A Dominant Fallen (A Dominant Series Book 2) (46 page)

By the time we head home, the dark night sky melds with the overwhelming blue of day.

We get frisky in the elevator, sloppily groping and rubbing our bodies together, eager to screw like bunnies. The doors open and we stumble into the main room, laughing and kissing, drunk on pricey booze and each other. Hunt pushes me against the wall and hikes up my skirt, ready to lift me up and fuck me stupid, when I spot a beautifully wrapped present sitting on the floor behind him. I tap his shoulder and he pulls away from me.

“What is it, angel?”

“You didn’t have to,” I reply, pointing to the pretty package, wrapped with white paper and a black ribbon tied perfectly into a lovely bow. I skip over to it and pick it up, smiling broadly.

“I didn’t,” he says with trepidation. “Gabrielle, put it down and step away.”

I stare at him for an instant before placing the package back on the hardwood floor. He cautiously walks toward it, picking it up and taking it over to the glass coffee table. He plucks the card off the top and opens it, crumpling it in his hand once he’s read it.

“Is it…?”

He glances over at me and hands me the card.

               To the happy couple,

Consider this an early wedding gift.

                                                            D M   

I glance up at Hunt, who has a sickened look on his face, his lips curling from disgust.

“Dante,” I murmur, and he nods his head. “Do you think it’s dangerous?”

“If I know my brother, and I do, this is just a part of his game, to remind us he’s still around.” He moves toward the risky gift on the table, but I grab his wrist and shake my head at him.

“What if it isn’t? Shouldn’t we call the cops?”

“I don’t want them involved, Gabrielle. Now, take a few steps back.”

I do as I’m instructed, but I’m terrified beyond belief. He places his fingers on the lid, and I can see the drop of sweat on his brow. He lifts it slightly and peers inside, tossing the lid when he spots whatever’s inside. He reaches into the box and pulls out a...decorative photo album?

I walk over to him, standing close to his side, and stare down at it curiously. He opens it, and we’re dumbfounded by what we discover.

Wicked Discoveries

T
here are pictures of me, of us, during our separation, at the opera house the night I met Vanessa, at the bistro with Hunt’s family just after making up, entering the Manor, at the Memorial Day party, getting ready for the wedding. He’s been watching us the whole time, always around, always within arms-length. A chill races up my spine, and I shiver violently.

Then, Hunt turns the page, and a wave of nausea rushes up my throat.

“Oh, my god, I think I’m going to be sick.” There are pictures of us, here, at The Artemis in our most intimate moments, bathing, sleeping, making love. “Hunt, he’s been here. He’s been in our home. He’s seen us…”

“I need to call Banks,” he says, oddly calm, taking his phone out of his jacket pocket and placing it against his ear. “Liam, we have an issue. You need to come up here.”

He hangs up the phone and tosses it on the couch, falling back onto it. He clasps his hands together and places them in front of his mouth, staring off into nothingness.

Suddenly, I realize something petrifying.

“Damian, what if he’s still here?”

He glances up at me, as if he hadn’t even thought of it, and stands quickly, grasping my hand and walking me over to the elevator. Just as Hunt is about to push the button, the doors open, and Liam appears.

“When we arrived home, we found a package from Dante waiting for us. We need to get Gabrielle downstairs to your place so we can do a search of the penthouse.”

“Very good, sir. Julie can keep her company while we look.”

“Excellent. Please take her for me, and then call security.”

“Damian, no, I don’t want to leave you, I don’t want you here alone.”

“Gabrielle, listen to me. You need to do as I tell you. I need you safe…Now, don’t argue with me, and go with Banks.”

He gently forces me into the elevator, and when I try to step back out, the doors shut and I’m ripped away from him.

“Liam, we shouldn’t have left him alone…If Dante is still up there, he’ll kill him.”

“He’ll be fine, Gabrielle. We need to make sure you’re safe, so he isn’t worried about you while we look. That could prove fatal.”

The elevator doors open, and Liam walks me out and down the hall to the door at the end. As we approach, it swings open wide, and Jules is standing there in a robe, clutching it shut. I run into her arms and cling to her urgently, crying hysterically.

“What’s going on?” she asks, panic trembling her voice.

“I’ll explain later,” he answers, his gray eyes focused, clear. “I want you two to get inside, bolt the locks, and turn on the alarm. I don’t want you to leave until you hear from me.”

Jules nods and takes me inside, locking the door and setting the alarm as she was instructed. I stand behind her, admiring Liam’s home. It’s cozy yet masculine.

When she’s done, she turns back to me, wrapping her arm about me and guiding me over to the plush tan couch in the living room. We take a seat and I flop my head back, thrusting my hands over my face.

“I really don’t want to sit around and wait…We should just leave and let security handle this.”

“Gabrielle, what’s going on?”

I really don’t want to go over it for the millionth time, but she’s my bestie and she’s more connected to all this than I would like. However, she already knows about Dante, and I can’t tell her about Nicholas’s possible murder, so, I go over every other detail that has happened since our talk in the park. It takes me time to get through everything and actually manages to distract me from our current situation.

“Holy fuck,” Jules murmurs, pulling me in for a hug. “I don’t know how you dealt with all that, Ellie…You’re so strong and brave.”

“Yeah, but if Dante is coming after us, then everything I put him through was for nothing.”

“Hey,” she exclaims, grabbing my arms and twisting me toward her. “Nothing is going to happen to him. Liam and Hunt will take care of everything.”

“I hope you’re right. If anything ever happened to him, I don’t know what I would do,” I say in a terror-induced haze.

“Don’t talk like that,” she orders then looks me over, shaking her head. “You must be exhausted. You should try to get some sleep. We all have a long two days ahead of us.”

“How can I sleep with all this going on…? I mean, should we even go through with it at this point?”

“Don’t you dare!” she screams, tightening her grip and fixing her violet gaze on my wary blue. “If you don’t go through with the wedding, he wins. Don’t even think about it. It would
kill
Damian.”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.” I shrug, defeated.

She pats her lap, gesturing for me to lie my head down, and I do just that. She runs her fingers through my hair and over my face. Suddenly, I feel exhausted, crashing hard from the adrenaline, and before I know it, I’m fast asleep, blissfully ignorant to everything around me.

W
hen I wake up, I’m in Hunt’s studio, lying in the bed where we’ve spent more than a few memorable nights. When I remember everything that happened early this morning, I shoot up, scanning the room for Hunt. And, with his impeccable timing, he comes walking through the front door, carrying two coffees, a white paper bag, and some clothes, dressed in cargo shorts and a light blue button-up.

He smiles weakly when he spots me, walking over the bed to give me my hangover miracle cure, coffee and a chocolate croissant from my favorite bakery.

“Good morning, angel.”

“Morning,” I yawn out. “I’m guessing you didn’t find anything.”

“No, he wasn’t there, but security is going over footage, to see how he could have possibly gotten in and out.”

He sits on the edge of the bed and takes a big sip of his joe, staring off into nothingness.

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

I grab his attention, and he focuses back on me. “We tried, but you were out like a light…Nothing short of an earthquake could’ve woken you.”

“Why do you think he did it?” I take a bite of my croissant and a swig of coffee. I’m kinda amazed at how casually we speak of the incident. Perhaps, having been through so much has numbed us to some degree.

He takes another sip of his coffee and shrugs his shoulders. “He was just trying to scare us, remind us he’s still around. You have nothing to worry about, Gabrielle, I have everything under control.”

“I want to believe you, Damian, and to an extent, I suppose I do, but…he was in our home, following us around like some depraved stalker.”

“Elle, I don’t want you to worry about anything except the wedding…We have a lot to take care of before tomorrow. In fact, we should head up to B’s soon.”

“Damian,” I say with apprehension. “Are you sure we should…?”

“If you so much as finish that thought,” he interrupts me, “I will throw you over my knee and spank the living daylights out of you. I am marrying you tomorrow, and by this time Sunday, you will be Mrs. Damian Hunt. Now, I don’t want to hear any more talk of such ridiculous things, understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Hunt, perfectly.”

I pucker my lips, and he leans in, rewarding me with a firm yet tender kiss. He pulls away from me and drinks the last of his coffee.

“Excellent. Now, I want you showered and ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

“It may take me longer.” I bite off a big piece of buttery, fluffy croissant and continue, still chewing, “I still have to pack.”

He smirks at me, amused by my uncouth behavior.

“I’ve taken care of all that. Just get yourself ready. There is a bathroom through that door, and I brought you some clothes to dress in.”

“Why can’t I go upstairs to do all that?” I ask, going in for more coffee.

“I don’t want you back up there until we do a complete overhaul of the security system.” He places his hand over my cheek, petting the apple with his thumb, and stares deep into my eyes. “I don’t want him to be able to get to you.”

I grab onto his wrist and nuzzle my face against his palm.

“What are you going to do?”

“Handprint analysis pad in the elevator and double the cameras and number of security. I’m going to turn this place into a virtual fortress.” He curls an arm about my waist and hauls me into his lap, kissing my temple and inhaling deeply. “Now, don’t worry about it anymore.”

I remain in his arms for a moment more before grabbing my clothes and shoes off the bed. I run into the bathroom and shower quickly, dressing in the flowing, white mullet dress with a high/low skirt. I pair it with a chunky brown leather belt and throw on the bright red ballet flats. I leave my hair down and decide to go without a stitch of make-up. I’m ready in less than fifteen minutes.

When I walk out to the main space, Hunt gasps and walks over to me with a look of awe.

“Gabrielle, you’ve never looked more beautiful.”

I smile up at him, feeling beautiful, and reply, “I’m sure you’ll say that exact same thing tomorrow.”

“Of course I will…because with every day that passes, you are more stunning than the day before.”

“You always know just what to say,” I state and fall into his arms, feeling loved and content.

W
e drove up in the Land Rover with Chase, Maya, Wade, and Brooke, with the rest of the wedding party, our parents, Aubrey, Keira, Liam, and Jules, trailing us in their own cars. We arrive at the charming Victorian B&B around lunch.

“Welcome,” Beverly greets us on the patio, arms open and a brilliant grin on her overjoyed face. Catlin clings to her flowery dress, shy with all the new people coming all at once, but smiles sweetly when she sees Damian, running up and giving him a big hug.

He lifts her up and kisses her all over her face, which she loves, giggling and placing her hands on his face to push him away. But, he keeps at it until she begs him to stop in stuttered, high-pitched pleas.

We walk inside, heading to our rooms to unpack and ready for lunch. Hunt and I are about to head up to our little love nest in the attic when Vivian and Elizabeth stop us, everyone else rushing past us to get up to their rooms.

“Where do you think you two are going exactly?”

We pause and glimpse at one another, confused.

“You’re not sleeping in the same room the night before your wedding,” Elizabeth clarifies.

“You don’t honestly still believe in that stuff, do you, Mother?” Hunt asks Vivian.

“Yes, I most certainly do, Damian. Gabrielle will take the top room, and you, my dear son, will stay down here on the first floor.”

I try to reason with Elizabeth. “Mom, come on.”