Page 2 of Notorious

That’s disappointing.

Why am I here with him—and, more importantly, why are we naked, if we didn’t do anything? Is this a practical joke?

It’s sabotage.

A chill goes through me, followed by a wave of nausea that I can’t blame on whatever I drank last night. Did Santangelo set me up? Are there hidden cameras in this suite? Or is it extortion?

Photos of me naked in bed with a porn star would be a sure way for me to end up in the tabloids and not in a Senate seat.

Or, shit. Did one of my mom’s enemies set this up? That’d be even worse.

Tremors rack my body. Gasping for air, I scramble away from Velvet and fall backward out of the bed, taking the sheet with me and landing on my ass with a thud.

I look around for my self-respect, but I appear to have misplaced it.

Dammit.

Velvet pushes himself up, army crawls over on his belly, and peers down at me. A lock of his hair flops over his forehead.

Oh my god, is he handsome, even first thing in the morning. He has … not quite a baby face, but close. Despite his chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and narrow nose—and despite the very, very “adult” situations I’ve thoroughly enjoyed viewing him in—there’s an element of innocence about him. Thick lashes rim his wide blue-green eyes. And then there’s the rest of him. Hair dusts his veiny forearms, and his biceps bulge without him even trying. I’ve seen his physique on my screens often enough to know that he’s beyond perfect. The way the videos show his ass in Wranglers? Yum. And when he dips that Stetson to greet people—before he fucks them into the mattress. I shiver.

I think he was wearing the hat last night.

I think he dipped it at me.

Velvet gazes at me with concern as he, too, appears to be putting the night together. At least, that’s how I interpret the scrunch of his nose. His sleepy eyes register genuine bewilderment.

“Hey, darlin’,” he whispers, his iconic voice deep, with a hint of a drawl. “Are you okay?” He rubs his temples.

“I … don’t know,” I admit, drawing my knees to my chest and wrapping my hands around my calves. As I do, I notice something amiss. Well, something else amiss.

My naked companion nods, as if my words make perfect sense. “Yeah. Last night must’ve been wild, since I’m not entirely sure how I got back here.” His eyes dart to his left hand, and he squints. “What in tarnation?” Then he looks at my hand at the same time I pull it up to my face to inspect it.

A ring circles the fourth finger. A shiny platinum band without any scratches or dings.

I don’t wear a ring on that hand. I don’t wear jewelry, period. I glance back at Velvet and confirm that he’s got a ring on his fourth finger, too.

I blink.

He blinks.

I furrow my brow.

He does the same.

“Um,” I rasp, staring at my ring, then gesturing to his. “Do you know where these came from?”

Velvet starts to shake his head and then frowns. A light dawns in his now fully awake eyes. He cocks his head as he studies his hand. He blows out his cheeks, then releases the air. “Well, heck,” he says. “I think we might be hitched. What’s your name again?”

CHAPTER 2

Johnny

The night before

Itake a slow, steady breath and put my hand on the doorknob. Am I gonna go with plan A or plan B?

Plan A means I make it through this event here, then go back up to my hotel suite to do the deed. I’ve explained everything to my fans in a video that’ll go live tomorrow. Plan A has a certain poetry to it, what with this evening’s award. Plus, most importantly, it’ll get the job done: Mama will have what she needs.

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