Captivated

by Bertrice Small

  Nothing. No one. She wheeled and darted into the bathing alcove, but Louisa was gone as well, silent as a ghost; the connecting door was bolted.

  Locked in! Like an animal confined for mating…

  She felt murderous, vulnerable. She grabbed the bedspread and wrapped it around her shaking body. She would never be naked for him.Never!

  She wanted every just impediment to their union.

  She wanted Gerard. Furiously, she pulled open the armoire doors.

  Empty! But what did she expect; they werehis servants, they had no loyalty to her, they would dohis bidding, not hers. And obviously, they had had strict instructions to remove her clothes.

  Mistress of Wildwood… she thought bitterly, pulling the bedspread tighter around her body as she paced around the room…In name only. In reality she was nothing more than his slave, as much at his beck and call as anyone else in the house.

  And he had set it up so well she had nowhere to run… and no place to hide.

  How could her father have let this happen? How could Gerard?

  And thenthe waiting; how long would he make her wait? And when he camethen what?

  He's entitledto a hundred thousand dollars worth of my body…Alifetime of servicing him in the name of filial love and daughterly devotion…

  A brood mare…

  She stopped her furious pacing by the satin-draped window and she pulled back the filmy under curtain. There was peace and beauty outside that windowthe bright midday sun softened by the shadows of the oaks that lined the drive, the rolling green lawn stretching to the road, and the levee and the flowing river beyond.

  There was no one in sight. In a house like Wildwood, all of the work was done subtly, behind the scenes, so that all a visitor or a passerby saw was a picture of calm and serenity.

  But she was neither calm nor serene. A moment from now, or an hour, Court would unlock that door and demand his marital rights.

  It was unimaginable. She was so used to Gerard's gentlemanly way of courting her. Of respect and reverence. Of kisses lighter than a soufflé.

  She knew already that Court was a man of intensity and passion, and a temper that was under laid by a very short fuse. He had a low tolerance for fools, and no store of patience at all. When Court wanted something, he got it, and she knew that her body was no exception. He would not have agreed to the bargain if he hadn't, for some reason, wantedher.

  But no, what he wanted was Oak Bluff, and if he got a reluctant body with it, well, it probably wasn't any different to him than buying a whore in the French Quarter.

  Oh, God…

  A man like Court didn't like to wait. He would be here, soonshe was sure of it.

  She dropped the curtain and turned back into the roomthe beautiful, luxuriously furnished room that should have been a bridal bower, and a place of transition from her virginal world to one of carnal delights.

  It felt like a prison.

  What would he ask of her? And how?

  Would he even kiss her?

  Or would he just throw her down on the thick feather bed and demand that she spread her legs?

  He wouldn't be that callous. He couldn't.

  But then, he wouldn't know that she loved another, that she had already discovered the pleasure of kisses and caresses in another man's arms…

  Oh, Gerard…

  She groaned. The betrayal was almost crippling. She would have given herself to Gerard in an instant, and instead she was waiting for her darkmaster to come and command her as he would any slave.

  She shook away the thought. She couldn't keep thinking like that; it would only lead to disaster. She felt resentful enough already.

  And scared.

  One night, Drue. Just one night and you'll be a virgin no more. He'll just come and sink himself into you, and after that, it will be easy.

  Easy for him…

  Never easy for a woman

  She had never seen a naked man. Not her father. Not Gerard. And she herself had never been naked this long after a bath. Always her maid scrubbed her down, rinsed her off, and trundled her into a towel, robe, and gown within the space of ten or fifteen minutes.

  She felt as if she had been exposed for hours. She felt uncomfortable, awkward, stupid, deathly afraid.

  Gerard would never have treated her this way…

  She shuddered. So useless thinking of what might have been…

  And what was her father doing, this night of the sacrifice of his virgin daughter to the god of saving face?

  STOP IT!

  She was acting like a frightened child, a victim, when she should be comporting herself like a queen. After all, shewas the mistress of Wildwood.

  For whatever that was worth…

  …for her part, Drue Caledon will act as mistress of Wildwood, including, but not limited to, providing companionship and sexual congress for her husband; attending to all household functions, overseeing the house, gardens and servants; keeping account of and doling out stores, arranging dinners, attending to guests; and other unspecified services as defined by her husband that fall within the purview of her wifely duties…

  Written up as tightly as any contract executed by a lawyer. Court had known exactly what he wanted and how to get it. She was nothing more than an item on his list to be attended to when he had the time.

  And she had willingly signed herself into servitude, goaded on by her father's penitent promises of reform and his visions of a future full of wealth and luxuryfor them both.

  Did any woman ever have a choice?Had her mother?

  The silence of the house was disturbing. A house of secrets, she thought despairingly, behind whose walls she was already immured as absolutely as a nun.

  And she would know all the secrets of a woman and a man before the day was over.

  The ring felt odd on his finger: constricting, eternal, foreverthere.

  What a man did in the space of a moment that irrevocably altered his life…

  He might not have married for years, if it weren't for the lure of Oak Bluffs…

  And Drue.

  He climbed the steps slowly, thoughtfully. It would be so easytoo easyto just give in to his carnal impulses. He wished he were a creature of the senses, like that blasted Lenoir. Then he'd have no conscience about taking what he wanted and the hell with the consequences.

  Lenoir had been so sure that Oak Bluffs would be his. And Drue.

  But all that was over now. Victor was contained, for the moment, although he had no illusions about that. Lenoir was goneCourt had made sure of it before they even left the church grounds. And now all that awaited him was the moment of truth with Drue.

  He had set up the scenario; the only thing he didn't know was how it was going to play. Without a doubt, she still cared for Lenoir, which was going to make his possession of her that much more difficult.

  And his highhandedness had probably made her either scared or furious. Hewanted her full of spit and sass, like that flash of fire she'd shown at the reception.

  For him.

  He didn't want a doll that he could prop and pose any way he desired. He could buy that on any street any night in New Orleans.

  You couldn'tbuy a lady. Naked. In your bed.

  His blood burned at the thought.

  You bought Drue.

  He quelled the thought and shrugged out of his frock coat, tossing it at one of the console tables, as he reached the landing.

  He was no shining knight and he was the first to admit it. His motives were just as base as any man in heat, except that he had gone after one woman, one body, one object he wanted to possess.

  But he was not a man of indiscriminate tastes.

  His tie went next, draped over a piece of useless porcelain. His boots, kicked across the hallway.

  His lust escalated moment by moment.

  How often did a man get to set the scene for his seduction? The thought of Drue beyond that door, naked, quivering, waitingwaiting for him made his juices boil.
/>   Even if she didn't want him…

  He was certain she heard the rasp of the key in the lock, but she didn't turn from the window as he eased his way into the room.

  He didn't know what he expected, but certainly not Drue wrapped up like a mummy, staring out the window and looking impossibly fragile.

  He locked the door behind him, slowly, carefully, buying time. Drue was furious and not a little wary as she slanted an uneasy glance at him.

  He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door, waiting.Goddamn it, goddamn it. She was thinking about Lenoir. Saving herselfas if she couldfor that jack dandy.

  Over his dead body. He'd kill the bastard first. And he was going to destroy every memory of him from Drue's mind, if he had to kill her, too.

  The silence stretched uncomfortably. She had thought for sure he would come in making demands, making it easy for her to resist him, fight himhurt him so he wouldn't want to touch herever.

  But he said nothing. No, that wasn't strictly true. His eyes spoke. His eyes burned with a message that even she, in her innocence, could read. He had come to collect on his investment.

  Andshe was the payment.

  "I want my clothes," she said tightly.

  "No clothes." His voice was like iron.

  Her heart fell.Noclothes. No mercy.

  What had she thought? He would come with pearls and poetry, petting and pleas?

  He was rough and rude and accustomed to getting what he wanted.

  So be it.

  She turned and climbed stiffly onto the bed, dragging the bedspread behind her. "I'm ready."

  He suppressed a flare of annoyance. There was no one less ready than Drue, with her martyred expression and thick cocoon of the bedspread swathing her more securely than a chastity belt.

  She needed a strong, firm hand. Drue was not stupid. Or unaware. But what had he expected? The fawn was skittish and prone to hide from her predator. And his job was to lure her out and then dominate all her virginal impulses until she begged for surrender.

  "I'm not," he said bluntly. "And this isn't how it's going to go."

  "The only way it has to go is that you get it over with," Drue snapped, wriggling into an upright position.

  That was better: the fawn was showing some teeth.

  He didn't change his stance. Not yet. Not yet. This was not Drue's game, even if she refused to admit it. She had still to learn who had the power to make demands, and who must submit. But hewould have his way. And he would haveher, even if he had to discipline her to get her.

  "This is the first thing we get over with," he said evenly. "Two conditions, little fawn, and they arenot negotiable."

  Her expression turned mutinous. "You've already dictated the terms, Court. I won't abide any other considerations on top of that."

  "Two conditions," he said inflexibly, ignoring her. "You never,ever hide your naked body from me"

  She made an angry motion.

  "… and number twoyou willnever deny me anything I demandin our bedroom."

  Her heart swooped down to her toes. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She wanted to kill him. He'd bought her and now he had stripped everything from her, right down to her clothes.

  He owned her, body and soul. There was nothing left of her now that didn't belong to him. And if she had thought to hold him off with words or with a puny wall of cotton, she had underestimated his determination to get most use of his newest possession.

  He was her master and she was nothing more or less than a body to service him:his slave, to his whims, his control, his lust.

  For all the days of your life… Her breath caught as the impact of those words struck her. Linked to him forever, never to know any other love, any other life.

  "Did you hear me?" Court murmured, his voice deceptively, dangerously, low.

  Her voice caught. "I… heard you."

  "Did you? Youheard me? Youknow what I wantyouheard what I want and you haven'tyet complied? Isthat what I'm to understand, little fawn? That my wishesaren't paramount with you? That the two small inconsequential requests I have made are to be disregarded altogether by you?"

  "I" She almost choked. Themaster was speaking, his voice like iron, his eyes cold, his expression impassive. He meant to exert every measure of control, to make her understand that he could do with her whatever he wanted, because he had paid for the right to do so.

  Off the auction block and into his bed. What was the difference after all?

  "I want you nakednow!"

  That tone brooked no argument, no resistance. And still, she couldn't bring herself to reveal her body to him. She cowered on the bed, feeling an overwhelming sense of betrayal.

  Forgive me, Gerard… my love, my love…

  "Get used to it, little fawn." He started toward her slowly, each step measured by his soft, lustful, dangerous words. "You will be naked for me from now on. There won't be a bolt of material or a piece of clothing in this room that you can use to cover yourself from this moment forward."

  Closer he came, and she scrambled across the bed.

  "I will dictate what you will wear, when and evenif, and I will be the one who dresses youif I ever let you get dressed again for the rest of your life…" Implacably, inexorably, he followed her around the bed as she backed away from him.

  "I bought your naked body, my fawn, and it is mine, and Iwill have you anytime, anywhere, I want, and nothing you can do will prevent that."

  He was within inches of her as she crouched by the locked door. He hunkered down beside her. "What you won't give me willingly, Iwill take. And you'll be confined to this room, naked, until my wishes are clearly understood."

  Black devil… beast! How could he treat her so? She gathered every reserve of strength she possessed and got to her feet.

  "You willnever have me," she hissed defiantly.

  He looked up at her. "Oh, but I will, little fawn. And this will be the hardest lesson you will ever have to learn. The masteralways gets everything he wants."

  He rose gracefully to his feet. "I want you naked. Are you still going to resist me, Drue?"

  "Someone should," she muttered, pulling the bedspread closer.

  "But not the ungrateful drab whose father's life and reputation I saved. You should be naked and on your back, spreading your legs and begging me to stuff myself into you. Any other woman would have kissed my feet and any other part of my body I desired in gratitude for what I did."

  He inched closer to her. "But not you. Oh, no, not the princess of Oak Bluffs. All that money and I can't evenlook at your naked body."

  He was as close as a breath now, hot and engorged with lust, anger, and pure wanton desire. "You thought you could remain pure for that coxcomb, Lenoir, didn't you, little fawn? You thought I'd just lift your skirts and pump myself into you and that would be the end of it and you still could remain loyal to him. That's what you thought, wasn't it?Wasn't it? But that's not nearly how it's going to be."

  He closed his hand over the edge of the material that covered her shoulders. "My house. My bedspread. My money.My naked wife. Let go of this thing,now… "

  She resisted. She couldn't help herself. She could not willingly submit to him. And to the fury in his voice and the anger in his eyes. And the strength in his hand as he ruthlessly stripped the bedspread away from her body and stepped back.

  She clutched the torn, ragged edge of the binding against her breasts, as if that would protect her from him.

  He pulled it out of her hands and threw it on the floor, and then she had nothing but the cool gleam of his possessive gaze to cover her, from her burning face, downward to her taut-tipped breasts, downward still to those private places even she didn't know.

  She froze as he walked around her to view her from every angle.

  "Well, well, well, aren't you the hot-tailed little piece, my fawn. Who would have guessed that under all that virginal muslin and lace there was a naked body that looked likethis."

 
And it was all his, his to teach, train, discipline, and do with what he would. No one else would ever have her now.

  He was face-to-face with her again, his burning eyes two narrow slits as he gazed his fill of her naked breasts. "I think maybe I didn't pay too much for you." His voice turned steely. "Don't move, Drue. I don't think I can get enough of looking at you."

  She could barely stand itthose knowing eyes, the huge obvious bulge between his legs, the feeling of vulnerability, and of being stalked by something more primitive and more powerful than she. He could devour her. Hewould, in ways she didn't even know about.

  "Just… just get it over with," she ground out.

  "No. No…" He was circling her again. "You are something to savor, my fawn. Those round, high breasts, those hard, pointed nipples, those hips, those buttocks… I want to take my time with you. Days and days, I just want to look at you…"

  "Courtplease…"

  "No. I want you to live naked in my house from now on, and I will tell you what I want and what to do. And you'll do it, Drue. I promise you. You will do it. And you won't have a moment to think about anyone or anything else. Now, turn and walk away from me. I want to watch the movement of your buttocks when you walk."

  "Please don't"

  "Please don'twhat? Touch you? I haven't, although I want to, most powerfully. Force you? I haven't. I won't. It's enough for me to have you naked and at my mercy. Now,walk."

  Oh, yes, at his mercy; precisely. Definitively. And all those references to Gerard… they made her blood turn cold.

  He knew

  Dear God, how did he know?

  And if he knew… she had no choice but to do everything he wanted, anything he wanted to protect Gerard and to conceal the fact she loved him.

  Her whole body felt like lead. She didn't know how she was going to do this, how she was going to let Court even touch her.

  She swallowed, turned, so that for one instant the curve of her breasts and the tight thrust of her nipples were outlined in the light, and then she slowly moved away from him.

  Don't think about anything or anyone else. Don't feel his eyes on you or the heat washing all over your body. Don't… don't… don't

  He watched her through hooded eyes. She was so perfect, flawless, her buttocks soft and rounded and flaring into those swaying hips that were made to be grasped tightly as a man centered himself to penetrate her.