by Ashlee Price
“How can you ask me that?”
Callie didn’t know what that meant and she looked down. It had taken all of her courage to say anything, but she knew that the only way he was going to stop her from going back to Chris, was to want her in all ways. She had to be the good wife and in the back of her mind, Callie figured that once her innocence was gone, Chris would have less want for her. He only wanted her so he could control her and be the first, but if she was already taken, maybe she wouldn’t appeal to a man like that anymore.
“I, I don’t know the way of men.”
Why was everything she was saying driving him crazy? Did she know what little things like that would do to him? Was she really that innocent?
“I think you know enough Callie, to know that the man this morning wants what every man wants from you. I am no different.”
It was what she wanted to hear, but it also made her shiver inside a little and look away. Callie was aware that many men wanted the same thing from her, but it did nothing to make it any easier to read the need for her in his eyes.
“Then why have you not…?” She couldn’t finish the sentence, though neither one of them needed her to. It was clear what it was that he hadn’t done. They had been married a week and she was as untouched as when she began. Callie was starting to worry that something was wrong with her. There was nothing she seemed able to do about it though. This was her last chance before Chris came the next day.
“I don’t have good luck with women that I… do that with. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He sat back and saw something else on her face. It wasn’t just lust that he saw, but fear as well. What was she so afraid of?
“And this has nothing to do with the man here this morning?”
Callie looked away for a moment. Was she that easy to see through? It appeared she was and he was not giving her any slack whatsoever. “Chris coming here has nothing to do with the fact that we are married now.”
Thomas didn’t like the answer and it felt like he was being manipulated. He didn’t have to look hard to find something more in her look. She was not trying to seduce him because she was dying to be with him. It was because she was afraid and wanted his protection. That was how he saw it and he gruffly told her that she didn’t have to do anything to get that. “You are my wife Callie. I told you before that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I meant it.”
***
He went to bed that night and wished that he had gone against his first thoughts. There was something about the way she had looked at him, but he didn’t want her if she didn’t really want him. In the end, he had thought about it too much and for too long and by morning, Thomas was waiting for the man to come back. He wasn’t going to be welcome there and he had already decided that no matter who told him to do what, Callie was not going anywhere with anyone.
When the knock finally came, it was only the man that had been there the day before. He was there to offer more money and Thomas knew that the lack of help arriving, told him that Lord Farish wasn’t going to hear his plight. It was Scotland and though they may have done things differently there, she was his wife and there was nothing that Chris could do about it. No matter what could be said about Callie, she had found a way out of it.
Thomas told her later that evening when he got back what had happened and told her that she was free now. Callie thanked him, but she didn’t like the way he said it. She didn’t want to be free. She wanted to just be his wife. Callie wanted a family like every other woman and as Thomas still didn’t go to her at night, she felt like she was on the right road to getting everything that she wanted.
The two got closer together and it was several weeks later before Thomas’ needs came to a head again. It was too long to go without a woman and he noticed his wife a lot more than before. He also noticed more of all women. He just couldn’t get it from his mind. Callie seemed to notice a difference because she was getting closer to him and making more contact as they went through the days. At night she went to her own room though and he was left to think about the soft touches that they shared. It was a slow torture for Thomas and it was becoming harder to not wish for more.
Callie had learned a lot about her husband from gossip in the village. He was known to be something of a ladies’ man and he even turned the charm on her so much sometimes that she could barely keep her breath, but he never let it go any further. The tension in the house was rising and Callie tried to figure out a way to ease them. She wished that she knew what he wanted, wished that she could take away all of that self-control.
There were several times that she had tried in her own ways. She made him his favorite meal and made sure he had everything he needed. That didn’t work. So she started dressing with her neckline lower and giving him the same look that she had seen more experienced women use. That didn’t work either and Callie was really starting to think that she was never going to be able to catch his eye. She had tried everything in her arsenal of feminine wiles that she knew of and nothing seemed to work.
***
So several weeks into their marriage, both had gotten more relaxed with each other amongst the constant tension that crept in between them. Thomas didn’t stop on the way home anymore, hadn’t since she had shown such displeasure and though he thought about taking her in all ways, he was still worried that it would destroy the relationship. He wasn’t good with the after and even though he doubted he could ever tire of her, there was still something holding him back.
But all that was about to change and he didn’t even see it coming. He was home a little earlier, Bertraud taking the last post patrol by himself for the castle. He didn’t know why, but he really wanted to see Callie. They had been getting along well and she had promised to make him a dessert that he hadn’t had since he was a child. He expected to catch her in the middle of making it, but instead he caught her in a tub of hot water. There was nothing left to the imagination and he swallowed hard. She didn’t see him yet, washing herself with her back to him and he had to stop himself from dropping what was in his hand.
Thomas wasn’t sure how long he stood there for, but she stood up and all of her curves came to his eyes and his body responded from his long drought. Callie turned around to get something to dry herself off with and stopped when she saw him standing there. It wasn’t that he was there, more that he was looking at her in such a way. Callie moved to cover herself and he finally moved towards her and stopped her hand. “Don’t.”
Her body trembled from the burning inside of her and the cool air on her damp skin. Goose bumps covered her flesh as she stood there in front of him, waiting for him to do something, anything. Instead Thomas just looked at her and found himself shaking on the inside as well.
“I thought you wouldn’t be home for a while.”
Thomas nodded, but didn’t say anything. His heart was pounding in his chest and he knew there was no going back. He had to have her and all he could think of was wondering why he had taken so long to do so.
“I got home early. I think I should make it a point to get home sooner from now on.”
She blushed at his comment and the intense look on his face. He was taking in every inch of her and it was just too much. “I need to get out.”
He nodded, still not moving from in front of her. Thomas just nodded that he heard her, but made no indication that he actually had. He was transfixed. “You need to come to bed with me.”
Callie had a feeling it meant more than it implied. “Bed? Supper is not even ready yet, Thomas.”
Food was the last thing on his mind as he took her hand and helped her out of the tub. She was standing there dripping before he finally covered her with a cloth to dry her. He didn’t want to cover up her smooth skin. He wasn’t giving her any time to think about anything else, pulling her with him into his room. Thomas was shaking and hoping that he would be able to give her what she needed. He was too needy and worried that he was going to swa
llow her whole.
Throwing her down onto the bed, she bounced a little and his eyes were riveted to her chest. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. Thomas was pushing at his own clothing, trying to be in the same state as her. He should have gone slower, not unleashing himself in the way that he did. In that way she was overwhelmed and backing away from him slightly. Thomas wasn’t taking any more time though and pulled her back to him and slid on top of her.
She was left gasping and then their lips met and she was left thinking of nothing else but the way he felt against her. Her thighs opened naturally for him to move between and then he was pushing against her most sensitive place. Gasping, her eyes closed and she waited for what was to come. The pressure on her was discomforting, but also made her want more. She moved her hips upwards, rolling his tip along her wet heat before he finally pulled back and pushed in.
Callie was filled and she cried out with the power of it all. It was almost too much for her, her sharp nails cutting into his back as she called out his name. Thomas had never felt so satisfied from one movement and he was ready to lose himself already. There was going to be no prolonging the pleasure, not when she was already lifting up and moving as she squeezed him tight. Gritting his teeth, he brought her to pleasure before falling off the same cliff.
He had been crazy to think that it couldn’t be the same. It was in some ways, but as he looked down at her and met her bright blue eyes, he knew that there was something more. They were something more and she had finally become a proper wife.
“We should have done this a long time ago.”
Callie nodded and whimpered as he pulled away and lay down beside her. It was too intense one moment and the next she was aching from an open space that she knew only he was meant to fill. It had been what she had wanted all along and getting it was even better than she could have hoped for.
She looked up at the side of his face and smiled. “I am glad you came home early. I didn’t think I was ever going to get your attention.”
Thomas just grinned and closed his eyes. “Well, you definitely have it now, wife.”
~THE END~
Sold to the Pack
Chapter 1
Aria was having a special day. It was her eighteenth birthday and her parent’s had told her that she had a surprise waiting for her when she got home that evening. Aria wasn’t sure what it was going to be, but she knew it was going to be big. She had caught the two of them whispering and staying up late talking for several weeks. There was a tension in the air and it was hard for Aria to contain herself.
Her hopes were on a new car or maybe some money to go backpacking the next year with her friends. She had hinted hard for both of them, but when she had seen their expressions she figured it wasn’t going to happen. There was all of the excitement leading up to her birthday, she was sure that something big was about to happen. Aria just wasn’t sure what it was going to be.
Aria spent most of her day at school. Two months before she was supposed to graduate, Aria could only look forward to the summer and her hopes of the next year in Europe. The day dragged on, as she knew that it would. All she could think about was what better things she could be doing. It didn’t even faze her when she got a B on her math test, something that before would have driven her crazy. Now, all she cared about was what was next. The options seemed endless to the young woman.
“Aria. Hello earth to Aria.” She smiled and then looked over at her friend Amanda.
“What?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Tonight. I can’t wait. I hope we have a party or something.”
“I thought you were coming out with us tonight?”
“I am. Later. My family has a surprise first, so I am not going to be able to come out till after that. Hopefully I will have a new car to drive to your house.”
Amanda smiled back at her and they were shushed by the history teacher. “Ladies if you’re going to disrupt the class, please leave.”
“Gladly.”
Mrs. King gave them both a dirty look from behind her glasses, but said nothing as they walked out into the hallway. Seniors were given a little more slack at the school, especially if their grades were up. Aria had been using it to her advantage lately and she was ready to get out of there.
“Let’s just go Amanda. I mean the last class is just art anyways.”
The redhead looked reluctant. Aria knew that she loved that class. “We can go get a mocha…”
“Okay, you twisted my arm.” Aria smiled. The only thing that Amanda liked more than art was chocolate.
The two girls grabbed their things out of the lockers that they were assigned and headed out of the school. They were technically supposed to sign out when they left and have an excuse, but it was another rule that tended to be overlooked more often than not.
Aria got into Amanda’s car, hoping that it would be the last time she’d have to ride with her. Aria was ready for her own wheels. She was ready for her parents to realize that she was an adult and that she was all grown up.
Amanda went to the coffee place first, ordering them both a frozen sugar and caffeine concoctions. Aria paid like she promised and they went down to the park to drink them and feed the ducks. It was a beautiful afternoon and Aria couldn’t help but feel optimistic. Something big was about to happen. She just knew it.
***
Aria made her way home after Amanda dropped her off a little ways from her house. She didn’t want her parents to know that she had skipped out of the last two classes, but they never paid much attention and the school never called.
She fixed her short hair, pushing it out of her face as she walked down the cracked sidewalk. She pulled the checkered skirt down that was part of her school uniform and sprayed some perfume to hide the faint smoke smell left from her snuck cigarette in the park. It was a nasty habit that she had picked up from Amanda, but she had gotten to like it too much to give up her lapses.
There were several strange cars in the driveway and pulled on the curb in the front of the white clapboard house she had lived in her whole life. Everything that Aria knew was in the small town of Chesterfield and the house on the corner of Smith and Star. She used to think that living on the road with your name on it was something to be proud of, now Aria saw it as just another nail in the coffin of her freedom. All of her family was from the small town, but no one ever seemed to leave. Aria wanted nothing more than to leave and a plane ticket or car was her way of doing it.
Excitement made her hand shake slightly as she opened the door up and then she was confronted with several strangers looking back at her. She smiled politely and scanned the room for her mother. One dark haired, dark-eyed man stepped forward with his hand outstretched.
“Aria?”
She nodded and grasped the hand out of habit and decorum. “It is so good to meet you Aria. My name is Keith. I have heard so much about you.”
Aria was confused. His brown eyes held hers for several moments, before she pulled them away and looked at their hands still touching. She moved her hand away. “It is nice to meet you too, Keith?”
He nodded and she searched the room with her eyes. He was still standing in front of her, but when her mother came into view, she excused herself with a touch on his hard shoulder. Aria was starting to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that was rapidly erasing her earlier feelings of glee. There was something in her mother’s eye that she had not seen much. Something was bothering the older woman and Aria was sure that it had something to do with the men in the living room.
She was urged forward into the kitchen with a nudge of her mother’s head and Aria followed her into the only unoccupied room on the bottom floor. Aria caught a glimpse of her father in the library talking to another man that looked similar to Keith and she saw a large case full of money on the table between them. Something made her pause, but she kept going, sure she’d find out about it later.
Chapter 2
“What’s going on ma? I thought this was going to be a party or something, but I don’t know any of these people.”
Aria only recognized one person and that was the reverend from the local church in town. It did not make sense for him to be there. Her mother’s green eyes kept shifting away from her and that made her more nervous than any of the other strange occurrences of that day. Her mind flitted back to Keith in the living room and his comment of hearing so much about her. She wasn’t sure why he’d have heard anything about her.
Beverly looked up at her youngest daughter and she almost had tears in her red-rimmed eyes. The woman did not know how to say what she needed to say and she knew that her news was not going to be taken well at all. While Aria had always just wanted freedom to roam, since her birth, she was shackled to a life that she did not even know existed.
“Mom. You’re starting to scare me. What is going on and why are you looking so sad?”
“I just don’t know how to tell you this dear. I have always known that one day it would come to this, but I’d always hoped that things would turn out differently.”
The woman was talking in circles and confusing Aria even more. Her mother motioned her down to sit at the table and she waited anxiously for what it was all about.
“Beverly hurry up. We have a wedding to do. Have you seen Aria yet?”
Beverly looked to the man standing in the doorway. Her husband had less tact than most and he did not seem to understand the need to handle a situation with a softer hand. The woman knew that he had tried to act like a father to Aria, but there wasn’t a bond that many had, even with fifteen years of raising behind them. Howard was just not as invested as she was and he did not really understand the situation. All he knew was that he got a bunch of money and rid of a thorn in his side.
