Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Gideon
This morning, when I’d woken up and put myself through my normal five-mile run and strength training—chest and back—nothing could’ve convinced me this day would end any differently than any other. I’d thought perhaps I’d meet Taya later, and whether we ended up in bed was neither here nor there. No matter what, I’d get up tomorrow, do another workout—legs and arms—and go to the office. I didn’t care if it was Saturday or Sunday. I would be in the office.
Instead, tomorrow morning, I’d be waking up married.
Opulence surrounded us. I’d been little more than a distant authority figure in Silver Linings Chapel, but now I could see everyone’s hard work firsthand. From the moment we’d entered, we’d been treated like royalty.
The two women working either had no idea who I was or they were pretending not to know me. Unlike the club, I’d never stepped foot in this place except for when it had first opened. When I said my name for the marriage license, neither of them flinched. Confidentiality was required of every employee with the Silver logo on their paycheck, but today, I was incredibly grateful for our diligence.
I had no fucking clue how I would explain this to anyone who knew me, and I would not be telling the truth. The idea of lying skated over my skin, leaving an inky stain. I wasn’t a deceitful person, but this was a necessity and I was known for doing what had to be done.
Autumn had the giggles next to me. We’d just said our vows.
Marriage vows.
The younger of the two attendants—Christ, she was probably half my age—grinned at us like this was her favorite part.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Desire wound its way through me, heading downward. It must be the wine. I only drank for business. The stuff had no reason to be present in my personal life. Tonight, the two were combined.
I could kiss my bride. I wasn’t usually anticipating a kiss this much, but Autumn’s lips were fucking kissable, plump from the way she kept licking them. I’d barely been able to look away from her mouth all night. When I did try to rip my gaze off them, my attention wanted to drop down to her chest. My palms itched to test the weight of her generous breasts.
“A kiss.” Autumn giggled, then she looked at me. Her pretty amber eyes widened and she swallowed. All trace of humor was gone, and I got immense satisfaction from the way she couldn’t keep her attention off my mouth.
What was this pull between us? It had to be my fury at her and the rest of the Bailey crew.
This was necessary. Yet I didn’t need the reminder as I swayed forward. I caught her around the waist, and Jesus, she was as lush as she looked. A guy could lose himself in her body. She had padding in all the right places. I’d never considered myself to have a type, but she was definitely in the running.
Her hooded gaze was on me. “Are we really going to kiss?” she whispered.
“Yes, wife .”
“What happened to firecracker?—”
I cupped her chin and caught her mouth. I barely stopped a groan before it slipped out. Her lips were as deliciously soft as the rest of her. They parted slightly, and I dove in, unable to stop myself. I blamed my recent dry spell.
She tasted better than anything I’d had on my tongue all night. Sweeter than the champagne, more savory than anything on the charcuterie board, and more potent than the bourbon in her Bloody Mary.
Her arms wrapped around my neck and a squeak left her. Dimly, I realized I was tipping her backward. I was bent over her like I was a vampire and she was my virgin snack.
Lust punched me below the belt. I doubted she was a fucking virgin, but my mind continued to veer toward the thought of sex with this woman. I straightened, keeping her hugged close to me. More reluctantly than I would’ve ever guessed, I broke our kiss .
At our side, the officiant grinned. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. James.”
Autumn’s eyes flared, the name change catching her off guard. I hadn’t put much thought into it—like this whole fucking night—but I was a king at capitalizing on opportunity. Having her go by Autumn James would serve me better. It would keep her family from ripping this marriage apart.
I’d do that myself when I got what I needed.
Autumn
I was married.
Oh god. I was married .
Mrs. James.
I had to be dreaming.
Gideon and I hadn’t even kissed until we were man and wife. But here I was, draped on him, riding the elevator to the top floor of the casino where he lived.
He placed another soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. Then, the other corner. And finally, in the middle. And when he swept his tongue inside, I felt like I was the charcuterie board. I was the meat and cheese he was dining on tonight. That maybe wasn’t the sexiest way to describe the kiss, but he was a good kisser. I’d made out with a few frogs who’d never turned into princes. I knew the difference.
What a crazy thing to do. Married.
Had I drunk too much?
I’d had four... five?... Bloody Marys. But I’d had food. And, please. It was bourbon. But the dreamy flush that swept over my body from head to toe, filling me with warmth and amplifying the desire that had been burning since I’d first set eyes on Gideon, suggested that maybe... I’d had too much to drink.
When the elevator dinged and opened into a penthouse, Gideon broke the kiss. I blinked, dazed, and faced his place.
“Holy shit. It really is like TV.” I crept out of the elevator, getting the sense he was waiting for my reaction. “Look at this place. Don’t you get tired of all the light?”
He didn’t have blinds on his windows. His home was in the freaking sky . Who’d need drapes? The floors were done in tile similar to other flooring in the casino, but there were plush rugs scattered in strategic places—at the entry, in front of the couch, and in front of the bank of windows that let the Las Vegas neon lights in.
So much light.
I turned to find Gideon standing with his back to the now-closed elevator doors, a perplexed expression on his face. “Sometimes,” he said.
I nodded. “I bet where you grew up, it was the yard light and the stars. Like our place.”
The “our place” started a niggle in the back of my brain. I was married. Where would I be living?
I gasped. “I have work. I have a return flight tomorrow. Work on Tuesday. Monday is a day off school.” I gasped. “My friends!”
He cocked a dark brow and all my worries faded away. The man was still in his slacks, his shiny, fancy shoes, and the cuffs of his shirt were rolled up. So. Sexy.
I’d married him. I’d always wanted to get married .
Another giggle left me. Who knew I wouldn’t be a blushing bride but an alcohol-flushed one with the giggles?
My family was going to detonate when they heard about this.
A hiccup rocked my body.
Shit. I wasn’t a sexy bride. Yet he’d made me feel like one with each kiss.
Gideon’s gaze narrowed on me.
I hiccupped again.
“Let’s get you to bed, darling.”
I shook my head. “No. No ‘darling.’ That sounds fake as hell.”
The perplexed expression was back on his face. “Excuse me?”
“Have you called other girls darling?”
His mouth tightened.
“Right. So if I called you big boy, would you feel a little... diminished?”
“That’s an oxymoron, is it not?”
“So were they.” I shrugged and hiccupped. “If you call me darling again, I’ll salt your dinner so bad your mouth is going to feel like the Sahara for a week.”
Laughter sputtered out of him. Lines winged out from the corners of his eyes and his smile seemed almost rusty—shaky at first and then so bold it lit up the place better than the Vegas skyline.
His grin stole my breath. This man needed to smile more.
“Come, firecracker. I’ll show you the bedroom.”
He said “the” bedroom. Not his or ours. Was he avoiding the logistics of how this union was going to work ?
Did it matter?
Not tonight.
I toed off my shoes and padded behind him. The floor was cool under my thin socks. I hoped I wasn’t leaving sweaty footprints behind me.
“Guest bathroom,” he said as we passed a closed door. He hadn’t bothered to turn on lights but all the material in this place was so bright it didn’t matter. White tile. White walls. Sedate black and silver artwork on the walls. It could be a mausoleum, but I couldn’t imagine this penthouse being a home.
He rattled off each room’s purpose as we passed closed doors. “Closet, guest bedroom. Second guest room. Office.”
The door at the end was open and he stepped to the side to let me in first. “There’s a full bathroom to your left.”
Again, he avoided putting a claim on the bedroom. I blinked the fuzz out of my eyes. I was buzzing pretty good. Gingerly, I stepped in.
Nerves tightened my belly until I was afraid I’d start shaking.
I’d gone from seeing Gideon in a parking lot and developing a severe case of infatuation to being married to him and standing in his bedroom. How had it happened?
He’d asked why I wasn’t married. I’d told him I’d like to be. He’d said all the guys I’d dated must’ve been idiots. I’d laughed and said, “Why? Do you want to marry me?” A little more back-and-forth, and we were at the chapel.
Now I was here. This room was not like the cozy little four walls I slept in. My bedroom didn’t fit much more than my queen bed and a couple of dressers. “I can fit my house in here.”
Half of the square footage of the penthouse was in the bedroom. Plush carpet greeted my feet. White, naturally.
“It’s spacious,” he agreed.
I giggled, but when my gaze landed on the bed, I choked.
“Do you need to use the bathroom first?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, please.” I wasn’t crawling into Gideon’s bed with meat-and-cheese-platter breath.
In the bathroom, I stared some more. I had land, thanks to Daddy, but my house was in town, not far from the school. I’d purchased it myself. I could’ve afforded a larger place, but I hadn’t needed bigger. The bathroom had creaky pipes, the water pressure was variable, and cracked plaster was the main decoration. Gideon’s shower could swallow my bathroom in one gulp. I quit counting the showerheads at six. How many sinks did a bathroom need? There was another open door, and when I peeked inside, I snickered. “The toilet gets its own room.”
My gaze swung back to the shower. An image of Gideon’s muscled body thrusting into a naked woman he had pressed against the wall flashed into my brain. Only the woman was sleeker than me. Classier.
I shook my head. Not now. I was less than an hour into my marriage, and I was not getting jealous.
I should be scared—what did he expect tonight? What would my family say? My work? The entire town? More importantly, what would Gideon think when I told him what I wanted out of this marriage?