“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, I know you’re not them. You’ve been different from the very first day I met you. It’s hard for me to say this but…I trust you. I have no idea why, there’s no explanation for it, I just do.” He lets go of my hands and wraps me up in his large frame, pressing me to his chest and resting his head against mine.
“Are we done with the serious stuff?” he says after a few minutes.
“Yes.”
“Good, not that I wasn’t serious about everything I said, but this is our first date, and I want to have some fun.” He turns his back to me and bends to crouch. “Hop on.”
“You’re crazy!”
“I know,” he says, turning and giving me his most playful smirk. “Come on, hop on.”
“You have a thing for carrying me…”
“No, I just have a thing for you. Being able to carry you everywhere is a bonus.”
I sling my purse strap over my head and brace my hands on his shoulders. I feel his muscles bunch under my fingertips, ready to take my weight. “You ready?” I ask.
“Do it,” he says impatiently.
I take a leap, wrapping my hands around his neck and my legs around his waist. His hands instantly grip around the back of my knees and he holds me tight. I’ve never had a piggyback before. Not even as a child. He playfully starts to wobble from side to side.
“Jeez. All that lunch you ate is sitting heavy.” He chuckles.
“I knew I’d be too heavy. Just let me down, I can walk!” I try to get him to let me go by wiggling my legs, but he grips tighter.
“Not a chance, sweetheart.”
He breaks into an all-out run, spinning me around in circles and feigning his inability to carry me. I laugh and scream nearly all the way back down the Strip until we reach the fountains outside The Kingdom. Denham slows down and walks to the edge of the biggest fountain.
I rest my head on his, still clinging on for dear life, but when he feels my body go slack and relax a little, he playfully tips me toward the fountain. I don’t think he means to tip me quite so far and it throws him off balance. It happens in slow motion, both of us trying to regain our balance but overcompensating, and before I know it, we’re plunged into the cold water of the fountain, falling in headfirst and coming up gasping for air. We glance at each other, stunned and soaking wet from top to toe as we sit on our asses in a fountain in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.
I can’t hold the laughter in; it’s the kind of contagious laughter that makes your ribs ache and your soul dance. It feels great to laugh so hard, especially in such great company. The whole day so far has been amazing. The world that was weighing so heavily on my shoulders feels a little lighter now.
Lighter, but wetter!
Chapter 10
Our little scene at the fountain attracts quite an audience. Either Denham has a thing for PDAs or he really doesn’t give a shit what people think. He kisses my breath away and I have to bring myself back to earth and remember where we are before he helps me out of the fountain.
We walk into the hotel, holding hands and dripping fountain water onto the very highly polished marble floors, but Denham ignores the staff trying to catch his eye as he passes. I love that he has no interest in anything or anyone else but me.
I hear fast, heavy footsteps get closer as we reach the elevator and I jump when a person approaches us from behind and shouts, “Where the fuck have you been?”
We both spin in the direction of the sharp voice and I relax when I see that it’s only Spike. Denham, however, does not relax at all. He drops my hand and I see tension ticking through his jaw and the muscles in his neck bunching up. He pulls back his shoulders, instantly making him look taller and more menacing,then narrows his eyes before pushing Spikes shoulder, making him take a step back to regain his balance.
“Apologize,” he barks forcefully.
“What the fuck, D?”
“Apologize to the lady. One, for scaring the shit out of her, and two, for speaking with such disrespect.”
“I’m sorry D, but—”
“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Arianna.”
