Rockstar Dragon's Bride Page 7

  Mine. Mate.

  It was distracting, to say the least. But his dragon began to calm as soon as Garrett told her he wanted to be the fake groom that she needed.

  Then something occurred to him. “Won’t your family notice that I’m not your fiancé?”

  She sat back down in her chair, lounging back. She propped her chin in her hands and laughed. “No. Probably not. They’d never met him. And I don’t post on social media, and neither does he.”

  “Your parents wouldn’t have asked for photos?”

  “Oh, I’ve sent them a few photos, not that they asked.” And those photos had been really far away. For some odd reason, her ex had really objected to photos. When she’d pressed him, he’d mumbled that he just didn’t like posing for photos.

  “You don’t think they looked at them?” Garrett asked.

  “Oh, I’m sure they looked. Maybe a glance or two. But I doubted they saved them.” She cocked her head to the side. “My mother and stepfather are nice people. They were good to me. But they’re a little self-absorbed in the way that very rich people can be, especially ones who’ve been rich for generations.”

  He nodded. He wouldn’t pretend to understand human families. In so many ways, dragon shifter clans were different. For example, he’d never heard of indifferent parents among dragon shifters. Parents were a little obsessive about their hatchlings. And usually, the hatchlings were happy to absorb every bit of that attention.

  Except Garrett. He’d been the one to fly the coop. He was a bit of a broken shifter, but he still couldn’t relate to Lily’s parents.

  Lily finished the rest of her juice and sat the glass down. “I have an idea. If you’re still up for this.”

  “I’m game. I’m excited now, I’m not changing my mind.”

  “So you’re famous. And all of my guests are going to want to know why I never mentioned that I was dating you. If you’re okay with it, I’m going to tell them that we wanted to keep it a secret so the media wouldn’t find out.” She clasped her hands together. “Tell me. Is that crazy?”

  “No.” He rubbed the back of his neck, pondering her idea. “No, it’s actually pretty good. You can even say the concert was a cover story.”

  “Okay now I’m getting excited. It was a very fast engagement, and the only one of my friends who really knew my ex was my friend Carmen, and she’s not going to say anything.” She bounced up, and then grabbed her leg. “Ow.”

  He rushed forward, grabbing her before she could hit the floor. “Hey. Be careful.”

  “I guess the adrenaline rush made me think I could hop up and down again.” He tugged her up, and helped her inside. “Do you have any paper?” she asked. “I’m going to make a list of everything we have to know.”

  Relieved to see her so happy, he gave her one of his notebooks where he scribbled lyrics and a pen to write with. For the next two hours, they sat at his kitchen table and brainstormed ideas for fooling people that were coming to the wedding.

  Around midday, a knock sounded on his door.

  Garrett stared at the door. The only person with the code to get in was his cousin, Jackson. Shit. He’d forgotten all about his cousin. They were supposed to meet up again.

  Garrett let him in, and Jackson strolled into the kitchen, stopping short when he saw Lily sitting there.

  Lily waved at Jackson. “Hello again. I need to thank you once more for helping me out yesterday. You and Garrett were lifesavers, literally.”

  Jackson tipped his head. “Happy to help.”

  He looked at Garrett. Garrett could practically see the question hanging in the air. His cousin was looking at Garrett with his eyes bugged out, as if to say, “What the hell is going on here? You never hang around with a woman this long!”

  Garrett couldn’t answer that question with Lily present. “Sorry I haven’t called yet.”

  Lily hopped up again, this time only on her good leg and grabbed Garrett's arm. “Oh my God. Are you supposed to be hanging out with your cousin, but you’re stuck here babysitting me? I can go. Right now.”

  Garrett was not going to allow that. He wasn’t ready to leave her alone yet. “No. You’re not leaving.”

  Jackson was trying to suppress his smile, but it wasn’t working. At all.

  “I’m actually headed back home this afternoon. And you know, I would like to catch up with my cousin for a few minutes, but we can do it right here in the penthouse.”

  “Of course. I’ll go read, and give you two time to say goodbye.”

  “You’re more than welcome to join us, Lily,” Jackson said.

  “I really am tired, but thank you.”

  “I’ll walk you to the bedroom,” Garrett said. Under his breath he whispered, “Please don’t go yet.” He knew Jackson would likely still be able to hear him, but he didn’t care.

  She squeezed his bicep. “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.”

  She turned her winning smile toward Garret's cousin. “Guess what, Jackson? Your cousin has agreed to do me a huge favor.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  “I came to Vegas to get married. But my fiancé turned out to be a complete jerk. So Garrett has agreed to be my groom, and fake-marry me in my wedding ceremony.”

  Before Garrett could respond, Lily stood up on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. Then she disappeared into the bedroom and closed the door.

  Garrett wasn't sure what Lily had been thinking. He had not planned to mention the wedding to his cousin. There is no reason for his family to know about it. At least not yet.

  Jackson had a rather strong reaction, if the stunned look on his face was anything to go by.

  His cousin grabbed his arm and dragged him onto the balcony. Jackson shoved Garrett down into one of the chairs and then sat down right across from him.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “What do you mean?” He supposed there was no point in being vague. Lily had spilled the beans.

  Jackson got up and whacked him on the back of the head, just like he used to do when they were kids. “Hello? The woman inside just said you’re marrying her. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around that.”

  “It was an impulsive decision.”

  “No shit. That much is obvious.”

  “Well, what do you want to know?”

  “How? Why?” Jackson asked.

  “She didn't want to tell her family that her ex cheated on her, and that the wedding is off. So I made a joke about her hiring a fake groom and going through with the ceremony.” Garrett rubbed his eyelids. “Yes, I realize I’m an idiot. But she kept talking about really hiring someone for the role. My dragon couldn't handle it. And neither could I. I’ve never felt anything like that rage. The thought of someone touching her, even if it wasn’t real… I’d tear him to shreds.”

  Jackson laid back in his chair and propped his feet up. He tucked his hands behind his head. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “What day?”

  “The day when you found your mate.”

  Not this again. Now it was Garrett’s turn to jump up and grab his cousin. He fisted his hands in Jackosn’s collar and yanked him up. “Do not call her that.”

  Far from being upset, Jackson just laughed. “Why not? It’s the truth.”

  Garrett released his cousin. He dropped back into his chair with a thud. “I didn’t want this. I never wanted this.” But he did want Lily. He wanted her without the stress and pressure of what it meant to be someone’s mate.

  Why couldn’t they just date? And get to know each other? But it wasn’t possible. Not with his genetics.

  Jackson set up and put his hands on Garrett’s shoulders. “Look man. You need to quit messing around. You don't need to fake-marry her. You need to really marry her. It’s clear to me that she is your mate. Don't screw this up.”

  “I don’t want the kind of pressure the clan would force on me.” He had not planned on telling them. Should he? He really didn’t want them ge
tting their hopes up. He ground his teeth as he pictured his entire clan descending on them for the ceremony. He wasn’t sure Lily was prepared for that.

  “So don’t tell them.”

  “Aren’t you going to?”

  “You know me better than that. If you want to keep this between us, I’ll do it.”

  Garrett grabbed his cousin and hugged him tight. “Thank you.”

  Jackson slapped him on the back. “Now go take care of your mate.”

  11

  Lily

  To her shock, Garrett threw himself into the role of fiancé. Or, fake-fiancé. She wasn’t really sure what to call him in her own mind at this point.

  Whatever type of wedding activity came up, he was willing to help her. He got fitted for a tux. He helped her finalized the seating arrangements. He went with her to meet with the wedding planner. And he helped fix the vows to be a little less dramatic.

  He even wore a disguise so they wouldn’t get approached in the street. He pulled his hair back, which he never did normally, he wore glasses with thick black frames, and he dressed in tailored jeans and shirts with buttons, which was a style he did not care for. He much preferred his weathered t-shirts and battered jeans.

  They’d just finished meeting with the caterer and finalizing the flavor of the cake when Lily looped her arm through his as they strolled down the street. “Um, Garrett. You know how I told Jackson about our plans?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

  “Nah. It’s fine. He’s my friend too, not just my cousin.”

  “But you weren’t planning to tell your family. Or invite them to the wedding.”

  “No, I haven’t told them. Do you want me to?”

  “It’s really up to you,” she said. She took longer strides, hurrying to keep up with how fast he was walking. She sensed that he really wanted to keep his family in the dark about this. But that wasn’t going to be possible.

  Garrett seemed to realize he was outpacing her and slowed down, moving her arm down so that he could thread his fingers through hers and hold her hand.

  She cleared her throat. She hated to break the spell of his good mood, but this was important. “There’s a little detail that just occurred to me.”

  He grinned down at her. “What’s that?”

  “There’s no way to keep your family from knowing about this wedding. I mean, you don’t have to tell them, but they’ll find out as soon as someone posts on the internet that Garrett Hudson, rock star and lead singer of the band Serpentine, got married.”

  Garrett stopped walking abruptly. His eyes were wide. “You’re right. How in the hell did I miss that?” He shook his head. “I’ve been dodging the questions the media asks on and off for years. How did I manage to forget that the whole world would know we got married as soon as someone’s cell phone comes out?”

  “Temporary insanity?” she asked.

  He actually laughed.

  “We don’t have to go through with this, you know? I won’t hold it against you. In fact, I appreciate you getting me through the last few days.”

  “No. We’re doing this. I’m doing this. I’m not going to quit now. Hell, I’ve already been through the hardest part—getting a tuxedo altered to fit.”

  “That’s true. I don’t know your family, other than Jackson. You don’t talk about them a lot. But I’m just trying to picture how they might feel if they saw TMZ post a photo of you kissing me, and the headline says, Garrett Hudson weds mystery bride in wild Vegas ceremony.

  His face paled. “Oh, they would lose their minds.”

  “We could tell them now. Or we could make my entire family sign an NDA and take their cell phones away.”

  “Something always leaks,” he said as they rode the elevator up to the penthouse. “Besides, no one wants to hand over their phone at a wedding. It’s not like it’s a meeting with state secrets. People would think my ego had really grown unmanageable.”

  “Now that would be a funny headline.”

  “Says you,” he said, catching her around the waist and lifting her into the air while she squealed.

  As soon as they were inside, he stripped off his button-up shirt and replaced it with a t-shirt. Then he flung himself backward onto the sofa.

  She came over and straddled his hips. Instantly he was rock hard.

  “What's this? Don't we need to be looking at silverware or place settings or sparkling chandeliers?” he asked.

  “No. I'm done with all the wedding planning. This point I'd be happy to show up and let an Elvis impersonator marry us.”

  “I like the way that sounds.” He rested his hands on her hips. In response, she ground her hips in a circle.

  His eyes rolled back in his head. She’d never had the urge before, but she wanted to take him in her mouth. She wanted to taste him. He had been in complete control when they made love. And she found that she liked it. But right now she wanted to do something for him.

  She pushed her hands up under his shirt, laying her palms flat against his pecs. “Off.”

  Without hesitation, he stripped his shirt off. She took a moment to admire his defined chest, strong biceps, and his washboard abs.

  His breathing picked up. She liked that she could turn him on so much. She liked that he was so obvious about it.

  She spent a few moments just running her hands over his beautiful skin. Under her hips, she could feel the hard line of his big cock.

  She rotated her hips again, pressing down against it, which elicited a loud groan from him.

  “I need to see you,” he said.

  “Not yet. I have something in mind.” Her fingers rested on the button of his jeans. Then she popped it open and unzipped his pants.

  She was greeted with the sight of his hard cock. He didn’t have on any underwear. She lifted one eyebrow. “No boxers today?”

  “Not today.”

  She wrapped her hand around the base at his erection And lowered her mouth.

  She looked up when she felt his hand on her shoulder. He smoothed his hand over her hair. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I want to.” It wasn’t that her ex had not liked the act of her going down on him. He had. But he had always grown impatient and wanted to get to the main event, which was him fucking her.

  Stop thinking about your stupid ex. You are with the hottest guy on the planet and by some miracle, he likes you.

  She closed her lips over the tip of his shaft.

  His groan was enough to have her want to put her own hand between her legs. She’d tried to touch herself many times, but it had never felt quite right. But now, the ache was building. She wanted to touch herself and see if it was any different now that she was with a guy that turned her on so much.

  Under her hand, his cock throbbed.

  His hips lifted up, just the tiniest bit. He was polite though, and didn’t shove his cock into her mouth.

  She rounded her lips, and pushed her mouth down farther. She wanted to feel more of him. She tried making a sucking motion as she pulled back, having read about the technique in a magazine.

  It must have worked, because Garrett fisted his hand in her hair, pulling just a little. “Oh God. You feel amazing. Christ, Lily. Never stop.”

  She didn’t plan to. She kept going, working his cock over, even adding a little hum. She pressed her legs together, squirming. She wanted some friction so badly, but he wasn’t in a position to give it to her. So she finally pushed her hand between her legs and rubbed her finger over her clit.

  The stimulation was delicious. Not nearly as good as it would be if it were Garrett’s skilled hands, but it was pleasing all the same.

  Suddenly he was sitting up more, and looking down. “Are you touching yourself?” he asked, breathing hard.

  “Yeah.” She peeked up at him through her lashes. “Why?”

  His eyes were dark with arousal. His lips were parted. He looked like he wanted to eat her alive. “Because that�
�s the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  “Surely you’ve seen a woman touch herself before.” She couldn’t believe otherwise, not with as many women as he’d supposedly dated.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve seen it. But it wasn’t that hot. You’re doing this because you’re turned on.”

  “Yeah, I am.” She didn’t want to think about other women anymore.

  Before she knew what was happening, he’d lifted her up and laid her down. In about two seconds, her pants and her panties were gone, and Garrett was pushing her legs apart. “Is this okay?” He asked.

  She wasn’t sure what he was asking. Was it okay that he wanted to go down on her? She just knew that his head was between her legs, and she was ready to burst. She nodded. If that’s what he wanted, it was more than okay.

  He licked over her clit and moaned. “I had to taste you.”

  She flung her arm over her eyes and bit down on her lip. She wasn’t ready to come yet. “I was busy tasting you.”

  “I know. And it was good. But I needed to get my mouth right here on you. I couldn’t wait.”

  She reached one arm down to tug at his hair. “Well then, don’t.”

  He began his sweet torment of her pussy then. He pushed one finger inside her body, while the flat of his tongue covered her clit. The taste of her exploded on his tongue. Her essence was heaven, and he’d never get enough.

  He added a second finger, and she accommodated him easily, thanks to the slick from her body’s arousal.

  He closed his lips over her clit, sucking and then teasing the flesh with his tongue. Already, he had the walls of her pussy fluttering around his fingers.

  “I’m close, Garrett,” she said with a whimper.

  “You can come anytime you want. I’ll never deny you any pleasure I can give you,” he said.

  She didn’t hesitate. She let go, screaming as her orgasm hit.

  She couldn’t imagine ever having a better lover than Garrett, no matter how long she lived.

  12

  Garrett