“Remember you said massage or anything I choose? My anything is a show.”

I continue to lick and suck her br**sts as her hands slide down my shoulders to my arms.

“Okay, anything,” she easily concurs, and I can’t help but grin.

When she starts to moan, I move to the other breast as she braces her hands on my shoulders. When I pull her nipple forcefully with my mouth, she screams out, “River, please!”

I know what she wants, but I ask anyway, “Please what, Dahlia?”

“I want you inside me. Now.”

She’s watching me. I grin at her and suck harder, tugging a little with my teeth as I rub circles around her other nipple.

“I will be soon, I promise.”

She has the tiniest, most beautiful br**sts, and as I slide my tongue down her stomach her hands come to cup them. I’m torn between watching her and pleasuring her. The thought of either, or both, has me throbbing. Slipping my tongue in and out, I move it faster and then I slip two fingers deep inside. As soon as I do, I watch the pleasure wash over her face and I know she’s coming hard. “Oh God River!” she screams out as I continue to move my fingers until the trembling subsides.

Standing up, I take a minute to admire her. Her once too-thin body has taken on the most sensual shape. I can’t get enough of her, regardless of her body type, but I know the way she looks right now is because she’s completely happy. I feel like I own her body.

Grabbing the soap, I start washing her arm. I slide the soap up toward her shoulder and then drop the bar to the ground to run both my hands up and down her soapy limb. As the soap lathers, I move my hands upwards and with my legs, I gently move her back and press her against the glass wall.

She gasps when I rest one of my legs between her thighs as my hands find her chest, and I gently rub circles around her ni**les. The soap makes my fingers slide easily. The water sprays down, and I move the showerhead so just a slight trickle is hitting us.

Bending down to pick up the soap, I decide to lather her leg. I do the same as I did with her arm. But this time, once I meet the apex of her thigh, I press a little harder and rub smaller circles around her.

She moans softly and as I look up her eyes flutter shut. I brush my thumb over her and she squirms in a way I know she’s enjoying it.

“Please, River,” she whispers, her eyes still closed.

I plunge my fingers deeper then pull them back. I grin as she tries to follow my hand with her hips.

“Please River, please!”

I know she wants me and her asking me for it really turns me on, but I’m not giving in that easily, although I really want to.

“What Dahlia? Please what?” I tease her, knowing exactly what she’s asking for.

Moaning a little louder as I continue to plunge my fingers, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, she begs, “Please f**k me now.”

Kissing her jaw, I can’t help but chuckle at her use of the word f**k. I remember when we first met how cute I thought it was when she would swear, something I always tried not to do in front of her. Now, her saying the word f**k isn’t cute. It’s so hot, and really, all I want to do is f**k her now.

Sliding my tongue up to her ear I whisper, “I swear I will. I swear I won’t stop until your legs are shaking and every hotel guest on this floor knows my name.”

I feel a smile form on her mouth. She’s breathing very heavily as she bites my earlobe.

I press her back further into the wall and replace my fingers with my cock. She instantly responds, trying to wrap her legs around me, to push me further inside her, but I resist and just lightly slide in and out of her.

I’m torturing myself, but I’m enjoying watching her more. She’s trying to grip the wall, but there is nothing there. I stand still a few moments, drawing out her anticipation, trying to get myself under control as she continues to try to push her body closer to mine.

I enter her with my tip only, over and over. As she moans, she continues to call out my name. When I see her body start to tremble, she’s screaming my name, “River, please!” I have no willpower left.

In one swift motion, I grab her and lift her up, pushing her body up against the wall. She responds instantly, wrapping her legs around me as I plunge inside her hard and fast. I have to remember to breathe, she feels so good. I continue to watch her, as her eyes start to roll, and I know she’s so close.

I want to take it slow and make her come over and over, but I need her too much. I start moving faster, thrusting into her over and over again, each time harder and faster. When I see the look of pleasure come across her face, I know she’s there, again. She screams my name one final time as I hold her h*ps in place and yell out her name. Leaning in I kiss her hard as sensation overtakes me.

As our bodies quiver, I swallow her cries of contentment, wanting to taste and feel every inch of her happiness.

Citizens’ song Amazing Grace startles me awake. It’s playing from Dahlia’s cell phone, her ringtone for Grace. Reaching for her, I realize she’s not in bed.

“Dahlia, your phone!” I yell, yawning and covering my head with the pillow.

She doesn’t answer. I call out to her again, but the room is too quiet. Looking around I realize she’s not here.

Scanning the area to find and silence the f**king phone, I see a note on her pillow. I roll over and grab it.

I know how tired you are from ‘skiing’ so I thought I’d let you sleep in. Just running the shorter trail then I’ll bring coffee back. I love you more.

Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I remember she woke me up earlier and wanted to run the lake trails to see the sunrise. I told her to give me a minute, but shit, I must have fallen back asleep.

Lifting my head off the pillow, I see her phone. I sit up and grab it from the bedside table where it is plugged in. The battery must have died again, so she left it to charge. The song keeps playing, and the message light is blinking ten missed calls. The time reads 6:14am.

Scratching my chest, I decide to answer it. “Hello,” I mumble into the phone as I balance it on my shoulder and situate myself on the bed.

I’m surprised to hear Serena’s voice instead of Grace’s. “River?” she asks and then she’s oddly silent.

I flop my head back on the pillow and stretch out. “Serena? What’s . . .” I start to say when she interrupts, “I need to talk to Dahlia.” Her voice is a little off, and she sounds sad or nervous, I’m not sure which.

Taking the phone in my hand, I sit back up immediately. “Serena she’s not here. She went running. Is everything okay? Is it Grace?” I have to ask, but pray it’s not.

“River you need to find her. We need to talk to her now.” Her tone is urgent, and I have to know what’s going on.

With concern clear in my voice, I ask, “Serena, what’s going on? What’s the matter?”

Her voice is muffled through the phone for a few seconds, and I can’t really hear what she’s saying when Grace gets on the phone.

“River, we’ve called the police,” she tells me, her voice quivering as she speaks.

“Grace, I’m lost. What do you need the police for?”

“Didn’t she tell you?”

My heart is racing, and I really just want her tell me what the f**k she’s talking about. “Grace, what are you talking about? What’s going on?”

“I left Dahlia three messages last night. They let him out on a technicality.”

“Grace, who did they let out?”

“The man who shot Ben. He’s out,” she’s telling me this and I’m trying to process what’s going on.

I look at Dahlia’s phone and hit the home button. I see three messages from Grace that haven’t been listened to, and fifteen missed calls from Grace and Serena.

“Grace, she hasn’t listened to your messages yet.”

She’s crying and I think she is unable to speak but she manages, “Hold on.”

Caleb gets on the phone. “Hey man. Where is she? I’m not sure what’s going on but we need to keep an eye on her.”

I’m trying not to get annoyed at this prick and his use of the word ‘we’ as I answer, “She went running. What the f**k is going on?”

I can hear him inhale a deep breath, “Look man, I think the guy that shot Ben is looking for something. I drove by Dahlia’s house last night just to check on it, and someone broke in again. I drove over to your house looking for her, but they wouldn’t let me in the gate and neither of you answered their calls. I called your sister and she gave me your number. I called you all f**king night.”

I bolt out of bed and look frantically around for my pants. Running to the bathroom, I find them on the floor. I pull them on and find my phone still in the pocket. My hands are trembling. “Caleb, I’ll call you back when I find her,” I tell him and hang up.

Calling hotel security, I hastily explain the situation. Whether it’s necessary or not to send someone to find her, I have no f**king idea, but I want her found now.

Just as I throw on my shirt and sneakers and head for the door, the hotel phone rings. I’m torn between answering it and running out to find her but since I did call security, I turn around and go back. I silently pick the phone up.

“Mr. Wilde?”

“Yes,” I answer with concern clearly in my voice.

“Sir, we’d like you to come down to the lobby and we’ll escort you to the hospital.”

I swallow a few times trying to catch my breath as all the air leaves my lungs, and my knees buckle beneath me. As I’m searching for the courage to ask the question I already know the answer to, I hear the ambulance sirens in the distance and I don’t need to ask anything.

Wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, I bolt out of the room and take the ten flights of stairs down to the lobby where security is waiting for me. I can hardly think, but I know I can’t lose her. I can’t lose my best friend, my soul mate, my smile, my laugh—my everything.

They say she’s already on her way to the hospital in the ambulance. I want them to take me to see her now. No one knows what happened, just that someone heard screaming and called security. This car ride feels like the longest fifteen-mile drive of my life. My phone keeps ringing, but I can’t answer it. I just have to see her, my beautiful, perfect girl. I need to know she’s okay.

I slide open the photos I have of her. Some are serious, some are funny, some are quirky, and some are downright hot. All of them a reflection of her beautiful face, and the tears I’ve been holding back start to flow like the unease I feel about my inability to keep her safe.

Absorbed in my thoughts and the quiet of the car, I can barely even hear my own breathing. The heat is blasting and even though I’m not wearing a coat, I’m sweating. The security chief is talking to me, but I’m not listening until I realize he’s telling me we’re at the hospital. Rushing through the emergency room doors, I make my way through a very packed waiting room toward the small glass window at the reception desk. As I get closer I think I see Dahlia back behind it, but once I’m there, I realize it’s only wishful thinking.

Holding myself up against the counter, I feel slightly queasy. My nerves are getting the best of me. My heart is pounding a thousand beats a minute, my stomach is in knots, and the chill running through my body is making the shivering painful.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Putting aside any preamble of a greeting, I blurt out what I need from her. “My fiancée was just brought in and I need to see her now!” I’m raising my voice at this nurse and getting looks from others waiting behind me, but I don’t give a shit. I’m desperate to find my girl.

Her standard reply throws me into a tailspin. “Sir, are you family? Only family members are allowed back,” she says, handing me a form to fill out that reads: Non-Family Member Patient Inquiry.