Marriage by Mistake

line of morality and self discipline he owned.
    But somehow, with Kelly curled up under his nose, Dean couldn't work up the energy to hate himself.
    Indeed, as he lay there and sensed Kelly's limbs shift, her muscles tensing in a stretch, he felt nothing but pleasure; pleasure to be next to her, delight that they were in bed together, and a pure, mindless contentment with the whole situation.
    "Hey, beautiful." Silly words. They just popped out of his mouth.
    But they accomplished what he wanted. When Kelly looked up at him she was smiling. "Hey beautiful, yourself," she whispered, morning hoarse.
    Dean knew he was grinning like an idiot. He supposed he was an idiot. "You really are drop dead gorgeous, you know."
    "Dean." Her tone was half embarrassed, all pleased.
    He smoothed his hand over her shoulder and decided he liked embarrassing her, and pleasing her. Maybe he would do more. "Say. It occurs to me that in all this time I still know next to nothing about you." Nothing, that is, besides what he'd learned from the private detective he'd hired at the beginning.
    Kelly raised her eyebrows. "And you want to know more?"
    Yes! No. Hell. Personal questions. That meant probing, getting closer. Was that smart? And yet— And yet—he did want to know more about her.
    Dean shifted onto his side so that he could look directly at her. "First thing I don't understand—" and what couldn't have made its way into the private detective's report.
    "—Gorgeous as you are, why Las Vegas?"
    She tilted her head. "Las Vegas isn't such a terrible place."
    Dean snorted.
    She brushed the hair from her eyes with a smile. "It isn't. Not if you love dancing. Besides, my parents encouraged me to move there."
    "Your parents ?"
    "Sure. They wanted me to be able to make a living doing something I loved." Kelly grinned. "And dancers can make a good living in Las Vegas."
    "But—" Dean started to frown. But—the detective's report had described her run-down apartment building, had listed her monthly credit card debt. She didn't appear to make a good living. He shook his head. "Even so, what kind of parents send their child—their female child—to the gambling capital of the world?"
    Kelly's eyes sparkled. "My Dad was a minister. My mother helped him in the church."
    Dean just looked at her.
    She laughed, delighted.
    "You're not kidding."
    Obviously enjoying herself, Kelly tapped his chin. "Call it 'only child' syndrome. All they wanted was for me to be happy."
    All they'd wanted was for her to be happy. Dean shook his head. For most of his life, he'd been an only child, too, but neither of his parents had thought beyond their own happiness. His mother had taken off before he'd turned two. To that day, his father was still too busy womanizing to care about Dean's happiness.
    "Do you still see them?" Dean asked.
    The grin on her face faded. "My Mom passed away three years ago. My Dad went soon after that."
    "Mm," Dean gazed at her, feeling like he was getting a window into a world he'd never known. He had the urge to comfort her, though surely there was nothing he could do about her parents' deaths at this late date. "I suppose that was...hard," he essayed anyway.
    Kelly's eyes swept back to him. "Yes. Yes, it was, especially with my mom. She...lingered."
    Dean reached out to clasp a hand around Kelly's. Emotions rose up in his chest, emotions he had no business entertaining. For the love of Pete, he'd already gone past his deadline. They were supposed to be back in reality again.
    He drew his hand away. "I should get up."
    Kelly wrinkled her nose and snuggled closer. "Say that again."
    "I should get up."
    She laughed. "Just as I thought."
    "What?"
    Her eyes flicked upward. "You don't really want to."
    Well, of course he didn't want to. He was in bed with a delightful and fascinating naked woman, one to whom he felt suddenly, perhaps dangerously, closer. "It wouldn't kill me to take a day off," he heard himself say. Am I crazy? I've already taken one day off .
    Meanwhile Kelly lifted a hand to his cheek. Her expression sobered. "Do you mean that? I mean, could you?"
    Dean looked deep into her eyes. Did he? Could he? He was supposed to have ended this business last night. Instead he'd delved even further into it. It was crazy. Persisting in this thing was only going to hurt them both. This was the moment to tell her.
    Dean threaded his fingers through her hair, hair generously mussed from their lovemaking of the night before. He looked into