moment.”
“Okay, then.”
Cooper closed the roller handle and simply carried her suitcase down a hall to the first of three bedrooms. He opened the door, stepped inside, then moved back to watch her again. Really, he’d never known anyone with such an expressive face. Her delight was clearly stamped on her features, and her eyes were sparkling. Maybe it was growing up in the business world. Or maybe it was Vegas itself, but it seemed that everyone constantly hid what they were thinking or feeling. As if letting anyone in meant giving away their edge.
And truth be told, that was how Cooper operated, as well. He’d spent most of his life building the walls that surrounded him. As a businessman, he kept what he was thinking, what he was after, under lock and key. The only one he truly felt he could be honest with was Dave. Everyone else was kept at a safe distance.
A woman as open and honest as Terri Ferguson was a risk to the walls Cooper had spent a lifetime building.
“This is amazing. Really.” She spun around to face him and pleasure was stamped on her features. “I swear I’m going to find another word to use. Once I get used to—” she waved her arms to encompass the lovely room “—all of this. Shouldn’t take more than a year or two.”
You won’t be here that long.
Yet, even as he thought it, he responded to the shine in her eyes, the wide smile on her face and he thought of things they could do together that would get the same reactions from her. Hell, he could practically taste that mouth of hers. She did a quick spin in place and the hem of her dress lifted higher above her knees, giving him one brief glimpse of smooth, strong thighs.
Instantly, he shut those thoughts down. He didn’t need them. Didn’t want them. And, he half resented that not only had she arrived to stick her nose in his business, but she was, without even trying, turning his dick to stone.
“Settle in. We’ll talk later.” His voice sounded gruff even to him. And a part of his brain quietly whispered, Charming, remember?
But screw that. He’d used up his daily quota of charm. He looked into her eyes and felt his world tip and he didn’t like it. Best to leave now. He wanted to get out of there while he could still walk.
“Okay, then,” she said, already turning away from him to wander into the adjoining bath. “I’ll see you later.”
“Right.” Fine. Hell.
She didn’t even watch him leave.
Three
Terri didn’t stay in the beautiful room for long. Sure, if she’d been on vacation, she would have indulged herself in the luxury of it all for hours. But then again, if she was on vacation, she wouldn’t have a room like this. The place she could afford would be a motel somewhere off the Strip probably sandwiched between a liquor store and a pawn shop.
But today, instead, she was staying at the top of a palace.
Her mother had made her promise to take pictures of the hotel so Terri had already documented most of the suite. Now she took some pictures in the grand bathroom.
“Wow. Just...wow,” she murmured as she moved her phone around to catch the whole thing. From the seafoam-colored tiles to the shower that took up one end of the room with multiple nozzles and a bench—she supposed it was there for when you got exhausted just walking back and forth to the shampoo alcove.
The pale green marble counter was stocked with shampoos and lotions and towels so fluffy and huge they almost qualified as blankets. She still could hardly believe this was happening to her.
“I’ve never even seen a tub that big,” she muttered, taking a picture of the deep soaker tub almost as big as a pool and complete with jets. She couldn’t wait to try it out.
“Later,” she promised herself and gave a quick look at the mirror, checking her reflection.
Her heart was beating a little fast; her eyes looked wider than normal with a sheen of excitement in them she hadn’t seen in a long time. Was it for this place, what was happening in her life?
Or was it, she wondered, because of Cooper Hayes himself?
As if in answer, her heartbeat sped up even faster and her breath caught in her throat.
It was more than just the way he looked, which was off-the-charts gorgeous—but there was an aura of power about him that fascinated her. He was steely and strong and the way he bit words off made her long to hear more of that deep voice. Not to mention the fact that when he touched her, she felt a kind of heat she’d never experienced before.
Not a good thing right now, she reminded herself. She needed to get used to this new world. To see if she could make it her own. Getting involved with her new partner wasn’t a smart plan. Then you were tangling up business and need and something was bound to go wrong.
Wow, this was not something she’d expected. Of course, here she was in a plush suite with a lap-pool bathtub and a view of Las Vegas that usually only birds saw. So what about this was expected? Then she remembered the flash of something dangerous in Cooper’s eyes as he looked at her and told herself that this was a man she had no idea how to handle. But she’d love the chance to try handling him.
“Okay, get a grip,” she told the woman in the mirror. “You’re not here for a romance. You’re here because—” She stopped.
Because her old life wasn’t enough. Yes, she’d been happy, but now there was a chance at adventure. At something bigger than she’d ever dreamed. She wanted to make this work, she realized. And once her mind was made up, as her Dad used to say, there was just no stopping Terri Ferguson.
Grabbing her black leather bag, she slung it over her left shoulder and headed for the door. The elevator ride was fast. She was still wearing the dark blue dress she’d arrived in and thought she looked pretty good for taking her first self-guided tour of the casino. When the doors swished open, a wall of noise erupted that shocked Terri even as it drew her in.
Stepping off the elevator, she was instantly pulled into the humming pulse of the crowd. It wasn’t the first time Terri had been to a casino, of course. Wendover, Nevada, was only a two-hour drive from Ogden so she and Jan often made the drive to see a show or spend the weekend at slot machines, trying to win a fortune that would change their lives.
Well, now her life had been changed and so she was looking at this immense adult playground with new eyes, hoping it would give her some kind of insight into her new partner.
The place was beautiful, of course. Like the rest of the hotel, the StarFire theme wended its way through the casino, as well. There were slot machines with flashing images of stars sailing through a night sky, and the illusion ceiling stretched across the entire room. The carpet was a deep, midnight blue with silver threads peppering it so that it looked like a night sky, as well. Mirrors dotted the walls and row after row of beeping, clanging machines with eager tourists perched in front of them stood on the carpet like soldiers. Table games formed a huge circle in the center of the casino, and overhead there was another illusion sky, this one with planets and shooting stars making a dramatic statement.
Terri wandered, wanting to see it all—not just the hotel and casino itself, but the guests—how they were being treated, if they looked happy. Like at her Dad’s restaurant, the best way to tell if a business was in good shape was to judge it from the customer’s point of view. From what she could see, everyone seemed to be having a great time. It was late afternoon, though there were no clocks in the casino to announce that fact.
Music streamed from a lounge bar where the night theme included black-topped tables and pinpoint lights on the walls. Powerful fans ensured there was only a faint hint of cigarette smoke in the air. Cocktail waitresses in impossibly high heels and body-hugging black and silver costumes hurried through the crowd, balancing trays holding full drinks and empties. Somewhere close by, a woman shrieked in excitement and bells and whistles