So I did what any cock-blocked, warm-blooded man would do. I preyed on Asher’s weakness—his ever-growing need to provide for his family, to create a legacy. He wanted to build an adults-only empire, and my personal plans jibed with that. He and I built the Electric Wave from the ground up, and I moved my sorry ass from the desert to the thumping streets of South Beach.
To be near her. To save her, or whatever the hell I thought I could do.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Lynx was making crazy bank putting her goods on sale. So much so, she’d quit school entirely and was a hundred ten percent loyal to Bruno. Actually, more faithful to the greasy glorified pimp than me. That alone should have discouraged me, but like the lovesick fool I was, I didn’t let it. I continued to hold out hope that her dream of getting a degree and her feelings for me would conquer all.
And then she left. Something I’d never expected to happen.
With that memory churning in my gut, I leaned my heavy head on my desk and swallowed back memories like bad tequila on an empty stomach ...
BACK INVegas when I’d first met her as Lincoln, Lynx was still a jack-of-all-trades at least trying to be a student.
I’d first laid eyes on her at a party hosted by my old prep school buddy, Clay. I’d been a bit slow on the uptake that night, realizing a little too late that she wasn’t another guest but had been hired to entertain for the evening.
And by entertain, I meant get down and dirty with whoever wanted her, however they wanted her. It was Vegas, and anything went.
Thinking back, it had been the best and worst night of my life. That evening, high on a balcony overlooking the Vegas Strip, I sealed my current fate.
Leaving Lincoln on the terrace, I forced her to promise she wouldn’t go anywhere while I ran inside to grab some wine and one of the quilts from the beds. I’d run so fast through the enormous hotel suite, I broke out in a sweat. My palms were clammy at just the thought of a girl leaving before I got the chance to get to know her better. The way her amber-flecked eyes sparkled and her creamy coffee-colored skin reflected in the moonlight intrigued me before she’d uttered a word.
But there had been something else about her. Underneath all that radiance, there was pain. Something deep and unrequited. Not like the poor-little-rich-boy shit I had experienced. I could tell this woman—the one who told me her real name was actually Lynx—was broken.
And I was going to fix her.
It wasn’t insta-love or any of that silly bullshit. I wasn’t even sure I knew about love or what that word meant. But this girl sparked some deeper, dormant need deep inside my core.
I’d never understood Asher’s rescue fantasy until that very moment.
After we got all the formalities out of the way, we settled onto the blanket. The Vegas skyline was our background, twinkling and sparkling, but it was nothing compared to when Lynx looked at me.
She leaned against my shoulder and we clinked glasses before we both said “jinx” at the same time.
“We should say Lynx,” I teased her, and she giggled.
“This is kind of like being in a movie up here,” she said. “It’s so magical. Look at all the lights and traffic down there, and here we are sitting above it all. Reminds me of sitting on the Hollywood sign in high school.”
“You did that?”
“Yep. It was a dare, and I was never one to back down from a challenge. So my friend Marie and I climbed right up on that sucker and watched the sunrise.”
“Amazing,” I said, taking all of Lynx in. Her smile, the roundness of her tits, the curve of her hips, and her long, lean legs spread out in front of her. She was gorgeous.
Leaning back a bit so I could concentrate on her face, I said, “Tell me about Lynx.”
The sadness deepened in her eyes. Even in the dark, I could see them turn almost black.
“Not much to tell. Grew up in LA. My mom died a few years back from cervical cancer, and I moved here. Dad’s been gone since I was two. Apparently, he liked his other family better. According to my mom, he went out to get a drink one night and never came back.” She shook her head and changed the subject. “I’m putting myself through school. I’m at a branch campus of UNLV for fashion design. That’s it.”
I reached a semi-shaky hand across her face and pushed her long braids behind her ear. I was nervous as fuck all of a sudden. Yeah, I worked at the Tunnel, slumming it as a bouncer, but I’d never slummed it when it came to the ladies. I’d been raised on prep-school pussy and spent the last few years living with Rochelle, who only lasted that long because her honey was grade-A.
Apparently, my dad agreed where Rochelle was concerned.
“That can’t be it. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and that’s no line,” I told Lynx.
She laughed. It was so soft and throaty, I wanted to grab it with my hand and keep it. I imagined it was a laugh just for me, and not one she would use when she was working a job.
Then she poked me in the shoulder and said, “You’re funny.”
