She lifted her eyes to his and tried to smile.
“I know all this seems a bit crazy, but you’re one of us now. We’ve got your back.”
“Thank you.”
“Wish we could be there to see you take the plunge, Money,” Cage said.
“Shut up,” Cash replied, his chest rumbling. “And tell Cowboy to go to hell when you see him. I know he’s laughing his ass off right now.”
Cage laughed and reached out to shake Cash’s hand. “You know it, brother.”
The men said goodbye and got into the Suburban to go, but not before handing off Cash’s duffel and her wedding dress to someone waiting to take them onto the plane. Hawk nodded toward the gangway. “Go ahead and take her up. I’ll be there in a second.”
He went over to talk to some men standing nearby. Ella shifted in Cash’s arms as he headed for the steps. “I can walk up on my own.”
“The stairs are rough,” he told her without breaking stride. When they reached the top, he set her down so she could at least enter the plane on her own power. She appreciated that.
She stepped inside and a flight attendant appeared, smiling broadly.
“Please continue into the main cabin,” the woman said. “There are some light refreshments available, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ella murmured her thanks as she held tight to the ends of the shirt she’d tied at her waist. She felt like a beggar instead of a princess—which was nothing new, unfortunately. She had never felt like a princess in her life. She felt even less of one as she passed into the spacious and richly appointed main cabin. The seats were gray leather, club chair style. The walls gleamed with chrome and polished zebrawood accents, and there were murals of album covers. Oh my God, she recognized those covers…
Ella looked away and her gaze landed on a blond-haired woman standing with her hands on her hips as she faced down a small boy who gazed up at her with apple-red cheeks and flashing eyes.
Gina Domenico?
“No, Eli, you are not getting any more M&M’s right now. Stop asking.”
“But Mama,” the boy whined.
“No, sir.”
“Daddy?” he asked hopefully as Hawk strolled in behind them.
Daddy?
Ella might be sheltered, but she had a digital music account. And Gina Domenico was one of her favorites. Right up there with Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Beyoncé.
“Are you seriously asking me if you can have something after your mama told you no?” Hawk asked the little boy in a gruff voice.
Eli thought about it a second. “No, sir.”
“That’s what I thought. Now go play with your nanny and stop giving your mama a hard time.”
A young woman stood in the hall behind Gina. She took Eli’s hand as he tromped over to her, and ushered him away. Gina turned with a bright smile.
“Hi there,” she said, coming over and enveloping Ella in a hug before she knew what was happening. “You must be Ella. I’m Gina.”
Ella was a bit bewildered, but she returned Gina’s smile. Gina was famous, yet she seemed so genuine and happy. Not at all the mega talented pop star with the world at her feet.
“Yes,” Ella replied, happy with herself for not stammering. “Thank you for having me.”
“Honey, it’s no problem. Glad we can help.” Her gaze drifted to Cash. “Nice to see you again, Cash.”
“You too,” he replied. “Thanks for letting me hitch a ride again.”
Gina’s smile was bright. “Oh sweetie, you know I’d do anything for a wedding.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Cash grumbled. “This whole thing was probably your idea.”
Ella tried not to be starstruck while they bantered, but it wasn’t easy.
Gina laughed. “I can’t take credit, no. But it sounds to me like the boys know what needs to happen to keep you out of trouble and protect Ella from her deranged family. Sorry, honey,” Gina added with a look at Ella.
For the first time all morning, Ella laughed, though it was a small sound. “It’s okay. They are deranged.”
Gina studied her. “I’m thinking you’re ready to trade those hideous sweatpants in for some real clothes, am I right?”
Ella nodded. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate Cash’s generosity in loaning them to her, but she felt self-conscious in his clothes.
“Then come with me. I’ve got a selection of stuff in your size. We’ll find just the thing to get you started. Soon as it’s settled, we’ll be on the way.”
Ella let Gina usher her toward the back of the plane. But she couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder at Cash. Just for a second. Her heart throbbed as their gazes met. His was intense, probing.
She couldn’t tell if he was merely angry about the situation—or if he regretted he’d ever met her.
* * *
“Quite the mess,” Hawk said after Gina and Ella were gone.
Cash gave himself a mental shake and turned away from his contemplation of the hallway they’d disappeared down. “Yeah.”
“Drink?”
“Beer?”
“You bet.” A few moments later, a flight attendant appeared with two beers. Hawk handed one to Cash and then held out his bottle to clink.
Cash took a long drink. “Not what I expected when I drove out of town yesterday. I should be standing in a trout stream today. Up to my ass in cold, clear water, casting my flies and waiting for a bite.” He shook his head. “Dammit, why’d I stop?”
Hawk snorted. “Because it’s how you’re wired. Because there’s no way in hell you could have kept on driving when she needed you. If you’d let it happen the way it was going down, you wouldn’t have a right to call yourself HOT.”
The truth of that statement squeezed his throat. He took another swallow of beer. “Yeah, I know. Damn.”
“Come on, Cash. It’s a mission. You’re marrying the woman for a mission. Might be a real wedding, real paper, but it’s all in the pursuit of keeping her safe from those assholes who tried to force her into marriage. And then there’s Fahd—need I remind you what that fucker has his fingers in?”
“No, I know he’s a trafficker. Arms, women, drugs. Oil isn’t enough for him apparently.”
“And neither is the other stuff. He wants to be king of Qu’rim.” Hawk nodded in the direction that Ella and Gina had gone. “She’s a princess, even if she’s a princess in exile. He wants that tie to an old monarchy to boost his claim when the rebels overthrow the current regime.”
The rebels in Qu’rim had been trying for a while—hell, they’d even taken the capital city of Baq for a couple of months before they’d been routed and pushed back. The situation was ongoing and not likely to be solved anytime soon. King Tariq bin Abdullah was still king, though the rebels fought to end his tenure daily. If they had a viable candidate in Sheikh Fahd? They’d fight harder—and they might succeed.
Cash couldn’t imagine Ella as a part of that world. She was too sheltered. Too gentle. “Seems like he might find it easier with a princess from his own part of the world.”
“True. But Capriolo lies in the Mediterranean, directly in the path of the shipping lanes for Fahd’s oil. I’m sure he envisions favorable trade conditions, perhaps even the possibility of a refinery.”
“I thought her family was in exile.” None of this made any damn sense.
“They are—but if she were to become queen of Qu’rim? Capriolo would have incentive for trade, certainly. Especially if Fahd were to unite the tribes and put a stop to the instability in the region.”
Cash blinked. “You don’t really think that’s possible. Not with the Freedom Force still running rampant.”
Hawk shook his head. “Nope. But I think it’s what Fahd thinks—and he’s willing to acquire her, same as he’d acquire a car or a racehorse. He has other wives—what’s one more added to the harem?”
Cash didn’t even want one wife. He couldn’t imagine
several. “How would Ella be queen if he has a harem?”
“He’d probably make her the first wife. There’s a hierarchy, but he’d twist it to suit his own agenda.”
Cash hated the idea of Ella married to Fahd. It bothered him that he cared, but hell, he did. “He’s gonna be pissed when she resurfaces.”
“Probably.”
“I don’t see an endgame to this one, Hawk. Men like Fahd don’t give up easily.”
Hawk’s mouth was a grim line. “Exactly right. Which is why she needs us. The minute she ran away, she put a target on her back.”
“She needs witness protection, not a marriage to me.”
“Possibly,” Hawk said. “But you’re all she’s got.”
Chapter 11
They landed in Las Vegas five hours later. Ella had changed into a powder-blue sheath dress with a pair of black pumps. Gina had a makeup artist and hairdresser traveling with her, and they’d gone to work on Ella’s appearance.
“You need to be a glamorous princess,” Gina had said. “Jetting off to Vegas with your dear friend Gina and her husband so you can marry the man you love.”
Ella had frowned. “I never left the estate in fourteen years without being accompanied by someone. Everyone will know it’s a lie.”
“No they won’t, honey,” Gina had insisted. “Because your aunt and uncle would have to admit they’d held you prisoner. Besides, you only have to make the media believe the picture you present them. They’ll take it from there.”
Now they were in Vegas and Ella climbed into the waiting limo as Cash took her hand and helped her down into it. Then he slid in next to her, his expression giving nothing away. Her heart pattered out a beat that threatened to make her dizzy. He’d said nothing about her appearance. From the moment she’d returned to the main cabin during the flight until now, he hadn’t spoken to her.
The limo pulled away with only them inside. She spun to look behind them. Another limo sat on the tarmac, and Gina was making her way toward it on Jack’s arm.
“Why didn’t they come with us?” she asked, turning back to Cash.
He glanced over at her. It was a cool, detached glance. Not that she blamed him. She’d caused him a lot of trouble, and all because he’d tried to help her. She was still causing trouble.
“Because Gina attracts a lot of attention wherever she goes. We’re going straight to the hotel and up to our room. Hawk and Gina will join us a little later, and we’ll get married. After that, we’ll hang out with them and be seen. The media will pick up news of our marriage, and your family will find out. You’ll have to express shock at their version of events, especially at the fact they’ve reported you missing.”
Ella wasn’t so sure about her ability to do that, but she nodded. This whole situation—God, it was out of control. But if she hadn’t walked away, hadn’t stolen that Mercedes and tried to escape, she’d be heaven knows where right now. But wherever it was, it would be with Sheikh Fahd… and she would no longer be a virgin.
Ella shuddered. Just the thought of lying beneath him while he stuck his penis in her body was horrifying. But if she replaced him with Cash?
Shivers cascaded up and down her spine. She clasped her hands in her lap and concentrated on breathing.
The limo left the airport and headed for the hotel. Ella had never been to Las Vegas, so she craned her neck and tried to see everything as they rolled along. It was so flat and brown. But in the distance there were mountains. The sky was blue and clear, and the traffic was thick. When they finally turned onto the Strip, they weren’t on it long before the limo glided up the driveway of the Bellagio. A bellman opened the car door.
“Welcome to the Bellagio, sir. Madam.”
Cash climbed from the car and helped her out. She thought he would let her hand go, but he didn’t. They strolled into the hotel and up to the desk. It didn’t take long to check them in. Soon they were on their way up to the room. Ella was trying not to freak out, but she quietly was. There was so much noise, so much life and activity in the hotel. The colors, the people, the smells—it was overwhelming compared to what she was used to. It wasn’t that her aunt and uncle never went anywhere. They did, and they took Ella and her cousins with them. But in the past few years, they didn’t travel the way they once had. And they’d never brought anyone to Vegas.
Cash held her hand in the elevator. There were other people with them, so she couldn’t say anything. But her system was short-circuiting. All she could concentrate on was the feel of her palm against his, her fingers twined with his much larger ones. His hand was big and warm, a bit rough on the palms. She liked it.
When they finally reached their floor, they had a short walk to the room. Cash opened the door and let her go in first. Ella gasped. There was a small foyer, but when you got beyond that, the room was spectacular—plush furnishings in the living area, upholstered with gorgeous turquoise fabrics, and a king-sized bed with a tufted satin headboard and lush linens that she could see through the open bedroom door.
But the view was what drew her eyes.
Ella hurried over to the window and gazed out at the activity so far below. There was a small lake down there and fountains that shot into the air all across it. People crowded the sidewalks lining the lake, watching the fountains.
Cash loomed beside her and her breath shortened. He sucked all the air from the room. Made her hot and achy at the same time. She wanted to run from him, and she wanted him to hold her again.
“It’s pretty amazing, right?”
She turned to him. His face was in profile to her as he stood with his hands in his jeans pockets and gazed at the view. He looked thoughtful. Or maybe it was sad. She thought again of how upset he’d been that morning when his friends told him he had to marry her. She’d been embarrassed and angry, but what could she say?
She’d thought about it all day, and she’d realized there was only one thing he’d want to hear.
“I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much trouble.”
He didn’t respond at first, and her stomach bottomed out. But then he turned to her, slowly, and those eyes were both fierce and tender as they raked over her.
“It’s not your fault, Ella. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the people who tried to force you to marry against your will.”
“But now you’re marrying me against yours,” she said softly.
“I am, but that’s still not your fault.”
“I feel like it is.”
His expression was fierce one moment and kind the next. “Then you need to get over that, Princess.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
As if it was so easy. She swallowed the knot in her throat and watched the fountains throwing water into the air in synchronized splendor. Cash’s phone disturbed the silence after a few moments. He turned away to answer it.
“Yeah. … Yeah. Great. … We’ll be there.”
He pocketed the phone. “We need to go to Jack and Gina’s suite. The preacher—or whatever Gina got to do this—will be there soon.”
Ella had thought her stomach couldn’t drop any lower. She’d been wrong. “I can’t believe this,” she said as panic rose in her throat like one of those fountains down below. “I’m about to be a married woman—and I’ve never even been kissed.”
* * *
Cash stiffened. What the hell?
He’d had a hard time looking at her from the moment she emerged from Gina’s care hours earlier. Her long, dark hair was combed straight. It fell like a silken cloud over her shoulders, tumbling down her back.
Some idiot had put makeup on her. He didn’t say that because he disapproved of makeup. What he disapproved of was a makeup artist with a talent for highlighting what was already there.
Ella was gorgeous. Dark, flashing eyes that contained more than a pinch of vulnerability, along with strength in abundance, had been turned up a thousand degrees. Now she had what Cage’s wife had informed him was a smoky eye, with w
hatever it was artists did to make that happen. Eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow—all that shit. Her lips were colored a deep pink, and her cheeks glowed.
But it was the dress that had been his undoing all those hours ago. The palest of blues, it set off her creamy skin and dark hair to perfection. It skimmed her figure, not clinging, but definitely highlighting what was there. And then there were those bare legs. She was short compared to him, but she still managed to have legs that went on for miles.
He’d spent the better part of an hour imagining those legs on his shoulders. His dick had strained against his fly so hard he’d worried he might embarrass himself. He’d sat far longer than he normally would before he’d gotten up and moved around the cabin.
He’d deliberately ignored her. Not talked to her. And he was paying for it now by being alone with her in a suite with a massive king bed that was just made for hot, slow, sweet fucking all night long.
Except that she was a virgin. And Cash did not do virgins.
Even a virgin he was about to marry.
Still, what she’d just said. Holy cow. It socked him in the gut. Not because he ascribed deep emotions to kissing, but this gorgeous woman had never kissed a man? It wasn’t right. She wasn’t a teenager but a woman. A beautiful woman who’d never even been kissed.
He told himself that wasn’t his fault. That he didn’t owe her a kiss. Hell, he was marrying her to keep her safe—what more could she want? Because he damned sure wasn’t going to have sex with her. If she thought that, she was mistaken.
Stop being an ass, Cash. Just kiss the girl.
“Do you want to be kissed?” he asked.
She met his eyes. Hers sparked with heat and his groin tightened. Not now.
“I have always thought so, yes.”
He might have laughed if it weren’t so serious. Sweet Ella, she was trying to think logically about the whole thing. But some things weren’t logical at all.
“And now?”
“Now?” Her gaze dropped, her lashes hiding the expressions in those eyes for a moment before she lifted them again. “Yes, I would like to try kissing before I have to kiss you officially. What if I mess it up?”
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