Free Laws of Attraction by Diana Duncan

heartbreaking tenderness. His hot, compelling, taste intoxicated her, instantly addicted her. Made her yearn for more. Made her crave this shattering connection with every fiber of her being.
    Mia’s fingers clutched his lapels, clinging to him. One glorious taste of Dallas McQuade wasn’t nearly enough.
    When he finally eased away, a small sound of protest escaped her throat, and for a heartbeat, the same all-consuming flames that burned inside her smoldered in his eyes.
    They turned as one, his palm on the small of her trembling back supporting her as he escorted her down the aisle.
    Shaking like a palsy victim, legs barely functioning, Mia’s head swam. What had happened to her lifelong indifference to men, her wariness of their deceit?
    Dallas’ soft, slow lips had lit the fuse on a chain reaction of stunning sensation. With one kiss , he’d breached all her defenses.
    Made her want him more than she’d ever wanted anything.
    Her chest constricted. How was she supposed to protect herself? What would stop her from falling at his feet, begging for attention like the helpless, broken female she’d vowed never to become?
    Their few guests followed them to the exit, and Esteban clapped enthusiastically. “Now the honeymoon begins, sí ?”
    She tripped over her own feet, but Dallas’ sure hands shot out and saved her from falling. “No. I …” She struggled to keep her voice level. “I…can’t. We need to get back. I have work and—”
    “Nonsense. You deserve a honeymoon. And the eager groom will not wish to wait to claim his bride. Señor Dallas, you have a hotel preference?”
    Dallas glanced from Esteban’s jovial grin to Mia’s peaked face. She’d gone pale during the ceremony. Purple smudges under her eyes and her makeshift nap on the plane told their own tale. The little lady looked worn to a frazzle. Eight hours of shut-eye would do her a world of good.
    And he’d definitely like some private time with his headstrong, contrary “wife.”
    He intended to pry answers out of the woman who’d corralled him into marriage with the tactical ruthlessness of a four star general. Outflanked and outmaneuvered.
    He had a sinking suspicion Mia thought that as his wife, she’d get to scope out Esteban’s mansion.
    No question in his mind about why he’d married her . After a decade of meticulous ass-busting groundwork, with victory so close he could taste it, he wasn’t about to get fired at the beginning of his third week on Montoya’s payroll. Esteban’s quiet ultimatum had clearly communicated the threat. Marry the “expectant fiancée,” or else.
    Dallas rolled his tight shoulders. No problem. Once the deal was wrapped, he’d annul this farce.
    In the meantime, he’d use it to his advantage.
    “Wherever you’re most secure, sir.”
    Montoya chose the Venetian. Esteban and Soledad booked adjoining suites to one another so Carlos and Zane could bodyguard father and daughter. Dallas asked for a suite one floor lower for privacy—again declining Montoya’s offer to pick up the four-hundred plus tab. He’d gotten himself into this with his big mouth. And a little help from a certain intoxicating brunette he’d been trying to defend. He’d spring for the whole fiasco.
    He handed over his credit card, praying the cost would only be financial. Bitter experience had taught him that a cold-blooded viper lurked behind Montoya’s kindly paternal image. Before all was said and done, Dallas might have to pay in blood.
    And pay, he would. He owed a blood debt.
    Check-in completed, Dallas picked up his nylon duffel and Mia’s garment bag. He slid an arm around her waist as their group wove through the crowd toward the elevators. She immediately shifted, breaking contact.
    So, they were back to that. He hoped she would trust him more after the kiss in the chapel. After their unexpected, shimmering connection.
    His fingers tightened on the bags. Only he knew what maintaining his control during that kiss