by Tia Wylder
“No, I didn’t forget those things. I just like to focus on the happier things. Like spending time with you.”
“Really?” Deckland couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
“Yeah. Today was the closest I’ve ever been to being rebellious. I know it might have been a pretty tame day for you, but for me, it was actually pretty fun.” She giggled as they reached the second-floor landing.
“Why, Miss Reams, I had no idea you were such a daredevil.” Deckland opened a door and led her to the guestroom she would be staying in.
“What can I say? I’m a troublemaker.” Hayley’s hurt foot tripped over a luxurious rug which sent her sprawling.
Deckland spun quickly to catch her but lost his balance. Hayley landed on top of him on the bed. Her hands clutched at his shirt. Deckland flexed his hips against her. It was muscle memory. Hayley gasped and let out a soft moan. The little sound made his heart jump. His fingertips had landed on the small of her back. Deckland could feel her skin where her shirt had ridden up. To his surprise, Hayley didn’t push herself away from him. Her face lingered just above his. Deckland trailed one of his hands up her side and gently pulled the dark wig off of her. His thumb brushed against her cheek, slowly guiding her lips closer to him. Right before their lips touched, Hayley closed her eyes and pushed against his chest.
She stopped him and rolled off of him and onto the bed. “Sorry.” She let out a heavy sigh.
“No, that’s my fault. I misread the situation.” Deckland sat up and ran his fingers through his hair.
“No, you didn’t.” Hayley groaned.
He turned to face her and raised one of his eyebrows. “Are you saying you wanted me to kiss you?”
“I don’t want you to think less of me when I say this. To be honest, I wanted you to do more than just kiss me.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Hayley bit her lip. It was so tempting. “The problem is I still don’t want to have sex until I’m married. I feel like if I break that promise to myself, then I won’t be the person I thought I was.” She slowly took the pins out of her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders.
“Hayley, it’s just a kiss.” Deckland helped her take her hair down.
She glanced up at him through her eyelashes. “I don’t know if I would be able to stop myself.”
“I’ll stop it before anything goes too far.” Deckland leaned in closer. Her breathing was faster now.
“Promise?” Hayley was trembling as his arm reached around her.
“Promise.”
Deckland’s lips pressed into hers with gentle precision. Hayley let herself go, leaning into his kiss. His tongue forced her lips open and explored her mouth. The light gasp of pleasure as he repositioned his lips urged him on. She didn’t want him to stop. Her fingers found their way into his hair. As she pulled his hair, he softly bit her bottom lip and pulled her closer. Hayley let him guide her hips over him until she was sitting in his lap with her legs wrapped around him. She could feel him getting turned on by the pressure of her body on his. Instinctually, she rocked back and forth. Deckland groaned with pleasure and pulled back from kissing her. Hayley’s body bounced on top of him, tempting him. Her breasts jiggled with each movement. Deckland grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back to expose her neck. He let his lips trail across her skin. His teeth nibbled her earlobe, and she moaned softly. Deckland smiled as he discovered her sensitivity there.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled her back a little harder and whispered in her ear. “That’s all you get for now.”
Hayley bit her lip, still trying to grind her hips on him. “It’s so hard to stop.” Everything had felt so good. It would be so easy to just give in to temptation.
Deckland spanked her and lifted her off of him. “A promise is a promise.”
Pouting, she moved her legs together. He could see the sexual frustration on her face. Deckland wanted so badly to rip her clothes off and ruin her. He knew all it would take was one orgasm with him, and she would be hooked. He clinched his hand into a fist. The pain of his nails digging into his palm helped to calm him down.
After taking a few breaths, Hayley looked up at him sweetly. “Thank you.”
Deckland nodded. “I told you. I’ll take care of you.” Right now, what he really needed was to go take care of himself. “Make sure you prop your foot up to help the swelling.” He picked up the icepack that had fallen to the floor at some point and handed it to her.
Hayley was staring at the bulge in his pants. She reached out her hand tentatively before pulling her fingers back. It was getting harder to keep herself under control. With her willpower faltering, it was nice to know Deckland wouldn’t take advantage of her. Hayley knew it must be difficult for him, but his willingness to keep her on track made her more attracted to him—if that was possible. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard. How was she going to make it through the night here with him so close by?
“I’m going to go take a shower. If you need anything, just yell or text me or something.” Deckland backed away from her before he changed his mind.
“Okay. Thanks.” Hayley waved weakly. She wanted to stop him, but if she did things would get out of control.
Once the door shut behind him, Hayley threw herself back onto the bed. The fluffy pillows swallowed her. His kiss left her breathless. Just thinking about his body under hers was making it hard for her to focus. She had done it to herself. Pummeling the mattress with her fists, she fought back a frustrated scream. Deckland had known exactly how to kiss her. It was crazy how good everything had felt. No wonder most people didn’t wait to have sex until they were married. Her thoughts wandered to how having him inside of her would feel. Another wave of desire coursed through her. Part of her knew Deckland would be her downfall, and in that moment, she no longer cared.
Chapter 11: Worse Than a Cold Shower
“That was a nice touch, getting the girl her own room.” Charlotte was hovering near the stairs when Deckland shut the door behind him.
“What do you want, Mother?” Had she been listening to them by the door?
“What I want is to know when you plan to pop the question. Don’t forget what we are doing all of this for, Deckland.”
“It’s still too soon. If I rush it, she won’t say yes.” Knots rolled in his stomach. The truth was he was afraid of her turning him down. He had never actually wanted a relationship to work out before.
“And if you wait too long, then it will all be for nothing.” Charlotte Kyle hissed at her son and jabbed her finger into his chest. “How long does it take to make a girl fall in love with you? I’ve seen you at your father’s parties. You can make them fall for you at the drop of a hat. What’s the problem this time?” Charlotte paused. “Oh, don’t tell me. The elusive Deckland has finally fallen in love.”
Deckland’s avoided her eyes. “Mother—”
“You have, haven’t you? You know, this is actually quite perfect. That’s why you wanted to back out, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you something. We don’t all get to marry for love, Deckland, so count yourself lucky.” She swirled away down the staircase.
Shaking with anger, Deckland stormed to his own room. Having a conversation with his mother was worse than a cold shower. Now he just felt a different kind of dirty. She was right. He had started to fall for Hayley—the girl who saw him as a person instead of a playboy with deep pockets. Would she still want to be with him if she knew the truth? Could she forgive him for being the type of person he was before he had met her?
Deckland was starting to see the kind of things his father had warned him about. All these years, he had thought it was his mother that had been looking out for him, but really, she was just his enabler. Charles Kyle Sr. had told him one day a woman was going to come along who would make him regret all of his affairs. At the time, Deckland had just snorted and rolled his eyes. He could see the merit in his father’s warnings now that Hayley had come into the picture. What would happen when the
ghosts of his past reared their ugly heads?
Deckland quickly undressed and stepped into his shower. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t even face himself right now. The hot water pelted his skin with sizzling kisses. The burns left behind seemed somehow earned like it was his penance for past wrongs. Each water droplet caressed his muscles and wound their way down the curve of his hipbones to his legs and eventually down the drain.
Past guilt panged in his stomach and tugged at his mind. There would be only one way to clear his conscience. He would have to tell Hayley about his past. If she could accept him as he was, then maybe they could make it work between them. The one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to have a solid basis for their life together. They couldn’t do that if he were hiding his past mistakes from her. Gathering his courage, Deckland turned off the faucet.
Chapter 12: Meet the Family
“Shoot.” The icepack Deckland had given her was starting to lose its chill. Hayley sat up, debating on what to do next. She felt awkward just yelling for someone, and her phone was dead, so texting him was out of the question. She didn’t even know which room was his.
Tentatively, Hayley slipped her feet to the floor. The swelling was starting to go down. It was still a little painful to walk, but it was bearable now. She poked her head out into the hallway. There was no sign of anyone on the second floor. Hayley cautiously walked down the stairs with her hand trailing on the banister.
The house made her feel like she was a princess. She tried to imagine growing up in a place like this, but it all seemed surreal. Hayley tried to think back to the night of the masquerade to try and remember where the kitchen might have been. Her limited knowledge of the house left her feeling like more of an intruder than a guest.
“Can I help you?” A man’s voice behind her made her jump.
Hayley laughed nervously and clutched at her chest. “Oh my gosh. You scared me. I’m Hayley. I’m Deckland’s friend. I was just trying to find the kitchen.” She held up the limp icepack weakly.
“I see.” The man’s face seemed unsurprised by her explanation. He was a little taller than Deckland with dark hair, but something about their jawline seemed similar. “He shouldn’t leave such a beautiful guest unattended. I’m Deckland’s older brother, Charles.”
Hayley’s face turned pink. “Oh, no. He didn’t leave me unattended.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“What I mean is, I was supposed to be resting. I just came down for a fresh icepack.” She gestured to her hurt ankle.
Charles smiled. “I can help you with that.” He led her towards the direction Deckland had disappeared to earlier when he had gotten her first icepack. “Have you known my brother long?”
“Not really. It feels longer than it has been.”
“I see.” Charles turned to face her. His hands grabbed her wrists. “In that case, I feel like it is my duty to warn you.”
“Warn me?” His eyes were staring into her. Hayley wanted desperately to pull away from him, but she was rooted to the spot.
“Deckland is the black sheep of this family, and he always will be. He changes lovers more frequently than he changes underwear. Hayley, you seem like a nice girl. I think you should know what you are getting yourself into.”
“Let go of me!” Hayley jerked her hands free from him. “I am not the kind of person to judge someone off of what someone else says. I believe everyone deserves to have a chance. Deckland has been nothing less of a gentleman with me, and I am appalled that you would say something like that about your own brother. If you ask me, your behavior right now says so much more about you than about him.” She kept her chin high, but she was shivering with anger.
“Hayley, are you okay?!” Deckland ran into the kitchen. He had heard her yelling for someone to let go of her. He hadn’t even bothered to put a shirt on before racing to find her. When he spotted Charles, he drew back his fist and grabbed the front of his brother’s shirt. “What did you do to her?!”
“We were just having a conversation about the kind of person you are.” Charles shoved his face closer to Deckland’s.
“Deckland!” Charlotte fluttered into the kitchen. She stared at the two men in front of her. “Why don’t you take Hayley to get some fresh air? Charles, your father wants to see you.” Her commanding presence was enough to break the brothers apart. Glancing from Charles to Hayley, she pursed her lips and stomped after her stepson.
Deckland turned towards Hayley. “You’re shaking. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I swear, if he—”
“I’m fine. He just made me mad. That’s all.”
“What happened?”
“I was trying to find the kitchen for a new icepack, and he saw me wandering around. He asked how long we had known each other, and then…” Her sentence trailed off, and she looked at the floor.
Deckland clenched his teeth. He should have told her about his past sooner. If she had to hear it from someone, then she should have heard it from him. “And then what?”
“He said some things about you having a lot of lovers. I told him that you had been nothing but kind to me and that I didn’t base my opinion of someone off of what other people say about them.”
“You stood up for me?” Deckland’s jaw dropped. His heart fluttered in that way that only she could make it do.
“Of course, I stood up for you! I’m not going to let someone say those things about you. You don’t deserve that.” She was having a hard time looking at his face.
Deckland tilted her chin up and made her look at him. “Hayley, what I don’t deserve is you.”
“That’s not true. You’re a better person than you give yourself credit for.”
“No. I’m not. But when I’m with you, I want to be. The truth is, the things Charles said were true, but I don’t want to be that way anymore. Look, my past is checkered to say the least. I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of. I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”
Hayley held up her finger to his lips. “I don’t care about all of that stuff. What matters is what you do from now on, okay? So, if you say you’ve stopped all of that, then I’ll believe you. I don’t need to know about your past. I don’t want to know. All I want to know about is what happens from now forward, okay?” Her hand slid down from his lips to his chest.
“I really don’t deserve you, but from now on I’m going to try to be the man you deserve to have.”
“Promise?” Hayley was pulled close to him now. She could feel the warmth from his skin and the muscles of his chest.
“Promise.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. He had tried to tell her, and she didn’t want to know. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe he really could have a fresh start.
“Deckland, your father would—oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Charlotte stood in the doorway.
Pulling away from kissing Hayley, Deckland hung his head in defeat. “What is it, Mother?”
“Your father would like to have a family dinner tonight so everyone can properly be introduced. You’ll need to go put a shirt on. Hayley, darling, if you’ll come with me, we can get you something suitable to wear for dinner.”
Hayley looked down at the holes in her jeans self-consciously. “I’m sorry. I would have dressed better if I had known I would be coming here.”
“Nonsense. I never had a daughter. I would love it if you let me pick something out for you.” Charlotte smiled broadly and held out her hand for Hayley to take.
“Oh, okay.” She took the other woman’s hand sheepishly and allowed herself to be led off to another part of the house. Hayley sent one last unsure glance towards Deckland. The frown on his face seemed to say he was as concerned as she was about his mother secluding her, but he didn’t say anything.
“You look about the same size I was when I got married. I should still have some stuff for you in my second closet.”
“You have two closets?” Hayley stumbled along be
hind Charlotte.
Laughing, Charlotte shook her head. “I see why Deckland likes you. You’re funny. I have more than two closets, but I keep my someday clothes in my second one.”
“Your someday clothes?”
“Yes. The clothes I hope I can fit into again someday.” Charlotte opened a room at the end of the hall and stepped inside.
Instead of a bed, the inside was a tiny platform in front of full-length mirrors. Charlotte strutted over to a door and flung it open. She paused with her hands on her hips before making her way into the closet. Hayley could hardly believe how many rows of clothing were tucked away inside. Charlotte pulled out a powder blue dress and brought it over.
“Wow.”
“I know. It’s nice, right? Classy is always in style.”
“How long have you had these clothes?” Hayley ran her fingers delicately along the hem.
Charlotte tilted her head to the side. “Excuse me?”
“No, that came out wrong. They are beautiful. I was just wondering how long you’ve kept them as your someday clothes when they could be someone’s right now clothes.”
Charlotte was speechless for a moment as she looked around her at all of the dresses and shoes she hadn’t worn in years. “Hayley, I have honestly never thought about it like that. I’ve just always kept them hoping I’ll lose that baby weight one day.”
“You know, if you ever decide that you don’t need these clothes anymore, I think I know some people who would be very thankful to get them.” Hayley’s voice was soft.
“Who would that be?”
“How about if you ever decide to give them up, I’ll take you and show you? Deal?”
“Alright. Deal.” Charlotte reached out and shook Hayley’s hand. Maybe she could cash in on the good publicity train. After all, Hayley was going to be her daughter-in-law. There was no reason for Deckland to get all of the credit. Besides, it was her plan in the first place. “Here, slip this on.”
Hayley took the dress from her hesitantly. The fabric was soft and light. “Would you mind turning around?” Her voice was timid.