by Jenny Siegel
Dawn leaves us to get settled in our room, which is huge, like the one we stayed in for Mia and Todd’s wedding. I’d better change before I see my mom. Ripping the tank top over my head, I start to rummage in my bag looking for something, anything suitable.
Dominic strolls out from the bathroom, just a towel wrapped around his waist. Droplets of water run from his damp hair, rolling down the cut muscles of his chest and ripple of his abs. My mouth dries as I stand and stare at him, squeezing the shirt in my hand as desire pulses between my legs.
“Babe, you’re staring.” He winks at me and I drag my eyes away from his gorgeous body to his green eyes that dance with amusement.
“Hmm, not fair,” I mutter and throw my shirt back into the bag and cross over to him. Not caring that he’s wet—in fact, I prefer it—I slide my arms around his waist and press myself against his naked torso. Raising up on my tiptoes to claim his mouth, my fingers tangle in his hair at the back of his head, which he was supposed to have cut but decided not to bother. I’m glad; it would have left nothing for me to hold on to. My fingers tug at the towel at his waist and it falls away. His erection presses into me.
“Charlie,” he warns, but when my hand reaches between our bodies to stroke his hard length, a groan forms in the back of his throat. It reverberates through my body and his arm wraps around my waist, pulling me closer, while the other hand holds the back of my head, keeping me in place.
Insistent kisses devour me before trailing down to my neck and sucking on my sensitive skin. It wouldn’t do to get a hickey the day before my mom's wedding; she would kill me. Dominic backs me up to the bed, fumbling with the fastening of my denim shorts as he guides me down onto the mattress. My torso lies on the mattress while my legs dangle off the end. He straightens, and I ogle him in all his naked glory while he pulls my shorts down my legs and off my feet. My panties quickly follow. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he lifts me further up the bed, parting my legs and kneels between them.
Through hooded eyes, he watches me as his fingers run lazily up and down between my legs, a smile curves over his lips as I squirm against his fingers, the ache intensifying.
“What do you want, Charlie?”
“Ugh…” My head tilts back when he pressed down on my clit. “You.” I gasp when he does it again.
“Did you miss me?” His fingers are pushing me closer and closer, but there is something in his hooded gaze and his tone that tugs at me.
“Yes.” I breathe out; my eyes close as I hang on by the skin of my teeth.
“Did you miss this?” he rasps out.
“Yes,” I answer quickly.
“I missed you.” He presses down with his index finger, and I moan loudly. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you.” His gaze darkens and I prop myself up on my elbows.
“You won’t be,” I assure him, biting my lip to stop as my muscles start to flutter. “Dominic.” I half moan. “Fuck, I need you now.” My hands fist into the bed covers, but I let go and reach for him. A sexy smile spreads over his lips, and he takes away his fingers but moves forward. Looming over me, he nestles between my thighs, his hot erection pushes into me, and my eyes roll back in my head as he thrusts into me. As he pulls out, my legs wrap around his waist and he slams back into me, right up to his hilt and stills. The muscles in his jaw bunch before he pulls out and repeats the movement, over and over again, until I can’t hold on anymore.
“Dominic,” I whimper as I grip onto his muscled biceps, taut from supporting his weight as he drives into me.
“Let go.” His green eyes burn into me with an intensity I’ve never seen from him before. I tip my head backward into the mattress on a loud moan as I shatter with the force of my orgasm. Tightening around him, he comes with a groan and the force of his thrusts lessens and slows. One hand cups my face, running his thumb over my bottom lip, and I look up at him. A crooked smile on his face, as his hand runs down my neck, over my chest, and between my breasts.
“I love you.” I reach up for him, pulling him down so he is inches from my mouth, resting on his elbows.
“Love you, too.” His mouth crashes down on mine, and my grip on him tightens as he ignites my desire again. He rolls to the side and curls me into his body, brushing hair from my face.
“I need to get ready for golf with Lincoln.” He presses a kiss to my forehead before getting up from the bed.
I stifle a giggle. “I didn’t know you played golf.” I roll onto my stomach, still naked, and watch him get dressed in the proper attire. The clothes he pulls on are totally different to what he normally wears. His tattoos are totally covered and even his hair is different, not as tousled; he looks like he’s actually brushed it. Although he still looks as gorgeous and sexy as sin, I prefer his other look.
“Yeah, Dad made us learn. We used to play a lot when I lived at home.”
“What made you learn the guitar?”
He smirks at the memory. “’Cause my dad hated it. I was only allowed if it didn’t interfere with my studies.” Finished dressing, I motion for him to spin around while I watch him from the bed. I let out a low whistle when I see how gorgeous his ass looks in those pants.
“When will you be back?” I pout. Pathetic, I know, but I don’t like being away from him.
“Later this afternoon. You’ll be at the spa, won’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Dawn seems nice.”
“Yeah, she does.” I admit.
“Nicer than you thought?” He arches a brow. I didn’t say anything specifically, but he knows I wasn’t looking forward to meeting her.
“Yeah,” I admit with a laugh. He leans down to kiss me and I roll over on the bed to give him a kiss upside down. Green eyes flare at my nakedness, but unfortunately, I can’t tempt him to stay and miss his game of golf.
Chapter Twenty-One
The door closes behind him, and after a few minutes longer, I push off the bed and start to pull on the clothes that I just stripped out off, picking a different top as I go. There isn’t much point in showering when we’re going to the spa. I’m running a brush through my hair and am about to leave when the phone rings. I debate ignoring it, but it’s the room phone, so I answer.
“Hello,” I ask with an exasperated edge to my voice.
“Charlie.” It’s my mom, and she’s sobbing. What the fuck, I hope she’s not having second thoughts. Not now. “Can you come to my room, it’s important.” She hiccups and hangs up, not even waiting for my reply.
It will be some minor wedding trauma, something in nothing, I tell myself as I race along the corridor and take the elevator to the bridal suite. Something isn’t right, though; the way she sounded was off. The bridal suite isn’t on the top floor as I expected but on the seventh floor. Apparently, it has a lovely view of the lake. Reaching her door, I knock and wait. Muffled voices come from inside and I wonder who’s in there with her. Lincoln is supposed to be meeting Dominic on the golf course, and I can’t imagine he’s the type to be late unless something serious has happened. My heart rate kicks up a notch and I knock again with more urgency.
This time the door swings open, and I step inside. My eyes sweep over the plush furnishings and land on my mom, sitting on one of the high-back chairs with her arms tied behind her. Her usually immaculate hair resembles a bird’s nest and her mascara has run in black rivers down her cheeks. The blouse she has on is all askew, and for some reason, she only has on one shoe.
“What the fuck is going on?” I rush over to her but realize my mistake when the suite door slams shut, and I hear the lock turn and a chain sliding into place. Whirling around, I see Simon standing with his back pressed against the closed door, grinning like a maniac.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Not one but two sluts.” I look down at my mom when she winces at his choice of words. “Like mother, like daughter.” He laughs but his words bounce off me, having no effect on me whatsoever. Well, apart from to make me angrier.
It all clicks into place at once. “It was you?” I hiss, my eyes narrowing on him as it starts to fall into place. He chuckles and holds out one of his hands as an admission.
“You pathetic little shit.” I straighten and step forward, ignoring my mom's small whimper. “It’s been you along, sending me photographs.”
“Charlie,” my mom whispers.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I shout across the room at him.
“Charlie,” she whimpers..
Simon pushes off the door and moves closer, his eyes wild. “Who do you think you’re speaking to?” He jabs a finger at me. “You don’t get to speak to me like that.”
“Says who?” I cross my arms across my chest, trying to look much braver than I actually feel. There is no way I’m letting him see that he has me rattled. That wild look in his eyes sets alarm bells ringing.
“Says me.” His hands fist at his side as he glares at me.
“Like I’m going to listen to you.” I bend over and start to work the knots that are binding my mom’s wrist, but my hands are trembling. Don’t fall apart. Keep it together.
“Leave her.” His voice booms and he starts to move toward me while my fingers work the knot faster. But it’s too tight and my hands are shaking too much.
“I said leave her.” He is bearing down on me, and I don’t see it coming until the back of his hand connects with my cheek, sending me flying backward. My head bounces off the thick carpet. Stunned, I lie there, seeing stars on the periphery of my vision. Dizziness washes over me and I’m too dazed to move. Hands grip me under my armpits as he drags me over to another seat and hauls me onto it. Yanking my hands behind me, he starts to bind my wrists in the same way as my mom.
“Stupid slut,” he mutters under his breath.
“Don’t call me that,” I slur. Answering him back annoys him because he backhands me again, and I hear my mom cry out in protest. My cheek stings from where he’s hit me, but I bite my lip to stop from making any noise. I’m not giving him the satisfaction.
“Why, Simon?” she asks quietly. “Why have you been sending us photos?” This penetrates my fuzzy brain.
“You’ve been getting photos too?”
“Yes,” she sobs, “they started after we got engaged. I didn’t know who or why. It took me a while, but I worked out it was Simon.”
He stands back to look at the two of us. “And she threatened to tell my daddy,” he mimics in a childlike voice, his face contorting into something much creepier than usual. “Stupid mistake,” he growls menacingly.
“But why?” I ask.
“Why?” He throws his arms up in the air and starts to pace in front of us. “My dad can do so much better than her, my mother is so much better than her. She was supposed to leave quietly. Do the right thing and call of the engagement.”
“Why me?”
He throws his head back and laughs, long and hard. “You, I just did it to fuck with you.” All the wind is knocked out of me as his words penetrate my fuzzy brain. “I remembered you from school, remembered what a slut you were, and thought it would be fun. I don’t want her for a stepmom or you for a stepsister.” He laughs and my toes curl. “Do you think that changing your name makes you less of a slut?”
Ignoring him and the dizziness, I press on. “Why go this far? What’s it going to achieve?”
“I’m running out of time. She needs to leave now. Once she agrees to leave my dad, I’ll let you both go. Or I could always tell my dad what she’s really like.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, my fuzzy brain trying to keep up. I need to know what he thinks he has on her.
“That bar she goes to, where she picks up men, or the numerous men she’s dated.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“We’ll let my dad be the judge of that. Once he knows what she’s like, he won’t want her.” At his words, my mom pales. She really believes him.
“That’s bullshit. Your dad loves her, it won’t matter to him.” I’m praying I’m right. Part of me is bluffing, but I don’t believe Lincoln would be like that, just like Dominic.
The thought of Dominic not knowing where I am strikes fear into me, and for the first time since I walked into this room, I want to bawl like a baby. What if Simon has really lost it and means to do something to us? My eyes start to droop. I have a banging headache, and my cheek is stinging. My mom sobs quietly, and Simon is still pacing the room. Dammit Charlie, think. But nothing comes to me. All I want to do is sleep, but Simon keeps talking, and his voice is grating on my nerves. Why can’t he just shut the fuck up so I can figure out what to do. Surely, they will notice we’re missing? His plan is crazy—even if Mom did decide to call off the engagement, Lincoln would find out why.
“I am not fucking crazy. Don’t call me that,” Simon shrieks. Shit, I spoke out loud instead of in my head. “She has to call it off or I will tell him.” My mom's sobbing continues and my head pounds, whether from when I fell or where he’s hit me I don’t know.
“Just do it. You tell your dad and see how grateful he is afterward.”
“Charlie,” Mom murmurs, shocked that I would suggest that.
“You’ve done nothing wrong. You’re not any of the things he’s called you. Just get it over with so we can go home.”
“What did Dominic have to say?” he sneers, thinking he’s got one over on me. Although the photos had bothered Dominic, it would have been worse if I hadn’t already told him.
“He knew everything.”
“Everything?” Simon kneels in front of me looking for a hint that I’m lying.
“Everything. I’d already told him I was a slut in high school, but I’m not like that anymore.” He snorts, but I don’t give a shit what the likes of Simon think. “Just let us go.” He looks from me to my mom and laughs.
“It’s her call. Will you break off the engagement?” He crosses his arms and glares at her. Mom hiccups and her sobs grow louder but shakes her head.
“I love him.”
“We’ll just wait it out.” I give Simon our decision and close my eyes and pray that someone has noticed we are missing.
It feels like I’ve only closed my eyes for a few seconds, but when my head jerks and I open my eyes, I realize I’ve been asleep. It is dark outside and Simon has switched on a table lamp, but the curtains are still open. I’m not sure what time it is, but we have been gone for hours, so someone must have noticed we’re not here. Then I hear the banging again, which is what woke me. Simon leaps off the bed and starts to pace, pushing his hand through his messed up hair. I see the glint of a knife in his hand and dread washes over me, cold and clawing at my heart. Has he used it or is he about to?
“Mom, are you okay?” I whisper urgently, praying that nothing happened to her while I was sleeping.
“I’m fine, are you okay? You were quiet for so long. I couldn’t wake you.”
“My head doesn’t feel so good.” Then the banging again.
“Fuck,” Simon mutters and keeps walking in circles, trying to work out what to do next, but there isn’t really any way out, unless whoever is outside leaves.
“Charlie?” Dominic’s voice boom from the other side and Simon is at my side in an instant.
“Keep quiet,” he hisses and holds up the knife to show me what he’ll do if I go against him.
“Charlie, are you in there?” he shouts again and then another voice. “Chrissie.” It’s Lincoln this time and more hammering follows. Simon rounds on my mom, pointing the knife straight at her, his eyes wide and frantic. I need to do something, and maybe this is too dangerous and putting my mom at risk, but I can’t take the chance that they’ll leave and then we’ll be at Simons mercy.
“Dominic,” I scream at the top of my lungs and don’t stop until Simon hits me again. The last thing I see are his wide frantic eyes, face red with a rage that he can no longer suppress. Before my head snaps to the side, my mom screams this time when my body goes limp.
&
nbsp; There is a splintering sound and Dominic and Lincoln burst through the door, along with a member of hotel staff. My mom lets out a cry and hands cradle my face and tilting it up. Dominic looks down at me, his green eyes shimmering, and the worry in them tugs harder at my heart strings. He pushes my hair out of my face and kisses me tenderly on the lips. The gentle action breaks me. All my resolve and bravado crumbles and I start to cry.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now and I’m not letting you go.” He holds me while someone works on the knots binding my wrists. As soon as I’m free, I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight, never wanting to let go. I’m so glad that he is actually right here in front of me. He scoops me up into his arms and moves so he is sitting on the chair and I am in his lap. The police have arrived now and are leading a dejected Simon away in handcuffs. Lincoln has a few quiet words with them, and he makes his way back over to my mom. Gently helping her to stand, he wraps his arms around her, talking quietly to her. Tears flow faster down her cheeks, but she nods and manages a weak smile. I was right, he loves her, and nothing Simon was trying to do will drive them apart.
“Can we go,” I ask Dominic once I’ve been checked over. Although they would rather I went to the hospital, I don’t want to. He nods, standing up, and I slide to stand on the floor. A little unsteady on my feet, Dominic hooks an arm around my waist, helping to support me.
“I’m going to take Charlie back to our room,” he informs Lincoln and my mom. Mom moves out of Lincoln’s arms to hug me tightly. Silent sobs wrack her body and I hug her back just as tightly. She has been so excited about her wedding and she wasn’t supposed to be spending the day before like this. Lincoln rests a hand on her shoulder, and once she’s finished hugging me, she’s back in his arms. He reaches out to take my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.