Forbidden Sins. J. Margot Critch

Definitely tonight, probably in the next thirty minutes.” He looked around the observation pod, as it neared the ground and the end of their ride. “But it won’t be in here.”

      She sighed and leaned into him. “I’ve got some stories, but this might be the wildest thing I’ve ever done.”

      “Me, too,” he admitted.

      She looked at him, and one corner of her mouth ticked upward. “A guy like you? A city like this? I find that hard to believe.”

      “It’s true. Compared to everyone I know, I’m the straitlaced, boring one.”

      Frowning, Ellie brushed her lips lightly to his. “You sound sad about that.”

      Gabe shrugged. “I sometimes wonder how much time I wasted in my twenties with my nose in the books, working and studying.” Ellie understood that; while she’d sown many wild oats before she’d been legally allowed to drink, or be admitted into clubs, she’d spent many of the past few years doing the same.

      “Not that there was anything wrong with being diligent and working hard, and I’ve certainly learned how to have fun since then,” Gabe continued. “But when I think of myself as a younger man, I can only imagine myself in a dark corner of a law library.”

      Ellie watched him carefully. “I can already tell that working hard has made you successful, but life has to be about balance, right?”

      “Sometimes I just wonder what sorts of things I missed out on when I should have been young and stupid.”

      Ellie took his lapels in her hands and pulled him closer. “You’re in luck,” she started. “Because young and stupid is one of my specialties. Wonder no more, Gabe. Why don’t we take the rest of this night, and we’ll make some stories?”

      “I like the sound of that. Why don’t we get a room?” he suggested. She almost said yes. Spending the rest of the night naked in a hotel room with Gabe would be one hell of a way to spend a night—and they would no doubt be there in a few hours—but she wanted to show him a wild, stupid, reckless night. She couldn’t help it. Old Ellie was on the loose, and she couldn’t be leashed yet. “As tempting as that idea is, no way. We’re going to have a little clothes-on excitement before we do that.” She winked. “Then you can ravish me all you want.”

      “Deal. So where to now?”

      “More drinks?” she asked. “It’s still kind of early. We can hit a nightclub. How do you feel about dancing the night away? And we can see just how much trouble we can get into,” she suggested, hoping he wouldn’t say no.

      His chuckle was low, husky. “That sounds good to me. The night is young, and so are we.”

      “Come on.” Taking the lead, Ellie grasped his hand in hers and pulled him toward the door of the pod. When the attendant unlocked it they exited, and Ellie knew that based on their rumpled appearance and flushed cheeks, it was probably obvious to everyone in the vicinity what they’d been up to five hundred and fifty feet above the Las Vegas Strip. “Sorry, ladies,” Ellie whispered to a group of women looking to board next, as she tilted her head in Gabe’s direction. “But look at him. Can you blame me?”

      Gabe chuckled as some of the women in line laughed and cast him interested looks, but Ellie pulled him away before he could say anything. They were on a mission. A stupid and reckless one.