Lucky Streak (3 page)

“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 else 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.

 

M
IKE 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 glanced 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.

She groaned, a husky sound reverberating from
low in her throat. Her body tensed and writhed beside him, demanding more. He inhaled the floral scent that had been testing his restraint all afternoon and nearly came right then. But he needed more. Needed to see her naked and exposed just for him.

He reached for the zipper on the back of her dress at the same time she pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans. Clearly their first time wouldn't be slow.

She turned and he lowered the zipper, revealing her creamy back. He licked the exposed line of skin and blew gently, a cool stream of air that caused her to arch her back and treat him to another lusty groan. She openly expressed her need, and knowing he caused those hot, sexy sounds drove him insane.

While she shrugged out of her dress, he took off his shirt, jeans and briefs, tossing everything onto the floor beside his shoes. When he turned back, she was naked and waiting. Her little black dress had been deceiving. She had generous curves he hadn't imagined.

Amber trembled as his gaze raked over her, his eyes darkening with approval.

He laid back against the pillows and crooked a finger. She came willingly, settling her body on top of his. Her skin burned with an internal heat that had been building inside her all day. She fit into him, her breasts crushing his chest, his thighs cradling hers, and her wet core settling against his hard, rigid length.

She sucked in a shallow breath. There was nothing soft or giving about his body and yet everything in his expression told her he'd give her everything she asked for and even some things she didn't.

He pulled her hair back from her face, holding it behind her as he looked into her eyes. “Do you feel how hard you make me?” He lifted his hips and let his erection thrust between her legs.