by Lauren Dane
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to call down to room service and order a bottle of vodka and some soda water and lemon slices. Be nice,” she warned.
“I know how to be nice.”
She snorted a laugh before kissing him once more. “You do on occasion, yes. So make that happen. I’m going to look a few things up.”
“Should I be concerned? Are you researching how to get rid of a body?”
“I’ll never tell,” she called as she dug out her laptop and settled in at the desk to do a little research.
Chapter Three
By the time room service arrived and she was pouring drinks for each of them, she’d figured out a few things.
“Are you hungry?” she asked once they were alone once more and their booze as well as a host of snacks had been delivered.
“I’m a stress eater,” he said with a smirk.
Wren rolled her eyes. “More like you enjoy eating and you’re fortunate enough to have a superhuman metabolism. Like a rabbit or something. It’s absolutely disgusting that you really don’t work to look as good as you do.” She crossed her arms over her chest and mock scowled his way.
A slow, sexy smile broke over his face at the compliment. From anyone else and he’d have scowled, or worse, pretended he hadn’t heard it and never acknowledged that other person.
But he craved it from her and she knew it. Something about it settled everything inside.
“Come drink. And tell me what you’re up to.” He indicated the couch.
She fixed them both a vodka soda while he dug into the charcuterie.
“I checked the weather. There’s another front after this one and they don’t know if it’ll happen or not, but it’s looking like a yes. Which means that even if they did get us another plane, we won’t be getting out of here for another few days.”
She sipped while he groused in Russian. Eventually the booze, meat and cheese would calm him down and once it did, she smiled.
“Ready?”
He snorted at her and she raised her brows his way. She couldn’t indulge him too much or he might get ideas and he was enough to manage as it was.
“We can go back home tomorrow. I checked the schedule and flights leaving here to go to Seattle aren’t affected. Not at this point anyway. Then we can try again in a few days when the weather clears. On a different, non-broken plane,” Wren offered.
“I don’t want to do that,” he said. “I want to be married now, not a week from now.” He shifted then to Russian and it gave her butterflies. So silly to be charmed by his bilingual crankiness. But that was their particular magic as a couple. As part of her as the tenderness over the way he was frustrated because he wanted to make things perfect for her.
She let him go on until he wound down before interrupting. “Or.”
His frown faded a little. “Or?”
“I am so grateful that you planned out this whole trip. I can see it was all about me and what I like to do. It was beautiful and romantic.” She took his hands in hers. “I love you. And the way you put me first is one of the reasons. But marriage is about you and me, not the place we finally make it legal and official and whatnot. To that end, I did some research and we can get a marriage license today. Right here in town. They’re open for several more hours. And then we can get married. Today if you want because there’s no waiting period.”
“So we get married today here in Idaho and then fly back to Seattle? Or wait here for a few days and go to New York? Why not just go back home and get married there? Except my family will get involved. And your mothers. It could very easily turn into a big complicated thing that way. So much politics. Bah!” The frown was back and god help her, he was so adorable she leaned in for a quick kiss to derail his bad mood.
But he derailed her right back as he slid his fingers through her hair, holding her close as he took control. Turning her intended smooch into a languid seduction of tongue and teeth until she was as breathless as she’d meant him to be.
“You checked state law?” he asked, touching his forehead to hers briefly.
“Well if we’re going to get married, I figure it needs to be legal and stuff.” She tugged him close enough for another smooch before letting him go. “That way I can claim half of your cookies and cake. Sugar is community property in this family.” Wren loved his grin in response. “You’re worried this isn’t perfect and I’m telling you it is perfect because we’re together. If we’re voting on it, I don’t want to fly home tomorrow.”
“What is your vote then?”
“Okay, so hear me out,” she told her hedonistic soon-to-be husband.
“I don’t like things you preface with that statement.”
That made her laugh. “True. But I promise if you listen and trust me, we can have a great time.”
He finished his drink and gave her a look before indicating with a circle of his hand that she continue.
“I propose we rent a car, get married today and then road trip our way back to Seattle.”
“Road trip? I don’t know, Kotyonok.”
She wanted to snicker, but she held it down. He liked luxury. He liked convenience and being pampered and she had no doubt that being in the car on the road in the middle of nowhere would be a challenge to all that.
But it would be fun. She knew it in her gut that this would be a wonderful experience, even if she wasn’t sure how she knew so totally.
“What’s between here and home anyway?”
“Adventure, naturally,” she said. “It’ll be just the two of us, which really sounds nice doesn’t it? Back home we most definitely would have to deal with both sides of the family and then your mom will fight with your aunt and my moms will want totally opposite things and passive-aggressively try to get me to take sides and we’ll both hate it. I don’t want to hate it. I want to always remember this with pleasure. And, as a bonus, doing it this way lets us stay in a magic bubble for a few days. When we return we’ll be married already so we can just deal with the party afterward part and if they want to have four different receptions or what have you, I don’t care. More food for me.”
One side of his mouth tipped up a little as he warmed to the idea. “Wanting to avoid all that was part of why I planned the trip to New York to start with. And what sort of adventure do you mean?”
“Between here and home there are forests and mountains and lakes and rivers and all sorts of nature. Funky roadside attractions too and there’s the potential for great art all over the place. Hotels, of course. And lots of good food. No one to answer to but us and whatever we feel like doing. We’ll be in places you can see the stars at night.”
He still wasn’t convinced though she could see she’d gotten him about eighty percent of the way.
“Have you ever taken a road trip before?”
His slight curled lip gave her the answer. “No.”
“Well. Then you should thank me because you’re about to take one with your wife. How cool is that?” She gave him a bright smile. “Trust me because I am a ton of fucking fun and you know it.”
He paused a moment, shrugged and then nodded. “I do. Make sure this road trip car has air conditioning. And leg room because I don’t want to be cramped.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Let us go get married then, my beautiful kitten.” He stood, pulling her up along with him.
She leapt at him, into his arms and he hugged her close, dragging the scent of her deep into his lungs. Taking with him that happiness only she seemed to spark in him.
His soul’s key. His heart given legs. She made him vulnerable in ways that would have terrified him six years before.
“I draw the line at camping. And excessive exercise you insist on terming outdoor fun. Which includes walking or riding a bicycle over one mile. You know how I feel abou
t that,” he said.
“Like how I feel about beets,” she replied.
Dear god, this woman. He kissed her forehead. “I promised you New York City and romance and I delivered a broken plane in the middle of nowhere.”
Her giggle only made it harder to finally release her from his hug.
“There’s still romance, Grisha. You’re promising me forever. That’s priceless. And I get to visit all manner of weird roadside attractions with you.” Her laugh made him a little wary. But he chose to anticipate whatever she might toss his way. She was rather like a thrill ride.
“I gave you forever several long years ago. I continue to hold it and keep it safe for you and me.”
“Such a poet,” she told him. “Anyway, I need to change into my wedding outfit. Call down to the concierge to get a car to pick us up in an hour. I may not be in Manhattan right now, but I will still look fantastic on my wedding day. Then we’ll go get the license, get married and then head to the rental car place. Since you have very specific requirements for our vehicle, it’s best if you make that reservation too.” She kissed him quickly. “Be nice.”
When she dashed off to change clothes, he did as she asked, but when he was told it might be difficult to locate a rental car of the size and class he preferred on such short notice, he disconnected and called his own fixer.
Kelsey had been his personal assistant for many years. Aside from also being Wren’s cousin—and how he’d ended up meeting Wren in the first place—Kelsey was magic when it came to getting things done.
When she answered, Gregori filled her in on the morning’s events.
“Holy shit. I’m sorry, Gregori. I know you’re disappointed. I also bet Wren is chirpy and making the best out of stuff. You’re really lucky she loves you.”
He snorted. “I need you to find me a rental car. My lovely Wren has decided we’re having a road trip back to Seattle and all I could find today were compact cars. If I’m going to drive across a few states over how ever many days she will drag it out, I want a car I won’t be cramped in.”
“Only if you promise to have someone video the ceremony. Even if it’s just at the courthouse or whatever,” Kelsey countered. “And don’t say drag it out because you know Wren has a way of finding fun in just about any setting. It’s weird. You’re going to have a great time and you’ll get so much wonderful material for future work. It’ll make her happy as well. Which is important.”
“Message received so you don’t need to continue lecturing me,” he told her.
Kelsey laughed. “Listen, don’t forget the important part. It’s your wedding day. Do it up right. Go big.”
That was very true. He was going to change into a midnight blue suit and he’d just had his hair cut and colored with some blue tips to match the suit at his cousin’s barber shop the day before. Wren loved the broody sullen rockstar artist mask when he wore it for her.
Kelsey informed him she’d call back once she got the rental situation handled. Gregori promised to take photos and make sure she got them and, after he’d thanked her once more, hung up.
He’d chosen the suit with some care. The color called out to him, but it was nearly the color of her eyes. A bright, deep blue. He’d seen it and had known it would look fantastic as an accessory to his woman.
Wren had taken over the bathroom so he did his hair in the main room, making sure it stood up nicely, showing those tips. And because Wren also found it sexy, he put on a little dark liner around his eyes before tucking the ring box and all the papers he might need, in the front inside pocket of his suit jacket.
Even with all that preparation he was done for a few minutes before she came out from the bathroom and stole his breath.
“Kotyonok,” he said softly. “You wore this the first time I kissed you. I fell for you utterly.”
She smiled with shiny red lips. “You made me work really hard for it first, though,” Wren told him.
Yes, he’d run. Especially when the way he needed her was inescapable. And in his terror at the thought of loving someone so much and losing it, he broke up with her and even took off to the other side of the country to try to avoid it.
“I will forever be grateful you can’t take no for an answer.” Thank god for women who knew what they wanted and relentlessly pursued it until they won.
She wore long black trousers with a metallic sheath that fell over her breasts like liquid silver. She turned in a slow circle to expose the bare skin of her back, playing peekaboo between the chains draped across it.
“You’re even more beautiful today. How is that possible?” he murmured as he moved close enough to kiss her bare shoulder.
“I don’t know. But don’t let that stop you from telling me you think so. Then again, you’re the one in the blue tipped hair that matches the blue tone of the suit you’re wearing. Damn. You’re a piece of art, Gregori.” She took his hands and looked him up and down, slow and sexy. “A super dirty fantasy come to life. Complete with accent. How did I get so lucky?”
“I want to smear your makeup,” he snarled as he surged close enough to kiss. Halting just shy of contact.
Her pupils widened as her mouth opened on a gasp.
“Okay,” she breathed out.
He laughed, skipping a kiss of those lips for a brush of his mouth against the side of her neck. The way she reacted to him never failed to send the blood pounding in his ears. Whatever was left after most of it ended up in his cock, in any case.
“We have a schedule to keep,” he said with some regret as he made himself step completely away. “I’ll smear your lipstick when we get back.”
“Or I can keep it on and see how this shade looks on your dick.”
Gregori went hot all over as he sent her a smirk. “Your way sounds better. But we still have a schedule. Kelsey has arranged for a rental car to be ready for us after we get married. There’s a car waiting for us downstairs to take us to get the license. Are you sure you’re all right with this? If you want a ceremony I won’t—”
She silenced him with her finger against his lips. “Hush. There’s nothing in the world I want more than to marry you right now.”
He took her hand and escorted her out. The flowers he’d requested were waiting at the car. Red and white roses. He took them from the florist’s paper and handed the bouquet her way.
“I had something like this planned for you in New York. But they have roses here in Idaho too. And you love roses,” he told her as she looked at him, a pretty blush on her cheeks, her eyes full of affection.
“These are beautiful. Thank you.” She broke one off to tuck into a buttonhole on his suit jacket. “Now for you as well.”
* * *
Wren had to hand it to their driver. The guy didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of them. Gregori in his blue suit that only emphasized how tall and lean he was. The spikes of the punk rock hairdo he’d worn just for her. In the same way she’d chosen to wear the outfit she’d worn the night he first kissed her. The night she discovered she didn’t want to be anything less than Gregori’s woman.
“Will you take our picture?” she asked once they arrived at the county clerk’s offices.
Their driver nodded and had them pose a few ways, took several shots of each and generally did a great job. She’d send them off to her friends back home once all was said and done.
Now, the woman behind the counter was not as cucumber cool as their driver. Her eyes widened at the picture they made. Weird and colorful. And when Gregori went full out, he was pretty hard to look away from.
“Good thing Nancy isn’t here today or she’d have wet herself,” the clerk muttered as they approached.
“I hope because we’re so fantastic,” Wren said with a smile.
“That you are! Nancy probably wouldn’t think so. But she’s a twit so who cares? What can I do for you two?”
“We need a marriage license, please. And maybe directions as to where we need to go to have a civil ceremony?” It was only three and not a Friday so Wren had hope someone would be around.
Lori, the clerk, made very quick and easy work of all the paperwork as she peppered them with questions about themselves. She was also kind enough to offer some suggestions as to places to eat in the area and points of interest they might want to see on the way back to Seattle.
“Okay, I just called over to Judge Carrol’s office. He does marriages between other things on the docket. He has time if you want to head over now.” Lori gave them directions and after she took their picture a few times, waved at them as they headed out.
Wren couldn’t stop her gleeful sound at the sight of the gentleman who was going to marry them. “Your honor, that is absolutely the finest handlebar mustache I’ve ever seen.”
Judge Carrol had given them both a grumpy once-over, but as he got the full Wren effect, that melted away to the same reaction most people had with her. Charmed.
Not even ten minutes later, Gregori took her picture as she pointed at the judge’s fanciful facial hair while wearing a huge grin.
His wife.
They thanked the judge, who also recommended a few places for them to see on their stay in the area, and when they paused on the sidewalk out front, Gregori pulled her close and laid a kiss on a mouth he never got enough of.
“They say all the sex dies once you marry, but you’re still bringing it to the table,” she said in a breathless voice.
“Like a supply of sweets, champagne and black tea, I can guarantee the sex will never die in our marriage,” he told her.
“Lucky me. Let’s go get our rental car before we go back to the hotel and have honeymoon sex,” she said, tugging on his hand to get him moving.
Chapter Four
Wren tried to unbutton his shirtfront, needing all of him to be exposed to her. Her entire system seemed to scream moremoremoremore along with the beat of her pulse, pounding in her ears.