Chapter 19
Zoe
Our time in Vegas has gone by in a blink. After my mom and Stone left, Riggs and I were able to breathe a little easier as we settled into the whole newlywed thing. Even though we’ve spent every night with our mouths all over each other, Riggs still hasn’t made a move to have sex with me. I want to ask him about this, but I’m afraid it’s because he’s unsure of our relationship. I need to figure out a way to protect my heart because I’ve fallen in love with him.
Riggs emerges from the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. I stop what I’m doing to enjoy the view of my husband’s nearly nude form. His cock bounces beneath the terrycloth, and my pussy immediately takes note. Oblivious to my staring, he towel dries his hair.
“What do you want to do for our last day in Vegas?” His voice is muffled from beneath the towel, but it’s enough to snap me out of my ogling.
“I want to go to The Neon Museum.”
He stops drying his hair and drops the towel onto a chair. “That will be best at night when it’s dark outside.”
“Can we go to The Mob Museum this morning?”
He chuckles, reaching out to pull me into his arms. “We can do whatever you want, my little history buff.”
I squeal with delight when his hands circle my hips, and he pulls my legs so they wrap around his waist as he lifts me before falling onto the bed on top of me, careful not to give me his full weight. His cock hardens. The only thing between us is my cotton panties. His towel is lost somewhere along the way.
“Why won’t you make love to me?” I hold my breath, waiting for his answer.
He stills, dropping his forehead to mine as he sighs. “I don’t want to ruin things.”
I cup his cheeks, turning his face so he looks into my eyes. “It makes me feel like you don’t want me.”
He rolls his hips. The erection he sports tapping against my clit. “Does that feel like I don’t want you?”
I place a hand on his chest, tracing his heart. “Here. It makes me feel like you don’t want me here.”
He pauses, worry etched on his face. “Zoe, I’m afraid when we get back to the real world, you’re going to realize I don’t fit into your life. I’ve been with only a few women other than my ex-wife. Sex is more than just a physical act to me. It’s a promise.”
I push him off me, sitting up and adjusting my heavily padded bra where my boobs threaten to spill out. “You say that like I’m just a fling.” I stand, wringing my hands as I pace. “I’m your wife.”
“I’m doing this for you.”
I turn to face him, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. “Why don’t you love me?” My voice comes out loud and whiny, as I can no longer keep my sobs at bay.
He reaches for me, but I step away. “Zoe, it’s not like that.” Sadness mars his handsome face as he wrestles with what to say.
I swipe my eyes, standing taller. “Forget it. I need to finish getting ready.” I scoop up the outfit I laid out on the bed and go into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me, locking it.
I may be falling in love, but Riggs obviously is not.
The doorknob rustles as he tries to get inside the bathroom. “Zoe, open the door.”
“No. I can’t do this. I can’t pretend I don’t love you.”
The sounds on the other side of the door stop. “You really love me?”
I rip the door open to find him standing there with a look of shock on his face. “Why do you sound surprised? I’ve been falling for you since the second I saw Stone inking that dragon on your calf.”
“I don’t want you to regret me.” The way his voice catches on the word regret tells me this has nothing to do with me.
I step closer to him, placing my hands on his hips. “How could you ever think that?”
“Because I’ve stolen the best years of someone’s life before.” The way he looks like he’s about to cry breaks my heart.
“Gretchen?” He hasn’t told me much about his ex-wife, and I’m beginning to realize there’s a lot I don’t know. Maybe he feels just as cast aside by the world as I do. “Tell me what happened with her.”
He sighs. “We met as kids and jumped feet first into a relationship. When you’re sixteen, you don’t stop to think about consequences. At least we didn’t. Not too long after I turned seventeen, Gretchen missed her period. With a baby on the way, everything changed.”
I nod, waiting for him to continue.
“My dad was a Baptist preacher, so there was only one option for us.”
“Marriage,” I answer for him.
“Yep. I wish I could say we had good times, but neither of us ever loved each other enough to want marriage and a baby. Calla came along, and it was the first time I truly knew what it meant to love another person. Because of that, I worked hard to build a career that would provide for her and Gretchen.”
“What happened?”
“The better I did on the circuit, the more time I spent away from Gretchen and Calla. Gretchen ended up resenting me. I came home early from a trip and found her with another man. If it hadn’t been for Calla, I would’ve left.”
I swallow hard, bile filling my stomach. Poor Riggs. “Did she stop cheating on you?” I ask, although I’m pretty sure I know the answer.
“For a while. She gave me an ultimatum. Motocross or her. I retired at the end of that season.” He shakes his head. “Rick hired me to work for Titan with a promise of less travel. I missed racing, but at least I got to stay in that world.”
“How long were you and Gretchen married?”
“Eleven years.”
“Why did you end things?”
“She never stopped cheating on me. When we finally decided to divorce, she told me I owed her. She accused me of stealing the best years of her life.”
“Oh.” How can he think I could ever resent him like she did?
“I don’t ever want you to look at me the way Gretchen does.” He gathers my hands, kissing my fingertips. “It would kill me if you hated me.”
“I could never hate you.”
He chuckles without humor. “That’s what Gretchen thought.”