Notorious (5 page)

Noah walked up to the desk, gave his name and asked for an extra key “for the lady.”

Keely was majorly impressed. He hadn't even tried to pretend she was a relative.

“Certainly, sir.” The desk clerk, a wholesome type of guy, didn't even blink as he called up Noah's account on the computer. But whatever he saw on the screen made his eyes widen. “Oh, boy. Good thing you stopped by the desk, Mr. Garfield. There's been a small problem with your room.”

“What sort of problem?”

The clerk frowned at the screen. “I need to get the manager out here to talk with you. Excuse me a moment.” He picked up a phone and punched in a number. “Mr. Garfield's at the desk. No, I don't think he's been up there yet. Right.” He hung up the phone and turned to Noah. “Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. The manager will be right out.”

Keely wondered if the delay, whatever was causing it, would make Noah more self-conscious about his request for a spare key. Apparently not, because he turned to her and shrugged.

“Mr. Garfield.” A guy only slightly older than the desk clerk arrived and held out his hand over the counter. “I'm Martin Ames. Could we step down to the end of the counter for a moment? I need to inform you of our problem.”

“Okay.” Noah looked at Keely. “Let's go see what this is all about.”

She hesitated. “Are you sure you want me to—”

“Yeah.” He smiled and angled his head toward the end of the counter. “Come on.”

“All right.”
Congratulations, Noah
, she thought as she followed him. From all appearances he was bringing a call girl up to his room, but he didn't seem to care whether the staff assumed that or not. His friends were a different story, of course, but his reluctance there was understandable.

Ames came out from behind the counter and glanced pointedly at Keely before returning his gaze to Noah.

To Noah's credit, he made no effort to explain Keely's presence. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked.

The manager looked uncomfortable. “We're a new hotel, as I'm sure you know, and in the rush to get it open on time, apparently the hiring process wasn't…what I mean to say is, the screening of applicants might not have been quite thorough enough. At least in the housekeeping department.”

“And you would be telling me all this because…?”

“One of the housekeepers vandalized your room.”

Keely gasped.

“What?”
Noah stared at the manager in obvious disbelief.

“It was a case of mistaken identity,” Ames said quickly. “The woman's in custody, and we've learned from the police that she's mentally unbalanced. It seems she formed an imaginary attachment to one of our guests, and when her interest wasn't returned, she attempted revenge by damaging his room and its contents. That would be bad enough, but she became confused and hit your room by mistake.”

“What about my stuff?” Noah asked.

“I'm afraid it's pretty well ruined. She took a knife to your clothes and suitcase and smashed your toiletries. The police took it for evidence, so I'm not sure how soon you can retrieve
it. But from what I saw, there's not much point in getting your things back.”

“My God.” Noah shook his head.

“We take full responsibility, of course,” Ames continued. “If you'll give us an estimate of what you lost we'll write you a check immediately. And of course we've moved you to a new room, and you won't be billed for your stay. If you should choose to move to a different hotel, we'll pay for that.”

“No, I won't move. My friend is getting married here tomorrow night.”

“Ah.” Ames nodded. He seemed to be avoiding looking at Keely. “Then let me take you back to the desk and issue you a new key.”

“Two keys,” Noah said.

“Oh.” The manager slid a glance over toward Keely. “Of course.”

Keely could see that the discussion was drawing to a close. She was outraged on Noah's behalf. Her L.A. apartment had been vandalized once, and she knew the sick, violated feeling he was probably dealing with right now. Given the mental anguish, she didn't think a different room and some money to replace his belongings, some of which might be irreplaceable, was enough.

She cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but are you moving Mr. Garfield to another room that's similar to what he had?”

“Exactly like what he had,” Ames said with a satisfied smile. “And there will be no charge, of course.”

“I think he should be given a substantial upgrade,” Keely said.

Ames blinked. “An upgrade?”

“Now, Keely,” Noah said, “the same sort of room will be—”

“I don't think so,” Keely cut in. “You've been traumatized, whether you're willing to admit that or not. And I'll bet your feelings about this hotel are very negative right now.”

Noah gazed at her. “I wouldn't say I'm overjoyed with the place.”

“See?” Keely turned to Ames. “I would suggest that you give Mr. Garfield an outstanding experience to take away with him, something that will at least partially cancel out the horrible thing that happened. I'm sure you have some luxury suites in this hotel. I would imagine at least one of them is vacant.”

Ames straightened his tie and glanced toward Noah. “How do you feel about that, Mr. Garfield?”

Noah met Keely's gaze.

She lifted her eyebrows in a silent challenge. There was no doubt in her mind that he deserved this perk, but the Noah she remembered probably wouldn't have taken it. He would have scoffed at the idea of “luxury” accommodations, as if a rough-tough cowboy didn't need that kind of pampering. She'd love the chance to show him how wrong he could be.

Gradually a smile touched his lips. “I think the lady's absolutely right,” he said. “Give us the best you can manage, Mr. Ames.”

 

N
OAH WOULD NEVER HAVE
agreed to a fancy hotel room for himself. After all, he only planned to sleep in it, so extras would go to waste, as far as he was concerned. But he was glad to get the nicer room for Keely's sake. God only knew the type of place she'd been living in recently.

Besides, a bigger room meant they'd have more space to spread out. He imagined the suite might have two bathrooms and maybe extra sleeping arrangements. If he wasn't bumping into Keely every five seconds he might stand a better chance of keeping his vow not to make love to her.

Ames gave them a new key folder and directed them to a special elevator.

“I'm so glad you told him you wanted a better room,”
Keely said as they stepped into the mirrored elevator. Soft guitar music began to play as the brass doors slid shut.

Noah laughed. “I'm sure he didn't want to give it to me. These are the rooms they reserve for the high rollers.”

“So what? If they're going to screw up and hire a psycho maid, then they can compensate the poor guy who gets his stuff trashed. I'm really sorry about that, Noah. Did you lose anything special?”

“I've been trying to remember exactly what I brought. I don't think any of it was that important.” Noah was having a hard time concentrating on the vandalism incident when more potent subjects stood right in front of him. As he faced Keely in the elevator, the mirrored walls gave him many stimulating viewing options.

On the left and right walls he could admire her figure in profile—the impressive thrust of her breasts, the narrow waist, the long slender legs made even more sexy by the high-heeled sandals. The back wall of the elevator gave him a different perspective. When she shifted her weight, the blue flowered material of her dress quivered against her firm bottom and flounced against her thighs. There was something very enticing about the backs of her knees….

And without warning, he was imagining Keely naked in this elevator, surrounded by mirrors. He could see her lifting her arms over her head, stretching, turning this way and that, while the mirrors reflected every spectacular inch of her. His breathing grew shallow.

“…forget to give him that,” Keely said.

“Hmm? What?” Noah felt his face heat as he realized he'd missed half of what she'd just said.

She smiled. “The list of what you had in the room. You need to make that up as soon as possible.”

“Oh. Right.”

Her green eyes began to sparkle. “Are you enjoying the mirrors?”

Everything he was thinking was apparently written on his face. “I was wondering how they keep them so clean,” he fibbed. “You notice there are no smudge marks.”

“Now that you mention it, they are very clean.” Her eyes danced. “Mirrors can be a lot of fun. Ever made love in front of one?”

“No!” And suddenly that seemed like the only thing he wanted to do.

“Too bad,” she said. “Well, there's still time.”

Way too much time
, he thought.
Especially this weekend
.

K
EELY'S PULSE RACED
with anticipation as she took the key card Noah handed her and slid it into the lock that opened the elevator doors to the hotel's exclusive top floor. Moments later she used the same key for the double doors leading into the suite.

Spending the weekend in a hotel room with Noah had seemed promising from the beginning. Now that they'd be surrounded by luxury, she was beyond excited. No doubt about it, she was her mother's daughter when it came to enjoying the finer things of life.

“I hear water running,” Noah said. “I hope nobody left it on and overflowed the sink or something.”

“Now that the psycho maid is in custody, I doubt it.” She stepped inside the spacious entry and sighed in appreciation. A waterfall in the entry was a very good sign indeed. This one cascaded down a wall of lava rock into a shallow pool rimmed with lacy ferns. Colorful seashells lined the bottom of the pool. “There's your running water.”

“I'll be damned.”

“Or there's some of your water, at any rate. I think there's more.” The gurgle of another water feature drifted through the arched doorway ahead. “Let's go see what else they've dreamed up.”

Walking into the living area of the suite, she drew in a breath. Whoever had created this setting understood how fantasy worked. She would love describing this place to her girlfriends. They'd be green.

Automatically her journalistic training kicked in as she recorded details to take home. First of all, the walls resembled a rocky cliff face. Three separate waterfalls spilled down the rocks to gather in an actual, honest-to-goodness indoor stream that circled the room and flowed through an opening out onto a terrace. There it sluiced into a hot tub surrounded by rattan lounges and cocktail tables. She was speechless.

Inside, the designers had abandoned the idea of traditional furniture. A network of vines and splashes of red and pink flowers gave the impression of a jungle clearing. But this was a clearing with amenities. Velvet cushions in several sizes and shades of green lay in profusion on the smooth rock floor. Sand-colored concrete ledges mounded with more pillows created a raised seating area overlooking the stream. Pieces of driftwood topped with slabs of stone embedded with seashells served as end tables.

In order to get to the bedroom, she'd have to cross the stream on a bamboo footbridge. The concept was so cool that she hugged herself with delight. The bedroom would probably be awesome, too.

She walked over the tiny bridge and through another arched doorway into a haven of sheer white fabrics and romance. A white urn held waxy red anthuriums, but otherwise the room was so virginal-looking it slipped over the line to decadence. The huge canopied bed was draped with gauzy fabric and deep in pillows. Two overstuffed lounges, both slip-covered in white, sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that repeated the view from the living area.

The simple elegance of the setting was a perfect contrast to the lusty mating of bodies she had planned. Seduction was going to be so sweet in this room.

Through another arch she glimpsed a large bathroom that gleamed with white marble and gold fixtures. Oh, yes. Noah was so dead.

But where was he, anyway? Maybe he was standing trans
fixed in the middle of the living area, unable to believe his eyes. Crossing over the bridge again, she found the room empty. Apparently he'd bogged down in the hall for some reason.

“Noah?” she called. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how this wall-of-water thing works,” he called back. “Do you think we have to turn it off at night? I've been looking for a switch, but I can't seem to find—”

“I don't think you have to worry about how to turn it off.” She swallowed her laughter as she headed back toward the entry. He sounded so adorably earnest. Staying in a place like this with a man who'd never experienced luxuries would be a real kick. But she'd do well to remember how different their preferences were when it came to living arrangements.

Sure enough, he wore a frown of concentration as he surveyed the entryway walls, looking for the on/off switch. “All this water running with no way to control it makes me nervous,” he said.

“That's because you live in the desert.” She also thought anything unrestrained at the moment, water or lust, would get to him. “I'm sure they don't want us fiddling with their waterfall,” she said. “And this is only the beginning, anyway. If running water makes you nervous, wait until you see the rest. Come on.”

“Well, okay.” He walked toward the arched doorway. “But I'd still feel better if I knew how to control the—” His eyes widened at his first glimpse of the suite's interior. “Oh…my…God.”

She stood there with a silly grin as his startled gaze traveled from the waterfalls to the miniature creek to the glass wall looking out on the terrace with its exotic hot tub. Beyond the terrace lay the jeweled fantasy hotels along the Strip and the powerful thrust of the mountain range flanking the town. By day the view was impressive. By night it would beggar description.

And they were here because she'd spoken up. She was
quite proud of herself. “A wee bit better than looking at the parking lot, wouldn't you say?”

He was obviously dumbstruck as he surveyed the room again, his attention lingering on the array of pillows and the footbridge leading into the bedroom.

She loved looking at him standing there, an Arizona cowpoke so delightfully out of place in the lush tropical setting. But get him out of those clothes and he'd fit in much better, at least for the weekend. Under those worn jeans and that faded chambray shirt was a body to die for, and soon it would be all hers to command. This unbelievable hotel suite would clinch her victory. A cowboy in paradise. What more could a girl ask for?

“I take it the bedroom's in there,” he said.

Oh, yes
. “Yes. It's a different style from this room, but it's still wonderful. And there's also an incredible bathroom, from what I could see. I didn't go all the way into the bedroom.”

“And is that…all?”

She laughed in disbelief. “That isn't enough?”

“Don't get me wrong. I've never seen a place like this. It blows me away. But somehow I thought there would be more…space.”

“The rooms are huge.”

“I mean, more rooms.”

“Ah.” Now she understood. The more rooms, the less temptation. Oh, gee, too bad. “Sorry, but we seem to have an entry, a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom. And closets. Oh, and a terrace.”

He looked out to the terrace. She could imagine the wheels turning as he tried to decide if he could sleep there, which was as far from the bedroom as he could hope to get and still be in the suite. She hated to tell him, but it wouldn't be far enough.

Finally he looked at her. “Do you like it?”

“Are you kidding?” She held out her hands and spun around on the smooth stone floor. “I
love
it!”

He smiled, although he still seemed a little on the nervous side. “Well, good. That's good.”

“Don't you?”

“I…” He took off his hat and tapped it against his thigh. Then he ran his hand through his hair, combing it back from his forehead. “I don't know. It's so different. No couch, no chairs, no coffee table, no lamps. And where's the TV?”

If she had anything to say about it they wouldn't be watching any television this weekend, but he looked so uneasy she decided to find a TV for him. If imagining he'd be catching a ball game on the tube would ease his anxiety, then she was all in favor of locating the television set.

“I'll bet there's a TV somewhere.” She figured the set was hidden, but a remote of some sort had to exist. Strolling into the room, she glanced around and finally found a remote-control unit lying on a rock ledge. “Here we are. ‘Entertainment Center,'” she read from the list on the cover of the remote. When she pushed a button, precision motors whirred as a portion of one wall opened to reveal a giant screen.

Noah shook his head. “Amazing.”

“Want me to turn it on?” She found the power button.

“No, that's okay.”

“Let's make sure it works.” Punching the button, she brought up a menu screen. Aha. Adult videos on Channel 14. That might be worth checking out. She didn't want Noah to get
too
comfortable.

She pushed the numbers one and four on the numeric keypad. An incredible sound system filled the room with seductive music.
Naughty! Sassy! No Holds Barred!
flashed on the screen.

“Keely, don't—”

“I'm just testing the system.”

“Come on, turn it off.” He advanced toward her.

“In a second.” As the preview began, she held the remote behind her back.

“Give it here.” He reached around her.

“Not yet.” She danced away from him.

“Now, you know we don't need to see this.” He grabbed for the remote again.

She twirled out of reach. “Just the preview, okay?” She managed to sneak a peek at the screen. Wow. The people were so big. It seemed to make them more naked, somehow. She didn't think she'd ever seen a skin flick on a big-screen TV. And the music was awesome. Must be some primo speakers disguised in the rock walls.

He sounded a little desperate. “Look, I'm not going to wrestle you for it.”

“Too bad. That could be fun.” She noticed he kept looking at the screen, too, and his attempts to get the remote away from her had become halfhearted.

“Just turn off the video, okay?” he pleaded.

“Right after this part.” When the woman dropped to her knees and unzipped the man's pants in obvious preparation for oral sex, the camera zoomed in. The man's penis nearly filled the screen. “Oh, now, see that? I'll bet you dollars-to-doughnuts a man directed this video. You can tell, because a male director always concentrates on fellatio, while a woman—”

“Keely, for God's sake!”

“It's true! If you've watched enough of these you'd have to pick up on it!”

“Well, I haven't, okay? Saguaro Junction doesn't exactly specialize in adult-video arcades!”

“Then you should be delighted to have this chance to see some,” she said sweetly. “Whoops, is that a phone ringing somewhere?”

“It sure as hell is, and I'll bet it's Brandon. God, I was supposed to meet him at—” He checked his watch. “Ten minutes ago. A fitting for the tux.” He scanned the area frantically. “Do you see anything in this jungle that resembles a
phone, or should I go answer that trumpet-flower thing? That's where the ringing's coming from.”

“I'm sure that's a flower.” She moved the petals aside and saw nothing but lava rocks behind it.

“This is ridiculous. We can't even answer the—”

“Oh!” With sudden inspiration, she looked at the remote in her hand. “Here's a button marked phone. Let's see what happens if I push it.”

His eyes widened in panic. “Don't! It might be a video phone or something.”

“Okay, then take it.” She thrust the remote at him. “You push those little buttons and I'll leave the room.”

“And go where?” he asked, sounding even more agitated.

“To the bedroom.” She winked at him. “Maybe I'll slip into something more comfortable.”

“But you don't have any other clothes!” He sounded very worried.

She glanced over her shoulder. “I know.” Then she crossed the footbridge with her best eye-catching walk. Poor Noah. When she decided to make her move, he wouldn't know what hit him.

 

W
ITH TREMBLING HANDS
Noah turned off the power to the big-screen TV, finally erasing the erotic images that had nearly driven him to do something he'd regret. Glancing uneasily toward the bedroom, afraid of what Keely might be up to in there, he pushed the button for the phone. Once again motors whirred as the rock wall parted and a shelf slid out, presenting him with a cordless phone.

Setting the remote on the shelf, Noah picked up the phone and turned it on. “Hello?”

“Noah!” Brandon sounded relieved.

“Listen, I'm sorry I'm not down there like I'm supposed to be. There's been—”

“I heard about that. I dialed your room and couldn't get
you, so the guys and I decided to go up there, because it's not like you to be late. That's when we found yellow crime-scene tape everywhere. Man, we went on a rampage, finally got ahold of the manager, Ames, and he told us what happened. I rescheduled the fittings for thirty minutes from now. Can you make that okay?”

“Sure. I could come down now if you want.”

“They have another wedding party in the rental shop right now, but we can go have a beer if you want to. Or we could all come up there and see your new room. Is it pretty cool?”