Free Vegas Moon by R. M. Sotera Page A

closed her eyes.
    “You are so fucking beautiful.” His passion-filled gaze bore into her, making her feel beyond special. Tonight she’d taken all he was giving, and absorbed the heat that was him.
    “You’re not so bad yourself.” A brown curl slid from his forehead and swept across her cheek. “As a matter of fact, you are fucking fantastic.”
    His chuckle mingled with hers. His laughter was like a favorite blanket, one that she never wanted to live without. She knew, without a doubt, that he had burrowed a place deep in her soul.

Chapter 6
     
    New Orleans
     
    One week had passed since Cindi, Jordan, Jamison, and Tristan arrived in New Orleans. Victoria, always her hospitable self, put Jordan, Mia, Cindi, and Tristan up at one of the many condos she owned in the Garden District. Jamison stayed with Victoria at her condo in the French Quarter.
    The antique grandfather clock in the foyer of the condo had just struck noon, the chime resonating through the condo when Mia stepped off the last step of the spiral staircase leading from the bedrooms.
    “Morning, Cin.” Mia smiled even though she looked exhausted.
    It ripped Cindi wide open with concern to see her best friend look so tired.
    “You’re looking pretty rough this morning, girlfriend.” Cindi set the newspaper she’d had tucked under her arm onto the coffee table. “Didn’t sleep very good last night, did you?”
    Mia winced and then swept her long dark-brown hair over her shoulder and plopped down on the sofa next to Cindi. “How’d you know?”
    “You look like shit. You want to tell me about it?”
    Mia hesitated briefly and a wince creased her face a second time. “My husband is smothering me. And…so are all of you.”
    Cindi arched a brow, definitely hiding a chuckle. “We care about you, babe. I mean we could probably back off a bit, but your husband is another story. You know how much he loves you. And to think that you may be in danger again, well, it’s making him crazy.”
    Her best friend glanced to the floor and then narrowed her gaze. “How many times is this going to happen to us…men of women he fucked wanting to hurt me? I feel like a prisoner. A prisoner in my own skin.”
    At the moment, Cindi couldn’t find a reason to disagree with her best bud in the world. She was right. Her life had suddenly become like a prison. “Are you having second thoughts about marrying Jordan?” She was sure she’d known the answer to her rather foolish question, but she needed to hear Mia’s reply.
    A shocked expression and then a tint of understanding creased her best bud’s face. “Oh, no, you know how much I love that man. I just wish he wouldn’t have slept with everything that had a pulse.”
    That comment brought full-on laughter from Cindi. “Damned slut that man of yours was. Mia, darlin’, who are we kidding? The entire Stiletto Sanction elders—men and women—were, and still are, whore-dogs. We just happened to catch and calm a few of them.”
    The clearing of a throat sent both their attention to the doorway were Jordan stood leaning against the door jamb. He was a damned sexy man. Cindi understood perfectly Mia’s attraction to Jordan. He was a looker, for sure. His long, blonde hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, and his white cotton shirt was unbuttoned just enough to show off his tanned skin. “Having a girl powwow I see.” His deep voice stated the mere fact. However, he had part of his assumption wrong, and Cindi felt it her duty to correct him.
    “Correction, a best-friend powwow.”
    Tristan came up behind Jordan, tapped him on the shoulder, gave him an eyebrow raise, and then both men came into the room.
    Two sexy-ass men were those two. Cindi allowed herself a few minutes to drink in the lovely vision of Tristan in his tight blue jeans and black T-shirt. He was such a fine specimen of the male form. Poetry in utter motion.
    Tristan made his way to Cindi and slid into the empty space on the sofa