“You do drive a hard bargain, sweetheart. Come on, let’s get you home. You heard Ice. You need to spend the next twenty-four hours in bed with me.”
“Pretty sure he didn’t say that, but…I love the way you think.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“You’re crazy. You know that?”
Ellis smiled at Brett. Damn the man looked handsome. Jeans, tee, sweater. A healthy dose of scruff. He was leaning against the doorframe, Arms crossed. Muscles rippling. Stretching against the cotton. Making her want to slide on over and taste all the smooth, skin. Feel that steel grip enfold her.
She dabbed a bit more concealer over the bruises and the red around the lacerations, not that it seemed to help. “About you? Definitely.”
“I meant in a more general way. Though, you’ve got a concussion so…”
“Slight concussion. Nothing serious. Besides, you rattle my brains more than that floor did.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or a medical crisis in the making.”
She smiled, gave up trying to hide the marks, and moved over to him, tracing the outline of his shoulders, then joining her hands behind his neck—the big jerk didn’t even uncross his arms. “Well, you do increase my blood pressure. Make my heart pound. See double, so…maybe we should have Ice on some kind of retainer.”
“Trust me, he isn’t straying far for a few days. Strange, he doesn’t trust you to follow his instructions. Can’t imagine why.”
“He’s a worrier.”
“I believe the word you’re looking for is realist.”
“Yeah. A real worrier. Are you ready?”
“You’re serious? You only just really woke up a few hours, ago, and yet you want to sit in a vehicle for seventeen hours?”
“Only if you’re driving. I can make Vegas in under fifteen.”
“Is that before or after you drive us into the back of a tractor-trailer? You’re not driving.”
“Fine. Then, we’ll just make out in the back. Let Six or one of the others drive.”
She pressed against him, waiting to see how long he’d hold out. He made it exactly five more seconds before finally wrapping his arms around her. And yes, all that hard, strong grip holding her tight. Making her feel safe. Loved.
“I’d like to keep the man as my friend. Not give him a reason to want to stab me in my sleep.” He furrowed that amazing brow, looking incredibly sexy and serious. “Don’t you want to wait? Have some big party with a fifteen-tier cake and a gazillion flowers?”
“I’ve always been more of a pie kinda girl.”
“Which is also insane. Nothing beats cake, sweetheart.”
“We can agree to disagree on that one. I also don’t care about flowers. Or music. Or finding some perfect venue. All I need is right here in my arms.”
That earned her one of his killer smiles. The one with crinkling eyes and a hint of a dimple. “You really don’t fight fair.”
“This isn’t about fair. This is about not letting another second go by without having some kind of legal tether around you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Never, again. Promise.”
“No one can guarantee the future, baby. Which means I intend to take advantage of every moment. And I want all ofthose with you.” She wiggled a bit, grinned at how he inhaled. At the hard ridge pressing against her stomach. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve changed your mind?”
“Hell, no. I would have married you on that damn pier if we’d had someone to officiate. I just…”
She brushed back the golden strands from around his eyes, knowing she could stare into them—stay just like this—for the next sixty years. “Just what?”
“I want this to be perfect. A day you’ll remember. Make up for all those lost years.”
