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Nothing had gone as planned. That seemed to be Sullivan’s mantra of late. He didn’t know why he expected for his life to fall in line with what he wanted. It never had. Ever since he was a small boy, his life hadn’t ever truly been his own.
When Daniella had gone missing, his parents had turned into overprotective worriers. They had already lost one child, and if they’d lost Sullivan too... After growing up under that strain he had vowed to never have a family of his own, to never care that much about another person he would fear the worse, and never ever open his heart to the possibility of being shattered. That was why he was a serial dater. If he didn’t get attached to one woman, he would be able to keep himself safe from impending emotional disasters.
He should have realized that was a foolish endeavor and given in to the inevitable a long time ago. Lana had squeezed inside his heart when he wasn’t paying attention, and she mattered far more than he would have allowed otherwise. He hadn’t seen the signs until it was too late. He was fully and completely in love with her. Now she was so pissed off she wasn’t talking to him. Days upon days of the silent treatment had driven him stark raving mad. It was time to force her out of her temper tantrum and make her at least speak, even if it turned into yelling. They couldn’t work through their issues without some open communication.
“Lana,” he rapped on the bedroom door. That too—he was done with the couch. They would start sharing a bed and soon—even if it was platonic. He snorted. As if he could sleep with her and not touch her. He’d have to at least hold her or nothing else would do. “Please come out.”
No answer.
Sullivan sighed. What could he do to make her at least speak to him? Piss her off more? That might actually do the trick. She’d come out with guns a-blazing—figuratively of course. He hated the idea of angering her, but he was growing desperate. He’d known she didn’t like Victoria, and for good reason; however, he hadn’t fully grasped how great that hatred ran. A mistake he wouldn’t make again. When Victoria had showed up on his doorstep, he should have slammed the door in her face. Revisiting his past was not one of his favorite activities.
“Fine,” he said exasperated. “If you can’t be bothered to attend the dinner, I’ll go by myself. Maybe I can even find someone there who enjoys my company.” He didn’t mean another female. At least, not the way it sounded. It was his sister’s rehearsal dinner, after all. There were women there that loved him, such as his mother. Still, no sound came from the other side of the door.
He should just give up and go to the dinner. His family was counting on him. He walked over to the hallway mirror and adjusted his tie. The click of a door opening echoed through the room. He turned toward it and his breath caught in his throat. Lana was simply amazing to behold. She wore a black cocktail dress that hugged her body as if it was made for her alone. One shoulder was bare while the other one had a split-capped sleeve holding the dress in place. A slit was cut up the right side from her knee up to the middle of her thigh in the shape of a V—Sullivan wanted to skim his hand up that thigh and slip them underneath. He could trail kisses over her bare shoulder as he pleasured her with his hands. His cock hardened at the thought.
“Can you help me with these shoes?”
Sullivan hadn’t even looked past the slit in her skirt. He trailed his gaze downward to the three-inch spiked heels. They had straps that wound around her ankle and sparkling strap across the toe. They could barely be called shoes as they held so little material.
Sullivan nodded absentmindedly and kneeled before her. He slid one strap into place and secured it, and then did the other one. He had to make things right with her before they left. Whatever it took—he would make it happen. He was already on his knees before her. It was the perfect position for begging, and he would do it if he had to.
He ran his hand up her leg and cupped it around her waist, then leaned forward and kissed her bare leg where the slit of her dress opened at the edge of her thigh. She sucked air into her lungs, and her breathing became ragged. Lana wasn’t immune to his touch, and if he could use that to his advantage, he would. Sullivan skimmed his other hand lightly across her bare skin and waited for her to tell him to stop. She didn’t.
“We can stay here,” he said huskily.
“No, we can’t,” Lana replied, her voice hoarse with desire. “Your sister is counting on us.”
“She’d understand,” he said. “She’s a woman in love, and marrying that very man tomorrow.”
He hated the idea of letting Daniella down. She’d been missing from his family almost her entire life. This wedding was a reunion of sorts. The answer his family would give to the world regarding her place in their lives. No one would question that she belonged in the Brady family afterward. She was the heart of the family, and when she returned, it had been restored to its rightful place. The hurt would never go away; nevertheless, they would be able to move forward, stronger and whole.
“You’re not going to convince me to stay, Sully,” Lana said. Her voice faltered a little bit—perhaps with indecision. “You love your family, and you would regret it if you missed anything important to your sister.”
Why did she have to be right? He would enjoy pushing up Lana’s skirt and fucking her against the wall, but afterward he would be mad at himself. For more reasons than one... Yes, he would be pissed that he missed Daniella’s rehearsal dinner, but he’d also be mad he rushed his first time with Lana. He wanted to savor it, and for that, he would have to regain some measure of control. So, yes, they would go to the dinner, would drink, make small talk, and they would socialize the hell out of it. But when they returned, all bets were off. He would strip that dress off her with the finesse he’d learned and make her scream his name repeatedly. “All right, you win. We’re going to a party.”
“It’s not a party,” Lana disagreed. “It’s a—”
“Trust me, love,” Sullivan said. “It’s a damned party. You should know that by now, growing up around my parents. It’s their daughter’s wedding. They will have one excuse to go to such extreme measures. Tonight is a party, and tomorrow is a celebration.”
Sullivan stood and offered her his arm. She looped her arm through his, and he escorted her out of the apartment. It was going to be a long night, but when they returned, it would be worth it.
***
LANA HAD OVERREACTED to Victoria being in the apartment after her shopping spree. In her defense, it was smack dab on the heels of seeing Tony again. She’d already been uneasy, and she hadn’t wanted to deal with the one woman she couldn’t stand. Jessica had done her best to put her at ease, but that ugly feeling hadn’t completely left her before she returned to Sullivan’s apartment.
Victoria had been as mean as possible to her when she was younger and had gone out of her way to make her feel uncomfortable and worthless. Lana didn’t understand why Sullivan still associated with her. Hadn’t he learned how heartless that bitch was by now?
After she had calmed down, and Sullivan tried to explain, she realized what a jerk she’d been. In her self-absorption, she forgot about everything Sullivan had been going through. Someone had died in his office—were murdered. In the grand scheme of things, she could let go of her petty vendetta. So, Victoria Masters was an interior decorator. Somehow, that job seemed to suit her. The evil witch would try to make the world into her own image. She did have good taste though...
The problem was that even though she recognized she’d been wrong, it was too hard to pull her head out of her ass and admit it. So, instead of telling Sullivan she was sorry, she’d sat in the bedroom and sulked like a spoiled rotten child for days. She hated herself for it. Then she got an idea and made Jessica take her shopping again. She could still have a little sexy time like she’d originally planned, but a little differently. They both had to go to the rehearsal dinner and wedding. Obligations and all that... So why not use that as a time to make it up to him. So she dressed up extra sexy and made plans. Big plans.
What she hadn’t counted on was Sullivan’s reaction. She should have taken it into account, but again, her selfish needs seemed to come first. Lana wanted to be pretty and desirable. Sullivan belonged to her now, and she wanted him to not be able to take his eyes off of her. The world would know by the end of the night he was with her, and nothing would come between them. The Victoria Masterses of the world would back the hell off or she’d claw their eyes out.
Sullivan pulled the car up to the front of the Brady Mansion. The Bradys had hired a valet service for the evening, probably for the wedding too. He slid out of the car and strolled around to the passenger side to open the door for her. She grasped his hand and stepped out.
“In case I forgot to mention it,” he whispered seductively as they walked toward the entrance. “You look good enough to eat, and I might indulge myself in tasting you later.”
She might not last the entire night. If he kept saying stuff like that to her, she’d be ripping his shirt open and tearing his pants off. After his little display in the hallway outside his bedroom, she was borderline shaking with need. “If you’re ready to become addicted,” she said teasingly.
“I’m past that already,” he replied. “I need my Lisanna fix.”
“Who is this Lisanna you keep mentioning? You must introduce me to her so I can kill her once and for all.” Secretly, she was starting to like that he used her real name. As long as it was him doing it, she would allow it. To everyone else, besides her mother, she’d be Lana.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that.” He chuckled. “She’s become rather important to me. She’s sweet most of the time, but I’m partial to her bite.”
They walked into the foyer and were greeted immediately by his parents.
“Lana,” Siobhan Brady said. “It’s so good of you to come. Sullivan, darling, what took you so long? Daniella wishes to speak with you.”
“It’s entirely my fault, Mrs. Brady. I took too long making myself beautiful.” Lana smiled at her. She’d always liked Sullivan’s parents. “Where is Dani? I missed rehearsal earlier, and I need to speak with her.”
“She’s in the sitting room with some of the bridesmaids,” Malachi Brady said. “She has gifts or some nonsense for the entire wedding party.”
“I’ll take you to her,” Sullivan said. “Since she wishes to speak with me as well.” He leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “We’ll be back soon.”
Sullivan led her down the hall to the sitting room. Lana could have found it herself. She had grown up on the estate, but it was a rather heady experience to walk through the house on his arm. It was the very thing she’d always wanted as a teenager. Thinking about it made her think that sometimes dreams really did come true. It was maudlin and rather romantic, but she liked the spark of happiness it brought her.
“Sullivan,” a male called out.
They stopped for them to turn toward the sound. Aaron Taylor was waving at him. His wife Sienna was by his side. Lana was rather surprised they had lasted this long. Not that relationships couldn’t, they just usually didn’t. It was kind of nice to see two people happy that had been high school sweethearts.
“We’re going to see Dani,” Sullivan said. “We’ll be back in a little bit, and then we can chat.”
“Good,” Aaron said. “It’s important, and I don’t want you to forget.”
“I won’t let him,” Lana offered. “We’ll talk soon. It isn’t good to keep the bride waiting.”
Aaron nodded and walked toward the dining room with Sienna. It was a little shocking the other woman had remained quiet. Was something bothering her? The little time she’d spent in Sienna’s company she’d always been warm and welcoming. She’d rather liked her. Maybe in another lifetime they might have even become friends—maybe they still could.
What strange thoughts she was having...
Maybe that was the biggest miracle of all. Lana Kelly was so happy, she wanted to wash the world in her joy. She couldn’t help believing it would be a night she’d never forget.