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.

She closed her eyes, letting the rolling wave wash over her. “Oh, yes.”

He slid his hand between them, slipping his index finger into her moist heat. “You’re wet,” he murmured. “And I’m going to make you wetter.” He traced a long path with his tongue, a thorough exploration of her body with his hands, his mouth and light grazing of his teeth. And when he reached her breasts, he dipped his head for a taste, drawing one tight nipple into his mouth.

Amber felt the pull from her aching breasts straight down to her toes and everywhere in between. She glanced down. His dark hair brushed against her bare chest and an overwhelming sensation of rightness swept over her. She’d let him do anything and then do it again.

His hands parted her bare thighs and when he touched her there, all rational thought fled. Her focus narrowed until nothing mattered but the exquisite sensations he created in her body. He knew just where to touch her and how.

He held on to her thighs and the sheer eroticism of what he was about to do caused a quickening of excitement in her belly. He laved his tongue over her mound. Long loving strokes followed by quick flickers that brought her closer and closer to release. The pressure built higher and faster until she couldn’t take it another minute.

Her hips bucked beneath him and suddenly she cried out, her climax catching her off guard as the waves assaulted her one after another, seemingly without end.

She was barely aware of him leaning away from her and then returning. Just as she began to come back to reality, he tore open a condom and settled himself over her.

“I can’t believe you had one on you,” she murmured in relief. Protection had been the last thing on her mind and it should have been first.

“It’s been in my wallet forever.” A flush heightened his cheekbones.

Amber appreciated the admission. “It’s been a while for me, as well,” she said honestly. “But I’m glad you’re the kind of man who likes to be prepared.”

“In my family, it pays to be.” His eyes shuttered closed, blocking his secrets.

“You’ll have to tell me why one day.”

“At the moment, I can think of better things to do than talk.” He drew her arms up above her head, distracting her with his naked body.

He was sexy, handsome and very, very male. And he was hers.

“What are you grinning about?” he asked.

“I didn’t realize I was.” Obviously thinking about him made her smile, but she wasn’t ready to admit that just yet.

Although her father had been her guardian, she’d had to be independent and she’d raised herself in his unorthodox world. She’d been alone and on her own for longer than she cared to remember and she liked the notion that she had someone to share things with now. The logistics between them didn’t matter. They’d work those out in time. Right now, the ring and the license proved they were a couple.

“I’m just thinking, if my first…um, climax was so amazing, the next one will be off the charts.”

He brushed his thumb over her moist lips. “Because I’ll be inside you.” As he spoke, he nudged himself between her thighs.

He was rock hard and she wanted, needed, to have him fill her in the most basic, primal way. She bent her knees to help him ease his way. Without breaking eye contact, he thrust deep inside. Her entire body felt the penetration as she accepted all of him and she drew in a shallow breath.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, glancing at her with concern.

She nodded. “I told you it had been a while.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, silently telling her he appreciated that fact. “Let’s make it easier on you.” With a slick motion, he rolled to the side, taking her with him and settling her on top, straddling him. “Now you’re in control.”

He placed his hands on her waist and rolled his hips upward, causing a rippling swell of rising need in her as their bodies ground together all too briefly before the tide eased.

She moaned at the sensual assault and picked up his rhythm, rocking her hips from side to side, reveling each time their bodies touched at just the right spot, and the pressure inside her built higher. Together they created the perfect ride and it wasn’t long before she was moaning aloud as she clenched her inner walls harder around his rigid length.

His grip tightened on her waist and his pace grew more frenzied. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she stretched forward, leaning across him and letting her chest press hard against his. Heat assaulted her from the intimate contact and her nipples puckered tighter, pressing into him, the friction adding to the spiraling heights to which she was ascending.

Suddenly he let out a low groan, thrust his hand into the back of her hair and kissed her hard, his body frantically pumping upward, as he pulsed inside her and took her along with him. Her climax was all consuming, rippling through her with lightning speed. As one glorious wave ended, another began. Finally, she lay on top of him, spent and oh so satisfied.

MIKE AWOKE to a pounding headache the likes of which he hadn’t felt since his college days and the smell of coffee brewing. Disoriented, it took a few minutes to remember. Las Vegas for Dan and Natalie’s wedding, rescuing the beautiful blonde from the guy manhandling her, spending the day partying, winning a hundred and fifty grand and-holy shit- getting married?

He ran his hand through his hair and sat upright in bed. The quick movement was hell on his fuzzy head, but the events of yesterday were suddenly crystal clear. He had married Amber Rose.

He already knew he was alone in bed, but the smell of coffee told him she was up, and the sound of the fan indicated she was probably in the bathroom. He drew a deep breath and let the reality settle in.

He was married.

To Amber.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t upset by the notion.

He’d grown up watching his father descend into reclusive madness because of love lost and the damn curse. With Amber, he’d had fun. And if they could make the logistics work, maybe they could have a decent life together without invoking the notion of his losing everything like the rest of the men in his family.

Although his cousin Derek was currently married to the love of his life, everyone around them felt as if they were walking on proverbial eggshells waiting for something bad to happen. Which made Amber, who made him laugh and whom he enjoyed, something of a perfect catch. Even if they’d tied the knot in a Vegas chapel the same day they’d met.

He rose to check on his wife, eager to see her again and repeat the amazing sex they’d had last night. Just thinking about her warm body and the incredible noises she made had him hard and ready in an instant.

A full pot of coffee sat on the counter in the sitting area, but she wasn’t there. The bathroom door was ajar and he could see she wasn’t standing by the sink, either. He didn’t hear the water running, but he stepped into the bathroom anyway, his gut churning as he took in the empty shower stall.