Authors: Stella Rhys
“Hear from Evan or Holly at all?”
“Yes, but hearing from them is different than listening to them. I’ve ignored all their texts and calls. Partly because I haven’t had the time to sit and have a minute of peace till this morning, but mostly because eff those two.”
“Say it.”
“Fuck those two,” I grinned. “Though to be fair, Holly’s family took me in similar to the way Gavin’s family took you in. I used to live at their house for entire summers because my parents didn’t want to take me on vacation with them. So they saved money on air fare and groceries by dumping me at the McPherson’s.”
“What’s your best memory of Holly?” Abram asked.
“Aside from the time she tricked me into watching her make out with my ex at a bar? And then got justice handed to her when you walked in as my ‘boyfriend’?”
Abram ran his hands up my waist, making me feel so small and delicate with how much of me his palms covered. His voice was a low rumble as he smirked against my skin. “You liked that didn’t you?” I wet my lips as he arched my back, trailing kisses along my ribs and licking the underside of my breasts.
“Uh-huh,” I breathed out.
“What else did you like from that night?”
I sucked in my bottom lip as I remembered that night at the bar with Holly. I had barely known Abram yet, but after Evan had stormed after me into the bathroom and put his hands all over me, he had easily gotten rid of him before pushing me up against the sink. He had watched me through the mirror, my face contorting as he thrust a hand between my thighs, pleasuring me over my dress. “I think you know what I liked about that night, Abram.”
“Remind me.”
I closed my eyes, feeling his tongue trailing hot warmth over my skin as his free hand slipped under my lap, his middle finger circling my clit.
“You did that over my dress and you called me ‘good girl’ till I came for you,” I murmured, grinding against his palm. I felt my wetness slide over him, so turned on by the sheer contrast of our dirty foreplay atop the purity of his white sheets.
“And then what?” Abram’s voice was hungry, demanding. He paused his stroking, resting his finger against my tortured, swollen pearl. “Tell me what happened when we got into the car.”
I was aroused but half-sheepish. “I distracted you.”
“More specifically, you took these out,” Abram kissed my breasts, “lifted your skirt,” he resumed his stroke, “and started touching yourself and making all these ridiculously sexy sounded as you squirmed all over my passenger seat. Basically getting my dick so fucking hard it impossible for me not to swerve off the road.” A naughty twist curled his mouth as the mention of his cock had me looking down between us, an involuntary
mmm
escaping my lips as I laid eyes on his rock of an erection resting tall and proud against his abs.
“I’m sorry about that. But I can make it up to you,” I murmured hastily, sliding down on Abram and laying myself on his legs. I reveled in his surprised grunt as I took him in my mouth and gave a wet push down on his shaft.
“Oh,
fuck
,” Abram hissed as his helmet touched the back of my throat, his muscled thighs flexing as I sucked my way slowly back up. I reached down to touch myself while tasting him, running my lips tight over his every ridge, drawing the deepest, sexiest groans out from the depths of his throat. I had never been so turned on by a sound in my life. I stroked myself harder, his cock in my mouth, his satisfaction in my ears. I could hardly handle it as he murmured at me the hottest, naughtiest filth I’d ever heard, my lips swelling numb around his girth and my pussy soaking my fingers wet. I was over-stimulated, my every muscle seizing, my core clenching hot with the threat of an orgasm I wasn’t sure I could handle in this position – but Abram thought otherwise. “Go on,” he rasped, fisting my hair. “Come on, baby. Make yourself come.”
I complied and brought him with me. He muffled my moans as he came ferociously between my lips, twitching inside my mouth and slowly releasing his fist around my hair with a long exhale. I pulled off his cock with a naughty
pop
sound that sent a last hot spasm through my sex. It dug my nails into his thighs, which in turn made him growl and roll me on my back, crushing a kiss onto my lips.
“Christ,” he caught his breath and sucked my bottom lip. “I could stay here all day so it’s up to you to get us out of bed at some point.”
“Oh, really.”
“Yes. That’s your job today.”
I smirked, thoroughly charmed. “Fine.” So till noon, we stayed there in bed, sometimes talking, other times just laying. And for once, doing nothing felt like everything.
“Oh my God, I
knew
it!” Rhode froze to a halt in the middle of the Bergdorf’s, stomping her foot with both shock and glee. “Oh my God - wait. This is crazy. This is fucking
crazy!
” She tore excitedly at her hair, drawing the curious attention of our fellow shoppers. I had called her to meet me on Fifth Avenue so we could go shopping for the Friends of Gavin Theroux gala, which as
my
friend, she had no choice but to attend tonight. Of course, the invitation meant giving her a little background on my relationship with Abram. He’d been the one to ask me to bring her, as I’d need company for the inevitable moments that he was whisked away by someone or another. So I invited Rhode and simply said that Abram and I were “back on.”
It was a simple enough explanation but she was bouncing off the walls with pure exhilaration, mostly for my sex life.
“Holy God, is he amazing? Is he as amazing as he looks like he’d be? I don’t want to ask you because it’s inappropriate but exactly how much is he packing down there? Oh my God, Isla.
Isla
. Do you have any idea how
fine
he is?” she rambled a mile a minute, pacing through the store with both hands still thrust in her hair. I had to laugh despite all the stares around us.
“I do know, yes. I’m sleeping with him.”
“I
know,
and it’s
incredible!
” Rhode squealed, yanking me into an embrace, still hugging me tight as she waddled us toward a rack of dresses. “You know what this means, right? You have to look all sorts of ridiculous hot tonight. Like, camera-ready, bathroom-fuck-me hot.”
“Rhode, this is a classy event honoring his best friend who died. We’re not going to do anything like that tonight.”
“Sorry, but yes you are.”
“I’m not sure if you’re the best kind of friend or the worst.”
She flashed a giant smile and shoved a slinky dress in my arms. “Can’t I be both? Now go try this on stat.”
~
Since Abram was due to meet with the board of directors before the gala, I was set to arrive with Rhode. We got ready together at the apartment, in front of my vanity, blasting Amy Winehouse and drinking what Rhode called “lazy sangria” – basically fruit dumped into cheap red wine, topped with a splash of ginger ale. “We have plenty of time to be classy later,” she’d reasoned.
I went with it. Though she’d urged me to buy something short and nude with a plunging neckline, I vetoed it for a long black halter dress with a high neck and mid-thigh slit up one side. Sexy but elegant and classy – perfect for my first experience with upper crust Manhattan society.
“Does Abram have any friends for me?” Rhode asked, dusting the apples of her cheekbones with a shimmery peach blush.
“He has a decently handsome asshole friend,” I offered.
“Well, that poor asshole probably just needs a good woman in his life. That’s how it goes with most assholes. Want me to transform him for you?”
“Please and good luck.”
She laughed. “So, what’s exactly going on with you and Mr. Six-Pack? Are you
exclusive?
” Rhode rifled through her makeup bag for lipstick, wiggling her perfect eyebrows at me through the mirror.
“We haven’t really had that talk.” I sat on the edge of my bed as I waited for her to finish her makeup. “And he’s in the middle of something big and stressful right now so I don’t really think that talk is going to be a priority anytime soon.”
“Are either of you seeing anyone else?”
I paused. “No.”
“Then I guess you’re as close to exclusive as you’re gonna get without having the conversation. Besides, Abram Lenox is known for having like, a cycle of models and actresses that he runs through till he’s tired and replaces them. The fact that you’ve been the only girl he’s fucked for even a week is impressive.”
“Dream big,” I snorted.
“Hey man, I’m just stating the facts. I don’t know all the ins and outs of whatever romance you guys are having but I can already tell that he likes you. This is an important event for him tonight and he asked you not only to come but to be his date. I spent every year under his employment Googling everything I possibly could about him – not to sound stalkerish – and while he
does
sometimes get photographed with a girl, he never shows up to events with a
date
, so… yeah. Don’t argue me on this.”
“I wasn’t,” I laughed.
“Oh, so you
know
he’s obsessed with you,” she cackled before shutting up to apply lipstick.
Silent, I sat on my bed, taking it all in. She wasn’t totally wrong – Abram and I
were
a thing. Of some sort. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of thing we were or if we could call ourselves any official name, but I knew it wasn’t something just ordinary. I remembered the sweet words he had breathed into my ear on his couch, as we caught our breaths chest to chest. “
I just want this forever
.” They gave me chills to think about again because they sounded almost bigger than the words “
I love you
.” I had loved Evan but I’d never used the word “forever” with him. Not once. It was a strong word and even stronger coming from the lips of someone like Abram.
But at the same, a voice at the back of my head had been nagging me of late. It told me that our affair was no product of true chemistry. Just adrenaline. Fast-pumping blood and nonstop drama. Abram had been protecting me from day one, of course he’d develop some sort of feeling for me. But I wondered what would happen once the Stefan Toro saga was over. What would happen when the mission that had been fueling Abram for over a year was completed and I was no longer a part of the story? Settled back in his day-to-day life, I wondered if he would still be enthralled by me or if he’d be bored, ready to start a new chapter. Perhaps he’d want to celebrate his victory with his usual partying – the club, the champagne, the bed full of beautiful women. I knew we had something and that it was good but I wasn’t sure if it was real – the type of real that lasted past the heat of the moment. After all, every minute I spent with Abram still felt like a dream. Who was to say that it wouldn’t shatter any second and toss me right back to the lonely place I’d been in four months ago?
Fuck.
I had officially come to this point. I knew what this psychotic mental agonizing meant.
I was falling for him.
I’d been for awhile but now it was to the point where the thought of being without Abram caused literal heartache. A pang of heat twisted in my chest. Before, the thought of him with another woman would strike me with jealousy. Now, it was deep and real pain.
“Hello.
Isla,
hello.” I blinked to find Rhode waving a manicured hand before me. I could tell she was ready to go since she looked stunning, all throwback with her sixties bouffant and bold black liner. “Are you okay?” She tilted her cute head at me.
“Yes.”
“Hey.” She gathered my big curls over my shoulder and bent down to look me in the eye. “Whatever you’re thinking about, don’t stress over it. I’m sure it’s about Abram and what tonight means and whatever, blah, blah and I’m sure it’s partly my fault for freaking out like I did. But I’m also sure it’s not worth you sweating about. ‘Cause you know what my motto is? Which shouldn’t surprise you?”
I snorted. “What?”
“Live every day like it’s your fuckin’ last. There is no way you’re going to enjoy life if you anticipate bad shit happening while things are still good. Now put a smile on your pretty face, Cinderella, and take me to the ball.”
Hundreds of guests milled under the ceiling of the Monarch’s grand event hall, kissing cheeks, swilling Veuve and posing for the cameras. I made sure to smile as brilliantly as they did, though the all-around joy was bizarre for me to take it. But only because I knew the truth behind Gavin’s death. I knew the emotional havoc it had wreaked on so many different lives and the brutal violence it would set off the moment Jesse found Stefan’s location. But no one else knew and I tried not to think about any of it in Rhode’s company.
“You’ve been spotted,” she suddenly murmured, giggling into her champagne flute. I looked up just in time to see, from well across the room, Abram’s eyes on mine before they returned to the crowd of gowns and black ties that surrounded him. He was the man of the hour. The devastatingly handsome one with slicked back hair and a sleek black tux fitted to his broad, stone-carved body. He was stunning, and just as I accepted the fact that it would be awhile before I’d get to have his attention, Rhode made a squeaking sound. “He’s coming. He’s coming, holy shit, he’s coming.”
I looked back to see the circle dispersing around Abram as he wordlessly parted the crowd, his gaze pinned to mine as he came to me. I wet my lips, unable to help staring back his entire way over. There was something hypnotic about it. I couldn’t understand the feeling but the closer Abram came, the more beautiful I felt.
Giddier than ever, Rhode squealed, turning to hide her gushing face from Abram. “Oh my God, if that’s not him being crazy about you, then I don’t know what
is. Bitch – you are his
queen
.”
I bit my lip, unsure of how to argue her. Under the towering pillars and warm gold lighting of the event hall, Abram did look every bit like royalty and I felt every bit like a princess – or queen – as he approached, the most charming smile on his lips. Like a gentleman, he greeted Rhode before turning to me.
“Isla, you’re stunning,” Abram murmured, so floored he simply stood there for a minute, taking me in from a comfortable, somewhat formal distance. Still, my delight was positively out of control.
“Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself,” I grinned, giggling as Rhode conveniently disappeared, pretending to spot a friend though we were all aware that she knew no one in the room.
“Rhode, right?” Abram asked. I nodded. “I like her,” he chuckled, hands in his pockets as he tilted his head at me. “You know everyone’s watching you right now, right?”
“I was under the impression they were watching us.”
Abram’s eyes swept the length of my black dress. “I’m pretty sure I’d be giving them much less to look at.”
“Oh, I think you’re doing your part.”
He gave a sexy laugh. “I’m certainly about to,” he murmured, stepping forward, leaning in and closing his mouth over mine. Delicious heat billowed through my body as I reveled in his touch, one hand cupped behind my neck, the other resting in the dip of my waist. The kiss lasted barely two seconds but it was enough to ease my overactive mind. He had kissed me at Gavin’s gala, in front of his world of people, and the way he had done it felt like some kind of bold declaration. I wasn’t surprised that shortly after he pulled away, a new circle formed around us.
“I’m so sorry, but Abram’s like my own son, so now you have no choice but to introduce yourself to me, beautiful girl.” The woman who approached, I learned, was Gavin’s mother, Sylvie Theroux. Her white hair was short and chic, her skin just tanned enough to make her pale blue eyes shockingly striking. She wore her crow’s feet with pride as she beamed at me, holding both my hands with an instant love that made me want to hug her. She was full of more brightness than I imagined possible for a woman whose only child was murdered a year ago. After I introduced myself, Sylvie marveled. “Isla. What a beautiful and fitting name,” she sighed. “I have every intention of embarrassing him when I say this, but you are by far the loveliest one I’ve ever seen Abram with. And the first one he’s ever brought to one of our functions – though I can see why he decided to break the streak with you.”
“Oh,” my eyes fluttered and I managed to utter some sort of gracious response while telling myself not to let it get to my head. But Sylvie wasn’t done yet.
“Abram, darling, I hope you’ll forgive my excitement. You just never let me meet your girlfriends.”
I nearly spit out my champagne.
The word “girlfriend” had me frozen with embarrassment. Stiff, I flashed Abram a look of apology, but he wasn’t looking at me – he was smiling with Sylvie.
“That’s not true, I just haven’t had any till now.”
Wait. What?
I blinked at Abram, waiting for him to give me the same face Evan did when we had dinner with his grandma and he told her that he’d gotten a job interview. The
nah-I’m-just-shutting-her-up
kind of look. But instead of that, I got Abram’s hand on my lower back, rubbing small circles that warmed every last inch of my skin. I worked through my breathlessness to carry on the ensuing conversations. I was happy to talk to Sylvie about her son’s fundraisers that I’d been a part of as a teacher, but it did feel like ages till I was finally alone with Abram again.
The second we were, Abram turned to me with a grin.
“Freaked out?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If you meant it,” I murmured, staring straight ahead at his chest. “Or if you could mean it eventually. Me being your…”
“My girlfriend?” Abram tipped my chin up. I held my breath at the earnest look in his eyes.
“Yes.”
He smiled, stroking my bottom lip. “I could mean it, Isla. I could mean it today.”
I locked my knees when they went weak. I could feel the beginnings of a soaring joy ballooning like the most pleasant buzz inside my chest. “What are you saying, Abram Lenox – that you want to date me?”
“I was under the impression that I’d been dating you.”
“I mean exclusively,” I chewed the corner of my lip. “As my boyfriend.”
He broke into a grin I could lick. “Yes. I want to do that.”
I felt as if I was being lifted off my feet. “You do?”
“Why do you look so surprised?” Abram murmured his question, holding my waist, bringing me away from the crowd.
“I don’t know,” I breathed.
“Yes you do.”
I shook my head, everything besides Abram a blur. “I don’t know. Because you haven’t had a girlfriend since high school. Because you have more options lined up for you than most men in this world combined. And every one of them is tall and gorgeous.”
“But none of them you.”
My breath hitched in my throat. We were out in the quiet hall now. He had walked me out there without my knowing, perhaps because my feet really weren’t touching the ground. Palming my cheek, Abram kissed me.
Help me believe you.
I wanted to say the words aloud but I knew they were needy so I shut myself up and put my hand over Abram’s, leaning my face into him, savoring his lips as they pressed sweet kisses on my forehead.
“You’re all the strength and love and compassion I crave, Isla. You’re perfect.”
“You’re a liar.”
“I’m not. You’re my medicine, Isla. I stand next to you and I feel better. I feel good.” A faint smile crept onto his lips as he ran his hand down my neck, to my chest, fingering the curve of my breast. “And you’re so fucking beautiful it blows my mind. I touch your body and every thought in my head turns to you, I can’t even help it. When I’m inside you I feel like I can throw it all away, everything else, if God, anyone lets me live in that moment forever. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what it is you do to me. You could be a medicine or a drug, I don’t really know or care because you have everything I want that I never thought I could find in one person. So if you let me, I’m going to hold onto you.” He cracked a smile that stole my breath away. “And hopefully I can find ways here and there to repay you.”
“For what?”
“The way you heal me without even trying.”
And there goes my heart, too
. “Abram,” I exhaled, wishing I had the words to tell him how I felt. But I didn’t so I said what I could in my kiss, pulling him tight against my lips, tasting and breathing him till I felt drunk off love. I felt it there, in that moment. What I’d questioned before was suddenly undeniably real. I loved Abram. But I couldn’t say it so I simply kissed him, smiling softly against his lips when I realized I was kissing my boyfriend. We both ignored one of the sponsors who was politely trying to get his attention from afar – at least for as long as we could. I wished the moment didn’t have to end but I took comfort in the fact that it was the perfect kind to relive in my head, over and over that night till I fell asleep.
Of course, that would only happen if my night ended just as perfectly as this moment did, and I should’ve known – with Jesse Toro in my life, there was rarely a chance for peaceful let alone perfect.
~
I had to physically tackle Rhode to get her to shut up. I’d considered telling her after we got home but when I realized I’d probably spend the night with Abram, I went ahead and spilled about the boyfriend talk. Rhode had reacted with a giant gasp followed by a weird squawking noise to go with her excited arm flapping, and I’d wrapped my arms around her like a farmer containing a wild turkey. “Please!
Please
, please don’t make a scene because he’s totally watching and knows what I’m telling you!” I giggled desperately.
“I can’t help myself!”
“You’ll have to, this is a black tie event!” I hissed. “And he’s about to make his speech so please, please be a normal human being right now!”
“Oh God, I need a Xanax. A happy Xanax,” Rhode gasped, tongue out, fanning herself as if she’d just eaten a habanero. I was laughing so hard I had to pull us out of the room so we’d stop attracting weird looks. I caught Abram from afar, cracking up on our way out. A simple moment but it was the happiest I’d felt in awhile.
“Rhode!” I snapped when we got out into the hall, wiping tears from my eyes.
“I’m sorry! Oh my God! Is this where he kissed you? Let me inhale the walls.”
“Oh my God.” I was still laughing as I trailed off but it was cut short when I caught something from the corner of my eye – a distinctly smug and laidback swagger that made my heart stop and my stomach twist. For some reason, I refused to look, staring at Rhode, who was seconds from noticing him since she faced him directly. She was my alert. And when her giant grin suddenly faltered, her head cocking with confusion, I knew Jesse was right behind me.
“Christ, Abram’s swinging a heavy dick with you on his arm tonight.”
Rhode’s stare went from Jesse to me. I could tell from the look in her eye that she suddenly knew – I’d lied to her about something. Many things. She didn’t know what they were but she was slowly figuring it out. I tried to flash as much apology in my eye as I could before spinning around, suddenly chest-to-chest with Jesse, shaking his head at the slit in my dress.
“You’re like every billionaire’s wet dream. Trophy wife from head-to-toe.”
I breathed hard. My worlds were colliding so hard I was in a daze. “Jesse, what are you doing here?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, you know, just did a couple things I’m not necessarily proud of to get the information we needed, so now I guess I’m here to break the good news to your boyfriend and hopefully pour enough liquor down my throat to forget the despicable shit I just pulled.”
My blood ran cold. “What did you do?” But the second the question escaped my lips, a hard, angry wall came between us. I stumbled back suddenly, feeling Rhode grab onto me as Nate growled in Jesse’s face.
“No one told you to come here.”
“Is this you mean-mugging? Listen, go get your master for me, I have something to tell him.”
“Fucking trash – just get the hell out of my face. I shouldn’t even have to explain this to you but you’re not welcome here, so I’m telling you right now to disappear before I put you on the fucking ground.”
Jesse grinned. “You? You mean you’d miss your swing and get clocked before calling Daddy Abram to – ”
It happened exactly. Rhode screamed as Jesse caught Nate’s fist with one hand and socked him in the eye with the other. In seconds, a crowd was spilling out the event hall, collectively gasping at Nate clutching his face on the ground. My lack of a shock was the only thing that surprised me as Abram’s security herded everyone back in. I was almost blank, unfeeling till I spotted him. Abram. He hurtled out the doors with a look of rage in his eye that struck instant fear in my heart. I couldn’t stop him as he flew past me, stepping over Nate and slamming Jesse hard into the wall. “You must be out of your fucking mind.” His lips barely moved as he spoke, his arm holding me away when I rushed to him. Jesse groaned.
“Yeah, I must be for agreeing to help you dicks.”
“
Abram!
” I hissed as he shoved his forearm harder against Jesse’s throat.
He ignored me. “Don’t fuck with me right now. You knew exactly what this night was, Toro,” he growled under his breath. “Leonard and Sylvie Theroux are behind that wall and as far as they’re concerned, you murdered their son. And whether or not it was you or your piece of shit brother, this isn’t the night to explain to them, so walk the fuck away.”