Page 1 of Indecent Villain

1

PROLOGUE

Kinsley

Fragile.

I feel like I’m going to fracture into a thousand pieces.

I stand silent and motionless beside my parents' graves, rain soaking me to the skin. The wind whistles around my body as I remain unresponsive to the penetrating darkness directed at me by Tiberius Beckett, my father's brother. The man stands tall in his dark suit, his piercing gaze seeming to search for something within me, as if he knows a secret I’m not even aware of. Despite the storm raging around us, his presence feels more unsettling than the howling wind.

My tears mix with the rain and flow down my cold cheeks. The priest speaks loudly and clearly, but his words blend as my mind refuses to comprehend them. I swallow hard as my mother's casket is lowered into the earth. Then that of my father follows. It is the end for them, and for me, too. Tiberius, at my father’s request, has become my legal guardian. He doesn't want me, just as I do not want him. I tell myself I’ll endure for the next two weeks until I turn eighteen. It’s not long, but it feels like an eternity.

I pray that I survive the man with silver eyes.

But no one survives Tiberius Beckett.

Tiberius

Fragile.

Kinsley looks like the wind will blow her over any second. The girl does not trust me. She will. My fingers yearn to stretch across the space between us and take her in my arms. I am a hard man. But with Kinsley, my heart is fucking mush. She is my vulnerability. The girl has been in my head for a while now. It kills me to stand here and watch her suffer alone.

She is unaware of the danger she is in, just as she is unaware that my men are hidden around the cemetery to keep her safe. Me too. However, they know she is their priority. I can take care of myself, but Kinsley cannot. She needs me, even if she doesn't realize it yet.

The rain falls harder as my brother and his wife are now in the ground. Other mourners and the priest take their leave, while Kinsley and I remain. I stare at her. Kinsley lifts her face, her eyes finding mine. I don’t look away, and neither does she. We stand there in silence as the rain soaks us both. In that moment, I know that I will do whatever it takes to keep the defiant young woman safe, even if it means revealing my true feelings.

2

KINSLEY

Three days after the funeral,the rain continues to fall. The gardens have turned into fields of mud, and even the long driveway has puddles. My grand home looks gothic surrounded by the dark clouds and rain, but in the sun, it is beautiful. I’ve always found the house to be too spacious for our small family. The house once bustled with numerous servants, but that was before my time and before my father’s as well. Grandfather used to tell me about the garden parties his mother hosted when he was six. Sadly, not long after that, there was a war. He said most of the servants left and took up arms for their country—mostly the men, but some of the women did too, I guess.

Sighing, I consider my predicament. Tiberius is a strange man and has the power to unnerve me. I think back to my younger years but can’t really put my finger on when I started to feel that way. Maybe it had more to do with my father being unsettled around his brother than anything else. I must have picked up on his unease and let it affect me. However, Tiberius does nothing to help dispel those feelings around him. I think he enjoys it. I’m not like my father, though. I won’t let the man push me around. I may have been showing weakness since my parents died, but no more. I’m not a little moth who needs nurturing. I’m nearly eighteen years old but feel older.

If I’m honest with myself, there is a slither of happiness within me that I will no longer be held prisoner in my home. My parents were afraid of something in the months leading to their deaths and had kept me home with a private tutor. I don’t miss the city, but I do miss going into town, even if it is only for a cup of coffee while I watch the world go by. It’s better than being locked up inside the Lake House.

I press a hand to my stomach, trying to quell the bundle of nerves that suddenly rises as I watch a large black car appear through the trees along the driveway. The wheels kick up muddy water as Tiberius brings the beast to a stop close to the front entrance. Another car, this one silver and sleek, pulls in beside the black one. The man has arrived, along with my parents’ attorney.

Tiberius climbs from the driver’s side of the car, while another man emerges from the passenger seat. They exchange words.

The attorney, Mr. Arnold Fielding, exits his car and runs for the front door. Tiberius takes one step and seems to be frozen to the spot. His head suddenly turns, and his gray eyes lift and find mine. Stunned, I gasp, but I refuse to look away first. My heart thumps heavily behind my breastbone. How did he know I was watching, and from where? He snaps his attention back to his passenger, a man in jeans and a tee. Unnerved, I head into the bathroom and splash cold water onto my face. I pat it dry with a fluffy towel. The mirror before me reflects my drawn expression. Dark circles are prominent beneath my eyes, the color matching my long hair.

A knock on my bedroom door draws my attention. I swallow hard, knowing there will be no escaping the next hour or so. Today is the reading of the will, followed by lunch with Tiberius. I am overjoyed.

Another knock.

“One moment,” I shout.

I slide my feet into the shoes I kicked off earlier and take one last glance in the mirror. The dark color of my midi dress does nothing for my washed-out look. I open the door and catch the impatient look on the housekeeper’s face.

“About time,” Martha snaps before briskly turning away.

I roll my eyes and inhale, holding my breath for a few seconds before slowly exhaling. It helps center me when I know I am about to face danger. That is what Tiberius Beckett is to me—the devil himself.

And there he is.

His dark-gray eyes follow me as I move down the staircase, his body remaining still like a predator. I refuse to let him see the nerves that threaten to break me in his presence. He is the kind of man who, if you give him an inch, he will take a mile.

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