Page 80 of Trust and Obey

“I met her downstairs. She… seems to be quite the woman.”

“She is. She is strong in a way that I will never be.”

Leaning up, I pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Don’t be so sure of that.”

Deacon graced me with a heart-melting smile. “Well, not only was she okay with the fact that I was dating a man, she reminded me of how young you were at the time, and…” He hesitated. “She told me that your mother wasn’t much of a businesswoman.”

“She isn’t,” I admitted. I hadn’t reached out to her in some time, but I doubted that had changed.

Deacon winced. “Sometimes it’s hard to look back at yourself when you were a kid and not think of the things you saw and experienced from an adult perspective. I forgot that you weren’t involved in the business, too. You must have barely been in high school.”

“Freshman year,” I said grimly, remembering. “One day I was going to a private prep school. And the next…” I lifted up my hand and then dropped it again with a final smack on the couch. Like my whole world crashing down all at once. “I took a few months off, and tried the public-school scene, but—well, the media storm was intense. I couldn’t step out of my house without getting my picture taken and terrible questions about my father being thrown at me.”

“People were out for blood.”

I nodded but said, “I didn’t blame them, even then. The work of so many years and plans for retirement had gone up in smoke. I may have been a self-centered kid, but I still realized what my dad had done. My mom and I lost everything, too. She couldn’t bring herself to go to court and stand by his side, but she sold the houses and cashed in all the accounts to pay for Stephen’s lawyers. And that was before all the civil lawsuits started rolling in.” I closed my eyes, shoving back that old pain. “So, I took my GED to take care of my schooling and started looking into options to escape the country as soon as I could. And… you know the rest.”

“I know the rest,” Deacon repeated. He reached down and brushed some hair away from my face. “And now? Is this the first time you’ve been back in the states since then?”

I nodded. “It’s amazing. So far, no one has recognized me. I don’t know if I’ve lucked out or if the world really has moved on.”

Deacon looked a little pained. “That might not last. Lauren sold her story about me to any blog and news outlet that would pay her.”

I felt myself stiffen, a lingering echo of the old fear rising up again. But it was strange, with Deacon here beside me, the old fear had no teeth. “I’m sure Andy would have told me if someone contacted the resort asking about me or to schedule an interview.” I slanted a smile at him. “I’m afraid I might be old news.”

“A few gossip sites carried the story, but I think you’re right,” he said. “It didn’t make nearly the splash Lauren wanted. My business partners seem to be ignoring it, too. I can’t promise there will never be any media attention, or that a larger news site won’t pick up the gossip later… But Kendall, I promise I will do everything in my power to help block you from the worst of it. Even if you don’t want to stay in the states.”

I took a deep breath. “I do think I want to come back to the states, if you’ll have me.”

“If I’ll—Yes! Are you kidding? Of course I will.” Deacon looked like a kid who had received his Christmas present early. I had only glimpsed this purely happy part of him before. I loved the way disbelief and joy lit up his entire expression. “Are you sure?”

“I am.” And as I said it, I felt the decision settle in my heart. “I’m bored to tears at my job and I’m tired of hiding out. But more importantly, I want to be with you. I know there is a risk—that the news story may gain traction, but I don’t care anymore. I’m willing to risk that for you.”

He looked down at me and I saw the love shining in his eyes.

I tilted my head up, silently asking for a kiss. Deacon gave it to me, his lips over mine. Slow and methodic as if imparting to me an unspoken promise: There would be a lifetime of kisses to come.

My hands ran back through Deacon’s hair. His hands cupped either side of my face as his tongue delved against my own. I groaned softly, my hands tightening against his scalp.

He grabbed my hips to pull me closer, one hand slipping behind to caress up and down my back.

I pulled back with light kisses to the corner of his mouth as if in apology. But I wanted Deacon, and I wanted him properly. Not on a couch, but in a bed.

In our bed.

“Does this grand palace have a bedroom?” I asked lightly.

He smiled. “It has three.”

“Three?” I leaned back to look at him, arching an eyebrow in surprise. “Do you keep a secret haram I don’t know about?”

“No,” he said lightly. “My haram days are over. I only have eyes for you.”

There was a thread of serious intent in that joke. My heart skipped a beat, and I brought him down for another kiss. This time, he was the one to reluctantly break it.

“Actually, I use one as an office, and I sleep in the master, but the third is mostly there for storage. I could easily move those things into storage, get you your own bed and whatever else you need. I can’t imagine you would have a lot of furniture from the island…” Deacon stumbled to a halt as if catching himself. His hands tightened in mute apology. “That is, only if you wanted, of course. You would have a place to stay, Kendall.” His gaze seared into me. “You will always have a place here, if you want it.”

My breath caught. I honestly wasn’t sure what to say except that I loved this sincere, strong, good man. A man who, against all odds, loved me just as much as I loved him.

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