I side step in front of the arty floor length mirror just outside of the bathroom and into the master bedroom. I adjust the front of the dress to prevent my nipple from falling out before analyzing the rest of my outfit. The hemline at the base of the dress stops mid-thigh and curves a little higher in the middle, exposing a large portion of my legs. I turn around and my back is completely exposed, the whole dress held together by a few thin straps attached to a metal ring in the middle of my spine. This dress is the epitome of sexy club dresses…and it so isn’t my style.

The bedroom door whips open and Seth strolls in. I watch him, waiting for him to see me, but apparently he thinks he’s alone up here. I lean against the wall and watch him and his delicious naked torso walk around the room, apparently in search of a shirt. He threw his clothes all over the bed when we arrived and I put them away in the wardrobe. Might as well settle in, this is our home for three weeks.

He pauses and scratches the back of his head. I smile and bite back a giggle. Watching someone as beautiful as him be so genuinely perplexed is amusing and heart-warming.

“They’re in the wardrobe,” I tell him with a chuckle.

He snaps around to face me and his expression shifts from surprised to…something else. I know the look. I’ve been on the receiving end of it for months now—desire. Pure desire. The look in his eyes makes my heart rate increase, but I continue to lean coolly against the wall, like he isn’t affecting me. He inhales and his muscles contract, relaxing on exhale.

“What happened to the other dress? The purple one?”

I want to tell him the difference between purple and plum, but you know what? He’s a male, he’ll never understand. Lavender, plum, mauve—to them it’s all ‘purple.’

“I changed my mind.” I don’t tell him it’s Selena’s. He already has a few…issues with her decisions. “You don’t like this one.”

He nods slowly. “And I’d be an idiot to let you leave this room in it.”

I step forward, feeling rather daring. I don’t know what it is, but lately I like challenging Seth and it turns out, with enough force, he melts like putty in my hands. It’s a nice change. He’s always the one to order me around and mold me to what he wants, but now it’s me. I wonder if he realizes that he’s bending to my needs. I wonder if he realizes that he’s a hell of a lot more in love with me than he knows. What does Jackson call him? Pussy whipped. That’s it. Seth is pussy whipped, by me.

I step toward him, smiling. It’s not one of my usual smiles. I can feel it. It’s mischievous—daring. “Are you going to stop me?”

His eyes thin out and the challenge comes through loud and clear. Testing him, I proceed to walk past him and I barely make one step past his body before his hand shoots out, planting itself on my stomach. The heat from his hand causes my stomach muscles to clench. I look at him and his dark eyes are on mine. They lure me in from underneath his brow and I turn my body toward him, completely hypnotized by his intensity.

“I’m not going to stop you,” he tells me. “But I am going to make sure you remember exactly who you’re with and exactly who you’re coming home with.”

As if I’d forget. He comes at me, gripping my hips and forcing me backwards. The back of my legs hit a table and pushes me against it. I drop my hands to the surface to stabilize myself as Seth smashes his mouth to mine. Tingling warmth and pleasure sweeps through me as one of his hands rest on the table behind me, the other heavy hand pulls my dress up to my hips and slips straight into my underwear without so much as a please. He doesn’t check to see if I’m ready or not because he knows I am—I always am for him and he slips a finger inside me. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as a shiver tears down my spine. A frisson of hot, sinful pleasure hums my skin and I shift my hips forward, wanting to be closer to him as my patience gets the best of me. I’m so incredibly wet and his finger glides with ease in and out of me.

I lift my hands, placing them on his hard biceps and I feel him trembling with lust. He hunches over me with a rough exhale, adding a second finger and forcing me to bend with him, arching my back.

His fingers slide in and out quickly now, with purpose and intention. He lowers his mouth to my ear and I shudder, rolling my hips on his hand. “All night you are going to feel my fingers inside you.”

He curls his fingers, grazing my sweet spot, and I clench his arms, gasping unashamedly into his shoulder. He pumps his fingers harder and faster, pressing into me from the inside. My mind blanks and my body jerks as heat explodes inside me, leaving me breathless and desperately limp.

Seth pulls his fingers out and brings them to my face before dragging one over my bottom lip. “All night you are going to remember how hard I made you come and you’re going to be eager to get home so I can do it to you all over again.” The way he draws the last three words moistens me immediately. “When we come home, I’m going to pound into you so hard, you’ll feel like you’re going to break.”

“You want to break me?”

His scorching eyes flare at me. “Like fucking porcelain. I’m going to lie you down on the bed, spread your legs, and fuck you so thoroughly the only word you’ll remember tomorrow is my name.”

I catch my breath. “That epic, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

He kisses my nose and saunters toward the cupboard. I watch, trying to regain my composure as he pulls a shirt from the bedside table. When he’s happy, he turns back around and strolls toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

I slip off the table and trail lazily behind Seth as he pulls a nice light blue tee over his head. That’s all it takes for him to get dressed? I spent forty minutes doing my hair and makeup. He rakes his fingers through his hair, throws a shirt on, and calls himself finished—and somehow, he still looks perfect—as if he’d spent an hour grooming himself. If only I could be that simple with anything I do.

A loud wolf whistle pierces my ear and I cringe, snapping my gaze to Selena.

“I knew that dress would look amazing on you.”

I take in her outfit and suddenly feel a little underdressed. I have never, ever, ever in my life seen Selena dressed and ready for a club in anything more than tissue sized fabric. Yet, here I am, the one in a skimpy dress and her dressed to the classy nines in a pair of tight, black slacks, high black heels and a beautiful, satin pearl shirt with a plunging neckline.

“Selena…” I ask cautiously, walking down the rest of the stairs and towards the kitchen. “Where are we?”

She arches an eyebrow and eyes me curiously. “Las Vegas.”

In the background somewhere I hear Darryl chuckle.

“And how many dresses do you own specifically for Las Vegas?”

Selena flicks her long blonde curls over her shoulder—and she didn’t straighten her hair? What the hell? Has hell actually frozen over? I watch her, still in shock as she steps into the kitchen. On the counter there are three shot glasses already made up, filled with unknown and undoubtedly potent spirits. She grabs one and hands it to me. I look at it for a second before taking it from her.

“You need to relax. I have three weeks to wear slutty dresses.” She winks at me. “You’ll only go out twice maximum, so you can wear the nice dress tonight and the stupid plum one next time.”

I feel Seth move from behind me. He leans on the counter next to me. “And here I was thinking Olivia was an adult capable of making her own decisions.”

Jesus Christ. I down my shot in one swallow and slap it down on the counter, gritting my teeth against the burning booze.

“It’s fine. I’ll wear the dress,” I smile at Selena. “but only because I know it’ll kill you seeing me in one while you’re stuck in pants.” I poke at the empty shot glass, inching it closer to her. “Your turn.”

She flushes a shade of pink I’ve never seen grace her cheeks before as she fills the glass. “I’ve had my fill for the night,” she informs me, sliding the glass back.

Seth and I look at each other and he seems just as baffled as I am. Selena doesn’t ‘have her fill.’ When it comes to alcohol, her stomach is a bottomless pit.

From behind me, Jackson swoops in and wraps his full lips around the glass, tipping it down his throat. I glance at Seth again and he shrugs with a small smile on his lips.

I have the feeling Jackson has a lot to do with Selena’s behavior tonight. I’m happy that he’s helping her to quit smoking and drinking, but I hope he isn’t putting too much pressure on her. I’m her best friend and I couldn’t even get her to listen to me about the risks of ingesting too much alcohol. She’s always been assertive and her own person in her own right and no one has been able to tell her differently…until now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind that Selena isn’t drinking. I just hope it’s her own decision and not Jackson’s.

Jackson slides the remaining shot glass across the counter to Seth. Without hesitation he pushes it right back. I’ve never really found out why Seth chooses not to drink…my assumptions always begin and end with his mother, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. I watch the silent exchange of glances between Seth and Jackson. Jackson appears to be having the time of his life as he bites back a smile. Seth, however, tries to keep his calm façade, but even I can see the warning in his eyes. Whatever is going on, it’s making me uncomfortable.

My mood suddenly dampens and going out feels like it’ll be more of a chore than an adventure. I fail to see the point in going out of it’s only Jackson and I drinking—and Darryl too, wherever the hell he is. I can’t hide my pout.

“You guys have all been to Vegas before. You’ve all done it, but I haven’t. I want crazy, dramatic, and exciting. I want loud music, gambling and strong alcoholic beverages with stupid sexual names…I want the Vegas experience.”

Which is actually stupid. I hate clubbing, I’ve hated it for as long as I can remember, but I’m in Vegas and you don’t avoid the clubs in Vegas. Am I being selfish? I can’t tell.

With an exhale, Seth reaches for the shot glass and slams it back with such ease you’d think he’s shooting water.

“You want the Vegas experience then I’ll give it to you at your own risk,” he tells me, sliding his glass to the middle of the marble counter.

Jackson claps his hands before pouring us another round of drinks and Darryl slips into the kitchen from the living room as soon as he hears the lid unscrew and joins us at the island.

“My own risk?” I wonder aloud.

He nods. “Yep. You want crazy, dramatic, and exciting? It’s yours, but I’m only giving you until I finish my next shot to back out. Once I’ve downed the shot, you’re on the Vegas rollercoaster, your safety bar is locked, and there is no getting off…” He smirks and caresses the hem of my dress. “Unless it’s by me, of course.”

I feel heat flood my cheeks. Seth will say anything in front of anyone and sometimes, I admire his boldness. Other times, I want to jam my hands in his mouth to prevent him from speaking. I drop my sight to his fingers and I watch as they curl around the tiny glass. It seems almost doll-like in his large hand. I follow the cup all the way to his lips. His brown eyes lock with mine and he seems almost excited, like he’s daring me to let him drink it. Seth begins to pour the liquid into his mouth before tipping the whole thing down his throat. He swallows and my pulse begins its rapid ascent, from normal to overdrive. Shit. What have I gotten myself into?

“Oh yeah!” Jackson cheers, pouring a shot and handing it to Selena. “We are in for a treat tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Seth is here and he’s bringing the action!”

Seth rolls his eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jackson slides us all a shot each and we take it. Sadly, I’m the only one to recoil from the taste. It’s then I realize I’m barely going to be able to hang with these guys—even Seth, who seems to be more acquainted with the taste of alcohol than me, which really piques my curiosity.

“Locked and loaded. Let’s blow the roof off this bitch!” Darryl shouts, adjusting his black button up shirt. It seems Darryl has been drinking prematurely and is probably a little too over the limit to chauffer us around.

“Who’s going to drive?”

Selena laughs over her shoulder at me as I approach the door. “We’re on Las Vegas Boulevard with Luxor, Bellagio, Mirage—”

“Okay, I get it. So what?”

“So, we’re walking everywhere tonight. You want the Vegas experience and that means you have to drunkenly stumble everywhere you want to go or catch a cab.”

I look at Seth and he shrugs at me.

“You guys walked everywhere when you did Vegas?”

They all nod—even Darryl.

“And the casinos? Are they what they make them out to be on TV?” I ask as we reach the front door.

“They’re everything you’ve seen and more,” Darryl says, looking over his shoulder at me. “The lights. The sounds. The pulsating energy—” He smiles. “Don’t worry, you’ll love every second of it, that I guarantee.”

***

The air is charged like an electrical storm. I can almost taste it—as well as feel it. What shot is this? Eight. Maybe seven. I slam it back and squeeze my eyes shut against the licorice tasting burn at the back of my throat. There’s music blasting in quick, booming beats. I’m way over my limit and my brain is too fuzzy to register the music, but I can feel it vibrate the metal stool I’m sitting on as it hums through my body.