No Promises: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  I can see it all now. I tell Laura I have to base my life, which it will out-last hers by a few decades or so, on Ally.

  I see a slap coming in my future!

  Nah, Laura won’t be cool with that. I wonder if I can talk Ally into telling Laura. It’s a much better idea, and if anyone gets slapped then it will be Ally, and I don’t see Laura doing that. No, she’ll probably just cry.

  And that makes me sad.

  The old guy said I’d get some gifts and I know I have telepathy with Ally, but no one else. This morning I found out I’m a lot stronger than I was before the ceremony.

  I’m not sure if playing football in college is such a great idea anymore. I could seriously hurt someone. Plus, using superhuman powers on the field is most likely against some rule, I bet.

  I found out about my strength because Laura couldn’t find her flip-flop and asked me to run into the bedroom to check under the bed. The bed in the room we’re in is giant. Solid wood with four large posts and a heavy mattress. When I put my hand on the bottom of the bed to pull the blanket up, my hand caught the frame and I lifted it like it was nothing.

  The whole damn bed!

  So then I threw a baseball once we were outside. Laura hadn’t come out yet, and Scotty and I were horsing around. I told him about my super-strength and he found a ball. That kid was impressed and more than a bit jealous.

  “Why couldn’t I get something like that?” he said. “She’s my sister. We come from the same parents.”

  I didn’t know what to tell him. I wasn’t about to say, ‘She loves me more than you.’

  That would’ve been rude.

  The love thing me and Ally have is weird. It’s not like we used to have, yet deeper. I can’t be jealous about her and Eden.

  They were made for each other. Ally showed me the things the other bird-people showed her, and let me tell you there is no way she’s made for anyone but him.

  I’ve accepted it. Well, kinda. I have no choice. The faithful sidekick is what I suppose I am now.

  How depressing. I must work on what I am.

  When I saw Ally this morning coming down that hallway, I didn’t recognize her. She was way out of my league. A grown ass, sexy-as-hell woman is what she looked like.

  Her dress and heels had to have cost thousands of dollars. Everything about her screamed, ‘I’m not of this world.’ It made me question my mind. Like, how did I never see that in her before?

  I’m sitting at the top of the staircase to be sure I don’t miss them coming in. It’s a sure thing they won’t be coming out of their love nest once they get back in it.

  I know I wouldn’t let her out much if I was Eden!

  A beam of light falls across the huge, marble floor of the room at the bottom of the stairs.

  Don’t ask me what the room is called because I have no clue.

  There are so many rooms in this mansion and they call them all something different.

  Her giggle hits my ears before I see her. I send, ‘You’re finally back,’ to her.

  Ally and Eden walk out of the darkness and into the light over the staircase. “You waiting up for us, Daddy?” she asks me sarcastically.

  “You are very late, missy,” I return her sarcasm.

  I stand up as they make their way up the large spiral stairs. He holds her tightly to his side.

  It used to be me, holding her like that.

  I take a step back to let them pass me. Ally reaches out and touches my cheek. “Come to our suite. We should talk about things,” she says, and I follow her like a puppy.

  ‘Don’t think like that,’ she sends to me.

  I follow them into their new place at the very end of the long hall. I look around as we go inside. It’s nice, like really nice. There are two huge, overstuffed, red-leather sofas, a chandelier in the middle of a high ceiling, and a monster television hanging on the wall.

  Damn! My room is a dump compared to this place.

  Ally spins around out of Eden’s tight grip. “Where is it you’d like to live, Kyle?”

  “Me?” I ask, surprised at how fast she turned around and that she is right in front of me, so close I can smell her hair. It smells like honeysuckles.

  “I’m going to take a shower, princess. You talk to Kyle,” Eden says, then leaves the room.

  I’m no threat?

  “No, you’re not,” she says as she takes my hand, leading me to one of the sofas.

  She sits down, pulling me down to sit next to her. “You don’t even look the same, Al.”

  “I know, Kyle. Something woke up in me. The Phoenix, I guess. I feel different. Flying is so phenomenal, so is telepathy, and the ability to have premonitions.”

  Her legs look gorgeous in those heels, and her red dress leaves nothing to the imagination. My eyes can’t stop roaming over her body. “I wish I could’ve gone,” I say. “When can I tell Laura?”

  The touch of her hand on my chin brings my face back up from looking at her legs. “While I’m flattered by your adoration of my physique, Kyle, I’m trying to talk to you. We must get past this physical thing we have. It will never happen, so we must let it go. I thought you understood that when I showed you the reality of who and what I am,”

  “Yeah, I do. I really do, but what’s happened to you?” I ask, then touch the top of her arm as her bicep is firm and shapelier than it had been. “You’re buff, Ally.”

  “The flying I suppose,” she says, and releases my chin. “So, you wish to tell Laura our secret?”

  “I should’ve been there with you tonight,” I say. “I am your primary guardian you know.”

  The flip of her hand into the air makes one of her breasts move under the tight, red dress, drawing my attention as she says, “We must think of another name for your position. I hate that one. It makes me think I must ask you before I do anything, which I don’t have to do.”

  I smile at her and lean close to her ear as I whisper, “Remember the old guy’s words and your vow to me, Mistress Fontaine. Do you vow to follow this man and do as he bids you to, without hesitation, as he is your guardian for life? Then you said, ‘I do.’”

  The warmth of her breath on my cheek as I purposely drag it by her mouth makes me hesitate, as our lips are so close it would be easy to touch them.

  “I did agree to that, didn’t I?”

  “That you did, and I have to hold you to it. So what I say goes, princess.”

  ‘I hate the fact we can’t be together,’ I send her as our foreheads touch.

  ‘It’s not our fate. You and I are to be something else to each other. Hard as it may be, we’ll have to get past this,’ she sends me.

  Not really wanting to move away from her, I do anyway. I sit back on the sofa and take in a deep breath. “Why would he do this to us?” I ask.

  “Our Creator?” she asks.

  “Whatever you want to call him, but yeah. Why?”

  Ally slips her heels off and turns towards me, putting her feet underneath her. Her legs are hidden from me, something that is probably for the best.

  “I remembered something today,” she says. “I had a dream about you. The night before you showed up at school that day. When the teacher introduced you, you came and sat in the empty desk next to mine.”

  “I did sit next to you, Al,” I say. “You’re just remembering what really happened.”

  “No, I’m not. A little girl named Stacy sat in that desk, but she was absent the day you came. You took her seat and the teacher moved her when she came back to school.”

  “So? Stuff like that happens, Al.”

  “You and I were meant to be together,” Ally says. “You are my protector, though, not my lover. Our teenage hormones created that need for each other. You do remember how you also wanted Laura at the time you kissed me. Our deep connection made you and I both think we were attracted to each other in that way. Only we weren’t supposed to go that route. It was Laura you should’ve been with the last few years. Not me.”

&nb
sp; Talking to my Ally about Laura, her best friend, is uncomfortable and I’d rather not do it. Her eyes twinkle at me as she awaits my response. “I know you’re right.”

  A smile slowly forms on her plump, red lips. “Good, then that’s settled. You are my protector and no physical stuff can happen between us.”

  My eyes roll as I look away from her. “God, Ally! I know it can’t. That’s what’s so damn hard. I’ll get over it, I guess.”

  ‘And yet I don’t want you to,’ she thinks and I snap.

  I grab her by her shoulders and pin her back to the sofa. ‘Tell me to stop,’ I send to her.

  Her eyes search mine as I move my lips closer to hers. ‘I don’t want you to stop,’ she sends back.

  Achingly slowly, my lips move to taste hers. ‘Just one kiss, Ally. All we need is one last kiss. We’ll never do it again,’ I send her.

  My eyes close as my lips are so close to hers, I can feel her warm breath on them. A flash fills my head and there are the faces of Laura and Eden.

  Sadness radiates from them, filling my heart with heavy sorrow. One small action could cause them so much pain. I pull my face back from Ally’s.

  She’s seen the same thing I have and we look at each other, knowing it isn’t in us to hurt people we love and care about. I lay my head back on the sofa.

  “Well, at least we know what’ll happen if we try something like that again. The Creator will not allow it to happen anymore. I’m glad it’s beyond our control,” Ally says.

  The pounding in my chest almost hurts as I realize I’ll never touch those lips again. I have to get out of here and away from her. “I need to go, Al.”

  “I understand. We can talk about everything later,” Ally says as she moves her legs out from under her and places them on the floor. “You asked me where you could live and the answer to that is anywhere you want. I don’t have to have you right next to me. Only when we go on dangerous missions will I need you. Other than that, feel free to live your life as you wish and wherever you wish.”

  Her damn gorgeous legs take my attention and I have to get the hell away from her before my heart bursts from my chest. “Catch you later, Al,” I say as I get up and walk towards the door. “Have a good night.”

  “You’re leaving?” she asks as she catches up to me.

  Her hand on my arm as she stops me sends a chill through my entire body. I turn back to see her eyes looking sad.

  “I need some time to adjust. You’ll be in my life for a very long time, yet I can never have you. This isn’t easy for me. I can see it’s not for you either,” I say, then I caress her pink cheek. “I’ll leave you to have your honeymoon with your mate. Call me if you need me. I have to get back to my life and figure out what I’m going to do with it. I also have to decide what I’m going to do about Laura. It’s not fair to her. She deserves someone who can give her all of him. I’m not that guy.”

  “Please don’t hurt her, Kyle. Think about this a lot before you make a decision about breaking up with her. There’s a slight chance that in the future she can be told our secret,” Ally says. “She and I are also very close. It may be she can be a part of this as well. Don’t count her out just yet. As far as you not being able to give a hundred percent of yourself just yet, don’t let that get in your head. One day you will.”

  Slowly, I move my hand up her arm, relishing her soft skin. “Ally, you will reside in my heart forever. Your presence there takes up space and it makes it impossible to give one hundred percent to anyone else.”

  Her voice is soft as she says, “Kyle, you also reside within my heart, yet I love Eden with all I have. You will learn how to do that too.”

  I kiss her cheek and hug her tightly. “I love you, Ally. I’m going home after Laura gets up. I don’t know if she’ll leave with me or not, but I have to get out of here for a while.”

  Letting her go, I turn and open the door. Right before I close it, I hear her say, “I love you too, Kyle. Be safe.”

  Tears cloud my vision as I make my way down the long hallway.

  How am I supposed to live over a hundred years with this pain in my heart?

  CHAPTER 42

  ALYSSA

  Pain radiates through my body as my Kyle leaves our home. I woke as he left this house, his goodbye waking me from a deep sleep. Laura decided to go with him back to Cloudcroft. He doesn’t know how he’ll deal with what we have, nor do I.

  How can I feel so much love for my mate and still have love for another?

  What a cruel thing to do to us all. Eden struggles with the knowledge, and if we decide to let Laura in on our secret, she’ll have difficulty with it as well.

  This life will be long and I have to wonder if our want for each other will ever go away. Kyle has a permanent place in my heart. I don’t see our feelings ever leaving us entirely.

  For now, he’s gone. Eden and I can concentrate on each other and making a strong bond. Perhaps in time, I will grow into a creature who can make sense of things of this nature.

  Love, lust, and friendship are all complex relationships.

  A quick flash of Kyle and me runs through my head and I shake my head to make sense of it. I was very round bellied, like I was pregnant, and his arm was around me.

  But that could never happen. Could it?

  CHAPTER 43

  ALYSSA

  It’s been a month since we had our first mission and nothing else has come up. I’ve left my Kyle alone, letting him deal with things in his own way. I can’t lie and say his absence hasn’t changed me in ways.

  Eden and I have settled in nicely to our marriage. We seem to be waiting here to see what comes next for us as the Phoenix couple. It’s an odd thing to be waiting for and I feel a little lost about what we’re supposed to really be doing.

  No one seems to be stepping forward and letting us in on what we’re supposed to do when not on a mission or planning one. Eden thinks it’s because we have to work on being the birds, learning how to fly and transform more quickly and becoming stealthier. We’ve been practicing at night around the mansion.

  But there’s a little pain in my heart with Kyle being so far away and us not talking at all. It’s a thing Eden is aware of, as he’s able to see my thoughts, which roam all too often to wondering what Kyle is doing at that very moment.

  I suppose some day in the future I’ll learn how to deal with this thing.

  The light streams in through the window, waking me up from a deep sleep. I feel Eden’s leg thrown over mine and wiggle to move out from under it. Once freed, I sit up on the edge of the bed. My entire body aches with every little movement. Muscles are sore I didn’t even know I had.

  “Owww!”

  I walk slowly and painfully to the bathroom, starting up the bath. Once it’s full of piping hot water, I push the button on the wall, turning on the jets for the next twenty minutes. The hot water helps to soothe my sore muscles. Thankfully, I don’t have to work out today. I get a day off between each workout.

  Yesterday I found out Eden’s personal trainer, Beck, is a demon from hell. It’s no wonder Eden has that freaking hot body, but good Lord he has to work hard for it. It was my bright idea to start working out with him, so there’s no one to blame but myself.

  The bathroom door opens and I see my sleepy husband walk in, going straight for the shower. I’m beginning to think he didn’t notice I’m in here. I can hear him humming some kind of tune as the shower starts. The jets in my tub turn off by themselves, as the time I’m supposed to be in here has run out. I can hear him much better now.

  He’s mumbling, “Doctor, you have to … I can’t lose her … help her …”

  I get out of the tub, wrap a towel around myself, and walk to the shower to find Eden’s eyes closed. He’s standing under the water, but there’s no soap on him. He’s just standing there as the water falls on him.

  He yells, “No … don’t say that … no!”

  I realize he’s asleep and remember hearing somewhere that yo
u should never wake up a sleepwalker. I gently take his hand, leading him out of the shower. The feel of the water on my skin jolts me, as its freezing cold.

  How in the world did that not wake him up?

  I place a towel around his shoulders, then lead him back to bed, lying him down as gently as I can. I pull the blanket up to cover him as his skin is freezing and he’s shivering. I climb into bed and snuggle up next to him, trying to warm him up. His body tenses up as I move my body close to his. He reaches out to touch me.

  “Alyssa?”

  I giggle. “Yes, Eden, who else would it be?”

  He turns over, then sits up, looking down at me. His usually happy face has a very distraught look to it, then he almost falls down on me, hugging me to him tightly.

  “God, I’m so glad. It was just a dream. You are here, right? Say something. Say something, please.”

  “Eden, what’s wrong? Whatever it was, it’s just a dream. It’s not real.”

  He shakes his head, making his brown waves dance above his broad shoulders. “I have to not think about it. It can’t happen like that. I won’t let it.”

  “Eden, please tell me what has you so upset.”

  He stands up rather abruptly, his bare body taut and rippled with new muscles that draws my attention and admiration. “I have to take a shower. I have to clear my head,” he says as he walks away from me. “Don’t leave our suite!” Then he disappears into the bathroom.

  Guess he doesn’t remember being in the shower.

  I get out of the bed and get dressed. As I sit at my vanity, fixing my hair, I find myself wondering what kind of horror my husband has just witnessed in his head.

  Why does he want me to not leave our suite? Was it a premonition? What can be done to change the outcome if it was?

  He’s still in the shower when I finish getting ready, so I go to the living room of our suite. A knock at the door startles me. I jump, then laugh at myself for being so silly.