m not getting this, Ty. You just told me less than a week ago that you don’t ‘do’ relationships? You made your feelings on the subject perfectly clear. Do you expect me to believe that in less than a week you’ve had a total change of heart?”

“It’s been much longer than a week,” he confessed, adding with a self-deprecating laugh. “But sometimes I’m a real bullheaded sonofabitch. I admit I have a piss-poor track record for anything long-term, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try. If you don’t feel the same way about trying, why did you come out here with me?”

“Because I felt I owed it to Tom,” she said. “He believed in you enough to put you in the CEO chair. I thought maybe I should try to understand why.”

“And that’s all? Because you felt you owed Tom? Sounds mighty flimsy to me.”

He was right, of course. She’d realized too late that returning to Las Vegas with Ty was much like a junkie seeking another fix. He was becoming her drug—the more she got, the more she craved. Having sex in the limo was proof of her addiction.

“Are you saying you really want this, Ty?” She searched his eyes, uncertain she could trust him. She knew he needed her money, but did he really need her?

“Sugar, I told you I was raised in the belief that actions speak louder than words. I thought my actions told you loud and clear what I want, but if that’s not good enough, if you really need to hear those words, listen to me close right now.” He took her face in his hands, locking his gaze to hers. “I want you to stay in Vegas. I want you to stay with me. I want to know once and for all if we have any shot of making this thing work. You got that now? We done talkin’? You satisfied?”

“Yes, Ty,” she whispered. He’d said everything she’d needed to hear and more. She rose up a few inches and leaned in to trace the seam of his mouth with her tongue, and then slowly slid down his shaft. “We’re done talking but I’m far from satisfied.”





Chapter Nine


After they’d driven up and down The Strip a half dozen times while fogging the windows, Ty instructed Frankie to drop them off at the hotel.

“Tonight’s the final round of the bull-riding championships. I know you don’t have any interest in it, but it’s the biggest week of the year for this place,” Ty explained. “The riding starts at six and gets over about nine. I really need to be there. Following that event, I have to at least make an appearance at the after-party. I don’t s’pose you want to come along?” he asked.