No Promises: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance by Michelle Love (16)

I search Eden’s eyes and find the spark I always feel with him. With a heaviness in my heart, I pull Kyle’s ring from my finger and place it on a finger on my right hand.

Eden smiles as he places his ring on my finger, which fits perfectly. That’s crazy, but no more crazy than what I’m doing now.

“Eden, my parents are going to freak out.”

Rising, he pulls me up with him and hugs me tightly. So tightly, I can feel his body trembling. Surprisingly, mine isn’t. Maybe I’m in shock or something. Maybe I died a little while ago and this is heaven. It seems a lot like heaven.

“You have made me very happy, Alyssa, my princess,” Eden tells me as he gently sways our bodies back and forth.

I hold my hand out as he hugs me, looking at the giant diamond he gave me, and it hits me like a brick wall.

I have to break up with Kyle.

CHAPTER 20

KYLE

Alyssa asked me to come over, but she still isn’t answering her phone or the messages I’ve left so many of in the last few days. As I pull into her driveway, I see that the damn jag is gone.

It’s late—nearly four in the morning. That girlfriend-stealing jackass must’ve left. She should be in her bedroom fast asleep, as should the rest of her family.

I back out of the drive and park along the side of the road, keeping my truck hidden from their view, should anyone wake up for some reason. Closing the truck door as quietly as I can, I walk up the steep driveway. They have a key hidden in a fake rock near the front door. I find it and let myself inside.

Not even one light is on downstairs, so I move through the living room and up the stairs with no problem. I reach her bedroom door and try the handle. It’s unlocked and I enter, closing the door behind me.

It’s too dark to be able to see if she’s in her bed. As I get to the side of the bed and press my hands to where her head should be, I find an empty pillow.

“Where the hell is she?” I accidentally murmur out loud.

The guest room is one door over. I assume that’s where the prick has been sleeping. His car’s gone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone.

God help me if they’re in there together! I have to see, though.

Moving out of her bedroom, I make my way along the wall to the door next to hers. I try the doorknob and find it locked.

“Shit!”

Crap, I said that out loud!

Why would the door be locked? I pull my wallet out and take out my bank card, snaking it between the door frame and the lock and gaining access to the bedroom. Again, I find it pitch black. I listen for the sound of breathing, but I hear nothing. I find the bed and feel around. No one is there either.

While thankful for not finding the love of my life in that prick’s bed, I’m still afraid of where I will find her.

I use the flashlight on my phone to see if the jerk’s things are still here. I hope he’s gone and this craziness will stop. I look around and find a leather bag sitting on a chair. It looks empty.

I open the closet and find his clothes, all very expensive. I have to fight the urge to take them out and toss them out the window. Ally would kill me, though, so I keep my temper in check.

Maybe she and this guy went for a drive. How very romantic.

I want to kill him!

I move out of the room and go back into Ally’s. I’ll wait for her to return home. Surely she’ll be back soon. Then she and I can talk.

At the very least, it will give me the closure I need if she’s breaking up with me. I just have to know. She owes me that much.

I sit on her bed and hold her pillow. It smells like her. Her hair always smells like lavender with a hint of vanilla. I miss her like I never knew was possible.

How is it she doesn’t miss me?

We made plans. How could she not speak to me when we’ll be leaving together in just over a week from now? Why would she do this to me?

She and I never fight. We get along better than any other couple I know. I know she cares for me and she knows I care for her.

The only downfall is how her parents act about her having a relationship. They seem fine with what’s going on with their friends’ son, though.

Why is he so well accepted by them?

He’s obviously from a wealthy home. Mr. and Mrs. Devlin never seemed to be the type of people who could be bought. Who knows, though?

I can’t say I really know them well enough to make that judgement. They’ve kept me at arm’s length. Scotty might be able to help me get to Ally.

He’s always been in my back pocket. The kid looks up to me. But he might be looking up to the rich guy now.

And what the hell with how strong that jackass is?

I mean, he stopped my punch like it was easy to do. Then he held me against my truck and I was powerless to move. I have no idea how he did that.

A light comes to life outside. Something moved near the motion detector, making it light up. She may be back.

I look out the window in time to see a giant black shadow fly by the window. I step back. I couldn’t have seen what I thought.

A loud clap of thunder makes me jump, as it sounds like it was just outside. The sheer curtains on her windows allow me to see one huge black thing move in front of the second-story window, followed by another.

A horrendous shriek fills the air, making the window panes rattle. I cover my ears as another shriek rings out. Then the bedroom light comes on and I’m thrown down on the bed, hands held behind my back.

“What the hell are you doing in my daughter’s bedroom?” Mr. Devlin shouts at me.

“Sir, it’s not what it looks like. I just need to talk to her, sir, please.”

A knee is in my back, holding me down. “I’ll call the police,” Mrs. Devlin says.

What? No!

“Please, don’t do that. I’ll leave. I can see now this was a bad idea. I’m sorry.”

Mr. Devlin ties my hands behind my back with something I assume is a shoe string. “No such luck, boy. The police will deal with you. I’ll prosecute you to the fullest. For all I know you’re here to rape and possibly kidnap my daughter.”

This man cannot be serious!

“Mr. Devlin, you know better than that. I would never hurt your daughter. Please, sir, let me up and I’ll leave.”

He doesn’t answer me. My heart is about to explode. How can he think this is okay?

“Ally will be furious, Mr. Devlin. Please let me up,” I say, trying to get him to think about his daughter’s anger.

At least, I hope she gets mad at him. Crap, for all I know she might not be mad at him at all. She might be furious with me. She’d be right too. I should never have done this.

The sound of sirens makes me flinch. They really called them. I can’t believe this is happening.

“We’ll take him from here, Mr. Devlin.” I hear a male officer say.

I’m jerked up as cold steel cuffs are slapped around my wrists. The shoestring is cut off and my body is pushed up against the wall. Another officer enters the room and begins reading me my rights as the officer who holds me to the wall searches me all over.

My face burns with embarrassment. I have fucked up. My scholarships will be revoked and my future is no more, all because I snuck into my girlfriend’s house.

I overhear the officer who read my rights talking to the Devlins. “What was he doing in here?”

Mr. Devlin answers, “I think he may have had plans to kidnap her.”

What?

“No!” I yell.

The officer pushes me up against the wall so hard my lip must have busted. It throbs like hell. “Keep your mouth shut!” he yells.

I turn my head to look back at the officer. “I wasn’t going to do anything to her. I only wanted to talk, that’s all,” I say, though now I sound odd because of my busted lip.

In return, I’m smacked back up against the wall again and now my cheek stings. “I said to keep your mouth shut!”

I guess I should not say anything else. My face can’t take any more, and I remember hearing something about not talking to the police until you have a lawyer.

I’m shoved away from the wall and into the hallway. Mrs. Devlin hangs her head, refusing to look at me. Mr. Devlin glares at me, making me feel terrible for breaking into his home.

“I’m sorry,” I say, only to be pushed to move quickly down the stairs.

Both officers have me, one on each side as Ally’s father opens the front door. A light blinds me as the jackass’ car pulls into the drive. The passenger door flies open and Ally runs towards us.

She looks like a goddess in a white, flowing dress, her hair in curls which fly behind her as she runs the fastest I’ve ever seen.

“No!” she screams.

The officers pull me back and stand in front of me as my Ally thumps one of them on his chest. “Let him go! Let him go right now!” she shouts.

I’ve never seen her so mad. Her relentless poking of the cop in the chest pauses as he grabs her wrist, and then the jackass intervenes. “Release her now. And tell us what’s going on,” his royal assholeness says as he moves in behind my Ally, placing a protective arm around her waist.

The cop releases her hand and my Ally’s new protector takes it in his and looks at it.

“I’m okay,” she tells him as they exchange glances.

Mr. Devlin speaks up from behind us. “Take him away officers. I’ll deal with her.”

Ally looks up at the jerk holding her. “Eden, please make them let him go. I won’t allow this to happen.”

The guy looks at Mr. Devlin. “I want him released.”

“Don’t you want to know what we caught him doing?” Mr. Devlin asks.

The guy looks at Ally.

“No,” she says. “I know he’d never do anything so bad it should come to this. I have faith in him and I want him released and any charges my father has made dropped.”

The guy looks at her for a second. “As you wish, princess.” He turns his eyes to her father. “Drop the charges.”

And I’m in the twilight zone, because this whole thing just can’t be happening. As one of the officers unlocks my handcuffs, I watch the guy holding my girlfriend lift her left hand and bring it to his lips.

My heart stops beating as the porch light hits the large rock on her finger, making it glow like a torch, killing me.

“Ally,” I say, but all the words I know are lost and my mind is beyond numb.

Ally looks at the guy who has his mouth on her hand. “I need to talk to him, Eden.”

He nods and lets her go. I stand still as a statue as she comes to me, taking my hand, and leading me back into the house.

Her father sighs as we walk past him and says, “This is a bad idea, Ally. This should be dealt with tomorrow.”

Ally spins around and her anger is obvious. “You have stopped me from talking to him since the accident. It’s driven him to do things he’d never have done. I will talk to him tonight.” She turns back to glare at the officers. “As for the two of you, count yourselves lucky that I didn’t go ape-shit on you for what you did to his face. I’m sure it was uncalled for and we will be speaking to your captain about it.”

Wow! She is not the same girl I remember. What has happened to her?

Leading me to the dining room, she closes the door behind us and I can’t help but to hug her tight to me. “Thank you, Ally.”

Holding her feels so right. Her hair falls against my face and the silkiness sends chills down my spine. A gentle push from her tells me this is over. I let her go and it’s killing me.

“Kyle, we have to talk.”

I put my forehead on hers. “I saw it, Al. I saw the ring.”

Tears fall off her cheeks, hitting the hard wood floor between us. Mine soon join hers as we stand, foreheads together, holding hands in silence.

“This wasn’t planned. I don’t expect you to understand, because it’s something I don’t understand myself. I do love you, Kyle.” Sobs rack her body as she falls apart, taking me with her.

My arms wrap around her and she wraps hers around me. We cry for all that’s lost, all which will never be.

My heart hurts in a way I never imagined. A permanent pain that only time will heal, but I know it will always ache a little for what I’ve lost.

“Do you really love him, Al?”

She nods her head, I suppose she’s still unable to talk as she still shakes against me as she cries. Somehow that knowledge makes this easier.

“It took you eight years before you could tell me you loved me. You’ve only known him for a few days and you already know. That must mean something. Did he tell you he loves you too?”

She nods against my chest again and her body shudders as she sobs again. I have to relieve her of the guilt I can tell is tormenting her.

I kiss the top of her head, and as hard as it is, I set her free. “It was never meant to be, Ally. I’ll have love in my heart for you forever, but you have to go on the path your life is supposed to take. My path is not the one for you. I’ll be okay. I’ll miss you, but I’ll make a life for myself. Don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, Kyle.” Her embrace tightens as she lets loose another round of tears.

Mine have dried up with the realization that my hanging on to her is hurting her. Somehow, being strong for her helps me to take this in a better way.

I want to dry her tears, so I sit down on one of the dining room chairs and hold her on my lap. Luckily, the table is pre-set. I take a linen napkin and dab at her streaming eyes.

Her eyeliner, which had looked so pretty, now runs down her reddened cheeks. At least I can see that she really did love me, because no one would cry these many tears over someone they merely liked a lot.

“Oh my goodness, Al. You would not believe how much makeup has run off those pretty eyes. A river of black runs down your cheeks. Let me clean you up.”

I dab and wipe as she looks sadly at me. “I’m really sorry,” she says as her voice catches in her throat. She’s trying very hard to stop crying.

I smile at her. “Don’t be sorry, sweetie. It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. How much makeup did you put on? This stuff is everywhere. I don’t remember you wearing so much, but you had enough of this goop on to cover three girl’s faces,” I tell her with a chuckle.

She hits at my chest. “Don’t tease me, Kyle.”

I tweak her little nose. “Who’s teasing? There’s a lot of run-off and it’s threatening your pretty little white dress,” I say as I wipe some more black trails from her neck and a little ways down her chest. “Wow, Al, this is the lowest cut thing I’ve ever seen you wear. And, baby, you are wearing the hell out of it. I almost passed out when I saw your gorgeous self jump out of that car.”

Her tears have stopped and her eyes twinkle a little. She grabs another napkin and holds it over her cleavage, which is exceptional. “You rogue. I’ll wipe this area.”

I laugh and she giggles, making me feel better. Although I’m a long way from being okay with this, I won’t hurt her by dragging it out. I’ll suffer in silence and wait for the pain to pass.

God, I hope it passes.

CHAPTER 21

EDEN

“I’m sorry she’s putting you through this, Eden,” Alyssa’s father tells me.

My eyes follow my mate as she leads her soon to be ex-boyfriend out of the living room. “Don’t be. She’s going to break up with him. I can be patient while she does that.”

Her mother, Toni, laughs. “You sure about that?”

I turn to look at her and smile, then I look at David. “I asked her to marry me and she said yes.”

Toni’s jaw drops and David comes to shake my hand. “You pulled it off. I wasn’t sure you could in time for the change. I couldn’t be happier. This will go so much easier for her now. I’m so sorry about making this harder than it had to be. I can’t apologize enough,” her father says as he pumps my hand up and down and pats my back.

“Let him go, David. I want to give him a hug,” Toni says. He moves back and she grabs me up. “I’m so happy, Eden.”

I allow her to hug me until she’s content, then I pull away from her and sit down. “Now we need to figure out when we should tell her who and what she really is. I have what I wanted—her to agree to marry me on her own. Now she has to be told and I could use your advice on that,”

David walks over to me and places his hand on my shoulder. “The time is near. It needs to be soon. I admit she’s progressing a lot better than I anticipated, but that news will be shocking.”

I rub the back of my neck in frustration. Again, through my fault, she will suffer when she hears the truth. Fear and anxiety as well as disbelief will assault her emotions.

Who takes the news of turning into a giant bird well?

Toni gets up from the chair she’d taken. “It’s been too long. I’ll go get Alyssa and send Kyle on his way,” she says.

“No, leave her alone to do what she has to. I trust her and didn’t expect her to be able to do this quickly,” I tell her. “She needs time to give them both proper closure. I’ll not have loose ends, and it takes time to tie them up. She really does love him. It may be hard for you to understand, but I do. She and I are built a bit differently. Love and compassion for others are so strong it makes us put our lives on the line to help people. She let him in her heart and he will dwell there forever. He’ll forget her in the near future, but she’ll never forget him.”

Toni crosses the room, sitting next to me. “I’m sorry we did this to her and you. We will surely pay the price when our time comes.”

I frown at her and take her hand. “Toni, you will not have to pay for anything. It’s okay. We got past it, didn’t we? If anything, it proves she loves me even more, in turn making me love her even more. You see, having her choose me is so much better than her being made to marry me. It’s a small price to pay for her happiness.”

Toni and David raise their brows. “I guess you’re right, Eden,” Toni says with a smile. “I’m glad she has you. A better partner there’s never been. I was a fool to think Our Creator wasn’t directly involved. Even the faithful have times of doubt.”

“It’s late and you two should go to bed,” I tell them. “I’ll wait here for Alyssa to finish her business with the boy. I’d like privacy with her once she’s done. She’ll be hurting and I want to be the one to help her through this. If she knows she can trust me with something this delicate it will give her greater faith in me, making us stronger.”

They agree and leave me alone. My mate is in the next room with another male. While I should be jealous and mad, I’m not.

The sound of the door to the dining room opening turns my attention to the light which flows into the dark hallway. My mate follows the boy as he leads her into the living room.

His eyes are swollen, his lip busted, and a scratch is on his cheek, but he doesn’t seem sad, which is good. He nods his head at me as he passes in front of me.

Alyssa reaches out and touches my leg with the hand that isn’t holding his. “I’m walking Kyle out and I’ll be right back, Eden.”

Kyle stops and turns back. I rise and meet his eyes as he says, “Ally’s told me about you and what you two are doing,” he says to me. “You must care more for her than I can imagine, asking her to marry you before you take her virginity. While I have to say it fills me with a sickness I’ve never known that you will be the one to feel her that way, there could not be a better man to lose her to. Promise me you’ll always treat her with the same respect and tenderness she tells me you do now.”

I look him squarely in the eye, trying my best to convey my compassion for him. “I promise you I will. I love her with all I have in me. I will never dishonor her. Thank you for taking this the way you are. You’re a compassionate individual and I can see why Alyssa cares for you so much.” I offer him my hand and he takes it as we shake a solid shake, which leaves me feeling good.

I smile at Alyssa. “I’ll be waiting here for you, princess.”

“Thank you, Eden. I’ll be right back,” she says as she lets him lead her out the front door, closing the door behind them.

I keep waiting for the jealousy to rear up in me, but it never comes. It’s a relief, as I’ve never had such negative emotions and I dislike how the ugly emotion made me act. With great patience, I wait for my mate to return.

She sniffles as she comes back in. Her make-up gone, she looks young and fragile.

“It’ll get better with time, he told me. I gave him his ring back. It was really hard, Eden,” she says as she falls into my arms.

I wish I could help her!

I hug her tightly and rock her back and forth. “Do you want to talk about it or go to sleep?” I ask.

Her small face, her cheeks red from all the tears, looks up at me. “Could you sleep with me? I’m tired, but I’d like you to hold me. I feel like I’ve lost so much and having you next to me, holding me, would remind me why I let it all go. I’m not sorry I did, but I am feeling the loss.”

My arm goes under her legs, lifting her. I carry her up the stairs as she lays her head against my chest. If I could take this all away, I would. I’d do it all differently if I’d known she’d be this hurt.

I place her on the bed. “If you’re sure about this, I’ll go change and be right back.”

Her hand lingers in mine. “I’m sure, Eden. I need you.”

She needs me!

I hate it’s because she’s in pain, but I love to hear it.

“I’ll be right back, princess.”

I change into some pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, then trod back down the hall to my mate’s bedroom door and do a quick tap before I enter.

“Come in,” her sweet and very tired voice calls out to me.

I open the door to find her cuddled up on the bed, lying next to the wall. She’s left room for me and pats the bed, reminding me of what she did a few hours ago and how that turned out. I’ll have to exercise great restraint with her.

“How do you feel?” I ask as I slide in next to her.

She takes my hand and holds it to her cheek. “Terrible and wonderful at the same time.”

I stroke her hair back from her freshly washed face. “I’m sorry it’s this way. I truly am, Alyssa.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.” Her hand touches my chest, sending electric currents through it.

I close my eyes with the intense sense of the current as it flows out of my heart and through my veins, carrying guilt over the knowledge this is my fault.

If I would’ve done as my mother suggested and taken her when she was thirteen, this would never have happened. I open my eyes to find her looking at me.

“I love you, Alyssa.”

A frown draws her brows together. “Why do I feel you have something to tell me?”

My eyes widen in surprise. Can it be true? Is the time to change close enough for her to start reading my thoughts?

“I don’t know why you think that, princess. It’s late and we’re beyond exhausted. Why don’t you put your back to me and let me hold you?” Her frown isn’t going away, so I kiss her cheek. “We can talk when we wake up.”

“I suppose,” she says as she turns over and scoots back to me.

I wrap my arm around her and pull her into me. Thank The Creator I’m so tired, or I would never be able to hold her like this without great difficulty.

The touch of her silky hair on my cheek is enough to drive me crazy. This night I will have the sweetest of dreams as I can finally hold my mate as I’ve only dreamt of.

CHAPTER 22

ALYSSA

Something heavy lies on my leg as I open my eyes. A hard lump in my back is unfamiliar.

All I see is the wall, and sunshine fills my bedroom. As I move my hand in front of my eyes to shield them, a flash of light nearly blinds me. After blinking a couple of times, I can see the giant ring on my finger.

It’s as if I had a wild night of drinking because I’ve done the craziest things I’ve ever done. I had a very naughty make-out session with Eden and then said yes when he asked me to marry him.

We came home and Kyle was in handcuffs and I made the police let him go, then I broke up with him. It nearly killed me to do it, but he took it a lot better than I thought he would.

Maybe he wasn’t so in love with me after all.

And I just remembered that I asked Eden to sleep with me.

God! Who am I?

Did I get taken over by the pod people like my mother and father have?

My life has turned upside down. Am I really going to go through with marrying Eden?

The total number of days I’ve known him is seven. In a mere five days I’ll be eighteen, and that’s when he wants to get married.

What a birthday present that will be!

No, I’m going crazy. I can’t go through with it. Not so soon anyway. I’ll have to push the date back so we can get to know each other better. Although he said we can’t have sex until I marry him, I bet I can get him to change his mind.

The rock-hard lump in the small of my back lets me know I might be able to change his mind right now if I play my cards right. The even breaths I hear coming from him near my ear tell me he’s still asleep. I move ever so slowly back and forth, stroking him with my back.

A growl comes from his throat, so I turn my body to face his.

Even as he sleeps he’s beautiful beyond anyone I’ve ever seen, and he’s mine. I place a kiss on his cheek as I wrap myself around him, making sure to let his long, thick, hard lump stroke my inner thigh.

His eyes open and a sleepy smile crosses his lips. “Mornin’ princess.”

I kiss his stubbly cheek again as I rub my chest against his. “Good morning, Mr. Way Too Handsome In The Morning To Be Real.”

He makes a soft chuckle. “That one was a bit long, was it not?”

I grind against him. “Speaking of things which are long.”

His arms wrap around me, pulling me tighter into him. “Do I have myself a temptress?”

He places a gentle kiss on my neck sending a chill through me. “Maybe,” I say as I lay my lips on his neck to see if I can produce a similar effect in him.

A low groan from him answers my unasked question. In a quick motion, he has me flat on my back as he moves his body over mine. His bulge grinds against me, only his pajama bottoms and my panties separating us from actually touching.

He stops moving and looks into my eyes. “Tell me the words I long to hear.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his mouth almost to mine. I think he may be about to give in. “I love you, Eden.”

I can feel his smile on my lips. “I love you too, Alyssa, my princess.”

His lips touch mine, sending a surge of warmth through me. His tongue moves into my mouth, slicking past mine.

One of his hands tangles up in my hair and he pulls it, making my head move. His mouth leaves mine to nip at my exposed neck and I think I might pass out from the desire which has built up in me so quickly.

The shaft of his long erection strokes the sensitive area he found on me last night. I’m nearly bursting as I rise up to meet his hard, throbbing bulge. He rakes it over me as if we’re actually making love, but we aren’t.

The heat inside me is overwhelming. I’m sweating and so is he. My hands run through his hair and I pull at it. My legs are trembling and my breath is coming in gasps.

A hard bite on my neck sends me over the edge and I almost scream as I come undone inside. I wrap my legs around him as he stops moving. The pulse of his erection matches the pulse in me.

How does he know how to do the things he does?

Soft kisses drift over my neck and breasts before he brings his lips back to mine, which are still quivering. They’re so soft and tender, though he’s still rock hard. He maintains his composure as he looks at me.

“Did I take care of your needs, princess?”

I blush at his words. “You did, but what about yours?”

“Mine have to wait,” he says, then brushes a piece of my hair back before he rolls off me, leaving me lonely.

His back is to me as he sits up, then gets up and walks across the bedroom to the door. “Are you leaving?” I ask.

He turns back to look at me. “I think it’s about time we got out of bed. I’m going to take a shower and get dressed, then I’m taking you to meet my parents.”

What?

“God, no, Eden. I’m not ready for that!”

He flashes a smile at me. “Get ready, princess.”

He’s out the door before I can attempt an argument. His parents will hate me!

They’ll think me a gold digger. No one gets married this quickly. The sound of a car pulling into the drive gets my attention and I look out the window. It’s my best friend, Laura. I haven’t spoken to her since the day I had my accident. Man, she’s going to freak on me.

She’s taking the stairs two at a time. Her footsteps are loud, and dare I say, angry?

My door flies open and there she is.

Oh yeah, she’s angry!

“Alyssa Shaylee Devlin, how could you?” Her long blonde hair is put up into a high ponytail, just like she used to wear it when we were kids. It swings back and forth as she moves quickly to me.

“I can’t believe Kyle told you. I wanted to do that,” I say as I hold up the hand with the to-die-for engagement ring on it.

Laura’s big, blue eyes widen as she looks at the ring. “Christ, Ally, it’s true. I thought he was messing with me, but it’s true,” she says, then turns her eyes to me. “I can’t let you do this. It’s insane, and I can’t believe your parents are going along with this. What’s happened to you and your entire family?”

I pat the bed for Laura to sit next to me. “Take a seat and I’ll tell you everything. Once you’ve heard my story, I hope you understand. You do remember the totally hot guy from the hospital, right?”

Hesitantly, she sits on the bed and holds my hand. She’s in shock. I guess I would be too if she was doing this.

“Yeah, he was exceptional, but this is too sudden, even for a guy like him,” she says.

“In a normal situation, I would be waiting to marry him. This situation is not normal. The way we make each other feel is not normal. It’s like electricity flows through us when we touch. Hell, sometimes when we just look at each other we can feel it.”

She squeezes my hand. “Ally, that’s lust. You can’t love this guy yet, and he can’t love you. This is a mistake. How long will your engagement be?”

My eyes look away. I know what her reaction will be. “Not long. We’re getting married on my birthday.”

She stands up and throws her arms in the air. “No! No, Ally! This is crazy. I tell you what we need to do. Kyle and I are loading your ass up in his truck and taking you to his grandfather’s house in Texas. They won’t find you there and we can de-brainwash you. You have to have been brainwashed, don’t you see that?”

Hearing her tell me how crazy this is makes me realize just how insane it really is.

“Maybe I’ve been living in a fantasy land. You might be right, but if I couldn’t see Eden, if I couldn’t touch him, I think I might die. Even now, I miss him, and he’s just down the hall.”

Laura sits on the bed and takes my hands. “Don’t you see how unhealthy that is? You are way too wrapped up in him. It’s not normal.”

“It isn’t normal. Not one bit. I do know this, Laura. Maybe I should leave with you and see how I feel about him after a day or so apart,” I say. My stomach clenches at the thought.

Laura jumps into action, running to my closet to grab some clothes. “So, he’s here, but your parents and Scotty are gone. Let’s get the hell out of here before he leaves his room.”

I scramble out of bed and run to the bathroom. “I need a shower.”

“No! You can take one at my house before we leave,” Laura orders. “We need to hurry and get you out of here.”

I grab a fresh pair of underwear, a pair of shorts, and a shirt from my drawer, then go into the bathroom to change. My reflection in the mirror shows pink cheeks where the stubble from Eden’s overnight beard growth rubbed them as he kissed me a while ago. On my neck is a bit of red where he bit me, making me come undone.

I run my hand over it and swear I can still feel his teeth as they clamped down on me. The electric current is back, though he’s not anywhere near me.

My hands flow over my neck, down the front of my body, and stop at where he’s kissed me and stroked me until I orgasmed. The first two of my life and Laura wants me to run away from him. I can’t.

I dress, put my hair in a ponytail, and go out to let my best friend know that, crazy or not, I can’t leave him. She has a bag packed and is sitting on my bed, looking at her phone, texting someone.

“Hey, Laura, I’ve been thinking, and I can’t go.”

She looks up at me. “You can go. You need to go. This is not mentally healthy for you, Ally. Let me and Kyle take care of you for a little while. If you still think you love him, then we’ll understand. We’ll bring you back if after a few days you still want him.”

A few days away from Eden sounds like hell to me. “No, I won’t go. I love him. I know you don’t understand how this can happen so fast, but it has. I love you for trying so hard to help me, but I don’t need any help. Maybe if you see us together you’d understand.”

As if on cue, he walks in my bedroom door. A smile on his face, he looks at me, then quickly over at Laura. He smiles at her and walks to her. “Nice to see you again, Laura.”

He holds out his hand and she places hers in his. He takes it, lifts it to his lips, and leaves a kiss on top of it.

A smile covers her face and she looks directly into his eyes and says, “Oh, aren’t you smooth.”

He lets her hand go and looks over at me. “Is something wrong?” he asks.

“She thinks I’m crazy,” I answer.

With a low chuckle, he says, “Does she now?”

Laura crosses her arms over her chest. “I do, and I blame you for it. What have you done to my best friend? This whole family has gone berserk since you came to visit. I think it best if Ally got away from you and her parents for a few days. She needs to get her head back on straight, and the influence of all of you won’t help her accomplish that.”

Eden moves to me, putting his arm around my waist. “Her head is on straight for the first time in years. Isn’t that right, baby?”

I look up at him and smile. “I think so. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.”

Laura looks at me like I’m nuts. “Ally, just come away with me for a few days. I promise I’ll bring you back as soon as you want.”

Eden looks at me. “Is that something you want to do? Because you can, if you want. I’ll never hold you back from anything, princess.”

My eyes search his and I know in an instant that I don’t want to leave him and run away for even a minute. “It’s not what I want,” I say, and hear Laura huff.

She throws her arms up and says, “God! Go ruin your young lives. Get married way too young, end up divorced with three kids by the time you’re twenty-five, and then come crying to me that you wrecked your life over lust.”

Eden kisses the top of my head. “Is that all we have, Alyssa?”

I shake my head. “It’s love, Laura. Believe it or not, that’s what it is.”

Laura’s eyes are shiny with unshed tears and I find it disturbing. I go to her and hold out my arms to hug her. She comes into them and I feel her shaking.

“Why are you so afraid, Laura?” I ask.

“Because I’m losing you, Ally. You’re leaving us all behind for this guy. Since the day of your accident, I’ve felt your absence. No phone calls or texts. Nothing. You’ve been so wrapped up in him. There are other people who care about you. Kyle, me, and even Cody have been missing you. Now you’re getting married and I’m assuming you’ll move away. You’ll forget about us and go live some fantasy life.”

Crap! Now she has me crying.

“I won’t forget about you. I promise, Laura. We’ll be friends forever. Eden and I haven’t even talked about where we’ll live. No matter where it is, though, you can come visit me and I’ll come visit you. You’ll see, it won’t be as bad as you think.”

“What are your plans for today, Laura,” Eden asks.

I let her go and grab a couple of tissues from my nightstand. I hand her one while I dab at my tears with the other. She looks at me for a few seconds before she looks at Eden.

“Since I’m not taking Ally anywhere, my plans are nothing.”

“I wonder if you might like to join us for the weekend,” Eden says. “I’m taking Alyssa to New Orleans to meet my parents. Her family is coming, so you might want to come along too. I’d like to get to know you, and I’m sure seeing where I’ll be taking Alyssa to live will give you some comfort.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Laura says as she looks at me.

“Would it be an imposition, Eden?” I ask.

He laughs. “There are thirty-three bedrooms, so I don’t think you’ll be any imposition.”

“Thirty-three!” Laura and I say in awe.

“I guess I never thought about you living in a mansion, but of course you do,” I say.

“What do you think, Ally?” she asks.

I hug her, and whisper in her ear, “Go get your things packed. You’re coming with me.”

She giggles and I let her go. On her way out of the bedroom, she stops in front of Eden. Her arms wrap around him in a hug. “Thank you, Eden. You can’t know how much this means to me,” she says, then leaves the room.

My heart swells with love for him as I saunter over to him and throw my arms around his neck. “You are amazing. Do you know that?”

He touches his forehead to mine. “She loves you and you love her. I’m not trying to take anyone from you, princess. I only want you to add me in.”

Damn it, he’s sweet!

Will he always be this way? Will my life with him always be like a fantasy, almost too good to be true?

CHAPTER 23

KYLE

“What do you mean you’re going with them?” I ask Laura as I sit on her bed and watch her pack.

“Eden invited me and I said yes. He has a mansion and I’d like to see where Ally will be living,” Laura answers.

“So he’s taking her to meet the parents. I can’t believe Al’s marrying him on her birthday. Do you know she and I were supposed to leave for Texas on her birthday? What is it with that girl and losing her virginity on that day? I mean, come hell or high water, she’s getting laid on her birthday.”

“Kyle! You shouldn’t talk about her like that. You know how over-protective her parents have been. She’s about to burst, I’m sure. Add that hot guy to the equation and she’s most likely having hot flashes waiting to get a taste of him.” Laura says.

“I can’t believe you’re talking like that right in front of me,” I say as I hold her by her shoulders, making her stop packing for a minute to realize who it is she’s talking to. “So are you into this guy now too?”

A blush covers her cheeks. “Me! Oh, he’s Ally’s, Kyle. Don’t be silly.”

Suddenly, I’m pissed. “Laura, I’m trying to make this look like it’s easy for me to hand her over to that guy, but it isn’t. It’s killing me. If I thought you were falling for him too, it might send me over the edge.”

Laura looks me in the eyes. Hers are a light blue, very similar to mine. Her hair is a lighter blonde than mine, long and shiny. She has it up in a ponytail and I have the sudden urge to pull it down so I can watch it fall across her shoulders.

“Kyle, what do you mean by that?” her voice is but a whisper.

“I mean, I don’t want you to go with them. Stay here with me,” I say, and can’t believe what I’m doing.

Slowly, she blinks as she takes in what I’m saying. “Kyle, why would you say that?”

“I may have lost Ally, but I don’t want to lose you.”

Her plump, pink lips quiver. “We’re just friends, right?”

Are we? Isn’t that all we ever were?

I remember a time when I was fifteen and I wanted both Laura and Ally. I couldn’t make up my mind. I kissed Ally first and Cody made me believe I could never get away with kissing Laura too, to find out which one I liked best. He told me they’d both end up hating me.

Ally is moving on, leaving me behind, and Laura, too, really, no matter if she’s letting her go for a weekend to the palace or whatever Prince Steals Your Girlfriend lives in. We will all be left behind while Ally becomes the princess that dude always tells her she is.

I lick my lips as I look from hers to her eyes. “Are we?” I ask.

Her eyes dart to my lips. “I’m Ally’s best friend. I can’t be anything more than your friend.”

I swallow hard. What am I doing? Am I really making a move on my barely ex-girlfriend’s best friend?

I’m sitting on her bed and she’s standing in front of me. I slide my hands down her shoulders to her waist and pull her in between my legs.

“She’s left me. Set me free. Truth be told, Laura, I don’t want to be free. I want to be tied to someone. I don’t like loose ends. I like them attached to someone. If I may confess something to you, I want you to know that when I was fifteen, I wasn’t sure which one of you two I liked the most.” I pause so she can breathe, because she seems to have stopped. I pull her in a little closer. “It was Ally who I kissed first. Cody made me believe if I ever tried to kiss you, so I could find out which one of you I really liked, I would lose you both.”

Her hand caresses my cheek and I melt into it. It feels so good. “I had a crush on you that I hadn’t told Ally about. When she told me you kissed her, I just about smacked her. I wanted you, but I kept my mouth shut.”

She wanted me too! I knew it!

“Here I am, Laura. I’m free and so are you.”

“She’ll be hurt,” Laura says, and for a second, my heart hurts in a new way. It’s been hurting since Ally’s accident, then she broke up with me and it hurt even worse. This pain is different. It’s a hurt which promises to heal all that’s wrong.

I take her chin in my hand, gently pulling her to me. “She’ll be gone.”

Her lips touch mine and I am gone. I’ve wanted to do this for so many years and it seems she has to. Without letting our lips part, I stand and pick her up, turning around. I lay her on the bed.

I press my tongue to her lips and she parts them for me. She tastes like strawberries and suddenly I crave them. Our tongues dance together as my heartbeats increase.

Why does this feel so right?

I pull my mouth from hers and she opens her eyes. They’re wide with what looks like fear. She probably thinks I feel guilty and want to stop, but she’s wrong.

“Tell me you want this, Laura. Tell me you’ll be mine.”

Her breaths are ragged and her voice is quiet. “Is that what you really want, Kyle?”

Is it? I think it is, but how can I be sure? Am I using her as a rebound?

Without knowing for sure, I answer, “It is. Say you’ll be mine, Laura.”

Her brows furrow with worry and she bites at her bottom lip. I kiss her again to make her decide. As I plunge my tongue into her mouth again, I pull out the rubber band holding her hair in a ponytail.

I groan as I run my hand through her long, silky hair. It smells like flowers, so different from Ally’s.

The thought of Ally makes me stop my kiss. I look down at Laura and have to consider her feelings.

Am I only doing this to hurt Ally?

Laura’s eyes are soft and a smile forms on her pink lips as she says, “I’ll be yours, Kyle.”

My heart stops beating. She’ll be mine, but can I truly be hers with Ally still so much in my head and my heart?

Her hands tangle in my hair and pull me back to her. This time she kisses me. Her tongue darts into my mouth. Something about how she’s kissing me, like she’s letting herself go, makes me want her more than I have.

How far will she let me go?

My hand creeps slowly to her breast and cups it. She puts her hand over mine and moves it with mine, showing me how she likes to be touched. It spurs me on to try more.

I sit up, straddling her, and smile down at her as I lift my T-shirt over my head. Her shirt has buttons, so I unbutton them slowly as I watch her to be sure she wants this. The look of pure lust on her face tells me she does.

I know she’s not a virgin, but I am, and she knows it. Her hands run over my abs. They’re pretty decent, if I do say so myself. As are her breasts, which I’d like to see bare.

I lean down and reach behind her to unfasten her bra To my surprise, she lets me. I pull it off, revealing a pair of large, pert breasts any man would be proud to touch.

“May I?” I ask before I devour them.

“Please do.”

I pull one of the erect nipples into my mouth as I cup the other one with my hand. Never having gotten this far before, my erection is at full attention. I don’t know how I’ll be able to stop, but she seems like she’s fine with that, so I forge ahead.

Her hands flow over my back, which now has a thin sheen of sweat covering it. Her breasts are so perfect, I can’t believe I never noticed them completely before this. She tastes like heaven and I wonder what else she’ll let me do.

I move my mouth from her breast to kiss a trail down to the top of her shorts. I look up at her to be sure she’s okay with this and her smile assures me she is.

I pop the button on them and unzip them. Pulling at the sides, she shimmies to help me get her out of them, leaving me looking at blue silk panties.

“How about these? Can they go too?” I ask.

Her nod gives the approval and I’m very happy with the answer.

Dear God, I’m finally going to get laid!

I stand to kick off my shoes and drop my jeans and underwear. I take a long look at her completely naked body, which she has not an ounce of embarrassment about.

Not that there’s any need for it. She’s built like a brick house. Curves in all the right places and flat in the areas she should be. A perfect body she’s hidden all these years.

“Christ, you’re beautiful, Laura.”

“I can say the same about you, Kyle,” she says as she motions to my male member, which is giving her a standing ovation.

I’ve forgotten I’m standing buck naked in front of a girl for the first time in my life. Suddenly I feel shy, and I’m pretty damn sure I’m blushing. Lying next to her, I kiss her again, trying to forget my embarrassment.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask.

She wets her lips and gives me a nod. Her eyes are dark and her lips red and a bit swollen from our kissing. I can’t believe I’m doing this. As I move my body over hers, she spreads her legs for me to settle into. I can feel the heat radiating from her.

“Now,” she says, “I’m more than ready for you.”

My God! Am I really going to do this? Am I going to lose my virginity to Ally’s best friend? Could I back out now?

“Are you sure?” I ask one more time.

Laura’s hands grab my ass and she pushes me into her. “Fuck me, Kyle. Fuck me now,” she growls.

What have I gotten myself into?

The moment I’m all the way in, I lose all train of thought. It feels so fucking good. I pull out all the way and thrust back in. Her breath pushes out with the force.

“Too hard?” I stop and ask.

“No! Jesus, Kyle, just keep going until you can’t anymore!” Laura shouts as she grabs my ass and pushes me into her even deeper.

The sensation takes me over and I do what she says, pushing in and pulling out as her hands run over my back and up into my hair. She pulls my face down to kiss her, and I do, but find I can’t concentrate on the thrusting, so I pull my head back.

She runs her hands over her breasts and down to her clit. I watch from my raised position, bobbing my dick in and out of her. Her finger touches something at the top and she rubs it as she moans.

“I’m about to come, Kyle. Come with me.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Watch my finger and fuck me harder,” she says as she licks her other fingers, then moves the one she’d been using to stroke herself to allow the newly wetted finger to flow over her now very swollen and very red pearl-shaped bud.

I stroke faster and harder while watching her touch herself. Then I feel her tighten around my dick as she moans and pushes her body up to meet mine.

It’s so tight and squeezes so hard that I explode into her. All strength gone, I practically fall on top of her. Her arms go around me as my dick pulses inside her and her vagina makes small squeezes around it, making more fluid flow from it.

So this is what all the fuss is about. Yeah, I can see why now!

And then there’s Ally’s sweet face in my damn brain and I know I’ve just sealed my fate with her. She’ll never get over this.

What have I done?

CHAPTER 24

LAURA

What have I done?

Kyle naps beside me as I lie here filled with guilt and shame. I just took his virginity and not in a very nice way.

It’s been a few months since I’ve had sex. I guess I was a little hornier than I realized, because I talked like a real slut. It’s not how Kyle should’ve been introduced to sex.

He’s sweet and caring and I know he was loving with Ally. But I took him like he was just another guy. I ruined his first time. It should have been with her, not me.

And now he’s here with me and says he wants us to be together. I’m going to look like a real ass at school. Everyone will gossip. ‘Would you look at her? Ally’s barely broken up with him and Laura swoops in and picks him up. What a whore,’ they’ll all say. And I have to agree.

What’s wrong with me? And how am I going to tell Ally?

I have to call her and tell her I’m not going to New Orleans with them. She’ll ask why and I’ll say, ‘Beause Kyle and I are together now. I fucked his brains out and he doesn’t want me to leave.’

Yeah, that’ll go over real well!

Great, my cell’s ringing and I bet it’s her. I slide off the bed, still naked as the day I was born, and find my phone in the pocket of the shorts Kyle pulled off me only an hour or so ago.

Christ, I’m awful!

The screen shows me it’s her and I physically flinch. Kyle raises his head and looks at me.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” he asks.

I nod and answer. “Hi, Ally.”

“Where are you? We’re ready to go. You’re taking forever,” she says.

Kyle mouths, tell her.

I shake my head vigorously.

“Yeah, about that. You see, my parents went out of town and they want me to stay and watch the house. I can’t go,” I say, and it’s not a complete lie since my parents are gone for the weekend.

Kyle tugs at me to sit down. I do, and then he fucks me over. “Tell her,” he says out loud.

“Is that Kyle?” Ally asks.

Goddamn it!

“Kyle? Um, yeah, it’s him.”

Her voice sounds tense. “What’s he doing at your house? You are at your house, aren’t you?”

I run my hand over my face. “Yeah, I’m at my house. He came over to see how our talk went.”

“Tell her the truth, Laura,” Kyle says, loudly enough for Ally to hear.

I shoot him a look which pleads with him to shut up.

“Tell me the truth about what, Laura? Do you not want to go with us? Because I’ll understand if you don’t. I won’t be mad at you. There’s no reason to lie about it to me. I love you. I’ll understand anything.”

Bet she won’t.

“Kyle wants me to stay here with him,” I blurt.

“Oh!” her voice sounds sharp.

“Tell her why, Laura,” Kyle says loudly.

I shoot the finger at him and he takes the phone from me. “Hey, Al, how’s it going?” he asks.

“Kyle, um, it’s going well. How come you don’t want Laura to go with me to New Orleans? And when did you start to care about anything Laura did?” Ally asks.

“I’ve always cared about her. She’s been a part of my life for as long as you have, Al,” he says.

I shake my head at him, trying to get him to stop, but instead he leans over and kisses my cheek, mouthing, It’s okay.

“I see. Well, anyway, let me talk to her again,” Ally says.

“I will, but first I have to tell you something. I don’t want you finding out from anyone else, and the rumors will be flying before the day is out because I’m taking Laura to the movies tonight. I’m sure your phone will be blowing up with the news, and I don’t want you to be caught off guard,” he says.

Okay, he just told her that. She’ll be okay with that.

“Oh. Well that’s nice of you to do for her. You’re a good friend, Kyle,” she says. Her voice sounds relieved.

“I think you misunderstood me, Al. We’re together now. As a matter of fact, I just lost my virginity to her about a half-hour ago,” he says.

I’m about to throw up.

“What?” Ally asks. Her voice sounds as sick as I feel.

“Why did you tell her that?” I shout at Kyle, running to the bathroom as tears stream down my face.

He just used me to hurt her!

I climb into the shower to rid myself of any of him. His smell is suddenly everywhere on me.

I hate him!

He was my friend. How could he do this to me?

I’ve ruined my friendship with Ally, all so he could get even with her. How could I be so stupid as to think he liked me?

Can she ever forgive me? Can I ever forgive myself?

The bathroom door opens and the shower curtain is pulled back. Kyle steps in and puts his arms around me. He kisses the top of my head as I cry into his chest.

“Laura, I’m sorry if I hurt you. I just didn’t want her to find out from anyone else. I want that out in the open, so we can move on with what we have.”

I look up at him, certain that my make-up looks like hell. “What do we have, Kyle?”

“We have each other, Laura. I meant it when I asked you to be mine. I’d never have made love to you, then just left you. I’m not that guy,” he says, then kisses me.

How sweet!

I guess I’ve never known someone to be so honest and open. I suppose it is better Ally know it all from the very beginning.

My back is up against the slippery wall as Kyle searches my mouth with his tongue. His dick is hard already and I grow wet and hot with the knowledge that he likes me and is unashamed to show it, not only to me, but to everyone, including Ally.

His hands flow over my body, exploring every inch of it, the water helping his hands slide. Hungrier his kiss grows, and I find myself wanting to feel him inside me again.

I pull my mouth from his and nip at his neck Moving my mouth to his ear, I whisper, “Take me again, Kyle.”

“Laura, you’re a pleasant surprise in so many ways,” he says as he puts his hand on the back of my neck, pulling my mouth to his.

Pressing my back against the tiled wall, I lift my legs to wrap them around him as he slips into me as if our bodies were made for each other. His groan vibrates my mouth as he finds pleasure at the sensation. Moving back and forth, he strokes slowly at first. He seems to be afraid he’s hurting me, which he is not.

I pull my mouth away from his. “Turn me around, take me from behind.”

“Really?” His eyes are wide as if surprised.

I smile. “Yeah, really. It’s not so unusual.”

Placing my feet on the floor. I turn in his arms and place my palms on the tiled wall. I bend over, my butt against his erection.

He fumbles with it for a moment before he finds where it needs to go, then he slides in and I let out a moan with the pleasurable sensation. The way he fills me up completely is intoxicating.

His hands on my back, he proceeds to rock his body back and forth, thrusting too slowly into me. “Harder, Kyle.”

He does as I ask and moves quicker and pushes harder, making me push harder against the wall. His hard cock beats at my ass as he finally gets into it, lets his mind go, and just fucks like he was meant to. For only his second time at this, he’s getting good pretty fast.

My insides start to contract. I yell, “Slap my ass hard, Kyle!”

He stops. “Are you serious?”

Damn!

“Keep moving. Don’t stop. I’m almost there. And yes, I’m serious. Slap my ass until I tell you to stop.”

He starts again, taking my impending orgasm a bit further away. It takes him several strokes before his hand finally slaps me, but it’s too light.

“Harder, Kyle, slap my ass harder. Pretend I did something bad and hit it like you're punishing me for it.”

One solid slap smacks me, sending pain radiating through me and a pulse to my clit. “Again,” I yell.

Another solid slap pushes me almost to the edge. “Again.”

The third slap does it and I climax hard. The way my vagina clenches around his huge cock makes him come immediately and he yells with it.

“Oh my God, Laura. Fuck, son of a bitch, this feels so fucking good!”

Hardly able to breathe, I press back into him until we both stop throbbing. Finally, I feel his dick soften some and pull away from him. As I turn, he presses up against me and kisses me.

Moving his mouth from mine, he says, “While fucking you is fun. The next time I want you to let me make love to you. I want to do this all weekend if you’ll let me.”

“You want to make love to me?” I ask.

“I do,” he says, then kisses me gently. “Now let me wash your hair and rub soap all over your body, then you can do me.”

As his hands rub shampoo through my hair I can’t help thinking about how different he is from any other sexual partner I’ve had. The truth is I never felt more than a physical connection with any of them.

There’ve been a few—five to be exact. No committed relationships transpired from any of them. No one bothered to wash my hair afterwards. They all pretty much left or sent me on my way after the deed was done.

“Make me a promise, Laura,” Kyle says as he rinses my hair.

“Maybe,” I say.

His lips touch my neck. “No, not maybe. Make me a promise.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have to don’t I?”

He rubs conditioner through my hair, massaging my scalp. “Promise me you’ll never let anyone, other than myself, have you,” he says, then puts soap on his hands and rubs my shoulders.

“So, I am assuming you want us to be exclusive?”

“Very exclusive,” he answers. “Do you think you can do that?”

“An exclusive relationship, huh? You know I’ve never had one of those, Kyle.”

“I’m aware of that. And from your advanced knowledge of sex, I’d say you’ve been at the shit end of more than one asshole’s dick. I’m not judging you, so don’t think that. It’s just that I think you’ve short changed yourself where love is concerned. You’re a great girl, and you deserve to be loved,” he says, then turns me to look at him as he runs his soapy hands over my chest. “Put the antics of the other guys out of your head and let’s find that love together. I don’t want to be a puppet whose strings you pull to mimic other lovers.”

“I see. How embarrassing. I guess I was doing that. I’m sorry, Kyle.”

He takes my chin in his hand, lifting my face to look him in the eye. “Don’t apologize to me. I don’t even want you to. I just want to find our own way, you know?”

My God, how sweet and amazing he is. Ally was a fool to let him go. I know one thing for sure—I’ll never hand him back over to her. It’s her loss and my gain.

I hope she can forgive me.

CHAPTER 25

ALYSSA

My heart’s been ripped out and stomped on!

I suppose I had it coming, but I never knew it was going to feel this terrible. My Kyle has given himself to my best friend and I can’t take the pain.

While it’s selfish of me, I find myself unable to let it go.

Eden has pressed me about what has me so quiet, but the words won’t come for me to tell him. He’d never understand anyway. No one would.

It was supposed to be me who was Kyle’s first and he was to be mine. With Eden’s arrival, everything has changed. My world is upside down and I feel as if I’m falling away from the planet.

My heart is exposed and raw with the pain of Kyle’s words, As a matter of fact I just lost my virginity to her about a half-hour ago.

I cannot believe he told me in such a callous way. No meanness was in his tone, but also no emotion at all. Just stating a fact. He is no longer hung up on me and has shoved his penis into my best friend just to prove it.

How could she do this to me?

Laura has been my best friend since kindergarten. Never would I have imagined her stabbing me in the back like this. There’s not a mean bone in her body.

She’s slept with quite a few guys, though, and I do know sex is just a thing to her. I can’t imagine how that must have gone over with my Kyle. My sweet and almost innocent Kyle.

How awful was it for him?

My mind is full of the ways they did it. I’ve talked to Laura a lot about her sexual escapades. She’s done it about nine ways to Sunday.

Her father left her mother when she was ten and it messed her up. She feels it’s perfectly acceptable to have sex with a guy you have no relationship with.

Is that the path she’s leading my Kyle down?

I’ve never judged her for her behavior. But now she’s done it to Kyle, and I have to do something. I can’t let him go down that road with her. It’s not in his nature to be a sexual deviant. He’ll fall in love with her, because that’s who he is.

No matter what Laura thinks, he won’t walk away like the other bad boys she’s slept with. He’s a good guy, and he’ll stay around and fall for her.

When she tires of having him in her bed she’ll move on like she always has, leaving him hurt. I can’t let that happen to him. He’s too special.

But how can I stop it?

I look down at my hand as it’s clasped tightly with Eden’s. We’re on the jet with my family, heading to New Orleans to meet his parents. I’m nervous about it because there’s no way they’ll like me.

A sick-to-my-stomach feeling from Kyle’s news, with a topping of nerves, is about the most horrible I’ve ever felt. I need no more terrible news on this day. I doubt I could take it, feeling as if I might puke any minute.

Eden sighs and I look up to find him watching me. “Princess, please tell me what she said to upset you so much.”

“It wasn’t her who told me. I doubt she was ever going to tell me. I doubt that I really know her at all,” I say and look out the window into the dark night sky.

Eden rises and pulls me up with him. My parents and Scotty sleep in their seats. I follow him as he leads me to the bedroom.

Oh hell, what is he about to do now?

He sits me on the bed, then sits next to me. His arm wraps around my shoulder and I lean my head on his.

“Alyssa, I’d like you to be in a pleasant mood when you meet my parents. And you are in anything but that. Please talk to me. I’m assuming Kyle said the thing which has you so upset.”

“Yeah.”

He rubs my shoulder. “That’s a start. Keep going,” he says then places a kiss on top of my head.

“Kyle let Laura take his virginity and they’re together now.” The numbness in my soul allows me to say the words with no emotion to them.

Eden squeezes me. “That is hard news. I wonder why he felt you needed to know that. It seems quite petty and not at all like someone who claims to love you.”

“It’s not like him. I’ve turned him into someone he never was. Now Laura will finish the job of turning him into a man he was never supposed to become. She’ll show him sex is nothing but an act and love is not real.”

Eden takes my chin, making me look at him. “Alyssa, you don’t know that. They may find happiness together. She must not be all bad or you wouldn’t have been her friend.”

“What kind of friend does that?”

His finger strokes my cheek as he says, “Perhaps she’s had a crush on Kyle. She’d never have let you know. Once he was set free, she took the chance and he was ready to go for it. If you truly love them, you’ll let this go. You’ve moved on, haven’t you?”

Have I?

I search his eyes to find that thing in him which makes me feel whole. It’s there, but such pain fills me that it’s hard to find the electric sensation I always get with Eden. It’s dampened and I don’t know if it’ll come back. Without Kyle, something is missing.

“I’m an ass,” I admit.

“You are not. Don’t think like that.” Eden strokes my hair.

“I want to have my cake and eat it too. I’m an awful person. I have you, and you are beyond wonderful, yet I want him too,” I say, then turn my head away from him. “Dealing with the knowledge that I can’t have you both, I was content with breaking away from him. Then he goes, finds another, and gives himself to her, and something in me breaks. You deserve better than me, Eden.”

He kneels in front of me, taking my hands in his. “Look at me, princess.”

I do as he asks, but see no use in it. I’m not over Kyle and I cannot marry him until I am, if that ever happens.

“Eden, we have to postpone the wedding until I deal with this.”

“Alyssa, this is all my fault. I’ve kept you in the dark for too long. I can’t cause you any more pain by not telling you the truth about yourself,” he pauses and searches my eyes. “You and he were never meant to be. You and I were born to be together. I allowed you to live the first part of your life as a normal girl, but you are no ordinary girl.”

Did he just say he allowed me to live normally? What in the hell?

“Please explain, Eden. Are you talking metaphorically? Like, we were made for each other, that kind of thing?”

He shakes his head, leaving me very confused. “We are not what we seem to be, and in a matter of days, we will be more. You and I were chosen before birth to become something bigger and better than mere mortals, Alyssa.”

“Eden, you’re scaring me. Talk of mortals and such is kind of serial killer talk. Please tell me I’m not in love with a crazy killer,” I say, then laugh nervously.

“Have you ever heard the legends of the thunderbirds?”

“The American Indian stories about large birds they’d see before storms?” I ask.

“Yes, those birds. Only the truth is a bit more complicated than their stories,” Eden says. “You see, the Phoenixes are a couple who shape shift into the giant birds to help save people who get into situations which could cost them their lives. But it isn’t their time to go yet, so The Creator sends the Phoenixes in to intervene. We’ll be giving them the chance to survive if they follow us or we’re able to get them to safety. There are a number of ways we help.”

“Did you say, ‘we,’ because I can’t shape shift into anything. You may have the wrong girl, Eden. I’m ordinary to the core. Never have shape shifted and it’s pretty doubtful I ever will. Best turn the jet around and take me right back to Cloudcroft,” I say as I pull my hands from his, because as beautiful as he is, he’s certifiable.

CHAPTER 26

EDEN

Alyssa has locked herself in the lavatory. She thinks I’m insane. Now I have the great task of making her believe me.

I knock yet again on the door. “Alyssa, please, precious, come out.”

“Leave me alone. I want to go home. Tell Jeffery to turn the jet around. I’m sorry you’re unstable, but I can’t be involved with you any longer.”

I guess I have to go get her mother. I feel awful for waking Toni up, but someone has to get Alyssa out of there. I pat Toni’s shoulder. Her eyes open.

“Toni, I’ve told Alyssa the news and she’s not taking it well. She thinks I’m crazy and she’s locked herself in the lavatory.”

She sits up and straightens her skirt. “I’ll go talk to her. What did you tell her?”

“You know, that we’re going to shape shift into the Phoenixes and we were born to be together.”

She rises and goes to the bedroom. I follow along behind her. She taps the door and says, “Sweetie, it’s Mom.”

Alyssa opens the door a crack, then sees me and closes it. “Tell him to leave and I’ll come out and talk to you, Mom.”

Toni looks at me and I leave.

Damn!

I go back into the cabin and sit in my seat.

I can’t believe she really thinks I’m crazy!

I’ve made a mess of this whole situation. How Our Creator picked me for this position is beyond me. It’s obvious I’m no good at it. Alyssa isn’t going to go into this as easily as I imagined.

I wait for nearly an hour before Toni comes back in. She takes the seat next to mine. “I told her everything,” she tells me. “She’s a bit shocked and not responding very much. Maybe the other couple can help. I think it’s best if we leave her alone until it comes time to land. Meanwhile, I’m going to ask Jeffery if he can call the other couple and get them to join us at your home. If she sees them and what they can do, I hope it’ll become real to her.”

Toni gets up and goes to the cockpit. My stomach hurts at what I’ve done. My mate has had the worst day ever. That boy messed her head up with his awful news, which was completely unnecessary.

She was nervous about meeting my parents, then I go and tell her she’s going to shift into a giant bird.

Of course she thinks I’m crazy. Who wouldn’t?

Toni returns after a little while and gives me the thumbs up, so I guess we’re going to meet the current Phoenix couple. I never thought this day would come. It’s not usual, from what I’ve been told.

Jeffery’s voice comes over the speaker, letting us know to put on our seat belts. I buckle mine and look over my shoulder for Alyssa. The bedroom door opens and she steps out, but she takes the seat in the very back, alone. She wants nothing to do with me.

Toni reaches from the seat behind me and pats my shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Eden. Don’t worry.”

I hang my head, which is heavy with the knowledge I’ve messed up. It’s obvious I have, since the other couple has agreed to come prove to Alyssa what we are. I blew it.

The jet lands and Jeffery tells us we can leave. Alyssa unbuckles herself and grabs her mother’s hand. “Wait for me, Mom,” I hear her say.

She’s being careful to keep her parents between us. I wait and let them all get off the plane before me. My heart the heaviest it’s ever been, I wonder if it will cease to beat in a moment.

The limo is waiting for us. Alyssa and her family are already seated in it as I climb in. Alyssa is snuggly sitting between her parents and refuses to even look my way. We travel the distance to my home in complete silence, until the mansion looms ahead.

Scotty gives a whistle as we pull up to the large, ornate gates. “Would you look at that? Wow, Ally, you’re too lucky.”

I watch Alyssa, but her eyes never leave her lap. Her hands bunch the fabric of her dress. I see an unfamiliar car as we approach the front of the house. It must be the other couple’s.

I slide out first and wait for her family to get out. I tap at Alyssa’s shoulder as she quickly grabs her mother’s hand. “Alyssa, please do me the honor of allowing me to escort you inside,” I say with a pleading tone.

Alyssa doesn’t look at me, but Toni takes her chin, lifting it to make her look at her. “Alyssa, you should let him. This will all make sense very shortly, and I know you’ll feel terrible about depriving Eden from introducing everyone to you.”

“But I don’t want to. I don’t trust him, or any of you, to tell the truth. I feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter,” my mate says.

I notice my ring is gone from her finger. I take her hand and her eyes fly to mine. “Where’s the ring, Alyssa?”

She opens her other hand and shows me she has it. “Please put it on, princess. Like your mother said, you will understand all we’ve told you very shortly.”

“I don’t want to,” she says.

David steps close to her. His voice gruff, he says, “You were not brought up this way. No matter how unbelievable this is, it is the truth. Now put this little pouty crap away and put the ring on. Let Eden take you in and introduce you. Smile and be polite, or so help me, Alyssa Shaylee Devlin.”

Alyssa looks at her father with wide eyes and I can no longer allow him to speak to her that way. I step between them and take Alyssa by the waist, pulling her close to my side. I take the ring from her and place it on her finger, then turn my attention to her father.

“David, I beg of you to remember who she belongs to and how protective I am of her. Please don’t rile my anger. I fear I would not be able to control it.”

David backs away as Alyssa looks at me in surprise. “Eden, don’t talk to my father like that.”

“Princess, I apologize. Let’s just go inside where this will all be explained and you’ll have proof of what we’ve told you to be the truth,” I say as I move her with me up the stairs to the front entrance.

The door opens as we approach. The head butler, Niles, greets us with a stoic expression. He’s not big on smiles, or emotions of any kind. “Good evening, Master Fontaine,” he says.

I smile at him and gesture to Alyssa who allows me to hold her by the waist, yet still remains distant. “This is my Alyssa, Niles.”

Niles makes an attempt to smile and it turns out a bit creepy. He bows low and says, “A pleasure to meet you, Mistress Devlin.”

“The pleasure is mine, sir,” Alyssa says, and I find I could not be more pleased with how gracious she is, even though she thinks us all insane.

“Your parents and their guests are in the main salon. Please follow me and I will announce you,” Niles says.

Toni, David, and Scotty have caught up with us, and we follow Niles out of the foyer and down a short hallway into the main room. A monster sized chandelier hangs high above the marble floor. Double sets of spiraling staircases lead up to the east and west wing suites where all thirty-six bedrooms have private lavatories.

Toni and David have been here many times, so they’re not struck by the beauty of the house, but Scotty is wide-eyed and captivated.

“Dang it, you’re lucky, Ally,” he says as he looks over the grand room.

To my disappointment, Alyssa looks straight ahead. I squeeze her a little, and speak quietly in her ear, “Do you like it, princess?”

Her voice is flat and emotionless as she answers, “Of course. Who wouldn’t?”

Nothing is going as I thought it would.

We arrive at our destination to find my parents sitting on a scarlet-colored, chenille cover sofa and a silver haired couple sitting across from them on a matching one. They all rise as we enter the room.

Niles begins the introductions, “Master and Mademoiselle Fontaine, and Master and Misses Covington, I am pleased to introduce you to Master Eden Fontaine and Mistress Alyssa Devlin.”

I take my mate and lead her first to my mother, who wears a giant smile. “Alyssa, this is my mother, Sierra,” I say.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Fontaine,” Alyssa says.

My mother holds her arms out for a hug and I let my hold on my mate go, praying Alyssa will accept my mother’s gesture. Thankfully, she moves forward and hugs her.

“We’ve waited so long for you, daughter. Please call me Sierra until the wedding, then call me mother. Nothing would please me more.”

Alyssa is released and I’m pleased to see a slight smile on her gorgeous face. “Thank you, Sierra. You seem very sweet. I love your French accent. It’s even richer than Eden’s. It’s very charming.”

My father is itching to get his introduction. He doesn’t wait for me, but jumps right in as he reaches out to Alyssa and says, “I’m papa to you from now on, sweet princess Alyssa.”

He takes her into his arms and hugs her, rocking her back and forth while murmuring something to her I can’t hear. When he releases her, she’s really smiling.

“My, you are something else. I bet you keep your wife on her toes, such a charming man you are, and your French accent makes you all the more interesting,” Alyssa bats her eyelashes at my father.

How adorable she is and my parents already love her. My father turns our attention to the other couple. “Please let me introduce you to the Covingtons. They’re from London. This is Grace,” he says.

I reach out and take the silver-haired, still quite beautiful woman’s hand, placing a kiss on it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She giggles a little. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you, Eden,” she tells me with a British accent.

I release her hand and Alyssa reaches out to shake the woman’s hand. Grace looks at my mate and smiles. “Could I please have a hug, Alyssa?”

Alyssa nods, allowing the old woman to hug her. The woman whispers something to my mate and Alyssa giggles. Grace joins her, giggling too.

As odd as it may sound, they have very similar laughs. Grace lets Alyssa out of the hug, but keeps one arm around her shoulders.

She turns her to face her husband. “This is Rodney, my mate,” Grace says.

I extend my hand to him and he takes it in a firm handshake, much too strong for a man of his advanced age. “It’s so good to meet you,” I say.

He claps me on the back and grins. He too has a British accent as he says, “Good to meet you too, son.”

Our attention turns to Alyssa as she says, “Is it true?” to him.

The room which has been filled with hushed whispers as Toni, David, and Scotty have been greeted by my parents, falls silent.

Rodney nods his head at Alyssa and answers her question, “It is, Alyssa. We are about to show you your future.”

Grace takes Alyssa’s hand in hers, then tells her, “Place your hand in my mates as you hold mine. All your doubts will be gone in an instant and the truth will reside within you.”

I take a step back as Rodney reaches out to my mate. Alyssa takes his hand and her eyes close as Grace and Rodney look into each other’s eyes.

A few seconds later, Alyssa opens her eyes. They’re wide and twinkling. She pulls her hands away from the couple as she looks back and forth between them.

“Oh my! Oh my!” Alyssa says as she brings her hands to her mouth and shakes her head. “It’s unbelievable, yet I know it to be true. Thank you!”

She hugs Grace, then Rodney, “Thank you both so much,” she says, then turns to me.

Her eyes look even more blue somehow, without an ounce of sadness or doubt to them. She moves slowly to me, then takes both of my hands in hers.

“I am yours and you are mine,” she says with a determined tone. “We are something not of this world and we will be together for eternity. I could not be happier with who Our Creator has chosen for me.”

Finally, we’re on the same page and my heart races with excitement. “So now you know how I feel,” I say.

She nods and hugs me as she whispers to me, “I’m so sorry I ever doubted you. It will never happen again, Eden. I love you.”

As my body feels as if it’s on fire, I have to wonder if it’s possible to love someone so much it physically hurts. And just how long will this pain last?

CHAPTER 27

ALYSSA

Grace and Rodney hold my brother’s hands in theirs and show him the truth. I couldn’t have him left in the dark. He might be a pain in the rear, but he’s my pain in the rear and I love him.

The look of complete cluelessness he had when everyone in the room knew something he didn’t left me sad for him. I had to ask the current Phoenix couple to enlighten him.

Mom gave me her version of the news when we were on the plane. Can’t say I really believed her.

Here’s how that little conversation not every girl gets to have with her mother went:

“I would like for you to lie back, Alyssa. I think it’s best if I tell you all this, like I used to tell you bedtime stories. Remember how I did that when you were a little girl?” Mom asks me.

“Yes,” I say weakly, sniffling. I lay back on my pillows. Mom covers me up, tucking me in.

“Once upon a time, there was an ancient secret society which tended to a couple of extraordinary creatures. These creatures were sent to them from God. The creatures helped to warn humans of disasters before they happened, as to give those who heeded their warnings a chance to survive.

Almost every culture has stories about these creatures, from the ancient Egyptians to the American Indians.

These creatures are human, but they can also take on the form of large birds. There are only two of these birds at a time. Once one pair is done with their jobs and too old to go on anymore, a new pair is formed.

Now, not just anyone can be these creatures. They’re chosen before they’re even born. The two who are chosen are mates for life, from birth until death. There is no other way.

Your father and I are members of the society which takes care of these God-given creatures. When I was pregnant with you, we were summoned to a gathering. All the pregnant couples in this group came together. The high priest, Galchobar, was there for what reason we did not know.

He walked through the mass of people, touching each woman’s stomach. After he had done so with all the pregnant women he went up to the altar, first calling out the man’s name, Lyle Fontaine, then the woman’s name, Sierra Fontaine.

They walked up to the altar with him. He beckoned us to say the chant of unity. Then he stopped us and spoke another man’s name. This time he said David Devlin, then he said Antonia Devlin, and we walked to the altar. The same process was repeated.

It was our unborn children who were chosen to be the next pair. Your names were given to us at that time. Yours, of course, was Alyssa, which means ‘princess’ in Greek. The Fontaine’s were given the name Eden, which means full of fire.

After conferring with the Fontaines, we made an agreement you would be raised in a very normal environment, as long as we kept you chaste.

It was your father’s and my intent to give you at least a few years of normal before you had to begin an extraordinary life. Not a bad life, by any means. It will be fantastic, Alyssa,” my mother tells me in a soft and comforting voice.

I open my eyes, not really believing the story she just told to me. “Mom, are you on acid?” I ask her.

“What? Oh, heavens no, silly girl,” she admonishes me.

I sit up very slowly, then turn and look her in the eye. “Mom, are you telling me that me and the gorgeous stranger are some kind of flying people? That we are destined to be together or some shit like that?” I ask.

“Alyssa, I will not have you talking like that. You’re about to step into a very important role. Now, Eden has been groomed for his role his entire life. We sheltered you, a fact that now I don’t think was fair to you, but it’s done, nevertheless. Now we have to get you to grasp onto your immediate future and all that it entails,” she tells me.

“So, where is Kyle in all this?” I ask.

“Sorry, sweetie, Kyle is nowhere in this,” she says.

“Mom, you let me be his best friend since I was ten years old, and now, oh sorry, that’s over. Ummm … not so easy to do, okay?” I gripe.

“I realize that now, but it changes nothing,” she says.

“Yeah, it does. He has feelings too, Mom. What about him? This will kill him, if he even believes me. Who is going to believe me Mom? This is ridiculous. When are you going to tell me I’m on some kind of morbid TV show where parents prank their kids with really mean pranks?”

“You can’t tell anyone about this, Alyssa. They won’t understand,” she tells me.

“Well, you got that right, Mom. Like, who would understand that a couple of babies were summoned up from hell, or wherever, to rule the skies as giant birds?” I ask.

“Stop that right now, Alyssa. You are not from hell. Far from it. You come from all which is good. The things you will do are for the good of mankind and there is not one thing evil about it,” she tells me sternly.

“Unless you count the part where you make a couple of kids spend the rest of their life together. Whether they want to or not. I mean, can’t I be this creature and still be with who I want to?” I ask.

Oh, boy, that sounds dumb. Am I beginning to believe this crap? Yeah, I’m going to turn into a big bird, squawk. Mom has lost it, I thought.

Needless to say, it was all true.

Grace and Rodney let Scotty’s hands go and we all wait for his reaction. As his eyes open, I see new depth to them. “No way!” he says. He looks at me. “No way! You’re going to be a giant bird, sis.”

Everyone in the room laughs at his reaction. He looks around at all of us. “I can’t believe you kept this a secret from us, Mom and Dad,” he says, then comes and gives me a hug, much to my surprise. “I’m really sorry about all those jokes I played on you, Ally. Please forgive me. I’d never have done those things to you if I’d known what you are.”

My mother and Eden’s share an, “Awww, how sweet.”

I hug my brother, then ruffle his hair. “I forgive you, Bubba. It’s what little brothers do, after all.”

He gives me a smile and says, “Thanks, Al. You’re the best.”

The butler announces dinner is being served in the formal dining room and Eden takes me by the waist. We follow the old man through a myriad of halls and rooms until we reach a spectacular dining room. It’s even more beautiful than the five-star restaurant Eden took me to.

Now this is the life!

Eden pulls out a chair for me at the enormous table. I sit and he takes the place next to me. The other Phoenix couple sits across from us. It’s odd, but I have no questions to ask them, because they’ve told me everything in short clips of visions in my mind.

When they held my hands, I saw things so quickly it’s not humanly possible to process the information. Yet I did. Here I was thinking this whole time that I was plain old Alyssa Devlin, ordinary girl. I thought my destiny was to become Kyle Boyd’s wife and mother of his children. Nothing more than that.

Wow! I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Apparently, these creatures have existed for thousands and thousands of years. The couple who sits across from us doesn’t look it, but they’re one hundred and fifty years old, and they don’t look like they’re kicking the bucket anytime soon. They appear to be in excellent health. Both are still attractive, with few wrinkles and silky, shiny silver hair.

Grace has green eyes. In her younger years, they were a brilliant almost teal color. The years have faded them some, but not a lot. Rodney had chocolate brown eyes when he was young. His have faded a bit too, but they still radiate compassion. That’s what I feel the most in them is a compassion for others.

I know it dwells in myself, as well as in Eden. It will enhance once we’re able to change. So many things will enhance. They couldn’t show me the future, only the past. What our gifts will be is unknown, as each pair has different ones. But it’s the overwhelming compassion for all creatures which drive the Phoenixes.

An odd fact they shared was about birth control and how it doesn’t work on us. They’ve had five children in their marriage of one hundred and thirty two years. We’ll have children when Our Creator wants us to.

That’s another thing they gave me—faith. I believe without a shadow of doubt in Our Creator. Never have I had such a strong belief.

The only thing which bothers me about all of this is the knowledge that Kyle will never leave my heart. I made a place for him there and he will always reside within me.

My place is with Eden and he has a much larger place in me. He’s in my heart and soul, so much different than the small piece of my heart Kyle’s in. But he is a part of me, and I don’t know how the future will be with him always in my life.

He will be a part of it, though, and Eden, as well as Laura or anyone else who gets involved with Kyle, will have to deal with it the best they can. It’s out of my hands.

A maid fills all the stemmed glasses with a white wine and I look down the table at my parents. Scotty is on the same thought as he says, “Hey, Dad, am I allowed to drink wine?”

“If it’s placed in front of you, it’s yours, son,” my father answers.

Scotty does a funny thing with his eyebrows and says, “Man, life sure has changed, hasn’t it?”

We all find ourselves laughing. Eden’s hand comes to rest on my thigh and I look at him. It’s almost as if I can see right into his soul. I’m so nearly there. I send a thought out to him, shouting it loudly in my head to see if he can see it. ‘Tell me you love me.’ I send it out to him over and over as I look into his emerald eyes.

His knuckles graze my cheek and his caramel lips move as he whispers, “I do love you, Princess.”

Wow!

Grace and Rodney giggle at us, making my attention turn to them. “Did you see that?” I ask.

Rodney answers, “We heard it.”

OMG! They heard it!

‘Taste the wine,’ suddenly fills my head and I reach out to take the glass, taking a sip and finding it sweet and delicious. ‘Do you like it?’ runs through my mind. I turn to look at Eden and smile.

“I do,” I say, and he rewards me with a kiss on my cheek.

“This is fun,” he says as he raises his eyebrows.

Rodney gives Eden a wink, and says, “Just you wait until your wedding night. To be able to communicate with thought will prove quite stimulating to you both.”

I blush and look away, thinking about how men are always thinking about sex.

Grace surprises me as she speaks, “They all do, Alyssa. You’ll see soon enough when you can hear everyone’s thoughts.”

I giggle at the knowledge the couple across from us can hear everything we think. Eden looks at me. “This is so much better now that you know everything about us.”

I kiss his cheek. “It is.”

After dinner, we gather outside in the spacious back yard, if you can call it a yard. It’s roughly the size of a football field and a large and glorious swimming pool is lit up in the middle of it. The sound of the waterfall which flows into it makes a comforting sound in the night.

The Phoenix couple is about to give us a demonstration of their abilities, which will soon be ours. “All you have to do to transform is picture yourself as the bird. You’ll look just like we do, but you’ll keep your distinct eye color,” Rodney tells us.

Grace smiles and says, “You may wish to cover your ears. The boom is quite loud.”

I look at Eden and cover my ears, as does he and the rest of our family. Grace looks up and Rodney looks down, then two simultaneous claps of thunder shake us as they become two giant blackbirds and fly straight up into the air.

I uncover my ears to peer into the night sky. Their dark bodies disappear. A loud shriek makes me throw my hands back over my ears.

We all turn around to face the direction it came from to find them coming in low and landing just in front of us. They stand still and let us touch them.

I’m amazed by them and the fact I’ll soon be one. Their feathers shimmer in the patio lights. So black their feathers are, that they sometimes appear blue.

Gorgeous!

A small squawk comes from Grace, her head nods, and I know she wants us to step back. Both birds close their eyes for about two seconds and they’re back to people again.

“To return to your human form, you simply see yourself as that, and presto, you’re back,” Grace says.

Scotty gawks at them and says, “If I hadn’t seen it, I’d never believe it. I wish I could tell my friends, but they’d call me a liar.”

Rodney looks at him. “You can never tell anyone. You can only talk about our kind with members of The Phoenix Foundation. They’re our protectors and benefactors. It’s them who bought our homes and cars and pay for everything for us.”

“Homes?” I ask.

Grace puts her arm around me as she walks with me. “We have homes all over the world, Alyssa. We’ve taken the home in England for our children and their families to keep after our time as Phoenixes is over and your time begins. Other than that one property, the rest will belong to you and Eden.”

“I can’t believe it. Tell me, Grace, is it a dangerous life we’ll lead?” I ask.

“At times, yes. But we have a superior homeostasis,” Grace says. “Once, I got knocked out of the sky from a great height by an airplane. I fell all the way to the ground, broke several bones, and suffered from bleeding on the brain. I transformed into my human self once I went unconscious. Rodney was fine and he got an ambulance, saying I’d fallen from a helicopter we were riding in that was not nearly as far up as I really was.”

I look at her with sadness. “Oh, that’s terrible.”

“It all turned out fine. Thanks to our ability to heal faster than normal humans, I was better in a week. Thankfully, we have doctors all over the world who are part of our protectors and he was able to help me,” she says, then gives me a squeeze. “The doctor who cared for you after your little accident is one of them, as is your Doctor Baker, or Byron, as we like to call him. Did you know it was me who stopped you from running into the path of that truck?”

“I didn’t know that,” I say, “But I have flash backs of the two of you being there, though I saw nothing at the time.”

“I caught you up by your shoulders and flew up a bit with you. The fright must have made you pass out, and when I placed you on the ground you fell a bit harder then I meant for you to,” she says with a frown. “I’m sorry for that, Alyssa. I didn’t mean to. You see, that’s why it’s time to let you guys take over. We aren’t as strong as we used to be.”

I pat her hand and say, “You’ve done enough in your time, I’m sure. We’ll take over and make you proud, I promise.”

“I know you will, dear. In a matter of days, the adventure which will be your long life will begin. I’m happy to have met you and Eden. The Phoenix legacy is safe with you two,” she says with a hug.

I cannot believe it. I’m a legacy!

CHAPTER 28

EDEN

Never could I have imagined how complete I could feel. Alyssa has been enlightened and we are finally as we were meant to be.

I’m truly sorry I kept this from us both for so long. So much pain we’ve both suffered for no real reason. And now Kyle is attached to my mate forever.

Wish I’d seen that coming!

We’re on the jet headed back to Cloudcroft for Alyssa’s graduation. My parents came too. They’re enthralled with Alyssa, never having had a daughter of their own to bestow dainty gifts on and chat with.

I am not a chatter.

Instead of sitting with my mate, I’m playing video games with Scotty. He and I need to bond, Alyssa told me. He’s a nice kid and he’s kicking my ass at this game that I’ve been playing for years.

Alyssa sends me little thoughts now and again, telling me she loves me and wants me. I send them back, along with how I’m going to devour her tomorrow after we’re married.

She chats away with my mother, and I find it funny to send her a mental picture of me kissing her between her naked breasts as she tangles her hands in my hair. She turns back and gives me a wicked look. I wiggle my finger for her to come to me. Excusing herself from my mother’s company, she does as I’ve asked.

“Come, sit, and play with me,” I say.

She sits on my lap and takes the controller from my hands. Scotty looks over at us for a second and rolls his eyes. “Lovebirds, yuk!”

I run my hand through my mate’s long, silky curls. I graze her shoulder with my lips and find myself beginning to get uncomfortable in my slacks. ‘Control yourself, Romeo,’ Alyssa’s voice tells me in my head.

‘Take me to the bedroom,’ I think back to her.

She returns with, ‘There is no way in hell I’m going to do that with a plane full of people.’

I send, ‘They won’t care.’

She puts the controller down, giving me hope. Then she turns on my lap. “You’re being very naughty, Mr. Porno Thinker,” she whispers in my ear.

Porno! Really!

I stroke her cheek as I look into her spectacular blue eyes. They’re different now, so open and really seeing me. “After we’re married tomorrow, I’m going to keep you in bed for at least a week,” I whisper back.

She trails her finger around my jaw. “Glad to hear that.”

In an instant, she sends me an image that makes me blush, it’s so naughty. “Alyssa!” I hiss at her. “That’s just too much to take. You have to stop, you temptress.”

“As you wish, sir,” she says with a wicked smile.

“Go back and chat with mother. Take your mind off such things. You’re killing me,” I say, sending her away with a small slap to her perfect ass.

The change in her is exciting. No fear, no doubt, no inhibition. She’s real for the first time in her life. She’s letting her true self out, and it’s beyond beautiful.

We land and make our way back to the Devlin’s home. I’m staying in Alyssa’s bedroom with her so my parents can have the guest room. This will make it so much harder than it has been to keep our virginity intact, especially as my mate seems to tempt me on a nearly continual basis.

Even now as she unpacks some of the clothes from her room at the mansion and hangs them next to the plain clothes she’s worn her whole life, she sends me images of us.

Then she stops and looks at me, her mind blank to me. “I need to go talk to them before I see them tonight,” she says.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask.

“No. I need to do this on my own. I’m no longer hurt by their actions. I know why, and I need to let them know I’m fine with it. I’ll be back in a little while,” she says.

She picks up the keys to her jeep and I place my hand on hers. Reaching in my pocket, I give her the keys to my car. “Take the jag, princess. Retire that old jeep.”

Her eyes light up. “Really, Eden? You’ll let me drive it? And all alone? OMG!”

I laugh at her over-the-top enthusiasm. “What’s mine is yours, mate.”

She leaves a quick kiss on my cheek, then she’s gone. I hear her take two stairs at a time as she flies out of the house. Out the window, I watch her walk around the jag, trailing her finger over its curves.

She gets in, puts the top down and reaches into the glove compartment for her sunglasses. Once she has them on, she looks like a model from a magazine. Perfect in every way.

Now that’s how my princess is supposed to look. Confident, happy, and out of this world.

‘Thank you, Eden. I love you,’ she sends to me before she disappears down the driveway.

I wander down to help Toni and my mother decorate a cake for Alyssa’s graduation. Our fathers are going over some plans for the wedding at the mansion tomorrow. I overheard them discussing security. They seemed a bit intense and I want none of that.

After all the intense emotions I’ve had to endure since meeting my mate face to face, I’m ready for some relaxed time. Decorating a graduation cake for my princess sounds like just what I need.

“Hey, Toni. Mother. Is there room for one more decorator on this cake?” I ask as I enter the kitchen.

“Of course there is,” Toni says as she hands me some little, white, candy pearls. “Place those around the edge, darling.”

I open the container and begin pushing the candy into the icing. A bit gets on my finger and I bring it to my lips, licking it off. “Go wash that hand, son,” mother says.

“Aw, I shouldn’t have done that,” I whine as I go to the sink and wash my hands.

“Where’d Ally go?” Toni asks.