The Marriage Plan

by Ford, Brenda

  He nods. “Nice.”

  “Except he’s got an ulterior motive.”

  “What did he want?”

  I lean in towards Darren so I don’t make a scene as I relate what’s just happened. I’m shaking with fury. “I show up only to find out that he was trying to pimp me out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He points out some old guy sitting a few tables over and tells me he’s some casino bigshot who’s seen me and wants to take me out.”

  Darren looks taken aback. “And it was your father who told you this?”

  “Right?” I let out a furious, exasperated breath. “Him and this guy are acting like kids at recess asking one to tell the girl he likes he’s got a crush.”

  “So he’d brought you there to get your opinion on this guy?”

  “Presumably.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m mortified. They’d obviously set the whole thing up so we’d be there at the same time. That’s beyond creepy. And I don’t know what he expected to happen. Did he think I’d be flattered? Excited that some millionaire has taken a fancy to me? It doesn’t matter how much money he’s got, he shouldn’t be chasing girls half his age.”

  My eyes well with tears and I sniff. “He made me feel so cheap.”

  Darren reaches out and rubs my arm. “Don’t cry, Rose. Your dad’s an idiot.”

  “Darren!”

  “He is.” Darren takes me by the shoulders and looks into my eyes. He’s strong and fierce in his protection of me—a kind of protectiveness I should have expected from my father or brother—and he lifts my chin when I bow my head to stare at the ground. “You deserve better. You are a smart, witty, grounded woman who should be with someone who recognizes how incredible she is—not with someone who only notices her beauty.”

  His words draw a small smile from me. How many times have I fantasized about Darren looking into my eyes and telling me I’m beautiful?

  “I’m afraid that’s never going to happen. Not while my father’s looking over my shoulder.”

  Darren pauses. I can see the thoughts turning behind his eyes. He takes a step closer to me and whispers in my ear.

  My heart is pounding. What if Silvio sees?

  “How about I take you somewhere we can’t be seen?”

  * * *

  Darren lives in a small one-bed condo in Paradise, Las Vegas. He drives me there after we finish our shifts. The whole time I’m in the passenger seat I feel like a naughty teen bunking off school. I keep casting glances over to him, tingling from head to toe with excitement.

  “This feels weird,” I say. “I’ve never seen you outside the casino.”

  “Can’t say I haven’t thought about it.” He looks over at me from the driver’s side. “I think about it all the time, actually.”

  “About seeing me outside of work?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve wanted to ask you out for years.”

  I let his words sink in for a moment. Darren Tanner, the ripped ex-SEAL hottie I’d been slobbering over since the day he was hired has had his eyes on me.

  “Then why haven’t you?”

  He chuckles. “Silvio. Your father.”

  “Hmm. They both seem to play a much larger role in my love life than I care to admit.”

  “That and the fact you’re way out my league.”

  I bite down on my lip, casting my eyes over his incredible body. He’s taken off his jacket to drive home and I can see the tautness of his huge biceps on display in a black tank-top. He has a full sleeve of black-and-white tattoos on his right arm.

  His hair is dark and short; not quite a buzz cut but not much l0nger either. His eyes are a mellow hazel. Despite his rugged exterior, those eyes are soft.

  “In what way am I out of your league?”

  “I’m just a guy from the wrong side of the tracks who brushed up in the navy and landed on his feet. You’re Las Vegas royalty.”

  “I hardly think my dad being the Kingpin of the gambling capital of the world makes me upper crust, Darren. If anything, I’d bet I’ve got more rough edges than you.”

  That makes him laugh in a way that makes him squeeze his eyes shut. It gives him the most delicious boyish charm that takes me by surprise to see on his rough, stubbled face.

  “Are you really trying to convince me you’ve got rough edges? You told me you went to private school, did horse-riding for years, and that your dad bought you a Cadillac—yes, a Cadillac—for your twenty-first. You know what I got for my twenty-first?”

  “What?”

  “A pack of smokes from my little sister.”

  “What did your parents get you?”

  “Are you kidding? By the time I was twenty-one, I’d been away from home for years and never looked back.”

  Darren and I had known each other for four years now, but our talk had only ever skimmed the surface of getting to know each other. It’s hard to share deep conversation when running around with trays of drinks, Darren walking his patrol, and eyes watching us from every corner of the casino.

  I never knew he’d had a difficult relationship with his parents.

  “Do you still smoke?”

  “Quit when I joined the SEALs. Had to run that 5-minute mile.”

  “I tried it once. My throat felt like it had been sandpapered for a week.” He smirks and I narrow my eyes. “What?”

  “Nothing.” He chuckles. “Just seems a bit feeble from a girl with such rough edges.”

  I slap him playfully and he laughs. “Alright, alright,” I say. “Maybe I am more upper-class than I like to think I am.”

  Soon we arrive at the condo. It doesn’t look much from outside—whitewashed stone walls and barred windows—but inside, it’s got a few of Darren’s own home touches.

  The front door opens straight into the living room which is adjoined to a pretty small kitchen with grey marble counters and an impressive-looking espresso machine. The living room itself is small and minimalistic, but well-kept, tidy and homely.

  There’s a single rectangular, minimalist gray sofa in the middle of the room atop a stripy grey rug that covers most of the laminate wood floor. It’s angled to face a very large TV on a glass stand. By the window is a treadmill and in one corner of the room is a giant waxy plant that looks to be thriving.

  I go to it and touch one of the leaves with a smile. “I didn’t realize you had such a green finger. I can’t keep a plant alive for more than a week.”

  “In another life, I might have been a landscaper,” he replies. “I’ve always liked pottering around the garden.”

  I didn’t know it was possible to fancy him more. I’m immediately picturing him topless in the garden, pouring a bottle of water over his head to cool off, drenching those rippling muscles...

  “Do you want a drink?” he asks.

  “More than anything.”

  He laughs. “Wine, gin...something a bit stronger?”

  “Wine would be perfect.”

  “Red, white, rose...?”

  It’s my turn to laugh. “Who are you catering for here? Have you got a bar under that sink?”

  “I like to be prepared.”

  He pours me a glass of white wine. I take a sip; it’s sour and I try not to pull a face.

  Darren laughs. “Got to work on those rough edges, girl. That’s what a four-dollar bottle of wine tastes like.”

  I defiantly gulp back three large swigs then poke my tongue out at him. His eyes are glittering with laughter in a way that makes me weak at the knees. He gestures towards his sofa, inviting me to sit down.

  It feels good to be on something soft with the weight off my feet. I’ve been serving in stilettos all night. I slip them off and place them neatly behind the sofa, curling up my legs beneath me and settling back.

  Although I’ve never been here before, I don’t struggle to make myself at home.

  Darren sits beside me, a glass of wine in his own hand. He casually extends his arm across the back of the sofa
when he sits. I smile, wondering if he’s going to pull the yawn-and-stretch move to put his arm around me.

  I’d like that.

  “So, Miss Russo,” he says with a devilish smile. “If you were going to choose your own man, what would he be like?”

  I dip my head with a shy smile. “Well...I suppose he’d be tall, dark and handsome.” I catch his eye with a wicked grin of my own. “He’d stay in shape, of course. And it’s very important to me that he’s good with plants.”

  He slides across the sofa so he’s close to me. I jump when the hand that’s been behind me on the back of the sofa is suddenly on my shoulder then I relax and enjoy the feeling. He leans forward and kisses me; he tastes of Pinot Grigio.

  I close my eyes and savor it. I’ve imagined this moment so many times. I let out a long breath of contentment as he kisses me; it sounds almost like a moan. I feel my body relaxing and my inhibitions floating out the window.

  “At last,” I whisper.

  He tucks my hair behind my ear and looks into my eyes. “At last.”

  I sit back for a moment and sigh. “Silvio would kill us if he know.”

  “Silvio’s not your keeper. Neither is your father.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about; it’s you.”

  Darren laughed loudly. “I could snap Silvio in half like a twig. He’s never lifted a weight in his life.”

  “You know my family are well-connected.”

  “You think they’re going to take a hit on me for kissing you?”

  I turn away. My stomach is clenching in nerves; those same nerves that always gnaw at my insides even when I don’t know why I’m scared. I love my father and Silvio...but I don’t trust them. I know they get up to no good when my back is turned.

  “I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you because of me.” I cast him a knowing glance. “You could loose your job, at the very least.”

  “There’s no shortage of security work in Vegas. I’ll land on my feet.” He kisses me again. “I’m tired of worrying, Rose. This feels so right.” His voice is a low growl of desire. “Nothing’s ever been as hard as keeping my hands off you.”

  “You think you’re the only one?” I press my hand against his strong, firm chest, feeling his heart beating fast beneath my palm. “I wanted to rip your clothes off the very first day I saw you.”

  “Now’s your chance.”

  I do as I’m told. I reach for the bottom of his tank top and pull it up over his head. The muscles beneath are as ripped and firm as I’d always imagined; like a freaking xylophone. I run my palm down those washboard abs and smile like a little girl who’s been given a tasty ice-cream cone.

  I want to lick that body.

  Darren puts his hands on my waist and picks me up like I weigh nothing to set me on his lap. I straddle him. I’m already getting wet but feeling the hardness of him pressing between my legs through his pants only drives me wilder.

  “You’ll have to help me out this corset.”

  He wraps his arms around me to reach the ties at my back. His cheek is against mine. I can hear his heavy, wanting breaths in my ear and feel the warmth of them on my neck. My chest is pressed up against his. I place my hands on his shoulders and let out a long, slow breath of contentment.

  The corset gets looser as he works at the lace. The material sinks lower as it’s untied, showing more of my cleavage, inch by inch. When he’s untied the corset, it comes apart like drapes and he throws it aside.

  I’m wearing no bra underneath.

  “My God, you’re sexy,” he says, his voice low and husky. He holds onto my waist as he bows his head to my breasts and flicks his tongue sensually around a nipple before taking it in his mouth and sucking gently.

  The feeling sends tingles shooting through me from where his mouth is on me right down to my pussy.

  “That feels so good.” I lean forward and cradle his head in my arms as he explores my breasts with his mouth. “I want you so bad.”

  He reaches down to unbutton his black pants and pulls them down with his boxers. I feel his cock pressing against my panties.

  “Take them off,” he whispers.

  I stand to wiggle out of my underwear, turning around so he can see my ass when my panties fall to the ground. I kick off my skirt but he tells me to leave the stilettos on. Darren kicks off his clothes and shoes completely and I straddle him again.

  This time, I position myself over him just right so that I can slide down onto his cock.

  I gasp when I take him. “That feels so good.”

  His body is unbelievable. His skin is hot and his muscles hard. When his stubble grazes my shoulder or neck, it turns me on insanely. I press my lips down over his and kiss him deeply, grinding my hips against him as I do.

  He feels so deep inside me and it’s sending frissons of pleasure through my body; it’s like he’s teasing every nerve.

  Darren cups my breasts in his palms and kisses them. There’s a look of reverence on his face that makes me feel like the most beautiful woman alive. And I’m with the most handsome man in the world. I’ve never been this turned on.

  He leans forward to whisper in my ear. “I want to bend you over and fuck you hard.”

  A shiver of delight runs through me. I stand and bend over the arm of the sofa.

  Darren runs his hands down the length of my back and then between my legs. I gasp when he starts to massage my clit. It feels insanely good and I relax against the sofa as my knees grow weak.

  Soon I’m on the edge of orgasm. “Don’t stop!”

  When he brings me to climax, I’m ready to collapse, but instead, he thrusts into me, sending new waves of pleasure coursing through me, more intense than the last. I’m breathless and dizzy with intoxicating satisfaction. I grasp the arm of the sofa to keep myself steady as he fucks me until at last, he lets out a low moan and cums.

  We both stand for a moment in the after throes of ecstasy then collapse side by side on the sofa, naked and grinning.

  “Funny how my mind is completely blank right now.” I let my head fall onto his shoulder with a happy smile. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before.”

  4

  Darren

  Rose crosses my path with a devilish smile. “Hello, stranger.”

  Only a few hours ago she had her legs wrapped around me naked in bed. It drives me wild to be this close to her without being able to kiss her. I want to pull her towards me now, in front of all these people, and let the world know she’s mine.

  “You’re looking good, Rose.”

  “I bet it’s hard to see me in this outfit without imagining it on your bedroom floor.”

  “You read my mind.”

  She winks at me. “Perhaps later we can re-enact the whole thing.”

  “It’s not fair to get me hard at work.”

  “You’re the one looking like 007 over there.”

  I smile. There is a stirring in my loins and my blood is heating up, wanting to take her home and explore her body all over again. I recall the sensation of her waist beneath my palms and the way her thighs squeezed together against me when I brought her close to orgasm.

  “Does that mean I can take you out tonight?”

  She smiles. “Like a date?”

  “I think it’s about time we took this flirting a little further. I’d love to take you to dinner.”

  “I’d love that.” Her smile is so wide and genuine.

  I smile back. “Great. After the shift?”

  “I’ll have to go back and get changed first.”

  “Then I’ll pick you up. How does 8.30 sound?”

  “Perfect.”

  She looks as happy as anything as she skips away to the bar to pick up a tray of drinks. I feel pretty good myself, unable to stop smiling as I patrol the machines and cast a watchful eye over the card tables.

  When I see a new face enter the casino with a trio of bodyguards, I stand to attention. I don’t know if he’s her
e to cause trouble; it wouldn’t have been the first time someone who had lost a lot of money had returned with backup to try and ‘gently convince’ us that we were mistaken.

  It never works out for those who try that trick.

  At the center of the entourage is a forty-something-year-old man of average height who looks to be of Italian descent, judging by his jet black hair and the style of his clothes and jewelry. As if the muscle wasn’t enough to show he was a bigshot, he walked with a swagger. Heads turned as he strutted down the center aisle. It was clear this guy was someone of importance.

  Silvio comes to stand beside me and follows my gaze. “That’s Raffaele Alfonsi.”

  “Who?”

  “You haven’t heard of the Alfonsis?” He raises an eyebrow. “How much am I paying you again?”

  “Someone I should know?”

  “Only the heir to the fortune of our biggest competition. The Alfonsis own a dozen casinos around Nevada and have their fingers in all sorts of other industries. Raffaele’s father is a multi-billionaire.”

  Suddenly it clicks. This must be the guy Giacomo tried to set up with Rose.

  I turn to Silvio with a frown. “What’s he doing here?”

  “I’d guess he’s come for Rose.”

  My stomach drops like a rock. “I thought she wasn’t interested.”

  Silvio laughs. It’s a hollow, cruel sound. “You think that matters? He’s Raffaele Alfonsi.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “She doesn’t know what she wants.” He shrugs. “She probably wants to find some hippy loser with an artistic streak to make her feel all sappy and romantic, but the truth is, Rose is accustomed to a certain standard of living. She wouldn’t survive if she wasn’t being kept by someone with a bottomless bank account.”

  “You underestimate her. She can stand on her own two feet.”

  He scoffs. “You really think she can afford an apartment in Las Vegas on a waitress’ salary? Grow up. She likes to think she’s independent and down-to-earth, but she’s riding her daddy’s coattails.”

  “But that guy must be twenty years older than her.”

  “Fifteen.” Silvio chuckles and slaps me on the arm. “Don’t you have a job to do?”