by Lucy Rinaldi
But before that, Roya turned up in town with her little boy, Jaxson. Turns out Roya knew Bryton. He's Jaxson's father. Kory and I had never met Roya, but she became friends with our sisters. Then we found out Roya, was actually our long lost sister who had been abducted from our family garden when she was thirteen months old. Abigail.
It was surreal meeting her, holding her, putting behind us all the hurt it caused when we lost her. But we don't talk about that tonight, it's too sad to talk about.
But we do talk about the day Della finally wore Freddy down and he asked her out. He's older than her, her best friends big brother, and he's my father's deputy. He thought my father would kill him if he touched his little girl.
Turns out, my father was more than happy to see Della with Freddy. They're a very happy couple, always have been.
Lora tells us how she fell in love with Tommy and how they dated in secret before our mother finally caught them kissing by the library in town.
We all know the story of how Paige fell in love with Enzo when she was a little girl, and how he wouldn't so much as look at her because he thought of himself as a monster, a cage fighter with a temper.
He's also the best friend of Paige's big brother, Freddy. Every man knows you don't sleep with your best friends little sister. Even if Paige is the best friend of Della.
Aren't the rules the same for women?
Paige and Enzo screwed around in secret until Paige ended up pregnant. Obviously, they married and are more than happy now.
Everyone around the table is happy.
I'm happy.
The beautiful woman sitting beside me, drinking wine and laughing at all these stories is happy. This night is just what we needed. But I can't help my mind wondering to Callie. She's anything but happy right now, and that hurts. I don't want to fight with my sister. My siblings are all close, but this distance between us all right now is killing me.
I have to go see her, and it has to be tonight. I can't let this go on any longer. Once I've taken Dani home, I'll go over to Callie's and talk to her. It'll be late, but I know I won't be able to settle until I've spoken to her.
Before I know it, my girl is so drunk she can't even stand up without help. She's laughing, she's had fun, but I think I should get her home.
“Come on, beautiful.” I walk her to my car and sit her in the passenger seat, securing her seat belt and closing the door.
I chuckle as I watch Enzo and Kory dragging Aimee and Paige towards the taxis waiting to take them home. Both girls are also drunk.
Hell, I think everyone but me is drunk. I never drink to excess. It's just not me. I may have drunk myself stupid after Maya took Dean from me, but that's over now. I won't go back to that. I'm stronger now. I have Dani, my little drunken Latina.
She falls asleep on the drive home, her hand on my thigh the whole time, and I'm hard as nails. I want her so badly, but there is no way I'd ever take advantage of her while she's intoxicated. I don't care how badly I want her, want to kiss every inch of her gorgeous body. I have never and will never be that man.
I pull up outside her house and quickly scoop her into my arms. She grumbles in her sleep and wraps her arms around my neck as I carry her inside the house.
“Come on, sweetheart, let's get you out of this dress and into bed.” I pull off her shoes and stand her on her feet. She wobbles, but I won't let her fall.
“You are... so amazing, Greg Harper.”
I smile while lifting her dress over her body, and I groan to see she's braless and wearing red lace panties. I figured there was no bra, but seeing her like this, I can't help my cock standing to attention. However inappropriate that may be right now.
“Don't leave me, Greg.” I look away from her tits and to her face. Shit, drunken tears. “I'm sorry I spoke to that... guy. I was tell... ing him you were my man, that's all... promise.”
“Hey,” I smile and take her face in my hands. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I know you didn't want him, beautiful. It's me who should be sorry for being an idiot. I'm never going to leave you.” She smiles against my mouth as I kiss her softly.
When I pull away, her eyes are closed and I smile while laying her down in her bed, making sure she's propped up on her pillow. I don't want her choking in her sleep while I'm not here. I won't be long, but I don't want to take any risks.
I cover her to her chest with her sheet before grabbing a glass of water from her bathroom and a couple of ibuprofen from the cabinet on the bathroom wall above her sink. I carry them back to the bedroom and leave them on the dresser beside the bed in case she wakes up while I'm gone.
I lean down and kiss her head. “I'll be back before you wake, baby. I'll never leave you for long.” She smiles subconsciously and it dazzles me.
How did I get this lucky?
I don't know, but I'll never question why I love her the way I do, so utterly, undeniably, and insanely. I am in love with Danika Ashford, and I never want to be cured of this feeling I have for her. Never.
Greg
Sonny opens the door with a confused look on his face. “Everything alright? Wasn't expecting anyone at this hour.”
Why would he, it's a little after midnight?
To be honest, I'm surprised the dogs didn't bark when I knocked. They're huge for the breeds they are, Shepherd and Rottweiler, they can be quite intimidating. Especially when looking after Callie, as what they were trained for.
“Why weren't you and Callie at the club with everyone else?”
He sighs but motions me to come inside.
I follow him into the den.
Callie's sitting on the couch in her PJ's looking at me with wide eyes. “Is everything okay?”
I can understand why she'd be worried, I'm here so late and I never call around late at night unless we're having a party or something is wrong within the family.
“Just wondered where you guys were tonight.” I take a seat in the lone armchair, while Sonny sits next to Callie and wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.
Four and a half years of marriage, a lifetime of loving each other, and they show no signs of ever losing the spark they found as children.
“I didn't think you'd want me there, Greg. Not after what I did.”
“What you did was look out for me, the same as I would have looked out for you. You just went about it the wrong way.”
“But you have to see how it looked to her, Greg.”
I nod at Sonny. “I do, and so does Dani. I was angry because of the way you all treated her, not because of what you thought happened. You didn't even give her a moment to tell you who she was with in that room, you just jumped on her. You hurt her, Callie. And I couldn't understand why if you thought she'd cheated on me you didn't call me.”
“I know. That's exactly what I should have done. I don't know why I didn't.” She sniffs but doesn't look away from me. “I thought she cheated on you, that she didn't care that she was in a public place with her friends, your sisters. I didn't want to think badly of her, Greg, but what was I supposed to think? It was like Maya all over again.”
I know she's right, of course, I do. Anybody would have thought the same thing. People were hurt, especially Dani. But I can see how badly my sister is beating herself up over this. I know Dani doesn't want that. She wants to put the whole mess behind her, and so do I.
“Beating yourself up over it and ignoring Dani won't make you feel better, Callie.”
Callie has always been the same. Beats herself up over everything that goes wrong in our lives. Roya's abduction, Sonny leaving the way he did for five years, the death of their unborn daughter while he was gone. She blamed herself for her attack because she thought it was punishment from God for Roya's abduction. Hell, she's blamed herself for every bad thing that's happened to our family, no matter what it was.
There was a point where she couldn't take life anymore, especially without Hudson, and my baby sister tried to take her own life. It killed me,
I'll tell you that. Our parents had kept us close after Roya went missing all those years ago, and the thought of losing Callie as well – I just couldn't cope.
Callie was sent to a residential hospital on my mother's orders. She meant well, she just wanted her daughter well and she wanted the best help for her.
Isn't that what any decent mother would do?
When I visited Callie in that place, the place that looked like a mansion, the hotel kind, I held her close to me and literally begged her never to do anything like that again, that nothing could ever really be that bad, that I would always be there for her should she need me. She sobbed in my arms and told me she would never hurt herself again.
I may have been angry with her for a while there after what she did to Dani, but she's my sister and I love her. However misplaced it was, she was only looking out for me.
“I didn't know how to face her, Greg. I wronged her. No matter what my intentions were, however, I was trying to protect you, I should have let her explain.”
“She doesn't hold it against you, Callie. The same as she doesn't where Paige is concerned. Everyone has said their piece, everyone is friends again. But Dani is wondering why you hate her so much.”
It's the truth. Dani has actually asked me why Callie is avoiding her. She thinks that Callie is so disappointed in what we did, in Dani, that she can't even face her. But I know that's not the case, Callie is disappointed in herself.
Callie looks shocked. “I don't hate her. Oh my god,” She scrubs her hands over her face. “I like Dani, Greg. I just feel awful about what happened. I know, though, that I need to face her and apologize for my part in all of this. I just don't want her to hate me.”
“Women,” Sonny mumbles, making me laugh.
“Hey, you pig!” Callie slaps his chest, he laughs and kisses her. “I'll speak to her, I promise. I'm just really sorry, Greg.”
I smile and get out of my seat. I hold my hand out to Callie.
She looks at Sonny, who winks at her. She looks at me with a smile on her face, gets out of her seat and takes my hand.
I pull her into my arms, hold her close and kiss her head. I don't ever want her to think I'd abandon her, even when I'm pissed at her. “You mean the world to me, Callie. You know that, don't you?” She nods. She knows how much I love her, all my sisters do. But I'll tell her anyway. “I love you something fierce, little sister.”
“I love you, too, Greg. I know you love Dani, and I know that I'm going to apologize to her and make sure she knows that I will never doubt her and what she feels for you again. I just hope she can forgive me.”
“She will because she's a very forgiving woman.” I squeeze Callie tightly, letting her know everything is okay now.
I know she'd never want her daughter to feel as upset as she's felt these past few weeks. And I know she'll be teaching Robyn the art of trusting her friends, brother's girlfriends, no matter the situation she may find herself in with them, even when things aren't what they seem, Callie will teach Robyn to talk to them about it before jumping right in with, “You hurt my brother, now I'll make your life hell.”
“Uncle Greg?”
I pull away from Callie and turn towards my eight-year-old niece standing in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Hey, darling. What are you doing out of bed?”
You'd never know Robyn was adopted looking at her. She has dark hair like her parents, tanned skin like Sonny, making her look of Italian decent just like him. She has eyes as blue as her mothers, she's even sassy like Callie.
“I wanted some water. Is Mommy okay?” Her big blue eyes are trained on my sister, who's wiping tears from her eyes.
“I'm okay, baby girl, just wanted a hug from my big brother.”
“Oh. Where's Dani?”
I smile at her question.
All the kids in this town love Dani. I swear, she should have been a school teacher, not a paramedic.
“She's at home, pretty girl. I should be getting back to her.”
“Okay.” She wraps her little arms around my waist for a quick hug. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Come on, darling, I'll get you some water and get you back to bed.”
As I watch my sister sorting her daughter, I know things are about to get better for everyone. Callie and Dani will have a heart-to-heart, then we can all get back to normal. Then who knows, maybe I can convince Dani it's time for us to move in together. I feel like we're ready. I'm in love with her and I want to spend my life with her.
I may have sworn to myself that I would never marry again, but I can't stop thinking about making Dani, my wife. Sure, it's way too soon to be thinking about any such thing, and I in no way want to rush into anything. I want us to last forever.
But when you know, you know.
Right?
Dani
I woke up a while ago feeling like I had an elephant standing on my head. I drank waaay too much last night. I stank of alcohol this morning and my mouth was dry.
I grabbed the painkillers from my dresser and swallowed them with the water Greg obviously put there last night in case I woke up needing them.
I smiled to see him fast asleep beside me.
He was so jealous last night to see that man talking to me.
The guy was nice enough, but he soon backed off when I told him that boyfriend was watching us. I didn't want Greg to be angry, I know what men are like, and Greg is Kory's brother, and that man is crazy when it comes to Aimee.
I wasn't angry or even annoyed that Greg was jealous, it was kind of nice to know he could be jealous over me talking to someone else.
But I was a little worried that Greg maybe thought I wanted that guy in some way. Greg assured me that wasn't the case. But I made sure to give everyone around the table a piece of my mind.
How dare they make fun of Greg when I know for a fact they're much worse when it comes to their wives?
Of course, I ended up very drunk and don't even remember getting home. But I know Greg took good care of me, even stayed with me all night to make sure I was okay.
He's such a gentleman.
I climbed out of bed quietly as not to wake him. I showered, even washed my hair. I brushed my teeth and tongue, combed out my towel dried hair, then I climbed into bed, naked, next to my man.
I've been watching him sleep for the past ten minutes. He's so devastatingly handsome, and he's all mine. I stroke his dark blond hair from his forehead and smile to see his dark roots coming through.
Greg, so his mother told me, was born with dark hair like Callie, Della, and Lora. Only Kory and Roya were born with fair hair like their mother. But when Greg was younger, he dyed his hair blond to be like his idol, Kory.
It was sweet, but I've always believed Greg should be himself. He is his own person, he doesn't need to be anyone but himself.
“You are so special, Greg Harper, and I don't even think you realize it.”
“You think I'm special?” I giggle as he cracks open one eye to look at me.
He smiles, twists and pushes me down on the bed, pinning my arms above my head.
He's as naked as I am, and he's hard. His erection is resting along my pussy, his cock head resting on my stomach, and the weight of his shaft is pressing against my clit.
I will my eyes not to roll and the groan in my throat not to escape me.
“How are you feeling this morning, beautiful?”
I smile because I love when he calls me beautiful. I know he means it when he says it, and that means everything to me.
“I'm feeling really good.” I rotate my hips. “I could feel even better if you'd just...” I yank my hand out of his grip, shove it between us, grab his cock and shove it right inside me, causing us both to cry out in pleasure. He wasn't expecting me to do that, but I couldn't stop myself.
I'm so wet and he's so hard.
I grab his ass in my hands and yank him forward, forcing him all the way inside of me. Right to the hilt.
“Jesus, Dani!”
“Fuck me, Greg, I need you.” So damn badly!
His mouth is everywhere as he thrusts into me slowly. Then he sucks my hard nipple into his warm mouth and my back instantly arches in pleasure.
God, it feels so good!
I claw at Greg's back, my legs wrapped high around his waist so I can take him deeper. I dig my nails into his lush ass cheeks, causing him to thrust deeper, harder, faster. I can feel him at the tip of my very womb!
He lifts to his knees, my thighs in his hands, my knees by my shoulder, opening me up more for him, and he fucks me so hard I'm screaming through the pleasure he's giving me.
All those men Joel forced me to sleep with, all those things they did to my body, vile, horrible things I never thought I would get over. Not just them, but Joel too. I was afraid to be with any man the same, I thought they were all selfish and just too what they wanted.
Until Greg.
Greg has shown me that there are good men out there, men who do cherish the woman they're with, men who don't get off on hurting you. Men who care about your pleasure.
Greg brings out the best in me. He makes me want to be everything he needs in this life.
I wrap my arms around his neck, my lips, tongue, and teeth raking his shoulder as he fucks me. I'm so close. So fucking close. I'm soaking the fuck out of his cock, the bed, and my pussy hums with it.
I throw my head back. “Greg! I'm coming!” I can't stop coming! My eyes are rolling, my body shaking, pussy clutching his cock like a vice!
“Fuck, Dani! Fuck, baby, I'm about to come!”
“Come inside me!” I yell and let my pussy massage his cock while he spills himself deep inside of me.
We're both breathing heavy, looking into each other's eyes, sweating and feeling amazing. I smile and stroke his face. The words are right there on the tip of my tongue. I love you. But I don't know if now is the right time to say them, right after sex, it won't mean as much.
So I kiss him softly. The time will come when those words mean everything. When that day comes, I'll know and it will be so easy to tell him.