StealingThe Bride (11 page)

She
nodded. Her voice unable to make it passed the tightness of her throat.

The
warmth of his hand covered hers. “Talk to me, Leya. Your body may have drawn me
to you on the island, but, it’s not why I couldn’t stay away from you. Or the
reason I wanted you to extend your stay with me.” His thumb caressed the back
of her fingers. “Let me in, princess, I want to know the woman I feel in love
with.”

Now
not only was her voice gone but the air dissolved in her lungs at his words.
She wondered if he’d feel the same once she let him in. Her apprehension about
losing him with the truth was overshadowed by her fear of losing him if she
didn’t share it.

He
sat silent as she got herself together.

“I
was raised all over this area. I know every street like they were carved out of
the lines of my palms. I was the daughter of a fifteen year old who found
herself kicked out of her parent’s house. My mom dropped out of school and did
things to make sure I had food in my stomach every night and a coat in the
winter. She moved me around from one place to the next until I was in middle
school. She got a steady job and Section 8 housing in the projects that we
drove by on the boulevard.”

“Just
like the children in the villages in Bali, I’ve been in more lines getting
handouts than dollars we had in the bank.” She paused as tears spilled down her
face.

He
squeezed her hand, encouraging her to continue.

“Don’t
get me wrong. My mother did the best she could. She worked hard, kept me safe
from dealers and other bad influences, and was home every night helping with
homework the best she could. She instilled in me the need to go to college and
do better.”

Leya
loved her mother more than anything for that. “I got scholarships to college
and financial aid. While I was at UVA, my mom got her diploma and an associate
degree. Soon she got her own place off state assistance. I pay her rent because
I want to. I also give academic scholarships yearly to two local Norfolk high
school graduates.”

“That’s
nothing to be ashamed of, princess.”

Shaking
her head, she wiped her tears. “I try not to be ashamed of my life. I know what
I’ve accomplished in spite of it all, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it had
shaped every aspect of who I’ve become.” She gazed out the window at the
building. “I fear ending up in a place like this so much I can’t breathe at
times.”

Kolby’s
interlocked his fingers with hers as he lifted their hands and kissed the back
of hers.

“That
was a big part of my travel and stay in Bali. I was trying to free myself.”

“Did
it work?” His lips brushed her skin as he spoke.

“If
it had, I would’ve called my boss and told her I needed a few more days away
from work. Instead I ran away because I knew I was falling for a man I thought
was happy living on the low end of the scale.”

“Would
that have been so bad?”

“I
don’t know,” she answered honestly.

He
lowered their hands. “How about we start with what we do know.”

“Which
is?”

“You
care for me. I care for you.”

Reaching
up, she stroked his face in the shadowed interior. “I couldn’t stop my feelings
for you.”

“Let’s
not try. How about we start with dinner and no pretenses and see where it goes?”

Smiling,
she said, “I’d like that.” For the first time in her life she felt like she was
in the presences of a man she wouldn’t mind taking home to meet her mother. “Do
you mind if I cook?”

“You’re
going to have me wrapped around your finger.”

Before
the night was through they’d eaten, laughed, talked into the wee hours and
greeted the sunrise with Kolby moving deep and slow inside of her. As he made
love to her, Leya for the first time gave herself mind, body, and soul and
began to trust her future in someone else’s hands.

Chapter Eight

“Where
are we going?” Leya sat in the back of a stretch limo with Kathryn and
Summer
. When she had arrived at Pappa’s Pancake restaurant
for their breakfast meet, her friends had been waiting outside and ushered her
into the vehicle.

“Can’t
you be patient?” Summer asked.

“You’ll
see,” Kathryn added.

Not
getting any more information from her friends, she had no other choice but to
wait as the car traveled along the interstate and highway.

Forty
minutes later, it pulled into the Executive Airstrip in Suffolk.

“What
are we doing at the airport?” Leya wasn’t sure what her two friends were up to,
but she was hesitant about boarding a plane. In a few hours she had plans with
Kolby. After a full month of dating with no secrets, she’d fallen head over
heels in love with him. He was a brilliant man with a generous nature and a
determination to make her happy.

They’d
had dinner with her mom, who thought he hung the moon, and socialized with both
their friends. Last weekend they’d drove to Northern Virginia and she met his
parents, who treated her like family. Most nights he spent at her house, except
when he traveled out of town for business, like the last two days. She missed
him a lot and couldn’t wait to see him when he walked into her front door.

Both
of her friends took hold of her hand in the back of the limo as the driver
opened the door.

“Just
trust us,” Kathryn implored.

“We
promise you won’t regret it,”
Summer
declared.

Exhaling
a slow breath, she stared at the two people she loved like sisters, they had
all been through a lot and they knew how happy Kolby made her and wouldn’t do
anything to jeopardize her relationship.

“Fine.
Let’s go,” she agreed.

Smiling,
Summer
led the way out of the car.

Once
seated on the small private jet as it accelerated down the runway, Kathryn
said, “You know this would have been easier if we tranquilized her coffee. You’re
a doctor with drugs at your disposal.”

Leya
shook her head. “Thanks a lot, Kat.”

Summer
laughed. “I just didn’t want to have to drag her limp body out the restaurant.”

“The
limo driver had hands. He could’ve managed.”

Aghast,
Leya took the glass of wine from the attendant as the woman set a tray of
grapes, cheese, and crackers before them. “This trip better be worth all this
verbal abuse,
Summer
and Kat.”

“Oh,
it is.” Summer popped a grape in her mouth as Kat gave her a conspiratory wink.

*
* * *

“What’s
going on, Kolby?”

Kolby
watched the woman he loved waltz into the lavish Lakeshore establishment in Las
Vegas. Her two best friends followed her in, and he gave his accomplices a nod
as an attendant showed them to the dressing room. If it had not been for
Kathryn and
Summer
aiding him in planning a wedding in
a week, he might have been lost. When he’d secretly met with them two days ago
at a Starbucks in Hampton before he left they had told him not to worry, they
would have her on his private plane and on time for the wedding. And they had
done just that.

With
Leya he was like a bee drawn to the right flower. One particular flower,
different from all the others, she was the perfect nectar that saturated his
soul. He loved her.

They
stood at the closed doors leading to the chapel. Getting down on one knee, he
began, “I guess it’s a little late for me to be asking for your hand in
marriage, but we didn’t start with doing things traditionally, no need to
change things.”

Staring
down at him, Leya’s voice came out in hushed tones. “You want to marry me?”

Claiming
both of her hands, he squeezed them. “Oh, princess, I could think of nothing I’ve
desired more than spending the rest of my life with you.”

“I
can’t believe you did this.” She looked around.
“Brought me
here, just to propose.”

“Oh, no, sweetheart.
That’s not it.” He shook his
head. “If I was only proposing, I might have to wait for you to plan the
wedding and that would mean watching you budget and calculate everything for
cost. It could take months.” He winked at her.

“I’m
not that bad.”

His
arched a brow at her words.

“Okay,
maybe a little bit. But, I’ve been planning my wedding for years. I’ve
practically got it down tight.”

“I
know, princess.” He’d gone to see her mother and asked for Leya’s hand, the old-fashion
way and explained what he wanted to do. Vaughn Greenwood had supported him
wholeheartedly and had given him an album Leya had kept since she was younger
depicting her perfect wedding. He just hoped he’d done it justice. “Besides I
couldn’t risk you running away on me.”

“Never again.
I love you, Kolby.” She cupped
his cheek and then ran her fingers through his tapered hair, at times missing
the longer length.

“I
love you too, Leya, but a roomful of people are on standby until you answer me.”

Light
sparkled in her dark brown eyes as they filled with tears. “Yes, I’ll marry
you.”

After
he rose, he then pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

When
they broke apart, he said, “Now go get dressed and I’ll meet you at the altar.”

He
watched as his bride-to-be followed a woman down the hall to change. With a
full heart, he turned and went to his dressing room to put on his tux.

*
* * *

“Leya,
you make a lovely bride.” Her mother handed her the white rose bouquet as they
prepared to exit the room.

“Oh,
Mom, I feel like I should be pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Leya fought the emotions rising from her heart; she didn’t want to start crying
and ruin her makeup before she made it down the aisle to Kolby.

“This
is no fantasy, baby girl.” Her mother’s identical brown eyes met hers. “You’ve
been through so much and worked so hard, you deserve only the best now. That’s
Kolby. He truly loves you.”

She
saw the tears welling up in her mother’s gaze.

“Yes,
he does. Going to do my best to make sure he doesn’t regret a day of it.”

“If
you make even half a great wife as you have a daughter, he never will.” Her
mother leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek. “I hope you don’t mind I
gave him your book.”

Looking
down at the wedding dress, an exact replica of the one from her album, Leya had
no idea how he’d been able to locate one.
“Not at all.”

“Well,
let’s get out of here. There’s a groom waiting on his bride.”

Her
mother turned to step away, but Leya grabbed her hand and stopped her.

“I
love you, Mom.” She kissed her.

Pressing
her lips together, her mother led the way out the room.

Minutes
later, Leya walked down the aisle with her mother to a traditional wedding
march as she’d planned. The chapel on the lake was decorated in sapphire and
gold, her choice of wedding colors, with chairs filled with family and close
friends of her and Kolby’s. Her two best friends stood in elegant gold dresses
like she’d dreamed; both her maids of honor and the only bridesmaids. On the
other side of Kolby were his best friend and his cousin.

As
her gaze met Kolby’s she almost stumbled from the impact of his intense gaze.
There was so much adoration, devotion, and passion in his eyes it made her
knees weak. She may have orchestrated her perfect wedding on paper, but even
her mind could not fathom the extraordinary feeling of having the man she loved
at the altar before her.

When
her mother gave her hand over to him, she could feel the roughness in his hand,
evidence that he put his hands to work where his money went. How could she not
help but love such an admirable man.

“Dearly
beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman…”
the minister began.

I love you,
she mouthed.

Always and
forever,
he
responded.

About the Author

I’m simply Yvette
Hines. I’m an erotica author that loves pleasurable hours between the sheets; whether
it is a blended tale of interracial lovers, the clandestine bite and wicked
passion of a paranormal lover or the sting of a commanding whip against tender
flesh. Even better, make my day and toss in two gorgeously, decadent men who
only want to pleasure their woman. I write Short and Sexy, Sensual Erotica
(SASSE). Occasionally, you may get a full-length novel from me. However, life
is too busy and most of us have more than one job, family and other activities
that don’t allow us long hours to read any more.

I’ve been penning
erotic tales since 2007, on the hedonistic side of the romance genre. However,
I’ve been writing romance under a different pen for a while. I’m eclectic by
nature.

I’m married to my
best friend.
A guy that makes me laugh ‘til I can’t breathe.
A man who steals my breath every time he walks into a room.
I believe in happily ever after like the rising of the sun depended on it. I’m
a member of Chesapeake Romance Writers and RWA.

You can find out
more about me at:
http://yvettehines.com
or on Facebook and Twitter (@sasseYvetteH)