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  Before they could order anything, the bartender jumped on top of the counter right in front of them with a bottle in his hand.

  “Are you ladies having a good time?”

  A chorus of cheers echoed though the bar and out into the line of people waiting to get into the theater.

  “Who here is going to see the boys from Down Under?” the bartender asked with a wolf whistle. Again the crowd roared. It seemed to Ari that Lia and Rachel were the loudest of all. Not wanting to be the dud of the party, she opened her mouth and cheered with the rest of them, which earned her a big smile and wink from the man on the counter.

  “I have a problem, ladies. I need to empty this bottle and I just don’t have any clean shot glasses. Can you help me out?” All the women yelled assent. “Who wants a shot?” Lia was the first one in front of him as she held her head back and waited for him to poor curaçao into her mouth.

  Bending down, he tipped the bottle when it was lined up with her bottom lip, making the women scream again as the blue liquid cascaded down her throat. The excitement was catching, and when Lia pushed Ari to go next, she didn’t hesitate to throw her head back as she waited for the man to give her the shot.

  Ari almost gagged, but she managed to swallow the bitter liqueur, then waited for Rachel to take her turn. Each time another woman took a shot, the crowd grew louder. Ari was laughing as she turned and made eye contact with a stunning man sporting a dark suit and tie.

  “Are you here for the show?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Of course. You?”

  “No. I’ll pass on watching men strip, but how about I buy you and your friends a round of drinks?”

  “I wouldn’t pass that up,” Ari replied, feeling the tiniest bit of guilt over flirting with the stranger. It was a girls’ night out, though, and a bit of harmless flirting wasn’t wrong, was it?

  “Is that a cigar?” Rachel asked, making Ari scoot aside as she pushed up against the man; he didn’t seem unhappy in the least at having the petite Rachel practically in his lap.

  He held the large brown cigar out, offering it to her, and to Ari’s surprise Rachel grabbed ahold of it and took a deep puff.

  “That’s such a disgusting habit, Rachel,” Lia said with a laugh as Rachel blew a puff of smoke from her mouth.

  “I only do it when I’m drinking. The smell reminds me of grandpa and it’s so much fun to hold the sweet smelling tobacco,” Rachel said as she took another puff before handing it back.

  “Sitting here with you three beautiful ladies would make it almost worth it to watch a male stripper show,” the stranger said as his eyes drank Rachel in.

  “Sorry, bud, only girls tonight. You can give Rachel a business card, though — then, if you’re lucky, she might call you back,” Lia said as she downed her second shot, vodka-based Sex on the Beach.

  “Phillip Monsoon,” he introduced himself as he pulled a card from his wallet.

  “And what brings you to Las Vegas, Phillip?” Lia asked.

  “If you call me, you’ll find out,” he answered with a laugh. “It looks like they’re starting to let you ladies in. Would you like one more round before I lose your company?”

  “How could we say no to that?” Rachel answered as she grabbed his cigar again and took a big puff.

  “Tequila shots,” Lia called, and the dozen women at the bar all yelled their approval of her drink as the bartender pulled out enough glasses for them all, then flipped the bottle in the air before filling them in one long line.

  To Ari’s surprise, Philip didn’t seem put out at all that Lia had turned his offer of three drinks into a dozen. The same sparkle remained in his eyes as he watched Rachel. It looked as if he was a little smitten.

  The women all licked their wrists, poured salt, took their shot, then sucked on limes. Rachel sent Phillip a wink before they rushed to the door and entered the theater. As soon as they walked inside, all thoughts of Phillip were forgotten, at least by Ari.

  Lia led them to the front of the room, right in front of the stage, and sat Ari front and center. The big screen showing a photo shoot of the performers had the ladies screaming. When the spotlight hit a shot of their naked behinds, the crowd went wild.

  Several minutes later, a gorgeous man wearing a button-up shirt, a tie and some worn-out jeans jumped onto the stage and welcomed them, asking whether they were having a good time. The crowd went wild again. His sexy Australian accent had Ari melting as her stomach twisted into knots in anticipation, and slight fear, of what was to come.

  “You’re all just a bunch of horny women, aren’t you?” he called out. The women noisily agreed, not feeling the least bit ashamed. They’d come to see sexy dancers strut their stuff, and they wanted the show to begin.

  Ari had never been to anything like this before, and as smoke filled the stage and the screen started to lift, her heart thumped and thudded.

  Seven men entered the stage, wearing suits and dancing with synchronized steps. Ari was surprised to find herself calling out as they swung their hips in time to the music. Somewhere in the middle of the song, their shirts came open and their rock-hard pecs and washboard abs made her salivate.

  At the end of the number, they turned around and their pants descended, exposing their bare backsides. The crowd let out such a loud roar that it drowned out the sensual beat of the bass. And even in that steamy room, Ari could feel her cheeks flame. Wow. Rafe would throttle her if he knew, but who cared?

  Soon the men were leaping off the stage and moving down the aisles of the intimate room, then jumping on tables and bending down to kiss a number of the fired-up women. Ari figured she was safe from their attention as long as she didn’t make eye contact. Rafe would be ticked off enough if he discovered that she’d come to the show. Any kissing might make him explode.

  During another number, one of the guys pulled a woman up onstage, put her in a chair and gave her the lap dance of her dreams. The woman blushed scarlet, in nice color contrast with the mouthful of pearly white teeth revealed by her huge smile. When the dancer jumped up and pushed his crotch close to her face, Ari was the one who went scarlet. The men certainly seemed to enjoy their job.

  As the show was nearing its end, Ari’s tipsiness overtook her, and when six of the men danced out onstage again, she clapped and hollered with the rest of the crowd. One of the men jumped down and suddenly grabbed her hand.

  She looked up at his smiling mouth like a deer caught in headlights. She couldn’t go up there! It was all good fun, and they were movie-star gorgeous. But they still paled in comparison with Rafe. Why bother to rub up against any of them when she had an amazing lover waiting for her return?

  Then again, how much longer would he be waiting for her? One day, a week, maybe a month. Rafe wasn’t known for keeping his mistresses longer than a few months at a time. She’d do well to remember that.

  “Don’t you dare try to get out of this,” Lia yelled out with laughter in her voice as she gave Ari a push.

  Ari had no choice but to follow the hunk onstage. He sat her down on a long bench, then ran back to join his buddies in a dance number. Ari didn’t know whether she was supposed to look at him or the crowd, so she looked down as she waited for the tune to end. From what she’d already witnessed, she had little hope of escaping with anything less than maximum embarrassment.

  The man sauntered back over seductively and stood directly in front of her, pressing his body against hers, then grabbed her hands and placed them around his back, with her fingers spread out on his buttocks. As the audience yelled out instructions, Ari got into the spirit of the thing and squeezed, and the dancer winked at her with his dark brown eyes.

  When he went back over to the other guys, they gyrated slowly, accentuating their prized possessions, before two of them stalked toward her and rubbed up against her. Even through all the din, Ari could hear Lia shouting up at her to grab his ass. Ari thought it wiser, after her one lapse, to keep her hands to herself.

  Soon,
only one man remained before her. He stripped down to his boxer briefs and swayed around her several times before laying her down and lying right on top of her! She was sure that if the power suddenly blacked out, the heat from her face would be enough to light up the entire room — heck, the entire hotel.

  After swiveling his hips provocatively above her for a few seconds, he finally sat her up, and then helped her stand as he grabbed her in a big hug, lifting her off her feet.

  “Thanks for being a good sport, love,” he said, his accent causing her insides to turn to jelly. He assisted her off the stage, and then finished his performance.

  Ari was still glowing when the show finished. The dancers set up for pictures as soon as they were all presented by name. Lia, of course, insisted on having a few photographs taken.

  The three of them stood in line, then each sat on a dancer’s lap, and received a kiss on the cheek as the picture was snapped. Ari seemed to be walking on clouds as she and the rest of the audience departed. How fun to hang with two amazing women and receive so much attention from serious sex gods. So what if they were doing a show, the same thing they did night after night? She still felt beautiful and desirable. Yes, Rafe made her feel gorgeous when he was worshipping her body, but afterward, he just left.

  To have a man want her so much that he couldn’t possibly sleep in another room would be amazing. To have him want her in bed and out of it? Priceless. Rafe couldn’t possibly ever give her that — he’d told her so.

  If only she didn’t have Lia and Rachel’s voices in her head telling her a different story. She needed another drink.

  “I can’t believe they pulled you up onstage. I’m so jealous right now,” Rachel said as they made their way downstairs toward the casino.

  “This totally stays between us. You have to burn that picture,” Ari responded with a laugh.

  “There’s no way I’m ever turning loose of this night. Are you kidding me? That was the most fun I can ever remember having. Those guys were so freaking hot.”

  “Mmm, can we take them home, pretty please?”

  “Rachel, I’m sure if you bat your eyes at them, they’ll be begging you to go home with them.”

  “Now that sounds like a plan. I could do all sorts of kinky things with that group.”

  “You two are terrible. Seriously, you have to promise me that Rafe will never find that picture,” Ari insisted. Silently she added, At least until our relationship is over.

  “There’s nothing like having a little blackmail on a friend,” Lia replied as she pulled out the photo and laughed.

  “OK, the night’s still young. Let’s go downtown and lose some money,” Rachel insisted.

  “Yes. Ari’s buzz is wearing off. We need to get her a liquor fix — stat.”

  Ari gave up fighting the two women. She’d learned that when they were determined to do something, it was best just to go with the flow and see where the adventure led, because otherwise she wouldn’t put it past them to drag her off kicking and screaming — probably in handcuffs. In her semi-sloshed state, that thought gave her the giggles.

  Linking arms with the girls, she smiled as they went off to whatever Lia had planned for them next.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Nineteen!”

  “Yea! Great job, Ari,” Rachel called as she leaped in the air, then turned to high-five several of the men surrounding them.

  “You are good luck, baby!” one of the guys said as he picked Ari up and spun her in a circle. Ari laughed when he set her down, and she wobbled unsteadily on her feet.

  Ari was losing complete track of time, but winning everything else as they moved through the casinos on Freemont Street. The girls were dragging her from table to table to enjoy her amazing run of luck, and a group of guys having a bachelor party was following the three around.

  “Come on, Ari. Give Stephen a kiss for good luck. The poor sucker is getting married tomorrow, so he needs all the luck he can get,” one of his friends shouted.

  In the heat of the excitement, Ari leaned forward and kissed a blushing Stephen on the cheek as Rachel took a picture. Stephen then picked Ari up and twirled her while Rachel continued snapping shots.

  Because of the sheer number of margaritas Ari had consumed, she saw nothing wrong with Rachel’s documenting their night on the town.

  “OK, pick a number,” the dealer called, and Ari set a bunch of chips on seven. All the men followed suit and the dealer spun the roulette wheel. The guys all started chanting seven over and over, and Ari, Rachel and Lia joined in as the wheel started to slow.

  It clicked closer and closer, then stopped on seven. The crowd around them exploded in triumphant cheers.

  “Lucky number seven it is,” the dealer called as whoops and hollers and whistles of celebration filled the air again.

  When Ari was finally back down on her feet, she swayed as the room began to fade out. It was long past time for them to retire, but she hated to call it a night. She knew Rafe was going to be furious with her and she didn’t want to face that sort of music.

  “Whoa there, Ari, you just about face-planted. As much fun as I’m having, I think we have to head back now,” Rachel said, looking slightly bummed.

  The crowd around them all protested, promising them everything from free drinks to jewelry if they stayed just another hour longer.

  “Sorry, boys, but we have to go before her boyfriend comes looking. It’s only a matter of time — and no one wants to be here if he finds her like this,” Lia warned.

  Ari was grateful that Lia and Rachel were stronger than she was, because they managed to get her out of the casino and to the front doors, where they hailed a cab in what seemed like seconds. Her head was spinning.

  “Do you know how mad my brother is going to be?” Rachel asked with a drunken giggle.

  “Yes. Lucky for you both that I’m the one he’s going to take it out on. Lucky for me that I’m drunk enough I don’t care all that much. Did you know he is phenomenal in bed?”

  “Ooh, that’s way too much information, Ari. Please, please promise me to never say anything so horrific again,” Lia begged.

  “I can’t promise, but I’ll try,” Ari conceded as she laughed with them.

  “Where to, ladies?” asked the cab driver with such boredom in his voice and an attitude that screamed so clearly I hate this job! that Ari got the giggles. Sin City cab drivers doubtless saw it all.

  “The Venetian, please,” Rachel said before sitting back.

  “I’m so glad you remembered that, because I completely forgot what hotel we were staying in,” Ari admitted.

  “We stay there all the time. The rooms are great and the shopping even better.”

  “Don’t you ever get bored with shopping? I mean, you both are so dang rich that you can shop every day if you want. At some point it would have to lose its appeal.”

  “Ari, that’s almost sacrilegious. How could anyone ever grow bored of shopping? New fashions come out almost daily,” Rachel gasped in a mock-serious tone.

  “My mother didn’t want us to be brats, so we had a pretty normal life growing up. Now, as adults, we do tend to shop a bit too much,” Lia admitted. “We have to make up for our deprived childhood!”

  “I was never into the whole shopping thing before, but now, with Rafe demanding I wear all these dresses and fancy shoes, I have to do it all the time. It’s taken a while, but I admit I’ve kind of grown to enjoy losing myself in this lifestyle. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever done before.”

  “That’s more like it!” Rachel exclaimed.

  They arrived at the hotel and the three of them stumbled in through the front doors. Ari had taken about five steps when she hit a wall of angry flesh. She didn’t even want to look up into the fire she was sure was in Rafe’s eyes.

  Instead, she looked to the left where Shane was gripping both Lia and Rachel. His face had to be a mirror image of Rafe’s. Rachel looked over at Ari and mouthed the words hot, angry sex, whic
h sent Ari into another round of giggles.

  Rafe had obviously been pacing the lobby for hours.

  Shane and Rafe marched the three of them through the casino and straight to the elevators, where they rode to the top floor in suffocating silence. Maybe she would get hot, angry sex. She could certainly go for that.

  “Are you going to take care of them?” Rafe practically growled at Shane.

  “Gladly,” Shane replied and he led Lia and Rachel into the adjoining suite.

  Rafe dragged Ari into their own huge suite. “Did you have a good time?”

  The tone of Rafe’s deceptively calm voice alerted Ari that something sinister was up. If she hadn’t been so drunk, she might have had a clue to what it was, but her brain refused to function correctly.

  “Yes, we had a blast, thank you,” she answered happily.

  “At what point did you decide it would be wise to ditch the professional men I graciously hired to keep you safe? Obviously I need to find ones who are a lot more discreet if you were able to spot them so easily.”

  “Oh, we planned on that from the start. How can we have any fun with two incredible hulks following us all around? Discreet? Nahhhh. They were practically breathing down our necks, making it far too hard to socialize.”

  “The whole point of the bodyguards is to discourage people from getting too close and harming you,” Rafe said tightly, fire leaping from his eyes.

  “Well, we couldn’t have any fun with them all up in people’s faces. Chill, Rafe.”

  “Are you kidding me right now, Ari?” he thundered.

  “No.”

  “That’s it? Just no?”

  “My head is spinning and I really need to lie down. Can you continue your lecture tomorrow, preferably after I’ve had at least two cups of coffee?”

  With great reluctance, Ari glanced at Rafe and saw that the man was steaming mad. Fascinating. What had she and his sisters done, really? They’d seen a strip show, played some table games, and gotten back late — oh, and ditched the bodyguards. The point was, they had come back in one piece. She didn’t see why he had to be so upset.