Claiming Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 2)

Nope, I thought to myself, clicking the television off. That’s a great job almost burning permanent pixels into my nice flat-screen, asshole.

I thought about rustling him from the couch to scamper off to the guest bedroom, but I was in a good mood with the recent revitalization in my relationship, and he wasn’t exactly bothering me here.

Just this once, I thought to myself.

As I quietly slunk off to the kitchen, guided by the moonlight from the window above the sink, I pursued my original mission: refreshment. A quick glance in the fridge didn’t turn up any appealing alternatives, so I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured myself some water.

Refreshed, I set the glass in the sink and smoothed out my palms against the counter on either side. As my fatigue slowly uncoiled itself in my head, freeing up some room for thought, I reflected on what the future probably looked like for us.

I didn’t know what was going to happen with that whole traveling the world thing. As much as I wanted Clara in my life, I couldn’t ignore that I had little intention of remaining in the States – it wasn’t where I was born, and it wasn’t where I wanted to really be. The truth was that I didn’t have the faintest clue of how I was going to reconcile her feelings with those facts…

What made that especially difficult was that she was dedicated to continuing her school. I wasn’t about to rip her away from a possible future, just to join me around the world.

Well… we can cross that bridge when we come to it, I thought to myself. I reasoned that there wasn’t any point to worrying about it until the time properly came.

That’s when something else entirely suddenly jumped out at me. I was almost floored with the severity and suddenness of it.

The Carlyle Fortune, I thought with horror.

With all the other factors in place, it hadn’t really occurred to me that my grandparents would be pissed about this if they ever found out. To my astonishment, I had considered the impending claim on their money such a done deal that I never stopped to wonder how a revelation like this would affect them.

If there was one thing that could destroy any chances of that prize, it was perceived incest. A scandal like this would instantly spell the end of my inheritance forever.

Fuck. I didn’t think about that!

All of my womanizing and drinking had fallen beneath their radar so far, but this was playing it way too close to the chest. For the first time in my life, I had to seriously consider the fact that I might lose my rightful claim to their money.

“Was I so blinded by love that I only just thought of this now?” I asked myself. “Why now? How didn’t this not factor in before?”

Unsurprisingly, no answer drifted up from the shadows to offer any guidance.

It didn’t really matter, I realized.

I’d risk it all for her.

After all, I reasoned quietly to myself, I’d supported myself this far. From the beginning, I had pulled myself up by my own bootstraps.

My career in the marines had taught me everything I didn’t already know about self-reliance and determination. I had a few connections from my time serving. Plus, the GI bill was going to fund any degree I wanted.

Thank you, dear old Uncle Sam.

That major life choice had prepared me for any major detours or hiccups – something I’d factored in before I joined, but now that I was leaping over my grandparents’ last few hurdles, it comforted me to remember the backup plan.

It certainly didn’t hurt that I already had a very small war chest of funds in a bank account. If I played it safe and didn’t take anymore last-second flights across the country, I was probably going to be just fine.

Maybe I’ll just have to take school a little more seriously, I told myself. That’s all. Everything else will fall into place.

Confident in this direction, I slipped back into bed with Clara. Still mostly asleep, she murmured something incoherent, but I quietly assured her that everything was fine as she curled up against me again.

And for a few more hours, that was true.

In my sleep, I ignored the vibrations of my cell phone against the end table. This same state of slumbering ignorance overrode my marine training and extended to the sound of my front door being unlocked, and someone calling my name… I groaned in my sleep, thinking I was dreaming again.

I was only barely aware of the sound of my bedroom opening. When I’d slipped back into bed in the night, lost in thought, I’d forgotten to lock it again.

“What in God’s name…?”

My eyes flew open.

Was that…?

It can’t be.

Snapping to attention, I glanced over at the bedroom door. Dad was standing there, his eyes confused and his mouth agape. Worse still was that Sarah was standing behind him, holding her trembling hand over her lips.

“Guys, what the hell are you doing… here…?”

A terrifying realization dawned on me.

Clara is still here.

My eyes followed their gaze to her awakening form. Clara sleepily lifted her face from the pillow, looking over at our unexpected guests. A few seconds of groggy recollection later, it was as if a pail of freezing water had been thrown in her face.

“Dad? MOM?”

The two pairs of us were staring in horror at each other, processing what had just happened.

Holy shit, they found us in bed together.

My dear step-mum was the first to speak, mustering up just enough strength for a few damning syllables. “Clara… what the fuck?”

Clara realized that her chest was exposed, and ripped up the blanket to cover herself… and in the process, briefly revealing my own naked form.

“Good God!” Our parents cried out, exposed to the sight of my flaccid – but still intimidating – royal package. Without a moment’s thought, they slammed the door shut – putting a condemning barrier between themselves and us.

The damage was done, and I wasn’t going to cower away from this like some frightened animal. Instead of covering myself, I jumped out of bed and quickly tossed on a pair of boxers.

“Dalton… DALTON,” Clara whimpered, gazing up at me from beneath the covers.

“I’ll handle this,” I whispered.

She looked away, shrinking with horror as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee. I stepped out of the bedroom just in time to see the front door close. It didn’t escape my notice that my other guest, Pete, was wide-eyed in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, dude, I recognized your Dad. He called and woke me up, saying that it was some kind of an emergency–”

“Not. Another. Goddamn. Word.” I hissed at him. “You have no idea what the fuck you’ve just done.” His mouth snapped shut as I darted out the door after my parents.

“Wait!” I called out after them.

Dad was holding the door open for Sarah, who was covering her face and ducking into the passenger seat. “I don’t know what the hell we just saw in there, son, but we’re leaving.”

“What the hell are you even doing here?” I demanded to know. “You just barge in and walk straight into my goddamn bedroom?”

“Maybe if you’d pick up your fucking phone,” Dad growled, holding his own up, “we could have avoided whatever the fuck is going on in there. I’ve been calling and texting you off-and-on for almost an hour!”

“Pete said you told him there was an emergency. What the hell is going on?”

Overlooking the present disaster, this wasn’t like my father. He looked like a bundle of nerves, and I suspected that started before he even pulled up to my place.

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s your grandparents,” he explained, leaning backwards against the hood of his car. “In their infinite wisdom, they’ve decided to come back into town. No warning, just a missed call and a voicemail in the middle of the night. They’re already here. We’re on our way to pick them up at the airport now.”

“Did they explain what they wanted?”

/> “How the fuck would I know? You remember what they were like during the wedding, they’re probably just here to lord over all of us again…”

I felt really bad all of a sudden.

Dad was clearly a wreck, especially after just witnessing what he probably considered incest between his only son and his single stepchild… and then heading straight into the lair of a pair of vicious dragons.

“I’ll grab my keys, I can be there in–”

“Stop,” he immediately commanded me, his voice booming. The look on his face was a mixture of crushing disappointment, absolute revulsion, and boiling anger. “Sarah and I are going to drive to the airport, without either of you, and we’re going to figure out what the fuck is going on. You two are going to stay away right now.”

“For how long?” I demanded.

“Until they’re gone. However long that takes,” he snarled. “The last thing I need right now is for them to get involved in… this.”

“I didn’t know she was Sarah’s!” I yelled. “I met her first, and I already fancied her. I couldn’t help falling for her, you don’t–”