“What? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I’m not ashamed,” he says, pressing the button and spending another handful of pennies on the slot machine.
“Good, because I was seven shades of sore this morning. I’m not exactly sure what all we did, but we did it well, Sammy,” I say, as I place the max bet and push the button. The moment the numbers spin and fall in line, the sirens start to go off and the word winner flashes across the screen. “Holy shitballs, Sammy! I think I just won!”
“Seriously?” he asks, standing directly beside me and glancing over my shoulder. I can smell his cologne. It does things to me. He gasps. “You won over four thousand dollars.”
“Shut. Up!” I look at the screen, and indeed, it says I won four thousand three hundred and two dollars. “Holy shitballs!” I throw my arms around him and squeal, not even caring it’s directly into his ears. “We won!”
When he sets me back down on my feet, he’s grinning from ear to ear. “We didn’t win anything. That’s all you, Freedom.”
A few people come over and congratulate me, including those three lurkers at the end of the row. “Hey, congrats,” one says, eyeing Samuel, while the other two blatantly stare at my boobs.
“Thanks! I’m Karen, and this is my male submissive, Jose.”
All eyes are on me.
“What?” Samuel whispers, a tad on the harsh side.
“I’ve been thinking of making it a party while in Vegas. You boys interested in joining us?” I take a step toward the first wide-eyed guy and pat his cheek. “Have you ever worn a ball gag before?”
“We better get going,” one says, practically dragging his friend away from us.
The moment they’re gone, I burst into a fit of laughter. “That was fun.”
“What is wrong with you?” he asks, pulling at his collar, as I press the cash out button.
“Nothing a good flogging wouldn’t fix,” I tell him as I take the paper ticket. When I turn back to face him, he’s pale again and looks like he might actually vomit. “What?”
“Are you serious?”
“I never joke about flogging, Sammy. Come on, let’s go cash this baby in!”
Samuel cashes out his machine and hands me the ticket. I put a dollar in and am getting twenty-four cents back. As we make our way to the cashier counter, his warm hand wraps around mine, and I have to fight a smile.
In line, he turns and asks, “Are you sure you’re done? Don’t you want to try to win more?”
I shake my head right away. “Hell no. I’m good. I never win, so I don’t want to risk losing it all, thinking I can add to it. I put a five in the machine, prepared to lose it. Why risk all the money I just won?” I ask.
When I turn, he looks like he’s considering my words. “I guess I just assume most people would want to win even more.”
We step forward in line. “Well, I’m not most people, Sammy.”
He sighs. “I definitely agree with you there.”
***
After a slight detour around the area, we make our way back to the hotel. We step inside the cool air-conditioning and find Jensen and Kathryn exiting the coffee shop.
“Hey, I thought you guys turned in hours ago,” Samuel says.
“We did, but then decided to walk around for a bit. We caught one of the Bellagio fountain shows. Have you seen it?” Kathryn asks, her eyes bright with enjoyment.
“Yeah, a bit ago. Then we went to the casino and won some cashola,” I say.
Jensen looks shocked, his gaze sweeping between Samuel and myself. “You?” he asks, pointing to his big brother. “Went to a casino? Willingly?”
“Of course,” Samuel replies, straightening that necktie.
“And now we’re headed up to my room so I can give ol’ Sammy a massage,” I announce, instantly sensing the onslaught of tension rolling off him.
“A massage?” Jensen asks, completely stunned. “As in, you’re letting her put her hands on you?”
Samuel looks like he’s going to faint. “We’re not… It’s not like that. No massage.”
“He’s tense. He needs a good old-fashioned rubdown,” I tell the youngest Grayson male, while patting the oldest one on the chest.
“I think he’s definitely in need of a rubdown,” Jensen says, unable to contain his grin.
“We’ll leave you to it,” Kathryn adds, pulling her fiancé toward the bank of elevators. We all say our goodbyes and head to the coffee shop.
“Coffee? This late at night?” he asks when I get in line behind another couple.
“No coffee for me. I’m getting a green tea chai,” I tell him before placing my order. “Do you want anything?”
“No, thank you.”
With my drink in hand, we head to the elevators. Samuel is doing his best to keep his distance, but he hasn’t taken off the way I’d expect him to. I figured at first opportunity, he’d head to his own room, leaving me standing in the coffee shop. But he hasn’t. He’s stayed by my side, even if he’s not really sure why.
We get off on our floor and head toward our rooms. I start digging in my cleavage until I free my plastic keycard. “Seriously, I can’t believe you do that.”
“What?” I ask, glancing down at the card in my hand.
“Keep stuff…there.”
I shrug. “Where else am I going to keep it? It’s not like I have pockets on this dress,” I tell him as we approach his door.
He stops in front of it and turns my way. He seems to be struggling with what he’s trying to say. Samuel opens his mouth before shutting it quickly. When he opens it again, his eyes meet mine and he swallows hard. “You looked very nice today, Freedom.”
I have no idea why, but I start to blush. Sure, I’ve had compliments before, but rarely from Samuel. He keeps his thoughts guarded close, like state secrets. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”
“Well, good night.”
I reach for his hand and place mine on his as he goes to swipe the card over the lock. A jolt of