“Yeah, darlin’. One for each year. How old are you today?”
She frowned again. “Is that a real thing?”
“What? Birthday spanks? Sure is. Here, have another shot, honey.” Red Dog again pushed the shot glass toward her.
She whirled on Crash. “Is that why you asked me how old I was?”
Crash laughed and reached around Shannon to slug Red Dog in the arm. “Quit corrupting her.”
“What? I’m getting her drunk, and you get to take her upstairs and reap the benefits. How does that get me a slug in the arm?”
“Yeah, it’s all fun and games until someone’s puking her guts out in the toilet.”
Dog chuckled. “See your point.”
As the bar got more crowded and rowdy, the guys took up all the space surrounding her as they enclosed her, protecting her. It was oddly thrilling, being trapped between them, Crash’s hard body at her back. She felt small, feminine and sheltered.
Crash turned her and cupped her chin, bringing her attention back to him. “You havin’ a good time, Princess?”
She smiled up at him, leaning into him. “I’m having a blast.”
He grinned. “Good, baby. Tonight’s your night.”
She went up on her toes and brushed her lips against his.
“Happy birthday, bombshell,” he teased.
“Thank you, baby.”
Crash looked over her head to his brother, catching Wolf’s eyes on Shannon’s ass. “Wolf, how’s that pretty ass of hers you’re so intensely interested in?”
Wolf groaned behind her. “Fucking perfect, brother.”
“Look all you want, but don’t even think about touching it.”
Wolf raised his hands in surrender. “I ain’t touchin’ it, brother.”
Shannon giggled, knowing they were teasing each other.
Later that night, Crash pulled Shannon through the lobby toward the elevators. As they passed the in-hotel chapel Shannon pointed to the pair of French doors with beautiful inlaid glass. “Look, they do weddings here.”
“How about that,” Crash replied, smiling down at her. She was pretty tipsy, and he had found that Shannon was a fun drunk. She giggled a lot and generally found anything any one of his brothers said hilariously funny. She’d joined in the fun wholeheartedly and got into the fights as much as any of them had. She knew nothing of the MMA fighters, but for every fight they’d watched she’d looked over the contestants and picked one to cheer for. He’d asked her each time why she’d chosen this one or that one. Sometimes her answer was that she liked the color of his shorts better, or his tattoos or his smile. They placed a few bets, and she won a little money. He’d had a great time, and he was pleased that she’d seemed to enjoy herself as well.
Now she was stopped, staring at those doors. “Shannon, you okay?” She looked up at him with a smile, but also a sort of sobered and serious look on her face. No way in hell was he ready for what came out of her mouth next.
“Marry me.”
His brows rose. “Huh?”
“Let’s get married.”
He frowned with a smile. “Shannon, you’ve had a lot to drink tonight.”
“Haven’t you ever wanted to do something crazy and spur of the moment?”
“Yeah, sure. But getting married has never been one of ‘em.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body up against him. “We could have a really awesome wedding night,” she tempted him.