The Frenchman's Bride

by Imani King

  I gave her a quick flash of teeth in a grin, stabbing my fork into the first bite. Twirling the morsel above my plate, eyeing it hungrily, I remarked aloud: “Just wait until you see their dessert menu…”

  The dinner was as magnificent as ever. With bellies full of delicious food and tastier cocktails, I felt the weight of Sierra’s head on my shoulder while my driver brought us back towards the Miss Victoriana.

  Once there, I half-carried her to her room, where I lay her down carefully on her bed. She was clearly drunk, and while I had been eager to rip her out of her dress before… I couldn’t bring myself to take advantage of her now.

  As I moved to leave, her hand grasped my wrist.

  “No…don’t go…” She murmured softly.

  “Sierra, you’re tired,” I told her kindly. “You’ve had a long, exhilarating night. Why don’t you get some rest? There’s a whole week ahead of us…”

  “Come here,” she whispered sleepily, her lips curling into a salacious smile as her eyes remained closed. “Come let me take care of you…like I said I would before we left…”

  She seemed to have completely forgotten the run-in with Sophia. “Oh, I think I’m perfectly well taken care of, but I appreciate the off…”

  My words drifted away, as I realized that she was cupping my package through my slacks. My cock was springing to life with her touch, ready to force itself out towards her hand. With an audible groan, she opened her beautiful eyes, gazing up at me with the sexiest fucking look I’ve ever seen on a woman.

  “Don’t you wanna play with me, Blaine? This little guy sure seems to want to…”

  I felt her fingertips outlining my erection from within the fabric, and she began to stroke lightly. The rush of invigorating hormones to my brain forced me to my knees on the bed beside her, and she reached over with her other hand, digging two fingers into the lining of my pants while unbuttoning them. The clasp popped; the zipper began to come down.

  “There, there…that’s a whole lot better, isn’t it…?” Sierra whispered in her siren’s voice, unsheathing my rock-hard erection. The helmet had already begun swelling with anticipation, and the stroking of her fingers began to lube my cock with the passion that dripped from the tip.

  “That’s right…that’s a whole lot better…” Sierra murmured, pulling herself up to descend her wet, warm lips down my cock…

  19

  Sierra

  * * *

  The next evening, after the debut of another spectacular film, Blaine was the accidental victim of a wine spill to the shirt. After a bit of annoyance, he needed to pop into a local store to replace his top. Undressing out of his tuxedo blazer, the attendant came to speak with him – and knew just enough English to be slightly helpful.

  Instead of watching the resulting scene ensue, I decided to wait over at a bar across the street, and to have myself a small cocktail while he was taking care of himself. I ordered an appletini, sipping casually at it as I sat alone, observing the locals.

  But a short while later…

  “So, you’re his new squeeze, right?”

  I turned my head in surprise. Sophia Pains was standing beside me, her eyebrow raised.

  “Sophia – how did you…?”

  “With the kind of commotion he makes sometimes, Blaine’s never too hard to find…and he rarely lets you out of his sight,” she mentioned offhandedly, taking a seat next to me on a stool. Across the street, I could see him waving his arms around angrily at the attendant, visibly shouting about something.

  “But don’t worry about any of that,” Sophia continued. “I’m not here to talk to him.”

  “Oh?” I asked, recovering from her sudden appearance.

  “Yeah. I’m actually here to talk to you,” she smiled. The love-struck, strange Sophia from the other night was replaced with this unexpectedly kinder version; something in her voice led me to believe that she was being genuine. “Mind joining me for a walk?”

  “I…I should probably wait for Blaine,” I told her. I was reluctant to disappear off with this woman, no matter how sweet she was suddenly being.

  Sophia scrunched her nose. “You’ve got a phone, right?”

  Instinctively, I reached for the purse from my shoulder, and the young blond model was apparently clever enough to deduce an answer from that.

  “Good. And he’s got your number, correct?”

  “He…yes, he does.”

  “Then it’s settled,” she replied, hopping up from the stool. “Come on! I don’t bite. Not unless I like you, at any rate…”

  For some reason, despite her obvious flirtation, I was compelled to follow her. We separated from the crowd and walked along the nearby street together, heading in the general direction of the docks.

  “You know, I’ve looked into you. Not a lot to find, but you seem like one of those quiet, no-nonsense girls who likes to keep out of trouble,” she told me, her gaze wandering across the sky. “So, what’s a girl like you doing with a guy like him?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” I said defensively.

  “Oh, no honey! I didn’t mean it like that!” She backtracked, her eyes wide and locked onto mine. “I meant that he’s trouble. Hell, he was trouble for me, and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into…”

  “Look, I’m not going to break up with him,” I told her. “Aren’t you with that actor guy? Chet Robensky? Where’s he?”

  “Oh, you two are a thing now?” She asked politely.

  What a Freudian slip, I thought to myself. “I…actually, no. I’m not sure why I said that. We’re just…together, for the moment. But I don’t think it’s going to last.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” Sophia replied, turning away again. “He kind of has this way of getting into your head, you know? Makes you feel like you mean the world to him. And then you realize, one day, that you don’t…it’s a hard pill to swallow.”

  I was following along, but I wasn’t sure what she was trying to accomplish by talking to me.

  “Oh, but to answer your question, I’m not trying to break you guys up from…whatever you’re doing,” she continued in an aloof, detached way. “I’m only interested because he tends to go for these impressionable young women in the industry…this is the first time I’ve seen him pursue someone out of that pattern. He’s being cruel. He knows that you’re out of your element with him, and he has all the control.”

  “Maybe I should go back,” I told her.

  “Aw man, I knew I’d screw this up,” Sophia glumly answered. “I was just trying to get to know you, and I had to go and make you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you,” I replied coolly, crossing my arms. Despite my vocalization to the contrary, I found that I was still walking forward with her. “It’s just that this is a little weird, you know? You come out of nowhere the other night, throwing yourself around him, and now you’re being…I don’t know. Sweet? But trying to come between us?”

  “Yeah, sorry about the other night,” she replied, looking awkward all of a sudden. “It’s one thing to be on the catwalk or in front of a couple of photographers, but my nerves were shot to hell to be on that carpet. I had to drink some liquid courage, but I might have overdone it on the champagne…”

  “You? Nerves, in front of people? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

  “Yeah, you’d think that, wouldn’t you?” She laughed, turning us around a corner. The docks were coming into view in the distance, between a pair of tall buildings down the street. “But I was too drunk to be in public. I’m just great at hiding it. People already think I’m a little bit of a nut, so generally they just assume that I’m indulging myself…Chet was pretty pissed. You probably were, too…”

  “Well, I’m not so sure now,” I answered truthfully.

  “Yeah…anyway, I’m glad to have gotten out of things with Blaine. We were only together for a week or two, but he did a serious number on me. He had some serious trust issues with me, even when I tried
to be clear that I only had eyes for him…I don’t know. I knew what I was getting myself into, and it still kind of fucked me up, you know? I just don’t want to see him do it to someone else – someone who isn’t expecting it.”

  “Well, that’s kind of you to say.” I was still trying to figure her out, but she seemed sincere enough. Something told me that she would never, ever perceive me to be a legitimate threat if she was actually trying to get back with him.

  “I mean it, though. Here, let me give you my number. Got your phone?”

  Hesitantly, I pulled it out, and she began reciting the digits. I plugged them in and gave it a push, and a few seconds later her own purse began to quietly ring a festival little jingle.

  “There. I want you to promise me that if things get rough with him – and you don’t know how to handle it – that you call me. I might not be able to pick up immediately, but I’ve been through this with him. You can lean on me if you need to.”

  “I don’t know how to process this,” I confided in her. “Before a short while ago, I thought that you were this weird, love-struck girl who just wanted to hop back onto his dick…but you’re nothing like that.”

  “The tabloids had a field day with me for a day or two there, I’ll admit it. That’s what I get for calling them,” she smiled serenely.

  “You…what?”

  “That day we were caught, Blaine had already dumped me. Maybe a week before? It was devastating. He stood me up and called me later to cut things off. But he’s a typical guy. He got drunk and wanted a booty call, so he got back in touch. Slurred down the phone how sexy my legs were, and how badly he wanted his mouth on me…you know, that sort of shit.

  “Well, I was open to that, but not without a little punishment. On the way there, I rung up a known paparazzi reporter and left an anonymous tip, right before I arrived at his car. It significantly shortened our fun, but I wanted a little payback for the extra pounds of ice cream he put me through…”

  “Wow. I can’t tell if that’s freaking awesome, or a total bitch move.”

  “It’s both, and that’s okay. Asshole had it coming.”

  We darted through the crosswalk of the major road before the docks, and then wandered along the edge in silence. Whatever compunctions I had about Sophia Pains before, this surprise quality time together dispelled them.

  I wasn’t sure what I thought about her anymore, but I knew one thing: she apparently meant well, and was legitimately concerned about me.

  “I’m surprised he hasn’t called you yet,” Sophia mentioned offhandedly as a pair of partiers on a yacht waved down at us. “I figured by now he’d know that you wandered off.”

  “Yeah, now that you mention it…” I reached for my phone, and saw the notifications for three missed calls and a voicemail. “Oh god, this must have been on silent! He’s been blowing up my phone!”

  He called again – definitely silent mode.

  I flicked the screen and lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey, sorry! My phone was quiet. I’m not–”

  “Where are you?” Blaine tersely demanded. “I turn my back for five seconds and you wander off? In a foreign country? You’ve got to be more careful than that!”

  “Blaine, you were gone for ten minutes before I left,” I told him. “Look, I’m just taking a walk! I’m down at the docks, safe and sound! I’ll leave in just a minute.”

  “No. Stay right there. Go towards the Miss Victoriana. I’ll be there as quick as I can. Are you alone? Is anyone there?”

  “I’m fine, Blaine. Seriously. It’s just me and Sophia. We went for a walk, that’s all,” I told him, and then quickly regretted the slip. Why couldn’t I have thought for a second before I blurted that out?

  Sophia took a stride closer, and shouted into the phone: “Hi, Blaine!”

  “Christ,” Blaine growled into my ear. “You know what? I’m leaving right this second. Go to the yacht. Stay there. I’ll be there shortly.”

  He disconnected the call, and I slipped it back into my phone, sighing heavily. “Well. He sounds pissed.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Sophia shrugged. “What did he say to do?”

  “He wants us to stick to the yacht.”

  “Oh, he still has that thing? He must have told me half a dozen times how much he wanted to sell it…let me guess, it’s that big one over there.” She pointed towards the Miss Victoriana, a short walk over.

  “How could you tell?” I asked sarcastically.

  “He always has to have the best stuff.”

  “Tell me about it…”

  We wandered over to the bridge, laughing to ourselves. Instead of boarding, we leaned against the railing and waited for the billionaire to inevitably come wheeling down the road like a madman.

  Sure enough, barely a minute passed before his sedan screeched to a halt in front. The driver hopped out to let him out, but Blaine threw the door open in a fury and stomped up the ramps to our place atop the dock.

  “Sophia,” he curtly addressed her, “would you like to explain to me why you saw fit to drag my companion away from me and all the way down here?”

  “Companion? Is that what you call us now?” She replied airily. “Anyway, I didn’t drag her here, and it’s not like it’s a long walk anyway.”

  Blaine turned to me, absolutely livid. “You and I are going to have a chat…”

  His facial features were curled into a furious scowl, and I trembled at the sight of it. I was grateful for him to turn back to Sophia, who was looking oddly dispassionate and disconnected from the entire fiasco.

  “Sophia – I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but–”

  “Just getting to know Sierra,” she shrugged.

  “I don’t care. I don’t want you anywhere near her. What did you say to her?”

  “Calm your tits, dude,” she replied. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t shoving a wedge between you two. I was just getting to know her before you inevitably crush her spirit. I’ll go ahead and get out of your hair.”

  “See that you do,” he glowered, “and don’t you dare come anywhere near us again.”

  “You’re not intimidating me,” she mentioned.

  He stepped closer to her, his voice descending to a terrifying tone. “I can crush your career in a heartbeat.”

  Sophia’s eyebrow rose up. “Yeah, I’d probably dial back the threats in front of your guest if I were you,” she replied, as equally aloof as ever. “I’m not going to speak for her, but I know I’d be pretty scared of you if I were in her shoes right now.” She turned to me. “Which are really cute, by the way. Forgot to mention.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I squeaked.

  Blaine’s face whirled around to study me for a moment, and he slowly relaxed. But I couldn’t get it out of my head how monstrous he had been, even if only briefly.

  “Sophia. Will you please leave?”

  “All you had to do was ask nicely.” She responded, walking past me. She placed her hand on my shoulder and planted a quick peck against my cheek. “Take care of yourself, Sierra. You seem like such a good girl. I don’t want to see someone like you hurt.”

  “Sophia.”

  “Right. Anyway, good luck,” she smiled softly, casting him a veiled glance of disgust before traipsing off down the ramp. She disappeared out of sight and towards Cannes, and Blaine turned to command my attention.

  “She’s dangerous, Sierra,” he told me. “You need to keep away from her.”

  “Sophia didn’t seem all that dangerous to me,” I told him angrily, crossing my arms. “And what was with those threats? You’d try and ruin her modeling career?”

  “I…might have let myself get a little carried away,” he admitted, “but I was only looking out for you. For us.”

  “For us? And what is us?”

  Blaine sighed, taking a few steps passed. “Come inside…we can discuss things on the yacht. I think I owe you that much at least.”

  With my anger turning to nervousness, I cast a glance
over towards Sophia – who was in the distance, watching – and I anxiously, almost reluctantly followed Blaine onboard.

  20

  Blaine

  * * *

  I could barely keep my anger contained as I boarded my vessel, with my companion following along behind me. I threw open the closest hatch, stepping into the entrance atrium, and she crept in after me.

  “You need to tell me what just happened,” Sierra demanded. “I kind of think I need to know.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I told her darkly.

  “Then don’t,” Sierra crossed her arms, “But you’re going to have some trouble getting me back out there alone with you in a foreign town unless you come clean with me, and fast…”

  I stopped in my tracks, and slowly turned on her.

  “Do you want to run that past me again?”

  Sierra’s confidence wavered for a moment, but she stood her ground.

  “You heard what I said,” she told me.

  I stood there, watching this young woman bow up at me in defiance, and I took a step towards her. If only she knew how badly she did NOT want to fuck with me. “Sophia Pains betrayed me. They all betrayed me. She called the tabloids on me and plastered my face across the cover page of the papers. Did she say that? Did she tell you that she forced me into another scandal?”

  “Actually yes, she did,” Sierra replied. Her eyes were darkened with fury, and she looked almost cruel with her words. “She also told me that you devastated her, and called her weeks later for a ‘booty call’ out of nowhere…”

  As furious as I was, a smirk crossed my lips.

  “Of course she did,” I replied coolly. “It sounds just like her to twist the truth.”

  “Excuse me?”

  I turned my back to her, straightening my tie. “You’ve been in close quarters with me for a week, Sierra,” I explained loudly, stepping away. “Do you honestly think that I would do something like that?”

  She remained silent.