ROMANCE: His Reluctant Heart (Historical Western Victorian Romance) (Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Fantasy Short Stories) (16 page)

              At this, Haversham colored slightly. “I did nothing wrong,” he protested, but his voice was just a touch weaker than before, as if he knew that the upper hand did not belong to him.

              “You went and married someone your mother expressly did not approve of. Just what did you think was going to follow such an act, Devon? Did you think this would cause her to loosen her purse strings and start accepting all that you do? I think your mother has your measure, Haversham, and I think that you and I both know the deep trouble you have just gotten yourself into.”

              At this, the young man's color changed rapidly to a ghostly white, and he was silent for many long moments. “She will not do anything,” he said finally.

              “You think so? Or perhaps she will somehow conceive of it to get your hasty license revoked, your marriage annulled, and Lady Givens' name dragged so squarely through the mud that she will be ruined forever and your own purse will be entirely controlled by her?”

              The pair of newlyweds paled considerably, and it became clear that such a possibility had not occurred to either of them. It was a heinous thought, and Isadora looked quite like she had been hit over the head with a shovel. Her dreamy eyes looked thoroughly terrified, and in that moment, her extremely young age became appallingly clear.

              “What do we do?” she asked, staring beseechingly up at Anabelle and Henry. “Oh, what do we do? We cannot live on my money—I haven't got any! And she may, that old gorgon, she could ruin everything!” And without making any bones about it, Isadora burst into some spectacular tears.

              Henry let her carry on for a moment or two before speaking. “Enough with that, Lady Givens. You are a gently bred lady, for all your recent rashness. Your new husband's mother may come around yet, but for God's sake, the two of you must learn to behave responsibly. You cannot continue making the same impulsive decisions you have been making, running around, behaving like children. I suggest you approach Lady Haversham with the news together—”here, Devon's face revealed that he had been planning to leave that task entirely up to his wife, “--and then, in an effort to demonstrate your newfound maturity and familial bliss, you will ask her advice on how to budget according to your needs. Or did you learn nothing from the state your father fell into?”

              Anabelle knew she was lost. Hopelessly, entirely lost in this man, this man who spoke the hardest truths when nobody else around him was willing to behave their age. Eyes brimming with grateful tears, she looked up at his calm profile, realizing that if she felt safe with him before, it was nothing compared to how she felt about him now. The feeling lengthened, continued even as Henry escorted her sister and Haversham from the room. Considering his words, she sat waiting for him on the velvet-backed chair where he left her, feeling simultaneously vulnerable and impregnable. She could not stop the hammer of her heart as she waited for Henry to re-enter the room.

              When he did, he busied himself with tidying up the mantelpiece, an act that seemed completely insane to her, given the emotions that had just passed through that room.

              “Henry,” she called out to him, and found herself unable to continue from the feeling that squeezed her in that moment. He glanced at her curiously, but still said nothing about what had just passed between the foursome. All Anabelle could hear was the loud tick of the grandfather clock, and suddenly, the enormity of what she was not saying became almost completely deafening.

              “Thank you,” she said hoarsely, then cleared her throat. “Thank you for not telling Isadora that at the end, my father did not talk of her, but of his horses.”

              Henry finally crossed the room and sat next to her. As he reached a steady arm around her and drew her into the safe cavern of his body, Anabelle realized, quite simply and irrevocably, that she loved him. She loved Henry Princely, and she would belong to him for as long as he would have her, and if that was only a week, an hour, or a day, it would be enough to last her whole life through.

              “I think, my dear, that there has been more than enough pain in here today. There was no need to add to it,” he told her.

              Anabelle squeezed his waist tightly. He was hers! What had she ever done to deserve this wonderful, dependable man? Why, she could rely utterly on him. “Henry,” she asked, propping her chin up on his shoulder, “Why did you marry me? You said you did not want to save anybody, and clearly, I need saving.”

              Henry looked down at her, the surprise in his eyes completely clear. “I married you because I am in love with you, you silly goose. And we all need saving now and again.”

              “You need saving, Henry?” she asked in wonderment, heart pounding even harder at his admission.

              “Of course I do,” he answered, shifting their positions so that she was wrapped entirely in his arms, the place that was home to her. “After my father died, I lost my mind. Do you have any idea how many times I thought about running out and leaving my mother to this hell?” He snuggled her deeper. “You and I have much in common, Anabelle. As much as we all would like to pretend that we are perfect, we can no longer don our masks when we lose the people most important to us. And you, my love, have lost so much more than I. And yet you somehow managed to keep your head above water.”

              “Hardly.”

              “Stop being so hard on yourself! Everybody's family indulges in madness far more frequently than we would like to admit; what kind of man would I be if I did not acknowledge and understand that?”

              “The best man. My only man,” she told him, and kissed him with her entire heart.

              He smiled warmly. “You know, my mother had not laughed in years before you came along.”

              “Truly?” Anabelle was shocked.

              Henry nodded. “You brought sunshine into this home simply by being nobody but yourself. You, Anabelle Givens, prove yourself not a damsel in distress, but an equal partner each and every day.”

              A lightness came over Anabelle, a sliding of a heavy burden from her shoulders, one that she had not had any idea she bore. And from this lightness came a giddiness that she could not and more importantly, did not want to suppress.

              “You mean I am more than just a wife, Henry Princely?” she teased, loving him utterly.

              “You are exactly the right kind of wife, Anabelle,” said Henry Princely, and kissed her soundly.

THE END

Boardroom Seductions

              Farrah felt a bit nervous about the project that she had to get done.  She was working with two of her coworkers on it, and she wondered how everything was going to go.  She knew that they were working hard on the whole thing, but she wondered how they were going to react when all three of them had to get together to work on this.  She felt a bit nervous about seeing both of them as well, due to the inner emotions that she had.

              Farrah joined this company back in 2009.  She had been here for almost six years now, and so far she was almost in an executive-level position.  She and her two other coworkers, Maxwell and Darian, were being considered for higher positions.  There were others as well, but those three were going to get higher positions.  This meant better pay for all of them, and it also meant that they would finally get to have the offices that they wanted.  Of course, this wasn’t going to be easy.  The project they were assigned was ridiculous, and they all knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy affair.  Farrah also had her own personal and private issues to deal with as well, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

              Farrah had a secret that she was hiding from both of them.  She liked them both, and it was getting harder and harder every day to resist these feelings.  She wanted to tell them, but she wasn’t sure.  She knew that Maxwell had his eyes on someone, but she didn’t really know who.  There was also the fact that she had a sneaking suspicion that they were both gay.  Maxwell dressed really nice, and Darian and he were both very close.  She wondered if this was more than just a little friendship, or if they were possibly lovers.

              Farrah didn’t want that to happen, for she knew that if that was the case, all of the pawning that she did would be for nothing.  She wanted to be at the same level professionally as they both were, and she wanted them to notice her for who she was.  She wanted to have sex with both of them though too, to moan and scream with pleasure at their actions, but she didn’t know how to even initiate that.  She just wanted to get close to them and let things take their course.  It was hard, but she knew that it would eventually work out for the best.

              She actually worked carefully to make this whole thing work to her advantage.  She made sure that she was working with both of them for the next project, and when she found out at first that she wasn’t, she begged the project manager to get her into their group.  The manager had no clue why the hell Farrah was so adamant about working with those two.  She just assumed it was because Farrah wanted to work with the two best men in the business.  At first the lady was a bit worried, because then that would mean that she had the three potential bosses of the company all working together, but after a little while, the manager agreed to it.  She knew that if the three of them proved themselves it would end up working out for the best.

              Farrah wondered what would happen.  She talked with both of them about all the various things that they needed to get done, but so far it had all been business.  She did wonder if things were going to heat up and maybe get a little bit more interesting later on.

              Farah sat at her desk, diligently working hard.  She had her own private office, just like the other two.  They would get even bigger offices if they got the positions that they all desired, and that was part of the incentive.  Farrah kept getting distracted as her mind drifted continually toward thinking about other things, other sexy things that seemed to only intensify in her mind.

              Farrah sighed as she realized she was having a really hard time trying to concentrate on this document.  She heard a knock on the door.  She looked up, letting out a small sound.

              “Come in,” she said.  Farrah was quiet when she worked, but the other person heard it.  They walked in, and at that moment, Farrah felt nervous.

              It was Maxwell.  He looked perfect, and Farrah licked her lips a she looked at the man.  He provided for her a glorious view, and she could tell by the flutter in her belly that she definitely liked him.  She wanted to undress him, and she knew that deep down he probably wanted something of similar of her as well.

              He walked over to the desk and sat there, looking at Farrah with a smile. Farrah tried to hide the blush that she could feel creeping onto her face, but it was hard.  She could feel it getting more and more apparent as time went on, and she just let go of trying to hide it and smiled at Maxwell, holding eye contact a little longer than usual.  The man smiled back, crossing his legs and looking at her with those stunning green eyes.

              His beautiful set of green eyes was part of the reason why she liked him.  She liked looking at this man, and her heart quickened and her skin tingled at the thought of what his touch might feel like.  She continued to smile and Maxwell smirked back.

              “You doing okay Farrah?” he asked.

              Farrah nodded, her mouth dry for some reason.  She didn’t know what to say, other than the fact that she wanted this man in her pants, that’s for sure.

              “Yeah.  I’m fine.  Sorry, I’ve been absent from the meetings.  I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on, and I didn’t know what to do about it,” she admitted.  The truth of the matter was that Farrah was not trying to go to the meetings on purpose.  She felt embarrassed, for she knew that if she was around both of them, it would only make the sexual tension between all three of them even more intense than before, which could be professionally damaging for all of them.

              “Are you okay though?  I mean, normally you’re in contact with us if you’re unable to go to a meeting.  So far, I hadn’t heard a peep from you until now.  The project is due in three days, and I wanted to see how your share of the work is going,” he replied.

              Farrah nodded, as she could feel herself blushing even more.  It reddened her up, and her skin felt like it was on fire.  She hated this, and she wanted more than anything to make these dirty thoughts go away.  She hated looking so embarrassed in front of the guy that she liked. She thought he would perceive it as immature.

              “Well, I do have a chunk of it done.  I was going to show you, but I also want to keep it a secret.  I don’t want you two trying to show me up or anything,” she sneered.  Farrah was like that, so most people assumed that it was the truth.  She didn’t want them to see her at her most vulnerable level, for that would only make things worse.

              “Why don’t you tell us though?  We’re not bad people, and we’re not going to steal your ideas or anything.  We’re in this together, and Darian and I both want to work with you.  We think you’re a beautiful and intelligent woman, and we were both happy that we actually got someone good to work with instead of an idiot like last time,” he replied.

              Farrah remembered that disaster.  She worked with one of the entry-level people, and that was one of the worst things she had ever done.  This person was so unreliable and irresponsible that she gave up working with this girl after a bit.  She overall was not a good worker, and soon after she was fired from the company.  Farrah wasn’t surprised at all, but she did wish that she didn’t have to deal with the embarrassment that she felt when she thought about being around both of these men.  The only thing she could think of was these two incredibly attractive men sweating on top of her, and her moans echoing through the office.

              Farrah felt her pussy moisten as she thought of that idea.  It was all just a fantasy, a fetish, and she didn’t want that to get in the way of her job.  It could end up getting worse later on, and she didn’t want to risk this project on some silly little whim.

              “Well, are you going to be at the meeting tonight?” he asked.

              Farrah tried to think of an excuse, but she was all out of ideas.  She didn’t have any other meetings, and she had everything all done.  She would have to face both of them at this point, but the question of the hour was how bad was this going to be?  How intense will this chemistry and these emotions get?

              “I don’t know.  I still have a lot of prep work to do,” she admitted.

              “Then when do you want to meet up?  Don’t avoid me Farrah.  I know that’s what you’re doing.  I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but you need to knock it off.  Darian and I aren’t going to royally fuck you over.  We’re going to help you if anything,” he said.

              She didn’t want to be fucked over by them, she wanted to be fucked hard by them.  But Farrah wasn’t going to say that.  She knew that if she did it would only make the sexual tension unbearable.  She was known as the confident woman in the business, but the woman who also had a couple of dirty secrets that she hid from everyone else.  Nobody knew about her obsession with certain men, and nobody knew that she had such a strong desire stirring within her.  She hated it, but in a way she knew that it was only a matter of time before things started to heat up.

              Farrah finally realized that she didn’t have any other choices.  She would have to face the facts, and she would just have to deal with them.  She would attempt to be calm and collected, but already her pussy was throbbing.  There was no way out of this, for she knew that if she tried to get out of the whole affair, she would end up being shot down in the process.  It was a problem, but she would just have to deal with it for now.

              “I guess I’ll be there.  I don’t like long meetings though.  I don’t want to be working on this all night,” she said.

              “Don’t worry.  We don’t want to either.  We’ll be quick about it, trust me.  I don’t know what’s gotten you so worked up, but we’re not bad guys.  In fact, there was something else that we both wanted to talk about as well,” he stated.

              The way those last few words rolled of his tongue made Farrah feel a bit more uncomfortable than she thought she would be.  She didn’t know what to do about it, and she knew that there was something in his voice that had lust laced with it.  She could feel the desire that he had for her from a mile away, and she was captivated by it.  She wanted him, that’s for sure. No denying that one.

              “Well, I’ll come then.  There’s something that I’ll talk about as well if we have time.  I guess I’ll see you there,” she said.

              “Good.  Don’t be afraid of us Farrah.  We have things planned that I’m sure you’ll grow to enjoy,” he replied.

              Farrah thought of some of the dirtiest things she had ever thought as Maxwell left her office.  Her fantasy world was hot, but she needed to get her mind out of the gutter.  She had work to finish, and that was the first thing she needed to get done.  It was the first order of business, and that’s the duty that she had to take care of.

              Farrah continued to work, but she still had the dull ache in her pussy.  She looked at the clock; it was about four and most of the other workers were wrapping up.  She didn’t think anyone would come near the office, and she knew that nobody would dare bother her without asking for permission to come in.  She moved her pencil skirt up and pulled her nylons down, revealing her sexy set of pink lacy panties. 

              She didn’t wear them with the intention to attract anyone, but she wondered if either of the boys would notice tonight.  She didn’t think so, but if they did it would be worth it.  She would love to see the looks on their faces.  And maybe the actions they had in mind as well.  But right now, she had other things on her mind and other plans that she needed to enact.  She was horny as hell, and she needed a release now more than anything.  She tried to quell it, but it was just too hard. The lust and desire that she had for these men trumped any chance of letting those feelings go by the wayside.

              She moved her panties down, loving the way the cold leather touched her behind.  She spread her legs a little bit, allowing her better access to her wet mound.  It was already glistening with desire, and Farrah could feel the lust that she had for these two men start to flood into her mind.  She wanted them both, and it was hard to decide on which one she wanted more.  She craved them both, and it was only a matter of time before those cravings would come to life.  Maybe not tonight, but sometime in the near future for sure.  For now though, she would satisfy her desires that she had for them with her fingers and her little vibrator that she kept with her.

              The vibrator was her magic wand.  She had it in her purse for moments like this.  She spread her legs, rubbing her pussy a little bit.  She let out a small gasp as she massaged the area, and she knew that these horny feelings that she had weren’t going to subside anytime soon.  She then moved the wand over the area and then started to let it graze over her clit.  She moaned, a gaspy breath coming out of her mouth.  Farrah tried to bite her lip in order to stop the sounds from coming out, but it was too late.  She was already emitting little guttural noises that she knew sounded sexy to anyone that might happen to hear it.  She loved the way that it felt, her hips starting to gyrate with desire.  She then moved it over again and again, moaning with each sensitive touch.

              She continued to do this until she could feel her pussy grow soaking wet.  She imagined it was their fingers touching and tantalizing her, and Farrah already knew that just thinking about this was going to make her even more turned on than she usually was as she got herself off.  She moved the wand away and then let her fingers plunge into her pussy, thrusting in and out smooth but hard.  She pushed them in deep, letting her fingers scissor around her gaping hole.  Farrah was letting out little moans and gasps with each second, and with each touch she was going madder by the second.  She loved this, and her body was loving it too.  She could  feel her pussy throbbing intensely with lust.  Her clit was pulsating, and her pussy was becoming satiated through the use of her fingers inside of her.  She pushed her fingers in deeper, spreading them apart and twirling them around.