It took her five kisses to make me stir from the most peaceful sleep I’d had since breaking up with Natalie. I’d woken her up a few times throughout the night, sometimes to have sex, others just to taste her and bring her to orgasm again. It was like an addiction I’d acquired overnight, one I wasn’t sure there was any kind of rehab for.

“Wake up, Marcus,” she whispered in between kisses that travelled from my jaw, down my neck, across my chest and back again.

A smile rose into my cheeks instantly, but I kept my eyes shut and let her explore.

“Stealer of pleasure,” she breathed against me before planting a kiss. “Destroyer of leg usage. The man who drained me of life and made me scream his name until my throat ached.”

“I have something that’s good for sore throats,” I mumbled weakly through barely parted lips.

Danni’s cute chuckle, before she weakly slapped a hand on my chest, had me peeking one eye open and taking her in.

If it was possible, she looked even better after sex, her skin flushed and makeup free, and her eyes still glistened from the pleasure her body had experienced. Her hair was a mess, but a beautiful mess. The kind of mess that shouldn’t look good on anyone, but she pulled it off.

“You’re stunning,” I told her, my eyes popping open fully as I turned my head on the pillow and stared at her, my fingers trailing up and down her back.

“So are you.” She grinned.

I sighed with contentment. My muscles throbbed and my bones ached, but it was the best feeling of my life. I enjoyed the aches. I never wanted them to leave me. It reminded me of every second we’d spent together. “You know what’s weird?”

“That this doesn’t feel weird now that it’s the day after the night before?”

“Yeah.” My eyes searched her face, my other hand reaching over to push the hair away from her cheek and tuck it behind one ear. “No regrets?” I whispered.

“None.” Danni shook her head before she raised a brow and bit the corner of her lip. “Well… maybe one.”

“Eating the cake?”

“Besides that.” She laughed softly.

“Did I give you a really ugly hickey?” I raised a brow back at her.

“Only in places people can’t see.”

I pulled her down for a kiss, holding her head to me while I spoke against her lips. “What’s your one regret?”

“That we can’t carry this on for another day.”

I stopped in my tracks, realising that today was, in fact, our last day in Koroni, Greece. That afternoon, the rest of us were due to fly back to Leeds with our belongings on our backs and our memories in our minds. Danni pulled back, watching me as I stayed quiet and tried to hide the way I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Another day would have been nice,” I eventually said.

“But then tomorrow, I’d wish for another day again, so it would never end. I’m happy to take what you gave me, remember you for always, dream of last night every day of my life, and take it for what it was. Just two people who wanted each other and were happy to do something about it.”

“I’ll remember it all,” I whispered.

“Me, too.” She smiled. “Not everything we do in life has to mean more than it does in that one perfect moment. We don’t always have to take steps that lead to things moving forward. Sometimes dancing around from side to side can be just as fun.”

Both my hands found her cheeks, holding the vision like she was the most exquisite china doll I was fearful of dropping and breaking.

“If only the world could hear the thoughts inside your head as well as see the beauty on your face. I swear to you, they’d never get over you.”

“Do you think you will?”

“Nope.”

Danni turned her face in my grip, kissing the inside of my palm as she closed her eyes. A brief look of sadness washed over her, but when she looked back at me from under her lashes, she’d corrected herself and was smiling shyly again.

“Maybe in another life you and me could have—”

I cut her off with an urgent kiss.

I didn’t want to hear her say it. Our time together wasn’t over yet. The goodbye wasn’t necessary. I had another few hours to drag this dream out, and I was going to do it. I was going to take one last selfish moment to indulge in the very thing I shouldn’t have been indulging in.

In one swift movement, I’d turned her over until she was lying beneath me again, and I nudged her thighs apart with my legs, settling in between them before I took one last look at her face.

“Life is long. Maybe in this life. Just not right now.”

“I wouldn’t ever ask you to wait.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” I smiled sadly at her. She wouldn’t. She wasn’t Alice. She wasn’t like anyone else that existed. Danni was unique. She was a one-off. “How sore are you?”

“Really sore,” she breathed back at me.

“Too sore?”

“I could be sorer,” she said, grabbing my head and pulling my mouth in for a kiss.

When I sank into her, the connection was stronger than it had been all night, which seemed impossible.

How close could you get to someone before you became them?

How deep did you go before coming out the same guy you went in as wasn’t even possible anymore?

How the fuck did the night survive saying goodbye to the day every morning, passing her by like a ship in the darkness, never in the same place together, but always admiring from afar?

We made breakfast for everyone that morning with a side serving of smug bastard and a sprinkle of satisfied lady. We’d arrived in the kitchen before everyone else. Lost in our own world during the night, we hadn’t heard what time any of them had arrived home, or if they had come back at all, but as soon as we saw Paul passed out on the living room sofa and the sandals and trainers that had been kicked off and were now spread out across the floor, we knew it must have been late.

“I’m going to miss this routine of ours,” Danni said through a smile as she got to work, pulling out the pans, the plates, the utensils and the food she needed. She was wearing a white, loose Levis T-shirt with a pair of short shorts, and every time my eyes trailed down to her exposed skin, I had to fight the urge to throw her on the counter and screw her again.

“I’ll definitely miss the view.”

She laughed softly and blushed.

I was going to miss it. I was going to miss her. But neither one of us let the sadness take over, and before we realised it, we were both dancing around, one dealing with the hot food while the other buttered the bread and got the coffees ready.

Danni’s soft humming of random tunes I didn’t recognise soon turned into her singing the words of a song I most definitely knew well.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds was being sung by the both of us before we realised that we had an audience, and when we turned around to dish the food out onto the plates, we saw the usual suspects gathered around with those stupid all-knowing grins on their faces.

Natalie’s face was the first I saw, and her small wink followed by the way she swayed her body and pressed a thumb up to her chest had me grinning so hard that my cheeks ached.

That one gesture from her erased any small doubts I had about anyone else’s opinions on Danni and me.

There was only one other person I could see having an issue with it, and that was my sister—the one who was currently trying to snatch up my Viking friend.

It was amazing how I was grateful for their connection then.

While I still had Danni next to me, though, I was going to enjoy her company. Ignoring the others, I reached for a tea towel, spun it around in the air and whipped it against the denim pockets of her shorts where I knew there was the most cushioning. I was pretty certain I’d left a small bite mark there the night before.

“Marcus!” she yelped, her hands flying to her butt cheek quickly as she let the pan in her other hand land on the stove with a clang. “You rat bastard.”

“Revenge is sweet,” I growled back, narrowing my eyes.

“You know that’s where…” she trailed off in a whisper, widening her eyes.

“Oh, I know.” I smirked.

“I see someone is definitely feeling better this morning,” Sammy chirped behind us.

“Much better, little sis.”

“You get a good night’s sleep after you bailed early without so much as a goodbye?”

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Sorry about that. I turned sick again but don't worry… Danni here took real good care of me.”

Right on cue, Danni began to choke on fresh air, her hand smacking her chest repeatedly. I slid over to slap her back with false sympathy as I fought to hold my laughter back.

“You okay there, Dan? Something get stuck in your throat? Maybe you should be careful what you put down there.”

Danni snapped her head in my direction, shooting me a death glare that should have sliced right through me. “Swallowed… wrong… way…” she croaked.

“Don't you just hate it when that happens?” I grinned.

There were so many jokes I could have made, none of them appropriate for any of the others to hear just yet. Danni and I hadn't talked about what we were going to say to them, if anything. I had no idea if we were a dirty little secret or a fling for everyone to know about. I was taking this thing with us one second at a time… literally. We only had a few hours left before it expired altogether.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Natalie chuckling, Sammy scowling, Suzie looking tired, and Paul in another world, his gaze solely focused on the dished up food in front of him.

“Ah, so that's why you guys took off last night, huh?” Paul asked innocently as he reached out to snatch a piece of toast. “You got sick again?”

“Yep. Went out for some air, Danni followed me, brought me home and tried to take my mind off things. Isn’t that right, Danni?” I asked her.

“Yep,” she answered, exactly the same way I had, her eyes trying to tell me I was annoying her while her small smile contradicted them. “There was sick. Everywhere. So much sick.”

“Damn. Means I was wrong,” Paul mumbled around his toast. “I told these lot you two were probably screwing and that we shouldn't get home too early to disturb you.”

My mouth popped open.

So did Danni’s.

“We stayed out extra late to avoid the screaming.” Paul nodded, staring at his food.

“Okay, kids. Looks like these two have served us up a wonderful last breakfast,” Natalie interrupted, saving me as she clapped her hands and brought everyone’s attention back to her. She was getting good at that. Maybe she'd always been good at it. Maybe Natalie had always seen more and been stronger than I'd ever given her credit for.

“Let me get the orange juice,” Danni muttered before she turned away and made herself busy.

“Wait.” I blinked, looking around. “Where's Alex?”

“Oh,” Natalie said quietly, thumbing over her shoulder. “He's… he's on the phone.”

“Everything okay?”

“Just the usual.” She shrugged, her smile downturned on one side as she tried but struggled to act like she wasn't worried.

“His dad?”

“Isn't it always?”

“Poor guy,” I mumbled to myself, feeling more and more sorry for Alex the more time passed us by.

“I just hate that this is always going to be there for him.”

“I hate it for the both of you.”

Natalie shrugged her shoulder again, and that was all that was said about that. Every one of us had had the Nicholas Law conversation with Natalie too many times for us to be able to shed new light or help on the situation. Sometimes bad things in life were just there, and no matter how heroic you wanted to be, there was no getting rid of them.

When Alex returned to join us, he didn’t look too sombre, just tired, so we took our breakfast outside and spent our last morning reminiscing. We’d only been in Greece a few days, but that's all it had taken for our bond to grow tighter. There was no denying it now. I was a part of their circle no matter what the future held, and for the first time since I’d told Natalie it was okay to go and find her happiness, it felt good to know that they cared about me… a guy they could have let go with no fuss or guilt attached if they'd wanted to.

Thank God they hadn't wanted to.

The time soon came for us to pack up our bags and say our goodbyes to Danni—a task that seemed a lot harder to me that morning than it would have done the day before.

I was standing over my sofa bed, throwing a few of my toiletries onto the top of my clothes when Danni came tiptoeing into our room. I glanced her way. She glanced mine. I smiled at her, only for her to smile right back before she came to a stop just a few feet short of me.

“You want to know something?” she asked.

“Always.”

“Literally every part of my body is aching today, and pain has never felt so good.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“Yes. And I loved it. You left nice reminders of everywhere you’ve been.”

“I bet there are a few places I could remind again.”

“What a shame you have to leave.”

“Are you asking me to stay?” I asked, raising a brow as I continued to throw things in my case.

“I’ve already asked you and you said no.”

“I know.” I sighed heavily.

“I just wish I could relive a few things with you.”

I dropped my tube of toothpaste down before I turned and closed the gap between us, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer to me.

“Haven't you been warned about me?”

“You’re too cute to carry a warning.” She grinned.

“True. My cuteness does let me get away with a few things.” I laughed softly. “But you should be careful when saying things like that to guys like me.”

“And why is that?” she whispered, slipping her hands around my waist.

“I’ve been known to have an addictive personality with women. I don't know if you heard that rumour. Once I start to fall for you, I find it very hard to hold back.”

“Good job you haven't started to fall for me yet then.”

“Says who?”

“I…” Her eyes widened as she looked up at me.

“You…?” I arched a single brow.

“Don’t say things like that to me. It makes my mind wander.”

“Mine, too.”

“I wish you knew how amazing you were, Marcus.” Her eyes fell to my lips. “It's only now I'm starting to understand that psycho ex-girlfriend of yours.”

“That's no way to speak about Natalie.”

Danni rolled her eyes and playfully slapped me on one arse cheek. “The other one. Alice. If I was selfish enough and cruel enough to ask you to wait for someone like me, after last night, I probably would. And now she doesn't seem as evil as I thought she was. Now I understand. I think I feel sorry for her.”

All humour fell from my face as I dug my fingers into her back and pulled her as close as I could get her. I looked in pain. I saw it mirrored in her eyes. “Help me out here, Danni.”

“Marcus, guys like you…” she began, pausing to inhale sharply. “What am I saying? There are no other guys like you. You're that one in a million every girl dreams of. You bring whoever you're with to life and make them feel like they're the only person that exists. I've been in your company this week and never once have I questioned what you wanted from me. I've never even thought about being used, or just wanted for what I do and who I could be one day. And what I'm saying is that after just one night with you, I can understand why the others have struggled to let you go… even when they've known deep down in their hearts that it's the right thing for them to do. You're an addiction in your own right, and I can't imagine any girl not wanting more.”

I didn't know what the hell to say to that. This woman, even more phenomenal than I or anyone else could ever imagine, had just slain me with her sincerity and unexpected flattery.

“Seeing you go…”

“It's the right thing for you to do,” I whispered, half stating it as a fact, half asking it as a question, just in case she wanted to correct me.

Danni swallowed delicately, her eyes turning sad. “Vincenzo called Roberta this morning. Says he wants me to walk his collection for him at London Fashion Week this year.”

“What?” I gasped, my eyes popping open.

“And model for his new online clothing store along with one other girl. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. She has dark hair and green eyes. He's calling it his night and day collection.”

“That's what he called us,” I whispered back at her in disbelief.

“You inspired him. Seeing us together brought something out in him. Thanks to you, he's flying me out to Italy in ten days.” She grinned, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears. “I'm going to Rome.”

My heart sank. I couldn't deny it, but the bigger parts of me—the ones that mattered more—my mind, my pride, my love for this friend of mine, my desires to see her succeed… well, they trumped that weak arse heart of mine and silenced it with a daring stare.

“Danni, this is…”

“Yes.” She giggled, nodding her head.

“This is fucking incredible.”

“He wants me, Marcus. He really wants me.”

“Of course he wants you. Everyone wants you!” I cried, my hands slipping to her hips as I gripped her harder and shook her as my laughter started to pour out. “Vincenzo, the fruit loop of the decade, wants you, Danni.”

“Isn't it crazy?”

“Not even a little bit. It's everything you deserve and more.”

“And you're here with me. I have someone to share my news with for once.”

“I'm always going to be here for you. Maybe not physically, but whenever you need me, you pick up the damn phone, and you call me. I don't care what time of day or night it is. You'll always have me, and I will listen and be proud and congratulate you, and…” I swallowed my stunned emotions before I let the rush of pure adrenaline rise in me and explode, forcing me to pick her up in the air and spin her around. “Miss Marston, you did it.”

She towered over me, her hands on my shoulders and her hair falling down to create a curtain of privacy around us. At that moment, we were a world away from all other forms of life, and it was beautiful.

“I couldn't have done it without you,” she said as I came to a standstill and held her up in my arms.

“You could single-handedly take on the universe and come out the victor.”

“You think too highly of me.”

“You have no fucking idea,” I whispered through a smile as I gently placed her back on her feet, pushed her hair from her face and held both her cheeks in my hands. “Now is your time. Don't let anybody stop you. You're going to go out there, conquer the world, make everyone fall in love with you like I… like we all have. You smash the shit out of your dreams.”

“You really think so?”

“I've never been surer of anything in my whole average life.”

“After last night, you're never allowed to call yourself average again.”

“No?” I asked, raising a brow.

Danni tugged on the waistband of my jeans, making our bodies rock together. “No. From now on, call yourself the best she ever had.”

“I could definitely get on board with that.”

“Promise me this hasn't changed anything between us,” Danni said quietly as she faltered in her display of excitement. “Promise me you'll still be my friend when you get back home and real life sets in.”

“I'm insulted you think I'm a fuck and dump kind of guy.”

“You're not. I don't. I just…” she sighed. “Promise me you won't forget. You're important to me.”

“How could I forget you?”

“It could be a long time before we see each other.”

“Time and distance won’t change the fact that you're important to me, too,” I assured her.

Danni smiled sadly. “Roberta would kill the both of us if she could hear us now.”

“I won't tell a soul,” I promised her.

“They wouldn't believe you if you did.”

“Wouldn't want them to. I'll keep the miracle of you to myself, thank you very much.”

She rose onto her tiptoes, resting her hands on my shoulders as she leaned in and whispered in my ear, “The miracle of us.”

I waited until she fell back on her feet before I grabbed hold of her cheeks again and pulled her to me for one final kiss. It was desperate, needy, breathy, and every bit of a goodbye I could give her without having to actually say that one dreadful word.

Her body melted into mine as I twisted my lips against hers, wishing there was a way my thoughts alone had the power to close the curtains, the door, and the whole damn world away from us…

Just for one more day.