Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas. Michelle Betham

experienced a kiss like that in my entire life, because for most of my life I’d only ever kissed one person. So how could I possibly have known this kind of kiss existed? His lips moved ever-so-slowly against mine, opening just a touch, his tongue hesitating only slightly before pushing its way into my mouth, and I accepted it immediately. I let his hand slip lower, onto my hip, stroking it gently as he continued to kiss the hell out of me. And I was in no hurry for him to stop. Whatever the rights or wrongs of this situation; however weird or unreal it could yet turn out to be, right now I didn’t care. I just didn’t. I might be acting like some teenager out on a Saturday night, but I really didn’t care. Being with Adam from such a young age, I’d missed out on so much. Was it that wrong of me to want to have some fun now?

      Eddie pulled away, but only slightly, his forehead resting against mine, his hand back on my neck, his thumb stroking my cheek again. ‘Should I be saying sorry?’ But he was smiling, and I returned it, shaking my head.

      ‘No.’

      ‘Lana, I…’ He pulled away a touch more, so he could look at me properly, dropping his hand from my cheek, pushing it back through his hair. ‘I promised you the night of your life, right?’ Our eyes locked, both of us unable to keep the grins off our faces.

      ‘Yeah, you did. I guess it’s time to see if you can deliver, then, biker boy.’

       5

      ‘Down in one, darlin’. Down in one,’ Eddie shouted, slamming his empty shot glass down onto the table.

      Picking up my drink I knocked the clear liquid back in a single mouthful, quickly sucking on the lime in my other hand, which made me choke slightly as the juice mingled with the tequila in my throat, causing Eddie to laugh out loud.

      ‘Bastard!’ The fact I was laughing too only caused me to cough even more. ‘Still got it down, though.’

      He threw me an appreciative look, taking a sip of his beer. ‘You can hold your own, sweetheart, I’ll give you that.’

      I sat back, closing my eyes briefly to let the alcohol hit take hold. I was verging on tipsy, but nowhere near drunk. I was determined to keep as clear a head as I could tonight, because I had a feeling I was going to want to remember this. When it was all over.

      ‘Come on,’ he said, draining the last of his beer and grabbing my hand, pulling me up off the couch. ‘It’s time to hit the casinos.’

      This night was turning out to be a fast-paced, whirlwind of an affair, with my feet hardly having time to hit the ground as we almost ran from bar to bar, all of them favourites of Eddie’s, grabbing a drink, meeting all the people Eddie knew – a wonderfully eclectic mix ranging from musicians to artists to fellow bikers. People that reminded me a bit of the new friends I’d made back home. And because of the speed at which everything seemed to be moving, I’d almost forgotten that I was doing it all in a dress that was probably way too short and boots that were a little too high. I was just having the best time. It was the most exhilarated I’d felt since my college days and the weekly Friday-night pub crawl. But this – this was on a whole different level.

      Despite the pace at which Eddie was playing this night, I had no urge to fall into bed just yet. This was a twenty-four-hour town, and I was going to make the most of every single one of those hours. As far as casinos went, well, this was Vegas! And you had to hit at least one casino when you were in Vegas, right?

      Back out on the Strip, the blast of fresh air was more than welcome and I took a few seconds to catch my breath, once more marvelling at the bright lights and vibrant atmosphere this town was so good at creating. I’d fallen head-first in love with the place.

      ‘What time is it?’ I asked, snaking my arm around his waist, sliding my hand up under his t-shirt, biting down on my lip as it touched his skin.

      ‘No clue, darlin’. Could be eight in the morning for all I care.’

      All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks, taking me by surprise as he pushed me gently back against the nearest wall, his fingers winding in my hair as he kissed me slowly. So slowly I felt my whole body relax, bit by bit, with every touch of his lips against mine.

      ‘Still want to check out those slot machines?’ His mouth was twitching at the corners, his eyes trying to stay deadly serious and I couldn’t stop a fit of the giggles from taking over.

      ‘Where did you come from?’ I whispered, pulling him closer by his jacket collar, running my fingers over his beard, my eyes following their every move.

      ‘I don’t know, baby,’ he murmured, his mouth gently brushing that soft space just below my ear, causing the most delicious sensation to course right through me. ‘But wherever it is, I’m in no hurry to go back there.’

      I rested my hand against his cheek, turning his face to look at me, leaning forward to kiss him again, sighing quietly as his mouth opened slightly, our tongues touching as he pulled me closer. The second our bodies connected I felt a heat the like of which I hadn’t known could exist just from touching another human being; it was like a series of minute electric shocks were being fired into me, one after the other. ‘I think we should probably go check out that casino now, don’t you?’ I whispered, my mouth resting against his as I spoke. I could almost feel him breathing into me – breathing life into me. A new life. The life I’d always been looking for?

      His face broke into a smile, his thumb stroking my cheek before he pulled back slightly. ‘This night ain’t anywhere near over, darlin’. You got that?’

      I threw my arms up above my head, stretching out, my eyes still locked with his. He had my answer.

      Cocking his head just a touch, he raised that eyebrow again, a slow smirk forming. ‘Am I doing okay here, kid?’

      ‘You’re doing just fine,’ I breathed. ‘But you’ve still got some work to do to make this the night of my life.’

      ‘You throwing me a challenge there?’

      ‘Call it whatever you like, biker boy. I just can’t wait to see what you do with it.’

      All of a sudden he lunged at me, grabbing me around the waist and nuzzling my neck, causing me to shriek out loud and laugh even louder as he tickled me, pushing my body up against his in the process. I just fell into his arms, letting him kiss me again, over and over, every time we came up for air the kisses growing longer and slower. Sexy, soulful kisses. If there was a heaven out there, I hoped to God it was something like this.

      ‘Oh, you are really playing for points now, aren’t you?’ I smiled, gently stroking the hair at the back of his neck, running my fingers through it.

      ‘Well, I’ve got something to prove, haven’t I? I’m a man who keeps my promises, sweetheart.’

      It was me who pulled away first, shaking my hair out and composing myself before I took his hand. ‘Casino. Come on. I’m feeling lucky tonight.’

      It hadn’t been intentional, to end up back outside the hotel I was staying in, but we seemed to have found ourselves there.

      Eddie looked at me, his hand giving mine a little squeeze. ‘We can go somewhere else, if you’d prefer.’

      ‘Why would I want to do that? We’re only going to play some roulette, maybe a little blackjack. Aren’t we?’

      He grinned and that only made him twice as handsome, doubly hot. Ohboy, was I loving this night? ‘Whatever you say, kid.’

      ‘Let’s start small, huh?’ I winked, leading the way inside.

      ‘Small?’ he questioned, his grip on my hand tightening.

      I glanced at him over my shoulder. ‘Slot machines. I want to ease myself into things gently, okay?’

      He grinned