Chapter Ten
Reagan looked over at Kylie worriedly as they sat in the sitting room of a hosting establishment. When the ceremony was over, they had left immediately, only stopping briefly to collect their belongings from his friend’s house. They’d found this inn just as it was growing dark. Ben had sent them in to rest and wait while he secured them some rooms. Worried by how pale and quiet Kylie was, Reagan had quickly bundled her inside.
He’d known this experience had to have been traumatic for her, bringing back old memories and nightmares, he just hoped she hadn’t completely retreated into herself.
Leaning forward in his seat, he reached for her hand.
“You’re freezing,” he exclaimed, cursing himself for not seeing to her comfort. That was his job, even more so now that he was her husband. He would be taking care of her for the rest of his life.
He couldn’t stop the surge of satisfaction that filled him. His wife. No one could take her from him. Even though he’d hated having the Magistrate dictate to him, the other man had actually done him a favor. Kylie was tied to him.
He just hoped it was what she wanted.
Stoking up the fire, he stood and grabbed a blanket, placing it over her lap and tucking it around her.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?” he scolded lightly.
“I’m okay,” she said quietly.
Reagan crouched down in front of her, taking her hands in his to warm them. “Kitten, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I wish it hadn’t taken so long to get you out of there.”
“Why did you tell them we were engaged?” she asked.
He ran his thumbs over the top of her hands. “I knew I couldn’t stick to the story that we were married. They would have demanded to see the certificate or to have the name of the Magistrate who married us. There were too many ways to get caught out. So I told them we were engaged. It was the only way I could think to protect you. They could have taken you from us anyway, even with Ben as your guardian. They would have claimed him an unfit guardian and caused a lot of trouble for him. This was the best plan I could think of.”
“How did Ben know to come?”
“I send a message to him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t at home so the messenger had to track him down. He was at a council meeting. I’m just glad the messenger managed to find him. Baby, did they treat you okay? I know you must have been so frightened.”
He couldn’t bear to think of her upset and alone.
“I was worried about what they would do to you,” she told him, surprising him. “I was worried they wouldn’t let either of us go. Reagan, I know you couldn’t have been expecting that they would make us marry.”
“No, but that doesn’t matter—”
He was interrupted as the door opened and Ben stepped through, looking tired. “Right, I’ve secured some rooms for the two of you for tonight and tomorrow. I suggest you take a while to rest before coming home. Everything will be busy with Ian and Alia about to marry.”
Reagan held out his hand to Kylie, grateful when she took it and let him lead her from the room. They followed Ben up some stairs. He stopped in front of a large door and opened it. Reagan walked into a small sitting room, which had the fire blazing. He could see a bedroom through the open door beyond. “These are your rooms. There is a bedroom attached to this sitting room. I’ve got a room next door. I’ll leave early in the morning. Don’t get up to see me off.”
Reagan stood. “Thank you, Ben. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see you today.”
Ben nodded, looking grim. “Well, this was my fault as much as yours. I agreed to this plan of yours, I put you and Kylie both at risk.”
Reagan shook his head. “This isn’t your fault, it’s mine and I was more than prepared to handle the consequences.” Although they hadn’t gotten married under the most ideal circumstances, all this had really done was push up his timeframe. He had fully intended to marry Kylie since the first day he’d seen her.
He only wished he had been able to propose to her, he would have done it properly, gotten down on one knee.
Ben shot Kylie a concerned look. He crouched down, tilting her face up. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry that wasn’t the most ideal wedding. I’m sure you had something much more romantic in mind. I will hold to my promise that you can have the wedding of your dreams in a few months, anything you like. I’ll even pay for it.”
Kylie sent him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes and Reagan’s concern for her grew. What the hell had happened to her while she was under the Magistrate’s care? What had they done to her? She looked even sadder than when they’d rescued her from the Toad.
“It’s okay, I don’t need another wedding,” she told him.
Reagan frowned.
“How did they know?” she asked. “Did we ever find out who told them we were living there without being married?”
“I asked that same thing,” Ben told them. “Apparently the Magistrate offers rewards for anyone who reports any unlawful behavior in his county. Someone overheard the two of you talking, realized you weren’t married and reported you.”
“I knew someone was watching us,” Kylie said. Reagan wished he had caught that bastard before he managed to throw their lives into chaos.
Ben stood, handing him a small jar. “I got this from the inn-keeper it will help with the bruising.”
Reagan frowned. “I don’t have any bruises,” he said in confusion.
“It’s not for you,” Ben told him, turning away.
Reagan turned to stare at Kylie, who turned away, a tinge of red entering her cheeks.
“What do you want me to tell Ian and the girls?” Ben asked.
“Umm,” Reagan said distractedly, wishing his brother would just go so he could check Kylie over. Head to toe. “Maybe don’t say anything. This is Alia and Ian’s big day and I don’t want to take anything away from them. We’ll tell them after.”
Ben just nodded. “Good night. Hope you both sleep well.”
“Good night.” Reagan locked the door behind him before turning back to Kylie, who was watching the fire.
“Kylie, where are you hurt?” he asked. “What did they do to you?”
She glanced up, her eyes wide in her too-pale face. “I’m fine.”
He growled. “Then why did Ben give me this?”
She shrugged.
Reagan cursed. “Kylie, you’re killing me here. I’m terrified that you’re really hurt.”
Sighing, she glanced up at him. “It’s nothing. Just my bottom.”
“Show me.”
She shot him a disgruntled look. “You know, you and your brother have a lot in common.” He squashed his burst of jealousy at the idea of Ben seeing her bare bottom.
Standing, she turned and raised her dress. Reagan, growing impatient with how slowly she moved, pushed her undergarments down. He sucked in a deep breath. Her bottom was a mass of bruises, there wasn’t an inch of it that was untouched.
“Those fucking bastards, I’m going to kill them,” he said violently. Kylie turned, looking shocked.
“Reagan, it’s okay.”
“It is not okay.” He felt wild, like he needed to hit something. Now.
“Reagan, it’s over now and it looks worse than it feels.”
He suspected that wasn’t true. Running his hand through his hair, he looked at her despairingly. “I’m so sorry, this is my fault. I was trying to help you and look what I did. I let you fall into the hands of someone who abused you!”
“They paddled me. For fighting back, I would never have fought back if it wasn’t for you, Reagan. I think feeling like me again was worth a bruised butt and a bit of embarrassment.”
“Embarrassment?” He watched as she lowered her eyes. “Kylie, what else did they do?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.” He cupped her face. “Tell me.”
She glanced away, as though unable to look at him. “T-they inspected me.
A-and they gave me an enema.”
“Oh, baby.” He drew her close, rocking her as he held her against her chest. He knew that was something the Toad had done to her multiple times. The guilt threatened to bring him to his knees. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Actually, it wasn’t anything as bad as the Toad did to me. They didn’t make me hold it until I was in tears from the pain.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate that I couldn’t protect you from that.”
“You got me out in the end. You even sacrificed your freedom to do it.” She pulled away from him and he frowned.
“I didn’t sacrifice anything. I wanted to marry you.”
“I’m kind of tired do you think I could go to bed?”
Although he wanted to push the point that he hadn’t sacrificed anything, she looked dead on her feet and so fragile that he just wanted to wrap her up in cotton wool and keep her close to him, always.
“Of course, kitten. Why don’t you go get ready for bed and I’ll come in and rub some of this on you.”
Kylie nodded and shuffled into the bedroom. Reagan moved to the fireplace, resting his arms on the mantle as he took deep breaths, trying to calm his anger. How could he have let her be harmed this way? Well, never again. He was going to take much better care of her from now on. He would look after her like the fragile treasure she was.
He would take things slow and easy.
When he had gotten his composure back, he moved into the bedroom. Kylie was buried under the covers and his surge of love for her almost stole his breath.
She watched as he walked closer.
“Why don’t you roll over onto your stomach, kitten? I’ll put this cream on you.”
As she rolled over, he pulled back the covers and sat beside her. Rolling up her nightgown, he scooped out some of the cream and ran it gently over her bottom. Kylie hissed.
“Sorry, kitten, did that hurt?”
“Cold,” she replied.
“It will warm up soon and work at healing these bruises quicker.” His anger stirred at the sight of her bottom once more, but he kept it to himself, calmly rubbing the cream over her buttocks then lowering her nightgown and pulling up the blankets. When she was settled on her side, he sat beside her. He ran his fingers through her hair.
“How are you?”
“Tired,” she replied.
“It’s been a tough few days. I promise I won’t fail you again. I will always protect you. Always.”
***
Kylie couldn’t sleep. She thought being back with Reagan would fix her insomnia. But now she had more worries keeping her stressed and awake.
She couldn’t believe they were married. Under other circumstance, she would be thrilled. Who wouldn’t be? Reagan was gorgeous, smart, kind and protective. He was her dream man.
Except in her dreams he loved her back.
In her dreams, he hadn’t been forced into marriage to protect her.
In her dreams, he would right now be in this bed, making love to her, not sleeping on a chair in the room next door.
What was she going to do? It was obvious he didn’t wish to be married to her. He hadn’t kissed her. He’d had the opportunity to touch her and he hadn’t, instead he’d focused on her bruised butt.
What should she do? What could she do? She couldn’t force him to love her, to want her?
Yet, he hadn’t seemed unattracted to her. In fact, there had often been times that he’d grown hard while touching her. Perhaps she could persuade him to touch her again. Maybe, he could come to see her as more than someone who needed him to take care of her.
She was determined to show him she wasn’t a burden.
Chapter Eleven
Kylie watched as Alia walked down the aisle toward Ian, who stood waiting for her. Alia looked magnificent. Her long, white gown was simple, yet it clung to her curves, fitting her perfectly.
Ian’s gaze was riveted on his wife-to-be as she smiled at him, her grin huge. It was wonderful to see Alia looking so happy. Around them, a small selection of guests sat, watching with smiles as Ian and Alia said their vows. There were huge bunches of flowers everywhere and the aisle where Alia had walked down was laden with rose petals. It was every woman’s dream wedding.
It was her dream wedding.
Even though she was more than thrilled for her friend, a small, horrible part of her felt jealous. This is what she had wanted. What she had longed for.
She glanced over the aisle at her husband. Husband. She held back her snort. She’d barely seen Reagan since they had returned to Ben and Risa’s house. They’d to keep their wedding a secret, not wanting to steal anything away from Ian and Alia. But it meant that she was sleeping by herself once more. Even though Reagan had never slept in the same bed with her, it had been comforting to have him in the same room.
Stifling a yawn, she ignored the look of concern Reagan gave her as she stood to follow the other guests out of the small church. She thrust her shoulders back and made herself smile, despite the tears threatening.
The last thing she wanted was to make a scene during Alia and Ian’s wedding. She lined up to congratulate the couple. Alia hugged her tight. Kylie felt tiny against the taller woman and she leaned against her slightly, grateful for her touch. She was surprised by how much she missed Reagan touching her. Now she found herself starved for affection.
“I’m so glad you arrived back in time for the wedding, Kylie,” Alia said. “We missed you.”
“I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, little one,” Ian said, taking her from Alia to hug her tight. Ian was huge and he surrounded her. But she didn’t feel threatened. She smiled up at him.
“You two look so wonderful together, I’m so happy for you.” She stepped away before her smile could be overshadowed with sadness. Moving over to the shade of a large tree, she watched everyone chatting, drinking and eating. Rayshod weddings went straight from the ceremony into the celebration. There wasn’t a formal dinner but rather nibbles and drinks.
Reagan broke away from a couple he was talking to and headed her way. She watched
“Why don’t you come and eat, kitten?”
“I’m not hungry.”
He peered down at her intently. “You look thin and very tired.” He cursed quietly. “You’re not looking after yourself. Tomorrow we’re telling everyone about our marriage. I can’t stand having to pretend that you’re not my wife.”
“I’m fine.”
“And I’m tired of hearing you say that,” he said sternly. “Have you been having nightmares again?”
She shrugged.
“Kylie,” he growled. “You tell me you’re fine, again and I’m going to…” he trailed off.
“Yes?” she prompted, wondering what he’d say. He’d been treating her like fragile glass these last few days. She was tired of it. She wasn’t fragile. Not anymore.
“I’m going to be very mad,” he finished lamely.
Her whole body sagged.
“Come with me. You are eating and then you are going to have an early night. I’ll wait until everyone else goes to sleep then I’ll sneak into your room so you can sleep.”
“So now we have to sneak around? What’s the point?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry we couldn’t just tell everyone, but this is going to come as quite a shock to everyone and I didn’t think it was fair to do it before Alia and Ian’s wedding. Apparently Alia has been quite stressed getting everything ready. She deserves to have her wedding day the way she wants.”
And Kylie didn’t? She sighed, hating herself for her thoughts.
“Come on, now.” He held out his arm and she took it. Maybe once they told everyone things would get better.
***
Reagan sank into one of the leather armchairs in Ben’s study. Ian sat across from him, nursing a glass of whiskey.
“Reagan, you want a drink?” Ben asked
He nodded,
accepting the glass his brother offered him.
“You look tired, brother. Everything okay?” Ian asked.
Ian and Alia had been married for two weeks now and Ian had never looked happier. He and Alia seemed to float around the place. When one walked into the room, the other’s gaze immediately went to the other person.
Reagan wished he could say the same about himself and Kylie. He’d hoped they would grow closer now that they were married, but instead she seemed to be drifting further and further away from him.
“Can’t get much sleep in an armchair,” Reagan replied.
Ben sat beside Ian, narrowing his gaze as he stared over at Reagan. “Why the hell aren’t you sleeping in your bed?”
“Because Kylie isn’t comfortable with me sleeping in the same bed as her.”
Ian leaned forward. “Then you help her grow more comfortable. She is never going to get used to sleeping with you if you’re sleeping in an armchair.”
“She’s only just started to sleep through the night without nightmares. I can’t risk her health by upsetting her.”
“Seems to me that we all thought that a few months ago,” Ben commented. “Only you had a different idea. And it worked. Don’t you think you’re making the same mistake we did in treating her like she’s fragile?”
“Oh, it worked really well,” Reagan said with self-disgust. “I put her in danger. She was harmed because of me. I am not going to do anything that might risk her again.”
“Look, I know what happened frightened you,” Ben said, leaning forward. “If it had been Alia, I would have been out of my mind. But acting like Kylie might break if you push her isn’t helping her. She’s drawing back into herself, we can all see it. Unless you do something, Reagan, you are going to lose her.”
Reagan sat back, chewing over what his oldest brother had said. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already thought about. But he’d promised himself he would go slowly with her, let her predict the pace.
Only how was that working out? She barely spoke to him now, she seemed so sad that it tore at him. Ben was right she was drifting away from him.
Set Free: Kylie's Story (Rayshod) Page 9