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Ari, I have no problem touching you every minute of the day, he replied, making her heart skip a
couple beats.
Several more minutes passed before she felt him rise from the bed. That had gone by far too quickly
and she was now wide awake.
Still, if she rolled over, and put a pillow over her head, she might be able to fall back to sleep. She
was more than willing to give it a try.
Ah, ah, ah, Rafe said and ripped the blankets off her. Sitting up with a pout, Ari pushed her tangled
hair from her face.
What s the hurry to get me out of bed? Don t you have meetings all day? she grumbled.
No. I canceled all of them. I told you that I have planned the whole day to make up for yesterday. It
will be fun; you ll see.
The look on Rafe s face and the surprise of his words washed the last of Ari s cobwebs from her
sleep-deprived brain. He looked& excited. She couldn t recall ever seeing him look quite so upbeat
before.
OK, she agreed without any further arguments. She wasn t going to miss an opportunity to spend a
day with him when he was acting so pleasantly out of character. Maybe the Vegas sun had fried some
of his brain. Whatever it was, she was going to enjoy every minute of it.
Ari jumped from the bed, and before she could take a step, he swatted her lightly on the butt, making
her turn and glare at him.
Get a move on, woman, he said as he walked from the room whistling.
Ari watched him leave with her mouth hanging open. Who the heck was this guy? And what had he
done with her Rafe? She d expected the rest of their trip to be awkward and miserable, but instead,
Rafe was acting almost cheerful and carefree. She didn t know if she should be worried about the
other side of the coin flipping over and jinxing her.
Confusion leading the way, Ari stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucets. A hot shower,
followed by a steaming cup of tea, and she d be ready to face the day.
She hurried through the shower, then wrapped herself in the hotel s soft robe before she made her
way to the small table by the large windows overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. In the early morning
hours, she enjoyed sipping on her tea as she watched the city begin to wake up.
What are the plans for today? she asked him as the caffeine kicked in. She finished her first cup and
poured a second before picking up a croissant and taking a bite.
That is to remain a surprise, he answered as he browsed through the paper.
I need a clue, at least, so I know what to wear, she replied. It was a good excuse to get some kind
of answer.
A pair of jeans and a T-shirt will be fine.
That didn t tell her anything. They could just be strolling the Strip for all she knew. But watching Rafe
while he read the paper, Ari realized she didn t care what they did. This wouldn t be a business
function or some event where she was commanded to be the perfect mistress it would be a real
date, where they spent actual time together having fun.
Give me ten minutes, she said as she leaped up and practically ran off to dress. She didn t want to
give him any chance to change his mind. His phone could ring at any moment with an emergency, and
then their day would be over.
She emerged in nine minutes, feeling quite proud of herself. She d simply tossed her hair back in a
ponytail and thrown a baseball cap on her head. It was bright out, so she didn t bother with much
makeup, and her jeans and shirt were the first in the pile she came to.
I don t think I ve ever seen a woman get ready so quickly.
Then you re hanging out with the wrong women.
I grew up with two sisters. I m used to waiting on the opposite sex.
Rafe s referring to his sisters and not former mistresses put Ari in an even better mood. She was up
for their mysterious adventures to begin.
I can t do this. No way! Ari said in a near panic as a man assisted her into a suit and tightly
strapped her in.
You can do it, Ari. Trust me, this will be a thrill you will never forget, Rafe answered with
laughter.
What if the cable breaks?
It won t break; I ll bet my entire fortune on it.
That s an easy bet for you to make, considering I ll be nothing but a splash of blood on the cement
below and unable to collect!
You can back out now, but I promise you will regret it if you do. I thought you weren t such a
chicken, he said. Ari narrowed her eyes and closed her mouth. There was no way she was going to
let him hold it over her head that she was too afraid to go on his thrill-seeking adventure, even if she
did feel dangerously queasy.
I swear that if I die, I ll haunt you the rest of your life. You won t know a moment s peace, she
warned him.
I ll hold you to that, he said as they stepped into the elevator for the short ride to the platform atop
the Stratosphere tower.
This is the highest controlled free-fall jump in the world. You need to follow the safety instructions
to the letter. It is a thrill, but you have to use caution, the instructor said when the doors opened and
another man began strapping cables to Ari s suit.
Was she really going to do this? Danger was not her middle name. Heck, she was even afraid of
roller coasters. How could she have let Rafe goad her into jumping from a tall building and
plummeting 855 feet to the ground below the equivalent of 108 stories? She had to be crazy.
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