BorntobeWild (16 page)

His smile turned into a laugh and then a wry acknowledgement
when she pointed out he’d hardly spent the time sitting on his ass enjoying the
sunshine.

Times like these, conversations like these, where they
followed each other’s thoughts and enjoyed each other’s company, it made her
think things she shouldn’t. She had to remind herself who he was, who she was
and what they each needed. Although she admitted she was now thinking of more
than a week of him and he’d decided to take time off from the band. As much as
he could, which, by the evidence of the crowd last night, was harder than ever
to achieve.

He was due at the studio soon. A few weeks. They’d have that
and then they’d see. Cyn didn’t have a lot of faith in long-term relationships.
Tried it twice and it didn’t work out either time.

As if she’d conjured it up, after they landed and turned
their cells back on he got a text. “The guys want to know if I can come to
Chicago on Wednesday. They had an idea they want to work on.” He glanced at
her, his brow creasing. “I’ll tell them to do it on their own.”

She covered his hand with hers. “No, don’t. A few days is
good.”

He nodded, his expression grave, his eyes distant. “Okay.
But only if you come with me.”

She was on the verge of telling him no when she realized she
could. Janey and Maddy had promised to put her in a cab and send her home if
she showed her nose inside the stores when she’d called them yesterday. They’d
both seen the news and she’d been spread across the tabloids. Apparently the
media had caught Riku’s concern for her then and speculation was rife. They’d
made it worse, or rather he had, by confirming the question asked outside the
restaurant. That part puzzled her. Why would he confirm their upcoming marriage
when all he wanted was to rile his parents?

Maybe emotion left over from the dinner. Shuddering
definitely didn’t work for her. It hurt.

The plane landed. They got off first and followed a flight attendant
to the VIP lounge, where a driver waited. “Shit, this is something,” she
muttered but he heard it and grinned.

“It’s good when you can treat your lady. And I have an
apartment to survey in Chicago. I’d like you to help me decide if I like it.”

“You do?”

“I told you I had Beverley searching for me. But V’s from
Chicago and one of her relatives is in real estate. He found this place and
sent me pictures. It looks great. If I’m spending time in Chicago I don’t want
a hotel.”

“Why do you want my opinion?”

“Because you have great taste and because I’d like you to
spend some time there.”

Without waiting for her to respond he tucked his hand at her
back and urged her forward to follow the driver, who took them to another car.
Someone brought their luggage, such as it was, and Riku even refused to let her
carry her own purse, taking it from her.

Maybe someone had a picture of that but she had a
satchel-like purse for travelling, so it wouldn’t look too bad. She was
thinking like a publicist now. Shit on that.

Of course he took her to the Bellagio and a suite there. She
thought they were going in unannounced but should have known better. “I called
the hotel from the airport when you went to the bathroom before we boarded.”
She remembered seeing him with his phone in his hand but hadn’t thought much of
it. Of course he’d have done that.

Such a beautiful hotel and the view they had of the
fountains outside spectacular. As she stood by the window watching the spray he
came up behind her and settled his hands on her shoulders. “Shower and dress.
We have a wedding to go to.”

He loved the way her mouth curved in a round O when he said
that. What, hadn’t she believed him? No, of course not. She’d imagined it was
bravado. He’d called this an impromptu vacation, which it was. But when he’d
proposed to her in the restaurant, although it had started as a response to his
parents’ incredibly crass treatment of Cyn, the idea took hold and he’d
decided,
Why not?

They’d only pushed him into doing something he was planning
to do anyway. Perhaps marriage would hold her closer, lend her the confidence
to give him everything instead of only part of her. A gamble he was prepared to
take because the stakes were so high.

“I only have one dress with me,” she said.

He chuckled, kissed her neck. “Such a girl! Go with it, Cyn.
Play on. Let’s have an adventure.” Then he said something he thought she might
respond to best. “C’mon, it’s a dare.”

“Evil.” He took care not to touch her injury as she turned
in the circle of his arms. “You thought I’d do it just for the dare?”

“Or something.” He watched her, wondering if she’d do it. “After
all, divorces are easy. And it’ll make you an American citizen.”

She nibbled her bottom lip, so he took the cue and did the
same, licking the place afterward and finishing with a kiss. He’d cherished her
on the way here, even watched her sleep like some love-struck teenager. He felt
that way for sure. “I’m not so sure,” she murmured when she could. “The
American citizen part I mean. I’m nearly there, anyway. I want it.” She paused
and he caught his breath. “I want you.”

Shamelessly taking advantage, he kissed her properly,
sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste and relish. To—he still balked at
the final word, so afraid she’d back up and throw up barriers he’d never breach.
Eventually he’d find a way to say it. Everything important in his life he
expressed through music. He could do it that way and she’d understand because
she was a musician too.

An hour later, after they’d showered and changed into the
second outfits they’d brought, they found a chapel with some spare time. Half
an hour after that they were married.

Blinking in the bright sunshine, Cyn fiddled with the ring
on the third finger of her left hand. It wasn’t what anyone would describe as
warm but the sun had emerged to smile on them. Almost too perfect.

At least the minister hadn’t recognized him. But then, in
jeans and hoodie, with a worn leather jacket, he didn’t look much like the man
who’d bossed the stage this last weekend. He tilted up her chin, smiled and
kissed her. Their second married kiss, sweeter than the first. They hurried
inside the building. “Happy Monday,” he said.

“Happy Monday to you too.” Her attention went back to her
ring. “Was that a proper wedding?”

“Sure it was. My mother’s going to be furious.”

“Is it why you did it?”

He couldn’t lie to Cyn. Never been able to, not effectively.
“Partly. She drove me to it. She shouldn’t have tried to match-make. She should
have known it would push me away.” He gripped her hand and slowly she raised
her eyes to his face. “It’s not just that. We were always going here, weren’t
we?”

She glanced at the chapel. A sliver of pink paint peeled
away and dropped to the ground, leaving a streak of gray behind. “Here?” She
turned her attention back to him, a wry smile tilting a corner of her mouth.

“Anywhere. If you want I’ll give you the big wedding, or a
blessing. Would you like to invite your mother?”

Alarm streaked across her face, her eyes widening, her lips
compressing. “No. We drifted apart. Enough if I tell her.” She glanced at the
ring again. “When did you get this?”

He told her the truth. “I’ve had it a while. I bought it
when I was passing Tiffany’s one day. Saw it in the window and liked it.” He
paused. Should he tell her he’d thought of her when he’d seen it though they
hadn’t been together then? He decided against it. Not yet. She was still too
nervous. “We’ll have to get it adjusted for you though.”

A gold band, adorned with tiny diamonds in an irregular
pattern like a wave. “Or I’ll buy you another if you want it.”

She clenched her hand over the ring and it popped up,
showing daylight between her finger and the hoop. “I like this one. And yes, it’ll
have to be adjusted.” He watched her jaw move as she swallowed. “Do I call
myself Mrs. Shiraishi?”

“It would be an honor if you did but call yourself what you
want. Cyn Woodley-Shiraishi, Cyn Woodley, Cyn Shiraishi. Cyn Smith if you want.
As long as you stay with me.”

“Sweet talker.” She seemed to want to keep this cool, as he
did. He needed to get used to being married but he’d come around, because he
couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else. When he’d asked her a deep calm
descended, as if he’d finished something important. The pattern, a new
composition, something he could close the creative door on and feel proud of.

He liked her smile, unforced and sweet. “You like the ring?”

“I love it.” That came without thought too, no time for
polite falsehoods. She truly liked it. Warmth seeped through him, pleasure that
he’d predicted her tastes well enough.

He looped his arms around her waist while his brain hammered
at him.
Not now, not now!
All his instincts told him she wouldn’t accept
his declaration yet. She was too edgy, too nervous. But he knew how to soothe
her.

He kissed her. She opened her mouth for him, natural as
breathing and tasted him, not shy anymore, not hesitant. With a groan he felt
his cock, already half-hard, finish the job and press against his underwear and
jeans. They took up right where they’d left off to visit the chapel and when he
swung her into his arms she laughed at him. “Carrying me across the threshold?”

“Something like that. I’ll have to do it across our own
threshold.”

“Our?” Her smile disappeared and he cursed himself. He’d
have to ease her into this.

“In case it passed you by, we didn’t sign a prenup. What’s
mine is yours.”

“And you get a share of the stores.” She gave him no clue
how she felt about that.

“We’ll sort it out when we get back. You need to keep your
stores safe and I need to do the music stuff with the band so we’ll get a
lawyer to organize it. That okay?” He trusted her more than anyone else. He
paused when the impact settled inside him. Yes, it was true. More than anyone.

When he settled her on the huge bed in the predominantly
peach bedroom at the hotel, she pulled him down to join her. He only remembered
in time to prop his elbows on either side of her, so he didn’t lean on her
bruises. They were growing lighter, fading, although nobody but he would notice
the subtle changes because he examined the area carefully every chance he got.
When he helped her out of her T-shirt he took the chance to see how it was
doing. What he saw pleased him. He ran a finger over the area, taking the
greatest care. “The swelling’s gone down.”

“It doesn’t hurt so much. Only when I move too fast or I
catch it.”

He kissed her poor bruises, making it barely a whisper. Her
skin felt hot against his lips but not too much, not enough to make him worry.
When he’d taken her on the plane it occurred to him that maybe she shouldn’t be
too far away from a doctor but in this hotel they probably had one of their
own. He murmured her name, lifted up to kiss her lips and then the magic struck
and he couldn’t stop kissing her, tasting her with endless desire. When,
despite his intentions, he slid his hand up from her waist and she flinched he
drew away.

“No,” she whispered, curving her hand around his neck and
threading her fingers into his hair to massage his scalp. “Don’t stop. Please
don’t stop.”

“Never,” he vowed. “Not in this lifetime.” She tasted like
nobody else, honey and salt and something else, something indefinably her. Then
he lifted his head. “I spent a week in a hotel room in England. I couldn’t
sleep. Tossed and turned all night.”

“I bet you did more than that.” She ruffled his hair and he
grinned. Nobody else dared do that to him but he loved it when she did.

“Yeah, well,” he muttered, not willing to discuss what he
did for distraction. Not that it had worked. “They’d plugged in one of those
air fresheners. Once I found it I yanked it out and I slept again.”

She frowned at him. He undid the button at the top of her
jeans and unzipped them, slid them and her underwear off her, dealing with her
shoes and socks on the way down. Then he came back up the bed, buried his nose
in her pussy and took a deep, appreciative breath. “The label on the air
freshener said it was spiced apple. Too much like you, Cyn, but nowhere near as
good. When I did sleep I dreamed of you, the first time in years. And I knew I’d
made a mistake not going after you.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond but dived in. He
opened his mouth to lick and taste, her scent, her taste, everything he’d ever
wanted in a woman but never discovered before or after her. He didn’t care
about analysis or trying to forget her anymore. Not now he knew that was
totally impossible.

He slid his tongue down one side of her pussy, collecting
her juices as he went and finishing at her opening. There he stopped to drive
her crazy before he drove himself nuts. Not attempting to hide his
appreciation, he slurped and feasted, taking her high, needing her to come with
him. He sucked her clit into his mouth and nipped, holding it steady in his
teeth so he could lick, suck and drive her insane.

She squirmed beneath him and he knew for sure and certain
she wasn’t feeling any pain because her cries didn’t hold that. Instead
desperation, passion, need as she begged him then demanded. When he thrust two
fingers deep inside her soaking pussy she cried out. Her muscles contracted
tightly as she had her first orgasm of the day.

Not her last though. Riku got to his feet grinning and wiped
his hand across his mouth before shucking his clothes. He opened the drawer of
the nightstand and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted a pack of condoms
nestled there. Las Vegas, ready for the post-gambling recreational hour.

He kept his mind firmly on the glittering city outside while
he sheathed his cock, now hotter than sin but not the woman lying on the bed.