Jesus, he thought as he corralled his brain back to the conversation, what was this?
Twenty-fucking-questions?
A lie lay on his tongue, whatever she wanted to hear, but what came out instead was, "A little, yeah."
"I knew it." Her victorious expression disappeared as quickly as it came. "Tell me why you're so surprised."
The first words that came into his head were, "You were wearing a halo."
He nearly groaned at the stupidity of blurting that out when he saw her outraged expression.
"A halo?" She actually reached up to the top of her head, as if she needed to make sure that she did not, in fact, have a halo hanging over her soft brown curls.
"No," he said, trying to backpedal as fast as he could, "not a halo. You definitely weren't wearing one of those."
He needed to change the subject, get them back to ... Hell, what had they been talking about?
"Then what?"
Shit, he wasn't thinking fast enough. Could barely get his brain to function when he could still scent her arousal, when he was still ridiculously hard and throbbing behind his zipper.
"It's just that you just looked so innoc--"
Her eyes narrowed as she waited for him to finish and he decided it was smarter just to shut up. Whatever he said about her looking pure or innocent was just going to piss her off. He knew that now. He didn't know why, just that it did.
Just as he didn't know how the hell one tiny little woman was throwing him more off his game than a field full of three-hundred-pound guys all coming at him with everything they had.
Her nostrils flared and he couldn't believe even that looked cute on her. Jesus, he had it bad for this one. In under an hour she practically had him spouting poetry.
And shooting in his pants from just looking at her.
"I'm sick to death of everyone thinking they know exactly who I am! I'm sick of everyone assuming all I want to do is smile and organize things while they go off and have their big romantic sunsets together! I'm sick to death of never, ever doing something so crazy that I get to regret it in the morning while secretly having loved every second of it! For all people know, I could be bringing guys like you home every Friday night and trading you in for a new guy on Saturday!"
Her hands had fisted on his chest now and he was sure she didn't realize it, but she'd been hitting him to emphasize each of her points, one thump at the end of each sentence like an exclamation point.
Still, the picture of her throwing him over for another guy not twenty-four hours later had him growling with a sudden spurt of jealousy. "Have you done that?"
The low rumble of his question seemed to snap her out of her momentary fury.
"Seriously? Are you asking me that for real?"
His hands came around her shoulders, jealousy burning hotter than it ever had. If she said yes, he'd hunt down every one of those guys and break their necks with his bare hands.
"Have. You. Done. That?"
He'd seen enough game tapes to know that he had one of the meanest glares in football, but instead of being cowed by the four snarled words, Anna's answering smile was the brightest one yet, so stunning that he almost felt blinded by her beauty, by that light that surrounded her.
"No," she said, still smiling. "I haven't." She went to her tippy toes and tilted her face up to his to press a soft, short kiss to his mouth. "But thank you for thinking that I could have if I'd wanted to."
On the verge of dragging her by the hair up to his room and tying her to his bed for the rest of the night, he growled, "Hell, baby, you could have any guy here in ten seconds flat."
But he only wanted her to want him.
"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Not even trying to understand her--no question about it, women were one huge, endless mystery--Cole pulled his focus in tight again. "If you want to be crazy for once, I can help you.
What do you say, Anna? Should we be crazy together?"
"You mean crazier than--" She actually looked both ways and lowered her voice to a near-whisper. "--sleeping together?"
He chuckled against her mouth, swiping his tongue against her lips for another quick taste. At her indrawn breath he said, "Oh yeah. A whole lot crazier."
A half-dozen expressions moved across her face.
Pleasure.
Excitement.
Curiosity.
Desire.
Doubt.
And then, as if it were single handedly going to lock down the coffin on his plans: Full-on fear.
But then, instead of pulling out of his arms and saying no, she took a deep breath and said, "You're not talking about gambling or karaoke, are you?"
This time when he laughed against her lips--he was proud of her for not running, ridiculously impressed with her for staying in with him as long as she had--he was surprised to feel her tongue slide out across his mouth.
Knowing what she wanted--because he wanted it just as much--he plundered her mouth with his. He wanted to map out every sinfully sweet corner and crevasse, wanted to spend hours kissing her until he knew exactly what made her moan with pleasure.
Finally, he let her up for air and when she looked up at him, panting and aroused and so damn beautiful he could hardly believe it, he was blindsided by the strength of what he felt for a woman he'd just met.
Not just pride, but something more. Something even bigger, something he'd never felt before, something he'd never wanted to feel.
Shit. This wasn't in the plans.
His grandmother. He had to remember that he was only doing this for his grandmother.
He had to remember that the only reason he'd looked for a girl like Anna wasn't because he was actually looking for someone to love, but because he just needed it to look that way for a little while.
His throat tightened again at the thought of losing his grandmother. At how quickly his life with her could come to an end.
"Marry me, Anna."
She stumbled back from him in her surprise--shit, he was right there with her, as shocked as she was at the words that had come out of his mouth--and he had to move fast to catch her before she was knocked over by the couple dancing in front of him.
She stiffened as he pulled her back against him, no longer the soft, pliable woman he'd held until then. He hated to see that frown where there'd been nothing but helpless desire before.
"Oh my God." She looked like she was trying to catch her breath. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"
But even as she asked, he could see her growing stronger. Steadier.
For the second time since he'd seen her innocence shining out at him like a beacon from across the room, Cole was struck and surprised by her strength. She wasn't stuttering now, she wasn't panting with passion. Instead, she suddenly reminded him of his tenth-grade Calculus teacher, a woman who hadn't cared that he was going to make millions in the pros, unlike most of his other teachers. She'd been hellbent on teaching him math and he'd had to excel, or else.
Thanks to her, he'd easily been able to take his earnings and multiply them in the stock market.
He'd never much cared if his women were strong, just as long as they were willing when he was ready to go--which they always were. So then, why did he find that surprising hint of strength, of backbone, so sexy in this one?
"I need you, Anna."
And he did need her, desperately, only this wasn't just about his grandmother anymore.
He needed her for himself, too.
The realization that his need for her had somehow gone way beyond physical, not only had his gut twisting, but his chest clenching too.
"Please, Anna. Take this chance to be crazy and marry me."
She blinked once, twice, three times in clear surprise at his plea, her beautifully long eyelashes fluttering against her cheekbones. He had to press a kiss to each eyelid.
"Marrying you is more than crazy, Cole. It's certifiably insane."
God, he loved hearing his name on her lips. A sudden vision came at him of her lying beneath him on his bed, her eyes shining with pleasure as she cried out his name.
She was right. Getting married was insane, for so many reasons. He hadn't told his grandmother he was married, or even engaged. He'd just said that he'd found love. So then, why did it seem so crucially important that Anna agree to marry him?
Insane didn't even come close.
"I don't get it. Why would you want to marry me?" She looked up at him, her lack of comprehension clear in her beautiful eyes.
Would her eyes ever not take his breath away?
But instead of crafting an answer that would convince her to marry him--something other than the inexplicable Because I think I could fall in love with you that kept ringing through his brain--he found himself telling her the only other thing in his head.
"Your eyes are like the ocean, Anna. So beautiful I could stare into them forever."
She looked stunned and pleased in equal measure, but then, suddenly, she was looking away from him and saying, "Oh no."
Following her gaze, all he saw were people dancing and drinking, the same as they had all night.
"What's wrong?"
"My sisters. They look worried."
She had sisters? And they were here, in this bar, right now?
A moment later she was cradled in his arms again and he wasn't sure if he had pulled her closer--instinctively claiming her--or if she was the one hiding out against his chest.
"Shoot. They're coming over here."
He felt his heartbeat kick up, knew he was about to lose her, that she was about to disappear from his life as quickly as she'd come into it, but then her hands moved to his, her slender fingers strong and sure, her blue/green eyes clear and beautiful as she tilted her face up to his.
"Yes, Cole, I'll marry you."
This time he was the one floundering. "You--you will?"
"Yes. I will." She shot another quick glance at the three women advancing on them. "But we need to leave right now or it isn't going to happen."
And the next thing he knew, his innocent angel was pulling him across the dance floor, through the throngs of people, and out through the casino so fast that even the paps didn't have time to catch a shot of them...on the way to their wedding.
Chapter Three
"Welcome to Cupid's Wedding Chapel. How may I help you?"
Anna was more than a little surprised by the question. They were in a Vegas chapel at eleven at night. Was there something other than marriage on the menu?
"We want to get married," she blurted, the words all sliding into one another in her haste to get them said.
Cole shot her a half-surprised, half-amused glance and she sucked in a breath as she took in his beautiful face. Oh God, was she really doing this? Was she really about to marry a man that she didn't know anything about apart from his first name?
She shot a glance at his face, her eyes automatically going to his mouth. No, that wasn't true. She knew how well he kissed. That the merest touch of his lips to hers, the slow slide of his tongue against hers, had her wanting things she hadn't even known were out there for the taking.
Thrill bumps ran up and down her skin as he brushed his thumb across her palm, again and again in a circle that had her practically panting with lust. Truthfully, she still hadn't gotten used to holding his hand. From the moment they'd left the club, down the back street behind the casino to the nearest chapel, he hadn't let go.
Holding his hand shouldn't have been such a big deal--and really, it wasn't. The thing was, Anna loved holding hands. Really, really loved it. Almost more than she liked sex, in fact.
There was just something about being connected to another person like that. Joining with them and not having to let go, not even in public. And it was so deliciously tactile, especially when Cole's hands were so big and warm and slightly hard across the top layer of his skin.
The way he held her hand in his made her feel, well, precious. Cared for. Even though she knew it really didn't mean anything. It was just his way of guiding her down the street, of claiming her in front of the chapel attendant.
And, God help her, she couldn't stop imagining what it would feel like to have those hands of his moving across her bare skin. Her br**sts peaked beneath her silk bra, the vee between her thighs growing even warmer.
The chapel attendant cut into her lusty thoughts with, "A wedding! Wonderful. If you'll just come over here to pick out your package, we can get started."
Cole held her still in his arms and another delicious shiver ran through her. She'd always been a firm believer in women taking care of themselves--heck, that's what she had done for the past decade--but she couldn't deny that there was something really seductive about being held firm by strong hands.
Almost helpless against the newly sensual bend of her thoughts, Anna had to wonder just how Cole's strength would play out in the bedroom.
The bedroom he'd promised he was taking her to tonight, married or not.
Cole's response came in that dangerously sexy voice, low and confident. "We'll take the best package you've got."
The wiry, smiling man nodded. "Certainly, sir. And how are you doing tonight, ma'am?"
Anna smiled as brightly as she could around the knot of nerves tightening her stomach muscles.
"Fine, thanks."
"Only fine? On your wedding night?" The man winked at Cole. "Well, we'll have to do our very best to change that, won't we?"
Cole's hand tightened on hers and she quickly said, "Actually, I'm great. Amazing.
Phenomenal." She knew she was babbling, but she wasn't sure how to stop now that she was on a roll. "Who wouldn't be thrilled about marrying Cole?"
The wiry man studied Cole for a long moment before nodding. "Yes. He looks like he'll make a wonderful husband."
Anna automatically turned her gaze to Cole. He looked like he couldn't decide whether to yell...or laugh. And yet, even as a vein in his neck throbbed under their combined perusal, Anna found herself silently agreeing with the man helping them to get married.
Cole really did look like he was going to make a wonderful husband.
Why she thought that, she didn't know, especially since she had no data whatsoever to back it up--apart from his kissing prowess, that was--but there was no denying his strength, his rock-steady composure even in a Las Vegas chapel during a spur-of-the-moment wedding.
"We need a ring."
Both Anna and the man behind the counter jumped at Cole's commanding tone.
They needed a ring. A wedding ring.
Deep breaths, that's what she needed. One after the other until the right amount of oxygen returned to her brain.