Scorch (11 page)
Across the table from her, Natalie and Sebastian looked equally content and happy, though they were so caught up with each other that Chelsea doubted they heard anything that was going on around them. Their wedding was coming up in a couple of months and there wasn’t even so much as a jitter from either of them. It made Chelsea smile, knowing they were so blissful.
And next to her, tracing lazy circles on the back of her hand, sat Daniel. Gorgeous and looking just as at home in his tux as he did in his chef’s jacket, he caught her gaze and winked as he took a sip of his wine.
She knew the smile on her face was more than a little sappy and a lot of it had to do with the magical day. But Chelsea knew that without the man next to her, she wouldn’t have felt so good. Of course, she would be ecstatic for her friends, but Daniel seemed to make everything better. Being with him highlighted the best in everything.
He caught her gaze again and the intensity of his had her heart flopping over. Daniel took her glass and put it on the table along with his. “Want to dance, beautiful?”
“Thought you’d never ask.” She was aware of her friend’s approving smiles as they left the table. But the one that held her attention was the man at the end of her arm.
Laughing, he led her to the floor. Daniel swung Chelsea in a wide circle around him and wound her in to hold her close, despite the up-tempo of the song playing.
And, in his arms, she didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought.
Chelsea swayed with him, relishing the feel of his body against hers. “You look amazing tonight. We definitely have to find more occasions for you to wear a tux.”
He dipped his head low to touch his nose to hers. “If it makes you smile like this, I’ll wear one every day.”
“Is that a promise?”
He shifted, nudging her with his burgeoning arousal. Desire flickered to life low in her belly. What she wouldn’t give to be able to drag him back to his apartment. How would it look for them to disappear in the middle of the reception? Especially when it had barely even started.
He pulled her closer, his smile widening. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was.
He said, “Of course. But I was thinking we should create an occasion for me to wear one.”
Daniel’s hand grazed her bare back and her brain slipped a gear. It took her a moment to put his words together and try to make sense of them. “What do you mean?”
“Reach into my pocket.”
Her eyes widened but she crept her hand toward his belt with a mischievous smile on her face.
He dropped his head back and laughed. “My
jacket
pocket.”
Joining in his laughter, she did as she was asked. She slid her hand into his jacket, taking a moment to feel the hard muscle hidden beneath. Once she finally got to his pocket, she dipped her hand inside to curl her fingers around the contents. When she felt what was within, they began to tremble. She managed to pull it out part of the way before he stopped her, keeping it hidden between their bodies.
She stared at the little black velvet box. Stunned, Chelsea lifted her eyes to meet his.
“Open it.”
It took a second of fumbling with her nerveless fingers to get it open. Inside was a spectacular diamond set in an equally beautiful white-gold band. It was uncomplicated and incredible. Perfect, just like the man offering it to her.
He pressed it closed and took her hands to continue dancing. “I planned on giving it to you later. I didn’t want to take the shine off the day for Cara and Jason, but I couldn’t wait. I need to know. What do you think?”
It was a no-brainer. “Yes. Absolutely, yes!”
He took her happy squeal into his mouth, kissing her until she couldn’t breathe, let alone make more of a commotion. “Shh.”
Chelsea couldn’t contain herself and if she couldn’t scream it to the world, she needed to celebrate it with the man she loved. “We’re getting out of here right now.”
“I love the way you think.” He pecked her on the nose before swooping in for a slow, drugging kiss. “But most of all, I love you.”
“I love you too.” She beamed up at him. “But I’d love you much more naked. Now.” She snared his hand and dragged him toward the door.
Daniel snagged a bottle of champagne as they passed a table. He raised it apologetically to the head table while Chelsea shrugged at her friends. She knew they’d understand.
And judging by the smiles on their faces, they did.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
Cuffed
Kait Gamble
Excerpt
Chapter One
There were only a few time and place convergences on the planet where a person could walk into a room and see
The Joker
hanging out with Ahri from
League of Legends
or
The Team Fortress
guys flirting with GI Joe’s The Baroness. The magical madness of Comic Con was never lost on Scarlett.
A blinding burst of camera flashes slowed her pace. It took a moment of blinking before she could see past the spots in her eyes.
“Scarlett! Oh, my God, it’s really you!” A gaggle of teens swarmed around her. “Will you take a pic with us?”
“Of course.” Scarlett immediately found herself surrounded and quickly blinded yet again by flashes. After a flurry of weird poses, a rotating carousel of selfies and much squealing they dispersed to share pics and upload to the social media site of their choosing.
Only one of the girls hung back and stared at Scarlett. It was obvious there was something she wanted to say, but she just couldn’t work up the nerve.
Scarlett smiled. “These things are always insane, aren’t they?”
Her face lit up. “Yeah. Have you been to many?”
“The past three, actually.”
Color flushed her cheeks. “I knew that. I’m a huge fan. I’ve watched all of your videos at least three times. Especially the one where you call out Jackson Reach for being an asshole. I mean, his channel, Reach Round? What even is that?”
Scarlett laughed. “That was quite a while ago. Jackson and I have come to an understanding.”
Her eyes widened. “So he believes that you’re a gamer now? Just like that?”
Scarlett leaned in and whispered, “I might have destroyed him in Halo a few times.”
The girl burst into laughter. “That’s amazing. You’re awesome. I’m thinking of starting a channel. Was it hard to do?”
“Nope. Just be you and make sure to keep it up even if no one’s watching. The viewers will come. If you tweet or email me the link, I’ll bring you up on my next show, if you want.”
Scarlett could almost count the stars in the teen’s eyes and she bounced excitedly in a little circle before throwing her arms around Scarlett. “Thanks so much! You’re amazing!” She let go and squealed her way back to her friends.
Moments later, there was a collective scream and more flashes. It was quickly followed by a string of Twitter alert chimes from her phone.
Feeling good, Scarlett wandered around more. She wasn’t due to be on a panel for a little while so she didn’t see the harm of roaming and soaking in the atmosphere. It felt great to be around people who were interested in similar things.
Then she saw something that made her stop dead in the middle of the heaving mass of people. It took all her faculties to forcibly stop herself from pointing and giggling herself off her feet.
Amid all the costumes, one figure stood out from the rest. It might have been the perfect black tuxedo, or the figure that filled it out so nicely, but the rose top hat and mask just put the costume into the realm of ridiculousness that made the wearer stand out like a sore thumb. Scarlett had to grab the wall to keep from falling over in laughter. Not only because it was the silliest thing she’d seen in a long time, but because of
who
was in it.
She strode straight over to the YouTuber and feigned a swooning pose. “Oh, Tuxedo Mask, throw that rose and save me!”
Several people walking past smirked. More whooped it up right in his face. A few took photos and were immediately tapping away on their phones. Her phone chimed again with a burst of Twitter alerts. It looked like she and her fellow YouTuber had been recognized.
The scowl on his face told her he was less than thrilled by his notoriety at that moment. “Scarlett.”
She mimicked his monotone greeting. “Jackson.” She circled him slowly, biting her lip to keep from snickering as she pulled out her phone and took a few pictures. “That’s quite the costume. I never pegged you for a
Sailor Moon
fan.”
He growled something unintelligible, but quickly adopted a dazzling smile when two little girls shyly edged toward him.
“Tuxedo Mask?”
“I am.” Jackson bowed gallantly. “What can I do for you ladies?”
“Can we get a photo with you?”
“Of course.” Jackson swept the cape back with a dramatic thrust of his arms and he kneeled. He struck several poses, each making them giggle more with delight.
Scarlett had to admit that something inside went a little mushy as she witnessed the scene. She quickly shoved the feeling aside. This was Jackson, a man who had relentlessly taunted her when she’d first started her blog. He’d called her out on his YouTube channel countless times. And all because she was a female who dared to declare herself a gamer. Sure, his tone had changed over the years. His respect for her came through now, and she’d slowly gotten over the hurt that his words had caused her in those early days. It wasn’t hard to see—once you got to know him—that his persona on the videos was a façade. The guy underneath wasn’t so bad.
The early acrimony had turned into more banter from their differing views over the years, but they never passed up the chance to get in a few barbs whenever they could. It made them quite a hit on YouTube and the gaming blog world.
“At least I made an effort to join in the spirit of things.” He winked at the girls in parting, drawing more giggles as they dashed off, and sighs from a few women who were nearby.
“Please.” Scarlett unzipped her jacket to reveal a black T-shirt with the words ‘Make Me A Sammich, Bitch Boy’ emblazoned across her chest in a bright red that perfectly matched her upswept shock of hair.
“Nice.” And by the smile on his face, he meant it.
About the Author
Kait was born and raised in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest and started writing as a child to entertain herself during the long winters. Insatiably curious with a love of learning new things, she’s picked up many random skills including three languages and two martial arts. After traveling three continents (the other four are on her bucket list), she settled in England with her family where she spends most of her time cultivating her daughter’s love of reading and writing, scribbling ideas on every available scrap of paper and trying out dialog on her cat.
Email:
[email protected]
Kait loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.totallybound.com
Also by Kait Gamble
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