He found her absolutely irresistible as she wove her web and pulled him in like no other woman ever had. He dated on occasion, but between his dangerous job and his unwillingness to bring anyone home to his father, Mike had never let anyone get close enough to become serious. He’d become somewhat of a loner himself, at least in the relationship department. Sex was fine, when the need arose. Anything else brought with it too many complications.
Now there was Amber. Desire pounded hard and fast inside him as she tangled her tongue with his and took him on that wild ride she’d promised. Fast and furious, better than any roller coaster could be.
She ended the kiss too soon and grabbed his hand.
“Where to now?” he asked.
“Well, I still can’t believe my big brave cop is afraid of roller coasters,” she said, teasing him. “But I’ll settle for the arcade.”
The next hour was spent mixing old-fashioned games and long, heated kisses, resulting in his losing a fair amount of money in an attempt to win her a ring with a big fake diamond. No matter how much he spent, no matter how many darts he threw, the ring remained elusively out of reach. Yet they couldn’t stop laughing and she didn’t stop touching him. It felt as if everything about their time together was right.
He got caught up in the sheer pleasure of the carnival-like atmosphere and he savored being with a woman who wanted to be with him, without the stigma of the Corwin curse hanging over his head. No expectations, no games, just plain fun. And though he knew nothing could come of this, he found himself wishing they had time for something more, some thing real and lasting.
They walked from stand to stand, always coming back to the dart game where Mike would once again attempt to win the ring. Amber cheered him on until her voice was hoarse. He bought them both cold beers and they laughed over the ugly bear he’d traded the smaller items in to win.
But the ring remained out of reach, frustrating him because he knew how much she wanted the small token of their afternoon together. And he wanted her to have it.
“Let’s head back to the Bellagio,” she suggested after a while.
“Are you ready to call it a night?” He turned to meet her gaze, wondering just how their time together would end. He knew what he wanted, but he wouldn’t pressure her.
“I’m ready to leave here.” She paused a beat. Ran her tongue over her glossed lips.
He never caught her reapplying makeup, but she’d kept that shimmer on her lips all day and night. The gloss had a hint of vanilla scent and each time he kissed her, he wanted to devour even more.
“Let’s take a cab.” He held on to her hand and started through the arcade in the direction of—he thought—the exit.
“Mike, wait.”
He turned.
“I don’t think I’m ready to leave you.”
He exhaled the breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. “The feeling’s mutual.” He squeezed her hand.
His body was strung tight and only one thing would alleviate the need pulsing inside him. But on the way to the taxi, they passed the dart game and Mike paused. He reached into his pocket and tossed his last five dollars in change on the counter.
“You are determined.” The guy running the game handed him five darts. “Tell you what. Three out of five and I’ll trade the bear for the ring,” he said, looking at Amber and winking.
Mike picked up the dart and eyed the balloons, sparsely placed to make it difficult to hit the target.
“No matter what, I just want to be alone with you,” she whispered.
He threw and missed.
She laughed, her breath warm in his ear. “No pressure. Really.”
He tossed again, popping one balloon.
Beside him, she squealed in excitement, patted his back and stepped away so she didn’t break his concentration.
A direct hit.
Another squeal.
He rolled his shoulders. Just one more….
“Relax,” she said as if reading his mind. “You have two more chances,” Amber said.
He shot her a warning glance. “Quiet.”
She grinned.
He picked up the fourth dart, aimed and tossed. The balloon popped easily and Amber cheered, rewarding him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug followed by a long, lingering kiss. One that gave a steamy hint of what was in store for him once they returned to his room.
“Here you go, buddy.” The guy behind the arcade stand handed him the ring with the large fake diamond.
Amber held out her hand. An eerie sensation—as if his wish for something more with her had magically come true—struck him as he slipped the too-big ring on her delicate hand.
Top heavy, it rolled to the side. “I’ll make it smaller with tape later,” she said, laughing.
“If you ask me, a pretty lady like you deserves a real diamond,” the arcade guy said.
If he and Amber were really involved, the man would be right. “Let’s go,” Mike said to her.
She nodded, a wide smile on her face.
“Wait. Since you seem to be on a lucky streak, take this.” The arcade guy handed him a silver dollar. “You never know what coin will strike it rich in those slots,” he said.
Mike shook his head. “Keep it,” he said to the guy. “I already struck it rich.”
Amber blushed.
He couldn’t wait for them to be alone.
AMBER HELD Mike’s hand as they wove their way through the arcade. They’d worked up a thirst and had stopped to buy drinks. She finished her glass of wine as quickly as he polished off a beer, adding to the light buzz she’d maintained all day. They walked through the casino on the way to the taxi area at the front of the hotel.
She’d enjoyed being with Mike so much, she’d almost forgotten about Marshall and the scene back at the hotel. Even though she’d never completely shaken the feeling that she was being followed, she’d been able to put the unsettling notion out of her mind. Until she saw J.R. in the hallway where they stood inside the hotel, Circus Circus.
Damn, Marshall was persistent. But that’s what her ex-partner did when he considered something—or someone—his. Luckily for Amber, this was one of the easiest hotels to get lost in, with its awkward layout and confusing maze-type locations.
Yet somehow, J.R. still managed to keep track of her.
With his shaved head and broad shoulders, he intimidated her on a good day. Coming off her argument with Marshall, today wasn’t one of those. She didn’t want to deal with a confrontation and she definitely didn’t want Mike to get into a fight with J.R. So she did the only thing she could think of on short notice. She pulled Mike into the nearest alcove and into a hot, distracting kiss.
One she felt from the tips of her toes all the way through her body. With each sweep and swirl of his tongue, her stomach fluttered and everything around her faded as his lips worked magic. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and his body pressed into hers, urging her against the wall for support. She felt his erection swell beneath his jeans and press into her stomach. This man aroused her on so many levels she couldn’t think clearly all.
“We’ve got to get to my room,” he muttered.
She swallowed hard, the reality of her situation returning to her and creating a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t return to plain sight just yet. She glanced around and realized they weren’t in an entryway but a large, floral-lined room.
“Are you ready to go?” Mike asked gruffly.
She stroked her fingers down his razor-stubbled cheek, scrambling for a reason to stall leaving for a few precious minutes. “I am, but—”
“Are you two next?” a male voice asked.
“Next?” Mike asked.
A gray-haired man holding a clipboard glanced at them. “Come come. If you’re going to change your mind about getting hitched, do it out in the hall.”
“Hitched?” Amber’s voice squeaked as she repeated the question.
“What e
lse would you do in a wedding chapel?” the man asked.
“I don’t know.” She tried not to stammer. She glanced at Mike.
He raised an eyebrow, his expression thoughtful.
“Everyone’s nervous the first time,” the other man said, cracking a smile at his own joke. “Sally, get them something to drink,” he called over his shoulder. “It’ll calm their jitters.”
The man’s assistant, an overly made-up woman, handed them each a plastic flute filled with champagne.
Mike threaded his hand through Amber’s, but said nothing.
The fact that he hadn’t run for the hills made Amber wonder what he was thinking. She took a large gulp of the bubbly drink.
“Which package do you want? All of them include a small bridal bouquet, music, souvenir certificate and holder, garter and minister. That’d be me.” The man spoke by rote and clicked his pen with each item on the list. “The least expensive one is the Traditional. For two hundred and eighty-one dollars, you also get a bigger bridal bouquet and a boutonniere for the groom.” He almost sounded bored.
“What about photos?” Mike asked, speaking up for the first time.
Amber nearly choked. “What?”
Mike shrugged and leaned closer to her. “It’s Vegas. Let’s just do it,” he said, his gaze delving into hers intently.
She licked her lips, which had suddenly gone dry. “Come on,” she said, certain he was teasing. “Even the tables in Vegas have limits,” she said in an effort to see how far he’d take things.
Because the notion of marrying him on the spur of the moment held too much appeal.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t set our own.” He raised an eyebrow, challenging her. “You’ve said it’s a place where anything can happen.”
“But…you don’t live here!”
He met her gaze, holding on. “We’ll figure it out later.”
“I don’t got all day,” the man said.
Mike turned back to him. “A bride should have full-color glossy memories of her wedding day,” he said.
“One photo is included. Anything else is extra.”
Mike shot Amber a look. “Are we doing this?” he asked.
She’d grown up a gambler. And she liked him. Really liked him. His sudden adventurous streak appealed to her reckless nature. And he made her feel so good…
“Why not?” she asked, suddenly into this as much as he was.
“Throw one more photo into the package,” Mike said, reaching for her right hand.
“Are you sure?” she asked him.
Mike met her stare, his eyes warm and sexy. “Make it legal?” He toyed with the large stone on her finger. “I’m sure. Are you?”
Amber hadn’t a clue what his reasons for pursuing this were, but she knew her own. She liked him, he obviously liked her and a big man was waiting to have a talk with her somewhere right outside the door. But more important, their impossibly romantic day had cast a spell over her, leaving her in a happy, dizzy haze.
Besides, these wedding chapels existed in the casino for a reason. Even her parents had married in one. Her head spun and she no longer knew whether it was alcohol induced or if she was losing her mind. Nor did she much care.
She glanced up at his handsome profile. Her white knight. Her cop savior. “Why not?” she heard herself repeating.
“Credit card,” the minister said.
She wondered if Mike would declare it a joke now.
He whipped out silver plastic.
Everything else—the organ played by Sally, the bouquet wilting at the edges thrust into her hand, signing the wedding certificate—happened in a blur of cheap champagne and I do’s.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said. “You may kiss the bride.”
Unlike the fast wedding, the kiss was as clear as the rest of her day with Mike. Full of passion and desire, it was over way too soon. Before they knew it their chaplain had clapped his hands and dismissed them, already on to the next couple.
Amber’s heart pounded hard in her chest as the reality of what they’d done settled around her. “Did we really just get married?” Amber asked, laughing as they walked out of the chapel, license and photograph in hand.
“I believe we did…Mrs. Corwin.” It was almost impossible to comprehend, Mike thought.
He normally wasn’t impulsive. As a cop he couldn’t afford to be. Day to day, he relied on training and instinct. When a quick decision was called for, it was always founded in a combination of both.
Now he was married.
The initial impulse had been just that, yet somehow he knew the decision had been rooted in his connection with Amber, one he knew he couldn’t lose. Even now that the deed was done, he didn’t regret a thing. In some odd way, getting hitched to Amber made sense.
For a Corwin man.
He and Amber weren’t in love.
No love, no curse.
Although for Amber, Mike sensed he’d be willing to tempt fate. For the first time, Mike thought he understood his cousin Derek’s recent marriage to his high-school sweetheart, the woman he’d once pushed away to avoid setting the curse in motion. Amber was addictive and Mike discovered he liked being hooked. Enough to want to keep her by his side.
“What do you say we head back to my room and consummate this marriage?” he asked his bride, pushing thoughts of fate and the curse far from his mind.
She smiled at him, her blue eyes dancing with energy and excitement. “I like the sound of that.”
So did Mike.
MIKE WAS MARRIED and he liked it, he realized as Amber snuggled close in the cab ride back to his hotel. With her hanging on to his arm, he headed straight to the large bank of elevators that led to his room. While the Bellagio suites had an opulence that had made him uncomfortable when he’d checked in, the thought of taking Amber up there now and undressing her surrounded by all that elegance pleased Mike and made the extravagant price he’d paid worth-while.
He shoved his hand into his back pants pocket to make sure he had his key and a coin fell onto the floor.
“What’s this?” Amber asked, bending to retrieve it. “A token for the slots?” She studied it on both sides.
He nodded. “Everyone in the wedding party got one.”
“You should use it,” she said, handing it back to him. “It looks like it’s worth ten dollars. You can win big with one of those.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The slots are as rigged as the arcade.” He’d blown over one hundred dollars before that guy had handed the ring over for another five. “Not that I minded, but the guy could have given us the ring anytime he wanted.”
“But what fun would it have been?” she asked, nudging him. “Come on. Don’t be such a skeptic. I’ve lived here long enough to know it’s a crapshoot. But someone has to win every once in a while.” She took his hand and led him back through the casino to the higher-end machines. “Pick one,” she urged.
She obviously wasn’t going to give up until he lost the token. “You choose,” he said.
She shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just along for the ride. This is all yours. Come on. What are you going to do with the token anyway? Take it back to Boston as a memento?”
“I already have a memento,” he said, stroking his hand down her cheek.
“Are you referring to the photograph? Or me?” she asked, laughing. “Come on. Get it over with.”
He shook his head at her persistence. “Did anyone ever tell you that you can be a little pushy?” he asked, teasing her.
“Many people, many times. Now choose.” She splayed her arms wide.
“Fine. This one,” he said, indicating a machine that promised a million-dollar payout. “But if the impossible happens and I win, half is yours.” He walked over, stuck the token into the slot machine and pushed the spin button. “Satisfied?” he asked, turning away just as bells, lights and whistles went off around them.
“You won!” Amber tugged on his arm and glanc
ed at the machine. “You actually won a hundred and fifty thousand dollars!” She screamed and threw her arms around his neck, squealing in excitement.
The surreal moment played out like a movie, with the head of the casino and security showing up and paying him. Cash. Mike couldn’t believe it, not even after they’d been escorted back to his room by a security guard via a private elevator.
When the man left and Mike locked the door behind him, he turned to his wife. He and Amber were finally alone.
First thing he did was to kneel in front of the safe in the closet, placing the money inside. “I need a code number I’ll remember.”
“How about the date? Our anniversary?” Amber suggested. She stood behind him, her hand on the back of his neck, her fingers softly threading through his hair.
Her touch was so arousing he could barely think straight. He punched in the numbers, hit Lock and turned to her.
Without further thought, he swept her into his arms. She shrieked and looped her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I couldn’t carry you over the threshold with the security guard standing there, but I can do the next best thing.” He stepped toward the large king-size bed he thought he’d be sleeping in alone and laid her down on the mattress. “Today was unbelievable. You’re my very own lucky charm. I can’t believe we just met.”
She nodded in agreement. “I feel the same way. It’s like I’ve known you forever.”
He grinned and held up her hand with the big, gaudy ring on it. “This and our marriage license says you will.”
Her eyes glazed with delight while his heart caught in his throat. She was so beautiful, with her wild blond curls falling over the pillow and her lips moist and welcoming. An angel sent to him from who knows where, someone who wasn’t a part of his past, but would be part of his present and future. He couldn’t say he minded.
Lowering himself beside her, he bent his head to kiss his bride. They’d been building up to this moment all day and the long, leisurely kisses that had sustained them during the afternoon no longer satisfied him now that they were alone. He kissed her mouth, her cheek, and followed a trail down her jawline, pausing to nibble on her delectable earlobe, grazing her soft flesh gently with his teeth.
Lucky Streak Page 3
