“I’m not afraid of more adventurous sex, Killian. Are you afraid I’m too fragile? Because Ray didn’t sexually abuse me.”
“This has nothing to do with him. This is just about us. We’ll have plenty of time to work up to kink if that’s what we both want. Believe me.”
“Maybe I want some now.”
He laughs.
“Really. With Ray, it was just sort of a duty. It was lackluster. It became a chore because I fell out of love with him because of how he treated me. In the beginning, it was good. Actually, it –”
“Somebody better tell my wife to shut up right now because I don’t wanna be the one to do it.”
I pause and then wince as heat floods my face. “Oh. Sorry.”
“Yeah. Sorry,” he grumbles.
“It’s a million years ago and I barely remember it because he piled so much bad on me that I forgot the good. My point is, don’t feel like you have to treat me like I’m breakable because of him. I don’t want him to be between us. Let’s start this conversation over.”
“Consider the last minute forgotten.” He waves his hand dismissively.
“Unless you wanna spank me,” I offer, “you know, for punishment.”
“That look on your face? The way you’re breathing? Tells me spanking would be the opposite to a punishment and I’m not about to reward you and risk you committing the same crime, baby.”
I pout. “Boo. You’re no fun.”
“Oh, I’m fun. Believe me. I plan to show you some fun.”
“Sooo…” I flash a smile and then ask the question I just asked as if I didn’t already ask it. “When are you gonna show me that kinky side I’ve heard about?”
“Tonight,” Killian whispers against my bare shoulder. “In this dress? It was already part of the plan.”
“This old thing?”
“This old thing,” he confirms, taking a handful of the fabric at the hem and smiling.
“You like this dress? It’s ancient; I’ve had it for eons,” I say, smiling, too.
“I know. You were wearing this dress the night I first saw you,” he says against the skin behind my ear, making me shiver.
I guess I shiver for two reasons. His mouth, for one. But also, if this is the dress I had on when Killian first saw me, this is also the dress I had on when Ray first saw me.
I remember a lot about that night. What Killian wore. What Ray wore. How they looked together both dressed in black, eyeballing me while I danced with my friends. I hadn’t thought much about what I was wearing.
The dress is definitely sexy. It’s burgundy. Short and clingy velvet. Cleavage. It makes my butt pop out, too. I’ve always liked it.
“I bought this on sale for, like… twenty-nine dollars when I was just barely old enough to drink.”
“Well, it was money well spent, Dimples.”
We’re going to a dinner theater tonight and this was the dress he asked me to wear, something he packed when he quickly threw together stuff picking me up from work the other day so that he could whisk me to Vegas, so he could propose on the airplane, so I could gain entry into the mile-high club before landing in Sin City and tying the knot.
“Did you and I join the mile high club together or were you already a member?” I ask.
He’s behind me at the mirror, fixing his collar.
He smiles devilishly.
I wait.
He says nothing, so my eyebrows rise. I’m suddenly feeling a pang of regret for even asking.
“You really wanna know?”
My expression drops. Heat floods my face and I’m about to shake my head.
“I joined it with you,” he finally says.
My mouth splits into a smile as I empty my lungs.
“Was that two point five seconds of misery, Mrs. Coulter?”
“It was,” I admit. “Somebody better tell my husband not to tease me like that. I can be very jealous and possessive.”
He winks, then turns and heads out of the bathroom, leaving the door open, so I continue to watch the mirror, seeing him lift his glass of bourbon before he looks out at the strip from the floor-to-ceiling window.
This hotel suite is gorgeous. Lavish. Luxurious. And it’s been a fun few days.
We got married Friday night, a few hours after we arrived. Killian had the hotel concierge find me a salon that took care of my makeup, hair, nails, and that had three choices for beautiful white dresses for me to choose from. The dress is a dream and fit me like it was custom-made. Lace top, off the shoulder, with a full organza skirt. Corset back so a perfect fit. It couldn’t have been more perfect. We had it sent home so I can put it and the gorgeous floor-length veil on again when we do the family wedding.
According to my bestie, who called me the next day to talk about the photos I sent her, we could not have found a more perfect wedding gown if we had gone on a months-long hunt for it. It felt like fate.