Rumpled Between The Sheets (8 page)

Then Mary
Becken
had come along and changed everything. In a matter
of a few months she'd built more than a simple dress shop. The iconic dress in
the front window had stunned him. Unlike her mother, he saw the fire in Mary's
eyes. Instead of letting Mary do more than watch, Miriam had pushed her
daughter straight out of Beowulf Hollow. Where Mary had gone, he’d had no idea.
Whatever adventures she had, the journey changed her. It excited him to see
someone have the passion he once had in designing clothing. Excited and worried
him. He was stupid to believe that Ginger turned a blind eye to the newspapers
he had shipped from the small town and the pictures of Mary
Becken
piled on his desk.
Especially after Ginger's confession about
the scrapbook.
His assistant had shown more backbone than he. Without
her meddling, Benjamin would still be looking at Mary from afar.

He wanted Mary in
his bed, his life, and more. He had to rectify all his actions thus far. The
remnants of his hangover slowly ebbed away. With the flick of a switch, the
lights came on and he squinted. The scrapbook was on his bureau drawer. Afraid
to damage the pages, he'd refused to use the pictures within of Mary as
masturbation material. Instead, he'd taken to intimate fantasies of what he'd
do to Mary
Becken
.

Waiting to see
if the reactions he'd noticed thus far were of a woman desperate for a man's
touch or someone who yearned for something much more was not an option anymore.
Finding out if Mary replicated the same deep-rooted love he’d developed for her
was his goal and Benjamin would pull out all the stops. He dressed in his
finest suit, one of the first articles of clothing he'd created with his own
hands. On the shelf, he had an accessory he'd saved from his first show. She
would wear it for a night on the town.

His foot tapped
on the floor of the elevator as it descended. He hoped Mary hadn't returned to
her room. The doors parted and low tones drifted from the workroom. She'd
switched to something more somber. He
straightened,
his gift to her wrapped in a bow.

At the far
workstation, Mary was bent over a bolt of fabric. Her measuring tape around her
neck, she glided the scissors along a jade green fabric interlaced with gold
thread. By far, that textile had been his favorite of the ones she'd created.
He never asked her how she was able to make them. Perhaps if he showed Mary who
he truly was inside, she'd let him in on her secret. So much talent balled into
such a petite form.

Mary froze like
a rabbit being stalked by her prey. When she glanced up, Benjamin noticed the
redness in her cheeks. To his dismay, they were raw from crying, if her
bloodshot eyes weren't lying.

"Go
away." Her voice cracked.

"Mary."

"Please
just go." She shuddered as a fresh batch of tears fell.

Benjamin set the
gift down and walked over to her. She backed away, up against the wall as he
advanced. His jaw clenched when Mary flinched at his touch. He smoothed back
her hair again, wiping her tears away. With more care than he showed in the
past, he joined his lips with the woman who captured his heart for a small
kiss.

Her eyes
widened. Benjamin took out his kerchief and dabbed at the moisture on her face.

"Why are
you doing this to me?"

"Because
you deserve better than what I've done to do." He put the kerchief away.
"No more work. Not tonight." Benjamin slid the measuring tape off her
neck and glanced around. She'd nearly completed a dress using the jade fabric.
"That dress is absolutely stunning, Mary."

He walked over,
smoothing the stitching. "The lines flow in all the right places and the
flare on the bottom..." He smiled. "I must see you in it."

"Why? So
you can have your way with me?" She sucked in a deep breath. "Is that
your kink? Kidnapping women to make clothes so that you can dress them up as
your plaything?"

"I am going
upstairs." He picked up the gift he'd brought for her. "Put on the
dress and meet me up there. The elevator will take you to the right floor."

"Why?"

"Because if
I stay down here with you, I will be that man you so aptly described." Benjamin
arched an eyebrow. "Unless you prefer to stay locked in here for the
evening?" He strode away, not wanting to hear a negative answer from her.
His offer was for her as much as for him. Mary had broken down the one barrier
he'd never thought a woman could shatter. His lifestyle didn't have room for
the same woman to be constantly at his side.

Mary
Becken
just might be the one to change that.

In the foyer of his
private residence, he waited. The lights blinked rapidly in ascension but stopped
at the floor her room was located on. He stared at the immobile lighting over
the number, willing it to move. Minutes past and yet the elevator remained on a
lower floor. Deflated, he turned to leave. The whorl of the motor spun him
around.

The doors parted
and she stepped out. His breath left him at the sight of her. The jade dress
cascaded around her. Every curve hugged the fabric yet covered her in modesty,
at least in the front. The back stopped just inches from her round buttocks.
The gold trim accented her light bronze skin. Mary had taken the time to pin up
her hair, her golden tresses curling down from her loose bun.

"You look
amazing."

She smiled, yet her
gaze dropped to the floor.

"I got you
something." He handed her the package.

"Thank
you." She clutched it to her chest.

"Are you
going to open it?"

"Oh."
Her fingers twisted the ribbon before pulling it off. When she opened the box,
she covered her mouth. "I can't." Her arm trembled as she tried to
give the gift back.

"You can
and you will." He reached in and pulled out a necklace brimming with
emeralds and diamonds forming
an 's'
curve. He placed
it around her neck, taking time to make sure none of her stray hairs got
tangled in the chain.

"Why are
you doing this?"

"I told
you." Benjamin raised her chin up. "I'm taking you out tonight."
He hooked her arm and led her out of the foyer. "I made
reservations."

She nodded, silent.
His frightened little rabbit clutched his arm as they exited his building. The
limo driver opened the door and Benjamin aided her in the getting into the car.
He joined her, sitting opposite so he could appreciate her full beauty. She
wrung her fingers.

"Something
on your mind, Mary?"

"This is a
waste of time. I have
work
to do." Her lip
quivered. "This is the only thing I have completed."

"
Which is why you're wearing it.
What better way to showcase
your talent?" He spread his arms out and put them behind his head.
"We'll arrive at the restaurant and I'll escort you in. Trust me when I
say that you, in that dress, will turn heads."

****

His hand reached
into the car to help her out. Mary almost did not accept his gentlemanly offer.
The noise outside scared her. After all the time in the workroom, with no noise
beyond the record player, the sounds were overwhelming. New York was a bustling
city on every corner. The bursts of light and frenzied voices were more than
just street noise. She took his hand and stepped out of the car right into the
maw of the enemy.

Cameras flashed,
blinding her. Benjamin urged her ahead of him and then abandoned her to the
flurry of paparazzi. She moved forward a few feet before staring back at him.
Her brow creased as she watched him shake hands and gesture toward her. She was
his little show piece, the whole point of the evening. Her head bowed and she
felt exposed and naked. She lifted the hem of the dress and ran toward the
restaurant. The chaos outside was too much to bear.

"Wait one
minute, Miss
Becken
." Benjamin snatched her
hand, stopping her flight. "We're not finished taking pictures."

"Will my
humiliation never stop?" She jutted her chin at him. "If you excuse
me, I need to use the ladies room.
Unless I can't do that
without supervision either."
He released her and Mary sped away,
grateful to find the restroom without asking for directions. She didn't need it,
but having a closed door between them buffered her against seeing Benjamin
Elstiltzkin
, so she'd feign her bladder's urgency.

A few women
milled about when she entered. One look at her attire and they scurried out
like Cinderella at midnight. Alone, she searched for a way out. The ceiling
provided no avenue and going back out to lose
herself
in
the dimly lit restaurant was foolish. She moved to a room off the stalls. A
segmented frosted window was at the far end.

She gathered up
the bottom of her dress and ripped at the fabric. It tore with ease. He had
left her to her own devices in the work room, long enough to loosen the
stitching on the longest layer. The dress was her best work and she wasn't
about to ruin it completely. This was her first chance to be out of the house,
and Mary had hoped to find a way to escape. A long train on her outfit wouldn't
help in any flight. Heels could be kicked off if need be. Tying the torn piece
around her waist, she went to the window. She strained to open the window but the
sides had been painted shut.

Untying the
extra fabric, she wrapped it around her hand. Her fist slammed into the glass
and pain flared like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her fingers. She sunk
to the floor, cradling her hand. Her opening to escape was slowly shrinking.
She wouldn't put it past
Elstiltzkin
to send in some
of his former tramps to drag her outside for more humiliation.

Mary gathered
herself up and ran to the other room. A beautiful plush wooden chair sat by a
couch of equal measure. She dragged the chair back by the window and heaved it
up. With all her strength, she smashed it against the window. The chair
splintered. She snatched the leg and swung again. The window shattered into small
shards of glass. Punching out the rest with the fabric as her padding, she
climbed through. The front of the restaurant was still mobbed with
photographers, so Mary headed toward the back and broke out in a run. She had
no idea where she was going or how she would get home.
Elstiltzkin
had said he filled her bank account. Without any identification, she'd never see
one scrap to help her get home.

Her pace slowed.
Vivian had mentioned she lived in New York. If she could contact her, that
would be her ticket home. A phone booth sat on the corner across the street.
She leaned against the light poll, waiting for the walk signal to flash. A
couple blocks away, she could still make out the restaurant and the chaos
outside. Had Benjamin found out she'd escaped?

"
Woah
, baby.
Damn."

Mary turned and
came face to face with Paul. The smell wafting from him spoke of copious amounts
of cheap liquor. Memories of how he’d used her boiled her blood. Of all the
people to run into ... he was the last person she wanted to deal with.

"What's the
matter, Paul? Gretchen figured you out too?" She spat the words out.

Paul staggered
up to her and she put the pole between them.

"Come on,
baby.
Chill."
He dug in his pocket. "I got
the cash, see?" He showed her a few wadded up bills.

He
doesn't recognize me.
Horrified she stepped off the curb only to jump back as a car
blared
its horn. Paul grabbed her. The cheap bourbon smell
intensified. She
struggled
which only made him squeeze
tighter.

"I got
money for the honey."

"Let go of
me."

His hands
ventured to places she’d never wanted him to paw at again. Her scream was cut
off as she was spun to the ground. Water splashed on her dress and soaked the
pantyhose underneath. On the corner, she watched Benjamin cock his fist and
connect with Paul's jaw. The anger blazing in his eyes was nothing she'd
witnessed since he abducted her from Beowulf Hollow.

Paul crumpled to
the ground and Benjamin towered over him. "You ever put your filthy mitts
on her again, and I'll break every bone in your body." His shoe plowed
into Paul's stomach. The letch groaned.

Down the street,
Mary watched as the photographers raced toward them. Far removed from the
glamorous woman who’d left the limo, her clothing was in tatters and filthy
from the streets. When Benjamin offered his hand, she didn't hesitate to take
it.

"Come on,
Mary." He whipped off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
"My driver is waiting for us at the end of the street. Can you walk?"

"I'll run
to get away from this nightmare." She huddled close to him and they jogged
away from the scene. True to his word, the limo waited with the door ajar. She
scrambled in with him straight after. Instead of his usual seat, he sat next to
her, his arm around her shoulders.