by Diana Ames
“Mel,” Wally began hesitantly, “we need to talk about what happened here. I consider you my daughter, and I love you. But what I got from Damian and all his insane utterings, this situation was one misunderstanding and assumption after another.”
“I guess that’s true,” Mellissandra agreed. “But you have to understand that we just had an argument about getting a nanny, and he didn’t feel he had enough of my time or something like that, and I can’t understand why he loves someone like me—”
“Take a breath, girl,” Wally said, chuckling.
“Sorry.” Mellissandra grinned sheepishly. “When he just took off and didn’t even tell me he was leaving—let alone where he was going, what he was doing, or when he’d be back—right after we’d had the nanny fight again—” She broke off and looked down at the babies in her arms. “Do you want to burp one?”
“Oh, he was definitely wrong for not talking with you.” Wally took Arabella out of Mellissandra’s arms. “That boy has to learn that he’s married now and that his actions affect others. But, honey, he’s just concerned that your entire life revolves around these two little ones. Sometime in the not so distant future, they are going to have to be without you. It’s not good for them to only be exposed to you right now, and it’s not good for you to have no life outside of them.”
“It’s just so hard to trust anyone, Wally. Both Anton and Damian have known Gilly for years and years, and look at what she did.” Mellissandra sighed. “If I let just anyone stay with the babies and something happened, I would never forgive myself.”
“That’s why Damian came after me,” Wally told her. “You can trust me, can’t you?”
“Of course.” Mellissandra was offended that Wally would even question that. “You took me in and protected me. Wally, you are my mother in all ways, except biological.”
“So, when is Damian due home?” Wally asked.
“He’s usually home around five thirty or six.”
“Get yourself cleaned up and put on a nice dress. When he gets home, make that boy take you out for dinner and dancing,” Wally told her. “I’ll come back here at six sharp to take over with the babies. To have a successful marriage, you have to put time and energy into it. Think of it as a garden,” Wally said.
Mellissandra tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow at Wally.
“No, no, don’t give me that look. I’m not crazy. If you don’t tend a garden, it gets overgrown with weeds that eventually choke out the beautiful flowers. With care and attention, a garden will flourish and bloom. Marriage is the same. It needs care and attention, or the weeds will take over and smother the love.”
Mellissandra stared at Wally and considered her words. Mellissandra didn’t know if Wally was right or wrong, but she did know that she and Damian hadn’t had very much alone time since the babies were born.
“Can you come over at four thirty, so I have time to take a bath and get ready?” Mellissandra asked.
“I’ll be here at four.”
CHAPTER 12
She knocked on the side door of the club. It was the private entrance that Damian had told her to use if she ever needed his assistance. She had hoped never to see him or any of them again, but that just wasn’t meant to be. A man answered the door and looked at her expectantly.
“I need to see Master Damian,” she said.
“Do you have an appointment?” he asked her.
“I don’t need one,” she replied with annoyance. “Tell him it’s JF.”
The man slammed the door in her face. She wasn’t sure if he was going to do as she’d asked or not, but she refused to leave until she saw Damian.
Less than five minutes later, the door opened once again. It was the same man who’d answered the first time, only now his face was bright red, and he was panting as though he’d been running.
“Come with me.” He grabbed her by the wrist and took off through the back of the club.
She tripped a few times attempting to keep up with him until she finally yanked her arm away from him.
“Are you trying to break my leg?” she yelled at him. “I can’t move as fast as you!”
“Sorry, Miss,” he said, stopping for a moment to make sure she was okay.
When she motioned that she was fine, he continued down the hallway at a slower pace.
“Damian is waiting for you in his office.” He pointed to a closed door at the end of the corridor. “No need to knock. Just go on in.”
When she began moving toward the door, the man turned and bolted in the other direction. She shook her head at his foolishness and continued to the closed door. When she entered, Damian’s head shot up from the papers he had been reading, and he rose to his feet.
“Jenalynn, what’s wrong?”
***
Mellissandra stared at her naked body in the mirror. She’d just finished a luxurious, warm bath, and her skin was glowing with a rosy hue. She looked closely at her breasts, stomach, and thighs as they had all been affected by her pregnancy. She wasn’t unhappy with what she saw. A few stretch marks and breasts swollen and overflowing with milk were signs that her body had carried and nourished a living symbol of the love she and Damian shared.
She supposed she looked a little more tired than she usually did, but caring for twins could do that to a person. The stress of fighting with Damian had definitely taken its toll on her as well.
Mellissandra just hoped that Wally was right about showing Damian that she was willing to put effort into their marriage so that things between them would improve. During her bath, she’d turned Wally’s words over and over in her head, and she’d come to the conclusion that Damian had been the only one working on their relationship lately. He ordinarily made sure he was home by suppertime every day, he’d given up training submissives, and he’d even taken a less public role in his club. Mellissandra realized he’d made all those changes to make her more secure in their relationship, and she’d shown her gratitude to him by focusing entirely on their children.
After a day of reflection and carefully watching just what she did with and for the children, Mellissandra had come to the conclusion that while they needed her, the babies were quite content with each other’s company. In fact, the two hours she’d spent playing on the floor with them, they’d touched each other’s faces and found their toes. Mellissandra had picked Arabella up only one time, and that was because she had been ready to roll into the hallway.
When Anton hadn’t shown up for his usual visit, Mellissandra had realized just how alone and lonely she really was. She had no one to share the babies with, no one to discuss their new accomplishments of the day, and no one to keep an eye on them while she ran to the bathing chamber to relieve herself.
Is this what I do to Damian when he comes home? Do I make him feel isolated, like the babies matter more than he does? The thoughts and doubts left a frown on her face.
“What’s this now?” Wally said, walking into the bedroom. “No frowns tonight.”
Mellissandra grabbed her towel to cover her naked body, and Wally just laughed.
“Mel, I’ve seen more naked bodies than you’ve probably seen people. You’ve got nothing under that towel that’s a mystery to me.” Wally smiled gently. “You’d better start getting ready to go. It’s nearly five.”
Mellissandra blushed at Wally’s frankness and then dropped the towel. If Mellissandra was going to try to fit in to her husband’s world, she might as well start now. Reaching for the backless black dress, she slid it on. She couldn’t wear panties because the lines would show, and a bra was completely out of the question, but the dress did have a built-in liner to give some support to her heavy breasts.
“What do you think?” She turned toward Wally.
“I think Damian is going to be fighting to keep you tonight,” Wally said after letting out a low whistle. “Go fix your hair, honey. It’s gonna take a while. You’ve got plenty of it.”
“I want to wear makeup,” Mellissandra told
her. “I want to be everything Damian deserves.”
“Listen to me, baby girl,” Wally said seriously, pulling Mellissandra over to sit on the bed. “Putting on a sexy dress, fixing your hair, wearing makeup—all those things are fine, but make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. You don’t need to change who you are to show Damian how much you love him.”
“I just want to be everything he deserves,” Mellissandra whispered. “I want to—”
“Stop. Just stop right there,” Wally demanded. “Damian married the girl who wears jeans and casual blouses. Damian married the girl who didn’t know lipliner from eyeliner. If you put on this dress because you think that’s what Damian wants, take it off right now!”
“But how can I compete with all those beautiful women he sees every day? I know they’re throwing themselves at him. I just know they are!” Mellissandra wailed.
“They were throwing themselves at him before you were married, too, but he didn’t marry any of them,” Wally told her. “If it makes you feel sexy and in control to put on a dress like that, that’s great, honey. That’s a good reason to dress up. If you’re dressing up because you think you need to compete with other women for your husband, then either Damian is sending you the wrong signals, or you are too damn insecure. Either way, a dress and makeup aren’t going to fix the problem.”
“Have you ever felt this way—with Ryan, I mean?” Mellissandra asked.
“Of course I have,” Wally said. “I’m a retired whore. I was a whore before it became legal and somewhat acceptable. Ryan is the son of a carpenter father and a stay-at-home mother. His upbringing couldn’t have been more wholesome.” Wally smiled ruefully. “Here I was, a seasoned working girl, and Ryan was a virgin who had been dared by his friends to hire me for an hour. We didn’t even fuck the first time we met.”
“How do you get over it?” Mellissandra asked.
“Well, for us, it was pretty dramatic. Damian had just opened Borderline Bordello, and I’d heard of what a safe and fair place it was to work. My former protector took exception to me wanting to leave him for employment elsewhere, and he nearly beat me to death. Somehow, he’d found out that I cared for Ryan and threatened him as well if I left.” Wally sighed at the memories. “Ryan basically bought me from him and gave me my freedom. Then, he proceeded to follow me to Damian’s place, and he got a job as a bouncer. He adapted his life to mine, instead of trying to change me. A day came when I realized that he loved me—all of me—not just the parts that might have fit into his world before he knew me.”
“I think there’s more to that story that you’re not telling me, Wally,” Mellissandra said with a sly look at the older woman.
“Oh, honey, if we get into all my stories, you’ll never be ready to go out,” Wally replied. “Now, what’s it going to be tonight? Dress up for you? Or dress down and just be yourself?”
“Can I dress up and still be myself?”
“Absolutely,” Wally told her. “So long as you keep in mind that Damian loves you no matter what you wear.”
“I’m going to go fix my hair,” Mellissandra said with a smile.
***
“How did she find out my name, Damian?” Jenalynn desperately asked him.
“You said she’s doing an article on prisons?” Damian asked. “To my knowledge, no requests to visit the prison have come through the castle, and I definitely would have been informed if someone had tried to see Gilly. Tell me again exactly what she said.”
“She said, ‘I was told to look up a woman by the name of Jenalynn Felix.’ Damian, she was looking me dead in the eye when she said it. I haven’t gone by anything but Lynn Fellows since I left the castle, and no one in the castle knew me.”
“I wouldn’t say no one,” Damian told her. “You were in medical for quite a while, and those people had access to your information.”
“What am I going to do, Damian? I can’t just throw her out of the boarding house. She would know for sure that something was wrong.” Jenalynn’s voice, face, and body language all screamed fear and panic.
“Well, we certainly can’t have her fishing around for information that would do nothing but cause you grief and turn the life of a child upside down,” Damian said. “I want you to go back to the boarding house and tell her that you know someone who can get her inside the castle. Have her meet him here at seven tonight. I’ll take it from there.”
“Thank you, Damian,” Jenalynn said. “I’m sorry for coming here. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“You did the right thing,” Damian said, embracing the blond woman. “I’ll take care of this. After everything you’ve been through, you don’t need the life that you’ve built for yourself to be disrupted.”
Damian picked up the phone as he watched Jenalynn leave his office. He’d learned his lesson about not letting his wife know his whereabouts. He wasn’t, however, going to worry her by telling her that someone might know or suspect the parentage of one of their children.
***
It was almost six fifteen when there was a knock at the door. Wally went to answer it, and she was surprised to see a security officer on the other side.
“I’m here to see the princess, ma’am,” he said politely.
“Mel, can you come out here, please?” Wally called back toward the hallway before turning back to the door. “Is there something wrong, officer?”
“Yes, Wally,” Mellissandra said, walking into the foyer. “Oh, Officer Logan,” she said, startled to see the security guard.
“Princess,” Officer Logan said, bowing slightly. “Prince Damian called into security and asked us to deliver a message to you.”
“Why didn’t he call the apartment directly?” Mellissandra asked with a furrowed brow.
“He said the line was busy, ma’am,” the officer told her. “He asked us to let you know that he’s not sure when he’ll be home this evening because of some kind of problem at the club.”
“Oh,” Mellissandra said a little sadly. “Thank you, officer.”
“Yes, ma’am. If you need anything, feel free to call security,” he told her before leaving the apartment.
“Does this happen often?” Wally asked as she closed the door.
“Once in a while,” Mellissandra replied. “It’s never anything too serious. One time he had a liquor shipment that was very, very lost. It took over twelve hours to find it.”
“Well then, why the glum face?” Wally said with a smile. “Go down to the club, and be with your husband.”
“I’ve never been to the club,” Mellissandra whispered. “I don’t even know exactly where it is.”
“I’m beginning to see where all these insecurities come from,” Wally said a little angrily. “Get Anton on the phone. You’re going to that club tonight to be with your husband.”
“Damian doesn’t want me to go there,” Mellissandra said. “He said he doesn’t want that kind of influence for me.”
“That kind of influence?” Wally’s eyes narrowed.
“He wouldn’t elaborate,” Mellissandra said. “I just figured it was the same as when you wouldn’t let me in the bar at the whorehouse during open hours.”
“That was a safety issue,” Wally told her. “You weren’t a working girl or looking for someone to fuck. But, you’re a married woman now,” Wally said. “That is your husband’s place of business. He shouldn’t try to keep you out. Instead, he should be there to protect you. It’s a big part of his life, one you have to push your way into if you want to be an equal partner in this marriage.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Wally interrupted. “What’s the worst that can happen? You see some crazy sex, and maybe get a few ideas that you’d like to try with your husband?”
“What if he gets angry?”
“Then, get angry back,” Wally told her, exasperated. “Remember the garden? Well, you can’t tend the flowers if you’re locked out by a fence.”
“I’ll call Anton.”
CHAPTER 13
“I want to go on record and say that this is a bad idea,” Anton said as he opened the door to the club.
When Mellissandra had called him and asked him to come over right away, Anton had rushed to her apartment in a panic. A million bad things had run through his mind. Had she been injured? Was one of the babies sick? Had someone gotten past security and tried to hurt them? He’d made the three-minute walk in thirty seconds.
To say he had been shocked when he burst into the apartment to find Mellissandra waiting for him in a slinky black dress would be the understatement of the century. Anton had come to a screeching halt just inside the foyer, his jaw landing on his chest.
When Wally had informed him that he would be taking Mellissandra to Damian’s club, he had tried to protest. It was no place for a gentle, sheltered woman like Mellissandra, but the two women had been insistent, and he’d been too stunned for his brain to properly come up with an excuse not to take her.
“He wants me to have a life outside of our children, Anton,” Mellissandra said as they walked through the door. “He has to start including me in his life for that to happen. Right now, I have half a husband, and I deserve a whole husband.”
Anton didn’t say anything as he tried to shuffle her past the various sex acts already taking place around the room. It was early, not yet seven, but a few people were naked and enjoying the freedom the club offered.
“He’s probably in his office,” Anton told her. “Let’s head back there.”
“No,” Mellissandra said, jerking away from him. “I pumped all afternoon, so I could have a drink or two tonight. Let’s sit at the bar.”
“Mellissandra, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Anton said hesitantly. “Damian is going to murder me for even bringing you here, but to allow you to be exposed to—”
“Look, Anton, I’m a grown woman. I have two children. If I want to sit in a sex club, owned by my husband no less, and have a drink while taking in the atmosphere, I damn well will!” She unflinchingly looked him in the eye. “The choice is yours as to whether you sit with me or not. But let me point out, Damian has never brought me here, so no one knows who I am. How long do you think I’ll sit alone?”