Man, I was really grateful she hadn’t seen Max. If she had, she’d sure as hell skedaddle out of here. She blinked at me, and a wide grin formed as she rose. “Wow, I get to be a Vegas showgirl—a short one, but who cares, right?”
“That’s the spirit.” I gave a little tug to her skirt so it lowered to her hips and just below her navel. She smacked my hand away, frowning.
With her dark, wavy hair brushing her lower back and her colorful outfit, she resembled a sexy belly dancer. She wavered a little as she headed for the stage, whether from the high heels or being tipsy, I didn’t know. I hoped it was the former. Heck, I wanted her to have fun, not hurt herself. Besides, Max would have my hide if anything happened to her.
Ila glided up onto the stage then stumbled and laughed. Grabbing the pole the strippers used, she kicked off her shoes. The footwear landed near our table, and she smirked at me. Tipsy or not, she’d probably aimed that for my head.
Still holding the pole, she lifted an arm into the air as if counting the beat in the music in her head, then her hand moved out in a slow undulating wave, the movement sliding down her shoulder to her hips. She closed her eyes, letting the music fill her.
I knew her movements and expression, had seen it many times when we were growing up. She had no formal training, just videos on YouTube she’d watched through her teen years, but she was good, really good.
The crowd cheered. Ila barely noticed, wrapped up in her dance. Hell, my sister totally rocked it. Her sensual moves, along with the sultry music, was electrifying. She had the audience in the palms of her hands.
I quickly cut a glance at Max. Even from a distance, the look on his face…yeah, he was eating it up. Then the wolf whistles started, pulling him back. His eyes narrowed at the crowd below, directed at several guys standing up and hollering, wanting her number.
I looked back at Ila. She was smiling and didn’t seem to mind. The dance was nearing its end. The next minute, Max walked onstage.
“Maaax!” she cried, and her mouth curved in a happy smile. Without a word, he slung Ila over his shoulder and stalked off the stage. Boos and complaints rang out as the stage lights followed them. My sister was laughing, her hand clutching his shirt. She waved at me. Max rubbed his cheek against the bare skin of her waist and said something to her. More of her laughter followed.
“Only you.”
At those soft words, I spun around to face Jack. The look in his eyes made me tremble. And the love of my life smiled at me. “What are you guys doing here?”
His hand on my lower back, Jack ushered me out of the packed club and into the balmy night. “Did you really think Max and I would care about some bachelor party when you and Ila were in this notorious place?”
I blinked, then narrowed my eyes. “Were you stalking us since we left this morning?” I demanded. “Staying in the same hotel?”
“No, we came in this afternoon. There’s a BlackRock hotel here too, you know? I thought to check it out as a guest.”
I snorted. The liar.
He smiled. “We stayed there. We trawled around for a bit, and finally caught up with you after the last bar and shots contest.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. So, he’d seen that? He smirked and glanced around as if unsure what he wanted to do then. His focus shifted back to me. And there on the crowded sidewalk in the bright lights of the strip club, he asked, “Yes, or no?”
“What?” My eyes rounded in understanding. “Here?Now?”
“I did say I expected an answer when I next saw you.” He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. “So, I’ll ask you again. Will you be my forever, Rayen Logan? Because this heart of mine will always be yours.”
My chest tightened, and my eyes burned with tears at his words. I never thought about marrying at twenty-one—or at all. But I loved Jack more than I ever believed possible. Those few hours without him, when I thought I had lost him, were the worst time of my life. Heck, Mom married when she was twenty and Dad twenty-two, and they were still in love over two and a half decades later. And Nigel and his Emily, too. They’d been twenty-one and nineteen when they tied the knot.
“Ray?”
At the tenderness in those ice-gray eyes, I flung myself into his arms. He staggered but held me. And I knew he’d always be there for me. Jack hadn’t let me down, not once. I nodded against his neck, too overwhelmed to speak.
“Ray?” A gentle shake. “I want the words.”
“Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times, yes—” I pushed back, a shaky smile on my mouth. “But I still have a year to go to finish my degrees.”
“I know.” And the smile that mushed up my heart curved his sinfully sexy mouth. “Trust me?”
He brushed strands of hair from my face. Given the way he looked at me as if only I existed for him—but then he did for me, too—I knew I was being silly worrying about the future. A leap of faith is what I chose. “Yes.”
Jack brushed my lips with his. “I’ll love you until my last breath,” he said, “or until this becomes knowledge to Grandmother, and she sends her hitmen after us.”
At his droll words, I huffed out a laugh, nerves crowding me. But I knew Jack wouldn’t let anything come between us. Nor would I, not this time.
“C’mon, kitten, let’s get our life in order, and this show on the road…”
