Pure Lust Vol. 3
Pure Lust
Vol. III
By Cassie Wild and M.S. Parker
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Belmonte Publishing LLC
Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC.
Book Description
I'd always thought the stepmothers in fairy tales were supposed to be the evil ones, not the mother-in-law. Even Snow White's wicked stepmother had nothing on Claire Bouvier.
Gabriella Baine is going to marry the man of her dreams...if her monster-in-law-to-be doesn't drive her away first. As she struggles to deal with wedding plans, she's also beginning to realize that, no matter how much she tries, she can't stay away from her fiancé's younger brother, Flynn McCreary. He's arrogant, rude and lashes out at everyone around him, but that doesn't stop her from going back to him for work. When the unthinkable happens, it forces Gabriella to make the biggest decision of her life.
Don't miss the penultimate installment of the heart-wrenching and steamy
Pure Lust
series by M.S Parker and Cassie Wild.
All series from M. S. Parker
French Connection (Club Prive) Vol. 1 to 3
Chasing Perfection Vol. 1 to 4
Pure Lust Series
Chapter 1
It’s official. I’m in the seventh circle of hell.
I’d gotten rid of the boss who was possibly the devil’s daughter, only to have her replaced by her evil twin…a wedding planner who breathed fire.
The worst part was, it didn’t have to be this way.
In my purse, I had the list of names Cody had given me and I’d already called three of them, one of which I’d all but fallen in love with. She was the sweetest lady ever and her Mississippi drawl had left me sort of homesick and longing to go back home and see my family.
But this morning, I’d been jerked out of a sound sleep by the buzzer.
It was Charles, Claire’s personal driver and when I’d managed to stumble downstairs, it was to find my soon-to-be mother-in-law waiting with a prim, prissy piece of work by the name of Estelle Chastain, the
only
wedding planner worth working with.
At least according to Claire.
I hadn’t had any coffee. That was the only reason I could think of to explain why I’d let them sweep me into the car and off to the offices of Magnifique. Estelle Chastain was the owner, she’d informed me, and she normally didn’t work with brides directly, but
of course
, for the Bouvier family, she’d make any exception.
Gag.
I sighed, feeling spiteful and disrespectful. I guessed I was supposed to feel honored. Instead, I was wishing I’d beaten Claire to the punch and called Ashley Evans of Mississippi and hired her without actually going out to meet her like I'd planned. Claire would've been pissed, but I doubted she would've forced me to cancel since the Bouvier reputation would've been on the line.
“Now
this…
”
Estelle and Claire bent their heads over the computer, talking in hushed tones as they gazed at something on the screen. Neither one of them even pretended to pay attention to me. Why should they? I was only the bride. Now my lack of caffeine was doing something other than making me groggy. I was starting to get annoyed.
“What do you think, Claire?”
“It’s lovely. Doable on our time frame?”
Estelle looked at me over the laptop, a look of polite disapproval in her eyes. “Three months
is
cutting it short.” Then she looked at Claire with a simpering smile. “But I’m not called the miracle worker for nothing.”
“Excuse me.”
They looked at me with barely veiled distaste.
“It is my wedding,” I said softly. “Don’t you think I should see whatever it is that’s 'doable' in three months?”
It was July now. Edward and I had decided we wanted to get married in October and since that was a short timeframe, he’d suggested we get married at his parents' estate. We could have it outdoors and planned to have tents in case of bad weather. That meant one problem was solved—finding a venue on short notice. Now we just had to get caterers and a band and a dress…
oh, hell…
I felt queasy just thinking about, but it was what Edward had wanted.
Claire’s mouth tightened at the corners, but Estelle gave me a pleasant smile that didn't reach her eyes. “Of course, dear.”
I pushed back from the desk and went around the long, conference styled table. There was a flutter in my stomach that could have been anticipation. It quickly turned to dread as I saw the color scheme and mock-ups of bridesmaids dresses. “No.” I shook my head. “That’s…so not me.”
Claire waved a hand dismissively. “This will be a more elegant event than what I’m sure you’re used to, Gabriella. Just let us handle the details—”
“I don’t want you to handle the details.” Closing my hands into fists, I fought to keep my voice level. “It’s my wedding. I want my mother and I to have a say in it.”
Estelle closed the laptop and stood. “I think I’ll get us all some coffee.” She gave Claire a sympathetic look before leaving.
Once the door closed, Claire's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Tell me, Gabriella. Just how do you propose to pay for a wedding of this magnitude? Do you or your parents have the money to afford it?”
That dread was now growing, spreading through me like a river of ice. Clenching my hands into fists, I inclined my head. “No.” The word was like gravel coming out of my throat.
Edward and I had already talked about that. Since a majority of the guests would be friends of the family and other important people in the Bouvier social circle, he didn't feel right about asking my parents to pay for it.
I tried not to read too much into the implication that my parents couldn't possibly afford the sort of wedding we needed to have. I'd known that agreeing to let him pay for it would mean having to put up with Claire, but I'd been foolish enough to think I'd still actually have some say in things.
“Well, then, perhaps you should follow my advice and let Estelle and I handle things? I am footing the bill, after all.”
Estelle returned a moment later—without coffee.
I saw why when a cart was rolled in by a woman in neat black uniform, complete with a white apron. I wanted to roll my eyes, but settled for going back around the table, dropping down into the chair and pulling out my phone. Since my input wasn't going to be needed, I saw no point in paying attention to any of it. I shot Cody off a text, desperately needing to vent.
I’m not sure who is getting married here. Me…or your mother.
He responded within seconds.
I got a feeling I’m not going to like where that comment came from, honey.
I told him, keeping it short and sweet.
His response was equally so.
&#(@#^
I smothered a laugh, knowing neither of the women at the end of the table would appreciate the humor.
Are you censoring yourself?
As I waited for his response, I glanced up to see Estelle and Claire accepting cups of coffee from the lady in the neat black dress. She glanced my way, but I shook my head. I wanted coffee, but I didn't want to do anything that remotely resembled cooperation.
My phone buzzed.
I couldn’t cram enough ugly words into one text so I went with that. Gabs, just tell her to back off.
“Do you have a particular color scheme you’d like, Gabriella?” Estelle asked.
For a second, I was so surprised I’d been asked anything that I could only stare at her.
Claire didn’t look pleased at all as she gave her opinion. “I think we should go with the black and white theme. It’s timeless, classic, elegant.”
“It’s boring,” I said. I closed the text and opened the gallery on my phone, pulling up some pictures I’d downloaded when I'd thought my opinion might matter. “Actually, I kind of wanted to go with plum, orange and gold.”
Claire’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”
“No.” Lifting my chin, I rose and pushed my phone over toward them.
Claire didn’t even look, but Estelle took the phone and she studied it for a moment. To my surprise, a small smile curved her lips and she nodded as she looked from the phone to me and then back again.
“This would go well with your coloring. That auburn hair, deep brown eyes.” She nodded again, her expression thoughtful. “Give me a moment.” She tapped the keys on her computer, doing whatever it was she did with her program.
Claire was still frowning when Estelle said her name, but then she looked at the screen. The frown didn’t go away completely, but she sighed, some of the tension draining from her shoulders. “Those colors are so…garish.”
“No,” Estelle contradicted, making me want to stand up and cheer.
Okay, maybe she wasn't as bad as I'd first thought.
She continued, “They are simply brighter than you would typically use, but they suit Gabriella. We’ll work the color scheme to suit the setting and the style of the wedding, however, as this is a fall wedding, I think this could be very appealing.” She glanced at me. “Are you buying a white dress? Pure white or are you thinking ecru, ivory…?”
“Ah…”
Estelle closed her eyes as if my indecision was trying her patience.
I almost did the same, but that wasn’t going to help me here. I needed a lot more than patience to help just then. I needed a damn drink. It wasn’t even noon, either. I appreciated her working with the colors I wanted, but that didn't mean I wanted to be treated like a damn child.
“I’ll be looking at dresses this week,” I said, fighting the urge to snap the words out defensively.
“Let me know when you go so I can make plans to go with you.” Claire studied the screen a moment longer and then sighed, her face drawn up like a prune. “If that’s the colors she
insists
on going with…”
***
“This isn’t a
shirt
!” I held up the mess of black straps that my future brother-in-law expected me to wear over my panties.
This was getting ridiculous. I’d already let Flynn take some shots of me wearing only a half-buttoned white dress shirt and I'd had the strangest feeling it was his. He'd denied it, of course, but I'd kept catching a scent that I'd known was his. Now I could smell it on me and it was driving me nuts.
“No, you’re exactly right,” Flynn said as he set up the camera.
We were doing the next set in front of the faux brick. Or we would if I’d change and that was very much up for debate right now. I was starting to see some of Claire in her youngest son. Flynn McCreary was the half-brother of Cody and my fiancé, Edward, but all three of them had gotten their mother's pig-headedness. That wasn't totally fair, I admitted. Cody was a bit more easy-going than his brothers.
“It’s actually a dress.”
“A dress?” I gaped at him before holding up the…dress…by the shoulders. It was literally nothing but ribbons of cloth. They were thicker where my breasts would be and I could see a similar thickness down near the lower part as well. To cover my crotch, I guessed. I just hoped my underwear could work under it. I didn't even want to consider going without.
“I might as well not be wearing anything.” I tossed it back at him. “I’m not wearing this.”
He snatched it out of the air. “You agreed to do some full body shots as long as you weren't completely naked, Tennessee. We agreed on the price, you signed the contract. Now hold up your end of the bargain.” He tossed the dress back at me and went back to adjusting the camera.
Or playing with it.
I couldn’t tell anymore. Half the time I thought he did shit like that just to mess with me. I wondered if he'd have behaved the same way if we hadn't slept together the first time I'd modeled for him. The biggest mistake of my life, especially since I'd met his oldest half-brother only a couple of days later and now I was stuck with this asshole as family.
Finally, I spun on my heel and stormed behind the screen. “Why isn’t Cody here for any of these?” I asked as I shrugged out of the dress shirt and hung it on the hook. Gazing at the strappy, ribbony mess I held, I tried to figure out how to put it on.