Chapter 2

TWO

Adam

The airport in Vegas was busy, and I kept my hand firmly wrapped around Maria's as we headed for the exit. I'd hired a car to pick us up and take us to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. She'd always dreamed of going to France, but I couldn't afford that right now, so I'd done what I hoped was the next best thing. Short-term anyway. I was working on something that would hopefully pull me out of this financial rut I'd been in since leaving California and the motorcycle club I'd spent most of my life in, but I didn't want to think about that now.

Tomorrow was my wedding day, and I planned to enjoy every second of it, even if it was going to be at a Vegas chapel. This was what we both wanted—quick and simple—and it would have been perfect if not for how stressed Maria was.

I just didn't know how to fix it.

There were so many moving parts to our situation, and most of them were foreign to me. She was Catholic and had only ever slept with one man her entire life, which was practically the opposite of my life. I'd spent my life as an atheist biker who'd abandoned his wife and child in an effort to keep them safe. I'd bought my way out of the club, which was why I was in my current tricky financial situation, and moved to Florida to rebuild my relationship with my son after making that promise to my late wife on her deathbed.

Despite what the club thought, Demi and I had never legally divorced. I'd always supported her and Vaughn, and no one had been prouder than me when he'd become a professional hockey player. He hadn't known why I'd been gone or what I'd been doing for most of his life, so he'd hated me. It had taken the death of his mother and a letter she'd written to him for him to even give me a chance.

So the last thing I wanted was to fuck that up.

I'd started falling in love with Maria months ago but hadn't known what to do about it. When I finally figured out she had feelings too, we'd decided to be careful, test the waters first. The trouble was she was never going to be comfortable having sex with a man who wasn't her husband, but we hadn't been ready to get married at first.

Then it all changed and here we were, about to do exactly that.

It had nothing to do with sex.

I could get that anywhere and had dabbled in the ladies when I'd first moved to Fort Lauderdale. Except it hadn't taken long for me to figure out there was only one woman I wanted.

"You got separate rooms?" she demanded as we checked in. "Why on earth would you waste the money?—"

"It's not a waste ," I said patiently, handing her the key to her room. "Not only are we waiting for the wedding night to get naked, it's supposedly bad luck for us to be together the night before?—"

"That's ridiculous!" She fixed me with a golden-eyed stare that made me want to kiss her. "And you're not supposed to see the wedding dress before the wedding. The other stuff is nonsense."

"There is zero chance we're sharing a bed and I'm not touching you," I growled under my breath. "So this is safer all around."

"I told you I'm?—"

"No." I punched the button on the elevator.

"Would you stop interrupting me?"

"No." I met her gaze and after a short hesitation, we burst out laughing.

"Stop it." She nudged me with her hip.

"You stop." I leaned over and brushed my lips across her temple.

God, she was pretty.

I took a moment to soak in everything about her from the flecks of gold in her hazel eyes to her smile to the way her body fit against mine. As a younger man, I'd liked slinky women with flat stomachs and big tits. Now I liked a woman with some padding, someone who'd have lots of cushion when I fucked her good and hard. I still liked breasts, but Maria had plenty of that, so her body was pretty much nirvana for me.

"You're thinking something naughty," she said as the elevator stopped on our floor.

Busted .

"What makes you say that?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Your eyes turn a really dark, smoldering blue when you're thinking about sex."

"Smoldering blue? Is that a color?"

"It is now."

"I'll have to remember that."

I stopped in front of her room, and she frowned at me. "Our stuff is in a shared suitcase."

"You can take what you need for one day, and you have other stuff in your carryon."

"My dress and shoes," she murmured. "And an extra pair of underwear."

"You're not going to need underwear on this trip, darlin'."

Her cheeks turned pink, and she pushed at my chest. "Yes, yes, I know. Go on with you and let me unpack."

"You're not going to unpack," I whispered, pushing her against the door and pressing my body against hers. "Just some toiletries and hang your dress so it's not wrinkled for tomorrow. Everything else will come back to my room."

Her eyes glittered with anticipation and what I hoped was excitement as I captured her lips for a kiss. This was exquisite torture, kissing and touching her while knowing it wasn't going any further.

I slid my tongue against hers anyway, and she responded in kind, inviting me in. She was delicious, if not a little tentative, but I'd take care of that tomorrow. I had no doubt it would be magic once I got her to let go of her inhibitions.

So I kissed her a little more and then reluctantly pulled away, figuring we didn't need to get hot and heavy in the hallway.

" Adam ." Her voice was husky, her breath warm against my face.

"I know, baby. But I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Sure I do." I brushed a lock of hair off her face. "If you want me even half as much as I want you, you're ready to drag me into your room and have your way with me right fucking now."

She pursed her lips. "Is that so?"

"Yup." I pressed another quick kiss on her lips and then turned, taking the key card from her hand and using it to unlock the door. "Go on now. We have a dinner reservation at a place called Beauty and Essex. It has incredible reviews."

"I'm looking forward to it." She smiled sweetly and then pulled her carryon inside.

"I'll be right next door."

"See you in a few minutes." She softly closed the door behind her, and I leaned against it for a few seconds.

Life with Maria was going to be an adventure and I couldn't wait.