No Promises: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  I wrap a long piece around my hand. My arm moves around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

  Linda is the same size as Alyssa, part of the reason she’s the one tutoring me. She’s wearing a perfume with just the right mix of sweet and citrus. I must remember to ask her what kind it is. Alyssa would probably like to have some.

  I have a picture of my soon-to-be-mate up in my bedroom. Just thinking about it fills my mind with her image. And there it is—the thump in my chest every time I think about her and I together like this.

  Alyssa’s deep sapphire eyes, her dark black, silky hair, and those perfect red pouty lips. My heart’s going wild now.

  My body and lips press harder against Linda’s. I move us until she no longer moves. Holding her to the wall, I force my tongue past her lips, pulling her hair back so she has to accept it.

  Linda twists beneath me, pulling her mouth from mine. “Eden! Stop!”

  My head is swimming. Crap! What have I done?

  “Linda, it was wrong what I did? I didn’t know.”

  Linda moves away from me. She’s a little older than I am by about five or ten years, I guess. Her eyes have tiny wrinkles at the corners. Right now her face is flushed red.

  “Eden, you have to be a lot more delicate with your mate. She’s innocent after all. Coming on so strong will frighten her. You don’t want to do that, now do you?”

  Linda’s dress is bunched up at her waist from my actions. I reach out to smooth it for her. She steps back and does it herself.

  “Sorry, Linda. So, no tongue then?”

  She shakes her head. “Absolutely not, Eden. You’re marrying a princess of sorts. No tongue. No pulling of hair. No pushing her up against walls, doors, or any other hard surfaces. She’s to be treated only with gentleness and always with respect. Do you understand me?”

  I look away, angry with myself. “I do, but …”

  She pulls at my chin to make me look at her, interrupting my words. “But nothing, Eden. Touch her very tenderly. She’s completely innocent. Plus, she knows nothing about you. Believe me, you will be a complete stranger to her. The last thing she’ll want is for you to handle her like that. You’ll scare the hell out of her.” She smiles at me, making me feel admittedly stupid.

  “I’m a child, Linda,” I say as I mope about how inexperienced I am.

  Her arm runs around my shoulders and she gives me a little squeeze. “No, Eden, you’re no child. Here, let’s try this again. Only this time follow my lead instead of taking off on your own.”

  Pulling me to sit on a bench with her, she turns. My hands are placed by her, one on her shoulder and one on her waist. This feels awkward, too much like a dancing position.

  “This feels weird, Linda.”

  “It’s proper to stay some distance away. Now give me a chaste kiss on my cheek,” she instructs me.

  I purse my lips and place them on her cheek. “There you go, Linda. Was that chaste enough?”

  Her smile tells me it was. “Now, a simple, nice, non-threatening kiss on my lips, Eden.”

  Practicing extreme softness, I press my lips to hers. I have to open my eyes a bit or the visions of my Alyssa will run into my head, making me lose control. When I pull back, I find her smiling at me.

  “That was nice. Very nice, with no hint of I want to take you right now to it.”

  I drop my arms to my sides. “Is that what it felt like when I kissed you? Like I wanted to take you to my bed?”

  I never want to treat my baby Alyssa like that. She’s too special.

  Linda touches my arm. “Yes, Eden. What you did to me was very sexual in nature. I know you’re a young man with raging hormones and needs, but Alyssa is too inexperienced to deal with that right away. Maybe she’ll like it later, probably many years from now, but not at first. You think you have it all under control now?”

  I nod. With her I do. Once I have my hands on my mate, well, I don’t know for sure.

  If just her pictures and thinking about her stir this beast inside of me, what will the real girl do?

  My cell phone vibrates in my pants pocket. “My father, Linda. If you’ll excuse me, please,” I say as I walk away from her. “Hello, Papa.”

  “You should come inside. Your mother and I need to tell you something about Alyssa.”

  “Be right in,” I say, a bit nervous.

  What could she have done? What if something’s happened to her?

  I rush to Linda. “Sorry, Linda. Practice is over.” I take her by her arm, leading her back to her car. “My parents want to talk to me about something.”

  She allows me to lead her away from the pool. “I understand, Eden. It’s probable I’ll not see you until you bring her back here. Good luck and remember all I’ve taught you. Always be a gentleman.”

  I open her car door and help her inside. Out of habit, I place a quick kiss on her cheek.

  I shut her door and wave goodbye as I walk up to our front door. My stomach is clenched with not knowing right this minute what’s wrong with my Alyssa.

  Ginger, one of the maids, opens the door before I get to it. “They’re on the veranda, Mr. Fontaine.”

  “Thank you, Ginger,” I say, turning back to her. “And please call me Eden.” She’s new, so she hasn’t figured out how much I detest being called Mr. anything.

  The look on my parents’ faces doesn’t do much to please me or settle my nerves. “Please sit down, son,” my father says.

  I kiss my mother’s cheek, then do as he asks. “So what’s this you need to tell me?”

  My mother rocks back in the large white rocker she’s sitting in. “Seems your mate has some idea she’s going to run off with who seems to be her high school boyfriend.”

  My face falls and my heart stops beating as everything inside me turns to liquid.

  How? What? Why?

  “There’s no way she could have hidden such a thing from David and Toni.”

  My father touches my shoulder. “They were completely unaware of anything more than a friendship existing between the two. That was until a little earlier this evening. Alyssa told them of her plans to move to Austin with the boy after graduation. On her birthday, no less.”

  “She can’t,” I say, my breath almost lost.

  How could she do this to me?

  My mother senses my hurt. “Eden, she knows nothing about you and what you two are to each other. This is exactly why I always said this was a bad idea. Letting her live a ‘normal’ life was a bad idea, no matter how much her parents wanted it.”

  “I wanted that for her too,” I say. “I decided to let her stay in that life. This is my fault. I always had the right to stop this and have her brought to me. My love for her and her happiness has caused this.” I look at my father. “Please tell me she hasn’t been taken by this guy. Please tell me she still has her innocence.”

  “From what she’s told her parents, she’s still a virgin,” my father says.

  “Thank Our Creator! If my actions brought sin upon her everlasting soul, I could never forgive myself. So what’s to happen now?”

  My mother rocks back and forth. “The same thing as planned. You go to her on your birthday. Her parents will introduce you two and let her in on who and what she truly is. The boyfriend thing will go away after she knows her true path.”

  “She was going to leave with him. It must mean she has love for him.” My stomach aches with this knowledge. “I let her fall in love with someone else. Why didn’t you make me bring her here a long time ago?” I ask my father.

  The slight grin on his face answers my question. He’s not my master. Only I can make the decisions for myself and Alyssa, a heavy responsibility to bear since I was a mere five years old. The weight has never been such a burden as it is on this day.

  “I know, Papa. I’m not blaming you. I just didn’t see this coming. It was supposed to be so easy. She would see me and fall as madly in love with me as I am with her. Now her heart’s been captured by another. I fear
finding love for me will prove much harder for her. There’s the fact she must break this young man’s heart. It will hurt her in the process. I think I hate that the most. I’ll have hurt her before I’ve ever been given the chance to show her just how much I never wanted to.”

  My expression must be terrible. My mother comes to me, pulling me to stand. She wraps me in a tight hug.

  “Don’t worry so much, Eden. It’ll all be fine. As much as I want to say I told you so, I have to believe in fate. This was meant to be for reasons we may never be privy to. All will be as it’s supposed to be. Her parents are on guard now, making sure she doesn’t give herself to this boy. Toni told me she’s taking Alyssa to the doctor in the morning to get checked out, just to give you peace of mind.”

  What? Did she say to give me peace of mind?

  “Mother, what’ll the doctor do to her?”

  “A physical inspection to make sure she’s still intact. You know, take a gander at her in that area.” My mother horrifies me with her words.

  “Tell Toni I’ll not allow it. If my Alyssa says she’s not lost her virginity, then she’s to be believed. No one is going to inspect her like a piece of property. She’s far too special for that. Get her father on the phone, Papa. Let him know I’ve said not to do that to her. If they’ve told her what their plan is, I fear she’s scared to death. That’s not what I want. And all at my hands. No, I’ll not have that. Tell David to make sure Alyssa knows she’s not going to be taken to the doctor. I want her to sleep peacefully on this night. Not lacking sleep from fear of what might happen to her tomorrow,” I order, then walk away.

  I’ve made a mistake in allowing her to stay away from me. Somehow I’ll fix this. I pray my plans for our dinner on my birthday will help her to see what our life together will be like. Perhaps that will persuade her to let her feelings for the boy go.

  Please let it do the trick!

  CHAPTER 3

  ALYSSA

  It’s official, my parents are bat-shit crazy! They interrogated me for more than an hour about what all Kyle and I have done. I didn’t tell them every little thing, but it seems they’re not satisfied with my word of still having my virginity intact.

  Mom said I have to let our family doctor check me out to be sure I’m telling them the truth. How horrible will that be?

  I’ll never be able to look at Doctor Baker in the eyes again!

  My birthday cannot come soon enough. This life is just about over. I’m so out of here. They’ll throw a fit, I’m sure. Thank God Texas is so far away.

  A knock at my bedroom door makes me jump. “Who is it?”

  “Mom, sweetie.” Her voice sounds angelic.

  I’m not buying it.

  “I’m asleep,” I say as I dive under the blankets.

  “It’ll just take a moment, dear, please,” she says.

  Sure it will. Probably wants a sample of my blood or urine to run a pregnancy test.

  “The door isn’t locked. Come in.”

  Peeking around the side of my door, I swear she looks sorry and somewhat embarrassed. “Alyssa, I didn’t want you to fall asleep without me telling you this.”

  I roll my eyes at her. “What now?”

  The touch of her hand on my shoulder does little to comfort me as she sits on the bed. “It’s about going to see Doctor Baker in the morning. Your father and I have changed our minds about that. We believe you. You’ve never lied to us prior to this instance. I hope you feel you can be completely truthful with us, sweetie.”

  Her eyes droop. She’s sad and so am I. “Mom, I hated to keep that from you guys. I really did. It wouldn’t have been necessary if you would let me do normal things like other young adults get to do.”

  The way she’s biting her bottom lip makes me wonder what’s going through her head. “Alyssa, we realize it’s difficult to understand our actions. Teenagers sometimes make really poor decisions. You’re just too special for us to let something bad to happen to you.”

  I’m too special?

  “Mom, I’m no more special than anyone else. You’ve raised me to make good decisions. The time has come to let me make some of my own. I’m ready to take life head on. The opportunity to leave this small town and all its securities is just what I need to move forward. I love you guys, but you need to let my fly.”

  A sparkle flashes in her eyes for reasons I don’t understand. “Frankly, Alyssa, I’m glad to hear you say that. The time has come for some changes. It pleases me, and it will your father as well, to see you’re ready to move forward with your life. Our greatest fear was that change would frighten you.”

  I laugh. “I’m so ready for change. You have no idea.”

  Her lips brush over my forehead as she gets up, leaving me. “Good night, sweetie. I love you. Always remember that we do all we do because we love you. It’s never to be mean.”

  “I love you too, Mom. Tell Dad that for me too. I hate to fight with you guys,” I say as she closes the door.

  I do hate to fight with them. Maybe that’s why I took so long to let them in on me and Kyle. I knew it would mean a fight.

  When he gave me this ring, though, something clicked inside of me, as if I grew up a little. It became very important to me that my parents know about my relationship.

  Now, snuggled down underneath my blanket, replaying the words Kyle said to me when he asked me to move to Texas with him, I try to fall asleep. My mind is moving so fast. In three weeks, all things will change. A month from now my life will not even be recognizable.

  CHAPTER 4

  EDEN

  I’m driving across the country to get Alyssa. The plan was for me to fly out in our private jet, take her to Maine for dinner after her parents told her of our destiny, then take her back to New Orleans with me.

  All her school work is completed. She’s eligible to graduate a couple of weeks early. So that fact, along with the knowledge of her loving another, had me changing the initial plan. I’ll feel better if we can spend a few days together before I take her away from all she’s ever known.

  Turning her world upside down is not a thing I want to do, but the time is almost here. Her world will be completely different and only I can help her through the transition.

  Which reminds me, I need to call her parents to let them know the change of plans. I hit their number and wait to see which one answers. “Hello,” a feminine voice says.

  “Toni, good afternoon.”

  “Eden, so nice to hear from you.”

  “I’ll be there tomorrow instead of next week. I’ve changed my mind about a few things, like driving up, instead of flying. The jet will come when I call Jeffrey. A few days together with Alyssa before she’s told everything might help her adjust better.”

  The hesitation in Toni’s voice is clear. “Eden, it’s okay. You can do everything the same as you planned. She’ll be fine, I assure you.”

  It sounds as if she cares more about my wants than Alyssa’s feelings!

  “With the addition of a boyfriend who it’s clear she loves, I think it’s best to bring her into this in a gentler manner. Her heart will be broken when she has to give him up. The thought of bringing her pain, then making her come with me is too horrible. I want to win her affection and trust. I want her to choose me over him.”

  There’s a pregnant pause before Toni speaks again. “She is yours, Eden. I’ll explain things to her, make her understand. This is our fault for not being more protective. You shouldn’t be dealing with this at all. We can make her understand.”

  “Look, I appreciate you taking the responsibility for this situation,” I say. “But this is my fault. Letting you give her the first years of her life to be normal was a mistake. My mother told me to take her when she turned thirteen, but I refused. I wanted her to have a traditional life as much as you did. The hard fact is that leading a typical life means having relationships. Alyssa is completely average in that aspect.”

  “Eden, this is not your doing. We had a job to do an
d we didn’t do it well enough. I can handle her. Don’t let this change anything you’ve planned. You’ve been planning this for years.”

  “I have, but SHE is what matters to me. Not my damn plans. Her heart is more important than anything else. I can make her love me on my own. That’s what I want to do before you tell her what she is.”

  “Of course, Eden. We’ll do as you ask. So what time can we expect you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be there around six tomorrow evening.”

  “We’ll make dinner then. I guess we can say you’re one of our old friend’s sons on his way to Los Angeles to go to college. And you’ll be staying a week with us to visit. How about that, Eden?”

  “That should work. So I’ll see you then, Toni. Goodbye.”

  Lies! I hate them. To begin our life on them is nothing I ever intended to do. A necessary evil they are, though. I’m almost to Dallas, where I’m staying the night. One night in a lonely hotel room. After that, I’ll never have to be alone again.

  All those nights I stayed at home while my classmates went on dates, doing normal things, I played video games alone. Watched movies alone. Laid awake at night, looking at the picture of my mate, and wishing I could call her.

  To hear her voice would’ve been enough to get me to sleep. Those lonely days are almost over.

  Too bad she’s fallen in love with someone else. Damn, this would have been so much easier. I’ll never understand all the things Our Creator makes us go through.

  Not for me to know, I guess. I’ll make her love me. Perhaps the moment she sees me it will all fall into place. Our betrothal before birth was by The Creator, no less. Maybe I’m worried for nothing.

  I hope so anyway.

  CHAPTER 5

  ALYSSA

  English class was a snore today. I’ve finished all my work in every class. No finals for me as I’ve kept my grades up the whole year, leaving me exempt from them. Yet I still must go to every class with nothing to do. So I read books. I’ve read so many books in the last week.