39. Dani
DANI
“Dani!” Aurora dances over to me, martini in one hand, cupcake in the other.
“How’s your pickle fountain?” I ask her.
“Better than your last one, which was life-changing,” Aurora says as she does a little shuffle dance to the music. “I’m on another plane! Tell Graham I want this as my Christmas present,” she jokes.
“Don’t worry. I told the caterers they have to stay out the entire time. I hate it when they pack up too early. That’s so lame. Also, at the end of the night, there’s a surprise midnight snack, because that’s how we roll here.” I smile.
“I’m pretty pleased with how this party turned out.”
“Everyone’s having fun. Even Graham.”
“Suck it, Colette. I can actually plan a nice party,” I mutter.
“Ooh, is Colette the mean-girl bestie? Graham told me all about that, and you have to redo her whole bachelorette? Kick her ass to the curb. Look.” Aurora sets down her drink. “About Graham.”
I shift my walkie-talkie in my hand. “I’m such a pushover. I really shouldn’t let Graham pay for that,” I tell her in a rush. “I promise I’m not actually after your son for his money.”
“I know you’re not.” She rests her hands on my arms. “I can see how much you two care about each other.”
I feel shitty. I wouldn’t even be here if I wasn’t a loser who blackmailed a guy into being my fake boyfriend. His mom already went through enough—she doesn’t need me inserting myself in her life like this.
“I guess I better go see about those midnight snacks!”
Before I can leave, his mom whispers to me, “Thank you for choosing him. He’s been lonely.”
I’m a fraud.
I turn, and there’s Graham.
Crap.
Did he overhear?
His jaw clenches like emotion hurts him.
He probably hates me. He’s clearly protective of his mom.
This isn’t a normal family. It’s not like I blackmailed one of the spoiled rich guys who my brother hangs with. Graham’s family has real problems. He’s also been through a lot, and he deserves a girlfriend who’s pretty and fun and totally dedicated to him.
And that’s not me.
Because, let’s be honest, he was right from day one: if we’d just met on the street, he never would have given me the time of day. He made a mistake bringing me into this.
“Dani,” Graham breathes.
“What if we just forget about the kidnapping—call it even.” I’m crushed. “And just walk away from each other.” My voice cracks.
It’s late, is all. I’m tired. I’m not sad. Not about this. Not about him.
“No.” Graham shakes his head. “Don’t walk away.”
“I have—what? A month until my brother gets married? Then what?”
Then, just like that, it all turns into dust.
Because Graham is kissing me.
Kissing me like we’re at the ending of the movie and I finally got my guy and we’re finally in love and I’m finally going to live happily ever after.
I wrap my arms around his neck. Try not to drop the walkie-talkie. Grab at his hair as his tongue slides into my mouth.
I want to climb him like a tree, but we’re at a fancy party I planned, and also I’m so not coordinated.
But Graham is kissing me, and none of that matters. It’s my first real kiss, and it’s amazing.
He breaks the kiss, but his mouth is still close to mine. Our noses touch, and I cup his jaw—slightly rough because he hasn’t shaved since this morning.
“Is that how it always is?” I breathe against his mouth.
“What?” He kisses me again, gentler this time.
“Kissing a guy? Or is it just you?”
He groans. “Dani, please don’t tell me this is your first kiss.”
“It wasn’t.” I stare up at him.
“Dani—”
I love you! I want to yell in his ear.
He presses light kisses all over my cheeks, my mouth, my nose.
“I met you in a bookshop,” he says.
“What?”
“It was raining, and we both ducked in. You dropped your coffee when I ran into you.”
I can see it—him in the rain, the smell of the books.
“Yeah, and then you insulted the hockey smut I was buying, and I told you only serial killers read autobiographies of the Founding Fathers.”
“Dani, no. I recommended a better translation of Anna Karenina to you.” He brushes his fingers lightly through my hair.
“No, you didn’t. I read you a passage from the smut book. You said, ‘Actually, you know, that does sound better,’ and—”
“And then I took you out for coffee when the rain stopped. You got a caramel latte. Because that’s your favorite.”
“It is my favorite, and you guessed it correctly.” I’m lost in his eyes.
“That’s our story. That’s how we met. That’s when we fell in love.”
“Yeah.” I smile at him, smile so wide my cheeks hurt. “That’s how we fell in love.”
It’s late, basically the next morning, when we collapse on the big king bed in the fancy hotel suite I booked for us.
Graham’s jacket is thrown to the side, and I pick drunkenly at the knot of his tie.
“Dani.” He leans in and kisses me again.
“Do you seriously want…” I trail off, not believing it’s actually real now. “To be my boyfriend for real?”
“I already bought tickets to that garden party.” He kisses me as he shrugs off his dress shirt.
“The one in April that’s going to be hot and suck and we’ll have to watch polo and get sunburnt?”
“I’ll buy you a nice hat.”
“I look terrible in hats.”
“I’ll fuck you in a field of flowers wearing nothing but a hat.”
“That’s after my brother’s wedding,” I remind him in a whisper.
“I know. I want to be here after your brother’s wedding. With you.”
I’ll never get tired of him kissing me—the way his mouth feels against mine, the way he cups my face, his tongue in my mouth as he kisses me deeply, like he’s been starving for me.
I never thought anything would feel better than his tongue on my pussy, but feeling him smile against my mouth?
“Geez, you could make a girl fall in love with you, kissing her like that,” I gasp.
He looks startled for a moment then hisses when I grab his belt.
“I want you so bad,” he whispers. “You like sex now, don’t you?”
He shoves me down on my back on the bed, kissing me long and deep. “I turned you into a little slut.”
“All I can think about is getting fucked by you.” I lean up to kiss him, but he jerks away, taunting me. I grab his neck, kissing him because I can, because he’s my boyfriend now, and I can kiss my own damn boyfriend.
His pants are off. I stroke my hands over his skin, feeling the muscles ripple underneath. He flips us over.
“I thought I told you I don’t like it when you wear panties.”
“I needed to concentrate.” I hiss as he pushes the lace panties to the side to finger me.
“Concentrate on what? I’m the only man whose cock you ride, you understand?” He reaches up to grab my neck, pulling me down for a rough kiss. “Understand?”
“Yes,” I moan as his fingers penetrate me.
I ride his hand, pulling my dress off over my head.
I need to feel him on my skin. My hips jerk against his hand as he finger-fucks me.
My bra comes off next, then his hands are on my tits, squeezing.
I lean forward so he can take one in his mouth and suck on my nipple as his fingers slowly fuck my cunt.
He grabs a condom and rolls it on, then his hands grip my hips, lifting me up in the air while I squeal then moan when he seats me deep on his cock.
“Oh, you’re so big,” I gasp as that cock penetrates deep in my cunt.
Then he starts stroking my clit as I rock on his cock, my pussy flexing around that huge length. My mouth hangs open, making those little moaning sounds as he slowly strokes my clit then fingers my ass.
“You gonna fuck my ass?”
“You want me to?”
“You’re the one who ruined me, turned me into your cum little slut. I’m here to get fucked by you.”
“I want your pussy right now.”
But he grabs my ass, pushing a few fingers inside.
I groan as he penetrates me while his cock is still in my pussy.
My nails scrape his skin as he fucks up deep into me, fucking me until I can’t breathe, fucking me until I’m coming on his cock, his hands, and he’s jackhammering up into my cunt while I beg and plead and call his name as we come.
“Move in with me, Dani.” He kisses me noisily. He’s still inside of me. “Move in so I can fuck you like this whenever I want.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” He flips us over. I feel him get hard in me again. “Yeah, you want to be my little pussy whenever I want?”
His cock jerks inside of me, then he’s fucking me into the mattress while I moan.
“Yeah, I’ll spread my pussy for you whenever you want.”
“Whenever.” He turns my face so he can kiss my mouth.
“Yeah, yeah.” I can barely breathe.
He’s fucking me rough, one hand in my hair. I feel him slam into me, then my pussy gives in, and I’m coming around him.
“Damn, Dani, you really know how to take my cock, don’t you?” His hand comes down flat on my ass. He kisses me deep one more time, his fingers on my clit drawing out another orgasm from me.
“Maybe we should change our origin story.” He kisses me hard.
“What? I just wandered into your office one night to get your signature for a document then fell on your cock?”
“I mean…” He gives me a crooked grin. “If you walk into my office, I can’t say I’m not going to make you sit on my cock.”
“Why did I plan this brunch?” I groan.
“Get up.” Graham laughs as I wrestle him for the covers. “My family is already down there. Ryan just texted me.”
When we get to the restaurant downstairs, it’s a smaller group. Immediate family only.
Frank’s parents. Graham’s siblings. Aurora’s parents. A couple of cousins.
Kraig isn’t there.
For that, I am deeply grateful, because I am hungover and all I want is to stay in bed and let Graham feed me toast while we watch trashy TV and bicker about it. He’ll pretend to read something serious, but I know he secretly watches with me.
“I’ll get you a plate,” he says.
“Aww.” I slap his butt without thinking.
Then I remember where I am.
“Oops,” I say, as his siblings giggle from the doorway.
Breakfast is actually nice.
We’re tucked into a private room with big windows and soft light. The kind of place where everything feels curated and expensive but still warm. I laugh at something Hannah says, and when I glance at Graham, he’s watching me.
Not in a creepy way. In a soft way. A hungry way. Like he still can’t believe I’m sitting here with him, in his world, laughing with his family like I belong.
Graham looks relaxed.
He also looks delicious, which tells me he drank way less than I did.
I’m halfway through my second mimosa when—
“Oh my god.” Hannah is staring at her phone.
“No phones at the table,” Aurora says lazily, wearing sunglasses indoors and sipping her coffee.
Hannah ignores her. “Oh my god. This is—oh my god.”
“Hannah, the phone,” her dad says, though he winces like he partied almost as hard as his wife did.
“No, look at this,” Hannah says, suddenly pale.
The table goes quiet.
“There was a woman kidnapped on the streets of New York a few weeks ago.”
My stomach tightens.
Hannah looks up at us.
“No one knows who she is. No one knows who took her.” She swallows. “She’s just… gone.”
A heaviness settles over the room.
I glance at Graham.
He’s gone completely still.
There’s no expression on his face.
Not surprised. Not confused.
Just… frozen.
And suddenly, in the back of my mind: panicked scrabbling…
Oh.
Oh shit.