Forever We Fall: Broken #4 (The Broken Series) (21 page)

Lee

"What are you saying, Kyle?" I whispered, not daring to speak any louder for fear of my voice cracking. When I woke up this morning, I'd been plagued with worry about the trial. That worry was quickly being replaced with elation. "I already said yes to you when you proposed."

"I'm saying tomorrow," Kyle husked as he dropped down on one knee, in his boxer shorts, on our front porch. "After your testimony," Kyle said softly, his blue eyes locked on mine. "Whatever the result, whatever the outcome," he husked. "You and me, we get married."

"We can't," I squealed as I tried to pull him up off the freezing cold ground. "We need a valid marriage license. We don't have a church or a priest or a…" My voice trailed off as excitement bubbled in my chest. Why was I saying no? I had already said yes. Why the hell was I living in the past when my future looked like him? What was stopping us?

"Fuck all that," Kyle grumbled as he shook his head and frowned. "We have a license, princess."
Yeah, from when Kyle had tried to drag me off to Vegas, but I wasn’t sure that would work…"
I'll figure all of it out later," he added.

Looking up at me, he tilted his head to one side and smiled. "Come on, princess." He grinned devilishly, his dimple puckering in his cheek. "You want the dog," he chuckled. "This is my condition."

"And if I say no," I teased.

Kyle shrugged nonchalantly. "Then you keep the damn dog and I keep asking until I break you down."

"Do it, Lia," Tracy cried out from somewhere behind me.

"Yeah," Derek piped up in agreement. "I'm getting bored of this will they, won't they? Put the poor bastard out of his misery."

"You're sure you want this?" I asked him quietly – the fear I had that Kyle was acting out of grief causing my question. "It's so soon since Linda…"

"Lee," Kyle said firmly. "I have never been
more
sure of anything in my life, baby. I've been asking for years," he chuckled. "I'm asking you out of love, not grief."

I looked down at Kyle, kneeling on the porch, smiling up at me with such love and honesty in his eyes, and I found myself agreeing to his…coaxing. "Okay," I whispered. "Let's do it."

Kyle's mouth dropped open and he gaped at me, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. "Holy shit," he whispered as he climbed to his feet and hopped from foot to foot as he cupped his…his nether regions. "You're saying yes."

"Yeah," I giggled as I pushed the front door inwards and gestured him inside. "Though I may refuse if you don't come in home and put some clothes on – can't have you freezing off your most valuable asset."

"Ha-ha," Kyle snorted as he shooed Kevin inside before dragging me along after him.

"You're not teasing me, are you, princess?" Kyle asked me in a serious tone as he cupped my face between his hands. "You'll marry me tomorrow?"

"I will," I whispered as I stretched up and kissed his lips. "I will marry you tomorrow, Kyle Carter."

"Aw…" Derek chimed from the kitchen doorway. "About damn time," he added as he bounced around with Hope in his arms.

"See, Hopey bear," Derek crooned. "Mommy and daddy aren't always drama-junkies." He looked over at me and grinned. "Although, I had hoped you'd make him sweat it out for at least ten more minutes…"

"Yeah, that's enough, douchebag," Kyle chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Let's not give her any ideas."

"I won't change my mind," I said softly. "I'm marrying you tomorrow…"

"Oh fuck, I need to make a call," Kyle hissed as he jerked away from me and leapt into his usual run-around-like-a-mad-man role. "Put that dog in the back yard," he called out as he rushed off towards the office, with his phone welded to his ear. "Yeah, hey. I'm gonna need a favor…" was the last thing I heard Kyle say before his office door slammed loudly.

"Congratulations, sweetheart," Tracy cried, throwing her arms around me. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks." I beamed at her, feeling a deep swell of affection for the woman who'd come to my rescue these past few weeks.

The best part of all this misery and pain had been spending more time with Tracy. I honestly didn’t know what I would have done without her during the days after Linda's passing. I'd had to keep it together for Kyle and Tracy in return had been my rock. I'd leaned on her and she had held me up, silently supporting me, pouring strength into my veins. I hoped with time we would grow closer. I wanted to have what other girls my age had. I wanted my mom in my life… "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me since the funeral."

"Nonsense. I'm more than happy to help," Tracy mumbled, red-faced, before rushing down the hallway after Kevin.

"You happy, ice?" Derek asked in a soft tone as he smiled fondly at me.

"Yes, Derek," I said as I bit down on my lip and squealed. "Kyle Carter's going to marry me."

Derek chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "I called it the second he laid eyes on you,
ice-queen
."

****

Kyle

The night air was cool in the woods at the bottom our garden and I wasn't sure if was Lee shivering because of that, the fact that we were getting married tomorrow, or because of the trial. "You're sure this is what you want, Kyle?" Lee asked quietly, dropping her gaze to the ground as we maneuvered through the trees. "I don't want you to marry me because you're worried about your mortality… or mine."

Sighing heavily, Lee stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and sagged against the bark of a tree. "I just want to make sure you're in the right frame of mind before you do this."

My heart cracked.

"Hey, look at me." I tugged on her chin. "Princess, look at me." Her eyes lifted, locked on mine, and my whole body ignited in excitement.

This time tomorrow she would be mine.

Jesus, her fragility was one of her most pungent weapons and she didn't even know it. "I can't fucking wait for tomorrow to come," I told her, stroking her chin with my thumb. "If I've made you feel like anything less than the most important person in my life these past few months then I'm so sorry, baby." Stepping closer, I pressed my body against hers and cupped her small face in my hands, forcing her to keep her eyes on mine and hear my words. "Because you are the most important person, Lee."

"I love you," she whispered, catching me unawares when she threw her arms around my neck. "Oh god, I hope I'm not dreaming."

I laughed at her random statement and folded her into me. Stroking her hair with my hand, I slipped my arm around her back and held her to me. "Well, if you are then it must be a pretty fucking amazing dream to last two years, baby."

"I pinch myself most mornings," she confessed in a hushed voice. "I wake up every morning and look at you lying next to me." She shook her head and stretched a small hand up to cup my cheek. "I don't know how we got here or why we were given this path we're on, but I want you."

"I want you too, princess," I choked out, my voice hoarse and thick with emotion. "Just you."
Always fucking you…

"There's a fire," she whispered as she stepped back from me and pressed her hand to her stomach. "It burns inside of me. You ignite it and it spreads wildly, taking me over." Reaching out with her hand, she grabbed my coat and pulled me back against her. "And when it all becomes too much," she murmured. "And I don't think I can take any more, you quench it all with your words, or your touch or one single look. The power you have over me, the depth I'm after falling…" Shaking her head, Lee sighed softly and wrapped her arms around my waist. "You're fuel to my fire, and when I'm close to exploding you quench my flames. You are a very dangerous man."

If I was dangerous then Lee was lethal. Her words…

Holy fuck.

"Uh…" I tried to come up with something fucking epic to say in return, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t think of a damn thing to say.

So instead, I lowered my head, claimed her lips with mine, and showed her.

****

Chapter Eighteen

Lee

Darkness is a strange thing. It comes in many different forms. Most people believe darkness is created when the day meets the night, but I know better. Darkness also exists in humanity. In human beings. I know this because I have felt it, touched it, tasted it, been attacked by it and possessed by it…and now my darkness awaits me once more…

"Open the door, Lee." The achingly familiar voice broke into my thoughts, disturbing me from where I'd been furiously scribbling down my thoughts in a notebook in a bid to keep calm. Taking a few deep breaths, I fanned my face with my hands, blinked away my tears, and shoved my pen and notebook into my purse.

Standing up slowly, I unlocked the toilet cubicle door and tried to suppress the smile that was stretching across my face at the sight of him in the ladies bathroom, lounging against the communal sinks, with his hands tucked in the pockets of his gray suit pants. "You know, you're breaking the law, right?" I mused. "You could be risking your freedom as we speak."

"You know I never play by the rules, princess," Kyle drawled, his lips curling into a lazy smirk. Even though we were having the day from hell, and the weight of the world was on our shoulders, I couldn’t help but admire his beauty.

He looked so handsome with his dark hair tousled, his black tie loosened and looking worse for wear, the sleeves of his crisp white shirt bunched up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms and the light sprinkling of dark hair coating them.
He's why I'm here,
I thought to myself.
Is he worth it?
Yes. My answer was immediate and irrevocable. He was worth it all and more.

"Well, you're certainly in the right place," I replied, trying to keep my tone light, and bury the huge swell of anxiety threatening to burst out of me. "Boys who break the rules in this place get punished."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Kyle pushed away from the sink and prowled towards me with a predatory gleam in his blue eyes. He'd lost his jacket somewhere between our home and the courthouse, but I was just glad it was his jacket he'd lost and not his temper. "You're so fucking worth it," he purred. Grabbing my hips, he hauled me into his arms. "I want you to remember something for me," he murmured against my ear. "Can you do that for me, baby?"

I nodded my head as I wrapped my arms around his taut waist. "I'm scared, Kyle," I confessed.

It was a closed courtroom and all I wanted to do was get in and get out as fast as possible and with as much of my sanity intact as I could. This wasn’t a day of retribution in my eyes. This had nothing to do with Cam. This was a dark, black day, laced with corruption and very little to do with justice and I was still upset with the prosecution team who had bullied me into doing this. I'd appealed to do this via video-link, but they'd manipulated me by using Cam against me. They felt my evidence would have more of an impact on the jury when they could see me and if I truly wanted to see my friend's murderer put behind bars I would do it…

"Don't be," Kyle said in a gruff tone, tightening his hold on me. "I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you, but I want you to remember that no matter what happens in there…" He paused to kiss me softly. "Nothing changes between us."

Cupping my face with his hands, he pressed his forehead to mine and stared into my eyes. "My past is my past, baby. I can't change it," he husked as one of his hands trailed around to the back of my neck. "They're gonna lay it all bare today to upset you – to rattle you. They know they're screwed. You're the golden ticket. They're gonna strike at your weakness. They think that's me. Prove them wrong, princess." He rubbed my nose with his. "Today is just one day, baby. One day in our lives, that's all this is…and when we walk out of this courtroom today, we're stepping into our future. We're leaving all the past behind us."

"I know," I whispered, clutching him tightly. We'd been forewarned by the prosecution that Rachel's defense team were going to attack our relationship. We were also praying that this was the only day we would be called to the stand. Kyle had already given his evidence, but for some reason – a calculating move by the defense in a bid to unnerve me – he had been called back today. This was my first time in court, and according to Lorrie Manson, the prosecution attorney, I would be either their ace or the joker. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it didn’t warm my heart.

The only thing that was keeping me sane was the fact that by the end of today I would be Mrs. Lee Carter.

My stomach did somersaults at the thought. This was right.
He
was right for me, and if I could just get through this, if they got all they wanted from me, Kyle and I could walk away from this mess and never look back…

"Keep calm out there," I whispered. Reaching my hand up, I stroked his hair gently. "They're going to use me against you, too. Don't rise to their bait."

"No regrets?" he asked, his chest rising and falling harshly. "Any second thoughts about later?"

I shook my head. "Never about you."

"Are you sure you wanna get married today?" Frowning he added, "I don't want to deprive you of anything, Lee. You know, the whole white dress, huge cake and party full of friends." He kissed my lips softly. "We're only doing this once, princess," he told me. "And I want it to be everything you've wanted."

"We'll do this on our own, Kyle," I whispered. "We've done everything else that way. We don't need a party. Or a cake." I smiled up at him. "I just want to marry you. Me and you. Oh, and maybe Derek."

"You sure?" he croaked out. "You won't change your mind when we get there?" He shook his head and sighed deeply. "I thought girls loved all the wedding things…You confuse the fuck out of me, princess."

"Well," I mused in a teasing tone of voice. "Didn't you once say I'm not like most girls?"

A huge grin spread across his face. "Well," he purred. "Maybe tonight, when you're my wife, I'll persuade you to take a shot with me,
sweetheart
…"

Curling his fingers into my hair, Kyle crushed his lips against mine, searing me with his passion, tormenting my senses with each thrust of his tongue. I kissed him back hungrily, desperately, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for dear life to my anchor.

Hoisting me into his arms, he wrapped a possessive arm around my back, leaving his other hand wound in my hair. "I'm in love with you, Lee Bennett," he whispered between kisses. "Only you and don't you forget it."

"I don’t want your past, Kyle," I mumbled against his lips as I clung to his big body. "I want your future."

"It's yours," he promised.

We were still clinging to one another when there was a knock and Kelsie slipped her head around the bathroom door. She cleared her throat and said, "You're up, Mr. Carter."

****