Page 1 of Salvatore
CHAPTER 1
ASHLEY
The hotel is throbbing with excitement. It matches the whole Vegas vibe and I peer around nervously as I frantically try to locate my fiancé.
He’s here at a work conference and I thought I’d surprise him. We haven’t had a vacation in years because every spare penny goes into saving for our house and upcoming wedding.
The noise of the rolling machines and flashing lights adds to my unease as I glance around anxiously.
This is a bad idea. I should have stayed at home, but the lure of a hotel room and a mini vacation had too much pulling power.
I step forward and my heels sink into the deep carpet that almost blinds me with its pattern. Vegas is vulgar on an extreme scale, and I love it.
As I pull my black dress down toward my knees, a man moves next to me and whistles in admiration. The Lycra makes it rise, exposing too much skin, which he clearly likes.
“Hey–” He begins to speak, and I move away before he can proposition me. I’m not stupid, although the jury is out on that presently because I am second-guessing my sanity in being here at all.
Somewhere in this mayhem is a reception desk and I walk confidently over to it, intent on only one thing.
Surprising Edward.
The man standing behind the counter looks bored to the extreme and I paint my brightest smile on and say huskily, “Good evening.”
He raises his eyes. “May I help you?”
“Um–” I clear my throat.
“I’m staying here with Edward Miller and I’m late arriving. Please, can you check me into his room?”
He arches his brow and stares at me with an arrogant gleam in his eye. “Is that so?”
His superior gaze drags the length of me, and I already know what he’s thinking. That I’m, well, temporary for the night and God help me, a whore.
It will probably gain me access to his room quicker than the real story, so I flutter my lashes and say breathily, “He, um, asked me to meet him there.”
He nods, turning to his computer screen, and then hands me a plastic key card.
“Fourteen sixty–three. The elevator is to your left.”
My fingers shake as I take the card, and I hate the smirk on his face as he watches me go.
I take a deep breath as I step into the elevator and, as the doors close, I press for the fourteenth floor.
The mirrors that line the walls of the elevator remind me of what I look like, and the plunging neckline of my dress and sexy heels were probably my ticket up here which makes me smile because that is so far from the truth it’s hysterical.
Me—a whore? I’m one step away from a nun and I’m here to rectify that. I lean against the wall and think about Edward and wonder why he’s been so patient with me. We’ve made out, of course we have. We’re engaged and it kind of goes with theterritory, but every time we get a little further, he pulls back and says regretfully that we must wait until we’re married.
I thought he was being chivalrous, and I suppose he is, but there’s a part of me that wonders if he just doesn’t fancy me.
The elevator doors open on the fourteenth floor and as I step outside into the silent corridor, I blink at the green-flocked walls that clash terribly with the orange-patterned carpet. Vulgar Vegas indeed. It’s like something out of a seventies movie and as I walk slowly toward room sixty-three, my nerves are the only sound accompanying me.
My mouth is dry, and my heart is racing because I have never done anything like this before. I am here with only one thing on my mind and that is blasting away my virginity with the man I love. The man whose ring I wear proudly on my finger and the man I will make my world in six months when we walk down the aisle as husband and wife.
I stop outside the room and take a deep breath, the key card cold against my clammy fingers.
I’m guessing if he’s not here, I’ll lie in bed and wait for him. He will be surprised, but I’m hoping the occasion, and the fact we’re in unfamiliar territory, will sweep aside any doubts he may have.
The green light blinks as it accepts the card and I edge open the door that leads into darkness. My heart is thumping so hard it mocks me as I step inside the room with more bravery than I usually have.