by Alexa Riley
“You are my wife,” he grits out, and I don’t know if he’s reminding me or himself. Something flashes in his eyes I’ve never seen before and my heart flutters in my chest. I nod in agreement as a warning rings in his voice. “I won’t let anyone take you from me.”
“Kade.” I lift my arms to wrap around his neck. “I’m not going anywhere. I know I don’t remember us, but I know I want this.” I lean up and brush my mouth against his. “I love you.”
I feel some of the tension leave his body at my words and he lets out a long sigh.
“Let’s get you dressed.” He touches his forehead to mine and closes his eyes for a moment. I know he’s trying to calm himself and I let him. Then a second later he’s lifting me from the bed and putting me on my feet.
“We’re going to finish what we started,” I say as I glance down at his hard cock trying to escape his boxer briefs. I’m serious, but I’m also trying to lighten the moment.
“We’ll get there.” He kisses me again before walking into the closet.
“Maybe we should get married again,” I suggest. I walk to my side of the closet and find a sundress. I pull it off the hanger and see it still has the tags on it.
“I’ll marry you every day if you want,” he says easily.
I turn to look at him and watch as he pulls on a pair of shorts. “I want to remember our wedding.” Again, something flashes across his face but it’s so fast I’m not even sure if it was there to begin with.
“Then we’ll have a wedding.” He grabs a shirt before he turns around and pulls it over his head.
“My sister can come,” I add. “Apparently she missed the last one,” I joke, yanking my dress over my head.
Kade gives me a half smile but something is off. Does it have to do with my sister? I might not remember much but there’s a bond with her and I feel it deep inside of me. There was no question she’s my sister when she came barging into my bedroom.
I clear the distance between Kade and me. “You look like someone kicked your puppy.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever referenced me that way.”
“No, I doubt that,” I laugh, but with me, Kade is different. I can see it and feel it with how he is with others. I heard him on a business call and he didn’t sound like someone you messed around with. With me he’s all sweetness.
“I need to talk to Berkley.” I look up at him.
“I know. I might want to choke my brothers sometimes, but I know what that bond between us is. I have no doubt you have that with your sister.” He says the words but doesn't look happy about it.
“Maybe we haven't been so close. I mean, she didn't know I was married and you didn't know about her,” I remind him.
I say the words though they feel wrong. I think I am close with her because I felt it the second our eyes met. Hers were full of so many emotions and I could see that something was wrong.
“I saw your face light up when you remembered her. You two are close.” Kade confirms my thoughts as his hands slip into mine. “I won’t keep you from something you want.”
He gives my hand a small squeeze as he leads me out of the closet. I stop in the bathroom to make sure I’m put together enough to see my sister. I know it was clear what Kade and I were up to before she came bursting in, but I don't want to look like a mess, so I tame my hair and brush my teeth while Kade does the same.
“You think she’s giving Vaughn a hard time?” I ask as we walk down the stairs. He leads me out back towards the center home and I realize neither of us have bothered with shoes. I breathe in the fresh ocean air and revel in how much I love waking up in paradise. Kade is crazy to think anything could take me from here.
“She can try. Vaughn is hard to give a hard time to since most things roll off him.” Kade shrugs.
“So he normally picks women up and kidnaps them?”
Kade laughs. “No, that’s a first.”
When we enter the house I see my sister sitting at the counter with her arms folded over her chest as she watches Vaughn. He’s cooking again and she’s trying to look pissy but her eyes don’t leave him. In fact, she doesn't notice us until Kade clears his throat.
Berkley lets out a small scream of excitement when she sees me. Vaughn moves faster than humanly possible, catching her as she jumps out of the chair. Her foot snags on the bottom rail of the stool and she almost face plants onto the floor.
“Is yours this clumsy?” Vaughn asks, looking at Kade.
“Yours?” she shouts.
Once again she wiggles free of Vaughn and her messy bun falls free. Her mass of chocolate waves comes down and he reluctantly lets her go. She runs over and engulfs me in a hug. A flood of memories hits me hard but not in a bad way. Berkley isn't only my sister, she’s my everything. It has always been the two of us until… And that’s when the memory hits me. She went to London for school. She’d gotten an offer she couldn’t refuse, one I wouldn’t let her turn down. It was hard for us to be apart and I debated going with her, but it wasn't feasible. We knew when she was done with school we’d be back together again so we decided to just tough it out.
“I’ve been so worried. You weren’t answering your calls and I couldn’t afford a ticket to try and come home to look myself.” She pulls back, and the happiness and anger on her face a moment ago are gone as tears stream down her face.
“Don’t cry. I’m fine.”
She glances over at Kade as her eyes narrow. “Are you? I don’t trust these guys.” She looks back to Vaughn, who feigns innocence.
“I’m cooking you food and I brought you here on a private plane,” he defends himself.
“I got on your fancy plane because you showed me proof you knew where my sister was.”
“I think you got on it for other reasons too.” I can’t miss the way he’s shamelessly flirting with her. Berkley blushes as she grabs my hand and turns me away from him.
“I want to talk to my sister. Alone.” She starts to pull me out of the room but Kade doesn’t let go of my other hand.
“I’ll be right back.” I pull on his hand as I tilt my head back for him to kiss me.
“It’s not like anyone can leave the island without our say.” Vaughn chuckles.
“That’s not funny,” Berkley all but growls at him.
“It’s kinda funny.” I smile against Kade’s mouth before I step back. He lets his fingers untangle from mine but I see worry in his eyes.
“I love you,” he says as Berkley and I walk out of the room.
“Love you too,” I call back.
My sister mutters next to me as she speeds up, “What the hell is going on?”
Chapter 8
Kade
“They’ve been talking for too long,” Vaughn says, walking up beside me. I’ve been staring out the wall of glass for hours as the two women sit close together on the beach.
I don’t make a sound, just cross my arms over my chest and shrug one shoulder, watching them.
The main house is located in the middle of our properties and faces the white sandy beaches. Several lounge beds sit under a canopy so they won’t get sunburned, but it’s hot so I had drinks and snacks brought out to them a while ago.
I’m doing all that I can to give her time, and the only reason I’ve let this go on so long is because I see her smile and occasionally laugh, so I have to be patient. Right?
“Care to explain why you were the last to know your wife had a sister?”
I still don’t answer as I watch the women hug and stand up. Relief fills me when they walk back our way, and I’m so anxious to be next to her again that I open the door and walk outside to meet them halfway. I feel Vaughn hot on my heels, but I ignore him. I’ve only got time for my wife.
“Hey,” she says softly when I pull her into my arms. Her hands are on my chest and I look down at her. “Let’s talk.”
“You’ve got another appointment with the doctor,” I rush out, to avoid whatever it is she wants to tell me. “I waited f
or you two to have a break, but I don’t want to wait too much longer.”
“That’s a good idea,” she agrees on an exhale. “We can talk after.”
“Do you remember anything about us?” I hedge, and she shakes her head.
I glance up at Berkley and her face gives nothing away. She watches the two of us as I take Collins by the hand and lead her to the golf cart. I notice that she and Vaughn get in the cart next to it and follow us. I don’t have to ask if she’s coming too, because I know I wouldn’t be able to not go with one of my brothers if the roles were reversed.
We’re almost to the infirmary when I can’t stand the silence any longer. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She squeezes my hand and gives me a small smile. “I just found out a lot about my past and remembered most of it. I just thought since you didn’t know about Berkley, you might not know the rest.” She shrugs one shoulder and then looks away.
I’m still looking at her when a flash of color out of the corner of my eye makes me jerk my attention back to the road. Just as I do, I spot one of the enormous toucans that live on this island right in front of us and I shout a curse as I swerve to miss it.
When I turn the wheel just in time, Collins is thrown against me and screams. I stomp on the brakes and pull the cart over, but as I reach for her, she tugs out of my arms.
“Y-you.” Her eyes widen as she holds up her hand between us.
“I’m right here, love.” I reach for her again but her face pales.
“We were in an accident. You shouted at the driver.” Her voice goes quiet as she stares in shock.
Berkley and Vaughn run over to us and my chest begins to tighten. “Collins, please.”
“Hey, are you guys okay?” Xavier calls from the distance.
“It was all your fault,” Collins whispers just before she passes out.
Chapter 9
Collins
“I need you to tell me your name,” a soft feminine voice asks me, and it’s familiar.
“Lula?” I say, and hear her quiet laughter.
“That would be my name, but I’m glad you know it.” She’s gentle as she applies the blood pressure cuff to my arm. “Now tell me yours.”
“Collins,” I groan, and she flashes a bright light in my eyes. “Where’s Kade?”
“He’s outside with his brothers,” Berkley says from beside me and she squeezes my hand. “I’m right here.”
When Lula finishes with her assessment, she helps me sit up in the bed and brings me some ice water. “Tell me what’s the last thing you remember; go slow and don’t force.”
To the shock of Lula and Berkley, I begin to laugh. Their eyes widen and they exchange a look as I lean back on the pillow.
“We met in an elevator.”
“You and Kade?” Berkley asks, and I nod.
“I had a job interview at Saks that was on the fifth floor and I was running late.”
I smile as I remember running through the store in my only pair of high-heeled shoes. I had a skirt that was my sister’s that was way too big and one of her old tops that was way too small. My boobs were threatening to pop the buttons clean off and I was having to hold the waist of my skirt to keep it from falling off me. I was sweaty from sitting on the broken-down train and my perfectly braided hair was a mess after I’d run six blocks. The whole day was a complete disaster and it was only getting started.
When I got to the elevator there was a huge man blocking the doors, but by the time I reached him they opened up and he stepped inside. I was in such a hurry I tripped over my own feet as I was walking in and planted right into his back before I fell to the floor.
The door closed as he loomed over me and all I could think about was how this elevator was not designed for a man his size. But to my shock he actually smiled at me before he reached down and picked me right up off the floor.
I don’t know how but in that moment I knew he wasn’t the kind of man that smiled very much. His hands lingered on my hips a little longer than necessary and his touch burned every part of me.
“He was so big,” I say as I close my eyes. “He was like some kind of god that fell from the sky.”
“When was this?” Lula’s voice is encouraging and peaceful.
I smile again as I open my eyes and look over to my sister. “Two weeks ago.”
“Collins, you were in the hospital for a week,” she says, her eyes widening, and I nod. “Are you saying you married this guy after, what, the first date?”
“Yes.” I bite my bottom lip as I look down at my diamond and twirl it on my finger. “He wouldn’t let me off the elevator until I agreed to give him my number and go out on a date with him that night. He tried to get me to ditch the interview but I wouldn’t. Although I should have because it went terribly.”
“I can’t believe this,” Berkley whispers, leaning back in her chair.
“He literally swept me off my feet,” I sigh and think back to our first date and how we stayed up all night talking and walking all over the city. We never went to sleep and we had our second date in the bakery around the corner of my apartment. It was like something out of a movie. One date bleeding into the next.
He kissed me as the sun came up and he tasted like coffee and fresh baked cinnamon rolls. I’d never felt so powerless yet so safe in my whole life. One look, one night, and I was done.
“After that we never spent a second apart.” I stare down at the ring again and smile. “He proposed the second night, and we were married by the third.”
“Did you give it up on the first date or wait until you got the ring?”
“Berkley!” Lula scolds, and she gives her a wicked smile.
“What? We’re all girls.” She shrugs and I shake my head.
“No, we’ve, um, never done it.” I feel myself blush as every memory of us together is totally clear. “He said he wanted to wait until the wedding night, so I made sure I didn’t have to wait long.”
“Damn,” Lula says in amazement and another smile tugs at my lips.
“Until this morning when Berkley walked in on us, all we’d ever done was kiss.” How crazy is that? I guess this all is a little crazy.
“And here I thought his dick had somehow hypnotized you into losing your memory.” She isn’t the least repentant about walking in on us.
“No.” My voice is solemn as I fold my hands together in my lap. “There was an argument with someone at our wedding ceremony. I was going to call you, Berkley, but it all happened so fast.”
“Clearly,” she says dryly.
“When he gave me the ring it was the middle of the night and as soon as dawn broke we had a judge at his house. Kade is rich and told me we could go anywhere in the world on our honeymoon. I told him I wanted to go to London. I was going to surprise the both of you but as we were packing our bags, everything went south.”
“What happened?” Lula asks, taking my hand, and I realize I was gripping the sheets tightly.
“I don’t really know. A man showed up and tried to get in, but security got to him first. I didn’t hear all of it, but Kade assured me it was taken care of.” Tears form in my eyes when I think about how happy we were as we were leaving and getting into the limo. “We were on the way to the airport in the back of a limo when I felt us swerve. The driver shouted that someone was trying to hit us right before we ran off the road. Kade cursed and then everything went black.”
“Oh God,” Berkley whispers, and I turn to her.
“The last thing I remember is Kade saying it was all his fault.” Tears fall down my cheeks and I don’t bother to wipe them away. “I need to see him, Lula. I need to tell him it wasn’t his fault and that I’m okay. I need to tell him that I love him.”
Lula shares a look with Berkley for a long moment before she stands up. “Okay, I’ll go talk to him and see if it’s possible.” She walks out of the room and I turn to my sister.
“Why wouldn’t it be possible?”
Berkley looks hesit
ant as she watches Lula go, then turns to me. “Apparently there was a fight and I’m not entirely sure that Kade won.”
“Oh God,” I say just as I push back the covers and get out of bed.
Chapter 10
Kade
My jaw is sore and I can taste blood on my split lip, but I don’t think about it right this second. The only thing that matters is getting to my wife. I need to tell her what happened. I need to explain.
“Get him some ice,” Xander says to Vaughn. “His eye is going to swell shut.”
“I think you need my help more than you need me to get him ice,” Vaughn says out of the side of his mouth as he eyes me.
My shirt is ripped but X looks just as bad. “Why not get the middle child the attention he needs,” I say, raising my chin.
“Fuck you, Kade,” X spits back. “You finally going to tell us what the fuck is going on or am I going to have to keep beating it out of you?”
We’ve been at this for a while because they won’t let me past them to see Collins. I have to give it to my brothers, they’re at least putting up a good front. It reminded me a lot of when we were kids. Always trying to do what we thought was best for the other. That’s how I’d gotten us all into this mess to begin with.
“I think my wife should hear it from me before you two assholes.” I growl. Vaughn puts a hand over his chest. I love my brother but Collins is something deeper, the other part of my soul, and it feels wrong to not tell her something. That’s how it will always be.
“Hey, that hurt.”
“Then stop being a baby and help me get X out of the way,” I say to him, but he’s already shaking his head.
“Nah, I want to hear the truth too bad.” He smirks. We’re all fighting and he can still fucking smirk. I think he does it to piss us off. He’s always so easy-going. Not today, though. I saw something darker flash in his eyes when he looked at my wife’s sister. It was no hardship for him to go and get her. That was clear.
