“Your brothers?”
Kyle nodded, running his hand over his face again. “I love my father, too, with all my heart, but I …” Kyle shook his head. “The bond I share with Nate, Mickey, Lucca, and Tae … We just look out for each other is all. We protect each other, and we vowed when we were kids to never turn our backs on one another, but sometimes …” He shifted uncomfortably as emotion hit him once again. “Sometimes I wished they would.”
“You wish they’d turn their backs on you?”
“So that I didn’t have to be afraid of it anymore?” He nodded his head. “Yes, all of the time. We were too close, too many promises were made, ‘we’ll always be brothers’, ‘we’ll always protect each other …’ love one another, work hard to make a name for ourselves together. That’s why I am who I am today, why I do what I do. Because I love it. I love the power, I love that I got where I am with my brothers; we rule the empire together, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else. I guess back then I didn’t trust that they truly meant everything they said, so whenever they disappointed me, or we got into an argument I would flip out, push until I was sure they’d just tell me to fuck off.”
“But they didn’t.”
“Not once,” he sighed. “I just kept having fucking episode after episode, but they always figured out a way to straighten me out. It actually continued well throughout my adulthood, up until Sofia changed my entire life. I gave Nathan so much shit about proposing to —”
Kyle paused abruptly, realizing what he’d been about to say before the words left his mouth. Fuck. See, this is why I don’t talk.
When he heard Reanna chuckle, his eyes lifted back to hers as a frown of confusion fell over his face.
“You can say her name, Kyle. Carter. I already know.”
His frowned deepened.
What the fuck does she mean she already knew?
“Carter told me,” she shrugged, answering his unvoiced question. “You can talk about it, Kyle. I’ve already,” she laughed softly, “been through the whole ‘stay away from him he’s in love with someone else’ phase.” She shrugged. “I’ve known you guys too long to see the love you share as anything other than what it is … She’s your family, your blood, the connection took you both by surprise and you had no idea why. Then you found out. I believe that your love for her was real, but I’m not intimidated by it, Kyle.” Then she smiled. “You more than love me, right? What do I have to fear?”
For a long moment, Kyle simply stared at her because it was all he could do. He wanted to hug her, but his heart was so fucking full, a damn hug didn’t seem like enough; and he wanted to kiss her, God did he want to kiss her, but he didn’t think a kiss would effectively express what he felt in his heart. He just wanted to love her so damn hard because she got him—understood him, and trusted him when he told her that he more than loved her.
“You never cease to amaze me, Reanna Pierce.” His finger gently grazed over the soft skin of her cheek. “I love you so much, I can hardly find a way to express it without feeling like it’s not enough.”
“Everything you do is enough,” she whispered, leaning into his touch. “Telling me the truth, bringing me here, listening to me and accepting who I am. You don’t need to constantly prove that you’re honest about how you feel about me. I already know.” Bringing her hand up to his, she turned her face into his touch, kissing the palm of his hand. “We’re connected, Kyle. I feel how much you love me in every touch; every kiss you give me. No one has ever loved me the way you do.” She laughed softly. “It’s frightening how addicted I’ve become to it already.”
“I feel the same way.”
“I know.” She nodded, scooting up closer to his face. “What are we gonna do, Kyle?” she pouted playfully, resting her head on his shoulder. “We only have one more day here, then we have to go home and face the music. Our exes, our families … Sofia.”
Kyle kissed the bridge of her nose, hugging her closely to him. “Our families will be happy for us; our exes will be bitter.”
Reanna chuckled softly. “Aniyah will hate me.” She sighed. “I can barely feel anything regarding at this moment. I’m too happy. But the guilt will come … again.”
Kyle ran a comforting hand up and down her back. “I hope that doesn’t lead to regret. I know how close you two are; it was never my intention to cause you pain, colomba.”
“Kyle, no,” she said, lifting her head to look up at him, a serious expression masking her face. “I could never regret this, us. That’s not possible. You know how I feel about you.”
“I know,” Kyle assured. “But—”
“No buts, honey.” Cupping one side of his face, she pressed a slow kiss to his cheek. “I am not guilty for loving you, for being with you. I’m guilty because I never told Aniyah the truth about my feelings for you, because I was too afraid to even admit them to myself.” She kissed him again. “I’m glad you and I are together. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. You, and my Sofi.”
Kyle smiled at the mention of his lady bug’s name. “I think she’ll be happy. What do you think?”
Smiling, Reanna took her bottom lip between her teeth, shaking her head back and forth. “I don’t know,” she laughed softly. “I hope so. I hope it’s not a shock to her system.”
Kyle chuckled. “A part of me thinks this is what she’s always wanted.”
“You and I together?”
He nodded. “Yes.” Then he sighed. “But then another part of me is worried that she may get possessive. I feel like I’m stealing you from her. She’s about as obsessed with you as I am, colomba. She may not be willing to share your time and attention. She’s used to having you to herself whenever you’re around.”
“You’re being silly, Kyle.”
“No, woman, I’m not.”
She gave his cheek a light pat, making him chuckle. “My Sofia is not selfish.”
Kyle snorted. “When she wants to be, she can be. Trust me. The child is a Valente up and down, too much like my father.”
“I think your father is sweet.” She smiled brightly.
Kyle had to snort again. “To you,” he laughed. “To Carter, to his wife, and that’s about it. My father has been described as many things; cold, stoic, a snake, etc., but not once by anyone other than you, Carter, and Anastacia has that man been called sweet.”
“Hmm …” she huffed. “I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t then,” he shrugged, “but I know of what I speak, woman. And Sofia is the spitting image of her grandfather.”
The cold demeanor wasn’t something that overtook his little lady bug often, but it was there; popped up when he least expected it. She had such a natural control over herself, just as his father did, there were often times that Kyle envied the child’s self control.
“I still don’t believe you,” she said, still in denial.
Kyle shook his head. His poor, sweet colomba.
“My Sofi is as sweet as the sweetest cherry pie.”
Kyle smiled. “I agree,” he said genuinely. Because Sofia was sweet—to family—obedient, and a good daughter. Closed off to others. Charming, but not much of a people person. “But she behaves her best around you.”
“That’s because she knows she can’t play me, the way she plays you,” Reanna giggled. “She cries the sweetest, silent tears right in your face and you melt every time, no matter what.”
Kyle frowned. “I do not.”
“Yes you do.” She gave him a peck on the cheek, before resting her head back on his shoulder. “But it’s cute, honey.”
Kyle kissed the top of her head. “I think she’ll be excited to have you around more.”
“Me too.” She nodded. “I’ll be able to see her every day. Maybe I’ll even stay over on weekends.”
Weekends? Kyle thought, the slight furrowing of his brows becoming even deeper. “Just the weekends?” he asked.
He hadn’t been expecting that. It was so little time. An entire week of not having he
r next to him morning and night had not been what he’d expected to come from their union. She was his now … why would she sleep anywhere but with him? Why would she spend an entire week apart from him?
Nodding her head lazily, Reanna yawned. “Yep,” she sighed tiredly. “Weekends are okay with me, if they are with you. And maybe sometimes, you know, when Sofi stays with her cousins or her grandparents, you can come and stay at my place.”
“Your place?”
“Mmmhmm …”
Okay, now the woman had gone mad. Hell no!
Kyle sat up some, prompting her to lift her head and look at him.
She frowned in confusion. “What are you doing, honey? I wanna take a nap before you cook for me again.”
“A nap!” he yelled … a tad bit overdramatically. He shook his head firmly. “There is no time for a nap, woman. We have a damn crisis on our hands here.”
Reanna stared at him, her brows furrowed and her mouth dropped. “What on earth are you talking about, dude?”
Kyle’s eyes widened. What was he talking about? This woman … “What is this nonsense you are talking about weekends, and me staying at your place? The place that you share with two other people.”
She snorted. “Uhh, my sister and Ronaldo are not people, they’re family. Duh.”
“People, family, whatever, Reanna. I don’t share living spaces.”
She glanced around the room and then shrugged. “Fine,” she over enunciated the word, “ but I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about it. I’ll spend weekends at your place. It sounds like a good plan to me.”
Kyle snapped back as if he’d been slapped. “I think it’s a horrible idea, colomba! You and I should not be living apart, ever!”
Her eyes widened. “Come again.”
Calming himself a bit, Kyle sat up, gazing down at her face. “You should move in with Sofia and I for good … now.”
“What?” She shot up to a sitting position. “Have you lost your mind, Kyle?”
“No I have not!”
“I’m not … I can’t … We are not living together.”
“Why the hell not?” he snapped.
“Because … You’re crazy, Kyle!”
“Crazy?” Kyle had never been more offended in his life. “I’m crazy because I don’t want to be apart from you, because I love you and want to share a home with you?”
“Crazy because we’ve been together for less than twenty-four hours and you already want to live together, Kyle!”
“We’ve known each other for two years, Reanna!”
“That was different,” she argued. “We weren’t sleeping together then, and we are now.”
“All the more reason for us to sleep together every night, colomba!”
Kyle couldn’t see why she didn’t understand this. Why the hell would he want her to live apart from him? He loved her! She was his, and as his, she should always be with him. He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want that, too.
“Kyle,” she sighed. “I can’t move in. It’s just,” she shook her head, “I have a home, Ronaldo, and Tamara …”
“And if your home is with them, then where does that leave Sofia and I, Reanna?” Kyle asked, suddenly becoming very serious. “Because I feel most at home when I’m with the two of you.”
“I feel the same, you know I do,” she cried, then inhaled a sharp breath, closing her eyes as a pained expression fell over her face. “I feel that way, too,” she repeated, opening her eyes. “About you and Sofia.”
“Then why do you say you will not make a home with us?” Kyle asked. “I can’t stand it when we’re apart, especially now.”
“I know, Kyle,” she said softly, her eyes lowering as she picked at their comforter.
Kyle reached forward, taking her hand in his, causing her to look up into his eyes. “Don’t you love this, colomba? You and me, waking up next to each other, sharing a home, a bed, a life. Imagine how perfect everything will be when we go home to Sofia, and tell her that you’re going to be there every morning when she wakes up.”
Reanna frowned, shaking her head. “That’s not fair, Kyle.”
“Its true, Reanna,” he persisted. “I want a home with you.” Kyle could imagine it now—having the two most important people in the world to him with him always. In the morning when he woke, when he came home from work, and when he went to sleep at night. For so long it had been just him and Sofia in their home, and both he and lady bug hadn’t known anything but that. The two of them, morning, noon, and night … then Reanna had begun staying with them. Weekends mostly, but Kyle loved how everything just felt … complete when she was there. Like they were … “A family,” he said softly, gazing deeply into her eyes. “The three of us will be a family.” And it didn’t even shock him how badly he wanted it either. Reanna would fit into Kyle and Sofia’s daily lives effortlessly. She was already in their hearts. “Please, baby,” he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to her fingers, “say you’ll stay with us.”
For a long time, she stared at him, silently, with an unreadable expression masking her face. After a considerable amount of time, she gripped onto his hand, prompting him to help her as she crawled over to him, and climbed up to straddle his lap.
Smiling at her, Kyle rested his hands at her ample hips, just as she reached up to cup his face.
“Kyle,” she whispered.
He didn’t respond with words, only with his eyes, anticipating the next words that came out of her mouth … He wanted to hear her answer. There was no way she could turn him down after all he’d said.
“You and Sofia, are my heart,” she said softly, her eyes glossing with tears. “I love you both more than words, and every time I have to leave you, to be apart from you for any amount of time I hate it. I hate the way it makes me feel, I hate not knowing what you’re doing, or if you’re okay. And if you’re asking me if moving in with the two of you is something that I want, then I say yes. Of course. A million times yes.”
Kyle wanted to jump for joy, kiss her, hug her, do pretty much anything to show her how excited her acceptance made him.
“But …”
The word was like a slap to the face, a punch to the gut, a knife to his fucking heart. But? No! No buts, woman. You’re mine, and if I say you’re living with me, then you damn well better go back to that fucking house and pack your goddamn bags!
But alas, these words he could not say to her … not even after she said her next words.
“If you’re asking me to leave my home, and move in with you now …” She shook her head sadly. “Then the answer is still no.” She silenced him by putting her fingers to his lips when he was about to protest. “It is not because I don’t want to—I want to be a family with you two, more than anything—but my rule is that I,” she inhaled a deep breath, “don’t share a home with my boyfriends …”
Kyle frowned.
She released a long breath. “I know you may think it’s ridiculous, but I’m just your girlfriend, Kyle. And while I’m just your girlfriend, for however long that may be,” she placed her hand to her chest, “I will not be living with you. But ...” Her brow lifted. “When we decide to take our relationship to the next level—”
“Marriage?”
“No rush,” she said, quickly lifting her hands in a halt motion. “I’m not using this to rush anything, Kyle. I realize that we both have our issues with relationships and we need to take our time to get to know each other better, see how this relationship goes … But while we’re doing that, I’d just feel more comfortable not cohabitating.”
She stared at Kyle as if she expected him to respond, but he said nothing.
She sighed. “Don’t be mad. I love you, and I believe in our relationship, but the fact is that, while we are committed, we’re just not committed enough for me to be like ‘let me pack up my life over here, and bring it over here’. I just feel like it’s more appropriate to wait until we make our commitment to one anoth
er more … permanent. I have to be in love, and engaged before I move in with a man. It’s my rule. We have the love, but …” She shrugged her shoulders.
We aren’t engaged to be married, Kyle finished in his head.
Interesting …
“Kyle, would you please say something?”
Her subtle pout caused him to refocus his attention on her.
“I don’t want this to ruin our time up here,” she whined. “I know you’re upset, but it’s not like we’ll be living apart forever.” Her fingers slipped into his hair. “You believe in us, don’t you? That we’re strong, that with honesty and openness you and I will one day be able to … you know. Isn’t that something you want, too?”
“Marriage?”
“One day.” She smiled, leaning forward to gently kiss his lips. “I’m not afraid to say that I’d love to be your wife, and Sofia’s mother. Maybe we could even … I don’t know,” she shrugged her shoulder, her eyes lowering shyly, “have more.”
Kyle inhaled a deep breath. “Children?”
She bit her bottom lip, nodding her head. “Yes,” she whispered. “If that’s something we both want. Is that something you want? In the future of course.”
He didn’t know … Kyle could honestly say that he had no idea what the hell he wanted in regards to marriage and more children. He hadn’t really thought past the point of getting Reanna to love him back. He hadn’t even planned on expecting her to move in with him, he’d just said it because … well, he wanted it. He wanted her, and he wanted to share a life, a home, a family. He hadn’t been thinking about marriage, or more children, until now.
Unable to answer her question at the moment, Kyle chose to remain silent. No speaking with words for now. Instead, he focused on what he knew he wanted—her.
He kissed her.
Even as his thoughts continued to move a mile a minute, filling with new ideas, and possibilities involving the future of their relationship.
~*~
An extra day. He’d asked her to stay with him an extra day, and of course she’d enthusiastically said yes, because just like him, she’d never experienced days like the ones they were having—perfect, sweet, pure unadulterated bliss.
Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken Page 28