The Winter Collection Read online

  His eyes flick to my glass then back to me, and I wonder if he’s already onto me. The man notices everything and it’s probably why he’s so good in business. He’s always two steps ahead. It’s comforting but at the same time it can be fun to try and get ahead of him every now and then.

  I bring the glass to my mouth and pretend to take a sip. I don’t think he’s buying it, but at that moment I see my stepmother moving towards us the same time he does. I watch as he tenses all over again, making me wonder if something is wrong. I know he doesn't care for my stepmother or father, but he doesn't hide it like he used to. Normally he’s dismissive, but right now he’s angry.

  “Daniel,” Linda says and gives him a curt nod.

  She doesn't even try to do the air kisses with him anymore. I hoped the past few days would have helped break the ice since I spent most of my time telling her how wonderful Daniel is. She tried to talk me out of marrying him, telling me it would tarnish my name and our family’s legacy. It cut deep when she added in that it had already happened enough by me existing.

  She’s said hateful things over the years, but that was the absolute worst. I’m starting to wonder why I even try, and now it’s getting harder to bite my tongue; more so when it comes to my Daniel. His arm around me tightens, making me remember this is about having a family.

  “We’re seated over there.” Linda motions to a table where I see my father sitting with Carmela. I have to fight my eye roll and sarcastic comments. “Come, they’ve just served the salad. It’s rude to be late, and this is all you’re allowed to eat if you're going to fit into that wedding dress.” She walks away from us towards the table and Daniel lunges after her.

  “I’ll fucking—” he starts, and I place a hand on his chest.

  “Daniel,” I hiss and force him to look at me.

  “I swear if that—”

  I cut him off the only way I know how—by putting my lips on his.

  He growls against my mouth and kisses me back, and by the time I’m satisfied he won’t go charging after her I’m breathless and needy. I reach up to wipe away the lipstick I left on him, but he stops me by grabbing my hand and lacing my fingers with his.

  “She gets that one.” His eyes lock with mine. “I’ll do anything for you, Blakely, but I won’t listen to someone disrespect you. That’s a hard line.”

  I nod in agreement because that’s a battle I won’t win with him and he’s right. How do things keep getting worse? No matter what I do, nothing changes.

  He leads me over to the table and holds out my chair for me while I sit down. I open my mouth to say hello to my father, who didn’t even bother to get up, but he beats me to it.

  “You’re late,” he blurts out.

  “Your observation skills are getting better, John,” Daniel says as he grabs the back of my chair and scoots me closer to him. It makes a loud scratching sound as it drags along the floor, and I’d laugh, but Linda’s face stops me. “I’m sure they’ll still take our check,” Daniel adds as he drapes his arm over the back of my chair and leans back casually.

  “You want something else to drink, dream girl?” he asks, giving me all of his attention.

  “I’m good.” I pick up the water on the table and take a sip.

  The table is quiet for a moment before Carmela starts speaking. I sigh as I lean into Daniel and eat my salad. His thumb strokes my neck back and forth as the table moves into easy conversation. Daniel makes idle chat with Benjamin, who is sitting to his left. He’s an older man I know he’s worked with in the past and I’m glad he has someone to talk to.

  “So I heard,” Carmela whispers loudly to get my attention.

  “I think it’s a sign,” Linda adds as she takes a sip of her wine.

  Carmela nods in agreement, and I don’t know why she cares if I’m with Daniel or not. It could be the fact that my husband is a catch and hers is an all-round asshole who shows his true colors after he has a few too many.

  “It’s a sign we need a wedding to celebrate with everyone,” I say with cheer in my voice.

  “Really? I didn’t get an invite.” Carmela’s comment is snotty and it grates my skin.

  “It’s a very small ceremony with just family. It’s on Christmas Day, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on anyone else’s holiday plans.” I level her with a look as irritation gets the best of me, but Carmela only takes it as a challenge.

  “Is he going to make you sign a prenup this time?” Even my stepmother’s mouth drops open at Carmela’s blatantly rude question right at the table.

  Before I can answer, a hand slams down, making the whole table shake. Some of the glasses fall over and their contents spill onto the silk tablecloth. Everyone but me gasps and the room goes silent.

  “No, I trust Blakely and I’d never ask her to do that.” His eyes flick between my father and Carmela’s husband. “Only a man who fears losing his money more than his wife would have her do that. If she were to sign anything it would be that our marriage is unbreakable even by a judge.” He leans back, lifting his hand from the table. “See, I can give veiled insults, too.”

  “Daniel,” my father warns.

  “John.” Daniel throws back his own warning and he sounds deadlier.

  “She isn’t your wife yet. If I were you, I’d watch myself,” my father says, and my eyes widen.

  “Oh god,” I whisper, knowing this isn’t going to end well.

  Carmela and my stepmother are still silent, and Carmela’s husband doesn’t say a word.

  “I’m sorry, Blakely,” Daniel says to me as he takes my hand and squeezes it.

  My heart skips a beat and my eyes follow him as he stands from his chair and towers over me. I don’t know how he does it, but he seems bigger than life right now as aggression rolls off him. He turns to face my father and leans in closer to him.

  “I warned you about acting as if you have control over her.” Daniel’s voice booms through the large ballroom.

  My eyebrows draw together, not knowing what he is talking about. I look to my father, whose face is turning red. I’m not sure if it’s embarrassment or anger.

  “That’s rich coming from you, Daniel. Since you found out you’re not really married you look like you’re about to lose it. You can’t handle it, can you? You have to make sure everyone knows what’s yours. You’re fucking crazy,” my father sputters and glances around the room at the scene that’s developing.

  “He’s not crazy,” I breathe out, but no one hears me. Okay, maybe he’s a little crazy, but I’d never fault him for that because I feel the same way about him.

  “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You weren’t so lucky in love nor do you understand devotion. It’s funny how that’s translated to your life in business and why I keep having to bail you out of trouble,” Daniel says to him.

  “Daniel?” I say, and he looks down at me. His eyes meet mine and I can tell with one look that what he said is the truth. But why would he be bailing my father out of trouble? I know he doesn’t care for him. The truth comes quickly because everything he does comes back to me. He loves me and he would do that to make sure nothing in my world was touched.

  “Why are you so high and mighty?” Linda scolds. “I saw the email he sent you. I know you took John up on his offer for you to have her as mistress for repayment.”

  I jerk back as though I’ve been slapped. I stare at my father in shock and wait for him to call Linda a liar. The seconds drag on, and the longer it takes, the louder my heart beats.

  “I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” Linda says with so much smugness in her voice. “They said you were trustworthy and always did the right thing. That you were an asshole but you were honorable.” She shakes her head and I see her cheeks become red with anger. “But you saved his ass once again! You should have let him fall on his fucking face!” Linda screams and stands up from the table. I watch and for the first time in my life I see true emotion cross her face.

  My father looks as shocke
d as everyone else at the table except Daniel.

  “I would be a fucking fool to have not taken her, not that it matters. She wasn’t yours to give because her soul belongs with mine.” His words are filled with possession and my heart calls to his.

  A moment of silence goes through the room and I look at my father. “Do you have anything to say?” When he says nothing an arm comes around my waist and without looking I know it’s Daniel. He pulls me to my feet and my back rests against his front.

  “You don’t deserve her,” he says, his deep voice vibrating against me and giving me strength. “She’s the only reason I haven’t let everything in your world crumble away while you toss money at all your shitty investments.”

  “You offered me up like a piece of property? That’s all I am to you,” I say, and the room is so quiet now everyone can hear me.

  My stepmother rolls her eyes annoyed at my question, but my father is the one to answer.

  “You would’ve been happy; just look at you now.” My father dismisses me with a wave of his hand. “Besides, I got it taken care of. You’re not married anymore.” My father stands from his chair and before I can blink Daniel is in front of me and in my father’s face.

  “We’ll talk about this at our meeting,” my father says as he straightens his coat like this is just a misunderstanding.

  “What meeting?” I ask, but I have no idea what he’s talking about.

  “There’s no meeting,” Daniel says.

  “If you want to marry my daughter-”

  “Want?” Daniel laughs, cutting him off. “I will marry your daughter, John. And there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it.”

  I gasp when I’m lifted up and tossed over Daniel's shoulder, thankful I have on a full-length dress that covers me as he carries me from the ballroom and out of that horrible scene.

  I smile to myself as I think about someone trying to stand in the way of Daniel. He’s a force of nature and nothing will get between us. Want? Yeah, that was the wrong word.

  Chapter 6

  Daniel

  “That motherfucker,” I grunt as I slam the car door closed behind us.

  I look over to Blakely who is taking a few bobby pins out of her hair that’s falling after being thrown over my shoulder. I don’t know what came over me, but all my control snapped. I watch as she smooths down her silky brown hair and I ache to reach for her. I clench my fists and the fear I only ever have when it comes to her keeps me from doing it.

  What if my need for her is too much and she recoils from my touch? The thought alone knocks the air right out of my lungs. She doesn't look over at me as she worries her bottom lip between her teeth. I’d give anything to know what she’s thinking right now. Normally I’m good at predicting the outcomes of things, but right now I’m at a loss. I try to calm myself by taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I won’t let her go. No matter how pissed or hurt she is I’ll fix this and make her love me again, or I’ll die trying. I can’t bear her not wanting to be with me because she thinks that I took her over some shitty deal her father tried to offer me.

  “Blakely,” I say gently, and she turns to face me and her cool blue eyes meet mine.

  “Stop calling me that.” She looks away and stares out the window. I reach for her small hand, engulfing it with mine and she doesn't pull away.

  “Dream girl,” I say as I bring her hand to my lips and kiss the back of it.

  When she faces me again her eyes are filled with tears. I can’t take it and pull her into my lap and wrap myself around her. I want to shield her from the hurt of her family and the disappointment that they’d treat her this way, but I can’t.

  “I’m so sorry,” I tell her as she buries her face into my neck. My heart pounds in my chest as I run my hands up and down her back.

  “She would have liked you,” she says after a few minutes of silence and I know she’s talking about her mom.

  “I think I would have liked her, too. I have a feeling she was a lot like the girl you keep hidden away. The one that only comes out when she’s with me.” She leans back to look at me, and I cup her cheek. I hate seeing the tear tracks on them, but right now I need to give her what she needs.

  “I wanted to fit in.”

  “You do fit in,” I tell her as I tuck her hair behind her ear. “You fit me like a missing piece I didn't know I needed. You’re perfect, and right where you belong.”

  “You say the sweetest stuff.” Her lip pouts a little, and I lean down to kiss her.

  “No, I’m honest,” I tell her as I kiss her again. “You are more than enough, and anyone who doesn’t see how special you are is fucking blind.”

  “That’s why she’d like you. You make me come alive inside, and I love who I am when I’m with you.” She shrugs. “I think I’ve gotten lost at some point, but there you are, finding me again.”

  “We’ve got all the time in the world and I’m not going anywhere.” I lean forward and press my forehead to hers. “I’m never letting you go.” She gives me a half smile and some of the tension leaves me. “Just let me be with you while you rediscover who you are.”

  It won’t take her long to figure out what’s in her heart. She’s spent so long trying to be what everyone expects her be, but I’ve seen the real woman inside her. She lingers right below the surface and she only needs to let go to realize that herself.

  “Make me forget about tonight.” Her eyes are pleading, and I know what she needs.

  I nod just as the car pulls up to our building. She wraps herself around me, and I carry her inside as the doorman turns his head pretending not to see us.

  I’m desperate for her, and the words John said are echoing in the back of my mind. Thoughts of Blakley being taken away from me or that someone could sabotage our marriage enrage me and make me want to show the world she’s mine. Her grip on me tightens as I walk into our home and she begins to rub her body against mine. My desire for her spiked the second she walked out in that red dress and after tonight I need her to be my outlet.

  “I can’t wait,” I say as the door to our home closes behind me. “I won’t make it to the bed.”

  I set her on the island in the kitchen and move between her legs. I kiss my way down her neck and pull the strap of roses off her shoulder and kiss here there, too. She leans back and I hear her gasp when I tug down the material of the dress to reveal her nipple. I lick across it before I suck it into my mouth. The hard peak is silk on my tongue and I push her legs open wider as I move to her other nipple.

  I want to be everywhere on her at once and I can’t concentrate. I need to focus, but after tonight I just want to fucking devour her.

  “Lie back,” I say as I knock over the basket of fruit behind her and whatever else was there.

  She does as I ask and I kneel down between her legs and yank her ass to the edge. She moans loudly as my tongue finds her clit and her fingers dig in my hair. The taste of her pussy is like eating my favorite meal hot and ready whenever I want it. It’s familiar and comforting and I can’t ever get full.

  “Fucking perfect,” I whisper against her lips before I suck on one and then the other.

  I slide two fingers inside her and curl them up to rub that sweet spot I know she loves. When she raises her hips and cries out, I know I’ve found it and I smile as I tongue her clit.

  “I love you so much,” she moans.

  “I love you, too, dream girl.” I spell out her name with my tongue and then mine after it.

  Her body tenses and she grips the edge of the island and I don’t stop. She grits her teeth and I give her exactly what she wants just as she falls over the edge and climaxes into my mouth. I drink down her sweetness and drag it out of her for as long as I can.

  When she’s lifeless on the island I stand up and pull my cock out. I slide into her slick pussy and start thrusting fast. I’m desperate to get off as she lies there spent from her climax. I don’t need her to move at all, because she’s already done all the
work to get me to this point.

  I watch her perfect tits move as I fuck her and I’m already leaking cum. I’m too turned on to pretend I’m not going to go off, but I want her to cum one more time while I’m in her.

  Leaning back I stroke my thumb across her clit as I watch my cock disappear inside her pussy. She’s wet and so pink she looks like soft serve. I want to lick her again, but my cock is aching, and if I pull out now I might die.

  She moans and her fingers join mine as we both rub her pussy to get her off. It’s sexy as fuck when she gives in to what she wants and my little perfect girl becomes a sexual goddess.

  “Harder,” she whispers, but I hear it as if she’s yelled it at me.

  I grunt and thrust forward, slamming into the island and forcing myself not to cum. She rubs her pussy faster and my cock sinks into her over and over. Her perfect tits bounce and I watch fixated as every cell in her body calls to me.

  Her lips are parted and her eyes are closed as she’s lost in the passion. I’m thinking of all the ways I want to fuck her and every part of her I want to lick as my cock grows and becomes harder. How does she keep doing this to me? Every day I need her more than the last and somehow she understands that. She’s too good for me, but I’ll never let her go.

  As if she’s reading my mind her body bends to my will and her climax hits. She cries out my name and it bounces off the walls of the kitchen. I keep thrusting as my own is triggered and thick waves of cum shoot out of me to fill her up. I can feel my cock lengthening to get it deeper inside her and she wiggles down on it so that she can take every inch. Our combined release is at the base of my cock and I rub it on her clit as the last of her orgasm quakes through her body.