by Cara E Holt
Grayson.
I down the last bit of my Jack D and coke and sigh. Fuck my life. I hate coming to these things. They were full of pretentious arseholes and their fake as fuck wives. It is all about making the right connections, being seen with the right people, talking shit. I want to be at home with my girl, not here tonight. I hate that she has faced going home without me. Yeah, I know she has Izzy with her, but fuck, going home will be hard. Harder than I think she’d probably prepared herself for.
My dad is here tonight to get closer to clinching a deal with Damon Hillcrest. A hotshot in the entertainment and hospitality industry. The reason my dad insisted I come along is becoming clear as the second evening of this shit weekend dragged on. My Dad has been pushing me towards Hillcrest’s daughter, Imogen. Imogen was a real daddy’s little rich girl. She has an insta account with over ten thousand followers and posts endless photos of herself in barely there clothes, lounging on some luxurious yacht in the med. She is every inch the socialite and my devious fucking father sees her as the way into a deal with Hillcrest.
Before Manchester, I wouldn’t have blinked. I’d have charmed my way in and I would have likely been fucking the Hillcrest princess on the hotel grounds somewhere tonight. Now, nothing turned me off more than some random fuck with some soulless pampered little daddy’s girl. Everly Taylor is my fucking world. The way I feel about her terrifies me sometimes, because I don’t know who I’d become without her. I hear Tess’ shrill laughter as she hangs off one of my father’s golfing buddy’s arm.
Where is my dad actually? I haven’t seen him for a while.
Two finely manicured hands snake down my shirt from behind me, and blonde hair falls over my shoulders.
“Grayson, I want to dance,” Imogen purrs.
I roll my eyes and lift her hands off my chest. “Then go find some fucker to dance with.”
“You’ll dance with me Grayson, otherwise I might just have to tell daddy dearest that you’ve upset me and that would not bode well for your dad now would it?”
God, she is fucking poison. The girl is rotten on the inside and the image of an angel on the outside.
Clenching my fists, I stand and offer her my hand. Smiling dryly, she slips her icy fingers into mine and I lead her out on to the dance floor. She wraps her hands around my neck and places her body flush against mine. Her large fake breasts rub up against my chest and she gives me a sultry look.
“You could at least look like you’re enjoying my company,” she hisses, the fake smile never leaving her face.
Ignoring her and looking anywhere but at her, I search out the place for my missing father.
“He’s not here,” she tells me with a smirk. “I saw him following Paige out the room about twenty minutes ago.”
“Fuck,” I growl. I spin on my feet and leave Imogen on the dance floor and stalk off through the main doors out into the long corridor. I move along and search through room after room. One door about halfway down the corridor is slightly ajar, and I stop when I hear a low moan coming from the room. I walk in and I shake my head in disgust.
Paige is as naked as the day she was born and she’s laid out on the conference table. My father thrusts in and out of her. His trousers pooled around his ankles.
“Seriously?” I deadpan, and two sets of eyes fly to mine.
My dad smirks. My presence doesn’t deter him and he carries on fucking her.
Paige grins at me. “You want to watch Grayson? Or you could join us?”
What kind of sick person asks a guy to share a girl with his father? She is seriously messed up in the head.
“She’s old enough to be your fucking daughter,” I spit, unable to hide my disgust.
My dad smirks. “She fucks like a woman, though.” He grasps her hips and pounds into her with more aggression, and Paige moans loudly.
I’ve seen enough. I turn swiftly on my heels and leave, and as I do, I hear my father’s mocking laughter.
I’m halfway back towards the function room when Tess stumbles out into the corridor, wobbling on her feet, pissed. “I’m looking for your father have you seen him?”
I smile. “He’s just down the hall, that door there,” I tell her, pointing to the door I have purposefully left open.
I head back inside and order another drink. I sit back and put my feet up on one of the other empty chairs. I pull my phone out and text my girl.
I miss you, baby.
I wait a few seconds and then I see the bubbles moving.
I miss you too. Can we not do a weekend apart again?
Never again, baby, I reply.
Fuck, I am so wrapped up in Manchester I don’t know my left from my right. She consumes me. I am obsessed with her body and her mind. When I’m not inside her, I fantasise about being there. I know every inch of her body and I am just as intrigued by her thoughts and opinions.
If I weren’t under the influence right now, I’d get in my car and drive all the way to rainy Manchester. She is it for me. I always said I’d never fall for a girl because I’d believed that love made a man weak, but I’d been so wrong. She strengthened me and made me a better person.
Three more months and I am free. The trust fund my mother has left for me would be released, and I can walk away from my father and his toxic presence and never look back. My father has all these grand plans for me, but little does he know I have plans of my own, and they were nothing like his. I am going to build my own empire with my Manchester at my side.
I snigger as I see Paige come back into the room and rush over to her mother as she holds her bust and bloodied nose. It looks like Tessa found them. I watch as Paige whispers in her mother’s ear and her mum turns pale and then hustles her daughter out of the room. I wonder how mummy dearest feels about her daughter fucking a man old enough to be her father. Rumour has it that the family empire was crashing. They are having money troubles, so maybe they’ve encouraged her escapades with my father as a way out of their troubles. This is the kind of fucked up shit that happens in this world. Daughters are used as pawns. Wives turn a blind eye to their husbands’ many affairs by spending money and being seen at the right places. It is seriously fucked up and I want none of it.
My phone rings and I see it is Dom. Standing to my feet, I push open a door that leads outside.
“Dom.”
“Hey, how’s it going? Are you surviving?”
I scoff. “Just about. The alcohol is helping.”
“And Imogen?”
“Imogen is attempting to dig her claws in, but failing.”
Dom remains silent for a beat. “You need to nip this in the bud, Gray. Whether you’re just playing along to keep your Dad happy for now or not, if Everly finds out she’ll walk away.”
I know he is right. Everly isn’t the kind of girl to put up with any shit. I know what my father’s agenda is. He wants me to bag and bed Imogen and stick a ring on her finger, ensuring he gets the deal with her father. There isn’t a chance in hell that I am bedding and proposing to Imogen Hillcrest, but for now I am making the right noises, biding my time.
“You need to tell Everly what your dad is playing at before she finds out from someone else. People talk and word will get out.”
“You know I’d never cheat on her.”
“I do, but imagine how this could look to her. Tell her, Grayson.”
COURTNEY WIPES A TEAR from her eye as she releases me from a tight hug.
“Argh, I can’t believe I’m crying. Why does the weekend have to go so quick?”
I pout my lips. “I know, but you can come down to us in the holidays.”
Izzy nods. “Yeah, you must.”
The train pulls into the station and people start to board.
“We’ve got to go. I’ll text you later, okay?”
Courtney nods and holds up her phone. “Come on. One last selfie.”
We all lean in together and she snaps the photo.
“Text me and let me know how it goes with Jake?�
��
I’d talked Courtney into texting him and asking him out last night after she’d had a few ciders and had loosened up a bit and to her absolute delight he’d said yes and they are going out tonight. Courtney has crushed on Jake for about as long as I’d crushed on Tyler. I just hope that he is all she has built him up to be.
Courtney beams, buzzing with excitement. “I’ll text you as soon as the dates over.”
We climb on board and find our reserved seats and wave at Courtney as the train pulls out of the station.
“What a weekend,” I say with a sigh.
“Yeah,” says Izzy with a tight smile. Looking a million miles away again.
“Okay. Out with it,” I command.
She blinks and looks at me. “Out with what?”
“Something’s wrong. You’ve not been yourself for a couple of weeks now. Are you pregnant or something?”
She frowns and shakes her head. “No, of course not.”
“Well then, what is it?” I reach across the small table in-between us and squeeze her hands in mine. “You know you can tell me anything, Izzy.”
Izzy looks around the train carriage and then leans in over the table and I lean in closer.
“I found a lump,” she tells me. Her face is stricken with worry.
“A lump,” I repeat. “Where?”
“On my left breast,” she whispers. “I’m scared, Everly. What if its cancer?”
I gulp. Cancer has already destroyed my life once. It is a fucker, silent and deadly, and it had taken my mum from me far too soon.
“You have been to the doctors, right?” I ask.
She chews on her lip and shakes her head. “No, I’m too scared. I mean, what if it is cancer, Ev?”
I squeeze her hands in mine. “Then you’ll fight it and you’ll fucking beat it, but ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away.”
She nods, and she wipes away a tear. “Will you come with me?”
“You don’t even need to ask. I’m with you all the way,“ I tell her firmly. “You ring first thing tomorrow and get an emergency appointment.”
Izzy nods and wipes her eyes. She already seems lighter from sharing this with me.
“It could be nothing. A cyst, or just fatty breast tissue. You have to remain positive.”
Izzy nods her head and braves a smile. “You’re right.”
I smile back at her, but inside, I’m terrified. I’ve already watched one person lose their fight with cancer. I’m not ready to watch someone else I’ve grown to care about go through it. I’ve already lost the two most important people in my life and I am done with people leaving me.
Chapter 4
WE’D ARRANGED FOR DOM to pick us up from the station and he’s parked outside waiting for us when we head out of the station.
Izzy runs to him, and he swings her up into his arms, and they lock lips. I divert my eyes and give them a private moment. I shove our cases in the boot and I climb in the back seat. I knock on the window and fake a yawn when they still haven’t come up for air a minute later. Dom gives me the finger, giving his girlfriend one last kiss before he releases her and they both climb into the car.
“So, how was it?” He asks us both.
I nod. “It was good. Strange and a mix of feelings, but I think it did me good.”
Dom meets my eyes through his mirror and smiles. “That’s good.”
“How was your weekend?” Izzy asks him, tucking her feet under her and turning slightly in her seat.
“Boring,” he replies. “You were both away. Grayson was gone, and even Owen bailed on me and went fishing.”
Izzy splutters out a laugh. “Did you say fishing and my twin in the same sentence?”
Dom looks at her, puzzled. “Yeah, so?”
Izzy shakes her head. “My brother hates fishing.”
Dom scrunches his brows. “Well, that’s where he said he was going. You think he was lying?”
Izzy nods resolutely. “Without doubt,” she says, tapping her chin, “which means my brother is hiding something.”
Dom shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe he’s got a girl somewhere.”
Izzy wags her finger. “Now you mention it, he has been very upbeat and chirpy lately. Even in a morning and that is so not my brother.”
Dom chuckles. “He’s getting some then no doubt.”
Izzy folds her arms and looks deep in thought. “But, who?”
I stay silent because it’s only a hunch at the moment, but I have a sneaky feeling I know just who is occupying Owen’s time and it’s a situation that could explode if I’m right.
I’M LYING ON MY BED reading when I hear the door go and I hear his voice. I bound up off the bed and down the stairs and jump into his arms.
“Hey baby,” he chuckles as he wraps his arms around me tightly.
I lean back and press my lips to his.
“Eurgh, I’m going to be sick,” my little brother shouts, covering his eyes with his hands.
Grayson chuckles as he kisses me. “Bedroom.” He whispers in my ear.
The feel of him against me has me desperate to touch him. We walk casually up the stairs but as soon as my door closes he pushes me up against it and I climb him like a tree, wrapping my legs tightly round his waist.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he confesses, as he rains kisses down my neck.
“Mm-hmm,” I reply, totally distracted by the feel of his mouth on my skin.
“No foreplay tonight, Manchester. I need inside you right now.”
I nod against his lips and he lifts me slightly and tugs my joggers over my bottom and down off one leg and then the other. His hands are quickly lifting my top over my head as I frantically pull at the zipper of his jeans and push them down. He adjusts me and then he pushes inside me in one quick thrust and I moan in sheer pleasure.
“Gods. I wish I could walk around with your cock inside me all day.”
Grayson grins a wicked smile. “I’d happily stay inside you all day, every day Manchester if I could.” He thrusts harder and faster and I grip his arse with my hands, wanting him deeper, closer. I can never get enough.
“Faster,” I demand, and he gives it me harder. I think I see stars. His lips find mine and his tongue plunges into my mouth, owning me and loving me.
Grayson kisses me to drown out my moans as I ride out my orgasm.
“Fuck, I’m close,” he growls as he pounds into me harder before he exclaims, and I feel him find his release deep inside of me.
Grayson rests his head against mine as we both catch our breaths. “Welcome home, Manchester,” he says with a grin. His ice-blue eyes are full of sated hunger.
“Home,” I repeat as I place my lips on his and kiss him softly. When did this place become my home? Part of me feels guilty that I have so quickly settled here and made roots.
Grayson lifts me off him and I slide onto my wobbly legs, my thighs shaking in the aftermath of my orgasm. We both pull on our clothes and then Grayson takes my hand and tugs me down on to the bed. I lean over him, resting on my elbows.
“How are you, really?” he asks me, tenderly stroking my hair away from my face.
I bob my head. “I’m okay. Going home was strange, it was familiar and a mix of good and bad.” I sigh, struggling to put into words how this weekend has been for me. “It was home, but it wasn’t. I don’t know, I know that makes no sense at all. I guess without my mum there it no longer feels like home, despite all the happy memories I’ve had in that house.” I rest my chin on his chest and look up at him. “I missed you, I missed my family. I kind of don’t know how I feel about it all right now.”
Grayson nods, quietly listening and just letting me talk. “I know what you mean. When my mum died, I thought being in our home would make me closer to her, but without her there it wasn’t the same. When we moved, I was in some ways relieved because being in that house without her there was just too painful. The memories were everywhere I turned.”
I smile sadly. That’
s the thing about us, we’ve both been through the pain of losing our mothers and no one can understand what that feels like, even when they say they can imagine, they can’t. He gets it and that is why it is so easy to talk to him about it.
Grayson stays silent for a few minutes and then he sits up straighter against my headboard and pulls me with him and I end up straddling him.
“I need to tell you something, but before I do, I want you to know that I love you.’
I frown, this sound serious. “Go, on,” I urge him.
He takes a deep breath. “You know that girl they photographed me with Friday night?”
I glare at him and arch a brow. “How could I forget?”
He rubs his hands softly up and down my thighs. “Her name is Imogen Hillcrest, and she is the daughter of Damon Hillcrest, He owns a chain of hotels and holiday resorts. My dad is trying to get a deal with him,” he pauses and leans in and drops two quick kisses on my lips. “It’s hard to explain how my world works, but it’s all about who you know, joining families and businesses together.”
My stomach sinks, fearing where this is going.
“My dad has ideas that if I form a union with Damon’s daughter that he’ll seal the deal. My father’s name opens doors. Doors that Damon can use to further his business but he also wants an iron-tight guarantee that if he does business with my dad, he won’t get double-crossed and what better way to make sure that doesn’t happen than to have your daughter marry your new business partners son.”
It takes a few seconds for my brain to register what he is saying, and I lean back slightly and study his face. Was he serious?
“What are you saying? That your dad expects you to marry this rich bitch?”
Grayson nods. I can see he is watching my every expression, trying to gauge my reaction. “That’s what he wants, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to get it, but I don’t get access to my trust fund for another three months. My father holds the strings. To keep him happy, I’ve been making the right noises.”