Forbidden Sins. J. Margot Critch

her, referencing the Nevada state nickname. “Except for the time I spent in England for university.”

      “How nice.”

      “What do you do?”

      “I’m a lawyer. Business law,” she answered, still not used to saying the words. They didn’t feel natural.

      His eyes widened, then narrowed in scrutiny. “Me, too,” he answered. “Strange we’ve never crossed paths before. I would have definitely remembered meeting you.”

      “I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks. I just finished school back east.”

      “New to the city,” he said with a nod. “I’d pegged you for a tourist. So, you’re brand-new and fresh-faced?”

      “I guess so.”

      “I guess it makes sense that we haven’t met. I just returned from Hong Kong, myself. I’ve been working over there the past couple of months.”

      “Oh nice. So corporate law isn’t all filings and research.”

      “It’s all of those things. But sometimes they let you go to exotic locales to file and research. How do you like practicing so far?”

      “It’s a lot of work. Which I don’t need to tell you.” She started to think about her father, and how he would more than disapprove of her night spent on the Vegas Strip instead of in her office. She pushed it aside. “You know, can we not talk about work? I really need to take a night off.”

      He looked relieved at her suggestion. “That sounds good to me. Can I buy you that drink now?” He held out his hand to her and looked around the busy casino. “I know a great place here. It’s quieter. We’ll be able to talk some more.”

      She looked Gabe over. The smart, sensible thing would be to thank him for the offer, catch up with Rachel and go home.

      But for one night, Ellie didn’t want to be smart. She wanted to have fun. Between her years in law school and her new job, she’d been working so hard lately, in her sensible suits, that it was time to finally release old Ellie for one more wild night. One more night of fun, that’s it. She’d earned it. And as she watched Gabe, with his cocky grin and mischievous eyes, she knew that he was the way to do so. Curving the corners of her lips upward, she put her hand in his and said, “Sure.”

      As her fingers interlocked with Gabe’s and her palm flattened against his, an electric shock shot through her body, and she looked up at his profile. He must have felt her gaze on him, because he looked down at her and winked. It was dumb, reckless even, to go off with a stranger, something that she’d never done before. But something about Gabe made her brain shut off and follow her intuition—it told her that she was right where she wanted to be.

      The crowd seemed to part before them as they made their way across the casino floor. Ellie was barely aware of the people around them as Gabe led her through the throngs, expertly navigating the crowd. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining many of them looking in their direction. She stiffened, wondering if any of them knew her from the days when she topped the gossip blogs, or maybe they knew Gabe, or maybe they were just admiring him, paying attention to the sexiest man in the room. He had certainly gotten her attention, Ellie reasoned.

      She was surprised when he didn’t lead her to the trendy nightclub, but instead bypassed the lineup and led her to a staircase that took them to a quieter area above the casino floor. The bar had an air of sophistication and exclusivity. Class. It was quieter, less chaotic than the casino below. The place felt like Gabe.

      After he shook the hand of the doorman, palming him some amount of money, an attendant led them to a secluded corner at the far end, a semicircle booth ensconced in a nook built into the wall to ensure them privacy. Ellie settled into the rich, leather booth, as Gabe did the same. When the server came to take their order, Gabe plucked the menu from the table.

      “What’s your poison?” he asked, passing her the drink menu.

      “I’m not picky,” she told him.

      After a brief deliberation, Gabe ordered a bottle of champagne for them.

      “A bottle?”

      “Well, they don’t exactly sell the good stuff by the glass,” he told her with a sly wink.

      “Champagne, though?”

      He shrugged casually. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like celebrating.”

      She sat a little closer to him, bringing her knee in contact with his thigh, pivoting her upper body to face him on the couch. “What are you celebrating?”

      “I have a feeling I’m going to become the newest partner at my firm,” he told her.

      Ellie’s eyes widened in awe. Gabe was clearly a young man, and making partner at a law firm was quite an accomplishment. “That’s awesome. Where do you work?”

      He shook his head. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about work?”

      “You’re right,” she said.

      “But I guess there’s something else I’m celebrating,” he told her, his voice dropping to a dangerously low and sexy murmur, as he tilted his head toward her.

      She inhaled another lungful of his light, but spicy cologne. Ellie had never been a connoisseur of male cologne, but she needed to know what Gabe used, so she could cover her pillow and everything else she owned in the scent. “And what’s that?” she asked, her voice an almost breathless whisper.

      He grinned and leaned closer, bringing his lips to her ear. “Meeting you,” he said with a whisper. His breath warmed her skin, dancing over the sensitized nerve endings of her throat.

      The sheer cheesiness of the line made her eyes roll. “Oh please.” Ellie laughed and lightly pushed his shoulder. But touching him proved to be a mistake, because instead of removing her hand, she smoothed her palm over his chest, under his jacket, over the fine material of his shirt. His chest was firm, warm, solid muscle. The man worked out. But when he put his hand on top of hers, stopping the movement, trapping her hand in the spot over his heart, she could feel a gentle thrum travel through her, until it settled in a pool of desire between her thighs. So in tune with Gabe was she that she was sure she could hear the beating of his heart—maybe it was her own—and their eyes connected as the rest of the room disappeared.

      Ellie’s mouth went dry and a heat radiated from her chest upward. Gone was the moment of levity they’d shared, the air heavy with sensuality. She was so caught up in the man—the stranger—sitting beside her that she failed to notice the server approach. She backed up and, startled, reluctantly pulled away from Gabe, as the waitress presented the bottle and poured them each a glass before placing it in the ice bucket and quietly walking away.

      Alone again, Gabe passed her one of the glasses and took the opportunity to sit closer to her, shifting to more fully face her in the center of the booth, placing his arm across the back. Even though he wasn’t touching her, she could feel his proximity, his gravity forcing her closer, drawing her near. She couldn’t fight it if she wanted to—she didn’t want to—so Ellie pivoted her body in his direction, crossing her legs, bringing her calves into contact with his shin. They didn’t speak, but Ellie could feel the waves of sexual tension that radiated between them.

      Gabe held his glass aloft. “To us.”

      “To new starts,” she added, clinking her glass with his.

      They sipped their champagne, watching each other over the rims of their glasses, and she sighed when Gabe made the first move, dropping his hand on her thigh.

      “You know, I’m pretty sure you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he told her.

      High-class club or dive bar, men, it seemed, were the same all over. She rolled her eyes. “That’s original,” she told him. Ellie wondered how many women fell for a line, especially when it was uttered by a man who looked