I awoke Saturday morning to a slender arm draped comfortably around my waist from behind and soft, plump breasts cushioned against my shoulder blades. The owner’s face was nestled into the back of my neck, their breath warm on my skin.

I took the loosely curled fingers and brought the palm to my lips.

The woman sighed. “Morning?”

I twisted onto my back and tucked her into the curve of my side. Her head found its favorite spot on my shoulder, spilling locks of glossy hair across my chest and tickling my chin.

“Yeah.” I nuzzled the top of her head where she smelled of my shampoo. Of me. Nothing had ever smelled sexier. “Breakfast?” 

Her chin lifted and she squinted at the clock. “Not today. I’ll be late. I’ll grab something later.”

“Or,” I twisted her onto her back and kissed her. “You can grab something from here and take it with you.”

Her nose bunched up, partially out of embarrassment. “It’s okay. I don’t want to put you out.”

“Out of what? A bagel? You’re right. That would be awful.” I left her scowling after me as I crawled out of bed. “Get in the shower. I’ll get you something to take.”

She chuckled. “You’re very bossy in the morning.”

“I’m always bossy.” I grabbed my trousers off the bench and stuffed my feet into the legs. “Get moving if you want that shower.”

I left her snuggled amongst a tangle of sheets and padded downstairs barefoot.

I made her an egg sandwich and a cup of coffee that I poured into a takeout cup. I tossed a yogurt and spoon into the baggie and set it on the counter just as she shuffled in wearing the same clothes she’d been wearing yesterday.

Her eyebrow lifted at my paper bag. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Reflexively, my face bunched in a grimace. “Really?”

Laughing, she moved around the island to where I stood. “What? You don’t like it?”

I grabbed her ass with both hands and hauled her into my chest.

“Does it work for you?” I asked instead.

Gabby laughed harder, but with a grated edge. “Not even a little. I hate that word.”

I exhaled. “Thank God. I don’t think I could have handled that for very long.”

She kissed me soundly and pulled away. “I’ll see you there at six?”

“You’re not coming with me?”

She looked back over her shoulder at me. “You know we can’t go together.”

“We can—” I objected, but she cut me off.

“Kieran.”

“I’m not letting you walk that stupid trail in the fucking rain, Gabby.” I followed her to where she stood. “You go with me, or you go with me. There is no other option.”

She sighed and faced me. “You know I would give anything to go with you, but...”

“But what? What will happen if you go with me? What will he do?”

She said nothing, but the torment in her eyes almost made me take it back.

I didn’t.

I wanted to know what kind of power David had on her. Whatever it was, I knew it would piss me off enough to punch the guy’s teeth down his throat. I was just itching for a reason to tear him to pieces.

“He’ll hurt me.” She stopped abruptly as if surprised by her own admission, but she didn’t say anything else.

“Is that right?” My arms folded over my bare chest. “Okay.”

She blinked. “Okay?”

Of course it wasn’t okay, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I wasn’t going to say anything until I’d put David into the ground.

I nodded. “Go get ready. I’ll see you at six.”

“Kieran...”

I went to her and took her face between my palms. “Go.” I kissed her lightly. “I’m going to take care of it.”

Her face lost all its color. For one panicked second, I almost thought she’d faint.

“No, Kieran—”

“This is going to end,” I told her firmly. “No one is coming anywhere near you. Go get ready and I will see you at six.”

I walked her to the front door, and stood back while she dragged on her coat and boots. I kissed her one last time before watching her hurry to her car and climb in behind the wheel.

She waved once before pulling out of the driveway.

I made sure she was gone before shutting the door and making my way to my office. My strides were long and purposeful, devouring marble with the same aggression coursing through me.

I’d had enough. This bullshit was going to stop. Nobody was going to touch her, hurt her, take her from me. I was going to destroy Gabby’s nightmares once and for all. I just needed her to confirm what I’d already suspected, that he was hurting her. That was all I needed to know.

Now, I was going to crush David Thornton into the ground.

It took the punch of one number on my phone to get the ball rolling.

Del.

No last name.

No first name.

Just Del answered on the third ring.

One word, “Yeah?”

I dropped into my chair, phone clasped to my ear.

“I have a job for you.”

Del used to work for my father back in the day. He had no official title, no real job description. Hell, he wasn’t even on the payroll. I’d inherited him like I’d inherited all of Walter Kincaid’s life. But up until that moment, I’d had no use for that speed dial button.

Whatever Del did, why would I need it?

I was a businessman who ran a legitimate multinational conglomerate holding company.

I didn’t deal in shady affairs as my father had.

I didn’t secretly own and establish underground sex clubs and torture dungeons.

I didn’t auction off women.

Like Del, they had been given to me to deal with, but unlike Del, they weren’t nearly as useful.

“Who?” the man on the other end asked.

“Get me everything on David Thornton. Not the stuff I can Google myself. I want the stuff no one else but he and God know about.”

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

I heard paper shuffling.

“I’ll be in touch.”

The line went dead.

I set the receiver down and leaned back in my chair.

My original desire was to paint the walls with David’s brain matter. Killing the man was a sure-fire way of getting him out of Gabby’s life for good. It would end everything. But it wasn’t enough.

I’d known the Thornton’s for seven years. Seven years where I’d attended nearly every Sunday dinner, every outing, every vacation, every party. I’d been present for nearly every mile stone that family had ever had ... for everyone, except Gabby. I knew she’d always been shy, a bit skittish, mostly nervous and withdrawn. I’d always assumed that was just the way she was; having a sister like Cordelia who demanded the spotlight, and a brother who was an utter embarrassment, I understood her uneasiness. But there had always been moments when things hadn’t added up, like the bruises on her face, like her slashed tires, like her barely muted panic every time David walked into the room. I didn’t know what he was doing to her, how he was hurting her, but it was going to end if it was the last thing I did.

I pushed to my feet and padded to my room. It lingered with Gabby’s scent and the subtle hint of sex and sweat. The bed was a rumpled mess of sheets and stains. The only thing missing was her, and that fact never failed to annoy me.

I made a mental note to empty space in the closet for her, save her the trip of going all the way home for clothes. If it were up to me, I’d build her a closet next to mine, but I’d pushed enough for the time being. I may have been ready to move things forward and have her with me indefinitely, but she always seemed nervous when I brought up the idea of her just moving in. I figured a week was probably not enough time for that kind of commitment. I didn’t like it, but I’d already waited three years. A few more months wouldn’t kill me.

I climbed back into bed. I had no purpose being awake for a few more hours before the anniversary dinner party later that evening. The only thing I needed to do was shower and shave. That would barely take an hour.

But no sooner had I dragged the sheets over me when my phone rattled across the end table with an incoming text. I raised my head and reached for it. The screen lit up with a swipe of my thumb.

Gabby: “You still haven’t accepted my money transfer.”

I grimaced. Part of me kept hoping she’d forget and the request would time out. But the stupid bank kept sending her reminders that I hadn’t taken the money yet.

Me: “I will. What are you doing?”

Gabby: “I’m at a stoplight.”

Me: “Is it still raining?”

Gabby: “Yes, but it’s slowing.”

Me: “Stop texting. Watch the road.”

I didn’t hear back, so I guessed she’d listened. I dropped the phone back on the end table and tried to get comfortable.

IT WAS A LITTLE AFTER two when I opened my eyes again. The late afternoon had me cursing and rolling onto my back. The arm on the side Gabby normally occupied stretched out, seeking her warmth and finding only cold sheets.

I groaned and twisted into my pillow.

It was Saturday, for Christ sakes.

It was my one day to do absolutely nothing, except snuggle with my woman, eat, fuck, maybe shower, then sleep some more. Instead, I needed to get my ass moving, get ready, and spend it playing nice with people I never liked in the first place.

But I would for her.

She was the only reason I continued putting up with David tongue fucking my ass at every chance. I’d never see her otherwise.

I pushed out of bed and staggered into the bathroom. I showered and shaved, and dressed in my tux bottoms and the dress shirt. The blazer, bowtie, socks, and shoes were carried downstairs into the kitchen and placed on a chair. I left them there as I went in search of something to eat before heading out.

I called my mother while I waited for my pizza pocket to warm up.

Norah Kincaid was a complex woman. In all the years I’d known her, I knew absolutely nothing about her, except that she liked money and disliked children.

In return, she knew nothing about me. The one time she’d been listening, she must have heard me mention something about liking, or needing a journal. To this day, she still gives me one, already wrapped and signed every time she sees me. I have so many, I would need eighteen life times to fill them all. But it was a kind of affection and those were rare from her.

“Kieran, how are you?” her fluid greeting radiated from the other end.

“Hello Mother,” I mumbled back. “I’m just calling to see if you needed a ride to the party tonight.”

The microwave chimed, signaling the completion of my pizza pocket. I dragged the hot plate from the device and set it on the counter to cool.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you. I have a car picking me up at six.”

Silence followed, a long, awkward stretch of seconds where neither one of us knew what to say next.

“Okay,” I relented. “I’ll see you there.”

“Yes,” relief echoed in the single word. “I look forward to it. Drive carefully, Kieran.”

She hung up.

Quickly.

I disconnected the call and immediately held one down on my speed dial.

Gabby picked up on the second ring, slightly breathless.

“Hey!”

Compared to my mother’s brisk dismissal, her greeting washed over me like a warm tide.

“Hey baby.” I took my snack and made my way to the table. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, no, I’m ... I was in the bathroom doing my hair,” she explained hurriedly, slightly distracted. “I left my phone in the kitchen. How are you?”

I pulled out a chair and sat.

“I’m trying to think of ways to convince you to skip tonight and fly out to New Orleans with me for beignets.”

Gabby chuckled. “Yes! I would love that ... if this wasn’t an anniversary dinner. Their daughter not showing up wouldn’t look so great.”

But you’re not their daughter, I wanted to point out.

“Beignets,” I repeated around a mouthful. “All you can eat.”

She made a sound between a grunt and a giggle. “Stop teasing ... crap!”

I raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Yeah ... stabbed myself in the eye with my mascara.” She mumbled a curse and sighed. “I keep meaning to ask you, how did you know about my love of beignets? You weren’t with me that day in New Orleans.”

“I saw you.” I took another bite of my hot pocket. Chewed. Swallowed. “We were going to the Saint Louis Cemetery.”

What I didn’t tell her was that we were half drunk off our feet and had taken a wrong turn, getting us lost and turned around. I barely remember most of that year with Eric. It was a blur of drinking, women, and waking up in the wrong country. It had been fun in the beginning. We were young, rich, and good looking enough to get into the best clubs, get the hottest women, and afford it without breaking a sweat.

Then I woke up one morning with some brunette draped over my chest. My head was buzzing with the worst hangover to date, and I squinted out over the disastrous state of the hotel room and wondered what the fuck was I doing? I was nearly thirty, was this how I wanted to spend the rest of my life? Being like Eric?

The man himself had been butt naked and face down on top of a girl in the bathroom, in a thick puddle of his own vomit. Some girl was half slumped against the wall, her skirt twisted around her hips, exposing the bare crease between her sprawled thighs. Even with a throbbing skull, it hadn’t taken much sense to realize he’d been in the process of fucking her before they’d both passed out.

Oddly enough, that hadn’t been the deciding factor when I opted off the Eric train wreck.

It had been Gabby.

It had been a few weekends later during a dinner party and I’d looked up and there she was. It was as if I were seeing her for the very first time. I almost did a double take. But it was her, Gabby, little Gabby with those enormous, watchful eyes. Only, she wasn’t so little and I wondered how the fuck that happened.

It was that moment she’d turned her head and those big eyes found mine from across the room. It was a split-second occurrence, but it hit me with the full impact of an atomic explosion.

It was the most surreal moment of my life, but then she’d given me this tiny half smile.

Polite.

Timid.

But Holy Christ ... she’d knocked the fucking sense right out of me.

That was the night Gabrielle Thornton stole my damn heart.

“Kieran?”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah?”

“You said we.”

“Eric and I.” I dusted my fingers. “We were leaving one of the local pubs.”

“It was the middle of the afternoon,” she remarked, her tone disapproving enough to make me chuckle.

“Believe me, that wasn’t the weirdest place for us to be at that hour.” I finished off the last of my hot pocket. “Anyway, we passed the bistro and I saw you.”

She’d had an enormous plate of pastries in front of her and sugar dusting her mouth and chin. She’d looked so adorable scarfing them down, I almost went over. But Eric had grabbed me and I vaguely remembered winding up at some underground rave with some purple-haired girl sucking me off under the table.

I didn’t tell Gabby that.

“We have a few hours before we have to be there,” I broke the silence. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”

“We’re going to eat there,” she reminded me. “Mom will be upset if you don’t...”

I never found out what Marcella would be upset about if I didn’t. Gabby seemed to have forgotten I was there as she went quiet, except for the occasional huff of air, followed by a quiet mutter about stupid hair.

“Do you want me to let you go?” I asked her, slightly amused, but wise enough to know better than to show it.

“Maybe,” she mumbled. “Unless you know how to properly curl hair.”

I allowed myself to properly consider that before answering, “Better not risk it.”

She chuckled. “Didn’t think so. I’m nearly done. I just ... fuck!”

The curse took me completely by surprise, more so than her yelp of pain. It was a rare thing to hear Gabby swear beyond the minor curse words. But it was the loud clatter of something dropping that had me frowning.

“You okay?”

There was a stretch of silence.

“I burned my face with the curling iron,” she moaned. “Damn it!”

I was already half out of my chair, not exactly sure what kind of help I could possibly be, but those metal rods women twisted their hair up with didn’t look fun to be burned with.

“Do you need...?”

“No, I’m ... can I let you go? I promise to call you if I survive this.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

She mumbled a goodbye and hung up.

I spent the next three hours going over paperwork in my office and waiting for Del to call back. Part of me had hoped he’d have something within the hour, but realistically, I knew that wouldn’t be possible for anyone, especially the deep, dark stuff. If David was like my father, it would be buried beneath all the other crap.

It was never clear how David and Walter met. The two just became friends one day and that was the end of it. It had never been brought into question when I became friends with Eric, and Mom mildly put up with Marcella. But knowing what I knew about my father, I had to wonder. It was a very real possibility they’d met during one of their dungeon excursions.

I knew David was into the same type of bondage and torture my father had been interested in. I knew both their connections ran deep into the dark underbelly of the city.

I wish I didn’t.

I wish Walter had never taken me with him to that place, but he had and it had opened my eyes to another side of humanity that scared the shit out of me — and I’d been thirty. Old enough to have seen some pretty fucked up shit in my life, and yet, I had not been prepared for that hole.

It had literally been a hole in the ground. I’d been so sure my dad had been fucking with me when he’d told me to climb down. But no, there was an entire world of shadowy corners, twisted and bound bodies, smells of sweat, piss, and shit, and human rot. Men and women were crammed into cages too small for their bodies, warping their shape into inhuman lumps. Bodies were splayed on boards, chained to crosses, and pulled open in grotesque and humiliating poses. They all seemed to be enjoying it, yet the sounds of their anguish had echoed like the wails of the damned along stone.

“I have one picked out for you,” my dad had told me as we moved through the maze.

She was barely eighteen, if she was at all, with eyes the clear blue of the open sky and hair that had been colored blonde, but with dark roots pushing out. That was the only normal thing about her.

She’d been pulled apart, her legs strapped in a perfect split to a board by thick ropes crossing her thighs, knees, and ankles. Her arms had been twisted backwards in an unnatural bend at her back. The forearms were aligned and jutting perfectly straight, bound by more ropes. Her bunched fingers at the top were an unhealthy shade of purple. She was forced forward all the way so her tear stained face was mashed into the foam coat.

She was naked. Her body was littered in bruises and welts, and positioned to the edge of the makeshift bed so her swollen, lubricated, and gaping mound hovered in perfect alignment to my crotch.

I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with her, even while a horrified part of me knew exactly what my purpose was.

The girl whimpered and that was the end of it for me. I walked out without saying a word to my father. He didn’t follow me, and I never asked him what happened, nor could I look him in the eye again after that.

I just never knew how extensive his interests ran until the will reading, until the lawyer had dumped a box of folders neatly organized with everything my father had invested in, all the perverse and twisted fantasies of a man I thought I knew.

But I couldn’t be completely against it, not when it had brought me Gabby. Part of me, was sickeningly grateful.

I left the manor when the driver arrived. There was enough time to get to Gabby’s apartment before she took off on her own. Her Honda was still in its usual place when we pulled up in front of her building. The ancient piece of junk glinted like an eyesore from clear across the parking lot.

“Just wait here,” I told the driver as I pushed open my own door; having money didn’t mean I was incapable of such small gestures.

The weather was mild, but damp and slightly muggy. The rain had stopped, but droplets continued plummeting to the ground from the bare branches twisted over the path to the door.

I didn’t hurry my pace. I reached the steps just as an elderly man was leaving. I caught the door before it could shut and slipped my way inside.

Something plastic was on fire, or had been. Its stench was a powerful force thick through the corridors. It was nearly overpowered by the smell of a child’s ripe diaper. I could have sworn the smells only seemed to grow in intensity the more I visited. I didn’t know how Gabby could stand it.

I reached Gabby’s door and knocked lightly.

I heard the crack of hurried heels a full second before she stood before me, a vision in white and silver.

She’d done her hair up in an elegant twist of curls piled at the back of her head. The absence of the heavy cape left the slender column of her throat and the curves of her shoulders exposed. Thin straps curved the satin slopes, the only thing keeping her dress in place.

The fabric shimmered over her breasts, dipping between the mounds in a taunting V. She wore nothing underneath, so the dark outline of her nipples were perfectly visible through the satin sheath. A single slit cut up one leg to mid thigh, showing off just enough skin to make a man want to check if anything lay between him and heaven. But it was her face I couldn’t take my eyes off of. It was the dark, smoky contour around the green pools, the subtle blush in her cheeks, and the sultry red of her lips. It was how thick and endless her eyelashes appeared when they fluttered downward in her embarrassment.

“Jesus,” I breathed.

Her glossy lips bowed into a grin. “You haven’t seen the best part,” she said, and twisted on balls of her feet.

She was right.

The front was nothing compared to the mind-blowing view of the back. What little of it there was started just over the curve of her ass. The entire length of her spine lay bare, a perfect, white curve of flesh

“Fuck.”

I passed over the threshold and closed the door behind me. My hands settled on her waist, only to have her pull away.

“Wait,” she gasped. “My mom wants the dress back. Hold on.”

Hard enough to come in my pants, I just stood there as she reached for me.

She pulled me from my pants, already hard and ready and drew me forward. Her skirts were pushed apart at the slit, baring her pussy. One leg was hooked over my hip and she impaled herself on my cock.

I slanted each thrust to grind her clit with the shaft. She gripped me hard and met every pump with a downward plunge.

“Faster, Kieran,” she breathed, watching the place our bodies met.

I gathered her to me, careful not to wreck her dress as I drove into her.

She came with a sobbed, “Yes!”

“Pull out?” I hissed into her ear.

She shook her head. “No.”

I growled. “You’re not wearing panties.”

Her head tilted back. “I know.”

Fuck me!

I came like I’d never come before. I shot gallons of it up inside her, an amount that would take days to slowly leak from her body.

“Fuck, Gabby!”

“Am I in trouble?” she teased.

“You are fucking trouble.”

She giggled and pulled away. We both straightened our clothes. I was handed a dishtowel from the kitchen to clean up with. She took it when I finished and tossed it in the corner by the door.

“Come.” She adjusted my blazer. “Let’s get this over with. I want to go and leave as soon as we can.”

That was the best idea I’d ever heard.

She grabbed her coat and purse, and a fresh towel. She only grinned at me when I raised an eyebrow. Without answering, she led us out into the corridor, locked her door and turned to me.

“Ready?”

I nodded and took her hand.

At the car, she laid the towel down on the seat, lifted the hem of her skirt and sat her bare ass on the fabric. It was only then the towel made sense to me, and it took all my restraint not to jump her again.

I did, however, settle my hand on her bare, upper thigh, close enough to her heat that I felt it singe my skin. She was the one who parted her knees and nudged my hand higher, slipping my fingers over her lips.

“What are you doing?” I growled into her ear, my fingers pulling apart her folds and seeking the button in between.

“Enjoying my evening.” Her eyes lifted from beneath heavy lashes and met mine. “What are you doing?”

I teased her clit, eyes never leaving hers.

“If I wasn’t a possessive man, I’d strip you naked and fuck you right here in the backseat.”

“After,” she breathed, eye slipping shut with the penetration of two fingers. “You can help me get the dress off.”

I pumped inside her with unhurried drives, relishing in the rapid rise and fall of her breasts through the low cut of the dress’s top.

“This is your mom’s dress?”

She made a sound that was no more than a grunt. “I don’t know. It was waiting for me when I got home with a note...” She gasped, voice wavering. “To return ... faster, Kieran.”

“No.” I nipped lazily at her earlobe with my teeth.

I earned two muffled orgasms from her by the time we reached the manor. Both were caught behind her mashed lips with only a choked little whimper in my ear as evidence to my success. My fingers were dripping, sticky and thick with a mixture of both our essences. The towel was soaked.

“You are a bad influence,” I growled into her jawline.

Breathing hard from her most recent release, Gabby cupped my cheek. Her thumb settled on my lips where her gaze lingered hungrily. “I was innocent before you,” she panted. “I think you’re to blame.”

It took every ounce of my self-control not to tear into her. The animal she brought out in me was a beast I had never met before. It was wild and untamed, ferial to the point of savage, and all it ever wanted was to devour her.

“We’re going to finish this later,” I vowed as the driver — who had all but gone deaf and blind through the bulk of the drive — took the turn down the Thornton driveway.

We arrived at the manor, behind a row of other cars. I let the driver open the door this time and help Gabby out. It had begun to rain, but the light drizzle was barely noticed as I ushered her inside.

The place was lit with candles and decorated in dark, purple roses. People crowded every square inch, roaming from room to room and spilling into the foyer. I recognized a large portion, all the high fliers who usually frequented the upscale parties.

A girl exchanged our coats for small, pink tickets. I stuffed ours into my pocket.

“What do you want to do first?”

Gabby had already pulled away from me, leaving an almost two-person gap between us. The hot, passionate woman in the car had gone rigid and withdrawn just by stepping foot into that place. It took all my restraint not to pull her back to me and remind her I wouldn’t let anyone touch her.

“I should find my parents,” she murmured. “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

She was gone before I could even think to say hell no. I lost her in the sea of bodies with a swiftness that was almost supernatural.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

“Kieran.”

Wrapped in a beautiful gown of silver, my mother materialized from the crowd. Her dark hair was twisted into an elegant knot at the back of her head, pulled away from the oval shape of her face and the cluster of diamonds dangling from each ear.

They were her good set, I noted. The one Father had given her on one of their anniversaries. They matched the thick choker around her slender throat and the bracelet at her wrist. There was a ring, if memory served, but she wasn’t wearing any.

She was as beautiful as ever, with just the right amount of nipping frost to make her fit right in with the rich and elite.

“Mother.” I bent at the waist and brushed both powdered cheeks with my lips. “You look lovely.”

Norah lifted her chin, a simple tilt to indicate all her pleasure in my remark. “Thank you. You wore the Armani.” Her hazel eyes took in my suit. “Perhaps no one will notice.” She fidgeted with her bracelet, a sign I’d made her uncomfortable. Her gaze shifted away from me to the people moving around us, as if half expecting someone to be looking over and pointing, horrified by my suit choice. “Did you come alone?”

I shook my head.

Cordelia took that moment to appear at my side, as if summoned by the sheer power of my mother’s fretting.

In a scarlet gown, her blonde locks twisted up in a French knot at the back of her head, she was every bit a princess, just the wrong woman for me.

She smiled brightly from me to my mother. “You both made it. Lovely.”

I couldn’t think of a single, straight, hot blooded male who wouldn’t want a chance with Cordelia Thornton. She was beautiful, driven, cultured, and came from one of the wealthiest families. She also had that, come fuck me look down to a science. Back in the beginning, I’d almost considered it. It was one of those, why not moments after my fifth beer next to the pool on a hot as shit summer. She’d been there in a two-piece swimsuit that couldn’t keep a child covered, wet, and practically giving me a lap dance. I couldn’t remember why I said no, but it hadn’t happened, a decision I couldn’t be happier about.

“Hello, Cordelia,” Norah murmured with the same stiff lipped displeasure she showed everyone who wasn’t important. “Don’t you look ... shiny.”

My mother had a very basic grasp of social gatherings. In her world, much like Cordelia, there were two kinds of people, those worthy of being associated with and those who weren’t. Short of royalty, I had yet to meet a single worthy candidate. The Thorntons were essentially trailer park people in her eyes, money grubbing sewer rats looking to suck the life out of those higher than them. Walter’s friendship with David had been a dark day in our household. Then my friendship with Eric. Mother had refused to speak to either of us for almost a month.

But I wanted to think she would like Gabby, approve even. It was hard not to when she looked at you with those big, doe eyes. Plus, unlike the other Thorntons, Mother never said anything bad about Gabby, which made me think maybe she liked her just a little, which in Norah Kincaid’s world might as well have been an entire ocean of love.

“Where are your parents?” she asked Cordelia. “The host and hostess should usually be near the doors to greet their guests, but I suppose Thorntons do things differently.”

I could have sworn a muscle ticked under Cordelia’s right eye, but her smile never wavered, even if it had stiffened around the edges.

“I believe they’re in the parlor,” she said through barely moving lips.

“The parlor?” Norah twisted one hand into the other. “I see. Maybe it’s like a game. Hide and seek.” she turned impatient eyes to me. “I am off to seek our hosts in the parlor. If I don’t see you by the end of the evening, best regards, and I had something put into your car for you.”

A journal. I didn’t even have to see it to know.

“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

With nothing more to say, she turned and flounced away, only to get caught by a group of women and forget all about the parlor.

“Your mother is so spirited,” Cordelia mumbled in what she probably considered good grace.

I ignored it.

“You look very nice tonight,” I told her, because it was expected, and because it was true.

Her smile widened. “Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself.” She lifted a small hand and adjusted my bow tie. Her hand settled on my chest, palm flat. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about last weekend. Work had me swamped all week or I would have swung by your place to apologize. I was hoping we could talk I’ve Friday lunch, but...” she didn’t say, you cancelled, but the implication was there. “That entire situation was simply unacceptable.”

I captured her hand and lowered it.

“You already apologized,” I reminded her. “And I told you it was forgotten.”

“I know.” She bunched up her nose that reminded me a little of Gabby. “I just ... I can’t believe I behaved that way. It was improper and so rude.”

“Cordelia.” I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s fine. Let’s move past it.”

I followed my own example by attempting to move past her. But she bolted right back in front of me.

“Mom and Dad asked if I could start the dancing tonight. I was hoping you would help me.”

There was nothing more pretentious than being the couple following the guests of honor onto the floor. It was nothing more than a claiming ceremony announcing to the entire room that I had been claimed. Every year, Cordelia asked, and every year, I refused.

“Let me consider it,” I told her. “I’m just going to find your parents.”

“They’re in the parlor,” she said, motioning in the direction I’d walked a million times in the past.

Thanking her, I dodged around her and made my way in that direction. Part of me hoped Gabby would be there, but knowing she wouldn’t. She had a knack for turning invisible during those things, like a mirage, one blink and she was gone.

My hunch had been right. Gabby was nowhere near the parlor. But David and Marcella were, surrounded by a dozen crotch lickers in thousand-dollar getups. I was about to become one of them.

“Kieran!” David waved me over. “Delighted you could make it, my boy. Did you see Cordy?”

I made my way over to the group, gaze still scanning the room in case I missed Gabby hiding somewhere. She wasn’t.

“Congratulations on your anniversary.” I clapped hands with the man before turning to the wife. “You look beautiful, Marcella.”

She leaned in and enveloped me in a plume of something floral and citrusy that stung my eyes. Her lips brushed my cheeks on either side before she pulled back.

“We’re so glad you could make it,” she said with just enough pep to not make it feel like she was repeating herself for the hundredth time that evening.

It was strange that I never noticed before, but there was nothing of Gabby in her. Not the eyes, not the face. I always thought kids got something of their parents, but apparently not Gabby. Cordelia, on the other hand, was the spitting image of Marcella. Even Eric had his mother’s jaw. I couldn’t help wondering if Gabby hadn’t been taken from a mall somewhere.

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Did you already have a drink?” David cut in.

I shook my head. “I only just arrived.”

“Go get a drink,” David ordered. “We’re going to move this into the next room shortly. Actually.” He slipped free of his wife and shifted his body closer to mine. “There are some people I want you to meet before you go.”

I had no interest in meeting anyone. I wanted to find Gabby. But I raised an interested brow and let him lead me away from the group.

The people turned out to be four of my dad’s old friends. Simon Wiliger, Joseph Knight, Leshan Gurier, and Dennis Hall. The tiny group stood in the corner of the sitting room, tumblers of scotch in hand and arrogant expressions. They perked when we approached. The conversation dimmed into silence. Arrogance dissolved into amusement.

“What’s this, Thornton?” Joseph took a sip of his drink. “Escaping your wife already?”

David ignored the question and set a hand on my shoulder. “You boys know Kieran, Walter’s kid, don’t you?”

I was thirty-five, too old to be anyone’s kid. But I inclined my head mutely and waited to see what my purpose was.

But Walter’s kid had their attention. Grins melted into exchanged glances of interest that made my spine itch.

“We’re sorry for your loss,” Dennis said first. “Your father was a good man.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“He’s definitely been missed,” Simon added. “We had some good times with him.”

The unease increased along my skin, but I said nothing.

“The boys and I usually get together on weekends and ... socialize,” David said. “Nothing too exciting, but we definitely get our money’s worth.”

The implication made my skull throb. I didn’t know what it was about me that made everyone seem to think I had any sort of interest in that kind of thing, but it was beginning to bring out the homicidal tendencies out in me.

“I’ll have to see my schedule,” I lied.

That had the five exchanging glances.

“Of course,” David said before the others could open their mouths. “We didn’t expect anything different. We just wanted to extend the invitation.”

Marcella appeared in the doorway and motioned her husband to her.

“That’s my cue,” David stepped away from the group. “I’ll see you gentlemen in a bit.”

He left me with his friends, an awkward situation I couldn’t leave fast enough.

“I’m going to get myself a drink,” I lied. “It was nice seeing you all again.”

“You should join us,” Joseph interjected before I could leave. “You might find you have quite a bit in common with our interests.”

I paused and turned back. “How so?”

“We know,” Simon piped in, keeping his voice low. “About your father’s ... tastes. He had a nose for finding some of the best entertainment.”

“We know you have his lists,” Leshane said.

“If you’re not interested, we’d be happy to buy them off you,” Joseph finished. “Just name your price.”

There it was. The whole purpose behind the meet and greet. David wanted my dad’s folders, the names and locations of all the underground clubs. The good ones. The ones every true sadist coveted. Walter had spent years collecting them and protecting them, using them to show off to his friends.

Walter was gone.

The power was all mine now.

“They’re not for sale,” I told them flatly. “But I appreciate your interest.”

I may not have been able to stop the pain and torture that took place beneath the city streets, but I wasn’t going to pass that information along to men like them, sick, twisted men who preyed on the weak and helpless. Those files would either get burned to ashes, or kept somewhere no one would ever find them. But they were never going to get used if I had any say.

“Just like his father,” Simon muttered when I started to turn away.

I stopped and faced them for a second time, my patience at its end.

“I am nothing like my father,” I told them quietly. “I am nothing like you. That should worry each of you greatly. Men of wealth, power, and esteem. Imagine what the papers would say if they knew what you do in the dark.”

I left them with those words for company and made my way in the direction of the rec room. I checked my watch, hoping enough time had passed so we could leave.

It took three full circles through most of the main floor before I found her.

She’d wedged herself near a bookshelf in the library, an untouched flute of champagne in hand. She caught sight of me and her face lit up.

“Hey!”

“You are not an easy woman to find,” I told her, joining her in the dark, little corner. “What are we hiding from, lady spy?”

She chuckled, and to my surprise, leaned against my side. I made no comment, but slipped my arm around her waist.

“Everyone. No one ever comes into the library. I think books scare them.”

I made a humming sound. “Interesting considering most of them are judges and elected officials.”

She giggled. “Right?”

She turned her face into my chest and I tightened my arm.

“Hey.” I tipped her chin up with a finger. “We can leave. Right now. Say the word.”

“I have a weird feeling,” she whispered as if sharing a dark secret. “I always get them at these things, but...” She flattened a hand to her stomach. “It seems more intense tonight. I think I’m just nervous about David finding out that we’re together.”

“There isn’t a fucking thing he can do,” I told her. “Do you hear me? I could kiss you right in front of him and if he makes one move, I’ll fucking kill him. I promise you that.”

Her drink was set on a shelf, leaving her hands free to wrap around my middle. She sighed my name and nestled her face into my shoulder.

“I love you.”

I kissed the side of her head. “Love you, too, baby.”

“Kieran?”

“Yeah?”

She tipped her head back to peer into my face. “Can we not stay for dinner? I’ll make something, or we can pick something up—”

I kissed her. “Do what you need to and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Her smile was beautiful, a bright bloom of relief. “Let me just congratulate my parents, okay?”

I skimmed her lips again with mine. “I’ll get us a reservation.”

Still grinning, she broke away from me and hurried from the room. I pulled my phone out and dialed the first place I could think of — a Mediterranean cuisine — and booked a table. I stowed the device away and went in search of Gabby.

I found her in the sunroom with everyone else. The space had been cleared of all furniture, leaving it open and spacious with fairy lights and candles. It was the perfect place for dancing, but no one was.

A stage had been erected at the head of the room, a wall of windows overlooking the starry night. The entire family stood up there, including Gabby.

David stepped up to the mic and smiled over the crowd.

“Hello.” His voice boomed over the room, silencing the chatter. “Marcella and I want to thank each of you for coming. It means a great deal that you would share this night with us...”

I tuned out the rest of his speech, my focus on the woman standing on the other side of Eric. The one part of the perfect picture, but not really. While Marcella had her arms looped through Cordelia and Eric’s elbows, no one was holding Gabby’s arm. She had her fingers laced in front of her and was watching David give his speech with quiet interest.

It made me wonder how I never noticed the subtle little things before. I’d always thought I knew everything about her, but I felt like everything I thought I knew was a lie.

Not the things I knew about Gabby as a person. All of that remained perfectly intact. I knew she was amazing, funny, intelligent, dedicated, driven, caring, generous. None of those things had changed. But I was beginning to notice everything else, like how completely alone she was, how she always seemed a little tenser around her family, how she always lost the colors in her face when David got too close.

An eruption of applause broke me from my deducing and I blinked. My gaze swung over the room before returning to the Thornton family, who were climbing off the stage.

Music started and David pulled Marcella onto the clearing. He spun her out under his arm and pulled her seamlessly back. Her black and silver dress billowed around her legs like a blooming flower. The crowd oo’d and ahh’d, but I’d lost track of my woman again.

Unlike Cordelia and Eric who’d moved off to one side, she’d climbed off the stage and disappeared into the crowd. Part of me wondered if she was heading to the car, but I doubted it.

“Are you ready?” Cordelia appeared next to me, eyes bright. “The dance,” she reminded me when I only stared.

Crap, I thought.

“Yes, I just need one moment.”

Her delicate features wavered. I could see her trying to pick her words carefully while maintaining her smile for those around us.

“We only have a moment,” she stated around tightly clenched teeth.

“That’s all I need.”

I moved away from her and delved in the direction Gabby had gone, murmuring apologize as I cut a path.

I found her in my usual armchair in the parlor. Her big eyes sprung up when I walked in and widened.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same question.”

Her gaze lowered. “Cordelia said you’d promised her the first dance, so I was just waiting.”

“No, I promised I would think about it. I never actually said I would dance with her.”

“Kieran...”

I extended my palm. “Come, love. Don’t make me go all Swayze on you; no one puts baby in the corner.” I grinned when she laughed. “Come on.”

She took my hand and I lifted her to her feet.

“This is a bad idea.”

I snorted. “But those are the best kind.”

I led her into the next room just as Eric pulled his buxom beauty onto the floor alongside his parents. I spotted Cordelia exactly where I’d left her, anxiously searching the faces for mine. I knew it was mine, because her face lit up when our eyes met. Her red lips bowed into a wide smile that almost immediately plummeted when she noticed Gabby next to me.

Confusion twisted her pretty features. It must have been a rare occurrence, because it didn’t seem natural the way she kept blinking and opening and shutting her mouth. I would have found it hilarious, except Gabby had gone rigid. Her grip had become a crushing vice around mine.

I pulled her onto the dance floor and spun her into my arms. What should have been fluid appeared tense and awkward by the stiffness that locked her limbs, giving her the appearance of a doll.

“Easy, love,” I murmured. “There’s no one here, but me.”

Eyes the bright green of fresh grass sprinted away from her sister and found my face. The genuine terror reflected in their glassy depths splintered all the way up my spine.

“You’re going to get me killed,” she murmured, her lips the only color on her face.

I pulled her closer despite her resistance.

“No one’s going to touch you.” I skimmed the ridges of her spine with the tips of my fingers, marveling at the silky softness beneath my touch. “Have I told you how fucking amazing you look tonight?”

Heavy lashes lifted and I was caught in her stare once more, only this time, there was a pink flush in her cheeks that I was dying to stroke.

“I was hoping to get lucky tonight.”

There was my girl.

I chuckled. “Oh, I can guarantee it.”

I dipped my thumb over the satin bit of skin just above the line where her dress started over the curve of her backside and had the pleasure of watching her exhale softly.

“I don’t want this,” I told her quietly. “I don’t want to share you on our anniversary. I want it to be just you and me somewhere far away for a whole week. No families. No work. No phones. We’ll pick a place on the map and disappear.”

Her features softened. “Yes, I want that.”

“When we have kids, they’ll come with us, but I want you to myself for at least two nights. That goes for date nights, too. At least two weekends every month. Full weekends.”

She chuckled. “Anything else?”

“I have the full list at home,” I teased. “I’ll get you a copy.”

“A full list, huh?” She laughed and shook her head. “Can’t wait to see it.”

“You know what I can’t wait for?” I flattened my palm to the small of her back and pulled her closer, dissolving that sliver of space separating her from me and eradicating any doubts anyone may have had about my intentions. “To take you home, take that dress off, and relearn all the places that make you moan.”

Gabby bit her bottom lip. “You need to stop that.”

“Making you moan?”

Her color deepened. “Making me forget why—”

I never learned what I made her forget when the song ended and the other dancers I hadn’t noticed until that moment came into view.

Gabby started tugging out of my arms, but I held her firmly in place.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.

“You should dance with someone else next,” she said, the tension returning to her lips.

“I don’t want to dance with anyone else.” I tucked her back against me as the next song started.

“Kieran.”

“Hey, what have I said about using that tone when saying my name?”

She looked up at me, her expression a mixture of deathly fear and begging. “I thought we were leaving.”

I touched her cheek lightly. “Okay, we’re going, but you owe me another dance.”

David and Cordelia were waiting for us when we slipped off the dance floor. The pair reminded me of prison guards lording over all the prisoners out in the yard. I wondered if we could somehow skirt around them without having to stop, but they were blocking the only exit.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

Next to me, Gabby’s fingers tightened in mine with a ferocity that made me wince.

I didn’t let go.

“David,” I greeted. “Something wrong?”

There was an eerie intensity in the man’s eyes that I hadn’t seen before, a dark flicker of a cat eyeing the canary.

I was no one’s fucking canary.

“I wanted to introduce you to someone,” he said.

I started to tell him I’d already met enough people, that Gabby and I were going home, but the figure just over David’s shoulder stepped forward and I stopped.

It took me a second to place him. He had one of those faces that was both memorable and easily forgotten, but the moment I did, my insides went cold. My stomach flipped and a metallic taste filled my mouth.

“Hello again,” the man said stepping up alongside David. “Fancy meeting you here.”

The man from the auction, the man in the seat next to me. I couldn’t for the life of me remember if he’d given me a name, yet there he stood.

What were the fucking odds?

“Tiberius and I met over a game of cards,” David said. “Your name came up and he tells you two already know each other.”

Jesus, did he know? It was impossible to tell, but I knew I needed to get Gabby as far away from both as possible.

“Where did you meet Kieran, Mr. Rutherford?” Cordelia asked.

“Mr. Kincaid and I met a few weeks ago during an auction,” Tiberius revealed, never once taking his eyes off me. “He was betting on a mare.”

I felt rather than heard Gabby’s sharp inhale. It was in the tremor that passed from her into me, even while she struggled to remain as immobile as possible.

“He won,” Tiberius went on. “A true stroke of luck, because she was truly an exquisite creature, pure and untamed. He paid quite a bit for her, I thought maybe too much, but I can now see why.”

I disliked him comparing Gabby to a fucking horse, but I kept a firm reign on my temper.

“I didn’t know you collected horses, Kieran.” Cordelia’s attention found mine. “Where do you keep—”

Tiberius cut her off. “I’ve been meaning to get in touch and see about taking her out, with your permission. You see, I train them in my spare time.”

“No,” I replied simply. “I appreciate the request, but I don’t share.”

Tiberius chuckled. “That’s what I told David you’d say. You didn’t strike me as a sharing kind of man.” His gaze slid slowly sideways to Gabby. “I can’t say I blame you. I wouldn’t either.”

“Kieran.”

Over the noise in the room and the roar of blood in my head, I couldn’t be certain if Gabby had actually spoken or not, but it spurred me to move.

“It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Rutherford. Enjoy your evening.”

I moved us past them in the direction of freedom. We were nearly there. I could just make out the front doors, when Gabby was snagged. The jerk pulled me to a stop. I whirled around, fist bunched, ready to flatten whoever had her, only to find it was Cordelia’s painted talons cutting deep groves into Gabby’s forearm.

“Gabrielle,” she purred. “I haven’t seen you all night. Hiding again?”

Gabby twisted her arm free before I could open my mouth. She staggered slightly into me and I caught her.

“Tell Mother I’ll send her dress back.”

Cordelia’s eyes narrowed. “Are you leaving already? I thought for sure you’d stay for the food first.”

Gabby took another step back, trudging slightly on my feet in her attempts. “We only came to congratulate Mom and Dad.”

She realized her slip the same split second Cordelia did.

“We?” Cordelia’s eyes shot past Gabby to me and hardened to fine, blue chips of fury. “Oh, I see.” Her laugh crackled with brittle frost. “You fucking whore.”

I planted myself between the two and glowered down at the other woman.

“Enough. We’re leaving.”

I hooked Gabby’s waist with my arm and propelled her towards the doors.

We got all the way to the car and into the backseat before she fell apart.

“What did I just do?”

“You left a party,” I assured her calmly. “Everything is fine.”

“I just told David about us.” Her horrified gaze met mine in the light radiating from the house. The pupils were dots, the terror in them paralyzing. “Why did I do that?”

“Because it’s true.” I leaned over and kissed her unyielding mouth. “Because there was no point hiding it after that dance.”

Her eyes closed and she slumped forward, gasping. “This isn’t going to end well.”