Forbidden Ties (Forbidden Ties Series Book 1)

by Branford, Lauren

  FORBIDDEN TIES

  Lauren Branford

  First Edition, November 2014

  Copyright ©2014 Lauren Branford

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Forbidden Ties

  Book I of II

  Table of Contents

  Welcome to Mayville

  Open Doors

  Late to Dinner

  Third Floor

  Blue Light

  First Week

  Television

  Girl in the Closet

  Labor Day

  Video Games

  Preview of Book II: Forbidden Games

  First Game

  Welcome to Mayville

  I sat in the backseat seat of my uncle’s luxury car as we made our way through the hills leading to his home.

  “Comfortable, isn’t it, Mairead?” asked my uncle Tim. He was short and nerdy looking with thick glasses and a terribly parted hairline. Looking at him, a person would never catch on to how wealthy he was. “You can adjust nearly every part of your seat, including the temperature, with the levers right there.”

  His hand moved backward, pointing at tiny knobs and switches on the armrest. I glanced over and saw that our family name, Worthington, embroidered into the side in the fabric. My mother never saw my father after I was born, so I received her surname.

  “Thank you,” I said softly as I adjusted my seat. The car was extremely calming. It helped me relax a bit from my recently tensed state of being.

  “I just want to make sure that you’re comfortable,” Tim said looking back at me with a heavy expression showing only in his eyes. “It’s been hard for all of us, Mairead. But I know that it’s especially difficult for you.”

  “Thanks, uncle Tim,” I said while giving his a half smile. It was all that I could muster at the moment. Traveling across the country alone was difficult on my body and spirit. As a young girl, I ventured this with my mother when we visited her brother, Tim, and his family. We were like Thelma and Louis, she always said, ready for the next adventure. After she had passed away a month earlier, everything changed for me. My grandmother decided that it would be best if I transferred schools to live with my uncle in the high hills of California.

  “How long has it been since you’ve visited here?” Tim asked, seemingly to make small conversation. I didn’t mind it, however since it kept my mind from wandering back into the dark void I had been living inside of.

  “More than five years,” I said with a much more chipper tone.

  “Has it been that long?” he gasped.

  “Hard to believe it, but it has,” I replied as looked down at the valley of trees spread out against the hills. Central California was lush with plants reaching for the sky. Even in the incoming autumn, I could see green for miles.

  “Though I saw you at the funeral,” Tim started. “Seeing you now in your t-shirt and jeans, it all makes sense to me. I can see how much you’ve changed since you were a little girl… So, do you still like food?”

  “Do I like food?” I asked shooting my head toward my uncle. He fidgeted and then I started to laugh uncontrollably. Suddenly, it felt like old times in the summer when Tim would fumble around jokes he heard at his work office. My mother would call him a nerd, which he would gladly helm like a badge of honor.

  “Ah, that came out wrong,” Tim blushed as he corrected the part in his brown hair before straightening his glasses. “It’s just that you used to love to eat if I recall correctly.”

  “Were you calling me fat, uncle Tim?” I joked.

  “Fat?” he gasped. “Heavens no!”

  “It’s okay,” I smiled, feeling like myself again. “I know I was a chunky little kid.”

  “Well, you’ve grown quite beautifully,” he beamed. I turned away and blushed as I began to twist my long, brown hair that dangled near my shoulders. “I love how wavy and full your hair is next to your blue eyes. You look just like she did growing up.”

  “I like hearing that,” I said, truthfully.

  “Well,” Tim explained. “Kids sometimes look like their parent’s twin. I, unfortunately, look like my father with all of this thinning hair. Your cousin Cade, on the other hand, is looking quite different from Alice. The kid has grown a lot in the past few years. I guess that I shouldn’t call you guys kids, especially since now that you are both eighteen.”

  “It’s fine with me,” I said softly as I gazed back to the window. “We haven’t even gone to college yet.”

  “True, true,” Tim agreed. “Just don’t speak to Alice about college; it makes her a nervous mess to think about Cade leaving the nest.”

  “You got it,” I promised. Alice was my uncle’s sweet wife who he married ten years earlier. Cade was her son from a previous marriage. My memories of him were not very fond ones. Cade would constantly torture me about my weight, hit me with sticks when our parents weren’t watching, and found new, terrible nicknames to call me nearly every visit. He was the top reason that I resisted coming to live with them.

  “Here we are!” exclaimed my uncle as we entered the posh hillside town. There was a check in point at the entrance to the town, where several guard stood at the gate.

  “Hello there, Mr. Worthington,” smiled a man in a crisp, navy blue uniform. “How are you this evening?”

  “Doing well, Bernard,” my uncle smiled. “And you?”

  “Fantastic!” the guard smiled as he waved us through. “Go right ahead and enjoy your afternoon.”

  The streets were immaculate with clean sidewalks that seemed to sparkle as we past them. Small shops popped along as we drove through downtown. Then, I noticed, above me was a sign: Welcome to Mayville.

  After a few more minutes of driving, we made our way up another hill to a menagerie of gigantic houses that spread out along the quite road. Each had perfectly trimmed hedges, enormous front doors, and several expensive cars in the driveways.

  As we pulled into the massive mansion that belonged to my uncle, I saw my aunt Alice waving to us as we pulled forward. I waved back with a smile, just as I saw the front door open. Suddenly there was a well-built man strutting toward the back of my aunt. He was well over six feet tall, with short, dirty blonde hair, and the most handsome face that I had ever seen. Just wearing a tank top, I could see his bulging muscles, huge hands, and masculine demeanor that took me by surprise.

  “Who’s that?” I asked my uncle.

  “See what I mean?” Tim smiled as me. “That’s your cousin, Cade.”

  Open Doors

  “It’s so good to see you!” screamed my aunt Alice as she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me. I squeezed her back as her long braid of dark hair descended down her shoulder. “Look at you! You are magnificent.”

  “Oh, thanks,” I blushed again, not knowing how to react to all of the compliments. I tried my best to keep my eyes off of the muscular man standing in back of her.

  “I also heard that you were on your way to being top of your class,” Alice smiled.

  “She gets her brains from our side of the family,” Tim nudged me in the side. “Though the gene skipped your mother.”

  Alice shot Tim a harsh glance as if to warn him about the inappropriate nature of his joke. I decided to lighten the mood so that they wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells all of the time around me.

  “She was a total mess sometimes,” I laughed. “She couldn’t even help me with my fourth grade math homework.”


  “See, Alice!” Tim laughed. “She has our sense of humor, too.”

  I grinned as feelings about missing my mother quickly resurfaced. Then, the towering man above distracted me.

  “Hey,” Cade as he neared me. His demeanor seemed cautious. Up close, he was even more strikingly handsome. His face had a well-defined jaw line, high cheekbones, and a smooth complexion. I noticed Cade’s lips were full and succulent looking.

  “Hi,” I replied while readying myself mentally for his embrace. Instead, Cade stuck his hand out, and, awkwardly, I shook it.

  “Shaking hands?” Tim asked. “Is that what the kids do these days?”

  Cade lowered his head and moved back toward the door.

  “Where are you going, Cade?” Alice smiled.

  “Practice,” he answered tersely.

  “Will you be back for dinner, then?” she called as he walked through the open front door.

  “Yeah,” his voice answered as he thundered up the stairs.

  “I guess we’ll be seeing him at seven,” Alice smiled at me. Secretly, I was relieved that he left. Whatever Cade was making me feel, I knew that it wasn’t right. “Let’s going inside the house, shall we?”

  Though she said house, I knew it more fondly as a mansion. Where I grew up, houses weren’t three stories tall with multiple flights of stairs, two swimming pools, and eight bedrooms. I grabbed a couple of my bags, and Tim rolled the larger ones in back of him as we strode toward the front door.

  Late to Dinner

  Later that evening, a chef came into the house and made us a four-course meal. I had forgotten that the family liked to eat off of silver platters. My mother always thought it was too much. I, on the other hand, was enamored with the extravagance.

  “Now where is Cade?” Alice tisked as she looked around the room.

  “Probably still at practice,” Tim said as his eyes widened for the cheese soufflé in front of him. “Wowee, this looks absolutely amazing! Remind me to thank the chef tomorrow, honey. That is if I can catch her!”

  “Eliza, the chef,” Alice explained to me. “Is a wonderful woman, however, she avoids all compliments. For some reason, she just can’t take our praises.”

  “I’m going to trap her anyway,” smiled Tim as he popped a fork into his fluffy dinner. “Do you like cheese soufflé?”

  “Me?” I asked. “Oh, I don’t think that I’ve had it before.”

  “Oh!” Tim called out. “We have ourselves a soufflé virgin!”

  “Very funny, Tim,” Alice said as she darted him an angry look. “Go ahead, darling, try some.”

  I picked up my fork and eased it through the inflated top of a small bowl. Scooping it around, I popped it into my mouth. Warm, creamy textures invaded my tongue. My taste buds seemed to explode with delight.

  “This is the best thing that I’ve ever had,” I said staring at them with a serious expression. Tim and Alice started laughing loudly.

  “Oh, sweetie,” Alice chuckled. “You are just like your uncle!”

  Tim smiled at me through the bites of food in his closed mouth. I could tell that he was extremely happy to have me there with them.

  Suddenly, the front door opened in the distance. Looking up, I saw Cade’s muscular body heaving from what appeared to be a heavy practice. He was carrying his football gear over his wide shoulders as sweat glistened from his skin.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” he grumbled as he threw his dirty garb onto the floor and made his way into the lit dining room. Cade had scuffs and dirt marks all over his body. There was also the light smell of his musk lingering around him. Though I was eating, something about him made me not mind as much.

  “Try to be on time, honey,” Alice said as she pointed to his empty spot with a soufflé in front of it.

  “Soufflé?” he said pointing to his dinner.

  “There are three other courses,” Alice interjected.

  “I bet none of them are meat,” Cade grumbled as he sat down and gave a dismayed look at the dinner.

  “No, we’re not having meat tonight,” Tim smiled at me. “Mairead is a vegetarian, so we’re trying something new.”

  Cade quickly looked over at me. I felt guilty for dragging him into my meatless lifestyle while his parents were trying to be supportive. Like old times, I expected the insults to roll off of my cousin’s tongue. Instead, our eyes met for only a brief moment. I felt us connect, where a sensation coated my gut like a soft cloud. He was so extraordinarily handsome that I could hardly stand looking at him. Then, Cade turned toward his meal and began to eat.

  “How do you like your room, Mairead?” Alice asked after she witnessed her son partaking in the family dinner.

  “It’s perfect,” I said honestly. The bedroom they gave me was spacious and bright. Located on the second floor, it was a room that I hadn’t seen during any of my childhood visits. It had beautiful molding on the high ceilings, a bay style window, and a bed with hanging fabrics from the high posts. Part of me felt like a princess in a modern castle.

  “That’s great news!” Alice smiled as she clasped her hands. “We had it renovated as soon as we heard that you were coming. But, please make it your own.”

  “Thank you,” I smiled. “I appreciate that.”

  “This is your house, too, Mairead,” Tim smiled. “You start school next week and everything is going to start feeling like home.”

  Though I desperately missed my mother, I was glad to have a family that cared about me enough to act like I was their long lost daughter. Tim and Alice were always very loving and nurturing. Cade, on the other hand, made me feel stressed. It was always strange to me that he had become a rugged guy since Alice and my uncle were so much the opposite. Whatever the cause, his hormones seemed to be on high capacity as they grew him into the towering, solid, carnivorous man.

  Cade’s fork made a loud clanking sound he brutishly dropped it into the empty bowl where his soufflé had been. His eyes seemed to wander the table for more.

  “What’s next?” he asked gruffly. Oddly enough, I was wondering the same thing.

  Third Floor

  I tossed around the sheets of my bed that night. It was nearly 2am, and I couldn’t sleep. Every worrisome thought decided to visit me as I lay in the darkness. My mother’s sweet face that I missed so dearly was like a ghost lingering in my room. I also worried about my new school. There wasn’t a chance that I could fit in with all of these rich kids, even if I tried.

  After another hour of unrest, I decided to go for an exploratory walk. There was so much of the mansion to discover. Putting on a pair of thin pajama bottoms, I carefully opened the door so that no one else could hear. Looking around, I remembered that my uncle and aunt’s bedroom wasn’t even on the same floor. Their master suite nearly took up an entire wing on the first level. My room was in the center along with a set of five other rooms. Interestingly enough, Cade had the entire third floor to himself. With all of that freedom, it was no wonder that he seemed to be so self-centered.

  Unfortunately, his level was the only one that I hadn’t visited. So, naturally, that’s where my curiosity took me. I knew that I couldn’t get away with it during the day, and Cade’s door would be shut, but I still needed to know more about my mysterious cousin.

  The steps to Cade’s floor were located behind one of the many closets in the house. This one happened to store most of the sports equipment. I pulled apart the twin doors and gazed at the trophies stored within it. Cade had earned a shining prize for nearly every month of his life, it seemed. There were even trophies from sports I didn’t know he played. The top shelf ones were all from his many football achievements.

  My hand reached the wooden rail that led up to the darkened abyss of Cade’s domain. While the rest of the house was lit by moonlight, this floor seemed to be shut off from the world. Since I couldn’t see, I was reluctant to climb. However, I knew that if I turned back then, I would be up all night with curiosity.

  Carefully, I placed my
feet on each step as I climbed. When I reached the top, I saw a small window that let in a trickle of moonlight. It calmed my nerves momentarily until I heard a loud wail from the opposite end of the hall. It sounded like a girl, but I couldn’t be sure until I stepped in closer.

  Walking down the hall, I hugged close to the walls as I saw light coming from the end of the wing. Nearing the open doors, I saw sports posters hung on the wall. Some of the encased photos glistened with penned autographs. I knew that I had reached Cane’s room.

  Then, I heard the girl again. Looking around, I saw a faint blue light glowing on the walls to my right. I wanted to see, but that would mean entering Cade’s room. Suddenly, something moved from the back. I rushed to another closet door adjacent to the open doors. Through the crack in the hinges, I saw Cade walk through his room, stark naked.

  Blue Light

  His body was like that of a Greek statue. Muscles were packed over each other, making his stomach look hard and flat. Cade’s shoulders were wide above his smooth, full chest. As he turned the corner, I saw his light patch of pubic hair until my eyes fell on his most fascinating feature.

  Cade’s cock hung between his thighs, thick and long. I had never seen a man’s flesh as gorgeous as his before. The year prior, I had a boyfriend named Wyatt. The first time I put Wyatt’s cock in my mouth, I was relieved that it wasn’t so massive that I would choke on it. I also remembered feeling that way once I gave him my virginity.

  Wyatt was a sweet guy with a gentle nature. Cade, on the other hand, looked as though he could snap at any moment. He was a beast prowling his territory that night. Someone so sturdy that he didn’t worry about someone like me entering his area, so he left the doors open in vain. Cade looked relaxed and at home as he made his way over to his bed.

  That was when I saw the blue light beaming onto his skin. It was emanating from a tablet he had propped up on his bed. Cade looked at the screen for a few moments, then I heard the sound of the girl again. It was coming from tablet.