ROMANCE_A Tempting Bride

by Vanessa Rose

  “So glad that we’re on the same page,” he said. “I’ll take this and more for the rest of my life.”

  “The rest of your life?” she asked as her body started to relax against the bed in his arms. She found her fingers absently playing with his as he bathed her brow with kisses. “Thought this was just like a six-month gig.”

  “Oh that?” he teased as he rolled to his back and let her lay on his chest. Liking the power of being on top, Jeri still bit down on her lip and waited for his next set of terms.

  “Are you going to extend my contract?” she asked.

  “Something like that,” he responded. “But no more muck and mire for the likes of you. I’ll find some other man for that job.”

  “Man?” she asked. Slipping to his side, Jeri lowered her eyes and spoke softly. “Haven’t I already proven that I am more than up to the task?”

  “Sure,” he crooned. “Don’t jump to conclusions. Especially when I have a sweet surprise in store for you.”

  “Surprise?” she asked. “Now why does that make me uneasy?”

  “Maybe because you’ve never let anyone take care of you,” he answered. “Today that changes...forever.”

  Christopher kissed her lips and patted her cheek as he lifted off the bed and pushed the mug back into her hands. Even though the coffee was cooling, Jeri took another gulp, wondering if she needed something stronger for whatever he had planned.

  “Where are you going?” she asked. “I thought that we were--”

  “We are, Jerilyn. And I do.” Bowing his head to kiss her one last time, he walked into the bath adjoining the room and tossed her a fresh towel.

  “Why don’t you get cleaned up?” he started. “Maybe do that thing with your eyes again.”

  “My… my things are still---”

  “Everything is where you need it and waiting for you as soon as you get out.”

  With that he was gone, and Jeri wanted nothing more than to follow. But it was still his house, his games…

  His rules.

  Showering faster than she had in her life, Jeri braided her hair behind her back. He wasn’t lying; her belongings now lived in the main house. She nervously bounced from one foot to the other, and when the image looking back at her through the mirror seemed as good as it was going to get, she rushed out, desperate to see the surprise.

  “What… what’s all this?”

  Smiling like the cat that ate the canary, dressed in a crisp blue shirt and faded khakis, Christopher cracked his knuckles against his chest and took a step back so she could get a better look at his spoils. She narrowed her eyes at an array of half-opened cardboard boxes with what had to be designer garments peeking through the tissue paper. Smaller boxes holding shoes rested on the floor, and when he reached behind the couch, Christopher revealed a silver scarf that shimmered as he draped it around her suddenly-tense neck.

  “We are changing things up some,” he said. Tying a delicate knot and letting the rest of the fabric dance between her breasts, Christopher sighed and reached around for her braid. He clicked his tongue as he winded the bound strands of her hair atop her head.

  “Christopher, I don’t---”

  “After last night,” he said, cutting her off. “I see no sense in wasting you in the fields. There are other ways that you can be of service.”

  “Okay,” Jeri said, fidgeting a bit under his hold as she touched the scarf and silently mused that something this precious had better uses than hanging over her body. “It’s not really my thing, but if you let me tie you to the headboard, we can have some more fun.”

  “First time and you already know how to make a man’s mouth water.”

  His blue eyes sparkled, and Christopher let her braid fall as he scooped her into his arms, twirling her in the air before bringing her down among the many boxes.

  “Not that I’m not down with that,” he said. “But this is about getting you out and up in the world. Like last night.”

  “Thought that was a one-off---”

  “You changed the playing field and you know it,” he said. “Time to make you look like the lady of the manor each and every day.”

  Chapter 8: The Lady of the Manor

  “I feel like a fool.”

  “You certainly don’t look it.”

  That was debatable.

  It wasn’t just about the clothes and Christopher’s feeble attempt to tie her braid into an updo. Once she had admitted that any girl would love these clothes, she spent a morning modeling one item after another before his approving eyes, he made a call and told the boutique on Lockwood to charge the lot to his account. He ordered her out of her jeans and ratty sweatshirt, insisting that she step into the crimson sundress lined with gold flowers, the shoes matching the blossoms as he offered his arm. Before she knew what was happening or where they were going, he had her in the center of town and inside the walls of the only spa for miles.

  Time for the full treatment. You’re going to love it.

  Jeri acquiesced and felt his gentle kiss on her shoulder as a trio of ladies in smocks and enough makeup to cover several masks took her into one of the backrooms. Stripping her of the red dress, they pressed her into a fluffy robe. Jeri fell into a chair before a huge mirror, and the redhead in the group kneaded her shoulders as she whispered into her ear.

  We’re going to make you amazing, Miss.

  So what was she before?

  It seemed to take hours; it was that long and more as she managed a glance at the square-shaped clock on the wall and saw the hour hand well past noon. What happened to breakfast in bed and just lying in his arms so that she could feel his lips roaming her body and turning her moans into fresh screams? No such luck as her eyebrows were plucked from what she through was acceptable into slim lines. A facial and a second kind of mask later, Jeri realized that she knew nothing about makeup. She barely recognized herself in the mirror. And as soon as her small braid was replaced by a dark weave of massive curls, the new picture was complete.

  That’s it! This is how you should always look, Jerilyn.

  She stepped to her tiptoes and tried to take some comfort in the feel of his strong arms surrounding her. What girl didn’t want the Cinderella treatment, to leave her rags behind and step into a whole new life?

  You’re trembling. You don’t like, Jerilyn?

  He seemed distressed by the possibility, and Jeri didn’t have the heart to bring him down. She awkwardly patted the new do and faintly shook her head.

  Of course I do. Never had anything like it.

  Get used to it. This is the way of things from here on out.

  And the man was in no way kidding.

  Gone were the days of working in the fields from sun up to sun down. He demanded that she get her beauty sleep after taking her night after night, and while the feel of his body flush against hers was close to a dream come true, the constant manicures and jeweled gifts began to annoy her. It was so far from her sphere that sometimes she felt as if she had stepped into an alternate universe, but whenever she offered the smallest protest, Christopher shot back that this was the way his lady was meant to live. Didn’t she like the dresses? Wasn’t it fun being spoiled? In some ways, sure. And he was still paying her for being his pet. She sent some of it back home, which her mother was more than happy to accept. If she as being true to herself, Jeri knew she loved the land and Christopher at first sight.

  It was everything else that followed their first night that was causing her soul to spin wildly until she wasn’t even completely comfortable in his bed. In his hold…

  “Just stay on my arm,” he soothed into her ear. “I cannot wait to show you off.”

  Clad in a midnight blue gown with her hair spilling across her shoulders, Jeri shuddered. When they did this deal the first time, she was in control, doing him a favor. That she managed to match the men was something of an added bonus. That was what had turned him on.

  But now the likes of Parsons steered clear and simply sent
over drinks rather than challenge her ability to call them out for their shortcomings.

  And it had nothing to do with her intelligence, her wit, or even her personality.

  “Christopher?”

  He laid a light kiss on her cheek when he backed off and bowed his head.

  “Wouldn’t want to muss you,” he said. “What do you need, love?”

  “Something stiffer than wine,” she said even as she drained the glass and set the flute on the table.

  “Stronger?” he asked. “Maybe a dirty martini or---”

  “How about a shot of bourbon or even whiskey?”

  He crinkled his nose at the sound of that.

  “Before, baby. Now that you look like a lady, you have to drink like one, too.”

  As he leaned in to kiss her again, Jeri caught a glimpse of her reflection in his eyes, and she grumbled as she inched away from his side and played with the linen napkin on her lap.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked in a voice so innocent that it might have melted butter if she didn’t know the backstory.

  “I… I don’t like…”

  The slight quiver of his lip entered her heart like a dagger, and she stroked his knee under the table and shook her head.

  “It’s nothing,” he said, trying to reassure him. “I just need to… to freshen up.”

  He stood up and pulled out her chair, his arm gentle around her body as he kissed her neck.

  “Don’t be too long. I miss my lady when she’s not near.”

  Jeri’s was grateful for the heavy aroma of perfume hanging in the lady’s room as she furiously scrubbed her hands together, paying no mind to her manicure, when she finally looked up into the mirror.

  His lady. It should have felt like coming home after the longest time out in the cold. But she missed the feel of the dirt between her fingers, sweat dripping from her brow, her muscles aching from something other than his grand thrusts at the end of a long day.

  The sound of the door clicking open shifted her from her reverie, and Jeri turned her head to see a skinny blonde in a puffy pink gown sauntering towards the sink and giving her the side eye as she pulled a handful of paper towels from the dispenser.

  “Well this is awkward,” she said.

  “Excuse me?” Jeri asked as she recognized her from Parsons’ bash and started to apologize for her inability to link a name with the face.

  “Don’t have the mouth on you tonight,” she said. “But at least you look a little better.”

  The compliment from the blonde did next to nothing for her state of mind. Jeri wished that she could make like the Wicked Witch of the West and melt into the ground, leaving the blue dress behind when the blonde—Amy--reached into her purse and offered a pill.

  “What’s that about?” Jeri asked.

  “For our mutual pleasure,” Amy said. “Now that you’re in the club, my man is trying to make your double date a foursome. If you catch my drift.”

  “I… I don’t know…”

  “Jesus Christ, sweetie!” Amy cried. “Christopher Hawkes needs a game piece if he’s going to get ever make it with the big boys. Dark chocolate has never been the flavor of the day, but he dressed you up all pretty. Can’t say that I’m not intrigued.”

  Jeri’s body hit the wall behind her as Amy reached under her garment and tugged off her black lace thong.

  “Want my take on the situation?” she asked. “I say we ply our sugar daddies with enough booze to keep them soft and make our own brand of fun and find our own joy. You down with that?”

  Ignoring the offer, Jeri’s mind turned to Christopher. Had he only lavished her with more attention than she had ever known to turn her into a pawn? She felt the bile rising in her throat as she swatted Amy way and made a mad dash for the door.

  “Something I said?” Amy asked. “Since you’re in the clothes I thought that you were down with what we have to do to pay for them.”

  “To… to pay…”

  “Make them feel big, girl! Let them pass us around like the cattle they’ll trade over breakfast. I still think that it’d be so much more fun just the two of us. I’ll rub you down when they talk shop over brunch.”

  Amy moved to kiss her full on the mouth when Jeri regained enough of her senses to slap the smirk from her face and wrestle past her in a desperate bid for the door.

  “Fine!” Amy spat in the wake of her near departure. “See how much he likes you when you ruin his game plan!”

  The sound of Amy’s voice disappeared into the distance, and Jeri kicked off her heels, almost savoring the feel of the tiles under her stockinged feet as she turned the corner and saw Christopher in deep conversation with Parsons. For the first time he looked like one of the monsters that her mother would warn against, and Jeri ordered bourbon from the bar as she stomped towards him and took hold of his collar.

  “Jerilyn, what’s---”

  “You son of a bitch!”

  Flinging the copper liquid in his eyes, she watched him fall back as he wiped his face with his sleeve.

  “As feisty as before!” Parsons beamed. “Hawkes, I think you really should take me up on my---”

  “Save it for Amy,” Jeri spat. “Even though you’re hardly her type.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Parsons lunged forward, and Jeri gasped when he grabbed the strap of her gown and started to pull her closer. On the verge of gagging around his intended kiss, she felt her body pulled way as Christopher hid her behind his back and seethed under his collar.

  “I told you not to---”

  “Why not?” Jeri asked. “Isn’t this like the whole point? Get a leg up in between mine?”

  He looked as if she clawed him across his face, and Jeri slapped his stunned face, smiling as she broke a nail and tore a hunk of the weave from her head.

  “So much for thinking that you were one of the good guys,” she said. “Keep your money and this… this…”

  She was ready to rip the gown from her body when she thought better of giving any eye in the room the satisfaction of her bare flesh, and Jeri hurried into the night. Making her way back on foot would prove more than painful; the time it would take to pack might give him the chance to explain. Jeri didn’t want to hear any of it, and she started to fall to the ground in a silky heap when a familiar voice lifted her eyes from the dirt.

  “Bartlett?”

  The man’s green eyes were full of concern as he leaned down to lift her up, and when he started to ask her what could have gone so wrong, she pressed her shattered nails into his arms.

  “Take me away from this,” she pleaded. “I… I can’t be here anymore.”

  Chapter 9: Miracle in Celina

  “Far from what you where you want to be. But my legs need the rest.”

  Jeri decided against going back to the barn and her small room. The jewelry on her wrists and in her ears would serve her well once she was far from Christopher’s line of sight. Just the idea of selling these off felt like a sin, but she needed the money.

  There was no chance of going back home now.

  “I think you should eat,” he said. “How about I get you some eggs and bacon and---”

  “Just coffee,” Jeri muttered. “I’m not hungry.”

  Bartlett snapped to the waitress, and Jeri took a deep drink as she looked at her friend.

  “Don’t be like that,” she said. “I get that you were only trying to help. But it wasn’t meant to be.”

  “Care to tell me why?”

  Bartlett buttered a piece of toast and nibbled on the crust as he waited for her answer.

  “Not because you have a chance if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “Got that much the first time that I looked at him,” he said. “But here you are looking almost like a brand new girl. Of course if it were me, I would have kept the weave intact.”

  “But it wasn’t you,” she hissed. “And for that you should be grateful.”

  Suddenly wanting to d
rown her sorrows, Jeri ordered a short stack and two ham and cheese omelets. As soon as the cheery waitress deposited the dishes in front of her, Jeri picked up her silverware and started to slice into the breakfast meant for three or more.

  “Is that really the smartest move?” he asked.

  “Right,” she said through a breath of bacon bits. “Needs a lot more flavor.”

  She doused her plates in maple syrup and continued eating as Bartlett moved behind her back and rubbed her shoulders.

  “Jeri, what the hell went down?”

  She swallowed the large bit and worked to take in a few deep breaths before turning her head over her shoulder to meet his gaze.

  “He wanted a doll,” Jeri said. “Someone that he could dress up and play with. He wanted me to make it with his rival’s trophy wife so he could strike a deal. That’s why he let me stay when he saw that I wasn’t a man.”

  Bartlett tensed and let her eat, his fingers carding through her hair before he lowered his lips to her ear and whispered lightly.

  “I never saw that,” he insisted. “Are you… are you sure?”

  “Do you doubt me?” she demanded. “Weren’t you my friend first?”

  “Of course,” he said. “But I got word that you were making things right. That he was pleased with---”

  “As soon as he was in my pants,” Jeri said through a full mouth. “So thanks for trying, but you obviously didn’t know what you were doing.”

  Bartlett seethed as he placed a stack of bills on the table that more than paid the bill.

  “We… I should get you out of dodge if that asshole hurt you.”

  “Just my heart,” she swore. “I liked him bed. Can’t say as much for the finery.”

  The dress was uncomfortable in so many ways.