Emily smiled and shrugged, taking his hand.

"Walk with me, then."

She led him to the steps that went into the shallow end of the pool where she stepped in first.

"No need to swim here."

The water came to her waist, and Silvio was a good bit taller than she. 

"I hardly ever actually swim. I'd much rather laze about in the water, floating or just sitting, feeling the coolness around me. Best when I've been in the sun for a while."

Silvio walked into the pool with a permanently raised skeptical eyebrow. After a few strange steps- walking in water was a foreign sensation, he lowered himself in a little more.

"I am excellent at lazing. This is... a giant bath. I suppose I had built it up in my head as being something alien."

He lowered his head underneath for a moment and then popped up again, sliding his hair back on his head.

"Someday, I will have a house with one of these. I do not think I would like the beach, however. I like being able to see down there... no sharks in here."

He smirked. 

"Ah, but there are still predators in the water, yes?"

He rested his hands on Emily's waist and kissed her.

In the last several hours, since meeting Silvio Violante, Emily realized that there were times that she wasn't listening to him. Instead, she was staring. Like this moment, when he broke the surface of the water with his head tilted back. It was like it was all happening in slow motion, and Emily let her eyes wander from his dark hair to his chest and well defined abdominals. She was nibbling at her bottom lip when he smoothed back his hair and spoke- something about predators- and then kissed her.

"Mmm, perhaps. But I'll only bite if you ask me to."

Snaking her arms around his neck, she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"So, we've had our sun, a little time in the water to cool off... what would you like to do with the rest of the afternoon? I have one more surprise, but it's not until after dinner. Tell me, Signore, what's your pleasure?"

"I think I'd like to feel something powerful between my legs. Wouldn't you? Well, again? They had horses near those fields, and I have never ridden one."

Silvio tentatively floated for approximately three seconds.

"And now that I have learned to swim, I am feeling adventurous. Shall we dress and learn how to ride before dinner and this surprise of yours?"

Laughing, Emily nodded.

"I haven't ever done it either- let's go."

With that, she pushed back from Silvio, gracefully bending backwards and doing a full back-flip in the water. She stayed under for quite some time, swimming toward the stairs to beat him back.

With the resort on the edge of town, the expansive property basically backed into the Nevada desert. This provided the perfect area for a self-contained equestrian setup. There was a ring where new riders were shown the basics, and then they were able to take a guided or self-guided trail through the back few acres of the resort. 

Emily, from atop her Apaloosa named Louie, applauded as Silvio completed a lap around the ring by himself. A gentle breeze fluttered the scarf tied around her hair. Grinning, she held both of the reins in one hand and blew him a kiss.

"Well, if I can do half as well as you did, we should be naturals on the trail."

The instructor held the gate for Silvio, then gestured for Emily to go on in. Carefully, she squeezed the horse with her heels, and the horse obediently moved forward. No doubt, he could do this in his sleep, and the ring ride was simply to get the rider comfortable. As she walked the ring, Emily couldn't help but feel more confident and powerful in the saddle of a horse, looking down from a higher vantage point on life. With a little grin, she urged the horse to move a bit faster, and he took it up to an easy trot. Emily beamed. 

When she returned to Silvio and the instructor, she looked to Silvio and practically sang.

"You can have a place with a pool, but I'm getting a place with horses. This is amazing!"

Silvio stared at the back of his horse's head. Why was this audacious beast so unwilling to be controlled? Ah, he must cherish his freedom. I will free you someday, noble beast. Silvio blinked, wondering if he'd had too much wine. 

"Si! It is fun. Grazie..."

Thanking the instructor, Silvio carefully dismounted from the horse and led Emily toward their room. Half an hour later he was standing in front of the mirror, adjusting his tie. Winking at himself, he turned as he heard Emily emerging from the bathroom, where she'd been getting ready.

The gown fit her slender yet curvy form like a silken glove. The entire gown was made of black lace, with a plunging neckline that ended right where her cleavage began. At first glance, the dress appeared to be completely sheer, when in reality it was lined with a knee length skin toned slip. It hugged every curve deliciously, form fitting until the knee where it cascaded to the floor like the tail of a mermaid. In a word, it was scandalous, and the look in her eyes said that she knew it. 

Emily approached Silvio and gave him a wicked smile as she looked him over. 

"Could you honestly be any more devastatingly handsome? I'm tempted to forego dinner and tear those clothes right back off you."

Silvio turned to Emily and flashed a predatory smile. 

"I would have no issue with that. As ravishing as you look in the dress, you would look better if it were on the floor."

He shrugged.

"Still, I suppose we can spare twenty minutes to eat. We may need our energy this evening, yes?"

With a grin, he extended his arm and they made their way down to the dining room. The barely broke eye contact as they sat across from each other, eating their light dinner as quickly as they could without seeming like they were rushing. But the meal itself was foreplay as they made love with their eyes. By the time they got back to the hotel room, Silvio was already halfway there. He opened the door and held it open for Emily, smirking at her.

"Now... I believe you mentioned a surprise?"

The meal held little of Emily's interest, but she enjoyed being able to undress Silvio with her eyes anywhere, so why not over a meal? She gave him a coy smile and walked over to the table, where the contents of the earlier package were arranged. She produced a smallish, aluminum case with flip locks. Holding it in both hands, she turned to him. 

"I recalled you mentioning that you enjoyed gambling. When we checked in, there was an advertisement for a poker game tomorrow evening. The buy-in made it seem like the payout would be impressive, so..."

Emily clicked the locks open and pulled up the top of the case, which was filled with neatly arranged stacks of chips.

"I wanna see what you've got at the table."

She put the case down and then walked back to him, casually beginning to loosen his tie. 

"But first, how about we try out that nice big tub?" 

Silvio smirked at the poker chips, even as he reached up for his tie, which he finished loosening and tossed on the bed. The jacket followed. He unbuttoned his dress shirt as he kicked off his shoes, casting them both aside as well. He moved past Emily as he slid his pants off him, and did the same with his boxer shorts before climbing in the large tub and turning on the water. 

"You should know by now, Emily, that I bring a quite a bit to the table."

The warm water gushed into the tub quickly. He sat on the small ledge inside; he couldn't recall ever being in a bathtub with seats before, but he intended to make the most of the opportunity. Silvio looked up at Emily expectantly. 

"You can continue to watch, if you'd prefer. But I think I would prefer you in here with me."

There were three seats in the tub, but Emily had it in mind that the two of them would only need one. As the tub filled, she got out of her gown, every now and then glancing back at her smirking companion chest deep in steamy water. She left her hair up and got into the water, slowly coming in to let her skin acclimate to the temperature. For a moment, she paused; standing before him completely naked while her eyes raked over him. A funny mix of emotions rattled around in her thoughts. Of course, there was carnal attraction- every fiber of her being desired his body. Still, there was something else. Something that she could only describe as gratefulness. Whatever fate or coincidence put them at the same bar the night before, she was thankful for it. 

Lowering herself into the water, she put her arms over his shoulders and settled herself on his lap. Her clear blue eyes smiled along with her lips, and she leaned in and gave him the sweetest, most innocent kiss on the cheek. 

"You have no idea how I've needed this. Thank you."

With that said, she redirected her lips to his and pressing herself against him with a lusty, wanton eagerness. 

Silvio smirked as Emily kissed his cheek.

"No need to thank me. But if you're feeling gratitude, I certainly won't stop you from expressing it..."

Emily lowered herself on him, and soon the water of the bathtub was gently lapping against the sides. They were well matched, and they each knew exactly how to lead the other: how to tease, how to communicate without words, how to fulfill the desires of the other before they knew they had them. Finally, they pushed each other to a point where they weren't thinking- where all their clever techniques and strategies had faded away to a simple overwhelming need. 

Silvio rose from the bathtub as Emily's legs wrapped around him, and he carried her to the bed. Even after the chaos of the next day, that was always the clearest memory for Silvio: water streaming off both of their bodies as they landed on the bed together, consumed with each other. 

They were up very late, and slept in until nearly noon the next day.

When they did finally drag themselves out of bed, they dressed less formally than they had the night before. After eating a sizable breakfast, they went for a stroll around the flower gardens: a maze of vegetation that was a pale imitation of the ones Silvio had seen in Venezia. He reached out and picked a rose, twirling it in his hands.

"Tell me, Emily. Let's say you accomplish your goals, get everything you want. What then is the plan What do you want out of life?"

With a thoughtful pause before answering, Emily looked at the rose in his hands. "Stop and smell the roses." The thought was interestingly timed, as she had been spending so much time worried about the present, she hadn't thought much about the future. Up to this point, it had been all about staying alive.

"You know, I haven't been able to give it much thought I guess. But, if I live through this insanity, I know that I want to slow down. The life of an escort is fun- wine and dancing, fancy clothes and jewelry and all; but I'm nearly 25 now. I think I'm tired of being the party girl."

She shrugged softly.

"Truth be told, I think I miss taking care of people. Working as a nurse paid next to nothing, but that's not why I enjoyed it. And now that I've saved a bit for myself, maybe I might think about getting back into that. Somehow."

Silvio listened Emily and considered her words. Slowing down... how did she mean this? That was different than settling down, perhaps. 

"Well, you are a wonderful party girl, so I would personally like to see you-"

Silvio suddenly threw himself at Emily, pinning her back against the wall with his hands on her hip. He'd moved so close that she was almost entirely covered between his body and the wall. His tongue went to her ear, but he was hissing warnings rather than whispers.

"Two men near the entrance to the main building- wearing suits, sunglasses. They are not normal security and they seem to be keeping an eye out."

Silvio slid down to mechanically kiss her neck, allowing her a slight glimpse of the men before speaking again.

"Pull me back into the garden like you want to fuck me there. We can try to sneak out through the other side and get to the room- get your documents."

Silvio's expression told her all she needed to know as he pressed her against the garden wall. She glanced over his shoulder, spotting the two. Her heart immediately began racing. Following his instructions, she took him by the collar and playfully pulled him into a grove of elephant ear shrubs. She half smiled. 

"But I do want to fuck you there..."

If only there were time. They stayed between two of the large bushes and waited till the men moved off in a different direction. Nodding to him silently, the two hurried around the back end of the garden and used the cover of the plants to slip into the corridor of the hotel. Foregoing the elevator, they hauled it up the stairs and into the room. Emily drew the curtains tightly and dove into her bag. Thankfully, the folder was still there. She took it out, looking to make sure they were still there. Frantically, she looked up at Silvio. Her eyes were frightened, but not so much for herself. 

"I... I don't want you to get mixed up in this. I don't want you to get hurt, Silvio. You should run."

She was saying words she didn't want to say, but she couldn't bear the idea of him becoming a casualty in her nightmare. 

Silvio grinned.

"Oh, I am going to run. Just with you, yes? Get your things quickly; the hotel is very discreet, as I said, but they're probably just verifying that these goons are with the government before they give up your description. If they have a picture of you, it won't take them long to track you down. Unfortunately, you have a memorable face. And body."

He frowned.

"I wonder if they are simply checking all hotels, or this one in particular. Possible strategies."

Silvio bit his lower lip. It was the same as a poker game, except the stakes would be much higher. Do you call? Go all in? Or fold? As he spoke, he listened in the hallway. They probably had a couple minutes before the desk cooperated, but he wanted to move fast. He'd had a great deal of practice avoiding trouble."

"We could run, hit the door and hit the road. I would obviously like to be away... but we could be exposed. If they catch us out in the open, I don't see that ending well. Unless you are some some of maestro with a gun, I don't see that ending well."

"What I would do if I were alone would be to take most of our things- make it look like we checked out in a hurry. Leave a taunting note that suggests they have a mole to get them paranoid and questioning who they can trust. And then we find another place here to lie low. I overheard the desk say that one of the rooms in the floor below us is out of order. Perhaps we go there and evaluate our move?"

Sharply focused on their options, Emily nodded in agreement. 

"You're right. Leaving the property while they are here would be far too risky. If they've already swept the floor below, we could easily fall in there and wait them out. My only worry is the hotel staff. They'll be watching out for me, unless they are truly discreet, even with the feds. It's a chance we can't take. "

Moving quickly, she grabbed one change of clothes and her sunglasses and stuffed them into the bag. From the folder, she took a duplicate copy of one of the photos and turned it over. In a fast, scrawling hand, she wrote

Nice try, gentlemen, but you really ought to watch who you trust. I can still afford to buy a dummy out of his silence. 

She handed the photo note to Silvio. 

"How's that?" 

When they were in the hallway, they moved together as quickly as they could, glancing over their shoulders like hares looking out for the baying hounds. In the stairwell, Silvio went first, scoping things out before signalling that it was safe for Emily to come down another floor. Silvio's head emerged in the first floor hallway, and he darted over to the room alone. A lockpick materialized in his hand, and in a few short seconds he had the door open and was waving Emily inside. He left the signage suggesting the room was out of order up on the door, of course.

He moved around the room, carefully observing as he went.

"Looks like a pipe might've burst here. I doubt the water is on, which is why the room is closed down. Good thing we took such a long bath... the rest of the room seems like it's fine."

He ensured the shades on the windows were closed, glancing outside as he did before dead-bolting the door.

"I think... I think we've just got to sit tight and hope the plumber isn't scheduled to come until tomorrow. If they think we're gone, maybe they don't stick around too much. Personally... I say we sit tight until sundown. When it's dark, we can head out. Find this guy who's solving your problem for you, if he's still around. If not... perhaps I can help there. Not me, personally, but a friend of mine. If anyone tries to get in, whether it's to search the room or fix the pipe, I don't think we have any choice other than to go out the window and hope the best. Thoughts?"

With a sigh, Emily dropped into a chair away from the window.

"I hate this. This is ridiculous. I should't be running. I wasn't even a threat to this asshole. My entire job was about keeping secrets. I mean, didn't he stop to think for one minute that if I were going to use the information against him, I would have had the brains to blackmail him for money. Someone is an over-reactive idiot in this scenario, and it's not me."

Rubbing her temples, she looked up to Silvio and gave him a half-smile.

"I'm lucky I ended up in your gin-joint, Silvio Violante. Running is a lot more fun with a partner in crime."

He grinned.

"Everything is. I'd very much like to explore more fun things with a partner... but we should be as rested, alert, and focused as possible. Why don't you take a nap? We didn't get much sleep last night? If you're too keyed up, I can do it. I'm quite good at sleeping..."

Silvio smirked- among other things.

"We'll rest and recharge as best as we can, and try to keep our nerves from fraying. I think we will be safe here. And at night... we run. This Mike Riddle... how confident are you that he will be available to help you?"