Ice laughed, and this time, the others joined in. He kept walking in spite of the fact that she was very serious about them not going up to the main strip. Having his arm around her forced her to go with him. Or maybe she just went because he was utterly amazing. They had walked past the hotel where she was staying with Winston, but one street down, so she still felt relatively safe.
“Ice, really, where are we going?”
“Shopping. You need clothes. Panties, although most of them will end up in my pocket.”
“Do you collect women’s panties?”
There was a collective derisive snort and suppressed laughter from their entourage.
“I’m collecting yours. Of course, since I’m going to be buying them, technically, they’re mine, right?”
“Not if you give them as a gift,” she said.
“Well, I think I’m just going to loan them to you, and you have to give them back whenever—or wherever—I ask for them.”
Soleil laughed. That was intriguing. She could imagine him asking in all sorts of places, and she would give them up in every single one of them. Just the idea of it sent more heat rushing through her body. She loved being with Ice. She loved everything about him. She was more aware than ever that they were downtown, very close to those twenty-four-hour chapels. She had the prenup and he had his. She could get her lips around his cock and seal the deal. He would want her the way she wanted him . . . Why hadn’t she met someone like him before she’d gotten entangled with every loser that ever was born?
Still, they hadn’t slowed down. If anything, they were walking faster. When she stopped looking down at the ground and managed to look up from her fantasizing, she realized where they were. This was the part of the strip that was equal to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Every store was a very high-end establishment. Worse, most would be closed this time of night. Did they plan on breaking into one of the boutiques? She might be contemplating going to hell for seducing him into marriage, but she drew the line at robbery.
“Where are we going, Ice?” She tried to put demand in her voice, but the sound came out more like a squeak. In spite of her trepidation, adrenaline was beginning to rush into her system, mixing with her need for him. She wanted to push him against the wall and have wild sex right there. In the street. By that upscale hotel. She wished she had a screaming orgasm right at that moment to give her the courage to do it.
“We’re heading just up the street. There’s a shop the girls always use. Alena called the owner for me, and she’ll be meeting us there to let us in so we can get you some clothes. You need a new dress for tonight and a few things for tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? Ice used the word tomorrow as if they had a future. As if once they had sex he wasn’t hopping on his bike and heading off alone. Just like that, she was excited for what was to come that evening, what he had in mind.
“Alena went off with someone for the evening.” Soleil gave a token protest, feeling she needed to say something. She was very aware of the tension between Alena and Pierce. It wasn’t going to be resolved easily. “She can’t want to come back just to make certain I have other clothing.” She started to protest further, to say she could make do with her dress, but it occurred to her she wasn’t even wearing panties. Ice had them. She could ask for them back, but she liked that he had them. They were hers. They’d been on her. She wanted him to keep them. If she did die tomorrow, something of her would remain with him.
Her hand crept down to the hem of her dress at the backs of her thighs. It was a stretch, and Ice, who seemed to see everything, saw her tug at the hem. He immediately caught her wrist and pulled her arm up to circle his waist.
“You’re covered, baby. Totally decent. And Alena is my birth sister as well as a fellow Torpedo Ink. Nothing is going to keep her away tonight. She’ll be at the shop waiting for us and she’ll stand with you, Soleil. Never think differently. Once we make this official, you’ll be her sister. She won’t take that lightly. Neither will Lana.”
Sisters? That sounded so wonderful. Like in the real fairy tales, where all dreams came true. She loved that. She didn’t think too much about the word official because if she did, then she would have to ask. If she asked and he mentioned anything that had to do with prenups, she’d have to do the responsible thing and confess she’d gotten him a little drunk and deliberately seduced him, and the night would end. She wanted sex. At least once. Maybe more. Like dozens of times. She was taking a chance on messing that up.