by Sky Corgan
She smirks. “You were that indecisive?”
“It was pretty bad,” I admit.
Adele sniffles and brushes a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “I knew from an early age that I wanted to get into finance. Dad said that I started writing checks to my teddy bears when I was around five.”
“What did you write them checks for?”
“If only I could remember. But I knew what I wanted, that was for sure.”
“And Danny?”
“He knew what he wanted to do, too,” she says proudly.
The mood’s lightened, and I know that talking about anything but the wedding has something to do with it.
“Carl didn't call off the wedding. I did," she confesses with a frown. "He's pissed at me. He has every right to be. I never should have come up with that stupid plan to begin with. Maybe I'm just overreacting. Maybe they didn't sleep together. Harper is still so stuck on Danny." Adele cradles her face in her hands.
“I suppose you just wanted reassurance.” I try to comfort her even though I'm inclined to agree it was a stupid idea.
She nods. “Yeah. I should have hired a stranger to try to seduce him instead.”
“If you don't trust the man you're marrying, then what's the point?” I cock an eyebrow.
“Because I love him, but I don’t want to be hurt. I wouldn't be able to deal with it if he cheated on me.” She stands and faces the window. “He’s changed lately. Spending late nights at the office, seeing friends a lot more than usual. I feel as if I need to keep tabs on him. I never used to feel like that before.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze. "Did he seem to care about the wedding?"
“The venue was really important to him and the number of guests. He wanted to do a theme, too. I put my foot down about that. I had no intention of having a cowboy wedding. No way!”
I laugh at the idea of it. “Well, the boat and the castle were a nice idea.”
She points. “His actually! He suggested it when I shot down the cowboy theme.”
“There you go. He was interested in some parts of the wedding." I smile.
“I bet you think that this family’s crazy?” She sighs.
I’m about to lie and tell her that compared to mine, they’re really normal. But I tell her the truth. “You guys are pretty nuts.”
We both laugh, and she gets up and hugs me unexpectedly.
A knock on the door breaks the warm moment between us.
"Yes," she blurts out.
Carl walks in, and I feel a wave of relief wash over me. Their eyes lock, and I can feel the love between them. It seems they have a lot of talking to do, so I decide to give them some time alone.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DANNY
As soon as the doorman called the penthouse, Carl told him to let me go up. I try to keep an open mind as I ascend the elevator.
Dad’s sent me a few texts with the same message. “Listen to what he has to say. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
It's hard to control my temper when I know that right now Adele's heart is breaking all because of this prick. The one that’s too much of a coward to tell her the truth. The one that’s staring me in the face the moment the elevator doors open.
“Carl.” I walk up to him, silently demanding answers with my hostile expression.
He heads toward the balcony without saying a word, leading me there. He’s wearing a pair of shorts, and there's perspiration dotting his forehead as if he's just been working out. He grabs a towel off one of the white sofas and then opens the glass door. We stand on the balcony, and there are no smiles.
“Danny, you didn’t need to come. I told Adele I’ll be there later.”
Is he fucking kidding me?
“Later? If you don’t want to marry her, then you should just be a man and tell her. Don’t even think about jilting my sister at the fucking altar. It’s humiliating and…”
“Just like you did?” He raises an eyebrow.
His arrogance is sending me over the edge.
“I told Harper that it was over. I even canceled the fucking wedding, and she still went ahead with it,” I remind him, my voice rising several octaves.
“She even went as far as standing at the altar waiting for you, hoping that you’d change your mind. You knew she was there, but you still ignored her. You acted as if she didn’t matter.”
His blue eyes have gone dark. I want to hit him, but instead, I back off and walk away. I need to be the better man. Carl’s trying to provoke me, but it’s not going to fucking work.
“When did you join Harper’s fan club? I thought you hated her just as much as everyone.”
He grabs a bottle of water that's sitting on the table outside. “I’ve been getting to know Harper, and I can see that you really hurt her. I’ve always listened to your side of the story. Never heard it from her.” He takes a swing from the bottle and then sits down on the chair and stares out at the view of Manhattan.
“When did you get this place?” I ask as I go to sit next to him.
“I thought that it would be a great wedding gift for Adele. Somewhere for us to live together after we get married.”
“That was considerate of you. So much that you couldn’t even be bothered to show up at your own engagement party. Carl, are you fucking Harper?” I cut straight to the point.
“I’m talking to you about what you did.” He tries to turn the conversation back to me.
He didn’t answer the question, which makes me all the more suspicious.
“My sister’s back at the house crying her eyes out over you. Just be a man and tell her that it’s over.”
"That’s why you came here? You thought that I'm fucking someone else.” Carl snorts. “I don't know what your problem is. I told you that I’m running late, and I’ll be at the house later. I’m marrying your sister whether you like it or not. I need to get ready for my rehearsal dinner.” He stands and dries his spiky blond hair before walking away from me.
There’s a lot of things going on in my mind. I don't like the way he keeps defending Harper. It sounds like they're too close for comfort.
I head back into the elevator, still confused about what's going on. I didn’t even get to ask him about the fucking messages.
There’s so much messed up shit that the idea of going to the house right now feels too painful. I don’t know what to tell anyone. They’ll have questions about what’s wrong with him, and I can’t even honestly say that I know because none of it makes any sense to me.
As soon as I get out of the building, I call Henry and tell him to drive me to the nearest bar for a drink. I feel guilty taking a detour, but this is all too much. I need some alcohol to steady my nerves so that I can face the rest of the shit storm that this day will inevitably be.
“Sir, I’ll be out front in about twenty minutes.”
I nod. “Good.”
Harper must have something to do with this. That’s the only reason why Carl would have mentioned her so many times. She must have said or done something to change his heart. She’s so fucking manipulative that she can make the strongest man weak. She did it to me, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she has done it to Carl, too.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LENKA
I smile as soon as I see Danny, thankful that things seem to finally be working out. As he approaches me, the scent of whiskey comes with him. He's been drinking.
“Danny, you have exactly twenty minutes to get ready,” I inform him.
“What? You look beautiful in the red dress.” He takes me in for a moment.
“The dinner. Remember? Your sister’s getting married. Carl’s here, and it seems like everything’s going according to plan,” I tell him.
“What?” he repeats.
I feel as if I’m talking to a brick wall. “I’ll speak slowly. Carl came back. Adele went down on her knees and begged for forgiveness for trying to trick him into sleeping
with Harper. And now they’ve kissed, made up and…they’re getting married.” I wait for him to say something, anything to let me know that he understood because he seems really lost. “Danny?”
He blinks his eyes rapidly as if he’s trying to get his head around it all.
I nod in confirmation. “Yes, they’re getting married.”
He kisses me and then starts to run up the stairs. “I’m going to shower and get ready.” I’m just about to turn around when he says, “That’s unless you want to join me?”
I think back to when we were on the boat and he bathed me. It's a temptation that I'd love to take him up on, but I politely decline by telling him that I'll see him at dinner. Then I walk as fast as my feet will carry me in the opposite direction. Away from any more sexual situations with him.
I see the usher as soon as I get to the room where the rehearsal is being held. I’m just about to walk up to him when Danny's mom waves at me. She doesn’t look anywhere near as distressed as she did outside of Adele's door. In fact, she seems rather refreshed.
“I didn’t think you would still be here?” she whispers as she flanks my side.
“Well, I wanted to see them get married.”
I feel embarrassed that she’s acknowledging the fact that I should have disappeared by now.
She shakes her head. “Not like that. More a case of, I thought that you would want to be as far away from us as possible.”
I laugh. “That’s pretty much what Adele said when I was talking to her in her room.”
“Thanks for that. You look beautiful, by the way. I love that shade of red; it’s very subtle. Not too bright and not too dark.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself in that sequin shirt and matching skirt.”
“You don’t think it’s a bit too much for someone my age?” She cups her feathered bob.
“Not at all.”
I listen to the speeches and wonder if Danny’s coming down. Then as if on cue, he slides into the empty chair beside me and plants a kiss on my shoulder. “Did you miss me?”
I look up and find myself speechless. He's wearing a black suit with a high collar. His hair’s slicked back, and he looks good enough to eat.
“If I’d known that you were going to be wearing this, then I would have joined you in the bathroom,” I whisper to him.
He winks at me as our lips brush against each other. “It’s not too late. We can go upstairs as soon as this is over.”
I smile as he’s promising something that’s been on my mind ever since he offered for me to join him in the bathroom. When the rehearsal dinner had started, I sat down and thought to myself, why am I playing hard to get? The wedding’s tomorrow, and after that, we go back to our own lives.
Once the rehearsal dinner is over, Danny takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. “So Mom tells me that you were kinda busy while I was away.”
“Yes, I thought I’d make myself useful.”
“You know how long I’ve wanted to hold you in my arms tonight?”
I smile. “I have no idea.”
Danny raises an eyebrow. “You do have an idea, Lenka. You’re just playing coy. It has nothing to do with being useful.” His hand slides down my back, and I lose all my senses. He holds me so tightly that I feel as if I’m going to rip apart at the seams.
“Your touch is electric,” I tell him.
“I wonder if you’re wet for me right now?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Is that a challenge?”
I rest my head against his chest. His heart’s beating out of control, and I can feel his rising cock. I can tell that I’ve awoken the beast, and he’s going to maul me soon.
“You can’t tease me like that. And I’m about to show you why,” Danny whispers.
I mock gasp. “What do you mean?”
“Enough talking.” He pulls me off of the dance floor.
I don’t give resistance.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DANNY
My sister’s nervous, but no one can take away her beauty right now. She looks like a swan in her white dress with silver rose petals trailed to the side of it. Roses are neatly placed in her perfect bun.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” I say as I kiss her on the cheek.
“You’re going to make me cry.” She turns her head, trying to fight back her tears.
“Carl’s too lucky to have you. I want you to know that I’m proud of you. I promise that you can always count on me.”
I ignore everyone telling me to move and pretend it’s just the two of us. Nothing else matters besides this moment we're sharing.
“And I’m lucky to have a brother like you.” Adele wraps her arms around me.
“Let your sister get married, Danny. Leave her be!” Mom tugs at me.
We all head into the main hall, and the wedding procession begins. Within minutes, I'm standing next to Carl at the altar watching my sister walk down the aisle towards us.
I lean over to whisper to him, “You’re a lucky man.”
He grins. “I know, and I’ll look after her.”
“You better, otherwise I’ll break your neck!”
He shakes his head, and then his attention turns to the violinist as she starts to play. My mind, on the other hand, turns to Lenka. She’s sitting towards the back of the room with a smile on her face as if she’s the happiest girl in the world. I wonder for a split second if she’s imagining us in place of the bride and groom. I haven’t thought about getting married, but now looking at her, I can’t think of anything else I'd rather do.
Once the wedding is over, the sad realization hits me that my time with Lenka is quickly coming to an end. I try to focus my attention on Carl and Adele, but it keeps diverting back to her. It's as if just being in the same vicinity as her is a distraction. I don’t even notice that Carl’s moved to my side until he speaks. “You can’t take your eyes off of her.”
“I hate when you sneak up on me.”
“Well, it’s pretty easy when you’re spending the entire wedding with your eye on one person.” He pats me on the back. "I didn’t mean to say those things to you back at the penthouse. I was just stressed, and you weren't helping.”
“It's fine. I hadn't realized what was really going on at the time. Seems like we were both duped by my sister. Naturally, I thought everything was Harper's fault."
"Weddings make girls go crazy. I guess she wanted to test me one last time to make sure that this leopard has changed his spots." He laughs before settling into a more serious expression. “I don’t believe in love at first sight, but it happened with your sister. When she went all out to test me, it fucking hurt. It cuts like a knife that she doesn't trust me. I suppose it may be because I stayed around Harper for so long, but I swear there was never anything between us. Most smart guys know not to stick their dick in crazy.” He elbows my side.
I glance over at Lenka again, wondering if it was love at first sight for us. All I do know is that I don't want this to be the last we see of each other. I want her to be a part of my world. My normal world. Not the crazy one that she's experienced these past few days.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LENKA
I smile as Danny moves closer and presses his body against mine. He's dragged me away from the wedding party back to our room. It's obvious he wants to get down and dirty. There was so much sexual tension in the air from the moment he took me in his arms.
Danny’s mouth traces a path down one of my shoulders. I need to tell him that I want to be with him beyond this, but it doesn't feel like the right time. His fingers move up towards my hips. There's a roughness to his actions that wasn't there before, a need deeper than just casual sex.
He pulls the strap of my dress down. The only thing I’ve got on underneath is my panties because the dress only has one strap and I had no intention of wearing a bra. I can see the hunger in his eyes as he looks at my exposed breasts. Danny cups my tits, rol
ling my nipples between his fingers. I start to feel the pool of urgency between my legs.
“Danny, the reception is going to start soon,” I remind him.
“I know. We'll go back down just as soon as I get what I want!” He growls, and I know that he’s a man on a mission.
I can’t deny that I want him as much as he wants me. His breathing becomes raspy as I stroke his length over his pants. I grind against him, wanting to feel the heat of his sex between my legs. Danny’s hand roams my chest while the other moves towards my stomach. I open my legs wider as my clit starts to swell from his touch.
“Ah!” I moan when he slides a finger inside of me.
“You’re so fucking wet!”
“Danny, you make me this way.” I gasp as he probes his finger in and out of me.
I start to unclasp his belt, wanting him to fuck me right now. As soon as that's done, my hands explore his powerful body. I’m drawn to the throbbing bulge between his legs. I stroke him through the material, generating a deep vibration in the center of his chest.
Danny pushes a different finger into me, tenderly stroking my G-spot. His other hand is at the back of my neck holding me in place as I try to pull him towards the bed. We’re still standing by the door to our room. He begins to descend down my body as I hold onto the door, and then he rips my panties off. Danny runs his tongue in between my legs while teasing his fingers over my swollen bud. I steady against the door, trying to catch my breath.
He pauses and says, “I want to taste you when you come. I bet you taste so fucking sweet.”
I start to cry out, not caring if the guests downstairs can hear us, as Danny’s tongue skillfully licks my insides. It’s as if he’s an expert at cunnilingus. My body jolts against the door as he holds me in position.
“Yes!” I yell as I creep closer to the edge. His fingers dig into my legs, and I feel as if I’m about to explode. I'm paralyzed as an incredible orgasm rips through me. “Danny!” The more I scream, the more he sucks on my clit. I start to shake and lose all sight as I hold onto the back of his head and pull him closer to me. The way he swirls his tongue from side to side is driving me insane.