“Are you sure?” Mallory asked with doubt in her voice as she looked down her body. She was a size eighteen and not so tall but the curves were in the right places if it was a good day. “Think he’ll like it?”
“Do I need to remind you what he did today on campus? Silly girl.” Rayna told her as she walked up to the closet and gently slid hangers over. “Here it is. Perfect. Want me to do make up?”
“Yes. You’re so much better than I am at that.” Rayna was a regular viewer of all of the make-up artists on you tube so she could keep up with the latest trends. The girls left the shirt hanging and went into the big bathroom that they shared. Mallory took a seat and Rayna studied her carefully.
“Your skin is so gorgeous. I am so jealous.” Rayna smiled as she met Mallory’s eyes and started gathering supplies. She brushed just a light coat of liquid to powder foundation over her pale skin to set it before she started on her eyes. Before too long, they were sexy and smoky and popping out of Mallory’s face as she smiled. “You look beautiful. Here…add one more coat of mascara. Just a gloss for tonight since he won’t be able to keep his lips off of you.” She winked as Mallory laughed and did as she was told, holding still for a moment as the mascara dried.
“Do you think he really likes me?” Mallory asked Rayna as they went into her room to get dressed.
“He’s shown all of the signs and made a hell of a lot more effort than anyone has ever seen him do before. Actions say so much. It’s so romantic.” She flushed as she reached into the closet for the deep purple shirt and bit her lip. “I already threatened to cut his dick off if her hurt you anyway, so…”
“Oh, well then. That makes everything perfect.” Mallory told her sarcastically as she stared at Rayna. “Ray!!”
“He’s pretty cute close up. He really took the threat seriously, I think.” Rayna told her as Mallory resisted resting her freshly made up face in her hands. “Hey, I had to! You’re my sister and I take care of family. He took it well, so don’t worry. He’s polite…more so than I expected.”
Mallory slipped the shirt on over her black lace bra that she’s worn to the bathroom with a robe over it. The V ended just where her cleavage began and Rayna whistled as Mallory looked at herself closely. They added a long amethyst necklace that hung just above the shirt and heels that brought Mallory a bit closer to his height. Mallory grabbed a black cardigan before she closed her closet to slip over her outfit as they heard the doorbell. “I think I’m going to throw up.” Mallory grumbled as they walked downstairs to get it as Mary stood waiting in the kitchen. “I really want to see him.” She whispered excitedly as Mallory smiled nervously.
“Might as well. Ray already threatened his manhood today.” Mary stared at her daughter for a fleeting second before she walked over to the door and opened it with a flourish. De clan asked for Mallory and she greeted him graciously before she let him inside with an impressed glance at Mallory.
“Hello, ladies.” He greeted them as he stepped inside, his eyes dragging over Mallory slowly as she fidgeted anxiously. “You look beautiful, Mallory.” He was dressed in some good black pants and a white button up shirt with a tie that matched his eyes perfectly and looking incredibly handsome.
“Thank you. You look amazing too.” She told him, feeling Rayna gently pushing her forward with her hand on Mallory’s back.
“Good to see you again, Rayna.” He nodded at her with a shake of his head as she laughed and told him the same. They said their goodbyes and he walked her out to a black SUV by her hand as she licked the slick gloss on her lips.
“Are you one of those guys that has a garage full of cars?” Mallory asked him as she turned to look at him with a smile on her face.
“No. Just this one and my other baby. This one is good for some of the bad weather.” Declan explained as he hit the button on his keys to unlock the doors. He let go of her hand slowly to open it as she watched him move in the dim light of the street lamp. He helped her inside as he ran his hand up her calf slowly and watched her shiver with a dark gaze. He leaned forward as she raised her face towards him in anticipation of the kiss that she hoped was coming. “I’ve never seen someone look as good as you do tonight.” He told her in a soft voice before he brushed her lips with his gently. Declan stepped away stiffly as he ran his hands down his legs and sighed before he closed the door and walked around to his side.
He drove them into Monterey and parked at one of the nicer seafood places on the water after checking that she was alright with his choice. Again, they were seated quickly and graciously and had waters within a moment of being brought to their table. “Do you have some celebrity status that I don’t know about?”
“The business is well-known here since my grandfather brought it to the states about forty years ago. Meadows and Lane Investments. You’ll see them around.” De clan explained as she nodded. “I came to live with them ten years ago and learned the ropes though they urged me to pursue sport. I just want to have a backup plan because he’s getting older now. No siblings to take over since my parents brilliantly stopped at one so they wouldn’t have more kids to neglect.” He closed his eyes and clenched his fists over the smooth wood of the table. “I’m sorry. This isn’t the time or place for my self- pity.” He looked up and took in Mallory’s face slowly as she smiled slowly. “I get into the best places all over the area. I’ve never had much of a reason to use that before but I plan to now.”
“You’ve never taken a girl anywhere on a date around here?” Mallory asked him as she watched him shrug.
“You’ve heard some things. No, I never have. Nobody has made me want to spoil them the way I do you.” De clan told her as he reached across the table and stroked her hand. “Your friend gave me quite the warning today over my rushed lunch. She’s something.”
“I am so sorry about that. She’s protective of me to a fault sometimes.” Mallory apologized as he smiled dimly for a moment.
“As am I. I like that she’d guard you so fiercely and respect her greatly for that.” De clan told her as a deep frown crossed his face. “You don’t have a lot of people in your life that you’re close to, do you?”
“I…I have Ray and her family. They’re my family and I have a few friends, but no…I’m not the girl that has twenty close friends and always goes out. This is a pretty big night for me, to be honest.” She blushed and shook her head. “I mean in just going out as much if not more than being with you here. I don’t know why you want me but I’m glad that you do.”
“Do you want me as well?” Declan asked her before the waiter approached to take a drink order. He ordered a white wine and then met her gaze with a hooded one of his own.
“I’m scared but I do. I don’t take this lightly, De clan. I am not just a one- night girl.” Mallory told him in a whisper as he smiled at her.
“You could never be just that to me. Something is changing for me, Mallory. I don’t think like that now.” De clan told her as she leaned forward and he cleared his throat. “Give us just a moment? We haven’t made it to the menus yet.” Mallory realized that he was talking to a waiter as she blinked slowly and glanced down. She picked up the light brochure and flipped it open as she tried to focus on the choices rather than the lust racing through her body as she trembled.
She selected salmon and De clan the special before he glanced around to make sure that they were alone again. “I don’t want you to fear any of your feelings with this, with us. I am all in myself so we can be scared together.”
She told him more about losing her parents in the plane accident and how she was shifted around to family members that didn’t want to deal with teenager, which left her alone a lot and moving to different places. Mallory had grown up a shy girl after that since she’d lost everything that she’d ever known and was adjusting to the fact that she’d lived with Rayna since she was eighteen. Four years in one place felt like forever after what she’d been through. She blamed the weight gain on some of that since food was a comfort for her but also on the fact that she’d always been curvy. Mallory wasn’t meant to be small and petite like Rayna was. She learned every day to be comfortable with herself and to put some of the cruel things that she had been told over the years behind her.
They were eating as they talked and he shook his head with an angry look on his face. “Nobody should have ever criticized you, Mallory. You’re a beautiful girl and I will spend every day telling you so.”
“I won’t have to tell you that, will I? I think it’s been said since you were born.” He looked like a model tonight with his hair gathered back in a loose ponytail and his cheeks defined in the candlelight from the table. His eyes studied her closely and he licked his bottom lip slowly as she watched him carefully.
“Not the way that you say it, no. Your eyes tell me much more than the words ever could and I know that you mean all of it.” De clan told her as she widened her eyes and shook in her seat. “I hope you see the same in my face.”