I laugh. "Oh, Daddy. I love you. Tomorrow’s a Saturday. I know you always work at home on Saturday afternoons, but surely you’re free for breakfast?"
Dad nods. "That'll work," he says. "In fact, that sounds great. I'll have my chef prepare us something delicious.”
"I love you," I say before taking my leave.
And as the Town Car rolls away from Dad's estate, my heart feels full, knowing my dad's always in my corner.
It would kill me if anything ever happened to him.
At the beach club, Lucia and I quickly change at the cabana that is exclusively hers. She hands me a piña colada. "I know you're not much of a drinker, but these are divine. And God, I've missed you so much, Fifi. It's been ages."
I laugh. "I know." We're both in school, which means we don't get much of a break. “But,” I say with a twinkle in my eye, "that's changing."
"How so?" she asks. She goes to college here in Vegas. We grew up best friends going to the same boarding school. I wanted her to go to school with me at UCLA, but she wanted to stay close to her family after spending so many years abroad.
I reveal my new plan to her. "Oh, my God," she says, squealing. "You're going to make a whole clothing line?"
I nod. "I think so. What do you think?"
"I think it's about time. You've been talking about this for what? Two years?"
"Maybe three," I say.
"By the way, did you make that bikini? Because it is H-O-T hot."
"Thanks," I say, twirling around, "and yes, I did."
"Well, it really flatters your ass."
I laugh. "Your bikini is pretty cute too."
She grins, "Thanks. Just got it at Versace."
She and I have completely different figures. She is tall and slender, with the body of a supermodel. Me, I'm a little bit curvy and I’ve got some extra junk in the trunk. I like my body and I wouldn't want to change the way I look. Even if it means I have a few more dimples in my thighs and a few more stretch marks across my belly.
"So, you want to go swimming?" I ask.
She shakes her head, reaching for her tropical drink. "No, I just want to lie out here in the sun."
"Well, I have to cool off. I’m roasting."
She laughs. "Okay. Go take a dip and then join me back here. Your piña colada is already melting."
At the edge of the pool, the guests of the Crown Casino lounge all around me. I pause, catching the eye of a man that stands out from the crowd in the pool.
He's just come up from the water. It’s dripping off his face, his sexy beard. His shoulders are wide and muscular, tanned. Covered in tattoos. His eyes are piercingly blue, his hair reddish brown. I lift my eyebrows, taking him in.
I want to cool off. And he is a tall glass of water I need.
Hot and bothered, I lift my arms over my head and dive right in.
3
Flynn
When she comes up for air, I decide now is not the time to be shy. Instead, I take my boss Rogue's advice and I choose to give in to a little bit of fun.
Maybe a little bit more than fun, in fact, because this woman, this mermaid brought to life, this creature is so beautiful my cock is already hard and my heart is beating faster than it probably should. And I know she's more than a good time.
More than a little afternoon delight who might help me let off some steam. Hell, I don't need to lose steam, anyways. I need to get my mind screwed on straight because one look at this woman and it's all a mess.
Fuck, she is beautiful.
We gravitate toward one another. There's a pull, a reckoning that's happening in the middle of this pool, in the middle of this club, in the middle of the city of sin.
She swims towards me and I swim towards her and fuck, her tits look good. She's in a teeny tiny white string bikini. Not much material. As I swim closer though, on the triangle top I read the words that have been embroidered in hot pink thread. They whisper a promise. And fuck, I'll keep it.
The words read be my temptation.
I lick my lips. I fucking go in for the kill. After all, isn't that what I do for a living? I shoot straight from the hip.
“I'm Flynn,” I tell her, running a hand through my wet hair.
She takes me in, seeing my tattoos and my muscles, my earrings. I don't have to ask what she's thinking because I can feel it pulsing off of her.
Is that an exaggeration? No, it's not. It's something that is happening. Something that is real. Something that is ours and hell no, I'm not going to let it go.