Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“No,” he stiffens. “It’s not safe.”
“Please,” I snort. “As if you couldn’t keep me safe. C’mon, hubby, you owe me a date. I missed our planned one.”
He shakes his head, but I can tell I’m wearing him down. “I’ll let you dress me up any way you like,” I singsong. “I’ll wear my diamond collar.”
His eyes glow blue. I was right–it did mean something.
“And after dinner, we can come back here and spend all night in the playroom. If you wear me out enough, I’ll sleep on the flight home.”
“This is a bad idea.”
I smile because I can see I’m winning. “Please, Matthias. I want the whole world to know that I'm yours.”
He groans and slams his chair back then pulls me out of mine into his lap. “All right, wifey. I can’t say no to that.”
Chapter Seventeen
Matthias
My wife is incandescent when I help her out of the limo and escort her into the Bellagio.
Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea. I took as much Moon Cure as my veins would allow. My arm aches, but it’s worth it.
Maisy is in an off the shoulder blue gown that matches her eyes. With her long white opera gloves and diamonds sparkling around her neck, she looks like a movie star. People rubberneck as we pass, staring at her as if they’re wondering if she’s someone famous.
When we stop at the bar by the roulette tables for a drink, I tell her this, and she laughs.
“That’s so weird,” she wrinkles her nose. “Usually my friend Missy is the one people stare at. She’s the glamorous one.”
The bartender serves us our drinks. Whiskey for me and pink champagne for her. I let her sip a little and then ask, “How long have you and Missy been friends?”
“Since high school. She was the most popular girl in school.”
“Axel has a thing for her,” I confide.
“What?” Her forehead wrinkles, then she nods. “I guess I see it. I once thought there was something between them. They both disappeared at prom. I noticed because he was supposed to be my date. And she pretends like she can’t stand him, but she mentions him a lot.”
“Maybe we should be matchmakers,” I murmur. It’s fun to conspire with my wife, but I also want to torture Axel a little.
“Like Daisy? We can trap them on the Ferris wheel together.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I brush a curl back from her face. She’s brushed glitter over her cheeks to make them pink and pretty. The color reminds me of her well-fucked pussy.
Does she know that I'm obsessed with her? That there’s no other woman for me?
Does she know she’s it for me?
I lean in closer. “One more thing. I’m sure Missy is lovely, but I’ve never noticed her. It’s always been you.”
Maisy
Matthias leans on the bar, posing like he’s in a photo shoot. In his black tuxedo, he looks like a star of the silver screen. The sort of handsome heartthrob who banters with a tall, regal femme fatale.
I don’t feel like I deserve to be on his arm, but he thinks I do, so I keep my shoulders straight.
“High school was hard,” I share with him. “Dealing with Allen…my self esteem was a wreck. I was grateful Missy even noticed me. She’s a beauty queen, you know. Her parents made her do all sorts of pageants as a kid. And then she was always the star of our theater productions. I guess I got used to hiding in her shadow.”
“No more hiding.” He tips my face up to his. “I’m going to show you off to the world.”
He kisses me right there in the casino, and then everyone's jaws drop with jealousy. He escorts me with a hand on my back to the Cirque du Soleil theater.
“Do you want to play a little roulette?” he murmurs, but I shake my head. The casino floor is crowded, and the stale smell of cigarette smoke reminds me of Allen.
Matthias’ friend who owns the house where we’re staying has season tickets that come with VIP perks. They allow us to get into the theater early. We have seats in the balcony right next to the stage. When people start filing in to take their seats, I keep waiting for more people to come and sit in the seats around us, but no one does.
“Is this a private box?” I ask.
“Maybe. Or maybe I bought all the tickets to this balcony, so I could have you all to myself.” He stretches out his arm along the back of my seat.
“This is the best date ever,” I tell him.
“I have a confession to make. I read your journal when you left it at the clinic. I saw your list of symptoms, and…” He rubs the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have done it, but you were in pain, and I wanted to help.”