by Leela Ash
Suddenly, his body was pressed against her, his mouth hard against hers, and the heat in her loins exploded into a full-blown inferno. But she was put off by his forcefulness; by the way his strong hands gripped her wrists tightly as if to stop her from trying to get away from him.
Molly pulled her head away with a deep gasp, trying to still her beating heart and cool the aching in her loins. This was not the way she wanted to give herself away. Where was the romance? This man had refused to say even one kind word to her the entire day, instead whining and stomping about like a spoiled little child. What had he done to deserve her body?
“Let go,” she said quietly, holding Greyson’s eye firmly. It was something she had been told never to do – to hold a shifter’s eye was to challenge him – but there was no way she was going to let him just take her like that. She deserved more than this, even if he had paid good money for her. She wasn’t just a toy.
“Oh, come on. Grow up a little, will you?” Greyson asked, his eyes growing angrier the longer she looked into them. “We’re both adults here!”
“Whether we’re adults or not is beside the point,” Molly said, taking a firm step away from Greyson. “If we’re going to be married, there’s a certain level of understanding I think we should have for each other first. Don’t you agree?”
Greyson glowered and said nothing.
“I may not understand what shifter life is like, or all of your customs, but no matter whose world we are living in, I want you to know that consent is important to me. Is that understood? I’m not just going to give myself away to you because you feel like taking something you’re not entitled to.”
Molly did her best to keep from raising her voice, doing everything in her power to keep it even as she held Greyson’s gaze. She knew she might be ruining her chances of saving her family by speaking this way, but she knew her father, and her brother, for that matter, would feel much better knowing that she had learned how to respect herself rather than being walked all over by a spoiled shifter.
“So you would have me wait until our wedding night to take what is mine?” Greyson demanded, his eyes hard.
“I may be engaged to you, but I am not yours. Or anybody’s. I will act as your wife, and do what is expected of a wife when the time comes, but not before that. Is that clear to you?”
Molly’s heart pounded hard in her chest, and Greyson came close to her, causing another unwelcomed jolt of heat to her thighs. But she wouldn’t give in to him. They had to start this relationship on a solid foundation if it was going to be something they were both stuck with for the rest of their lives. And if Greyson couldn’t handle this, then maybe they would be better off without each other.
“I understand,” Greyson said, turning away. “That you’re a prudish bitch.”
The words stung in a way that Molly hadn’t expected, but when she caught the look on Greyson’s face as he turned his back on her, she realized that he was speaking out of spiteful malice. He hadn’t gotten what he wanted. And apparently, that wasn’t something that he was used to. It would take some time to teach boundaries to a man like this, but she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t try.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Molly said. “Maybe we can talk more about it in the morning. I would like to get to know you better.”
The words made Greyson freeze in the doorway, and he stood there for a moment before turning to face her, his features no longer tight and angry, but confused.
“Oh,” he said. He shrugged his broad shoulders and then disappeared from the doorway, leaving Molly standing in the middle of the room, her body overwhelmed by a strange combination of sensations.
Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to see this thing through. It might be more bearable if she could at least begin to feel friendly toward the jerk. Maybe having a conversation would be the best way to go about that.
When she was finished unpacking, Molly headed into the guest bathroom to shower and dress herself in her nightgown before finally sinking into the luxurious bed. She had never been so comfortable in her life, but the things on her mind made it difficult to appreciate that. If she couldn’t make things work with Greyson, she was just going to have to figure out another way to save her family.
6.
Greyson woke up the next morning, apprehensive about the woman sleeping in his home. She had really tried to put him in his place the night before, and whether he deserved it or not, he wasn’t used to anybody undermining him. Especially, not a woman.
But when he went down the long spiral staircase to confront Molly, he stopped short. She was standing downstairs with Baron, holding a tray of breakfast.
“Baron told me how you like your eggs. I thought I’d give it a try. Come, give them a taste and tell me what you think!”
Greyson opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. She was such a beautiful girl. But not in the bitchy way that most of his acquaintances tended to be, knowing that their money apparently put them on par with the gods themselves. No, this was a different type of beauty entirely. And it was his.
He followed Molly helplessly to the dining room, where she sat the tray down in front of him and took a seat at the table in front of her own plate of food. She smiled at Baron, who nodded elegantly before he left the room. Greyson took in the exchange in shock. Baron had always been cold and standoffish with Greyson. It was strange to see the hint of a smile on his old lips. What could they have been doing that morning to make such a cold old man warm up so quickly to his new guest?
“I hope you like it. If you don’t, there’s already a batch made that Baron did, just so you wouldn’t end up going hungry. He told me how important it is to you to have your meals done properly. I guess I wasn’t raised in the same way, so food doesn’t have quite the same importance to me.”
Greyson nodded rigidly and took his seat, his fork hovering above the round, crispy fried eggs on his plate. He could feel Molly’s beautiful eyes on him, eager and waiting, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly agitated by the pressure. What did she expect from him?
“I don’t like being watched while I eat,” he said, pursing his lips and letting his fork clatter down loudly on his plate.
Molly’s cheeks reddened, and Greyson couldn’t help but hate himself for all the hell he was putting her through.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. She looked down at her own plate, but the smile still lingered on her lips, and she began to eat cheerfully.
It was strange to see anyone in a good mood so early in the morning. His own parents had always been stern and cold until they had been given their fill of caffeinated specialty brews and at least two hours alone to themselves before facing the rest of the world. Greyson had never been able to relate to their miserable morning attitudes; he felt excited to greet each new day. That is, unless he had a hangover.
Once he was satisfied that Molly had finally taken all of her attention off of him, he took his first bite. It was good. Shockingly good.
“How did you do this?” Greyson asked, taking another big mouthful. “Did Baron teach you?”
“He gave me some tips on your personal preferences, but I did everything else myself,” Molly said, keeping her eyes carefully fixed on her own plate and taking another bite of her own breakfast. “I used to cook breakfast for my family on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We took turns with the household duties.”
Greyson frowned. He had never been entrusted with any type of household duty, except being summoned to his father’s office and versed in every abysmally boring aspect of the family business. Greyson hated everything about his father’s business, if he were going to be honest with himself. The man was quite a tyrant, and often made the other shifters of Stonybrooke miserable with his penny-pinching ways. It almost didn’t feel fair for him to grow up in such luxury; especially knowing that there were choices his father often made that put his own family ahead of the good of the pack.
“It’s good,
” Greyson admitted, trying to drive away all thoughts of his father and the enormous headache that was his inheritance. “Thanks.”
He could sense Molly’s mood soar from the compliment, and instead of feeling irritated about it, he couldn’t help but feel a small surge of warmth course through him. She was a sweet girl, that much was obvious. But that only meant she was worth better than this. He had always had a bad reputation, starting from a young age when he began socializing with some of the most hardened, sociopathic children on the block. They’d talked him into getting into all kinds of trouble, and if it weren’t for his father’s money, he probably would have been put in prison long ago for several different reasons.
Fortunately, though, he had gotten rid of most of his terrible friends and did his best to keep his head down. It wouldn’t do him any good to be a thirty-something year old troublemaker. Besides, if he didn’t calm down on the mischief, his father was likely to cut him off financially. Then he would really be in trouble.
“Do you remember what I said last night?” Molly asked suddenly, turning her piercing eyes upon him. Greyson found himself frozen in their sites, completely powerless in the gaze of this sweet, pure woman. How could he have brought her into such a fucked up situation? He couldn’t even take care of himself. What made him think that he could bring a wife into the mix? If only the shifter customs weren’t so important. He could feel it in his blood; the deep, dutiful urge to protect his pack and do whatever he could to contribute to their success in the future.
“About what?” Greyson asked, feigning forgetfulness. It would be easier than admitting to this girl that she had managed to get the upper hand on him. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all night long. It had nearly cost him his precious sleep. Fortunately, he was still hungover enough to welcome the comfort of his bed after the fact.
“We really need to talk. Can’t we just do something together? I feel like it’s important.”
Molly’s eyes were gentle but her tone was firm. Greyson had the feeling it was nearly impossible for any man in her life to say no to her, and whether she knew her power over them or not, she was able to use it to her advantage without being manipulative about it. Where on earth did this girl come from?
“Um…”
Greyson shoveled more egg into his mouth and chewed, swallowing hard. Somehow, after the suggestion of some kind of conversation, they had lost some of their flavor and now felt chalky in his mouth. What was he going to say to her? Did she want him to apologize for being an ass? Because that wasn’t the kind of thing he was comfortable doing. His motto was to learn from his mistakes and do better later. Apologies were just another form of dwelling as far as Greyson was concerned. He could do without them.
“It doesn’t even have to be a big deal. You seemed very…interesting…on the phone, and I’d like to know more about the man who chose me. Is that a difficult request?”
Greyson hated feeling cornered almost more than he hated being left hungry, and he shoved the chair back and stood abruptly.
“I don’t know why you think you own the place now. Just because I brought you here on some drunken whim doesn’t mean I want to know anything about you. Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Greyson demanded, his heart constricting painfully as he watched Molly’s sweet face fall. Why did the wolf have to insist on asserting itself at all times? What kind of man did it make him to bully an innocent human around like this?
Still, she needed to know just what she was getting into by agreeing to marry a shifter. The fact was, there were times when the wolf was going to take control, and he wasn’t always going to be able to stop it. Just like now. When it came to his reflexes, fight or flight, there was no turning back. The wolf would always choose fight. Time and again, it would choose fight and win, or die trying.
But it was just too much to try to begin to explain to Molly over their sad little plates of eggs, and as much as he was burning to know her – intimately – there was a pacing to these things that you just couldn’t force. Greyson cleared his throat and held Molly’s gaze.
“I want to do this as organically as possible,” Greyson said, hoping that he would be able to express his true intention to her without having to say too much. Emotions and the like were hardly a shifter specialty. They were the kind of people who said things as they were and left everything else to their senses. Humans seemed so under-developed in that aspect. “Please don’t push things.”
Molly gaped at him, her blue eyes wide as she nodded. He could tell from the expression on her face that she had seen the wolf in him. Now, all he could do was wait and see if it had been bad enough for her to flee. She would be better off if she did. He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman as good as she was anyway.
Greyson left the room, shaking his head miserably. This whole stupid thing had been nothing but a huge mistake. If it turned out that he couldn’t trust his instincts, then he was just going to give up on finding a mate once and for all, and focus on what was really important; his research.
7.
“What’s he like?” Molly’s sister Haley asked. Molly laid back in her bed and sighed heavily.
“I don’t even know how to describe him,” she said, shaking her head.
“Is he handsome?” Haley pried.
“Very,” Molly admitted. There were times she could still feel his urgent touch on her body, and a hot surge of electricity would seize her body for a moment. It was embarrassing, really, but she had never seen a man more incredibly attractive.
“So, what’s he look like?”
Molly sighed. Talking about Greyson with her sister wouldn’t exactly help her case any. Still, she couldn’t help but feel excited to speak about him to someone. Hayley was older, and more experienced than Molly was in so many ways. It seemed kind of appropriate for them to be discussing her groom to be as if all of this was somehow normal. It gave her a small sense of security to gossip with her sister as if her family was right around the corner and they would be invited to her wedding.
“I don’t know. Have you ever seen a shifter in person before?”
“No, but I’ve seen the ones in the movies. The actors? They’re sooo hot!”
Molly pursed her lips. “Well, imagine that, but in person.”
“You’re a lucky woman,” Haley said with a laugh. “Has anything happened between the two of you yet?”
Was she really lucky? Molly wasn’t sure. And the question brought up more of the same confusing feelings she’d been having all week long. Greyson was hot and cold with her, and she’d had another incident where he’d tried to cross the line, late in the night when she was least expecting to see him. Each incident was exciting and left her feeling powerfully aroused, but she just couldn’t let herself be forced into submission like that. Especially not with her virginity on the line. She simply wasn’t ready; especially with Greyson. He seemed like he hated her most of the time. In fact, she wasn’t sure he was capable of having a loving bone in his body.
“Nothing much,” Molly finally answered. “And besides, that kind of thing is personal, you know?”
Haley laughed. “Well, you always were kind of a prude,” she said. Molly glowered, but Haley continued to laugh the same as she always did when she was making fun of her little sister. “It’s all right if it has and it’s all right if it hasn’t. As long as you’re okay.”
The statement came out almost more like a question, and suddenly, Molly felt ashamed of herself for being annoyed at Haley. It was nice to have somebody out there who did seem to care genuinely for how she was feeling. Heaven knew nobody in the estate gave the thought any matter. Especially not the man she wished most of all could just get out of his own self-centered rut and pay attention to other things.
“I’m fine, sis, thank you for asking,” Molly said, sighing quietly. “I don’t know where this relationship with him is going, if anywhere, but I’m really glad that we can still talk.”
“It was all part of the
deal,” Haley reminded her. “Dad made sure Jeffers put it in the contract. None of that refusing contact with the original family shit. It just seems tacky and cruel to do it that way. I can’t believe the kind of shit Jeffers does when he doesn’t think anybody is paying attention.”
Molly’s stomach flip-flopped. “Yeah.”
“I know it can be hard for you to get used to a new place. Too bad you don’t have your stuffed bunny anymore. She seemed to get you through some rough times.”
Molly laughed for the first time in what felt like years. “Mrs. Carrotfoot? She was the best.”
“Yeah, I remember your face when you opened her up for your birthday too. I’ve never seen a more happy kid.”
Haley’s voice broke suddenly and Molly grimaced. It was hard enough to talk to her sister without being able to see her face. Let alone being trapped in this terrifying shifter town with no friends or family to speak of.
“Hey,” she said gently. “Calm down. It’s not like I’m dead or something. We might even get to spend the holidays together, you know. It will be great. Like old times.”
But the words sounded hollow coming out of her mouth, and Haley cried quietly for a moment, sniffling into the phone before speaking again.
“Mom and dad are a wreck about this. Dad’s still doing everything he can to try to raise the money to buy your freedom. He says the deal isn’t official yet, and he’s still waiting on the money from the wedding.”
“Let them know that everything is going to be fine, all right? I’m taking care of it.”
“Moll, none of us want to see you throwing your life away. I mean, it’s one thing to joke about cute guys, but it’s really another thing entirely to live with them. Trust me…”
Molly sighed. She wished she could teleport through the phone to her sister and hug her. It would do them both good to be near each other once again. But that just wasn’t possible right now. Not when there was so much more at stake.
