Page 30 of Notorious

I tip my hat to the reporters. “Folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”

“What about you, Velvet? You announced your retirement last night. What are your future plans?”

“Dunno. Enjoy being married, I guess.” I hold up my hand. “I’m pleased to report this here ring’s cut off my circulation.”

There’s a pause, then a few laughs and some confused expressions.

“It fits fine,” I say with another grin, and make a point of squeezing Kurt to me. “I’m just no longer available.”

More camera flashes. Someone asks, “How long have you known each other?”

“Thank you,” I say, and steer Kurt over to the valet station, where they tell him his car is almost here.

A driver pulls a shiny black BMW to the curb, and we throw our luggage in the trunk, get in, and take off, leaving the paps behind us.

Kurt’s hands tremble as he turns right out of the parking garage.

“Hey, darlin’. You okay? You wanna pull over and let me drive?”

“I’m fine.”

I’m tempted to roll my eyes. “Okay, I think we need a few ground rules. You called me on my horseshit this morning. I’m going with you to your house, because I can see that it’s for my own good, and while I’m a stubborn so-and-so most of the time, I’ve decided I’m going to try to not be stubborn about this situation here. I can’t think of any way to help my mama, but I’m smart enough to recognize that maybe you’ll have a better solution. Now, your hands are shaking, and I’m thinking that the paps got to you because you woke up with a hell of a hangover and found out you were married to some fella you don’t know.”

Kurt glances at me and turns left to head to the freeway.

“So maybe one of our ground rules is honesty. I was honest with you that I was gonna take those pills. And that I’m feeling numb and useless. How are you feeling?”

“I’m panicking,” he admits, and pulls sharply into a gas station, parking to the side and cutting off the engine. He bangs his forehead on the top of the steering wheel. “What the fuck are we doing? I married the man of my dreams, who’s also a porn star. Please know I’m not judging you, but it’s political suicide. Fuck, wrong word. And?—”

“And I’m a disaster,” I supply. “Sorry, don’t mean to interrupt you, but I ain’t gonna make you insult me when I can do it just fine.”

“You maybe have some big issues that we need to solve,” he says gently. He blows out a breath. “I was startled out there, and I didn’t know how to react. My mind’s going a mile a minute. Whatever happened to ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’? That doesn’t apply to us? What the hell?” He throws up his hands.

“Also, ‘man of your dreams’?” I ask, thinking back through what he just said. The tips of Kurt’s ears turn pink. Interesting.

“I told you I’m a big fan.”

“You really are precious,” I say, affection for him rushing over me in waves despite my numbness. He’s still shaking, so I go back to my initial point. “I’m a good driver. And for some reason, I’m not feeling as hungover as you. So why don’t you let me drive until we get the hell out of here and you get settled. We can switch back whenever you like.”

Kurt glances at me, then stops to really study my face. “In your, um, scenes, you tend to take over, take charge. Is that what you’re like in real life?”

I want to kiss his cute button nose, but he looks too upset for that. Plus we don’t need any more photos—even though no one seems to be paying attention to us right now. “I do like doing that,” I admit. I love it when I get to play a soft pleasure dom, because it’s in line with my personality—my usual personality, at least. This present funk isn’t like me—although it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like my old self. But I don’t tell him that. I also don’t tell him how focusing on him makes the noise in my head go away. “C’mon. You’re upset. There’s only one highway until we get closer to Los Angeles—it’s not like I’m going to get us lost.”

“I hate to ask, but are you okay to drive? You’re not going to go hurling us into oncoming traffic?”

Damn. I’m horrified that he has to ask that, but under the circumstances, it’s a reasonable question. “I promise I’m going to drive like a normal person and not do anything rash. I’d never hurt you.”

I know I mean that. I’ll not hurt a hair on his head. Ever.

Kurt nods and opens his door, and so do I. We walk around the car and meet at the trunk. Before he can pass me, I grab him and hug him. He clings to me a moment, then nods and proceeds to the passenger side. I settle into the driver’s seat, wondering if he’s been wanting someone else to take the wheel of his life for a while.

Meanwhile, I need someone to help me out of my predicament.

Maybe this unplanned marriage can help us both.

CHAPTER 11

Kurt

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