Page 23 of Vengeful Vows
Since I didn’t know what our travel schedule would be, I had eaten a large lunch several hours ago, and I’m not terribly hungry. Still, this platter is filled with decadent temptations that I’m having difficulty resisting.
“Live a little, Bella.”
Unnerving me, Marse is eyeing me as if he’d like to eat me up. “Does the place we’re staying have a fitness center?”
“State of the art,” he confirms.
Of course it does. Have I really expected anything different?
He transfers one of the miniature sandwiches onto a plate and offers it to me.
“You really have to stop feeding me.”
“I meant what I said about the padding on your ass.”
“Are you always so blunt?” What a ridiculous question, I chide myself. He walks a fine line between being a gentleman and saying what he thinks.
“In case I’m not clear…” He pauses, sweeping his gaze over me. “You’re absolutely beautiful as you are, and I would never ask you to change a single thing. But if you’re holding yourself back from amazing food because of some ridiculous idea of how you believe you should look, then I encourage you to banish those thoughts. A few curves will only make youmorebeautiful.”
His words, so real, threaded with a masculine husk of approval, melt me. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Mmm.” He pops an olive into his mouth. “And never will again.”
More hints of a future that I haven’t agreed to.Yet.
The snack is as wonderful as I imagined, and so is the rich, frosted brownie bite. But after those indulgences, I shake my head at his next offering.
Despite his wonderful reassurances, if I throw all caution to the wind, I’ll have no clothes that fit.
I wash down the sweet taste of chocolate with the dryness of champagne. In this moment, I’m comfortable and content.
After unbuckling my safety belt, I kick off my shoes and curl up in my seat, turning to face him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Las Vegas,” he says.
My last visit was years ago, for a bachelorette party. But I imagine being with Marse will be totally different.
“Sin City,” he adds. “What happens there will stay there. Understand, little flower?”
CHAPTERSIX
Bella
We deplane in Vegas,and the hot desert air wraps around me. Because of the lack of humidity, it’s a much different kind of heat than I am accustomed to in Houston.
A black sedan awaits us, and the driver acknowledges Sergio before turning the car over to him and zipping away on a cart.
In less than a minute, we’re underway.
“Would you like to drive down the Strip?” Marcello offers. “Or shall we take the fastest route?”
Even though we’re in a car, the electrifying energy of Vegas permeates me. “If it’s okay, I’d love to drive down the Strip.”
“Anything to please you, Bella.”
For a wild moment, I believe him.
We turn onto the crowded street and proceed at a crawl as we pass dancing fountains, gondolas, a rendering of the Eiffel Tower, a replica of New York City, a casino with a massive volcano, and an iconic pyramid.