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“You know I’m not a morning person. Not until I have my coffee.” He dropped his forehead onto my shoulder.

“Okay, let me make that for you, then. Get cleaned up, and I’ll have breakfast and your coffee ready when you’re done.”

He smiled, grunting his approval, brought his head up, and leaned in for a kiss.

“Mmmm…minty fresh,” he said, pulling back with hooded eyelids.

I got up from the bed, and he lightly smacked my ass as I turned toward the dresser to throw on some underwear.

“Buns of steel, babe… buns of steel,” he said, tossing the covers back, more awake.

“You’re in a playfully good mood this morning,” I said, stepping into some black boxer briefs and grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

“Well, we both got what we were hoping for last night. Plus, we’re on our way to Lake Tahoe today. I’m excited. We haven’t done a road trip in a long time.”

“I think you’re more excited to throw money at the gaming tables,” I snorted.

“There is that, and Lady Luck will be with me tonight,” he replied, rubbing his hands together in delight.

“Let’s remember this is a reconnaissance mission, too. I’d like to see if we can gather more information about the missing beauty contestant while we’re there. And get a hold of that sheriff I talked to on the phone.”

“Roger that, Inspector,” he answered with a mocking salute.

I rolled my eyes. “Get cleaned up, Private, and I’ll see you in the mess hall,” I chided, shaking my head as I made my way to the kitchen.

I was almost finished getting breakfast ready when Craig walked in. Before he even reached me, I smelled the citrus and bergamot shampoo he used in my shower. For some reason, it always smelled better on him than on me—or maybe my sense of smell didn’t pick it up on me as readily.

“You smell nice,” I complimented as I plated our egg white omelets and chicken sausages.

“Ha…I don’t know how my scent can overpower what you just finished cooking. I was going to say how great it smelled in here.”

“Have a seat. Your coffee is the one with creamer,” I said, pointing the spatula at his mug.

Taking our plates to the counter, I set them down, and an arm wrapped around my waist. Craig laid his head against my side. “Thank you for cooking. It looks amazing.”

I kissed the top of his head before sitting down, breathing in his scent again. “I’m more than just a pretty face,” I teased.

“That’s for sure. Your dick is pretty, too,” he snickered before taking a bite of omelet.

I poked his side, making him flinch and nearly spit out his eggs. After he recovered, I said matter-of-factly, “By the way, I got us a one-bedroom suite for the night at Bally’s. It’s all they had, but I thought we could treat ourselves.”

“I was going to ask if you got us a room, but I forgot. How much is this setting us back?” he asked, wiping his mouth.

“Let’s just say you’d better be on good terms with Lady Luck tonight,” I said with a wink. He gave me a look of disbelief, but I’d already planned to treat us. “We need to get back early tomorrow. I’d like to be home by two o’clock so Onyx can get ready for her performance at the fundraiser.”

“Oh, we have a table reserved for the show. The guys got back to me,” he said, setting down his fork to count on his fingers. “Marcus and Tony, Andrew and Bryce, and Jason and Javier are all coming. I told them they need to fork over some donation dollars since it is a fundraiser.”

“Wow, the entire gang. That’s great.”

“Do you have a couple of songs figured out for your performance?”

“I do. I told the coordinator I’d like to do both my numbers back-to-back. That’ll free me up to spend time with you guys. I’d hate to get settled, only to have to perform again later in the evening. I’ll call Beaux Nightclub’s manager today to confirm our table reservation. They’ve screwed up reservations before,” I said, stabbing a chicken sausage and dramatically biting off one end.

Craig laughed. “You do have flair with your sausage, babe.”

“Hmmm…sounds like the title of a sex tape,” I replied, nudging his shoulder as we laughed.

After we’d finished breakfast and cleaned the kitchen, it was time to pack overnight bags. The three-hour trip to Lake Tahoe would get us there about an hour before check-in at the hotel.