Page 7

Helena

Call me crazy but I could have sworn I heard Fabian ask me to meet his family last night, right before I fell asleep.

I think that might have been an extension of my dream. I was walking down the aisle toward him at a winter wedding. There was snow, and for some reason, there was a massive Christmas tree too. Everyone I cared about was at the wedding, and I was walking towards the man of my dreams to say my vows, and… it felt real.

As real as Fabian saying he would spend the rest of his life with me.

I wonder if this happens to everyone when they have their firsts. Do they lie in bed and daydream about a future with the men they spent a single night with? Maybe that's normal or I'm just strange but I can't help it. What happened between Fabian and me last night felt more than just a one-night kind of thing.

“You’re up.”

Lord above, how am I to survive with that deep voice? It sounds so much deeper and sexier in the morning. So freaking hot. I open my eyes to find Fabian shirtless, leaning against the door frame and watching me. “How did you know?”

“I could hear you thinking all the way from the other room,” he says with a smirk that sends a tingly feeling between my legs. Okay, this is madness. Surely I am not getting aroused by the man’s voice and smirk and that perfectly sculptured body, right?

“Um…”

"Your dresses arrived," he says, sliding his hands into the sweats he’s wearing and my eyes shoot straight to the massive bulge outlining the pants. The memory of his manhood sliding in and out of me comes back. I am reminded of waking up at night and making love again with this man before I fell back to sleep. It seems Fabian has turned me into some kind of a sex addict and my mind lingers on that before his words slowly filter in.

Wait.

Did he say something about a dress?

“What dresses?”

“For dinner tonight,” he says walking deeper into the room. “I didn’t want to wake you up, so I took the measurements from the dress you wore last tonight and sent someone out to buy a couple, so you have a variety to choose from.”

I blink at the man in confusion. “What dinner party?”

Fabian tugs the covers off me before gripping my ankle and pulling me to the edge of the bed. I flush at my nudity, but he doesn't seem perturbed by my shyness, and he gets down on his knees and caresses my thighs before pushing them apart. "You know, the Christmas dinner party I told you about."

“Fabian…” I whimper when he leans in and brushes his mouth over my inner thigh.

"I called your father and told him not to worry about you. Told him my intentions with his daughter. Rest assured I kept all the dirty details to myself." He rasps, rubbing his thumb over my sex and causing it to flood with arousal. "I offered his care giver triple the amount you paid her to take care of him today."

“Fabian…”

“It’ll only be for a few hours and then I’ll drive you home.” God, so it wasn’t a dream. Well, the winter wedding bit was obviously a dream, but the rest was real? “Say yes.”

“Your family? I know nothing about them.”

He kisses my thigh. “You don’t need to. We’re not close but this Christmas dinner is important to them. Your presence will make it bearable for me...”

This – meeting his family – is serious. We’ll be announcing to everyone that we’re together and it’s fast. I know that it’s fast, but I just had a dream about marrying this man and, I liked it. It felt right.

Everything about Fabian feels right.

“… or perhaps you need more convincing.”

My mind is already made up on joining him at his family's dinner, but I don't get to say that before his tongue rides up the center of my pussy. It's wet and stiff and causes me to fall back on the bed with a sob.

And then he starts licking and sucking at me like he is possessed. I moan loudly when he rubs his thumb over my sensitive clit, making me grow slicker with arousal. "Fabian," I cry out when he brings my knee to his shoulder, his breathing heavy as his tongue travels hungrily over my valley. My hips rear off the bed when replaces his thumb with his mouth, teasing the tingling nub with his tongue. It's an overload of sensation and I feel it to the tips of my toes.

“Are you convinced yet?” he growls, his dark eyes locking with mine when he looks up. “Maybe I need to work harder.”

A sob climbs up my throat when he tucks his middle finger into my opening, his tongue sawing wetly over my clit as he slides his thick digit easily into my wet pussy. "I'll go," I sob when he starts pushing his finger in and out of me in slow unhurried thrusts that feel like torture.

“I didn’t quite hear you, baby.”

“I’ll go,” I cry out, my back arching off the bed when he rakes his tongue over my clit, all the while sliding his thick digit into my tightness. “To the Christmas dinner. I’ll go!”

“Perfect!”

His finger starts moving faster and his mouth closes around my tight bud in hot suction and I start to whine, digging my heel into his muscular back as he brings me closer to the edge of an orgasm. It's so close, I can feel it. The pressure building in my tummy and threatening to explode.

God. Oh God!

He bends his middle finger and grazes something inside of me causing my hips to rear off the bed seconds before a scream tear from my throat. Fabian moves back as clear liquid squirts out of my sex and my eyes widen in a mixture of horror and pleasure, everything playing at once. His finger stays, grazing the sensitive spot inside of me, intensifying the delicious feeling until I am a panting mess and my body is trembling from the intensity of it all.

It’s not until I have calmed down that I question what the heck just happened.

There is a smirk on Fabian's mouth as he climbs to his feet, the bulge pushing at his sweatpants clear as day. "Glad I could give you another first."

“Uh?” I blink dazedly at the man.

“You have so much to learn, angel,” he says, offering his hand for me to take. “How about you get cleaned up and I’ll deal with the sheets.”

I flush at the memory of what just happened, confused but afraid to ask. Judging from Fabian’s self-satisfied grin, I feel a little at ease, figuring it’s probably something I don’t need to worry about.

“What about uhm, your…” My eyes drop to his bulge and the smirk grows.

“We’ll take care of it later,” he says. “After we’ve put some food in you. We still have an entire day to work up a sweat and maybe this time, we can do it in a different room.”

Right.

I duck my head to hide my heated cheeks. It seems Fabian has a whole plan mapped up for us today and I can’t find it in me to complain. My legs are trembling as I slowly make my way to the ensuite, but I am stopped before I can walk inside.

“Helena.” I turn around to find the man standing in the center of the room with his hands back in his pockets. “Merry Christmas.”

***

Fabian’s childhood home is nothing like any childhood home I have seen before.

As we drive up the long winding driveway, I feel the nerves build in me. Silly me. I was expecting a modest-looking mansion, but this is a freaking estate.

The towering iron gates, intricately designed with ornate scrollwork, stand tall and imposing. The gates creak open when Fabian drives up, revealing a sprawling estate that seems to stretch endlessly. Lush, perfectly manicured lawns flank either side of the driveway, dotted with perfectly trimmed hedges and vibrant flower beds.

Fabian’s sleek Mercedes glides smoothly over the cobblestone path and I catch a glimpse of the trees lining the property. I manage to pick my jaw off the ground but it drops once more when I see the house. No, “the house” doesn't begin to describe the magnificent piece of art that towers over everything else.

"This place is amazing," I say with awe, confused as to why anyone would ever want to leave. Fabian's penthouse is beautiful but this is out of this world. I had no idea some people lived this way in this city!

Fabian doesn’t respond. Instead, he reaches over her squeezes my hand in his and I am comforted by the warmth. “Looks like we’re late,” he says when we notice multiple cars parked outside.

“Oh, that’s not good.”

“It’s fine,” he says, and I notice there is no warmth in his voice. Something changed in this man when we drove into the gates, and I can feel whatever it is he’s feeling is not directed to me. I was too busy fawning over the home to notice it. “We’ll meet everyone, stay for dinner then we’re out of here!”

My brows draw in confusion. “Don’t you want to spend a little more time with your family?”

“No.”

Oh.

“Okay,” I whisper, squeezing his hand reassuringly. He doesn’t seem too happy to be here, but for whatever reason, it seems like he has to be. “Alright then. We’ll stay for as long as you want but before we walk in, can you tell me a little about your family?”

"Well, it's a big one," he says with a dry laugh. "But I am closest to my younger sister and then there is my brat of a stepbrother who…"

His words trail over and I notice movement on my peripheral. Someone – a girl with long dark hair walks out of the massive door and zeros on Fabian’s car. “Is that…”

"My sister, yes," he says, and for the first time since driving here, I witness a genuine smile. Fabian opens the car door and the girl who is comically shorter than Fabian flings herself into his arms. I climb out of the car and watch the siblings embrace.

“You are late, Fian!” the girl says, smacking his shoulder once they break from the embrace.

"Fian?" I ask and their heads whip towards me.

“You brought a date? Oh, this is going to be fun!” the girl laughs before walking to meet me. “Sorry, you are the first girl Fian has ever brought to Christmas dinner. I’m Arianna but everyone calls me Aria. Oh, I call him Fian because I couldn’t pronounce his name when I was a toddler and it kinda stuck.”

“Nice to meet you, Aria. You can call me Helena.”

"Helena, love it," she says with another laugh, twining her arm with mine and guiding me to the entrance. "Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the family. Oh, this trapeze dress looks stunning on you. I'm glad you chose this gorgeous look because all the attention tonight is going to be on you."

“Aria!” Fabian’s warning voice comes behind us.

The girl laughs, oblivious to my growing nerves. I’ve never had to meet a boyfriend’s family before and Fabian… can I really think of him as that when we’ve only known each other for a day?

There is loud chatter in the background when we walk in before it all stops when we step in. I count at least twenty people in the massive living room before I give up and they’re all looking at us.

If Aria is to be believed, they are all looking at me.

“Everyone,” Aria calls out with a smile, one that scares me a little. “This is Helena, Fabian’s partner!”

There is silence as they wait for someone to tell them it’s a joke or something and the room stays awkwardly silent in that period. Until Fabian steps beside me and wraps his arm protectively over my shoulder, sending warmth licking up my body.

“Since when does Fabian date?” calls out a voice that kills the chatter once more.

A voice that sends chills racing down my spine and I follow everyone’s gaze to the man I missed earlier in my rapid headcount.

Seated at a round table surrounded by other men, is the last person I ever thought I would see.

Nico Sorrento.

My eyes widen as it slowly sets in that this man is related to Fabian. Is he the stepbrother? Please don’t let it be true! Christ, in the same room as me, is the same person who bet on my virginity two years ago. And he's related to the man I just gave it to.

Please, let this not be true.

Please.