by Black, Lena
They chose a form-fitting black sequin mini dress with long sleeves and a low-cut back. It’s very flashy and very sexy, but still elegant. They straighten and posh my hair to perfection, then apply liner, mascara, and ruby red lipstick. When I’m ready, we head back downstairs where Maya, Aubrey, and Keira wait with cocktails in hand.
Aubrey and Maya spot us and come over to us with three cosmopolitans. Sloan sighs, rubbing her swelling womb, and Jules and I glance at each other.
“I’m not drinking, tonight,” I state, shaking my head.
Maya shoots me a curious glare but Jules chimes in, “Me either…Have to stay fresh for the wedding.”
They offer a drink to Sloan, and she simply shakes her head, smiling graciously. They don’t think twice about it, and when they turn back to Keira, Sloan mouths a thank you to us.
“Well, we have an awesome night planned,” Aubrey remarks. “We should get going if we want to make our dinner reservations.”
We gather our belongings and head out, giggling and chatting it up.
We arrive at Aubrey’s Place, the little café where Hunt and I had our first lunch together, which seems like a lifetime ago. I remember how he warned me to stay away, told me we were wrong for each other. But, only now, I realize he was trying to convince himself, not me.
As we park out front, I notice that there’s no one else here.
“Where are all the patrons?” I ask, turning to Aubrey sitting in the driver’s seat of Hunt’s Land Rover.
“We are all the patrons,” she answers with a smirk.
I look back at the empty restaurant and spot someone standing under the awning by the door. When I step out, they take a step into the glow of the streetlights. It’s Brooke!
“Hey, doll!” she greets me, arms out, inviting me in for a hug. I skip over to her and wrap my arms about her.
“Oh, my god! What are you doing here?!” I ask, thrilled by the fantastic surprise.
She pulls away and smiles big at me. “I wouldn’t miss your last real night as a single woman…We have to party it up!”
The girls meet us at the door, and we head inside for an unforgettable meal.
After dinner, we head out to our next location, which has also been kept a secret, but as soon as we near it, I know exactly where we are…Prey, the nightclub where I met Hunt. I’m starting to see a pattern here.
“You guys really put some thought into this. I’m impressed.”
I smile over my shoulder at the girls and exit the car. We walk right in, and we’re escorted to the booth in the back where Hunt approached me with his number. He was such a cocky bastard, but he’s my cocky bastard.
I smirk to myself as we take our seats and order some drinks. I get virgin piña coladas for Jules, Sloan, and I, but the others go for it, ordering shots. I admire the exciting atmosphere, the dark woods of the tables and bars, the flashing globe lights above the dance floor, which is packed. It’s just as I remember it, minus one aspect. I’m having an absolute blast, but I miss him like crazy. The part of the night I look forward to most is the moment that I can crawl into bed with Hunt and hold him ‘til I fall asleep in his arms.
Our waitress arrives with our drinks and we clink glasses before they down the shots, giggling when it burns their throats. I smile and shake my head at them, going in for a sip of my tropical drink. The mix of pineapple and coconut reminds me of Eden, causing my mind to wander back to the night Hunt proposed. I think about the way he messed with his pocket on the beach, waiting for just the right moment, the way he looked when he finally did.
Then, I think of his confession about his parents and the way he found them, the way he bared the burden long before any boy his age should ever have to, at an age when he needed help and guidance most. He’s given so much of himself to me…And, soon, his name and future. I’m jolted out of my walk down memory lane by everyone snapping and whistling at me.
“Earth to, Ellie, come in, Ellie,” Brooke says, waving at me.
“She’s probably dreaming of her stud,” Jules chimes in next to me, cocking her brow at me.
“Ew,” Aubrey yelps. “Can we not talk about my brother like that, please? Gross!”
She holds up her hand with a nauseated look on her face.
“I second that revolted motion,” Keira adds with a curled upper lip.
Everyone laughs and we continue with the celebration, drinking and talking, about the wedding of course, but, more specifically, the wedding night, which makes Aubrey and Keira completely uncomfortable, but they laugh, and we tease them. Brooke and I glance at each other with all-knowing smiles on our faces when everyone gives tips and tricks to spice things up.
After we’ve chatted a bit, Maya suggests we hit the dance floor when Iggy Azalea’s, ‘Fancy’, comes on. Her flow and rhythm are fucking epic, blowing the club up. Patrons scream and rush the dance floor, grinding and bumping to the catchy summer tune. So, that’s just what we do as well, busting moves and getting down like idiots. We dip and sway, grooving to the beat. Maya breaks out the robot, drunkenly popping and locking. We all circle around her clapping, laughing, and dancing our fucking asses off.
We dance until we’re sweaty and our feet are howling at us. I volunteer to get some waters for the table, heading to the bar with a handful of cash. I get the bartenders attention and order our drinks, waiting patiently for him to return. I shake my ass and bob my head to the music, taking in the loud roar of the talking crowd.
“I don’t mean to be discourteous, but when I saw you moving on the dance floor, I felt compelled to meet you.”
I spin around and find Hunt, gazing down at me with a cocky smirk on his face and looking mighty fine if I do say so. He’s wearing a black blazer, open-collared white dress shirt, and dark pressed jeans with black square-toed dress shoes. His chocolate hair is freshly cut and slicked back. He looks utterly fuckable.
“Tell me your name,” he says, sluggishly scanning me up and down.
Oh, we’re role-playing as ourselves…kinky!
“Gabrielle,” I reply with a curious gleam in my eyes, “yours?”
“Damian.” He reaches out and hooks his arm about my lower back, pulling me into him, pressing our bodies against one another until we nearly meld. “And you may not know it yet, but you’re going to be the love of my life.”
I melt in his embrace.
“That’s one hell of a second, first impression, slick…Where was this charming devil that night?”
He chuckles.
“I was terrified.” His sudden, blunt confession jolts me for a moment. “I’d never seen anyone like you, Gabrielle…I was in awe of you.”
“I made you nervous?”
“You make me nervous more than I like to admit…”
The bartender sets my drinks on the bar, grabbing our attention.
“How much do I owe you?” I ask, but he shakes his head and nods to Hunt.
“On the house.”
I smile at the bartender and slip him a nice tip, but he glances back at Damian for approval. I grab his hand gently and slap it in his palm.
“Thanks,” I reply with a kinked smirk and turn back to Hunt. “So, what are you doing here anyway? Was this all a part of some devious plan?”
He grins at me.
“I may have had a hand in setting up some arrangements, but I hadn’t planned on crashing your last night as a free woman.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? As if I’ll be locked away in some dark kitchen to slave over a hot stove, or my life will come to an end...My life will finally begin,” I state wholeheartedly.
He lifts his hands to my face, cupping them about my cheeks. “Do you really feel that way, angel?”
“Yes, I do…I’ve never been as free, as alive as I am with you. I know I have strides to make when it comes to opening up and fighting you, but I’m trying. I can’t live without you, because you’re my life, Damian. You’re my soul.” There, where we first met, amongst the blaring music,
flashing lights, and buzzing crowd, I confess my truest feelings for him.
We head back to the table, Hunt’s hand placed on the small of my back as he guides me through the ever-weaving crowd. I love the way the small gesture makes me feel so secure, loved, managing to block out every other overstimulated sense.
As we arrive at our booth, I spot Chase, Wade, and Alexander, from that meeting I’d stupidly stomped my way in on a few months ago. They’re talking up the girls, who are eating up the hefty helping of testosterone, laughing and flirting.
I turn to Hunt with an am-I-really-seeing-this stare, and he chuckles, leaning into my ear. “That’s why I’m here…Maya texted Cahill that you were here and that we should stop by if we wanted. He didn’t exactly have to drag me here, though…I missed you, angel, especially after last night.”
“I’m really happy you did, because I missed you, too, slick.” I glance over at the table through the packed crowd, watching Chase with Maya, keeping the group entertained with one of his hilarious stories. “It’s really great to see you two getting along so well.”
“Yeah, you know, he’s really not a bad guy. I would even go as far as to say, he’s one of my best friends,” he says, smirking down at me. I think my heart melts.
When we make it over to the table, and I notice Sloan is missing and Jules looks miserable. I can tell she wishes Liam could be here with her, but with it being a secret, that isn’t possible.
“Where’s Sloan?” I ask her.
“She got a call from Shane and had to leave. She said she was sorry, and she would see us tomorrow morning.”
The whole wedding party will be meeting at The Artemis the next day to caravan up to the wedding location, which some have never been to, and we don’t want anyone getting lost on the way up.
“Wanna get sloshed?” I ask with a huge grin on my face.
“Already ahead of ya, Ellie,” Chase intervenes with his arm draped over Maya’s shoulder as she leans into him. “I just ordered the table a couple rounds.”
Just then, our server arrives with a tray full of shots and passes them about, occasionally glancing and blushing at Hunt. I wish I hadn’t noticed, because it makes me feel that old familiar jealousy. I decide to ignore her and focus on Jules while Hunt talks shop with Alexander across the table.
“Are you alright, Jules?”
She shrugs and shakes her head. “I just wish he could be here…I wanted to invite him to the wedding as my date, but we both know it’s not possible.”
She seems so down. I hate seeing her like this, especially when she just started feeling happy after Nicholas’s passing. I turn to Damian, and he notices, putting his focus on me.
“What’s up, angel?”
“Where’s Liam?” I inquire, and he gives me a befuddled look.
“Outside with the car, why?”
“I just thought it might be nice to invite him to join us. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be a part of this.”
He cocks his brow and gives me a what-are-you-up-to look. “What’s going on, Gabrielle?”
“Well, um, Liam and Jules have kinda, sorta…been seeing each other for the last several months,” I sputter out, waiting for him to blow up, but he doesn’t. A smirk slowly creeps onto his face and he nods his head.
“I was wondering when someone would finally admit it.”
“You knew?!” I ask, stunned.
“Gabrielle, of course I knew…He lives in my building, on the floor below me, do you think I don’t know what goes on in my own building?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Who Liam chooses to spend his time with when he’s off the clock, is his business.”
“So, why didn’t you invite him inside to be with Jules?”
“I didn’t think they wanted me to know. I wasn’t going to overstep any boundaries.”
“Well, what the hell are you waiting for?” I shove his large bicep. “Text him!”
He smirks at me and takes his phone out of his jacket pocket, typing in a quick message.
“Better?” he inquires, extending his arm out behind me.
“Much,” I answer, leaning into his side.
A few moments later, Liam comes walking up to the table and asks, “You need me, sir?”
“No, but your woman seems to,” Hunt replies, nodding over at Jules, who looks absolutely elated.
“Sir?” Liam looks startled for a moment, but when he sees the smile on my face, he eases.
“No ‘sir’, tonight…Come, have a seat. Join us, please.”
“I don’t know,” Liam utters, but when he looks over at Jules and sees the pleading glimmer in her violet eyes, he gives in. “I’d be happy to…Thank you.”
Jules seems happy, which makes me happy in return.
We drink and dance late into the night or early into the morning, depending on how you look at it, partying it up on Hunt’s and my ‘last real night of freedom’. Hunt actually lets loose and gets a bit tipsy, which is something I’ve never seen before. He’s very affectionate and touchy, which isn’t his normal public behavior. At one point, we were kissing in some dark corner like a couple of horny teenagers who just couldn’t keep our hands off each other, building the other up.
By the time we head home, the dark night sky melds with the overwhelming blue of day.
We get frisky in the elevator, sloppily groping and rubbing our bodies together, eager to screw like bunnies. The doors open and we stumble into the main room, laughing and kissing, drunk on pricey booze and each other. Hunt pushes me against the wall and hikes up my skirt, ready to lift me up and fuck me stupid, when I spot a beautifully wrapped present sitting on the floor behind him. I tap his shoulder and he pulls away from me.
“What is it, angel?”
“You didn’t have to,” I reply, pointing to the pretty package, wrapped with white paper and a black ribbon tied perfectly into a lovely bow. I skip over to it and pick it up, smiling broadly.
“I didn’t,” he says with trepidation. “Gabrielle, put it down and step away.”
I stare at him for an instant before placing the package back on the hardwood floor. He cautiously walks toward it, picking it up and taking it over to the glass coffee table. He plucks the card off the top and opens it, crumpling it in his hand once he’s read it.
“Is it…?”
He glances over at me and hands me the card.
To the happy couple,
Consider this an early wedding gift.
D M
I glance up at Hunt, who has a sickened look on his face, his lips curling from disgust.
“Dante,” I murmur, and he nods his head. “Do you think it’s dangerous?”
“If I know my brother, and I do, this is just a part of his game, to remind us he’s still around.” He moves toward the risky gift on the table, but I grab his wrist and shake my head at him.
“What if it isn’t? Shouldn’t we call the cops?”
“I don’t want them involved, Gabrielle. Now, take a few steps back.”
I do as I’m instructed, but I’m terrified beyond belief. He places his fingers on the lid, and I can see the drop of sweat on his brow. He lifts it slightly and peers inside, tossing the lid when he spots whatever’s inside. He reaches into the box and pulls out a...decorative photo album?
I walk over to him, standing close to his side, and stare down at it curiously. He opens it, and we’re dumbfounded by what we discover.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wicked Discoveries
There are pictures of me, of us, during our separation, at the opera house the night I met Vanessa, at the bistro with Hunt’s family just after making up, entering the Manor, at the Memorial Day party, getting ready for the wedding. He’s been watching us the whole time, always around, always within arms-length. A chill races up my spine, and I shiver violently.
Then, Hunt turns the page, and a wave of nausea rushes up my throat.
“Oh, my god, I think I’m
going to be sick.” There are pictures of us, here, at The Artemis in our most intimate moments, bathing, sleeping, making love. “Hunt, he’s been here. He’s been in our home. He’s seen us…”
“I need to call Banks,” he says, oddly calm, taking his phone out of his jacket pocket and placing it against his ear. “Liam, we have an issue. You need to come up here.”
He hangs up the phone and tosses it on the couch, falling back onto it. He clasps his hands together and places them in front of his mouth, staring off into nothingness.
Suddenly, I realize something petrifying.
“Damian, what if he’s still here?”
He glances up at me, as if he hadn’t even thought of it, and stands quickly, grasping my hand and walking me over to the elevator. Just as Hunt is about to push the button, the doors open, and Liam appears.
“When we arrived home, we found a package from Dante waiting for us. We need to get Gabrielle downstairs to your place so we can do a search of the penthouse.”
“Very good, sir. Julie can keep her company while we look.”
“Excellent. Please take her for me, and then call security.”
“Damian, no, I don’t want to leave you, I don’t want you here alone.”
“Gabrielle, listen to me. You need to do as I tell you. I need you safe…Now, don’t argue with me, and go with Banks.”
He gently forces me into the elevator, and when I try to step back out, the doors shut and I’m ripped away from him.
“Liam, we shouldn’t have left him alone…If Dante is still up there, he’ll kill him.”
“He’ll be fine, Gabrielle. We need to make sure you’re safe, so he isn’t worried about you while we look. That could prove fatal.”
The elevator doors open, and Liam walks me out and down the hall to the door at the end. As we approach, it swings open wide, and Jules is standing there in a robe, clutching it shut. I run into her arms and cling to her urgently, crying hysterically.