The One

First and foremost, I have to apologize for taking so long to continue this story. I loved all of your feedback and hope that you enjoy this installment. I also promise that it will not take as long for me to post the next. Sometimes life gets in the way of the things you truly enjoy. Writing is my guilty pleasure and I hope that reading my stories will become your's. With that said, I hope you come to love the characters in this story as much as I have...

"One sec, Jos!"

"Tell her to go away, Catherine."

Catherine heard the command in Daniel's voice and almost did exactly as he ordered. Catherine walked towards the door. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and nibbled on the nape of her neck. His voice was ragged, "Is this how we want to play the game, Cat?" His hands held onto her hips as he ground into her from behind. She trembled slightly as he placed his hands right above her pelvic bone.

Desperately Catherine wanted to say to hell with Joselyn. Mentally smacking herself chanting, Bad little sister, bad. Slowly turning to face Daniel, Cat whispered, "This is her wedding we are here for."

Daniel stared hard into her eyes trying to figure out exactly what it was that drew him to Miss Catherine Barr. He knew she was right. They needed to behave, well, he needed to behave and remember exactly what they were here for. A wedding. Something he desperately wanted to avoid at all costs. The proverbial ball and chain. Death to the libido. The hangman's noose. Lost in his own thoughts, Daniel didn't even realize that Cat had opened the dressing room door. Joselyn burst in chattering about how awful the gowns looked on everyone else and then screeched at the top of her lungs.

"Why is he in here?!?"

Trying to recover from the horrifying noise, Daniel muttered while rubbing his left ear, "I came by to make sure of what time to pick up your sister this evening." As he was turning to look at Cat, he noticed a man walk into the fitting room. Clenching his jaw, half growling, "Who in the fuck are you and what in the hell are you doing in here?"

"Uhhh....Cat?" Gabe raised his eyebrows, waiting for Catherine to answer for him as a man with piercing green eyes came towards him.

Immediately Cat rushed in between Daniel and Gabe. "Daniel, this is Gabe. The person I was on the phone with a few minutes ago." Catherine gestured towards her cell phone which she just noticed was broken into several pieces in the floor. She sputtered, "You....you....broke my phone!"

"Why in the hell is he here? Didn't I tell him on the fucking phone to have a nice life? Should I have said stay the fuck away?!?" Daniel and Cat were nose to nose. His jaw was clenching and his hands were shaking. Catherine's dark eyes slanted and very quietly she simply stated two words.

"Get out."

* **

Surprisingly enough, everyone left except Daniel and Catherine. The tone of her voice must have triggered some response in the people she knew much better than he. But, not once did Daniel break eye contact with her. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to go jet black. Very quietly and softly Cat turned and slowly walked to the door, shutting it completely. Her back was still to him when she stated, "Do not ever. And I do mean ever, speak to me or my friends and family like that."

"Cather...," she silenced him by raising her hand.

"You don't know me. I don't know you. Don't assume that because we shared some amazing chemistry for a brief second, which is more than likely completely lost due to your assanine behavior, that you can take control of anything."

Mentally counting to ten, trying not to combust, Daniel waited. He wanted her to turn around and face him. He would not have a conversation with someone who refused to look at him. He walked to her. Gently he grabbed her hand and turned her towards him. Catherine looked over his shoulder. "Please look at me, baby."

How did someone with the warmest brown eyes manage to freeze someone else with a look? Daniel brought his hand up to cup her cheek and she flinched. It felt like she puched him by that one reaction. Dropping his hand, "I'm sorry. I overreacted. I just lost it when some man, that I don't know, walked into my girlfriend's dressing room while she was practically naked."

Looking down at the center of his chest, she mumbled, "I'm not your girlfriend, Daniel."

"When we were practically fucking against a mirror less than five minutes ago, yeah, I would consider you as such." A light knocking sounded on the door and Catherine dropped her head back against the wall. Daniel growled, "Now what?"

Gabe opened the door half and inch and asked, "Uhhh...are you two okay? It's way too quiet in here."

"Not now, Gabe." Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Well, you see....the thing is...."

"Gabe, is it? Can you spit it out, please?" Daniel's teeth began to ache from grinding them so hard. All he really wanted to do was beat the hell out of the idiot.

"Jos is having a fit out here. Can you hand this dress to Cat so she can put it on? Tell her if she needs help to let me know."

Daniel grabbed the dress and slammed the door. "He's not touching you, Cat!"

Catherine took the dress from Daniel and began stepping into it. Talking as if to a child, she explained, "Gabe is my best friend. He also made the bridesmaid's dresses, the maid of honor's dress, and the bride's gown." Inching the gown over her hips, "Gabe has been my friend and date to several things." She pulled the bodice over her corset, "He is also gay." She turned to face him, "Could you zip my dress, please?"

His mouth fell open. Did he just hear her right? Asking, "Gay?" When she nodded, Daniel zipped the dress slowly. His hands gently caressing her back as he did so. Never had he thought helping a woman dress was sexy. He felt her tremble slightly as he hooked the small pearl at the top of the zip. Realizing how gorgeous she looked in the gold silk dress, he whistled. Her whole body seemed to glow. Her chestnut brown hair fell into soft waves to the middle of her back as she removed her hair clip. Daniel didn't want her to leave the room. If any man, gay or straight, saw her in it they would fall at her feet. The silk showcased her gorgeous curves. The slit that reached the top of her thigh was a tease that no man could ignore, especially with the garter peaking out.

Catherine walked towards the door, as she was about to open it Daniel asked, "Please play along once we get out there. I need to do some damage control, don't you think?"

Glancing over her shoulder, "I'll play along, Daniel. But only until this wedding is over in two days." Her voice cracked slightly as she said, "Then we will no longer have to see each other again."

***

Daniel continued playing the doting, yet very jealous boyfriend. All the while fuming over the time limit that Cat placed on him. Them actually. All because he was a little bit, okay extremely jealous of any man looking at or speaking to her. Hell, he couldn't explain it himself. Never in his life had he felt like breaking someones neck for looking at the woman he was with. Never in his life had he wanted to be someones boyfriend. Dating or sleeping with someone was one thing, but an actual relationship had never entered his mind with any woman. Until now.

He stood against the wall watching everyone, seeing how they all responded to Cat and how she looked. All of the other brides maids looked decent, they just didn't have the wow factor that Cat exhibited. Daniel noticed how she shied away from being the center of attention, looking stiff and uncertain. Almost as if she felt him watching her, her gaze met his and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. Gabe was fussing with her hair and the fit of the gown she wore, ignoring the protests of the other women.

"Why is it that the dresses look like they were made for her???" Pamela whined.

Daniel walked towards Cat as Gabe pointed out, "Cat is the maid of honor. She is supposed to stand out from the other maids."

Her dress was shimmering gold silk, fitted to her lush curves and strapless. It was amazing how the gown molded to her shape. A thin strip of silk accentuated the indent of her waist. The dress reached the middle of her calves with a slit up the right leg to mid-thigh. It was demure yet provocative as hell. Placing his hand in the middle of her back, "You look stunning."

"Thank you, Daniel."

She still sounded so removed from him that he had to do something. He slid his hand up to the nape of her neck and turned her towards him. Her lashes lowered hiding her eyes from him. Gently, he kissed the corner of her mouth and whispered, "I'm sorry for being an ass. Please know that I would do anything you want. Not an hour ago you wanted me as much as I want you. I need to know you still want me."

"Daniel, can we talk about this later?" She wouldn't meet his gaze. "I'll see you tonight at the rehearsal dinner."

"No, I'll pick you up at seven, Cat. Remember, I have to meet mom and dad tonight. How would it look if I didn't drive us there?" When her mouth fell open, Daniel quickly sealed his lips to hers. The kiss wasn't all consuming as what they shared earlier, but more devastating to his soul. He could feel how she tried to fight giving in to him, but she did. Her body couldn't fight the attraction between them. Slowly, he pulled away handing her his cell phone, "Here's my cell phone. I'll call you in about an hour for your address."

***

Jake stopped Daniel outside of the fitting rooms, "We need to talk."

Daniel arched an eyebrow at Jake's tone of voice, "Should we go outside to talk?"

Jake nodded and led the way. As they rounded the corner outside the building he turned and stopped within a foot of Daniel, "What in the hell is going on? I know you haven't been dating Cat. What gives? Why were you all over her? I won't let you treat her the way you have treated all of the others!"

He stared at his best friend almost in shock and repeated, "The others?"

"You know good and well what I'm talking about. The whores you screw. That's all they were to you! We both know it, so don't try denying it! I will not stand by while you treat Cat the same way. She's been through too much shit to deal with the way you'll treat her."

For the first time in his life Daniel saw how his supposed best friend thought of him. And it hurt. Almost as much as the thought of not seeing or being near Cat felt. Trying not to show how upset he was, Daniel softly said, "I won't hurt her. I can't." Knowing that the look of disbelief on Jake's face was actually what he felt, he tried to explain. "You don't get it man. I saw her and had to touch her. I didn't have any idea of who she was or anything. I don't understand it myself. I just...I can't stand the thought of not touching her or seeing her. For the first time in my life, I feel connected to a woman who I've already scared off. She'll probably walk away and have nothing to do with me after your wedding. I fucked up already."

Daniel turned to walk away when he heard Jake ask, "You're serious?"

"Yeah, to the point of acting like a complete and fucking idiot over her gay friend talking to her on her cell phone."

"Daniel, you've never acted out of control over another man talking to a woman before. Hell, we've shared women in the past."

He looked at Jake, hoping he'd understand, "They weren't Cat."

Jake chuckled, "Dude, you are so fucked. If you already acted jealous with her and controlling you are done. Her ex treated her like shit and would knock her around. She hasn't dated anyone or even gone out in over a year because of him."

Fury rolled through Daniel, "Who was he?"

***

Cat was just getting out of the shower when someone rang the doorbell. She glanced at the clock as she wrapped a towel around her body. 5:45. She just knew it couldn't be Daniel yet, figuring it was Gabe she called out, "Come on in!"

Combing out her hair as she walked down the hall, "I'm running so late, what should I wear? I hate dressing up but you know how Jos is...." her voice trailed off as she realized that Daniel was early.

"I think that the towel would be perfect, but you're right Jos would throw a fit." She saw the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Oh my God! You are early!"

He glanced at his watch, not even realizing what time it was. He just had to be near her and came over as soon as he could, "I didn't realize what time it was when I left. Do you want me to leave and come back?"

She could feel his eyes on her. He made her feel so sexy with the way he looked at her. Never in her life had anyone looked at her like he did. She was so distracted that she didn't answer his question. Clinging to the towel that was wrapped around her, she tried to breathe in much needed oxygen. Slowly, he walked towards her. She knew should turn around and run, not walk to her bedroom and throw on at least a robe but her legs wouldn't move.

"Can I stay, Cat?" His thumb brushed her bottom lip. She closed her eyes and couldn't hold back the soft moan that escaped her lips at the contact. Inhaling deeply, "God, baby. You smell so good. I have to kiss you. I've been thinking about your lips for the past four hours. What is it about you?"

"I...I...don't know." Was that her voice that was so husky? Managing to open her eyes as Daniel leaned in and barely brushed her lips with his own. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. He didn't deepen the kiss like she craved.

Touching her forehead with his own, "Baby, can we please start over? I don't know what to do here. I just know that I need you."

Finally, she was able to concentrate on what he was saying. Breathing in deep, "You scare me. When you touch me, I melt. I don't know even know you, Daniel."

"Give me a chance. I won't hurt you, I swear. I'll do anything you need me to. Just don't shut me out."

His green eyes mesmerized her, and even though she knew she should tell him to leave she heard herself say, "I'll try."

She felt his hands in her hair and suddenly his lips were devouring hers. She couldn't breathe and didn't want to as long as he never stopped. She let go of the towel and wrapped her arms around him. Suddenly she was against the wall and he broke the kiss groaning as he looked down. Realizing that her towel had dropped, Cat tried to cover herself. She could feel her whole body blushing, "I should get dressed."

"Not yet. Let me see you." Cat dropped her head against the wall, mortified as she felt him checking her out. His voice seemed deeper to her as he said, "You are perfect." Then he was kissing her again, brushing his knuckles over her pebbled nipples. The she felt his mouth suckling her. She speared her hands in his hair holding him to her breast. She felt his teeth rasp against her tender flesh and knew she couldn't stop him. Whatever he wanted from her she would give. Somehow this man had managed to consume her and she doubted she would ever recover from him. And she had no doubt that he'd not only break her heart, but destroy her in the process.

To be continued....

Please email me through the link below if you liked or hated part two of my story. Any and all suggestions and comments are appreciated.