Chapter 3

Working out and rock climbing tended to make one's appetite larger than normal, at least in Vallea's experience. "I'm always up for dessert. Nothing I can't work or burn off later."

She finished her second beer with her meal and cut herself off since she had to drive. The food she ate would soak most of it up and she was confident in herself to make it home safely. Vallea only lived a few blocks away from this place in a one bedroom apartment. Everything happened for a reason in life, that was a motto she lived by, and being saved by this gorgeous man definitely wasn't a bad thing. Maybe it would lead to more. Maybe not. Vallea didn't really think about the future and just lived in the here and now.

"What did you have in mind? Here or…somewhere else?"

"Not here, their dessert here sucks." Jon made sure to say it loud enough for Darla to hear.

"He's not wrong, everything here except the dessert is homemade. They buy Sara Lee crap out of the local Walmart and serve it at a high mark-up. Need the check, Jon?"

"She does."

"You're a terrible man, making the lady pay for you."

Jon's blue eyes widened mirthfully. "I know, I know…" He sounded chastised, though he was trying not to smile.

Vallea chuckled, whipping her credit card out and placed it on the tray before Darla could walk away. She would be tipping Darla well since the woman took great care of them. Hoping he'd been talking about a different dessert, Vallea played along and signed the slip of paper, along with giving Darla a 30% tip and slid it back to her.

"Shall we?" They stood up from the table and walked out of the diner, the sun beginning to slowly descend on the horizon. There was still a few more hours of daylight left. "So, did you have a place in mind for dessert?"

Jon halted before their respective cars, fixing Vallea with a thoughtful stare. "Do you really want to eat after just having dinner?" He asked, fairly certain he already knew the answer. That was a rather filling meal they had just eaten, on top of the appetizers. "Want to walk the Strip?" He didn't go inside the casinos and hotels often, but he did like walking down the street and enjoyed the lights. Vegas was a city that never slept, but Vegas at night was something else entirely. "Maybe find a back alley to disappear down?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Sure, but first I need to do something." His thoughtful look had turned questioningly and she smiled, stepping up to him with mischievous hazel eyes. Before she spent any more time with this man, Vallea had to know if there was a connection between them, a spark. "Come down to my level." He was a lot taller than her 5'6 petite frame, standing just shy of a foot above her.

When he did as she requested, Vallea cupped his bearded face in her hand and brought his mouth to hers, initiating the first kiss between them. Oh there were definite sparks between them, especially when he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arm around her waist to press her body against him. Only when they needed oxygen to breathe did Vallea pull back and break the kiss, his electric blues glowing down at her.

"A walk sounds nice." They were near the Strip anyway, so there was no point in moving their cars from the diner parking lot.

Instant chemistry, there was definitely more than a spark between the two of them. Jon decided right then and there, if she wanted a tumble or two between the sheets, he was game. Admittedly, in the past, he had been game for encounters with women there hadn't been much of a spark, but in his slightly more wiser years, sleeping around with everything wasn't all that appealing. Not to mention, it was a lot safer and lessened the chances of both STDs and catching crazy. Lacing his fingers through hers, he pulled Vallea away from the parking lot and onto the sidewalk.

This was easy actually, comfortable, and he liked it.

Vallea was not a prude by any stretch and had her fair share of lovers, the majority one night stands to scratch an itch or two. It didn't happen often – she'd met up with men mostly on the exotic trips she took with her clients, meeting them on beaches or bars. There was a hot Hawaiian boy she had mingled with for about 2 weeks before leaving to go back home and it'd been some of the best sex of her life.

Sex in the ocean was incredible too.

Something told Vallea sex with Jon would be better than that and she looked forward to finding out if that assumption was right. They walked along the strip with her pointing out various favorite places and admitting not going to the casinos. That was just asking for trouble and the last thing she needed was a gambling problem. Jon, on the other hand, enjoyed playing at the tables once in a while, just to get out of the house and do something while on his vacation.

"So, how long have you been on vacation?" She asked, continuing to hold his now sweaty hand because of the heat and didn't pull away, enjoying the contact.

"Seven months or so, give or take." Jon replied casually.

More like seven months, one week, six days. He was counting. He called it a vacation because that sounded a lot nicer than the truth. Jon had injured himself and been forced to step down to rehab his triceps. While shelved, he had decided to work on some other things, like the junk food habit and potential for pudge he had realized he was developing.

"What about you? You on days off? In between clients?" Her gig was still weird.

"Yeah, I took a week vacation to just decompress and get away from it all. I have plenty of vacation time stored up, so my boss didn't mind. This is actually day one of that vacation." My what an adventure it had been so far! "That's a long time to take a vacation from something you love to do." Vallea had a feeling there was more to that story – who else took seven months off from their job? "I might add a second week to my vacation, haven't decided yet. Depends on if I can keep myself occupied long enough without going stir crazy from boredom."

"I'm pretty sure we can find ways to occupy you and keep the boredom at bay." Jon had a feeling that this was going to be more than a one night deal.

He could just tell. It had been a long time since he had felt any sort of connection outside of the basic scratching the itch with a woman. Jon wasn't exactly in any hurry to just let this all end. Up ahead, there was a crowd and what looked like a street performer, Vegas was full of them. Tugging Vallea forward, he peered over the heads to make sure it wasn't a mime.

It was a saxophone player and he was extremely talented. Jazz and Blues that sounded good was right up her alley. Vallea liked all kinds of music, every genre, even oldies and classics. Jon moved to stand beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned against him, both moving their heads to the beat. When the saxophone player stopped, she pulled out a 20, along with Jon, both tossing it in his case. The player smiled up at them, thanking everyone for their generosity and began playing another song on the saxophone. Much like Jon, Vallea felt like something was brewing here between them, but refused to put any kind of pressure on it. Whatever happened, happened and if it's only a onetime deal between them, so be it. There was no rush from either of them, both legitimately enjoying spending time together.

Dessert was honestly the furthest thing from Jon's mind. When he had asked her at the diner about it, it had been as a way to just spend more time with her. A delay tactic of sorts. He was genuinely interested in the woman he had saved earlier, and so far, she was not disappointing him. He had to wonder how she was feeling about him. Jon knew some people found his bluntness, or wisecracking, an annoyance. Given that he had mentioned a seedy alley and she hadn't backed away, he figured she wasn't annoyed or she was crazy, perhaps both.

If Vallea was being honest, she had gone on a few blind dates since moving to Vegas and none of them compared to Jon. There was something about him – something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He was different and had an intensity about him that set her blood on fire. Dessert didn't even cross her mind anymore…hell, he WAS her dessert as far as she was concerned. It was just a matter of when he wanted her to devour him. Giving this man a tongue bath was on the forefront of her mind, actually. He did look rather scrumptious out in the dessert all hot and sweaty earlier, but Vallea had been out of it after nearly falling to her death.

"You know, this is the best non-date I've ever had." She commented while they kept walking the Strip, the city of lights living up to its name.

"It's a date, doll," Jon informed in a syrupy sweet tone, snorting when she glanced up at him. "Let's not lie, it's a date."

He squeezed her hand, pulling her around the ground surrounding the saxophone player as they continued on their stroll. He took a moment to consider their surroundings and then began to smile. Obviously, she wasn't afraid of heights, the woman climbed canyon walls without harnesses.

"You ever been on the High Roller Observation Wheel?" He asked, figuring given her job, she would at the very least know about it.

It was a giant Ferris wheel, of sorts.

"Fine, it's a surprise date, then. And yes, I've heard of it, but I've never gone on it before."

His smile could melt glaciers and he had the cutest dimples. Vallea wasn't surprised when they crossed the way to head toward the High Roller Observation Wheel and looked up at it, not a hint of fear in her eyes. Even though she'd nearly fallen to her death earlier that morning, it was forgotten. Riding a huge contraption like this alone was no fun, she hadn't found someone who enjoyed the same things she did…until now.

The wheel was huge and had little balls that served as an observation deck. It was gorgeous, especially all lit up and the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. They had walked around for hours without even realizing it and Vallea wasn't the least bit tired or wanted the night to end. After Jon paid their way, they stepped inside the observation ball and he paid the man extra to make sure they were alone. She walked over to look out the window and couldn't wait to be high above to see all of Vegas.

He hadn't missed what Vallea had done, paid the man off to ensure they had some privacy. That right there had probably cost her a damn pretty penny. This was a popular tourist spot, there had been a line, and she was holding it up. He loved it. She had no fucks to give and apparently money to burn, he liked a lady who was also a wild card. Keeping his arm around her, Jon watched out the reinforced glass as they rose above the city slowly but surely. Vegas during the day was okay, at night it was something beautiful almost, the sky lines and neon lights all visible and spreading almost as far as the eye could see.

This was indeed a date, and so far, a killer first date.

There was a very good reason why she wanted them completely alone and, surprisingly, the line hadn't been that long. The guard hadn't minded giving them the sphere for themselves, especially since he had an extra hundred in his pocket now. Turning to look up at Jon, she caressed his bearded covered face before bringing his mouth down on hers again, this time wrapping both arms around his neck and squeaked out when he lifted her to where her legs wrapped around his waist. He wanted her eyelevel with him and she had no complaints, enjoying his sheer strength. Unbeknownst to her, it was also a test to see how strong his right arm was.

"Just so you know, I'm not a prude." She murmured against his mouth, breathing a little heavy and gazed into his electric blues. "Sex on the first date is not out of the question for me. I just thought you might want to know that, Jon."

Well, that was fantastic news and now Jon didn't feel bad at all for that condom or three he had tucked away in his wallet. He wasn't shy about putting out on the first date. Few men ever were, but he was also smart enough to know to wrap his dick when it came to women he'd never been with before, especially if he didn't know them that well. STDs were common in his business, but that didn't mean he was welcoming them with open arms.

"Good to know." He rumbled, his lips feathering against hers as he smiled. His right arm seemed to be back to working order, not that she weighed all that much. "What about sex on the first date, in a glass ball?"

She laughed, rubbing her nose against his gently and rested her forehead against his. "As exhilarating as that would be, something tells me we wouldn't finish in nearly enough time before the ride ends. And I don't know about you, but I don't want a quickie with you."

Vallea also did not want to give people a show either. There were some risks even she would never take. It was ALL open in here, on both sides and all around them. Birth control was a must for a single woman in Vegas. Any woman who didn't take some form of it was either stupid or wanted to get pregnant. Vallea did not want children, not the motherly type and enjoyed her freedom to do whatever she wanted on her days off or when she was on vacation.

"I'm paid to put on shows, what's branching out to me?"

Jon had worked damn hard to get in this current shape, he wasn't entirely against the idea of showing off his hard work. Or against the idea of her beautiful body naked and pressed against that glass, tits first…he mentally facepalmed himself because that mental image -it came rather easily- was more than enough to give him issues. Rolling his eyes, he glanced down, wondering if it were noticeable in his jean shorts. They weren't exactly the painted on variety as he enjoyed having circulation to his vital parts.

"My place or yours, doll?" He was ready for dessert, he figured she probably was too.