I turned slowly and let the doors thump closed behind me. "What?"
"I asked if you're happy with him."
"Yes." I nodded, so that if he couldn't hear me clearly, he'd know my answer.
A charged pause sparked between us, even separated by hundreds of feet and hundreds of people. His eyes, his body, his presence, I couldn't help my physical response to him. I still wanted him, still desired him. My muscles trembled in memory of what he could do to me, of being tied up to his mercy. I pushed the traitorous image away. I didn't want that anymore. Not with him. I focused on Jeff's face, his hands, his body, his love. I felt the doors open, a brief cold breeze and a sense of openness behind me, and then Jeff's hard body brushed against my back. I leaned into him.
"Then that's all that matters," Chase said. His gaze flicked up to Jeff, and his next words were for him. "Take care of her."
I felt Jeff nod, once, curt.
Another pause, during which Chase turned away and addressed the band. There were nods all around, and then the drummer snapped his drum sticks together on a fast four-count. On the fourth clack of the sticks, the entire band burst into synchronized sound, the bass, rhythm guitar, and drums all matching with a driving heavy metal beat. Chase stood facing away from the crowd, mic held loosely by his side, bent at the waist and headbanging to the rhythm. I felt Jeff pulling me away, and I turned into him.
The song was brutal, hard-charging and pulsating with angst. I heard the opening lines growled with primal rage: "How can I escape your eyes? I can't, I can't...How can I escape your lies? I can't, I can't--"
Then the doors slid closed and the sound was muffled. I fell against Jeff's chest, sobbing.
"Why? Why did you do that to me?" I stepped back and slammed my fists into his broad chest. "I didn't fucking need that!"
"I'm sorry. But when I found out he was playing in Vegas, I just--"
"Had to test me?"
Jeff blew a long breath between pursed lips. "Yes, honestly. I also figured if he was here, and you were here, knowing your luck you'd run into him at the worst possible moment. Like, you'd be about to say 'I do' and he'd walk into the Venetian at that exact moment."
I tried to fight the laughter bubbling up at the image. "Yeah, that's exactly what would have happened."
"I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't mean to blindside you, but honestly, I had to know. I'm not Chase. I'm not some exciting, sexy rockstar. I like a quiet life."
"Why are you so hung up on this?" I asked him. "If I wanted someone like him, I would have chosen him. I chose you. I want you. Part of the reason I love you so much is that you're confident in who you are without being cocky. Why is it whenever he's around, or he comes up, you get all insecure?"
Jeff's eyes hardened. "Because you chose him over me once before, remember? Hard not to be insecure about that when I know you're capable of it."
My heart panged at the pain written in the lines of his face. "I guess I deserved that."
"Guess so." He looked away, and when he turned back to me, his eyes were softer. "Listen, Anna. I'm sorry. So sorry. I know that was really unfair of me to do. It wasn't about testing you--I mean, I guess it was, but...I can't lose you again. I can't. I saw the flyer for this music festival and I saw his band name on it, and I just...I froze."
I opened my mouth to say something, I wasn't even sure what, but he held up his hand to silence me.
"When you left me to go to New York, I knew--" His voice broke with a welter of potent emotion. "I knew what you were going for. You thought you might love him. Maybe you didn't think it in so many words, but I knew. I saw it. You thought you might love him more than you loved me. I...letting you go was the single hardest thing I've ever done. I've buried buddies, Anna. I've buried best friends. But no lie, letting you go to him...that ripped me to shreds. You'll never know how hard that was--at least I hope you won't. I cannot go through that again. I watched you walk away, picking him over me. You went to New York and spent a week fucking him, when you'd just been with me. You know how hard that was for me? It was the longest week of my life. And then you came back, I knew you were back, I drove by your apartment and you were there, I saw you. I almost went up to the door, to talk to you, to--I don't know. Yell at you, or beg you to come to me. But I didn't. I waited. And you came back to me, wanting me because he'd hurt you. I wanted to kill him. No lie. But...you needed me. You need me."
Crowds flowed around us, oblivious, and music pounded on the other side of the door, Chase's band. Jeff paused, gathering himself.
"I need you, Anna. But if you want him, if there's any doubt in your mind that you might still care about him, then go. He's right through those doors, and he's still in love with you. He'll take you back. I had to know, Anna. I had to. I can't live through you picking him again. So if that's what you're gonna do, do it now." He held my face in his hands. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was cause you any more pain, and I'm so sorry. Forgive me for putting you through that. But I--I had to know."
I turned away from him to stare at the door, as if I could see Chase through it. I searched myself, scoured my heart and soul with brutal honesty; I owed Jeff that much.
I turned back to Jeff and let him see all of me in my eyes. "I choose you, Jeff. There's no doubt in my mind, no question. None. You are my heart and soul. He's my past. I'll never choose anyone but you for as long as I live. I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if that wasn't true." I let out a long breath. "Now, can we go? Or do you have any more tests for me?"
"Guess I deserved that," Jeff said.
"Guess so."
He took my face in his hands and kissed me. I resisted, turned away from his kiss for the one and only time in our romantic relationship. I was still angry at him for bludgeoning me with Chase.
"No." I ripped free from his arms. "I'm mad at you."
I walked out of the casino and hailed a cab, Jeff trailing behind me. I climbed into the cab and gave the driver our hotel name. Jeff sat in silence beside me, picking at his fingernails.
My lips tingled from the force of Jeff's kiss. It had been furious, demanding kiss, claiming me as his. My anger was fading, but I refused to give in to Jeff just yet. I could tell he felt bad, but I wasn't ready to let him off the hook yet. I hadn't deserved to be blindsided like that, not with Chase, not when I'd already endured the agony of having to choose. I didn't love Chase, but he hadn't deserved that shock, either, especially not during a public performance. The pain in his eyes had nearly broken my heart all over again.
I knew why Jeff had done it, though, and I didn't blame him, not now that my anger was receding. I had chosen Chase over Jeff once upon a time, and even though a deep, dark, secret place inside me held on to the memories of my time with Chase, I did regret having left Jeff. I regretted having hurt him, having broken his trust in me.
I couldn't change that, but I could prove to Jeff I only wanted him. I decided to prove it the only way I knew how.
We got back to our hotel room, and I waited behind Jeff while he slid the card into the lock reader. Seconds seemed to stretch out, the light turning green with a soft click, the door sliding open on oiled hinges, my heart thudding in my chest as if we were going into the room to make love for the first time, rather than the thousandth time. My hands shook, a cold sweat broke out on the small of my back, and a burning flush of desire flamed my cheeks, turned my panties damp.
A few short steps through, and then the door latched closed behind me. Jeff released my hand and kept walking, settling on the edge of the bed and leaning his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.
I pressed my back to the door, watching him. He remained there, breathing, upset. I smiled, but he didn't see it. I plucked open a button of my shirt, and then another, and then the shirt was open and I dropped it on the floor at my feet. He didn't hear the rustle of fabric or the soft plop of cotton hitting the floor. I slid my feet out of my flats, unrolled my knee-high purple stockings, slowly unzipped the side of my skirt. He hea
rd the zipper then. His eyes narrowed in confusion, and he straightened on the bed.
My bra joined the pile of clothing on the floor, followed by my panties, and then I was naked, too-cold hotel room air pebbling my skin and making my nipples harden. I swayed toward Jeff, and he crawled backward on to the bed. He sat up to take me in his hands, but I pushed him down with a hand on his chest. I peeled his shirt over his head, straddling his khaki-clad hips, leaning forward to draw the T-shirt off, my breasts swaying over his face. He nipped a breast with sharp, gentle teeth, but I refused to gasp. I slid down his body, unbuttoned his pants, and pulled them off.
His cock was rigid, lying flat against his belly, rising and falling with his short, panting breaths. I teased him with my fingers, touching his purple-veined length with my fingertips, tracing the groove beneath the head with my tongue. I wrapped both palms around his cock and took his tight sack in my mouth, gently sucking it between my lips, one side and then the other. He gasped, arched his back, groaned my name as I caressed his shaft and suckled his balls.
I waited until he was moments from coming into my hands, and then I released him and crawled up his body, rising up on my knees above him, palms braced flat on the wall, my slit poised above his mouth.
"Make me come, Jeff," I said, my voice hoarse, low and rough.
"Yes, my love."
He suited action to words and slid his palms up my thighs to the cleft of my pussy, slipping a single long middle finger into my wet folds, using his other hand to pull me down to his mouth. His tongue found my clit and swiped slow circles around it, each touch of his tongue a line of fire, burning pleasure into my heat-slick blossom.
I forced myself to stay still as his finger moved within me and his tongue speared against my clit. I arched my back and allowed myself a single soft whimper as waves of ecstasy rose through me. A hand cupped my breast, testing its weight, and then pinched my nipple at the same time as his tongue punched against my aching, sensitive nub.
He pulled his finger out, added his index finger, and slipped them back in, but this time his pinky finger was extended, and it bumped gently and insistently against the rosebud knot of muscle.
He paused, asking silent permission.
"Do it," I said.
His smallest finger kneaded the muscle, relaxing it, and then his fingers were gone briefly, replaced by wet warmth slicking the tighter entrance. He slipped his pinky into me at the same time that his tongue found my clit and his first and middle fingers found my pussy, and then I was writhing helplessly above him, explosions rocking through me, drilling sensation to the wildest heights of furious orgasm, wringing me into a gasping, begging puddle on top of him, his fingers gone, my ass on his chest, my body curled over and sliding downward, downward, pierced slowly and subtly by his thick, hot shaft. No chance of recovery for me, only pleasure so potent it became pain, too much to bear, but instead of begging him to stop, I heard my voice whispering ragged pleas in his ear:
"Jeff, my love, please don't stop, don't stop..." even though I couldn't take any more of him, couldn't come any harder without ripping in half, without bursting into helpless sobs.
He didn't relent, but drove into me with his characteristic slow, powerful strokes, pushing deeper and deeper.
I rolled off him without warning, as he was about to come. I heard his teeth grinding as he struggled to hold it back, and then he lifted up on an elbow and watched me settle on my knees and forearms, presenting myself to him, my face turned to the side, a seductive smile on my lips inviting him wordlessly.
Like a lion he prowled on his hands and knees behind me, his cock slipping between the globes of my ass. His nails raked painfully, sweetly down my back, gripped my hips, and then, with a single tilt of his pelvis, he was inside my pussy and driving, god, so deep. I bit the blanket to stifle a scream, climaxing a third time on the instant of penetration.
It didn't take him long to find his release. He thrust, thrust, thrust, and then a deep, rumbling growl announced his climax. He drove into me, hard, bowling me forward, his hands pulling me back, and then again, a primal plunge of his cock, fingers digging into my hipbones and clawing me back into him.
Even blanket-muffled, my scream of delight was loud in the still, cold air. His roar of release was louder.
We lay side by side, and I nuzzled my head onto his shoulder.
"I love you, Jeff. Only you. Forever." I tangled my fingers with his, my left hand in his right, dim light glinting dully off the facets of my engagement ring.
"Damn right, only me forever," he said, a smile in his voice.
"Cocky bastard," I laughed.
"It's why you love me."
"One of the many reasons."
He tilted my chin up with an index finger and kissed me, long and slow and drowning with passion. "I love you, Anna Devine," he said when our lips parted.
"After tomorrow I'll be Anna Cartwright," I pointed out.
"I like the sound of that."
"Me too." We drowsed in the dreaming dark, until a thought struck me. "You know, we never wrote our vows."
"Huh. You're right," Jeff mused. After a moment, he said, "Well, I've got an idea for mine. Just write yours from the heart. Doesn't have to be complicated. Tell me you'll love me forever and always, no matter what."
"I can do that."
"I know you can." He pulled me closer. "Now go to sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."
CHAPTER 7
I woke to my nose being tickled. I swatted at the offending sensation, encountering small, soft hands. I forced my eyes open to see Jamie sitting next to me on the bed, cross-legged, dressed in a tiny skirt and tight T-shirt. She had a tendril of her copper hair in her fingers and was brushing my nose with it.
"Wake up, sleepy-head," she said in a sing-song voice.
"Unh-uh. Go away." I slapped at her half-heartedly.
I knew her better than to think she'd leave me alone. She scrambled off the bed and pulled the covers off me. I curled in a ball, moaning in protest as the cold air hit my naked body.
"God, woman, you stink of sex. Get up and take a shower."
I rolled up to a sitting position and rubbed my eyes. "Where's Jeff?"
She waved her hand. "Oh, off with Darren. Picking up his tux and getting ready. Whatever guys do before weddings."
"What are we doing?" I caught the robe Jamie handed me and wrapped it around me.
"First, coffee. Second, a shower. Third, breakfast." She brought me a cup of Caribou coffee, because she knows I hate Starbucks' over-roasted coffee, even though I love their espresso drinks.
I sipped slowly as I stood up and went to the window to peer out the curtain. It was another glorious Las Vegas day.
I'm getting married today. It didn't seem real. Was it really going to happen? An actual wedding? Jeff had sprung this whole thing on me, and I had no idea what was going on. Panic hit me, and I focused on breathing through the hammering of my heart, sipping my coffee.
Jamie slid her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be great, you know. I can feel you panicking. Don't."
"Easy for you to say. I have no idea what's going on. Did he actually plan this thing, or is he just winging it?"
Jamie laughed. "He has this thing planned down to every little detail. You'll be shocked. I'm, like, mega-impressed. If I believed in romance, or weddings, I'd say this was the most romantic wedding ever." She sighed. "I believe in this wedding. I'm not going to ruin any of the surprises, but you should relax, because he's got it all covered. He loves you."
"I know he does. I should know better than to think Jeff would leave this to the last minute, because he never leaves anything to the last minute. But...it's a Vegas wedding. I'm worried it's going to be something from a bad romantic comedy. Like, the minister will be this fat old Elvis impersonator, and we'll be driven away in a pink Cadillac with tin cans hanging off the back and it'll be the most embarrassing day of my life."
"You're
ridiculous. Do you really think Jeff is that stupid or tasteless?"
I shook my head. "No, but that's what my fears are telling me will happen."
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Well, that's not what's happening, so quit freaking yourself out. I told you, he's got this."
I finished my coffee, and Jamie followed me into the bathroom, sitting on the closed toilet while I showered.
"You know, when I first heard your wedding was in Vegas, I kinda had similar expectations," Jamie said. "Some tiny little chapel way off the Strip, bad piano music, and yes, an Elvis impersonator for the minister. But Jeff showed me some of what he had planned, and I'm telling you, it's going to be amazing. You'll love it."
"What happens after breakfast? Which is what, bagels and cream cheese?"
"Breakfast is whatever you want. Order in, go out, whatever. We have some time. After that, we have part one of wedding day surprises. So get your ass moving."
"I thought you said we had time."
"Yeah, but not all day. 'Sides, I'm hungry."
Breakfast was omelets and toast at a nearby diner, and then Jamie hailed a cab and gave the driver a slip of paper with our destination written on it. We ended up at a spa a few minutes' drive away from the main downtown area.
"Come on, " Jamie said, climbing out. "This is part one. The full treatment at a day spa."
"Serious?"
Jamie grinned. "You and me, baby. Get ready for some serious pampering."
My throat closed up, and my eyes burned. I blinked away tears and followed Jamie inside. Jeff really had planned everything out, and the fact that he'd included Jamie in the day spa treatment made me choke up even worse.
I made it through the manicure before the question that had been tickling the back of my mind popped out. "So, Jay. What happened after I left the concert?"
Her long hesitation piqued my curiosity, and my worry.
"Um. Nothing?"
"Jay."
"Fine. I went backstage and hung out with the band. We partied. Darren showed up at some point, and things got crazy." She pretended not to notice my suspicious glare.
I picked up a cotton ball from the counter nearby and threw it at her. "Jamie. Talk. You're not telling me something."
"Ugh. Why does it matter?"