Claiming Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 2)

by Nikki Wild

  Nope, I thought to myself, clicking the television off. That’s a great job almost burning permanent pixels into my nice flat-screen, asshole.

  I thought about rustling him from the couch to scamper off to the guest bedroom, but I was in a good mood with the recent revitalization in my relationship, and he wasn’t exactly bothering me here.

  Just this once, I thought to myself.

  As I quietly slunk off to the kitchen, guided by the moonlight from the window above the sink, I pursued my original mission: refreshment. A quick glance in the fridge didn’t turn up any appealing alternatives, so I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured myself some water.

  Refreshed, I set the glass in the sink and smoothed out my palms against the counter on either side. As my fatigue slowly uncoiled itself in my head, freeing up some room for thought, I reflected on what the future probably looked like for us.

  I didn’t know what was going to happen with that whole traveling the world thing. As much as I wanted Clara in my life, I couldn’t ignore that I had little intention of remaining in the States – it wasn’t where I was born, and it wasn’t where I wanted to really be. The truth was that I didn’t have the faintest clue of how I was going to reconcile her feelings with those facts…

  What made that especially difficult was that she was dedicated to continuing her school. I wasn’t about to rip her away from a possible future, just to join me around the world.

  Well… we can cross that bridge when we come to it, I thought to myself. I reasoned that there wasn’t any point to worrying about it until the time properly came.

  That’s when something else entirely suddenly jumped out at me. I was almost floored with the severity and suddenness of it.

  The Carlyle Fortune, I thought with horror.

  With all the other factors in place, it hadn’t really occurred to me that my grandparents would be pissed about this if they ever found out. To my astonishment, I had considered the impending claim on their money such a done deal that I never stopped to wonder how a revelation like this would affect them.

  If there was one thing that could destroy any chances of that prize, it was perceived incest. A scandal like this would instantly spell the end of my inheritance forever.

  Fuck. I didn’t think about that!

  All of my womanizing and drinking had fallen beneath their radar so far, but this was playing it way too close to the chest. For the first time in my life, I had to seriously consider the fact that I might lose my rightful claim to their money.

  “Was I so blinded by love that I only just thought of this now?” I asked myself. “Why now? How didn’t this not factor in before?”

  Unsurprisingly, no answer drifted up from the shadows to offer any guidance.

  It didn’t really matter, I realized.

  I’d risk it all for her.

  After all, I reasoned quietly to myself, I’d supported myself this far. From the beginning, I had pulled myself up by my own bootstraps.

  My career in the marines had taught me everything I didn’t already know about self-reliance and determination. I had a few connections from my time serving. Plus, the GI bill was going to fund any degree I wanted.

  Thank you, dear old Uncle Sam.

  That major life choice had prepared me for any major detours or hiccups – something I’d factored in before I joined, but now that I was leaping over my grandparents’ last few hurdles, it comforted me to remember the backup plan.

  It certainly didn’t hurt that I already had a very small war chest of funds in a bank account. If I played it safe and didn’t take anymore last-second flights across the country, I was probably going to be just fine.

  Maybe I’ll just have to take school a little more seriously, I told myself. That’s all. Everything else will fall into place.

  Confident in this direction, I slipped back into bed with Clara. Still mostly asleep, she murmured something incoherent, but I quietly assured her that everything was fine as she curled up against me again.

  And for a few more hours, that was true.

  In my sleep, I ignored the vibrations of my cell phone against the end table. This same state of slumbering ignorance overrode my marine training and extended to the sound of my front door being unlocked, and someone calling my name… I groaned in my sleep, thinking I was dreaming again.

  I was only barely aware of the sound of my bedroom opening. When I’d slipped back into bed in the night, lost in thought, I’d forgotten to lock it again.

  “What in God’s name…?”

  My eyes flew open.

  Was that…?

  It can’t be.

  Snapping to attention, I glanced over at the bedroom door. Dad was standing there, his eyes confused and his mouth agape. Worse still was that Sarah was standing behind him, holding her trembling hand over her lips.

  “Guys, what the hell are you doing… here…?”

  A terrifying realization dawned on me.

  Clara is still here.

  My eyes followed their gaze to her awakening form. Clara sleepily lifted her face from the pillow, looking over at our unexpected guests. A few seconds of groggy recollection later, it was as if a pail of freezing water had been thrown in her face.

  “Dad? MOM?”

  The two pairs of us were staring in horror at each other, processing what had just happened.

  Holy shit, they found us in bed together.

  My dear step-mum was the first to speak, mustering up just enough strength for a few damning syllables. “Clara… what the fuck?”

  Clara realized that her chest was exposed, and ripped up the blanket to cover herself… and in the process, briefly revealing my own naked form.

  “Good God!” Our parents cried out, exposed to the sight of my flaccid – but still intimidating – royal package. Without a moment’s thought, they slammed the door shut – putting a condemning barrier between themselves and us.

  The damage was done, and I wasn’t going to cower away from this like some frightened animal. Instead of covering myself, I jumped out of bed and quickly tossed on a pair of boxers.

  “Dalton… DALTON,” Clara whimpered, gazing up at me from beneath the covers.

  “I’ll handle this,” I whispered.

  She looked away, shrinking with horror as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee. I stepped out of the bedroom just in time to see the front door close. It didn’t escape my notice that my other guest, Pete, was wide-eyed in the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, dude, I recognized your Dad. He called and woke me up, saying that it was some kind of an emergency–”

  “Not. Another. Goddamn. Word.” I hissed at him. “You have no idea what the fuck you’ve just done.” His mouth snapped shut as I darted out the door after my parents.

  “Wait!” I called out after them.

  Dad was holding the door open for Sarah, who was covering her face and ducking into the passenger seat. “I don’t know what the hell we just saw in there, son, but we’re leaving.”

  “What the hell are you even doing here?” I demanded to know. “You just barge in and walk straight into my goddamn bedroom?”

  “Maybe if you’d pick up your fucking phone,” Dad growled, holding his own up, “we could have avoided whatever the fuck is going on in there. I’ve been calling and texting you off-and-on for almost an hour!”

  “Pete said you told him there was an emergency. What the hell is going on?”

  Overlooking the present disaster, this wasn’t like my father. He looked like a bundle of nerves, and I suspected that started before he even pulled up to my place.

  Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s your grandparents,” he explained, leaning backwards against the hood of his car. “In their infinite wisdom, they’ve decided to come back into town. No warning, just a missed call and a voicemail in the middle of the night. They’re already here. We’re on our way to pick them up at the airport now.”

  “Did they explain what they wanted?”
/>   “How the fuck would I know? You remember what they were like during the wedding, they’re probably just here to lord over all of us again…”

  I felt really bad all of a sudden.

  Dad was clearly a wreck, especially after just witnessing what he probably considered incest between his only son and his single stepchild… and then heading straight into the lair of a pair of vicious dragons.

  “I’ll grab my keys, I can be there in–”

  “Stop,” he immediately commanded me, his voice booming. The look on his face was a mixture of crushing disappointment, absolute revulsion, and boiling anger. “Sarah and I are going to drive to the airport, without either of you, and we’re going to figure out what the fuck is going on. You two are going to stay away right now.”

  “For how long?” I demanded.

  “Until they’re gone. However long that takes,” he snarled. “The last thing I need right now is for them to get involved in… this.”

  “I didn’t know she was Sarah’s!” I yelled. “I met her first, and I already fancied her. I couldn’t help falling for her, you don’t–”

  “Falling – falling for her?” Dad laughed, trying to keep the hysteria out of his voice. “You stupid git, you were always fucking impulsive, weren’t you? Couldn’t just snog your sister, you had to shag her? We’re not talking about this right now. I am laughably ill-equipped for this bollocks,” he snarled, sliding around to the driver’s door.

  “Dad, you’ve gotta listen to me –”

  My father slammed another door between us, twisting the keys in the ignition. As I rounded to his side of the car, I realized that Sarah was crying into a tissue.

  “Dad–”

  The tires squealed as he wrenched the car backwards in an arc, flying down the road and around a corner. After a few seconds, he was out of sight and rumbling from what must have been one horrendous nightmare to another.

  There was no point in trying to follow him, so I dejectedly stepped back inside and locked the door behind myself.

  Clara was dressed in her clothes from last night, sitting at the dining table and staring blankly into space. The window was nearby, so she likely saw and heard every last syllable of that.

  At a complete loss, I shrugged at her.

  “So, that could have gone better.”

  She glanced at me, all emotion stripped from her eyes. “Dalton, what the fuck are we going to do?”

  Prepared to console her and offer some bulletproof plan to resolve everything, I parted my lips to speak. When nothing came, I realized that we were truly, honestly fucked.

  Chapter 21

  I was still reeling from the events of the morning when Mom called us, several hours later… putting into motion the events that would dictate the rest of our lives.

  “Raleigh and Riana are here, and they wish to see the two of you,” Mom curtly told me over the phone. “You’d better get over here, quick.”

  I informed Dalton of this, and we reluctantly walked to his motorcycle. We drove the hour-plus back to our parent’s house with hearts full of a violent concoction of anxiety, dread, and fear for the future.

  When we arrived, William let us in at the door. Without a word, he led us past the kitchen, down the corridor, and to the large dining room table from the day we’d learned that our parents were dating.

  Mom was seated on one side, and across from her were Dalton’s grandparents, the fierce Raleigh and Riana Carlyle.

  “Greetings, Dalton,” Raleigh nodded slowly towards his grandson as we entered the room together.

  He turned back to William, who was taking his seat next to Mom. Dalton and I took the two chairs in the center, leaving the empty chairs across from us.

  “I see that we are all here now…” Raleigh continued. “Shall we dispense with the pleasantries and get straight to business?”

  William half-scoffed, but didn’t say a word.

  “Excellent. Well then, we are gathered here today because, as you may or may not know, my health has begun to suffer. This means that we must discuss the coming inheritance.”

  He began to prattle on about some inane bullshit concerning rules, stipulations, and the dangers of family disgrace in the eyes of English high society. After a while of this, Mom and William – particularly Mom, though – were visibly uncomfortable… and even borderline aggravated.

  “I’m sorry, is there a problem?” Raleigh finally asked, cutting a glance over at his son and daughter-in-law. “Is something I’m saying disturbing or bothering you? This is rather important to the ongoing wealth, so if either of you find yourselves with some form of a problem…”

  Mom pursed her lips furiously, but cast us a knowing, disgusted glance. William, on the other hand, simply sighed and remained quiet. It seemed that neither of them were willing to say a word about what they’d seen.

  That’s why I was surprised when…

  “They’re angry because they found me in bed with my stepsister,” Dalton casually remarked.

  I glanced at him in horror. I quickly realized that every pair of eyes in the room had turned to him, featuring a range of surprised, disgusted reactions.

  “Excuse me, Dalton, but would you care to repeat that?” Raleigh Carlyle muttered in indignation. “I don’t believe I heard you correctly…”

  “I wasn’t picking up the phone because I was asleep,” Dalton elaborated. “Our parents decided to break into my home and march up to my bedroom. They found me asleep with the woman I love… a woman who, unfortunately, turns out to be my new stepmother’s daughter.”

  It was a second before it clicked in my head.

  He just admitted that he loved me to them all.

  “You do not love my daughter,” Mom haughtily demanded. “You are just some scumbag military man with a power complex. I mean, for god’s sakes, she’s eighteen years old! You’re, what, twenty-five? Twenty-six?”

  William curtly replied on our behalf: “Sarah, don’t call my son a scumbag. He’s many things, but at the end of the day… he’s a good man.”

  Mom chortled. “Well, clearly not.”

  “Excuse me,” Dalton chimed in, “but I fail to understand how loving someone makes me even remotely a scumbag… but I will say that we started falling for each other before we knew of the complicated relations…”

  “I knew it!” Mom cut in.

  “Knew what?” I demanded.

  “When you two were introduced, you told us you knew that he was a Marine,” she relished in reminding us. “But I hadn’t told you that, because I’d only just found out a few days before… I knew that something was fishy about that. So, where did you two meet?”

  “The night before, at a banquet,” I answered.

  “A banquet?”

  “A Marines’ banquet,” Dalton clarified. “I was in attendance, and we bumped into each other at a nearby bar after the fact. We were… mortified, to say the very least, when we recognized each other at your little family luncheon the following day…”

  “And why didn’t you say anything, son?” William asked, having quietly watched us all interact. “We could have maybe done something about this back then…”

  “Oh, definitely not,” Mom turned on him. “This is a travesty. Incest? In my family?”

  “It’s more likely than you think,” Dalton chuckled. “But it’s not incest.” He pointed back and forth between us. “We’re not related.”

  “You’re stepsiblings!”

  “Thanks to the two of you, yes,” I cut in. “But not by blood. There’s nothing biologically wrong with our love.”

  “Oh please,” Mom laughed. “You two keep throwing that word around. Love. As if you both know what that really means.”

  I looked over at his grandparents, who had remained stone-faced and impenetrably sour during this entire exchange. No matter what my mom was saying, I was already dreading whatever would happen the moment that they opened their mouths…

  “We do love each other,” Dalton told he
r, lifting his chin up. “I would die for this woman, if it meant keeping her safe. I’d lay my life down on the line to protect her. As long as she’s with me, she’ll never be in danger, never hurt or scared.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t I? I have defended a dying man in the sand beneath a collapsing building with nothing but a goddamned knife. I did this against a man who was intent on killing him.”

  He looked positively livid as he stared my mother down. “I don’t expect you to understand, Sarah, and I don’t particularly care if you condone it… but I have personally defended someone in the most literal sense of the term.”

  Dalton pointed towards me.

  “As much as I love my friend… as much as I’d do it again in a heartbeat… your daughter means more to me than that man. If I’m willing to sacrifice my own life to protect another man, what do you think I’ll be willing to do to keep the woman I love safe and secure?”

  Our parents looked back and forth between us, and then at each other. It was William who spoke first.

  “Well, I’m convinced.”

  Sarah stared at him, mouth agape. “You can’t be serious. You know they don’t really love each other.”

  “Darling, you don’t know my son. He’s not a liar, he’s not a scumbag, as you so carefully put it earlier, and he doesn’t give false promises… and I know that he doesn’t let anyone into his heart.” He turned to face Dalton, a proud smile on his face. “If he says he loves Clara, then I believe that.”

  Mom was about to burst a vessel.

  “Mom, I love him. I love him with all my heart,” I confessed to her. “He’s a real asshole sometimes, but he’s got a strong heart, a courageous spirit, and he’s possibly the best man I’ve ever encountered in my life…” I rose from my chair, standing by his side and threading my fingers into his. “I don’t care if you don’t get it. That’s not important to me. Just understand that we love each other, just as validly as Will and you love one another… and we’re prepared to prove it to you over time, if you’ll just let us.”

  “I think I’ve quite heard enough.”

  All eyes turned to Raleigh Carlyle, who rose up from his chair. He was staring dispassionately towards Dalton, an unreadable emotion stretching across his old, wrinkled face.