5– Adaline

I hate to admit it, but Las Vegas knows how to party. It’s loud, wild, and just the right amount of chaotic. 

This is the kind of chaos I’ve always wanted. It has drowned my thoughts, and has made it impossible for me to think about anything other than the moment.

I didn’t expect to have fun here. After all, I was drugged and dragged against my will by the insufferable Michael Black. But here I am, swaying to the heavy bass of the music, the neon lights casting playful colors across Kate’s beaming face.

We spent the entire day spending his money, and the best part? The card didn’t max out. We tried. Oh, we tried. Designer stores, luxury boutiques, spas—I was certain at some point the cashier would swipe the card, frown, and tell us that we’d hit the limit. That maybe, just maybe, I’d get a furious phone call from Michael demanding to know what the hell I was doing with his money.

But nothing.

No declined transactions. No angry calls. No reaction at all.

Which leaves me wondering—was he too busy to notice? Or was he just ignoring me? Or, and this is probably the worst thought of all, does he have so much money that losing thousands in a single afternoon doesn’t even faze him?

Either way, I’m not about to let the mystery of Michael Black ruin my night.

Kate grabs my hand, twirling me, her shoulders shaking as laughter bubbles into her throat. The club is crowded, and I know everyone in here is drunk. 

I’m really having fun, so for now, I don’t care about Michael. I don’t care about what happens next.

I’m just here, letting Vegas do what it does best—make me forget. Then once I'm back home, we’ll leave what happened in Vegas in Vegas. 

And it’s a good thing I didn’t tell Kate about Michael drugging me and forcing me here against my will.

“Miss. Adaline?” Kate calls out over the music.

I hum in response and I know she doesn’t hear it, so I lift my brows and smile in a way that lets her know I’m listening.

She pulls me into her and wraps her hands around my waist, her mouth to my ear as she asks, “Why did you bring me on this trip?”

“What?!” I lower my head more to hear her clearly over the loud music and crowd. 

“I mean, Miss. Grace is usually your go-to whenever you travel, but this time… wait, I didn’t see her at your party. Did you two fight?”

Kate keeps talking, completely ignoring the way my expression tightens. Her sudden curiosity is digging up things I’ve been trying to forget.

She goes on. “But she never misses your birthday, even when you weren’t on good terms. So what happened? It must’ve been serious for her to miss your twentieth. Even more serious for you not to invite her on this trip—”

Tears burn my eyes as memories flood in. I won’t let them fall. I won’t let Kate keep talking either.

“Kate.”

“Yes?”

“Do you regret coming? Do you want to go home?” I ask, pinning her with a look. 

“Not at all.” She answers quickly.

I hum, then grit, “Then shut your whiny mouth and dance.”

“Yes… of course, ma’am.”

“What did I say about calling me ‘ma’am’?”

“I’m sorry, Miss—”

“Uh-uh.”

“I’m sorry, Adaline.”

“That’s more like it.” I tap her hand playfully, pushing away the heavy mood. “Can we go back to having fun now?”

“Yes!” Kate beams.

“Good!” I laugh. “It’s getting so hot and I’m so thirsty!”

Kate scrunches up her nose. “Is that your excuse to go and get more alcohol? You shouldn’t be drinking too much, your fiance might not like it if you return drunk!”

A giggle escapes my throat as I roll my eyes playfully. “I don’t care about my fiance!” I tell her, not waiting for her to say anything before leaving her on the dance floor and stumbling to the bar for more shots of whatever the bartender has been mixing up for me.

I reach the bar and decide to order a cocktail instead, hoping to have some alone time to myself and my confusing thoughts before heading back to meet Kate on the dancefloor. A few minutes pass and the bartender finally places my drink in front of me. As I take a sip, letting the cool liquid ease my nerves, a shiver suddenly runs down my spine.

The room is crowded, but I feel a different kind of presence beside me, a different kind of tightness on my skin. Warm breath meets my ear, sweeping across my left cheek as a deep voice vibrates through me.

“Mind if I join you, beautiful?”

Shit. The voice is smooth, the words drawled with an edge of darkness to it. Thrilling. My heart skips a beat as I turn, locking eyes with the man standing behind me. Not just any man. The man I’m about to marry. The same one whose ring wraps warmly around my finger.

What is he doing here?

Is he here to reprimand me for spending too much of his money?

I thought he said tonight is for me and Kate to have fun?

“You’re not saying anything, Ada.” Michael says and a lump pushes down my throat as I blink. His voice is unlike anything I’ve ever heard—thick, commanding, yet soft. It pulls me in, wrapping around me seductively. 

He steps closer, a smug smile tugging at his lips. I swallow hard again and take a step back, my spine pressing against the bar edge.

“You should go with the flow, baby girl,” Michael murmurs, bracing both palms against the counter, trapping me between his toned, muscular body—I saw his torso this morning, and although I was too angry and confused to acknowledge how sexy this man looked, the memories are coming back and they’re as delicious as they come—and the bar.  

He’s in a playful mood—I can tell. I stare at him in silence for a few seconds before finally speaking.

“You could join me, but it all depends.”

“On what, my love?”

I’m not your love…

Moving on.

“On how well you do,” I tease, biting my lip and dragging my finger down the center of his chest to the waistband of his slacks. “If you know what I mean.”

His voice drops into a growl. “Oh, I know exactly what you mean. And trust me, I’ll exceed your expectations.”

I tut. “But a little birdie told me you’re an old man. And old men are weak.”

Michael chuckles under his breath and leans in, his warmth brushing against my skin as he whispers, “Then maybe you should follow me back to my hotel and see for yourself what this old man is capable of.”

“No.” The refusal slips out instantly.

He raises a brow. “What?”

“I’m not coming with you. I don’t trust strangers.” I roll my eyes.

“You’re about to marry one, baby girl.”

“Until then…”

He cuts me off. “I have an offer for you. One you won’t be able to refuse.”

“Not interested. We already have one unattended offer on the table.”

“This one’s different.” He deliberately drawls as his eyes land on my lips, his tongue darting out and licking his. “I guarantee, if you let yourself experience this, that little boyfriend who stopped you from accepting my proposal months ago will be nothing but a memory.”

What?

My eyes widen.

Does he know about my past relationship with Austin? If he does, then just what does this man know about me, and how does he know them?

Has my father been feeding him information about me or has he been watching me?

“How did you—” My words die in my throat when he pushes his front into me, his growing bulge pushing into my thighs.

Oh…

My body betrays me, heat pooling low in my stomach.

The way he’s looking at me like he’s about to devour me, the way my heart is beating as though I’m willing to let him do it. And I already know, there’s no escaping this man. I don’t think I want to.

No. I won’t let him have his way. He has to fight for this, to earn me. He cannot drug and kidnap me from my father’s house then expect to get a happy ending. Never.

“I’m not going with you. I don’t follow strangers to their hotels, especially one who enjoys drugging women and kidnapping them against their will because their ego is too fragile to accept rejection. Moreover, I’m here with a friend.”

I slam my cup on the bartop and sidestep him, hoping to make my way back to Kate. I don’t get very far when Michael’s fingers curl around my wrist. 

He pulls me into him, lifts me and throws me over his shoulder. I yelp, kicking my feet as he carries me out of the club like I weigh nothing. 

Once we’re outside, an SUV comes around and memories of that night in the drive flood back in. The thing that crept out of that car and restrained me until I was unconscious.

I scream louder, fighting harder to be let down. 

“You’re such a bratty little girl, aren’t you, Ada.” It’s more of a statement than a question, his hand coming down hard on my ass. Then he places me in the back seat and slides in before slamming the door shut and turning to face me with a smirk.

“You need to be tamed, don’t you? But don’t worry, I’ll do a good job of that.”

It’s a threat, a challenge. Suddenly, I don’t have it in me to speak anymore. 

And I can’t say if it’s fear or anticipation, but whatever it is, it drives me to the point of insanity where the only thing I want to say is…

Please tame me, Michael.