“You may kiss—”
The rest of the words drowned out as lips claimed mine. I got lost in a new type of music. A primordial melody that was written with the movement of our bodies. Until the sun’s ascent cut short our song, rendering me to the abyss again.
The godawful taste in my mouth was the first thing I noticed as I surfaced from unconsciousness. Still groggy. A little—no. Make that a lot—out of sorts. And feeling like someone had taken a mallet to every muscle in my body.
I ached.
Everywhere. From my head to my toes. Like I’d run a marathon and then decided to go partying afterwards.
An apt description given the snippet of memories I had of last night.
“That is the last time I drink with those two,” I groaned into my pillow.
I might never touch alcohol again.
“A wise choice.”
I stilled, recognizing that voice. The familiar timbre sending little sparks of pleasure down my spine.
No, he couldn’t be here.
Except I had a hazy memory of him on the dance floor. And later playing a game of craps.
I propped myself up on my forearms, blinking blearily at the man by my bedside. “Liam?”
It turned out he hadn’t been a figment of my imagination after all.
“What are you doing here?” I rolled onto my side, propping myself halfway up as I glanced around a room that I didn’t recognize. “Where is here anyway?”
It wasn’t the hotel of a casino. I knew that much.
Black out shades made the room cool and dark, not letting even a speck of daylight slip past. The room was cavernous. At least twice the size of my room at home.
And that wasn’t exactly small.
There was also none of the ambient noise you’d expect while staying in a hotel. Doors opening and closing. The murmur of voices passing by. The hum of an air conditioner.
It was quiet. Blessedly so.
Then there were the sheets I was nestled in. Made from the highest quality fabric money could buy.
“The better question is what you are doing in Vegas,” Liam rumbled, bringing my wandering attention back to him.
If Nathan had a bachelor’s degree in uncovering all of Aileen Travers’ secrets and tricks, then Liam was equipped with the equivalent of a PhD. Even at my best, he was impossible to fool. Let alone when I was weak and tired and not operating at full mental capacity.
The best thing to do in a situation like this was to run.
Since I couldn’t physically escape, I chose the next best option. Sleep.
With that in mind, I stopped fighting the pull of the sun, laying back down and allowing my eyes to slip closed.
“Don’t you dare,” Liam warned.
His warning fell on deaf ears. I was already fading, my mind starting to drift as sleep caught me.
There was a rumble from Liam, his words indistinct, but I could tell from his tone that he wasn’t happy. Under other circumstances that might have worried me, but I was too far gone, floating half in the waking world and half in the dream one.
Strong arms extracted me from my nest of blankets. I got the sensation of being carried. Then I was being set down on a cold, hard floor.
