Ride The Wild Wind (Time Travel Historical Romance)

by Ivey , Kimberly

  Halle did as she was instructed and popped the sugary delight into her mouth.

  “As you know, my pretty girl, Sarita and Lucy have been dismissed for contracting a most unfortunate affliction.”

  She did know. She’s also heard through the grapevine that Elena was looking for fresh blood to replace them. Surely Elena wouldn’t…

  Halle watched with trepidation as Elena placed the burning cigarette into the crystal tray beside her. Uh-oh. There was more to this private meeting than she’d suspected.

  “I operate a clean establishment, Halle. I cannot have it told that my ladies carry diseases. I would be out of business within the week.” The madam shifted, crossing one leg over the other. “I rather suspect both women arrived here with the pox and did not acquire them while in my employ.”

  Halle suppressed a snort. With as much activity as this brothel saw on a daily basis, not to mention how ignorant women of this time period were about sex and transmissible diseases, it was a miracle more of Elena’s ladies hadn’t contracted STD’s or become pregnant.

  Elena sighed. “Halle, do you know how to avoid getting the pox?”

  Halle’s heartbeat thudded to a screeching halt, her mind tumbling a few short steps behind before it crashed. Um…no, she had no idea since condoms were pretty much nonexistent here. “Um…not really.”

  “Check his penis.”

  Halle’s body went instantly numb. She sooo did not want to have this conversation.

  “You are blushing. Do I embarrass you with such talk?”

  After three months of living in the brothel, Halle had seen more naked body parts than was ever covered in her college Anatomy and Physiology class. And it wasn’t as if she’d never seen a naked man. Well…just one, anyway. Her memories of the handsome stranger and how he’d bathed her in the stream were as vivid today as three months before. Still, she found the subject of male genitalia uncomfortable. She nodded in response to Elena’s question.

  Elena shrugged. “I suppose all this talk this does not concern you since you are not one of my entertainers.”

  Elena’s sugar-coated word for the dirty truth.

  The madam tilted her head to the side, then leaned forward to stare at her intently. Her gold slipper dangled on the end of her toe. Uh, oh. Halle didn’t like that look. Trouble was on the way.

  “Have you ever been intimate with a man?” Elena inquired.

  Halle gulped. The room turned warmer. Again she tugged at the starched collar on her dress. She shook her head no.

  Elena lifted a finely arched brow. “Never?”

  “Um…no.”

  Elena hesitated. “With a woman perhaps?”

  Halle shook her head no again, but with more emphasis.

  Elena gave her a once over. “Well, you are pleasing enough to have at least received offers from both sexes. I am certain you have not retained your virginity for a lack of suitors of either sex.”

  The madam’s patronizing tone wasn’t lost on her. She knew she wasn’t pretty, that she didn’t have gi-normous boobs most guys seemed to require. She’d never been on a date, and had shared her first and only kiss with the hunk who’d rescued her.

  Halle’d been a gawky, straight-A nerd in an all-girl parochial high school. Not much had changed her first couple of years at U of New Mexico. She simply didn’t know how to relate to guys.

  Elena smiled wickedly. “Do you even like men?”

  Halle swallowed the growing knot of tension in her throat, uncertain where Elena was going with this line of questioning. “Yeah, I like guys.”

  Elena motioned. “Come closer.”

  Halle hesitated. “Have I done something wrong, Miss Costanza?”

  Elena smiled like a cat that was about to taste-test the canary. “No. You have done nothing to displease me. Now come closer, querida.”

  Halle stopped an arm’s length in front of Elena. She was no fool. If Elena even attempted to put one move on her, she wanted the advantage of being able to make a speedy get away.

  Elena made a face, leaned forward and grasped her hand to pull her closer until the madam’s knees bumped the front of her thighs. Halle stiffened, uncomfortable at the contact.

  Elena reached up and began straightening Halle’s dress collar. “We have not spoken privately since your unfortunate incident with Senior Hamilton two evenings ago. We must speak now.”

  What was there to discuss? Ben walked into the office in time, pulled the filthy leech off Halle before he could get a hand down the front of her blouse, and then held the lecherous bastard down while Elena delivered a ten pound iron to his outstretched hand.

  “He did not touch you otherwise?”

  Halle shook her head. “No.”

  “I am only concerned because this because Hamilton has a reputation of being forceful. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of bringing his arrogant cock into my house.” Elena drew Halle’s hands into hers. “Your encounter has troubled me. You are a beautiful young woman—so innocent of the ways of the men who come into my establishment. Know that I would express the same concern for any of my ladies who have been manhandled.”

  Halle was no fool. In the short time she lived and worked at the brothel, she’d already figured the madam out. This woman gave not one good crap about her ladies, although she had been extremely kind to Halle. She’d not witnessed any of the rumored beatings, but Molly had confided in her that Elena often starved her or locked her in her room when she didn’t comply with her wishes. No, Elena Costanza’s only concern was for the enormous amount of money she made plying liquor and women. If the patrons got a little rough with the ladies, Elena managed to wheedle extra cash out of them.

  Halle managed a weak thanks, then eased her hands from her boss’ and turned away.

  Elena snagged her wrist again. “Do you know how to defend yourself against a man?”

  “Nad him,” Halle quipped.

  “Perdon?”

  “Kick him in the balls.”

  Elena chuckled. “Yes, well kicking a man in the cojones might work under certain circumstances, querida, but once a man pins you down and holds a knife to your throat, such thinking is useless.”

  Elena slid from the credenza and opened the drawer. She retrieved a small, pearl handled switchblade and flipped it open.

  “Tuck this into your garter and wear it at all times. Practice using it on a melon when you are alone. If a man ever tries to take what does not belong to him, push it as far into his gut as you can, then twist it right or left. If he survives, I guarantee he will think twice before doing such again.”

  Elena took her by the hand and led Halle to a nearby chair. “Please sit so we may discuss the reason I brought you to my room.” Elena paced before her. “I need you downstairs in the gaming suite at seven o’clock tonight. I will not be available to oversee matters as an old friend is arriving this evening and I will be entertaining privately until tomorrow. Being short handed, I require your assistance with serving drinks. Most important of all, tonight I want you—not Ricardo—to count the money. I think he has been stealing.”

  Ricardo stealing money from Elena? No one in their right mind dared cross this woman unless they wanted to be eviscerated. “Maybe his eye sight is failing,” Halle suggested. “After all, he is getting old.”

  Elena gave her a cross look. “There have been too many discrepancies of late. I will not tolerate a thief. You will count the money tonight and bring it to room twelve no later than eleven. Comprendes?”

  Halle thought it odd that Elena wanted the money delivered to room twelve—the one usually reserved for high paying clientele and ahem…group activities. She wondered why, on a Saturday night in particular, the room hadn’t been reserved.

  “Wouldn’t it be better if I put the money in the safe in your office downstairs? Then you can count it again in the morning.”

  Elena lifted the nearly burned down cigarette in the tray and snubbed it out. “Bring it to room twelve and come alone. I will h
ave one of my ladies meet you there.” Elena sighed and clasped her hands together. “Now let me select your wardrobe for this evening.” Elena crossed over to the mirrored wardrobe and peered inside.

  Halle swallowed the elephantine lump in her throat. She could only imagine what type of ‘wardrobe’ Elena had in mind. “No lingerie, right?”

  Elena turned. “A suitable gown for a proper young woman, of course.”

  “What’s wrong with the dress I’m wearing?”

  Elena frowned. “I cannot have you traipsing about in a flour sack. This is a brothel, not a convent. My customers wish to see bosoms and ankles. And you are pretty enough to display your treasures whether your body is for sale or not.”

  Well, she hadn’t been displaying her ‘treasures’ the other night when old man Hamilton surprised her in Elena’s office. She’d been minding her own business, filling out a catalogue order. The last thing she wanted was to encourage a repeat of that incident by wearing skimpy attire in a room full of drunken, horny men.

  Halle started to protest, but Elena held up a hand. “I will put the word out that you are not for sale. Still, I am certain some of the gentlemen will enjoy having a pretty girl serve their drinks. Perhaps you might sit on their lap and wiggle that shapely bottom of yours. You will do that?”

  Halle nodded, but only to appease her boss. She’d no intention of doing anything that might get her groped or fondled.

  Elena, appeared pleased by her response, and settled her hands on her hips. “Stand.”

  The madam studied her up and down, instructing her to turn for her. “I am trying to determine your best feature but it escapes me at the moment. You have a small waist and well rounded hips…nice, firm little breasts. Lift your petticoats so that I might view your legs.”

  Reluctant, Halle hiked up her skirt and petticoats.

  “Dare I say we are about the same dress size?” Elena opened the wardrobe and shuffled through several pieces. “This would do well for you with your darker complexion.” She snatched a cream- colored silk and lace gown from the rack. “Sheer and revealing.” She handed it to Halle. “But also virginal looking, allowing the gentlemen to enjoy but warning them not to touch. Try it.”

  Halle fingered the beaded silken gown that reminded her of a vintage wedding dress while Elena rummaged around in one of the bureau drawers. She held the garment against her and studied it in the mirror’s reflection. “I can’t wear this. It looks expensive.”

  “I no longer want it. Please. Indulge me.” Elena came back with white, knee high stockings. “These go with it. The gown is open in the front to the knee — enough to reveal your calves. You will wear no corset, chemise or drawers.”

  Halle blinked. “Um…’scuse me but did you say no underwear?”

  “My ladies dress much differently at parties held in the private suite. I want the bodice sheer and enticing, revealing a hint of your attributes. Try everything.”

  Halle swallowed hard. She’d heard rumors about what went on in the suite—the orgies, in particular—and had no desire to witness any of it. Why did Elena want her working that room? “Could you reassign me to the front parlor floor instead?”

  Elena made a tsk-ing sound. “There is nothing to fear. You will do fine. Take these, too.” Elena slid off her gold-toed slides. “They are too large for me, but will fit your feet. Undress.”

  Halle didn’t miss Elena’s jab about her large foot size. While Elena fiddled nearby with a box of jewelry, Halle slipped out of her clothes, uncomfortably aware the madam was watching her peripherally.

  “Halle.”

  Halle quickly pulled on the gown with décolletage and mid-length, sheer lace sleeves. “Yes, Miss Costanza?”

  “I have wondered something since you were brought here.”

  She turned to face the madam.

  “Were you a slave?”

  Halle froze, unprepared to answer. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed earlier that year, former slaves were still subject to brutality and discrimination. Dare she admit the truth?

  Elena returned with a pearl necklace, then moved behind her to clasp it. “Your coloring is dark, querida. It is obvious to me you are not fully white—and you do not look Spanish or Indian. Some of my other ladies have inquired of this as well. That is the only reason I ask.”

  Could she trust Elena? Nervous, she nibbled her lower lip, but said nothing. Her expression must have answered for her because the madam nodded in awareness.

  “Do not worry.” She kissed her cheek lightly. “You are safe in my house.”

  Before Halle realized what was happening, Elena lifted the back of the gown. “And of course, there is this. You have a marking on your hip. What do these letters mean?”

  Embarrassed, Halle snatched the back of the dress down and wheeled to face Elena. “Those are the initials of my favorite song.”

  Elena blinked. “What does it say?”

  “R.T.W.W. stands for Ride the Wild Wind.”

  Elena made tsk-ing sound and thrust a pot of lip rouge into one hand, a tin talcum powder in another. “I have no time for foolishness. Apply this to your nipples—first the white powder, then the rouge.”

  Once Elena walked away, Halle slid the powder and rouge into the dressing table’s drawer, ignoring the request.

  While the madam busied herself again with the jewelry, Halle fumbled with the annoying row of tiny buttons on the front of the gown. Momentarily, Elena brought over an icy blue topaz ring and placed it on her middle finger, then adjusted the bodice of her dress. Looking down at herself, Halle noted her dark areolas showing through the sheer fabric even without the benefit of enhancement. And she didn’t look pretty, or sexy, but more like a cheap hooker.

  “Couldn’t I at least wear underclothes?” Halle asked. “I feel naked.”

  Elena shook her head. “It will ruin the effect of the gown. Besides…my ladies will be similarly attired. You are to wear nothing beneath. Oh, but that appalling red hair! We must do something about it.”

  Okay. That did it. Yeah, her hair was pretty shabby looking with three months of dark growth and red tips but she wouldn’t term it appalling.

  At the dressing table, Halle combed the hair upward and Elena pinned the red ends in place, adding a robin’s egg blue satin bow at the back.

  “There. The bow will hide your flaw.”

  Oh, so now it was a flaw, too? Halle pursed her lips together to keep from saying something regrettable. Elena spritzed her with lilac scented cologne. At Elena’s direction, Halle stood and whirled around, the wide hem of the skirt billowing like a wisp of fog. Elena stepped forward and eased the sleeves slightly off the shoulder. Apparently still not satisfied, the madam tugged the gown down a bit in front. She fussed with her hair again. Halle felt like a floral arrangement that Elena couldn’t get quite right.

  The madam knelt at the floor in front of her and unbuttoned the slit in the dress higher to above the knee. “There.” She stood back to gaze at Halle. “You are quite presentable. If I were a gentleman I would be smitten.” Elena took Halle’s hands and pulled her closer, then delivered a light peck on the cheek, lingering a bit too long. Halle stiffened.

  “You are so lovely,” Elena whispered, keeping her cheek pressed to Halle’s. “If I were wealthy gentleman, I would pay a fine price for a beautiful girl such as you.”

  Halle’s heart beat sped up. Was Elena suggesting she become one of her prostitutes? She tried to ease away but Elena gripped her wrists and tugged her close. Halle stared into the madam’s eyes, her heart pounding, her face so close to the madam’s she could feel her breath on her face.

  “You are special to me. Do you know how much so?”

  A shiver skittered up Halle’s spine as Elena reached up to caress her cheek. Um…yep. She was getting the idea pretty quick.

  The door crashed open and slammed against the wall. Elena cried out as Halle reeled back. It was him! The stranger who’d found her on the road and delivered he
r to this place three months before.

  Dear God. What the hell had happened to him?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  His clothes were grungy, his shoulder-length hair matted and shaggy like a stray dog’s. He was wild-looking—frightening. He did a double take at Halle, then stared at Elena as if he could kill her.

  “Antonio! You are early!” Elena launched herself against him, but he shoved her aside.

  “Who the hell is this?” He moved past Elena, his pale gaze never leaving Halle’s.

  Halle’s face warmed as his eyes raked over her. Didn’t he recognize her? She sure recognized him, even through the grime. But there was something different, an almost sinister expression in his eyes. Her skin goose-fleshed as he perused her breasts, and her tummy fluttered as his gaze slid lower to her exposed calves. Suddenly she felt naked beneath the intense scrutiny of his cold eyes, realizing he could see through her sheer clothing.

  Recognition flared in his eyes. Something else, too…an emotion she’d seen before. Desire. He moved toward her, stopped so close she could feel the heat emanating from his powerful body. Reaching up, he shook the pins and bow free of her chin length hair and lifted a lock, allowing it to sift through his fingers.

  He frowned. “Your hair is different.”

  When she’d last seen him, she’d been sporting a fresh dye job. Luscious Cherry, the label read. Now that it had grown out a few inches. To him she must look like a freak.

  He brushed his roughened knuckles against her cheek, skimming them down her throat to the décolletage. Halle sucked in a breath as he skimmed against the swell of one breast, daring to meet his eyes, her body trembling, though not from fear.

  Only the sheer cloth of the dress separated their skin. He leaned in close and sniffed the side of her neck. She shuddered at the eroticism of his action, her body responding to his nearness the way it had months before by the creek.

  Her gaze flew to Elena, whose red, rouged lips were pursed tight, her eyes flashing daggers in her direction.