Mallory Ridge was sitting by herself in a dark and noisy bar in a Chicago hotel, looking out the window watching big flakes of snow fall to the ground. As she sipped on her drink, she thought about her life, and the pain that came with it.

When she was sixteen, her parents, Franklin and Kim Ridge were killed in car accident, and she moved in with her Uncle Eric Wells and his family, as they were the only family she had left. It may sound like it would be the idea place for her, but it wasn’t, for as long as Mallory could remember, her Aunt Charlotte and her cousin Erica had disliked her. So, when she came to live with them, the two made her life a living hell.

Hating Mallory as much as she did, Erica did anything she could think of to hurt her cousin, from throwing away her school term papers, to not giving her important telephone messages. If Mallory refused to do something one of them asked her to do, Charlotte would threaten to send her away. Because Mallory was terrified of being sent away, she struggled to get along with them. Mallory never complained to her uncle about how she was being treated by his wife and daughter, as she was just thankful, she had a place to live.

Her father and her uncle, Eric were half-brothers, Franklin was from their mother’s first marriage, and Eric from her second. Growing up, you rarely saw one without the other, and they remained close until the day her uncle had fallen in love with her mother, the woman her father was engaged to marry.

When Franklin brought Kim Dobbins home to meet his family for the first time, Eric was instantly attracted to the woman. So much so, that he ended his relationship with Charlotte thinking that when Franklin quit dating Kim, he would ask her out. Of course, it didn’t work out that way for Eric, as Franklin and Kim were already engaged at the time and were married a short time later.

Eric was devastated as he was sure his brother would move on to someone else, leaving Kim available for the taking. A month after the wedding, when they announced they were going to have a baby, Eric realized Kim wouldn’t ever be his, so he went home and got drunk.

Later that same night, Charlotte arrived at his apartment door and they ended up in bed, as the sex was the best part of their relationship. A few months later, Eric found out that they were going to have a child together, and against his better judgement, he proposed to Charlotte. He regretted his decision until the day she died, as her temper caused many arguments between them, especially after any family gatherings where Kim attended.

Charlotte knew Eric was attracted to Kim, so she watched her husband closely whenever the two families were together. Afterwards, Charlotte would tear into Eric, screaming that she knew he wished he had married to Kim, instead of her. Eric always denied he had feelings for Kim, but Charlotte never believed him, as he wasn’t good at hiding his feelings for his sister-in-law.

Eric tired of dealing with Charlotte’s anger, told Franklin it would be best if they didn’t see each anymore because of Charlotte and her jealousy of Kim. Eric would come over to their house occasionally, but the rest of the family didn’t see each other again until Mallory moved in with her uncle’s family the day her parents died.

* * *

Soon the tension in the house was so unbearable for Mallory that she got a job working after school and on weekends. If she wasn’t at work, she could be found at the library, at the home one of her friends, or anywhere else, just so she wouldn’t be with her aunt and cousin. Since her uncle was always out on the road on one business trip or another, he never knew the hell Mallory had to live with, nor the fact she was hardly ever home anymore.

Finally, the day had arrived for Mallory to graduate from high school. She had received a full academic scholarship to a college in California, thrilled to be leaving Missouri. Just so she could get away from her family that much sooner, she would be starting school with the summer semester instead of waiting for the fall.

Once she left home, she didn’t look back, as a new chapter of her life was about to start. Instead of going home each summer like most of her classmates, Mallory stayed in California working and getting experience in the business world. The next four years were filled with her working on her education and making new friends. Her Uncle Eric visited her every couple of months or so, which helped her not to feel so homesick, but she never told him how Charlotte or Erica had treated her while she had lived with them.

When Mallory graduated, she got a job in management at a local winery and loved it so much, she planned to stay with the company until she retired. She had been working at her job for just a year when she received a phone call from her Uncle Eric, saying they needed her help, as Charlotte was dying of cancer. Erica was having a hard time taking care of her mother and keeping up with the housework at the same time, and so everything was a mess at home. He begged her to come home to help.

Mallory was torn, as everything in her life was going just the way she wanted it, that is, it had until her uncle’s phone call. She dreaded the thought of taking care of a woman who hated her, but since she owned her uncle for the two years she lived in his home, she decided to do it. Besides, the doctors had only given her aunt less than three months to live, so how bad could it be?

Mallory stepped in Edmond Redden’s office and told her boss she had to go home to take care of her dying aunt. He understood her need to help her family and told her she had three months, and at the end of that time, she either had to report back to work or give him her notice. She thanked him and would let him know about her job as soon as she could.

Her flight landed in Chicago for an hour layover before heading to Kansas City, the last place she ever wanted to be again. Needing to know if her connecting flight was on time, she started for the Departure screen, as she got closer, she saw there was a large group of upset people in front of it. Unsure what to expect, she hurried to the monitor.

It didn’t take her long to find out that her flight had been terminated, along with the other twenty departures that had been scheduled to leave that afternoon. As she stood there listening to those around her complaining about their flight being cancelled, she felt sorry for them. She on the other hand, was overjoyed at the cancellation of her flight, as now she had an additional day before she had to start being a nursemaid to her Aunt Charlotte.

Knowing she needed to find a place to sleep for the night, she headed for the front door. When she left the building, she wasn’t surprised there was a line for taxis, as everyone must have had the same idea as she had. The three women in front of her offered to share their taxi and she accepted. They skipped the first three hotels, figuring they would already be full, and when they reached the fourth one, the taxi stopped, and the women all got out.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

When she arrived at the hotel lobby, she relieved they hadn’t stopped at the first couple of hotels, as there was a long line of people wanting to check in. The line moved quickly and when she asked for a room, she was overjoyed to learn they still had rooms available. When the clerk asked about her luggage, she told them all she had was her carry-on as her suitcase was at the airport.

Because she was too afraid, she might be sick on the plane, Mallory hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, so now she was starving. Now that she knew that she had a reprieve, after she dropped off her carry-on in her room, she went downstairs to get something to eat.

She stepped into the restaurant of the hotel, deciding to order a chicken dinner and a glass of water. As she waited for her waitress to arrive to take her order, thoughts of going home filled her with dread. Hoping some alcohol would numb those thoughts of what she was going to have to live with once she returned to the house of vipers, she ordered a strawberry daiquiri as well.

So deep in thought about taking care of her aunt, she was oblivious of her surroundings. So much so, she didn’t notice a young man watching her from the other side of the room, nor the fact that she was crying.

She didn’t notice him until he stopped at her table with two glasses in his hand and she realized someone was standing beside her. When she looked up, she was surprised to see a stunning looking man standing in front of her. Mallory’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out as she simply stared at him. What was this gorgeous man doing standing in front of her?

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but would you mind if I joined you?” he said, smiling down at her.

So bewitched by his presents, it took her a moment to find her voice. “Please sit down.”

He set the two drinks down before he put his hand out to her. “I’m Derrick Hart.” As he waited for her to reply, he started daydreaming about asking her to be his wife, which shocked him, since they’d just met. When their hands touched, he was stunned by the warm loving reaction he’d felt, which only enforced his idea to ask her to marry him. He hadn’t ever experienced such a reaction to a person like that before, not even with Brooke. Derrick couldn't explain it, but there was something special about this woman as she called to his heart. “And you are?”

Mallory reached out her hand, when it touched his, a quick tingling ran up her arm. So startled by the sensation, she quickly let go of his hand, as it made her feel as if she was falling in love with him. She had to shake her head to get her brain working. “I’m Mallory Ridge. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I hope I’m not intruding?” he asked, hoping she would say he wasn’t.

“No, of course not. Please sit down.”

“Are you crying because your flight has been grounded?” He knew from others in the room that the hotel was full of other travelers who had rushed to find a place to stay for the night.

She quickly put her hand up to her face and wiped the moisture away. “No, I’m not upset about that,” she said sadly. “In fact, I’m thankful by the reprieve.”

“You don’t seem excited about going home.” His heart went out to her as he could tell she was hurting for some reason.

She smiled at him. “How can you tell?”

“Something about the way you mentioned having a reprieve,” he replied with a smile. “Why don’t you want to go home?”

“I’m on my way home to Kansas City to help with a family matter that I don’t want to do. I’m pleased for the delay, as I’m not ready to deal with my aunt and cousin just yet.”

“I understand about family. I’m just returning to Arizona from a visit with my family, which was a very emotional trip for me. You see, my ex-wife is now married to my younger brother, and they are expecting a baby in a few weeks, making the whole visit uncomfortable for us all.

She wanted to ask him about his family situation, but decided against it, as it wasn’t any of her business. “I have been away in California for the past four years, first at college and then with my job. Before that, I lived with my Uncle Eric, my father’s brother and his family after the death of my parents.” Mallory had to stopped and looked out the window, as her eyes began to fill with tears at the thought of what her home life was going to be like while taking care of her hatful aunt.

Derrick took hold of her hand. “I’m sorry.”

She turned and gave him a smile. “My aunt is dying and since my cousin doesn’t want to take care of her mother anymore, my uncle has asked me to come home to help. I owe my uncle a great deal for taking me in all those years ago, so I said yes.”

“That’s nice of you,” he said sincerely.

Tears continued to sparkle in her eyes. “It’s going to be hard for me to do, but I feel it’s the least, I could do to repay him.” She gave Derrick a weak smile. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all my family problems.”

“No, that’s all right. Sometimes it helps to be able to talk about what is troubling you. Go on with your story,” he said as he handed her a cocktail napkin to wipe her tears.

“Thank you,” she said, as she accepted it from him. She quickly finished was left of her first drink, and then picked up the drink he’d brought her. As soon as she took a sip of the drink, she wondered if she should exchange it for one without alcohol in it, but since she wasn’t going anywhere tonight, she decided it couldn’t hurt. “Maybe after I tell you my story, you’ll tell me why your ex-wife is now married to your brother.” She simply had to know the story behind that situation.

“It’s a deal,” he said, giving her a warm smile.

“I have a lot of resentments towards my aunt and cousin, as they made my years with them a living hell. As soon as I could, I got a job just so I wouldn’t have to be at home with them.” Her words brought back all the pain she’d lived with while live with her uncle’s family.

When Derrick realized she had lost the fight with the tears, he moved his chair directly next to her and gently put his arms around her. When she didn’t pull away, he began rubbing her arm and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Let it out. A good cry never hurts.”

Mallory glanced up at him, looking directly into his eyes. “Derrick, I’m such a terrible person, as I’m not sorry she’s dying,” she sobbed, then she quickly looked down at her hands.

“No, you aren’t a bad person. Your aunt was mean to you and you feel she is getting what she deserves for how she treated you.”

Mallory jerked her head up and her eyes met his. “Yes, that’s exactly how I feel,” she responded quietly.

The two of them sat there for the next hour talking about their lives and of course, drinking. When Mallory finally decided it was time to turn in for the night, Derrick offered to walk her to her door. Since she wasn’t ready to leave his company just yet, she accepted his offer. They slowly walked to her room, hand and hand, each thinking about what was going to happen once they reached her room. When Mallory opened her door, she turned to him, but before she could speak, Derrick’s mouth latched onto hers.

The kiss was so stimulating that it sent shivers down her spine. Mallory knew she should push him away, but she didn’t want him to stop, as she hadn’t ever had a man affected her this way before. Wanting to feel loved, she pulled him closer and practically melted in his arms as his lip continued to make love to hers.

Derrick gently pushed her backward into the room, closing the door as they passed through it. The heat between them continued to build as his hands continued to roam her body. He knew he should stop, but it wasn’t in his power to do so, as he wanted this woman too much.

“Mallory,” Derrick whispered. “I want you.”

“Yes,” she muttered, as that was all she was capable to say to him.

Their clothes were rapidly thrown in different directions throughout the room and soon they were naked on the bed. They continued to kiss passionately, and without his mouth ever leaving hers, Derrick slowly moved on top of her.

Since Derrick was sterile, and she didn’t ask him to use anything, he continued with his lovemaking without using any protection. Not only that, but because of the intense heat between them, he couldn’t have stopped to take care of it even if he’d wanted to. A second later, he was surprised by her barrier, but the moment was too extreme for him to stop in what they were doing, and her virginity was quickly disposed of.

Mallory not having any prior experience with sex was thrown by Derrick and his lovemaking. She’d done a lot of reading about sex, but she hadn’t ever dreamed sex with a man would be so breathtaking, so invigorating, or so incredible. Once wasn’t enough for the couple, and after the second time around, they snuggled in each other’s arms and fell into a deep sleep.