“I know. I can’t believe it either.” The guilt was back, but she was not going to let it consume her.
Carmen grinned. “You gave us all quite a bit of fuel to keep us going when we get back to our boring lives.”
“Boring is good,” Lily said. She pulled her shoulders back and tried to put a little sway into her step as she walked along the sidewalk. “Let’s get this show on the road.” She wracked her brain for a phrase that would work. “I’m ready to bet against the house.”
Carmen giggled. “You are so not meant to be a bad girl, but I appreciate the effort.”
Lily took her friend’s hand and clasped it tight, raising both of their arms into the air. “To my last two weeks of freedom!” She shouted as they took off toward the casino.
“Oh my God. I cannot take another step.” Lily pulled her shoes off. “I’m walking up to the room without shoes, I don’t care what anyone says.”
“I think women walking barefoot is a common sight around here,” Carmen said.
She was picturing the moment when she could flop down on the bed and take the weight off her legs. But first she wanted to surprise her fiancé. He was back at the hotel, and it had been twenty-four hours since she’d seen him.
She wasn’t drunk, but she was a tiny bit tipsy.
She tapped Carmen on the arm. “You go on up. I’m going to surprise my future husband.”
“Good idea. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”
Lily made her way down the hallway, still carrying her sandals in her hand. She bumped into the wall once, and giggled. She hoped he was back from hanging out with his guy friends. She reached his door. He was definitely back. She could hear voices inside, and the sound of music.
She knocked on the door.
Even through the thick door she heard loud shushing sounds and the sounds of laughter. She knocked again.
“Room service,” she called out, pressing her hand over her mouth to suppress another giggle. His friends would think it was funny if she tricked him. Maybe it wasn’t too late to really order some room service. They could get some chocolate covered strawberries.
The door swung open.
The person behind the door wasn’t her fiancé.
It was a woman. She wore only a short silk robe, a very short silk robe that ended right above her backside. She was tall and willowy, with creamy skin that was more exposed than not. The robe was peach, and it exposed her cleavage and barely covered her ample breasts. Her blonde hair was piled high on her head, and her tan legs were visible.
“You don’t look like room service.”
“And you don’t look like my fiancé.”
“Fiancé? There’s no one’s fiancé here.”
“Let me in.” She began to try and push her way into the room, and the woman pushed back. “You’re not coming in here! Get back.” The woman was surprisingly strong, and she nearly smashed Lily’s fingers.
Then a male voice called out. “What’s going on?”
What the hell. That was her fiancé’s voice. With a burst of adrenaline, Lily shoved the door open, knocking the other woman back into the wall.
“You bitch!” The woman screamed at her.
Lily ignored her and stomped toward her fiancé. “How could you? Right before our wedding?”
“Lily, please. Don’t leave.”
“Don’t leave?” She knew it was a cliche, but she took her ring off. She couldn’t stand it touching her skin for one more second.
“The wedding’s still on. I want to marry you.”
“You still want to marry me? You must be insane! I am not going to marry you!” Just then she realized that there were more people in the room. More women, to be precise.
There were two in the bed, and she could hear splashing coming from the bathroom. Her mouth opened, but no words formed for a long time. The two women in the bed didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Like the woman who’d opened the door, they had their hair up, and they were wearing short, silky robes. Only one of them had her robe untied, and her naked breasts and her toned, flat stomach were visible.
The woman who’d answered the door had gotten up off the floor and gone to sit at the table, where she was shooting dirty looks at Lily.
Lily dragged her gaze away from them and marched toward the bathroom. Sure enough, there was another woman. She was naked in the hot tub, sipping a glass of wine.
Her fiancé grabbed her by the arm. “Lily. Listen to me.”
She yanked away. “I am not going to listen. There is nothing you can say. What is this? Hookers? Strippers? An orgy?”
“Hey!” One of the women was pointing at her. “Stop insulting us. We met him in a bar.”
“Great. That makes it so much better.”
There was really no explanation that would help. She couldn’t marry this man. It was not an option. He wasn’t saying anything now, just staring at her with his shoulders sagging.
Now completely sober from the shock, she turned and made her way to the door. She was tempted to throw the ring, but she held onto it until she reached the door. Then she dropped it on the entry table, letting it clatter.
She almost got out, but her fiancé seemed to wake up from his stupor. He chased after her. “Lily. Don’t do this. I need you. You can’t leave me.”
“You should have thought about that.”
His fingers tightened on her upper arm.
“Let go of me.”
She kicked at him, but he grabbed her leg too. “No. Lily. You are going to listen to me. I’m not letting you go until you do.”
“I’m calling 911. My finger is on the button right now.”
His mouth went slack. “No, don’t do…” As soon as his grip lessened, she kicked him right in between the legs. His knees buckled and he hit the ground.
And then she ran.
She ran all the way back to her room, where she bolted the door and pushed the dining table in front of it. If there was a fire, she’d just have to hope she could get it all moved fast enough.
Texts started rolling in from her ex.
I’m so sorry. I love you.
I swear it. I will never do that again. You HAVE to take me back. I can’t survive without you.
I can be faithful. I will do anything you want.
Please don’t tell your stepfather.
That last one was weird as hell.
She deleted them all and then blocked him. He had shown his true colors. He was a cheat, and a liar, and he had tried to coerce her into staying. She wasn’t going to fall for that. Her mother had warned her enough times.
She and her mother weren’t close, and her stepfather was sort of aloof, but he would never put his hands on a woman. After living with Lily’s abusive biological father for years, Lily’s mother had come to really appreciate how steadfast and calm her second husband was.
“I really don’t want to leave you here alone,” Carmen said.
“I won’t be alone. There are millions of people here.” Lily pushed the suitcase into her friend’s hand. “Go on. You have stuff to do. I’ll be fine, I’ll promise.”
“Ugh. You know what I mean. I still can’t believe what that scumbag did to you.”
“Neither can I. But I’m going to stay here, and I’m going to do my best to enjoy the rest of my vacation.”
Lily had not told her family or any of the bridesmaids what happened, and she’d sworn Carmen to secrecy. The only reason Carmen knew was because Lily hadn’t been able to hide the tears.
She was here to be a bride, to get married, to vow to spend the rest of her life with one man.
And he’d betrayed her before the wedding even began. How could she have missed it? Was this a one-time thing? Or had it happened over and over?
You know what? It doesn’t matter.
She couldn’t trust him.
The wedding was off.
4
Garrett
Despite getting out in the desert with his cousin, Garr
ett still couldn’t get the alluring bride out of his mind.
But he and Jackson had a full day of rock climbing planned at Mount Potosi. It had some difficult spots to climb, and it wasn’t as popular with the tourists.
They both packed a backpack for appearances, but neither of them needed any equipment. They took some bottled water, but they could easily fly to Lake Mead if they got thirsty.
“Carolina really loves these rocks,” Garrett said as they begin their climb. “She’s the one who dragged me to about five climbing spots. She said this area has some of the best rock climbing cliffs in the States.”
They didn’t really have to concentrate, so it was easy for them to chat while they ascended the rocks.
“Now who is Carolina?” Jackson asked. “I know I’ve heard you say her name, but I can’t remember who she is.”
Garrett chuckled. “You mean you weren’t really listening.”
“Jackass. I was. It’s just hard to keep up with shifters I’ve never met.” Jackson shoved at him. “Besides, we all thought you wanted to be human. You sure acted like it for long enough. And now suddenly you’re enamored with a bunch of shifters that aren’t part of your clan.”
Garrett pulled himself up onto one of the stone ledges and waited on his cousin to do the same. “It’s not like that,” Garrett said. Fuck. He’d never dreamed his family would be offended by his new friendship with the Irish dragons and the Texas dragons. He thought they’d be happy for him.
Jackson plopped down beside him. “Then what’s it like?”
“You’re not going to be pissed off?”
“Look, I realized a long time ago that you weren’t coming back home. I’d rather you be straight with me now. What’s better about these new shifters?”
“They aren’t better.” He nudged his cousin in the ribs. “You know you’re my best friend. You always have been.”
Jackson scoffed. “Sure.”
Garrett sighed. “I mean it. You are.”
Jackson dusted himself off and grabbed onto the rock, propelling himself upward. “Okay. Sure.”
Garrett scrambled up, following after his nimble cousin. “Hey.” He grabbed Jackson’s shoulder. “Just say it. Whatever you want to say to me, say it.”
Jackson clung to the rock with one hand and dropped his other, turning to face Garrett. “Fine. You left home. You moved here, and you never came back. For ten years you acted like we’re a burden. I didn’t mind so much, because you’re famous. You’re rich. Human women are throwing themselves at you. I understood why you’d want to leave our clan behind for all that.” He shook his head and rolled his hand into a fist. “But now you’re going on and on about all these new shifters. It sucks.”
Garrett was stunned. He hung there for a minute, suspended high in the air on the side of a cliff. Before he lashed out, he took a moment to collect himself. Jackson had always been more than a cousin. As he’d said, they’d been best friends. Garrett’s leaving must have hurt him. And then he’d felt as if Garrett left them all behind, not because he felt stifled there, but because he thought they were dull and boring compared to the glamor of a rock star life.
“Jackson. You’ve got it backwards. I don’t care about all the glitzy stuff here. Yeah, it can be fun. But I left home because I didn’t fit in.”
“You? Everyone loves you.” Jackson huffed. “If I had a dollar for everytime one of the clan elders mentions how much they miss you, I’d be rich.”
“That’s nice, but I never felt that way. I felt like I didn’t belong.” Finally at the top of the rock formation, Garrett pulled himself up and collapsed onto the dusty rock. He lay back and blinked up into the midday sun. “I felt like a failure there.”
Jackson reclined on his elbows and stared at Garrett. “What? You? That doesn’t even make sense.”
So Garrett began to tell him all the stuff he’d felt growing up in their close-knit Oregon clan. He’d never spoken of it to anyone, other than brief mentions to Davi and Carolina. He felt self-conscious spilling his guts to his cousin about how his parents hadn’t valued his music, and complaining about their clan. The males in their clan didn’t speak like this, but he’d always wanted to. It was another one of the ways he was different.
When Garrett was finished, Jackson laid down beside him and covered his eyes with his arm. “Hell, I’m sorry to hear that,” Jackson said. “I wish I’d known why you stayed gone. I thought we were too lame to hang out with.”
“No. Not that.” Garrett vowed to do better about staying in contact with his clan. “And I’m sorry I left you behind. I’m going to do better.”
They sat up, and Garrett clapped Jackson on the back. Then he began to tell him about Davi, the soldier he’d met who’d lost all of his memories, and his mate Carolina, who’d ridden with a motorcycle club in Vegas for five years.
He told him about Niall, the Irish professor who was brainwashed by a witch, and his mate Nora, who was a witch herself. They’d found each other, despite Nora being held captive by werewolves for four years.
He then went on to describe the Texas shifters, the billionaire Kellan, and the doctor Quinn, who both married human women. And the lawyer Liam, who found Brynne, his shifter mate, when he asked her to be a surrogate for him. And last but not least, the sheriff Brennan, who had fallen in love with a Fae.
Jackson listened attentively to every detail as Garrett spoke.
“You think I’ll ever get to meet them?” Jackson asked.
“Oh yeah. They’re having a party in the fall, they call it the Annual Dragon Festival, even though this will only be the second one. They’ve already invited me, and I know they’re curious about our clan. Brynne, one of the dragon shifter females, is searching all over the world to find shifters. She’s trying to create a network so none of the clans are ever left isolated and alone like hers was.”
“Why were they isolated?”
“Both the Irish clan and the Portugeuse clan were attacked. The witches attacked in Ireland over an ancient treaty, and a wizard attacked in Portugal. He was looking for power.”
“Damn. It sounds like we’re lucky nothing like that’s happened.”
“Yeah. I think Brynne wants to make all the clan elders aware. Not to alarm anyone, but just to get the word out. She feels like her life would have been a lot easier if she’d known there were other shifters out there in the world.” He grimaced. “She was raised by vampires.”
“Ugh. Poor kid. They seem okay, but I wouldn’t want to live with one.”
“Exactly.” He picked up a rock and turned it over in his hands. “So yeah. That’s all of it. And I promise I’m going to try not to be an asshole in the future.”
“Me too,” Jackson said. “Wanna jump to the bottom and do the next cliff?”
Garrett was already on his feet. “Race you!” He turned, ready to leap to the bottom, but he froze. In the distance, he could see a woman struggling on the rocks. She had ropes and a harness and all the proper gear, but she seemed to be flailing around.
Then her foot slipped, and she nearly fell.
“Shit, we better go help her.”
“Yeah, she’s not doing so hot. She needs to be in a tour group, not out climbing alone.”
They jumped to the ground and started walking toward the woman.
Garrett’s dragon was pushing him.
Faster. Go. Now.
Garrett picked up speed. “I’m going to shift. She’s not going to make it.” He ripped off his shirt and shoved it in his bag. He looped his bag over his neck and shifted, taking flight as he sped toward the woman on the cliff.
Holy shit. The woman about to fall was Lily, the woman who he couldn’t get out of his head. Garrett pushed himself, and flew faster than he ever had.
5
Lily
The wedding might be off, but she was not going home. Not yet. She’d spent the night before wallowing, but she wasn’t going to waste her time in Vegas. She was going to try out everything the ci
ty had to offer.
She started off with the usual things, gambling, drinking, dancing, and shows, and moved on to the next level, like the roller coasters and the helicopter tours and the bungee jumping.
She felt dull inside, like all of the light had been scooped out of her by her ex’s betrayal. But she refused to be the woman who let a man ruin her spirit.
Each of those activities made her feel a little more alive.
Today was rock climbing. She’d seen all the brochures for the tour guides and the beginner’s classes. But she hadn’t wanted that. She wanted to be out in the wild, communing with nature. But that was before she found herself dangling from the side of a cliff.
She pulled herself up, using the holds the guide had shown her in the shop. But her foot slipped, and she banged into the rock.
Ow. She’d scraped the skin off her elbow, and her knee. She shook it off. She’d worry about that later.
There was one outcropping right above, and then she could stop and rest. She swung her hand up, and gripped the rock’s edge. She pushed herself up. She was almost there.
And then she was falling.
Dammit.
She did not want to die. Not yet. She was doing this to try to feel alive, not to end her life.
Just as her body should have crashed onto the rocky ground below, she heard a swishing sound, and felt a rush of air. Something large flew by her as she fell.
Her head hit something hard, and so did her ribs.
But it was not the ground. Something or someone was holding her, cradling her in their arms.
She had the impression of a large bird, or a majestic animal of some kind, and then everything went black.
When Lily woke up, she gasped. She’d expected to be dead, or in the hospital, but she was still lying in the desert, right outside Las Vegas.
She was under one of the scrubby trees, which offered a little bit of shade. There was a cool cloth on her head. Her feet were propped up on a backpack of some kind, and her head…
Rockstar Dragon's Bride Page 3