Notorious Read Free Page B

didn’t.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œIn this neighborhood, if some guy is tagging around after a woman, looking like he’s keeping track of her, people might think he’s her pimp.”
    As he wondered how she’d become so knowledgeable about such things, ice water shot through his veins. “Keely, please tell me that you’ve never—”
    â€œNo. I’ve never. I may be a naughty girl, but I’ve never been that naughty.”
    He sighed with relief.
    â€œYet.”
    His muscles tensed all over again and he opened his mouth to deliver another warning.
    Keely’s musical laugh cut him off. “Relax. I’m kidding. You were around for the first nineteen years of my life. You should know by now how much I love to tease people. Especially people like you.” She fluttered a hand at him. “Hold down the sidewalk. I’ll be back before you know it.”
    He watched her walk through the entrance into the cavelike interior of the club. That Keely. She always could get him going.
    Then he blinked as if coming out of a trance. He had just arranged to spend the weekend sleeping in a hotel suite with Keely Branscom .
    What the hell had he been thinking? He’d arrived in this place feeling on edge and sexually deprived. Now he’d invited the sexiest woman he’d ever known to stay with him in extremely close quarters. Less than four hours into his Vegas stay, and the city had him right where it wanted him.

2
    K EELY HAD MADE a career of acting on impulse. This particular impulse—to play along with Noah’s outrageous plan to save her—could be lots of fun, especially if she turned the tables and took him for a walk on the wild side, instead. So why this sudden attack of nerves?
    Maybe she was still dealing with the news that her sister and Jonas were getting married. That situation would definitely take some getting used to. Yeah, it was the sudden word of their wedding that had her spooked.
    Surely she wasn’t still into Noah the way she had been at sixteen. And seducing him here in Vegas would be an awesome way to get revenge for the way he’d brusquely pushed her away at that tender age. But in order for that revenge to be sweet, she had to be certain she was completely over him. Well, she was. Of course she was.
    Shaking off her uneasiness, she walked into the sparsely populated bar and glanced at the blond woman gyrating on the small stage. No, that wasn’t the one. Her interview subject was a brunette.
    â€œWould you like a table?” A thin man dressed in a white shirt and tight black pants appeared at her elbow.
    â€œNo, thanks. I’m Keely Branscom and I’m here to talk with Suzanne.”
    â€œOh!” The man grew more animated. “You’re the reporter from Attitude! She’s in the back. Please sit down. I’ll go get her.”
    Keely pulled out a chair at the nearest round cocktail tableand sat. This might take longer than she figured. No doubt Noah would be outside having a conniption, thinking she was secretly filling out a job application. But she couldn’t be rude and leave without speaking to Suzanne.
    The sound system in the bar wasn’t very good, but the blonde on the stage was an excellent dancer. Keely counted five men in the place, all of them with their attention glued to the stage. She’d love to believe they were admiring the skill of the performance, but after years of reporting on the guy/gal scene for Attitude! , she could reasonably conclude they were fixated on the dancer’s chest instead of her footwork.
    In general, a man’s motivation was pretty simple, which was one reason she was so intrigued by Noah’s offer to reform her. His motivation was more complex. She really believed he didn’t intend for them to have sex. Well, he just might have to reevaluate that decision.
    â€œMs. Branscom?”
    Keely glanced away from the stage and saw that a curvy