The Strip

This is a rewrite of 'Vegas', combining both Books. While maintaining the theme, it offers a completely different and fresh take for the main characters.

Grateful thanks go to the best editor in the world – thesoundandfury - not only for his editing, but also for the constant encouragement, suggestions, and for helping me to become a better writer.

Chapter 5: Rosie is surprised

"I don't understand!" Daniel spat out the words.

"Don't get upset," Grace said in a matter of fact way that was difficult for him to believe.

He ran a hand through his crinkly hair. "Grace, I'm not angry, I'm confused!" Why now? Why did she want to end their relationship right now? It didn't make sense. Except… it did. She'd just spent the last half-hour explaining to him while she packed. It wasn't working between them. She had an opportunity for success. And she didn't need him any longer.

"You're not confused, Daniel," she told him, climbing out of the chair beside the dressing table, "because I've just explained." Turning back to the nearly full suitcase on the bed, she resumed the final bits of her packing.

"You had a successful night, so you're—"

The brunette slammed the suitcase lid closed and picked up her cosmetic bag. "That's not quite what I said, Daniel," she sighed, "cleaning out the top drawer from the cabinet. "We both know we've been drifting apart, for too long now. It just hasn't been working for us, we've just agreed that."

"I know that, Grace, but I'd hoped—"

Her head shot up. "You've just told me what you hoped Daniel. We've been talking about this for the last hour. With my new contract at Samuel Smith's, this'll give me the chance to make my own way. I want to stand on my own two feet, see how far I can make it. It's as simple as that, Daniel. Okay?" She spat out the last word, as if putting a full stop under the discussion.

"So, your new contract includes a suite at the Bellagio?"

"Just for the time being, Daniel. For Lauren and I. Then I'll find somewhere local to stay. I'm here for a three months, so I'll need to rent a more permanent place for that time. This just gives me some breathing space."

He nodded, at a loss to know what to say. Deep down, he realised the sense of everything Grace had said. Maybe it was just the suddenness that spooked him? He slowly eased up from the corner of the bed, walking across to the window and staring out onto the Strip.

"That's it," Grace told him, finishing her work.

He swung back around to a face that was full of excitement, even if it was tinged with a hint of sadness around her eyes.

"I want us to leave on good terms if we can, Daniel," she said, closing the distance between them and pulling him into a bear hug. "I only want the best for you."

Her words, scent and demeanour all felt wrong. Daniel couldn't quite place it, but there was a piece of the jigsaw still missing. He shrugged it away. After all, did it really matter now? "And the same with you, Grace," he sighed. "I know how you've worked for this opportunity. You deserve it. And I know you'll be successful. You've always had the talent."

"Thanks, Daniel, I'm pleased you did so well yesterday, too," she brightly smiled, turning back to her bags. "Good luck with your Main Event."

He nodded. He hadn't seen his girlfriend this happy for some time. "Grace," he began, but she was already turning to answer the sharp rap on the door.

"Hello," she smiled at the bellboy. "It's the large suitcase to go downstairs, please. "Look," she said turning back to Daniel, "Lauren's waiting in reception for me. I really have to go."

He took a long breath as the feeling of emptiness ran through him. "Here's your other bag," he said, handing her the cosmetic case and accepting the kiss on his cheek. On his cheek, for God's sake! "Stay in touch, Grace, and take care. You know where I am if you need anything."

She smiled at him one final time, and then she was gone.

***

How long was it since she'd heard from that bastard of a boyfriend? Thirty-six hours? Whatever poker game he'd got himself into, he was either being very successful or desperately attempting to repair the damage. So what was new? Sometimes she wouldn't hear from him for a couple of days and then he'd turn up, with their bank balance another thousand or so less than it was.

Except he'd promised her those days were behind him. Her hysterical sounding laugh frightened her. Next, she'd be talking to herself.

Turning back to the mirror, she finished drying her hair. It'd have to do, and anyway, a brush through it before she left home would make it respectable. Home? That was a laugh. The run down apartment was desperately in need of attention, but that wasn't going to happen for some time now.

The thousand or so that she'd managed to save over the last twelve months had gone to help with Charlie's gambling debts. Every cent she earned from her job went the same way. Her job? Could you call prostitution a job? Flopping back down on the bed, she couldn't hold back the tears.

Get hold of yourself, girl, she told herself even as she buried her face in her hands. A few deep breaths managed to stifle the sobs.

Moving to the box of tissues on the dresser, she wiped away the tears. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she gave a wry smile. In the white bra and boy shorts, she still looked sexy—at least she had that in her favour.

She'd resisted Charlie's suggestion to move in with her and now she knew why. If he'd been gambling again, it would be all over between them. If? A rueful laugh pierced the air again. She'd allowed him to persuade her to fuck the club's clientele on the basis he gave up every form of gambling.

Just for a short time, he'd said! While he found a regular job and paid off his debts. And she'd fallen for it—how stupid!

He'd sworn he'd never gamble again and she'd fallen for it. Become a whore. What sort of man would want his girl to fuck other men? For money? It wasn't right and if she was honest with herself, something had died between them when he'd pleaded with her to help him that way.

She'd have it out with him when he returned.

For now, she had to get dressed. The phone message had said that Big Eddie wanted to see her that morning. What the hell was that all about? She'd seen her fellow workers called before the gangster before and it hadn't been a pretty sight. The man had a quick temper and the girls who'd left his office in tears were never seen again.

But that was when they'd been up to something. She hadn't. Maybe he wanted her to work different hours? Or longer hours? Goodness knows, she needed the money. Reaching for her red tee shirt, she checked the time. Damn, her watch had stopped again. God knows when she'd be able to afford a new one.

The plain round clock on the wall told her she hadn't long to get ready. It wasn't a good idea to make Eddie wait—where were those jeans?

***

"Why the long face?"

Daniel glanced up from his corner table in the breakfast area. Holly was smiling down at him and couldn't have looked more beautiful. The way she wore the black baseball cap at a slightly jaunty angle, pulled down over her long, blonde locks, somehow added to her appearance. Her dark sunglasses were precariously perched on top, but it was the two sensuous pink lips underneath the rim that added the additional degree of sexiness. The way her tongue flicked across them sent a clear message to his groin.

"Hey, how're you doing?" he responded, half standing as she slipped into the seat next to him.

"Better than you it seems," the wavy haired blonde sympathetically smiled. "From the look on your face, how you're doing is more to the point."

Before he could answer, the waitress wandered across to their table. "Cappuccino," she ordered. Daniel shook his head when the grey haired woman looked at him. He was coffee'd out.

The questioning look on her face demanded an answer, but the right words wouldn't come out.

Holly laughed. "Oh, so that's it. Well, what did I tell you last night?"

The crinkly haired youngster stared into her sparkling brown eyes. "What

did

you tell me last night?"

"That your relationship with your girlfriend was on its last legs—"

His face dropped. "How did you know?" he husked, glancing around as a couple of waitresses walked past, then staring back at her again.

Holly removed her cap and shook out her blonde hair. Even the way it bounced around her shoulders was sexy. When she smoothed down her black tee shirt Daniel's attempts to keep his eyes trained on her face failed. Did she never wear a bra?

"It's not difficult Daniel," she teasingly answered. "We women know these things." She paused while the server delivered her drink. "It's none of my business," she eventually added, her brown eyes smiling at him over the rim, "but I think it's for the best."

He shifted uneasily in the tiny booth. "What makes you say that?"

"The way you spoke last night," she answered, lowering the mug back to the table. "Not your words, but the way you said them. It'll hurt a while, honey, but it'll work out."

Daniel smiled what he hoped was a self-assured smile. "Well, Holly, if your poker reads are as accurate, I'm staying out of your way. I know it's for the best, I guess we just grew apart. What you see is just a little bit of melancholy."

"Hmmm… if its melancholy," the beautiful blonde smiled, taking another sip from the hot mug. "Why are you staring at my tits?"

Daniel laughed as he deliberately allowed his eyes to flicker to her swells again. Her cleavage was almost intoxicating. "Well, you've got to admit," he joked, "They're difficult to keep your eyes from."

Her soft fingers ran down the front of her black tee shirt, grazing against the soft swell of her breasts. His gaze followed her movement and she waited until his eyes returned to hers before speaking. "Daniel, you're such a nice guy. You letch in a civilised way."

"Letch—?" Her throaty laugh made him colour.

"Honey, the good news is that you're not playing in the Main Event until tomorrow. The bad news is that I'm playing today. You need something to bring you out of your melancholy state, and I need some stimulation before I play—"

It took a good thirty seconds for her meaning to click. When it did, she was halfway out of the booth. Slipping her baseball cap back on, she crooked a finger. "Come on, then—"

***

"Can you believe this?" Grace asked her sister as the two of them stared across the marble foyer and around the impressive room. Even though the Salone suite was the smallest in the hotel, it was comfortably bigger than anything either of them had previously experienced.

"Look at this," Lauren told her as she rushed from room to room and then pulled her elder sister to the bathroom. The Italian marble bath with its soaking tub, glass-enclosed shower and personal his and hers sinks was mind boggling to the younger girl. "I'll be 'his,' she laughed, her eyes as wide as saucers as she took in every piece of decadent luxury.

"The bathroom alone is bigger than our rooms at the Rio," Grace grinned. "You still don't think I should have left Daniel?"

Lauren's excited face became serious for a second. "I didn't say you shouldn't, Grace. I just want there to be no regrets."

Her sister's grin disappeared. "I've no regrets, Lauren. How can I, this is what I've been waiting for all my life. Did you see the way the audience reacted last night? It was sensational."

Lauren followed her sister back out into the main room, her big eyes taking in the seating area with its couch and ottoman. "Of course I saw," she smiled again. "I was there. Remember?"

Grace wasn't listening; the champagne on the table had caught her eye. "Look, Lauren," she gushed, hurrying across to pick up the card next to the cooler. "Samuel sent champagne!"

***

The soft kiss Holly pulled Daniel into as soon as they entered the elevator was wet and passionate. "You looked so cute when I saw you downstairs," she grunted into his mouth, her white teeth pulling down his lower lip. "I nearly had to fuck you at the table."

"Holly," he began, feeling his heart race. "I'm not so sure—"

Her mouth stopped him and this time, the kiss was longer. Tugging down the zipper of her low-rise jeans, she popped open the waistline and guided his hand inside. He couldn't resist, she knew that—what man could?

"Fuck, Daniel," she gasped, her hips jerking as his fingers found their way inside her skimpy panties and traced along her wet labia. "That feels good."

Only the ping of the elevator stopped an immediate orgasm. She dragged him out. "Which way." He nodded to his left, caught up in the same arousal coating Holly. Her hand grabbed his as she rushed him along the corridor, her clit aching with every step. "For fuck's sake, Daniel" she complained as he fumbled with the key card. Once he clumsily had the door open, she dragged him inside.

"Holly—" he began again.

The finger covering his lips shushed him, and then it was her mouth. Dragging her tee shirt over her head, she knocked her baseball cap towards the ground and playfully kicked it before it hit the floor. The breasts he'd stared at so often at yesterday's table bounced as she shook her wavy hair.

"You're innocence is so fucking sexy," she growled, leaning back against the door. Reaching down, her urgent hands stripped her loosened jeans and panties from her legs. "Well?" she asked, raising her hands above her head and resting her palms on the wooden frame behind her. Her breasts thrust out towards him, the high nipples aching for his touch. It'd been a long time since she wanted someone with such intensity.

Daniel's aroused gaze swept across her naked body. Any doubts he had disappeared. If Grace didn't want him, this woman did. He undressed urgently, yanking each item from his body and dropping them where he stood. His hardness almost hurt.

Holly provocatively eased her thighs apart as she watched, arching her back against the door.

Daniel's eyes followed her hand—hypnotised—as it swept down her body and caressed the impossibly smooth skin of her clean-shaven mound. When his gaze returned to hers, she raised an inviting eyebrow. That was all the encouragement he needed. Two steps covered the distance between them. His mouth found her brown nipple at the same time as his fingers slid between her labial lips.

She pulled him into another kiss, wrapping her tongue around his. She had no intention of waiting too long, but wanted to briefly savour the moment. It wasn't his fingers Holly needed, but soon enough this young buck would be inside her.

Her hands reached for his penis, feeling the tingling heat in her loins surge with each stroke of her fingers. She thrust her jutting breasts into his hands, her diamond hard nipples burning against his palms. Their kissing turned frantic, lips locking, tongues parrying as the anticipation of the moment overwhelmed them.

"Ready, honey?" she whispered, unable to deny herself any longer.

Her hard buttocks rotated between the door and her new lover as her fingers guided his cockhead to her wet opening. One leg wrapped around his waist, pulling half his shaft inside her. When she raised her other leg, her heels finding purchase in the swell of his buttocks, he slid the rest of the way inside.

"Oh, fuck," he gasped as his hands found her ass, his legs stiffening to maintain his balance.

"Yes, honey," Holly replied. "Fuck me good." Her teeth found his earlobe, pulling down on the soft flesh.

Her feet tightened around him as he began to fuck her. The sound of her ass bouncing off the wood and sending vibrations around the room only drove him on. "Harder," she murmured, feeling that familiar tingling heat. She was close already.

The door thudded behind her as she threw her sweet ass back against it. She was there… now… biting into his neck as her climax overtook her. Never being one for holding back in this most intense of moments, she felt his hand cover her mouth to stifle her screams. Then it was his mouth covering hers as he widened his stance to hold her in position against the door.

The blonde trembled and shuddered her way through her climax, loving the way he supported her on his thighs while his hands clawed at her breasts. Another shudder ran through her when he took her nipples between his thumbs and index fingers. She felt so deliciously out of control.

When the intense waves finally subsided, she pulled away and dragged him across to the bed. Grasping the iron rods that ran along the base, she wriggled her ass and glance back over her shoulder. "Want it, honey?" she asked.

With a grunt of arousal, he eased himself onto the bed behind her and thrust home in one clean sweep. "Fuck, that's good," he moaned as her wetness easily accommodated him. Reached underneath her arms, he cupped her swells.

Holly adjusted her position so his hardness dragged across her clit. "Geez, yes! There—" she moaned.

He pulled on her nipples and he pumped into her. The sound of her animalistic grunts was almost as much a turn-on as the feel of her ass pushing back against him. "Gettin' close, Holly," he gasped.

Her right hand dropped to rub her swollen clit, pulling on the hooded nub as he raced towards orgasm. His growls warned her he was nearly there. "Wait, Daniel... hold back, honey... I'm close too—"

He obediently slowed the pace, gritting his teeth in an attempt to delay the inevitable. It was almost too much. "Fuck, Holly, I can't hold back," he gasped.

She thumbed her clitoris one final time and lit the fire. Suddenly she was there, with him, whimpering as his hips violently began to slap against her.

"Me too, honey! Now! Let it go! Yesssss!" She came again seconds before him, gripping the iron rungs in front of her face as she exploded.

Then he was there, too, releasing his creamy tribute inside her. Each time he juddered, he ejaculated again. He couldn't stop. This time, neither of them made an attempt to quieten her screams.

***

"You wanted to see me?" Rosie asked, squeezing through the heavy oak door into Big Eddie's office.

With every minute of her journey to the club, the sense of foreboding grew larger. She couldn't shake the thought. Only girls that were in trouble were called to see the gangster and neither of two things that led to was an attractive option. She didn't want to lose her job, but nor was she intending to fuck him.

"Rosie, how's it going?" the smartly dressed man asked, his outstretched hand indicating she should take the seat beside him on the gaudy couch. The man had no taste! Still, his greeting was encouraging. Had there been a problem, his demeanour would have been completely different.

She tucked her loose bangs over one ear and gave him a quick smile. "It's going well, Eddie," she nervously responded.

"I can see that, honey," he smiled. "That was quite a performance with Carly last night. Quite a performance!" She couldn't help but shudder. He'd seen that? "Maybe I can get you and Carly together more often," he lewdly grinned. "A private dance, perhaps? I love private dances!"

"I… I don't think so, Eddie," she carefully answered, knowing it wouldn't pay to annoy the owner. Yet she had no intention of complying with his wishes. She'd had just about enough of all this, anyway. Surely there was a better life waiting around the corner?

His beaming face reassured her, she knew he could've reacted differently at her refusal. This bastard didn't have a heart.

"Well, you never know, eh?" he asked, bouncing his eyebrows at her. She gave another sigh, but this one was apprehension. He knew something she didn't and from the smug look on his face, she wasn't going to like it.