by Lulu Pratt
Grayson pushed his fingers into me, pumping them in and out, and I arched my back and tipped my head up, moaning. He kissed me again and slid his fingers over my clit. I shivered. Grayson rubbed me faster and faster, coaxing an orgasm out of me. The thrill of what we were doing, the alcohol, and how fucking hot Grayson was pushed me over the edge in no time at all.
When he let go of me, I gasped for air. My head was spinning, every nerve ending on fire. I was driven by lust. Grayson unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock. He was hard, large. He paused for a moment to pull on a condom. I hiked up my leg, and Grayson put his hand on my thigh, keeping me in place. He found my entrance and pushed into me.
I cried out as he slid in to the hilt, and Grayson pressed his lips against mine to muffle the sound. The music was loud in the dancing area, but we weren’t that close, and if someone walked past, they might hear me.
Grayson started moving back and forth, bucking his hips against me, sliding in and out. He fucked me hard up against the wall of the storage closet, and it was as hot as it was dirty. Grayson was practically a stranger, and I let him take me.
A second orgasm built at my core as he rammed into me, my body at his mercy. His head was next to mine, and he grunted close to my ear. My breathing was shallow, forced out of my lungs with every stroke.
Before long, the second orgasm coursed through me, and I cried out as it consumed me. I came undone at the seams, and a moment later, Grayson came too. He pushed deep into me and released. He shuddered, and I felt him pulsating inside me.
A moment later, it was all over. Grayson pulled out of me and stepped back, zipping himself up again. I pulled up my panties, and I knew they were going to be a mess because I had nowhere to clean up. Checking to see I was dressed, Grayson opened the closet door, and we both stepped back into the club. Grayson disappeared into the crowd.
“Callie,” Abigail said when she found me. “Where were you?”
“In the bathroom,” I said, thinking on my feet, but still feeling Grayson’s lips on my body. “I was sick. I think I drank too much. I need to go home.”
Abigail shook her head. “Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded and pressed my hand against my head. I let her walk me out and order me a cab. As the cab drove away, and I was alone, my mind started working again.
What the hell had I done?
Chapter 6
Grayson
I couldn’t stop thinking about Callie. I couldn’t believe what we had done. It wasn’t the first time I had spontaneously taken a girl and fucked her in a random place, but it wasn’t something I had expected from Callie. It was so out of character from what I had seen of her so far, and it had been fantastic.
It had been great to shut her up for a while.
Since I had met Callie, I had thought she was drop-dead gorgeous. She had a body to die for, and the orgasm I had gotten from her had been absolutely worth it. She had been as good a fuck as I had imagined. She had been spontaneous, and she had let me in when I had expected her to slap me or push me away. There was a hidden side to Callie, a side that was fun and interesting and nothing like the stick-up-her-ass wedding coordinator I had seen until now.
I had disappeared into the crowd because I’d been worried Abigail and Carter would find out what we’d done. When I had returned to Carter, I had learned from Abigail that Callie had gone home. Apparently, she had told Abigail she’d been sick in the bathroom. Not only was Callie fun, she was also resourceful. That she hadn’t told Abigail about what we had done told me she had a mischievous streak to her.
I shivered when I thought about what we’d done. Her breast had fit perfectly into my hand, the nub of her hard nipple in my palm. She had been so fucking wet, I had nearly orgasmed in my pants when I plunged my fingers into her pussy. When I pushed my cock into her, she’d been so tight, it had been like fucking a virgin. But Callie had been far from a virgin. She had been naughty and delicious and everything a man would want from a woman when he needed to get his rocks off.
Which was why I was so surprised by her. The Callie I had met and the Callie I had fucked last night were two very different people.
I had no idea how Callie would be with me now. Either she would let my commentary slide, or she would clamp down on me harder. Something told me it would be the latter. Callie didn’t look like the type of person who would change her mind because she’d had a good lay. It would take a lot more than that to get her to relax, considering it was Abigail’s wedding just around the corner.
On Monday evening, I went to look at suits and tuxedos with John and Carter. This was something I could do. With the weekend behind me, it was another year before I had to face Jenna’s death, and I could think straight again. Besides, looking for clothes was my specialty. I liked to look good, and I knew I’d hit the nail on the head with my style because women wouldn’t stop staring at me. Talk about an ego boost. On Saturday night at the club, everyone had been looking at me. The only person I had been interested in, though, had been Callie.
Good thing I’d got what I wanted.
Carter had done his homework and took us straight to a formal menswear shop. The shop assistant hurried to help us as soon as he found out it was for a wedding and Carter gave him the wedding date.
“You’re cutting it very close,” the assistant said. “It will be a push to tailor three suits in that time.”
Carter put his hand on the shop assistant’s shoulder.
“I know you can handle this,” he said. “No expense should be spared.”
The shop assistant started to take our measurements, starting with John and working his way through our little group. While he took our measurements, Carter explained what he wanted. We were going for classic black suits — no penguin tuxedos and no crazy colors. It was a Southern belle wedding, and Abigail was going to be the star of the show.
“What were you thinking for the pocket squares?” the assistant asked. “Metallic silver is a favorite this season.”
Carter shook his head. “We’re going with salmon. Salmon vests, salmon squares, salmon ties.”
I looked at Carter, disgusted. “Salmon? You mean pink.”
Carter pulled up his shoulders in a shrug. He looked at himself in the mirror, at the measurements the assistant was taking.
“Abigail loves pink. If that’s what she wants, that’s what she’ll have. Apparently, the bridesmaids are wearing salmon too.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Carter hated pink. He had always hated pink. I remembered how we laughed at the girls who wore pink like they were still in school when we walked across campus at college. Pink was for Barbie dolls and little girls who still liked to wear tutus. It wasn’t for full-grown women, and it certainly wasn’t for a wedding.
“Pink,” I corrected him again. “Salmon is just a fancy word for pink. And if you ask me, it’s going to look like shit.”
Carter and John both looked at me. I couldn’t tell what Carter was thinking. His face was an expressionless mask, but John was clearly upset.
“Grayson, can I talk to you outside?” John asked.
I nodded and followed John out of the shop. On the curb, John spun around and faced me. He was furious now that Carter wasn’t watching.
“You can’t tell Carter it will look like shit,” he said. “He’s giving Abigail what she wants.”
“Well, if you ask me, she’s trying to make him look like a fool.”
John gasped his surprise. “What has got into you? This is not how I know you.”
It was easy for John to say, but I had changed. Everyone changed.
“What am I here for if not to give my honest opinion?” I asked.
“You’re here to support Carter in his decision,” John said. “Getting married is a big deal.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I’m trying to look out for him. And trying to make sure he doesn’t make a mistake.” I was getting angry. John had given me a lecture about how he couldn�
�t parent Carter anymore but only be there for advice. Why, then, was he trying to parent me?
“Look, I know what you’re trying to do. I know this is difficult for you. Do you think it’s not hard for me too? But Carter loves Abigail, and he’s determined to go through with this. You know what he’s like. Once he’s made up his mind, there’s no dissuading him. The only thing you’re going to lose if you keep doing this is your friendship. You don’t want to lose Carter, too, do you?”
I didn’t answer John. I stood in front of him, staring at him like a sullen teenager. John had no idea how hard this was for me. He had no idea what I was going through, and he had no right to tell me how I should be. I looked up to the man as a father figure, but at the end of the day, I was my own person, and I had my own demons to battle. He knew nothing, and I hated that he presumed to know.
“If Carter wanted me to keep my mouth shut, he shouldn’t have asked me to be the best man. I’m his best friend, and it’s my duty to tell him what I think when something’s going wrong. Well, I think all of this is wrong.”
“I know how you feel, Grayson. Believe me, I know.” John was trying to be convincing, but I knew he didn’t know how I felt. “You have to stay out of this, though. You’re not kids anymore. You can’t make choices for each other, and you can’t push each other into doing things you think are right. This is one of the biggest days in Carter’s life. Let him do what he wants and enjoy it.”
I was sick of hearing everyone saying that to me. I was sick of people telling me that I didn’t have a right to fight it, that how I felt didn’t matter. I knew this wasn’t my big day, but I could be upset about Carter getting married to a woman he barely knew if that was what I wanted. I didn’t fight back, though. I didn’t tell John how I felt. I didn’t give him a piece of my mind. He was the father of the groom, and no matter what, he would back Carter. John had been a father figure in my life for as long as I could remember, but he wasn’t my father by blood, and if he had to choose between me and Carter, his son would win every time. As it should have been.
So, I nodded, and John clapped me on the shoulder.
“That’s a good man. We can get through this together.”
He was wrong. We couldn’t get through this together. I was in this alone. We walked back into the shop together, and Carter grinned at us as if he was unaware of the little tiff we’d had outside. We would leave it at that. I didn’t agree with what was happening, but today wasn’t the day to say something about it. Not now that John was going to fight for Carter the way he did. Today, I would keep quiet.
That didn’t mean I agreed. Everything was happening too fast. Carter looked like he was happy now, but what about when everything went wrong? What about when he found out something about Abigail that he hated? Meeting a pretty girl was one thing and falling in love with her was great. But taking the time to get to know her and realize it was true love was something Carter hadn’t done. It took more than infatuation to build a life together. I hadn’t been married. I hadn’t even had long-term relationships. But I had watched Jenna grow and become a woman, a wife. I had learned from my little sister, and now that she was gone, I was adamant that Carter made the right choices while he had the chance.
I had to talk to Carter about what was happening sometime soon. I had to make sure he understood what was happening, that he couldn’t go through with it. I wanted to be sure he would be happy. Right now, he wouldn’t agree with me, but in the long run, he would thank me.
Chapter 7
Callie
Monday and Tuesdays were my days off unless I had a meeting set up already with a bride. I tried to schedule time off. Otherwise, I would never stop working. Planning weddings was a dream job, but every bride was so caught up in her own fantasy and what she needed that I had to look out for myself and book time off, or they would demand my time all the time.
Even though it was my time off from the brides and grooms I planned for, I still went into the office with Isaiah, and we took care of everything we didn’t have a chance to take care of when we were pleasing brides.
“So, you had a busy weekend,” Isaiah said. “It’s a lot of work to put in when the wedding is so soon.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. It was hard work to make it happen for Abigail so fast, but it was a deadline I didn’t mind. I loved planning my best friend’s wedding, and I knew it was going to work out perfectly for her.
“Run me through what you covered this weekend, so we can tick it off the list. I’m keeping track of what needs to be done and what’s already been taken care of.” Isaiah was ready with his tablet, his finger poised over the screen.
“What would I do without you?” I asked.
“Your company would go under, and you’d lapse into a terrible depression.”
I smiled at how dramatic Isaiah was, but maybe he was right. Hiring him as my assistant had been one of the best choices I could have ever made for my company. Especially when I had had to take time off. A few years ago, I’d been in a car accident, a head-on collision that had nearly put me down. I had been out of action for two weeks and depressed about the other driver who had died for a lot longer. Without Isaiah, my company really would have gone under. But I didn’t say that to him. No need to give him a big head about it.
“We took care of the venue,” I said. “It took time to find the right one, and of course, when there are so many opinions, it gets harder, but we did it.”
“How many opinions were there? Wasn’t it only the bride and groom?”
“And Grayson,” I said. “Of course.”
Isaiah rolled his eyes. “I can’t stand men like him. They’re all alpha males with delusions of grandeur, hiding behind washboard abs and witty one-liners.”
I blushed when Isaiah mentioned washboard abs. I hadn’t seen Grayson without his shirt on. I hadn’t seen or even felt what his abs were like, but I remembered very well what had been below that.
“I saw that,” Isaiah said. “Don’t tell me you’re still not used to me.”
I laughed. “I don’t think anyone can really be used to you,” I said. “But you’re a sweetheart, and you’re right. He’s exactly what you described.” Including the washboard abs, I was willing to bet. I tried not to think about it because if I thought about it, I would think about the feeling of his body against mine when he had pinned me against the wall, his tongue in my mouth. His cock inside me. I shivered and glanced at Isaiah, hoping he couldn’t see right through me.
He was staring at his tablet. “The venue is a big one. It’s good you took care of that. The caterer and cake need to be sorted out as soon as possible. Some of them are so full, you’re not going to have a chance if you want it all so soon.”
I nodded, relieved the topic had moved away from Grayson, and I could think about something other than how amazing he’d made me feel.
“Do you think Grayson will be at all your meetings?” Isaiah asked.
A part of me hoped so, and when I thought about it, I blushed again like an idiot. Isaiah frowned. This time, he hadn’t said anything I could pin it on.
“What was that?” he asked.
“What was what?”
“Don’t be coy,” Isaiah said. “I’m the last person you’ll ever be able to hide a man crush from. That was for Grayson, wasn’t it?”
I shook my head, but Isaiah had seen right through me, and I hated that he’d called it a man crush. Because it was true. I had a little crush on Grayson even though he was a class-A asshole. Why were women always drawn to the bad ones?
“We went out on Saturday,” I admitted. “I wanted to spend time with Abigail because we’ve hardly seen each other outside of wedding planning. And obviously, Carter was there because he’s fused to Abigail’s side since they arrived. And along with Carter comes his entourage.”
“Grayson,” Isaiah said darkly. “That still doesn’t explain to me what you’re blushing about. What happened?”
I shook my head. “We had a
couple of drinks. He was a dick, as usual.”
“And?”
“Look, I’m not going to pretend I don’t think he’s hot. You even know he’s hot.”
Isaiah shook his head. “I’ve seen you around hot guys. This is not that.”
I smiled, unable to help it. Isaiah could get information out of me in a way that would have made any law enforcement agency proud. And that was without torture. Maybe it was because he knew me so well.
“You’re hiding something from me, Callie, and you know how I hate secrets.”
“Since when am I not allowed to keep my personal life private?”
Isaiah looked at me like it was a dumb question. “Since your assistant is also the love guru, and I see you heading down a very bad path.”
“You’re being a little dramatic, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Am I?” Isaiah teased. “Am I, really? I think I’m right. Come on, tell me. Did you flirt with him? Fantasize about him and give yourself a good time.
I laughed. “You’re disgusting,” I said. “And no, I didn’t give myself a good time. If you must know, I let him do that for me.”
Isaiah was smiling, but when I said it, his smile faded and his eyes widened slightly.
“Are you joking?” he asked.
I blushed, realizing I’d let it slip. We had been joking, and I thought I was being cute. Isaiah didn’t wait for an answer. He didn’t have to. He did know me much better than I was comfortable with sometimes.
“Oh my God,” Isaiah said, pressing his fingers to his lips. “You didn’t. Did you sleep with him?”
I blushed even harder.
“It’s not like it was a big deal,” I said. “It was in a closet at the club. It wasn’t like it counted.”
“What are you talking about? How can it not count?”
I shrugged. “It all happened so fast.
Isaiah shook his head. “Honey, let me get something straight. Was his dick inside you?”
I turned bright red, this time because I was downright embarrassed at how open Isaiah was being. He had never stood on formality. He was always brutally honest, and those were qualities I liked about him. But sometimes, I wished he wouldn’t put it out there in black and white the way he was doing.
