11. Verity
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Verity
I flop down onto the toilet seat muttering about the stupid security and the stupid trip to Europe and the stupid people at the after party.
My head is spinning, tainted by far too many vodkas and I can barely see straight.
But I feel pretty fucking good.
“Las Vegas, baby.” I giggle to myself.
Suddenly the door of my toilet stall bursts open and I’m about to let out an ear-piercing scream when I look up and see Rufino. At first I don’t understand. My little brain is spasming trying to work out what is going on.
But he smiles at me and my heart flip flops and a massive grin spreads across my face too.
“I’m trying to pee here.” I giggle.
“Well, hurry. We don’t have a lot of time.”
I wiggle my dress back down over my hips and almost fall over in the tight space of the stall.
Rufino grabs my waist and steadies me.
“Hey sexy.” I giggle again. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m kidnapping you.” He says, sounding serious as fuck. I laugh again, but when I look into his eyes, I can see he isn’t joking.
“You can’t kidnap me. I have too many security people.” I wave my hand towards the other side of the door - where the guard is waiting. A little hiccup makes me blink in surprise.
“They won’t even notice you’re gone until it’s too late.” He says, sounding like he knows what he’s talking about.
He pulls me out of the stall and into the main room.
Rufino is leading me towards the other side of the ladies powder area and then before I know it he’s lifted me up to a massive window.
“Hey.” I complain, wiggling in his grip.
“Climb through.” He says and I gasp in shock.
“You want me to climb through the window?” I say, sounding defiant.
“Yes, Verity. Slide your legs through and lower yourself down on the other side. It’s not high at all.
He holds me while I maneuver my legs through and then roll onto my stomach to slide down to the ground on the other side. I look at the window, grinning proudly at my sneaky ninja ability. I’m no longer in the ladies bathroom.
I giggle again and grip the wall tightly while the world carries on spinning.
Everything seems funny right now.
Rufino climbs through the window after me, but he makes it seem easy.
I squint at him trying to determine his true intentions with all of this.
He must be playing some kind of game.
It’s clear he won’t kidnap me.
That would be insane.
No one is that crazy.
“Are you ok?” he asks, looking down at me. I nod.
Rufino takes my hand and starts walking too fast down a hallway. I stumble in my stilettos and grumble that he needs to slow down. He growls and bends down to scoop me up, cradling me in his arms.
“Where are we going for real though?” I ask with slurred words, wondering why he seems so tense.
“You’ll see.” He replies, focused on other things.
I can barely focus on his face never mind where he is carrying me off to.
Before I know it we are outside in the fresh night air. Bright, colorful lights shine from the surrounding buildings. Casinos, night clubs, restaurants - all trying to entice us to come inside.
A gorgeous girl walks past wearing nothing but feathers.
I grin and wave at her.
But Rufino doesn’t seem to be interested in any of it - instead he yanks open the door of a car and sets me down in the passenger seat.
I knot my brows, worrying that maybe this isn’t a game. My father is going to freak out when he finds out I’ve ditched the guards.
He’ll upgrade my convent stay from a nice comfortable room to a prison cell in their basement.
I wiggle in my seat, freaking out for a second. I grip the door handle with my fingers. Push it open. Get out. Go back inside. That’s the right choice to make.
But I am awful at making right choices.
My father constantly reminds me how terrible I am as a daughter.
I should go back inside - but the idea of my father finding out I ditched the guards sends a wild thrill through me. I giggle and when Rufino climbs into the driver’s side he glances over at me. “Are you laughing?” he asks. I let go of the door handle and settle into the seat.
“This is fun.” I grin.
He raises one eyebrow at me. “I’m glad you see it that way.”
The engine roars to life, and he wheel spins away from the casino that was hosting the afterparty.
I glance behind us, trying to see out the back window, but all I can make out is a colorful mess of neon lights blurring into each other.
“No one is following us.” He says confidently, skidding around a corner.
“Then why are you in such a rush?”
“Because the sooner we get this part of it done the happier I will be.”
“What part of what?”
He smirks and I can see he will not tell me. He’s enjoying this too much now. Escaping the guards was the hard part - the rest of it is the fun part by the looks of things.
I press the window button, winding it all the way down, leaning my head out of the window and letting the window whip my hair loose around my face I scream, “This is Las Vegas, baby.”
This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.
I am fully aware of how stupid it is.
I’m drunk, not an idiot - but I don’t care.
It’s my last weekend of freedom and now I get to spend it with Rufino.
The car comes to a stop outside a tall building with a giant neon heart glowing half way up the side of it.
“Come on.” He says, pulling my door open and taking my hand.
He leads me inside and my stomach knots.
“Is this?” I turn in a circle, trying to take it all in but the colors are swimming and moving about too much.
“It’s a wedding chapel, vixen. We’re getting married.”
“Married?” I shout too loud, shock pulsing through me like electricity. I can’t get married. I’m only twenty-three. No ways. This is a stupid idea.
I turn to face Rufino my eyes wide with panic spilling from them.
He grins, grabs my jaw in his hand and kisses me.
The moment our lips touch my mind goes silent.
It’s a beautiful sensation of complete calm, then a crazy rush of passion. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself closer against him. My body belongs to him. Of course, I will marry him. We’re in Vegas, baby.
He kisses me until I am melted against him, until I’ve lost all sense of control. The control I never had to begin with.
“Let’s get ready.” He says, stepping away, but keeping his arm locked around my waist.
In a room to the side of the chapel he searches through racks of white dresses.
Pulling one out at a time and holding it up against me. Finally, he hands me a short, tight lacey body hugging dress.
“In there - put it on.” He points to a change room.
“Okie dokie.” I grin and stumble over my foot, grateful when he catches me.
In the change room I wiggle out of my blue and pink dress, holding onto the wall, and into the white lace wedding dress. This is fun. And crazy and wild and adventurous.
I can’t believe he wants to marry me.
For real.
Vegas weddings are real. Many people don’t understand that.
I slip my high heels back onto my feet and do my best to leave the change room looking elegant and not falling on my face again.
Rufino’s smile takes my breath away when he sees me.
His eyes graze over me and he shakes his head. “Fuck me, you look incredible.” He says, pulling me up against his broad, muscular chest.
“Your hair is a bit wild though.” He laughs, turning me around.
Half of the bun came out when I put my head out of the car window.
Rufino pulls my hair tie loose and brushes his fingers though my messy curls. He pulls it all up on top of my head and back into the not-as-messy-as-before bun.
When I turn around to face him again, he is holding out a little crystal box, cut from a pink stone, sitting on the palm of his hand and glittering in the light.
“What is this?” I ask, taking it from his hand.
“Your engagement ring.”
I flick the box open. Inside the carved out belly of the stone is a ring. It’s also pink, glittering the same way the box is glittering.
“It’s rose quartz, set in sterling silver. It’s all they had here at the chapel. I will get you a proper ring later on. We can choose it together. But we need one for tonight.”
“Are you kidding me? I love this one. I don’t need another one. This one is perfect.” I grin, slipping it onto my finger. He takes the crystal box and slips it into his pocket.
“I’m just going to sort out the payment for our priest. I’ll be right back.” He leans down and kisses me then walks out of the room towards the reception desk.
I find myself alone.
Standing in a room just inside a chapel in Las Vegas.
To my left I can see the reception desk. Just beyond that is the door that leads out onto the street.
I look down at my dress.
Blinking many times and trying to work out if this is all real.
The ring on my finger is solid enough to be real.
The dress hugging my body feels real.
The panic spinning in my stomach feels real.
But this can’t be real.
My father will kill me.
But do I care what my father thinks at this point? He wants to send me away. He doesn’t even want me around anymore. It doesn’t matter to him if I even exist anymore. He wants me on the other side of freaking planet.
I look towards the open door, out into the reception area and I watch Rufino talking to the lady behind the counter.
That man wants me.
He wants to marry me. For some crazy, fucked up, wild reason - he wants to marry me right now in Vegas.
I’m torn between running out of the door and trying to escape or going the way down this rabbit hole and marrying him.
He’s even crazier than I am.
Unless I choose to go through with this. Then I guess we are equally out of our minds.
“Rufino.” I hesitate, as he walks back into the room.
“They’re ready for us, vixen.”
“I - I don’t know?—”
He grabs my jaw and pulls my face towards his. His eyes are fierce and intense.
“You are marrying me, Verity. This is the only way for us to be together. Now, do you trust me or not?” he growls.
His temper sends sparks of desire shooting through me.
“I trust you.” I whisper, my pussy flooding with warmth and my skin tingling.
It’s too late now.
I’m too deep in this. No matter which direction I turn in I will be in trouble.
Decide to marry Rufino and be committed to one man for the rest of my life, even though I’m only twenty-three. Or run out of here and go back to my father who will send me away to a convent where I will rot my years away learning how to be a lady.
I could never change who I am.
I never will.
Ultimately, there is no choice.
I have to marry Rufino if he is offering me an escape from everything else.