Teach Me: Sinful Desires (25 page)

Destini half excepted to see an iron crank sticking out of her back that Mitchell Gaylor wound up every other minute to get her to move. She walked ahead and Bryce’s father followed. Destini swallowed the nervous bile rising in her throat.

“You said they invited me,” she hissed between her teeth.

“I said I wanted you to have dinner with them,” Bryce replied coolly. His hand remained tightly clasped around hers. Together they walked the long breezeway that opened to a parlor to the right and a billiard room to the left. Then there was another sitting room with walls of bookshelves. These things she caught from the corners of her eyes. It was Thaddeus Carson Gaylor who held her transfixed. He walked out into the parlor sipping from a brandy glass. He paused and locked eyes with her.

“We have company this evening,” Thaddeus said.

“Your brother thought it appropriate to bring a guest,” Mitchell Gaylor responded.

“Ah, this should make dinner interesting,” Thaddeus chuckled. “Good evening Ms. Sanders. We’ve met.”

“Hello,” she replied dryly.

“Shall we?” Bryce asked.

The men looked to him and then each other. They started toward the dinning area. She kept her vision trained on the destination ahead and steeled herself against the sour feel of rejection and corruption she felt could be her life if she and Bryce were to be a true couple.

For their arrival to not be planned, the setting didn’t indicate so. The table was long enough to seat twenty comfortably. Mitchell Gaylor sat at the head of the table. His wife, Arlene, was up and behind him smoothing his shoulders, making sure he was seated comfortably. She turned to one of her staff, pointing at his empty glass and whispering nervously. This Destini observed, all while Mitchell Gaylor kept his eyes trained on her. Thaddeus sat to the left of his father. He too stared at her coolly. Bryce led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her to sit. He took the one between her and his father, and she was grateful.

Finally, Arlene joined them, but again Destini noticed that all Arlene saw was Mitchell. The woman seemed to bloom whenever his eyes were cast her way and fade when he dismissed her. It was utter bullshit, and it was making Destini angrier by the minute.

“So do tell what this impromptu visit is about,” Mitchell asked.

“You first, father. I’m told you sent Thaddeus to pay Destini a visit.”

Destini stiffened. Thaddeus chuckled. The threat Thaddeus had delivered was still ringing in her ears. Mitchell cut her an amused smirk. “I thought they had a nice chat. Thaddeus always greets the new members of the staff. Did he do anything to offend, Ms. Sanders?”

“Her name is Destini!” Bryce snapped. “And don’t blame her. I found out about his visit on my own. You really should make your clandestine trips to the school less obvious if you are out to intimidate and threaten those that work for me.”

Now Mitchell cut his son down with hate-filled eyes. Thaddeus seem bored with the conversation. He preferred to stare at Destini directly. But his face remained stony, expressionless. Never in her life had Destini seen a man wield so much power and control with his eyes. Bryce challenged his father with an icy glare of his own. The tension at the table was palpable. Destini hoped that Arlene would intervene, but she seemed unaware of anything that was happening in the room.

“Destini is my... she’s my lover and my friend. She works for Gaylor and will continue to do so. I want you to treat her with respect. The both of you. Are we clear?”

“Bryce—” Destini said. She put her hand on his knee under the table.

“Do we understand each other, father? We had an agreement about my return. Push me and I’ll leave.”

“Perfectly, son.” Mitchell cast his gaze back to Destini, and for the first time she saw warmth there instead of the normal chill. But like a spider approaching a struggling cocooned fly in his web, she knew not to trust it. “Ms. Sanders, Destini, forgive me and Thaddeus. If we were anything but hospitable with you. Welcome to Gaylor and to my home.”

“I, um, thanks,” she said.

She looked to Bryce. The tension in his clamped jaw didn’t lessen. Neither did his glare toward his father. Arlene made a giggling sound, and finally the tension abated.

“Oh my, dear... I forgot to add the rolls to the dinner menu tonight. Look at this. How could we have the crab bisque without the rolls? They’re Mitchell’s favorite. Are you terribly upset, dear?”

Mitchell ignored his wife, and her awkward chatter soon drifted away. And so the dinner began. First the soup and salad were presented, then the main entree. Destini barely tasted the food. She listened as Bryce updated his father and brother on the school and the staff there. She listened as Thaddeus asked a question or two, but often caught his gaze returning to her. Finally, when it was over, she thought they could leave. But Mitchell made it clear he and his sons were to have words alone. It was the first time that Arlene addressed her directly. Again, with the wind-up delivery after Mitchell gave the approving nod, she suggested they have a glass of sherry in her solarium.

Bryce kissed Destini’s hand in front of his parents. He leaned in and whispered in her ear: “I won’t be long. Bear with me a little while longer, beautiful.”

She forced a smile.

He left.

“This way, Destini. Oh, Destini, is such a wonderful name. I wished my name was Destini. It evokes such poetry when uttered, more so than Arlene.”

“Thank you,” grimaced Destini.

They travelled two halls, one with picture windows that showcased the manicured lawns. Destini kept expecting to see rose bushes with dark flowers in bloom. She didn’t. That was, until she entered the solarium. The garden had both red and black roses in bloom everywhere.

Arlene didn’t dawdle. She quickly accepted a glass from a silver tray held by a servant whose face was as blank as all the others. “For you, my dear.”

My dear?
“Thank you, Mrs. Gaylor,” Destini said.

“Come now. And do call me Arlene. Let’s have a chat, shall we? So you like my boy, Bryce?”

Destini sipped her wine instead of answering. She didn’t think Arlene would truly listen if she did. The way she spoke was too rehearsed—detached. “He’s a good boy, like his grandfather. Both of them are good men.”

“And what about your other son. Thaddeus? Is he a good boy?” Destini asked casually.

“Thaddeus is like his father dear. Very much so,” she replied.

“How long have you been married?”

“Married?”

“Yes, you and Mr. Gaylor.”

“Oh. Yes. Married,” Arlene chuckled, sipped, and then chuckled again. “We are indeed married, I suppose. Yes. We were married. I remember the church. It was the last time I saw my father and mother in Wales. Before—”

Destini stared at Arlene waiting. Had her wind-up crank finally run down? “Arlene, are you okay?”

“Mmm, yes, I do like wine. I wonder if Mitchell wants wine now. Do you think he wants wine? I’m sure he hasn’t thought of it, but if he has, well I must be sure. Excuse me, dear.”

Destini watched her hurry off, calling for someone. She whispered to the servant while clutching her hands together. The servant nodded obediently and hurried off.

Arlene finally returned. “There, crisis averted. Now where were we?”

“Your husband, you were talking about the ceremony.”

Arlene’s eyes shot to Destini in alarm. “I was not!”

“The wedding?” Destini corrected herself, confused.

“Oh, yes, you mean wedding ceremony. How silly of me. Of course I was talking about that. Yes, that was some time ago. I was sixteen then.”

“What?” Destini blanched.

Arlene nodded. “Yes, Mitchell... he’s from a very respected family at home. My father’s brother was Lord over Gaylor and lived  here in America. When he died all of the Gaylor wealth was willed to my dad. He and Mitchell’s father arranged my marriage so that Mitchell could run the family business.”

“Why didn’t your father do it?”

“Unfortunately I was the only child. A girl. We need men, boys, to carry the tradition. We had none. So this was for the best. Mitchell chose me. It was an honor. I hope the same for my daughters.”

Destini choked on the sherry. Arlene looked over at her, confused, but offered no assistance. Putting her fist to her mouth, she tried to calm the burn in her throat. “Excuse me, did you say daughters?”

“Yes, I have five?”

“FIVE?”

“Bryce’s sisters. They were all sent to live with my family, but Mitchell let me keep Bryce and Thaddeus. Our boys. A son is important. Yes. Yes. Very important.”

“Um, I think I’m going to leave now.”

Bryce entered, his timing perfect as always. He walked straight for her. “You ready?”

She hadn’t been so happy to see someone in all her life. She couldn’t wait to escape Arlene and her quiet madness. More importantly, she had the terrifying feeling that it was contagious.

Take a long look down the rabbit hole, Destini. This is where the bottom fills. Look at Arlene. Bet she knows pleasure. And a whole lotta pain too! Ha!

Once back in her car with Gaylor Manor in their rearview mirror, Destini found the ability to catch her breath. So many questions churned in her head, she felt like her brain would explode.

“Stop the car!”

“What?”

“Stop the damn car!” she shouted at him.

Bryce drove down a side road where the cover of trees thinned and nearly pitched the car toward an embankment. Destini threw open her car door and got out, taking in deep breaths of air. She inhaled soil, the pine, the wet leaves and decaying vegetation and it was wonderful. It was better than the putrid stench of secrecy behind Gaylor’s walls. Then it came up. Dinner spewed from her in slimy chunks. Bryce was at her side holding her up. He pulled her back when she was done. Resting her on the car, he went inside and found some take-out napkins that were shoved down in the dash. She wiped her mouth, and the tears welled.

“I had to take you to meet them, Destini. So you could understand. If I’m broken, it’s not because I want to be. Do you understand?”

“No,” she said sadly. “You have sisters.”

“Mother told you?”

“You would have told me if we really mattered.” She shoved him off. Destini stepped over the gravel, headed for the embankment. Her heels sank into the moist earth making her waddle some. She turned her coat to keep it from billowing open. The wind licked away her loosely falling tears. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you? Tell the woman I desire that my father has five daughters he’s never laid eyes on, outside of their birth. That he cast them aside like trash and continued to breed with my mother until she gave him a son? Two sons. And then he had her fixed so she couldn’t have any more kids. Oh! Should I have mentioned that I don’t even know my sister’s names?”

“Bryce. You’re a grown man! You continue this!”

“Continue it? I ran like hell from it. I cast my name aside. Left all the money behind. I only came back…”

“Because of me?” Destini said in horror. “What Thaddeus said was true. He lured you back by using me.”

“You think I can escape it now? Do you? Now that I’ve shown you my darkness and learned how to find love with in it?”

Destini shook her head in disbelief. “I can.”

Bryce nodded. “I had hoped you would see things differently, see me differently. I would never treat you like he treats
her
.”

“Your mother. Call her that. It’s what she is.”

“You met the woman. She’s a vessel, a shell of a creature, something for his pleasure. She stopped being a mother to me long ago.”

Destini threw up her hands. She turned from him, hands to hips. Her mother was controlling, to the point of smothering, but even she couldn’t imagine being raised by that woman, Arlene.

It’s not your problem, Destini. Bryce, Sir, whoever the fuck he calls himself, is not your problem. He’s a man with issues, like all the other men you’ve dealt with. You had a good run, some fun times. Now get out. Get out while you can. Or do you want to be Arlene?

Bryce stepped behind her. His arms encircled her. She sank into the comfort of his embrace. He was so strong and protective when he wanted to be. “I don’t know how this can work, Sir.”

“Take a few days away from me, from Gaylor. Think about us and my feelings for you.”

“Feelings?” she broke free of his arms and faced him. “What are they? These feelings?”

“You know what they are,” he said.

“No. You have yet to tell me what they are. But if you want me then you’ll have to be able to say it. Truly tell me. While I’m gone, you do the same. You think about those feelings and what they mean. Then we’ll talk.”

“That’s fair, but what of tonight? Can I come to your bed tonight? Hold you. Just us, with nothing between us but this.” He kissed her neck. Soft, passionate, sweet, it was a kiss that melted her bones under her skin. He swept her up in his arms and held her to his heart. Her head dropped on his shoulder. A soft mewl escaped her throat. She loved him. But she knew better than to say so now.

***

Why did she agree to it? There were several reasons. First, she wanted him. Plain and simple. Destini wanted to feel Sir in her, on her, next to her, to be hers forever. He was right, that on most nights when she distanced herself from him she couldn’t breathe. Second, she knew it wasn’t what his father or brother wanted. She would enjoy defying those evil bastards, again. And last, she knew the truth. This, whatever she had with Sir, would end. Tonight would have to be their goodbye. No matter how much her heart begged her, Bryce’s world wasn’t one she could ever become part of.

They arrived to her dark cottage. She never looked back. She tossed her purse to the side and shrugged off her coat, letting it fall to the floor. Her obsessive need to put everything in its place, in its order, was replaced by the basest primal of urges. It began with her on all fours and him drilling her pussy to oblivion. She entered her bedroom.

Destini heard him outside the door. The soft clicks of the double bolts and his stride as he crossed the room to follow her. He arrived in time to see the zipper of her dress ease down. Destini cut him a sexy look over her shoulder. “Help?”