“And when you’re not here? Do you spend most of your time in Colorado?”
“It’s the first place we’ve purchased with the intention of sticking around.”
“We?”
“Me and my brothers.”
“How many do you have?”
“Six.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of siblings. Are you the oldest?”
“Yes.”
Based on her guesstimate, Penelope doubted he was much older than she was. Before she could voice her question regarding his age, he held another strawberry up. She took it easily this time, licking at the chocolate that dripped down her lip.
“And you?” he asked. “Are you planning to stay in Vegas?”
She stared out at the lights of the strip. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Regrets?”
“No, actually. It’s been a nice change of pace.”
“What do you like best about it?”
“The night. It took some time to get used to, the whole sleeping during the day, but it works for me.” She exhaled, relaxing against him. “I came here for a change. Wanted a new start. Some excitement.”
“And how’s that working for you?”
Tilting her head back so she could peer up at him, Penelope smiled. “Things are looking up.”
He was still wearing those dark glasses and she wondered how he could even see with them on. Despite the lights from the strip, the patio was shrouded in darkness, their own private alcove.
She hadn’t realized she was still staring up at him until she felt the champagne glass being removed from her fingers. She heard the light clink of the glass on the patio before Obsidian’s warm hand cupped her cheek, his head lowering.
When his lips brushed her mouth, it sparked every nerve ending in her body.
Reaching back, Penelope ran her fingers over his smooth jaw, urging him closer. Their lips melded together and she moaned softly, lost to the sensual swipe of his tongue against hers.
Unable to help herself, she turned in his arms, tongues exploring, breaths becoming more labored. Obsidian’s big hands curled over her hips, pulling her closer. She straddled his thighs, their tongues intimately entwined. Desire unlike anything she’d ever felt consumed her, dragging her under. She was lost to it as she trailed her fingers over the hard muscles in his shoulders, then brushed against the short hair at the back of his head.
His erection pressed against the juncture of her thighs, and Penelope wantonly shifted closer, wanting the friction of his body to soothe the ache within her. She moaned, this time encouraging him to touch, to taste, to explore. This desperate hunger was not something she was familiar with, nor did she know what to do about it. Her mind warred with her body. This was a man she barely knew, but that didn’t seem to matter. She simply wanted him to assuage this painful need, to sate the intense ache.
It took a moment to register the sound of a phone ringing.
When she did, Penelope pulled back, completely appalled at her behavior.
Jerking out of his arms, she backed away, embarrassed that she’d allowed herself to get so out of control. She wasn’t sure she even recognized herself when she was around him.
Obsidian’s attention remained on her as he reached for the cell phone behind him.
“Yeah?”
God, what in the hell was she doing here? What made her think this was a good idea? The man … he was the kind who seduced to get what he wanted. And though she was intrigued by thoughts of what he would feel like covering her body, buried deep inside her, she was not that girl. If she gave in to this now, there was no doubt in her mind Obsidian would be gone by nightfall, never to be heard from again.
With him distracted, Penelope rushed out of the pool, grabbed one of the plush towels sitting on a nearby table. She hurriedly dried herself as best she could. Her undergarments were soaked and would no doubt show through her clothes if she attempted to keep them on. She could imagine the looks she would get downstairs if she traipsed out of here like that.
