AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without thinking, I take her hand, intertwining our fingers, and bring the back of her hand to my chest. Our rings flash in the muted sunlight shining through the tinted windows. A man knows he’s fucked when he can’t stop watching or thinking about a woman, and I can’t stop watching or thinking about my wife. The woman who hates me because all I’ve done is disappoint and hurt her.
“Isn’t that why I’m here? To help you reach the surface and finally be able to take that breath?”
I stare at our joined hands, pressed against my chest, right over my heart, and slowly my gaze rolls up to hers. She’s watching me, caution in her brow yet with a look that makes my lungs feel like they’re burning. My problem is—and has always been—I find her inexorably perfect. In all the things she does. Even her pain and sorrow make me hard, because all I want to do is fix them. But what kind of man gets off on something like that?
I’m not the hero of her story. It’s not a title I’m deserving of. I’m not sure I’m even worthy of being her dark knight. But God, does she make me want to change that. Everything about Georgia Monroe makes me want to strive to be a better version of myself for her, and for the last six years, that’s all I’ve done.
I stop short, cutting my useless thoughts off with a goddamn butcher’s knife, my breath suddenly coming out in harsh pants.
It’s not until the back door opens, letting in a stream of blinding light and cool air, that I realize how close I am to her. My face is right up in hers, our lips inches apart, and I jerk back.
A spike of restlessness flares through me. I need to get a grip on myself.
Thankfully Georgia steps out of the car, her curiosity about where we are taking over, and I hear her squeal as I step out.
She points up. “Look!”
I don’t have to look. I know exactly where we are, and it automatically makes me suspicious.
“I’ve always wanted to go on this.”
She treats me to an enthusiastically bright smile, and considering the morning she’s had, that’s saying something.
“Thank you! This is perfect!” She throws her arms around the driver who immediately blushes.
“Of course, ma’am. Here, sir.” The driver hands me two tickets. “Just tell them that you belong to Paulo. I’ll be here waiting for you after.”
I nod at him, reaching out and shaking his hand.
My fingers thread with Georgia’s, and I take us on the escalator and up to the entrance of High Roller, always keeping her behind me even as we approach the line and the woman up front, where I relay the message about belonging to Paulo.
“This way, please.” She unclips a chain and brings us up to the front, holding the line back. I tug Georgia in front of me, keeping my back to the crowd waiting behind us, and when the next car stops, she waves us on. “All for you.”
I push Georgia over to one of the benches until she’s seated, and the doors start to slide closed. I continue to stand, obscuring any view of her through the glass.
“It feels crazy having this whole booth to ourselves.” Georgia’s hands pan around the vast pod. “It looks like it could accommodate a few more dozen people.”
“You asked for privacy. In Las Vegas, this is probably the closest you’ll get.” Even if it’s far from private.
“Truth.”
The car starts to move, slowly carrying us up and over Las Vegas. The sun shines brightly through the glass as the screens overhead flash with ads for various Vegas attractions, and a voice comes through a loudspeaker telling us about the rules, including that we’re not allowed to smoke.
“Dammit, I guess I can’t light my blunt in here.”
I smirk and take the bench seat opposite her. “Have you ever smoked weed?”
“Once,” she tells me. “I was sixteen at a Hollywood party, and people were passing joints around. I took a few hits, hacked out a lung, and that was that.”
“Such a naughty thing for such a good girl to do.”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“They have other things now. Edibles.”
Her eyebrows bounce. “Do you do them often?”
I shrug. “No. But if it’s been too long since I’ve slept, sometimes I’ll eat one to get myself over the hurdle.”
