“Diabolical. This whole town is full of villains.”
“But none of them are as talented as you.”
“At falling off things.” I hadn’t even focused on how embarrassing that had been, but now that the shock of seeing Clint was wearing off, the shame was building. And Dirk had been right there to catch me, like he expected me to be an idiot. Or like a hero who would never let me hit the ground and shatter. My heart pounded faster, but it wasn’t from fear. He felt so good, and he’d been there when I needed him, like he really cared.
His voice had a hint of laughter in it. “It looked intentional, if that helps. You disappeared into the darkest abyss after your final song, befitting the performance. It really was well done. You make video editing easy.”
“I can’t take credit for the effects or the costuming, but the music… I suppose I must take responsibility for that.” I shrank against him as I remembered Clint’s face, the shock and perhaps horror that his precious fiancé was mingling with commoners, or worse, rock musicians.
Dirk kissed my hair, his hand running over my back, to my neck until my skin prickled. “It was very well done, Daniela. You made classical cool, sexy, artistic, brilliant. Jacqueline couldn’t have done better. I really want cheesecake. It really is a subtle thing that gets into your deepest psyche until you can’t help it, isn’t it? We could go to the kitchen here. Horse would get irritated. He’s probably out there annoying Trixie. Do you want to join them? Do you want to stay here with me until I can’t feel my legs? People will want to tell you how amazing you were. Men will want to sleep with you or hire you. Women will want to kill you or hire you. What do you want?”
“You make it sound so fun.” What did I want? I didn’t want to see Clint. That much I knew, but what I actually wanted was hard to focus on. What ridiculous thing did I want to indulge myself in?
“Marry me.”
He went very still, and I wanted to throttle myself. What was I thinking? You didn’t just blurt out that kind of thing to a villain who knew that you wanted to destroy him. Also, he wasn’t the marrying kind of man, or he’d be married to that girl he’d dated that his mother approved of. She definitely didn’t approve of me. In fact, she might have a heart attack and die from shock when she read the news.
That was one very solid reason to marry him. Another was Clint. Marrying the one he’d done the deal with would send a very clear message. I hadn’t been willing to marry him, but here I was, carelessly marrying someone else that I hated, just not as much as I hated him. Maybe that was petty, also cowardly, because I wanted to send a message without facing my ex, but maybe I wanted to be petty and cowardly. I was supposed to do what I wanted so that my body trusted me enough that I could pull the trigger.
I didn’t need a reason; I just needed to feel like it, and I did. I wanted to marry Dirk even more than I’d wanted to get revenge. Was it stupid? Utterly. Did I care? Not at all. Was it probably going to destroy me? Well, he’d saved me from falling. That was real. I still felt like I was falling, like the world outside of Las Vegas was creeping closer and closer, and I needed someone strong who could wrap me up and keep everything bad far away, at least until I could pull the trigger.
He turned me around so I could see his shadowed face in the muffled light of the curtains. “Say that again.” His eyes were softer, concerned, like I’d somehow given myself a concussion in spite of him catching me.
My heart constricted with fear or hope; I couldn’t tell which. I touched his annoyingly chiseled jaw, running my fingers over it like I wanted it to cut my fingers. “I want to marry you. I want to take an Elvis drive-through at the Chapel of Love in Prudence. Tonight.” Was I actually saying this out loud? How shameless, but he’d saved me from hitting the ground. I sounded certain. Was this a different kind of panic attack? I could breathe better thinking about marrying him. That was always the plan. To marry him and destroy him on the inside. I’d get to the destroying part, eventually. Maybe. Or I’d let him destroy me.
His brows lowered over concerned eyes. “Prudence, the pink boat? You want to marry me in a drive-thru? Really?”
I squished his cheeks while I nodded. “Yes. I want the tackiest, most embarrassing, thoughtless marriage possible.” And I might play with his face the whole time.
He covered my hands with his, peering at me. “Like a fake marriage?” He was trying to understand, but clearly didn’t. I wanted him to save me like he was a hero, but I only trusted him to save me because he was a villain, like me.
Villains didn’t get married on a whim, but I was supposed to do whatever I wanted. And I wanted this like I wanted the kiss at the top of the tower. I wanted something to keep of him forever. “No. Legally. I want to be legally bound to you. I want to use your name to protect myself.” I wrapped my arms around myself while my heart pounded and my stomach twisted. Had I actually admitted that I wanted protection? Not that I needed it. I could protect myself perfectly well from Clint physically, but emotionally was another matter. He’d really betrayed me after I’d started trusting him, and I wanted Dirk to deal with him for me. Was that weak? Yes, but it’s what I wanted. I’d be strong later, after I’d earned back my body’s trust. After I could pull the trigger.
I poked his chest because he wasn’t talking. “What are you thinking?”
He blinked at me. “Logistics. Marriage license, witnesses, wedding dress, cake, am I forgetting anything?”
I laughed and then took his face in my palms so I could stare into those beautiful soft eyes. I loved touching his face like it belonged to me. “You can say no. You asked me what I want, but that doesn’t mean you have to deliver.” Only an insane person would agree to marry someone they knew was out to get them.
He smirked. “Deliver, brilliant. We’ll get the chocolate cheesecake delivered. They can meet us at the Chapel of Love. The dress might be more difficult, except that we’re at Heaven. There is definitely a white dress somewhere around here. We’llsteal it, like proper villains, and kidnap Trixie and Horse, unless you’d rather have Jezebel and Nix. No, Nix is no good. He’d get cold feet just watching us get married. Jezebel’s also too jaded to have anything to do with marriage. Hold on a second.”
He pulled out his phone. “Hey, Trixie. How are things? I need a getaway driver. Can you grab Prudence and meet me at the side entrance? East. That’s right, the closest to Heaven. Yes, she was amazing.” He winked at me. “Ten minutes? Perfect.” He hung up and then called someone else. “Hey, Horse. Can you bring a car to the Chapel of Love in twenty minutes? No, you aren’t too busy. Trix is going to need a ride home after Pinkie marries me. Joking? Are we joking?” He stared at me until I shook my head firmly. “Not joking. She’s asked for my protection, so that’s what’s going to happen. Plans change.” His voice was as solid as steel. A steel dagger through the heart. This was a very bad move, so why was I closing my eyes and leaning against his chest while relief flooded through me? No idea, but it felt absolutely fabulous.
“Come on, Princess Pink,” he said, pulling me to my feet. “We have things to do before we can retire to the villain’s lair. Villains always do have terribly tacky places, come to think of it. My house is perfect.”
“You’re crazy to agree to this,” I said as he pulled me gently through the maze of draping fabric. It seemed like we were going in circles, but we finally broke out of the curtains onto a dark backstage.
“Or a diabolical genius. We aren’t having sex.”
I stopped and turned to him. “We aren’t?” I hadn’t even thought about it.
His eyes were serious, but soft. “No, we aren’t.”
“At all, or just not with other people.”
He smiled and studied my mouth for a moment or two before he shook his head and took my hand in a firm yet gentle grip.“We aren’t having sex with anyone, particularly other people, but also not each other, not until your therapy gets you to the other side of whatever. Not until you’re able to sleep with me.”
“Because this is a therapy marriage?”
