The Letter

by Rebecca Bernadette Mance

  The pretty house bore a distinct resemblance to a doll house she once saw in the window of Joshua’s General Store in Fort Worth at Christmas time.

  Victoria immediately and instinctively knew this was to be her house.

  “It cannot be. Is this meant for me?” she asked, in utter awe.

  “Of course,” William responded casually, as if it was every day that he gave away a house.

  “Let us get a closer look to see if it is to your satisfaction.”

  He helped her alight from the buggy and lead her up the porch steps. Victoria stared around her in mute shock as they progressed toward the front porch. So engrossed in looking at the house, she stumbled on the last porch step.

  “Watch yourself darling,” William chuckled at her distracted progress, obviously enjoying every second of her shocked delight.

  In a quick movement William swept Victoria off of her feet and carried her across the threshold and into the house. Victoria squeaked with delighted surprise then giggled as he gently set her onto her feet.

  Victoria gazed around in complete disbelief.

  The house was exquisitely decorated in rich, jewel tones, mostly rich reds and accented with gold. Comfortable, elegant furniture graced the small, front parlor. There was a hall that led to a large kitchen and separate dining area.

  Victoria pulled William along as she raced to see the kitchen. The first thing she noticed in the large, pretty sunny yellow kitchen was that it overlooked a little garden behind the house. Two of the walls boasted white, wooden cabinets with glass fronts filled with dishes and cookware.

  The adjoining intimately sized dining room was stunningly decorated with a dark mahogany dining table with high back chairs for six. The small chandelier above the table was mirrored in the polished surface of the table and along one wall stood a carved mahogany cabinet with framed glass doors.

  Long stemmed red roses standing in tall crystal vases were scattered about the house leaving a heady scent throughout the rooms.

  “Good gracious it so beautiful!” Victoria whispered, enthralled.

  “Let me take you to see what is upstairs.” His eyes twinkled into hers spreading a delicious warmth through her.

  William led her up the winding staircase where he opened the master bedroom door. Slowly, Victoria entered the stunning room, her breath catching.

  There was a large, heavy and ornate canopied bed in the center of the room with a ruby red velvet coverlet.

  Displayed on the walls and framed in gold were beautifully romantic paintings of women and men, scantily dressed and engaged in ardent activities. Victoria flushed and didn’t dare turn around to look at William.

  The splendid cherry wood furnishings in the room shined a rich burgundy color reflecting the color of the room in the fading sunlight.

  Even to her untrained eye, Victoria knew it was designed specifically to be a private, sensual haven for lovers.

  She went to the bed and put her hand on the soft red velvet cover suddenly savoring her role as mistress. Her fingers glided over the rich fabric and she closed her eyes as the images of what was to come engulfed her. Recognition of the moment and its rightness deluged her.

  The ambiance of this room overwhelmed her with sensuality that she never knew existed within her.

  Shocked by her thoughts, she mentally stepped back from the passion she knew she should not revel in.

  “It is beautiful Will,” she said softly, then shivered deliciously when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

  “How does it make you feel?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Feel? It makes me feel so . . . .”

  “Erotic,” he supplied, accurately guessing her deepest shameful musings. “Or perhaps that is just my own thoughts.”

  She gasped.

  He pulled her to him and enclosed her in his arms and Victoria could feel his heat and his solid chest under her token restraining hand.

  “I want you to think of me — of us — here in this room, even when I am away from you.”

  Victoria’s heart skidded to a halt and she jumped from his arms as heat rushed through her.

  William chuckled low.

  “Do not say such things, it is scandalous,” she whispered, ignoring the way his words made tingle with anticipation.

  He laughed softly and said, “I am going to be more scandalous than you can possibly imagine.”

  “Don’t,” she whispered, mentally shoving away the erotic images that assaulted her.

  “Alright then, I will leave off. Do you like your house?” he asked, his voice still husky and low. Victoria crossed the room and was staring at the street below, gathering her wits. William followed her came up to stand behind her, his arms encircling her. Victoria tensed but did not attempt to escape his embrace.

  “It is absolutely magnificent,” she said, turning within the circle of his arms to face him. William leaned down to her.

  “I would give you nothing but the absolute best, darling,” he whispered against her ear and pulled her still closer. Victoria could feel the hard length of him.

  “Here we shall find heaven,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

  Overwhelmed by conflicting emotions Victoria pulled away from him and concentrated on the intricate design in the wood that surrounded the dresser mirror.

  “Why do you say such things to me?”

  Victoria had never wanted like this.

  “I am being honest with you about how I feel, women like that do they not?”

  “Then, why don’t you just do it and be done with it?” she whispered, trembling.

  “You are not ready and it is not the right time. Better that you know me, have some affection. I want you to want me as I want you.”

  Victoria gasped.

  “But, come now, before I do this sooner than I planned. I want everything to be perfect,” he said, his voice thick. Victoria turned to find him holding out his hand to her, his eyes still simmering.

  Trembling and silent she took his hand.

  Hand in hand they silently walked down the steps and out of the house. William helped her back inside the carriage and then took the seat across from her, his gaze intent on her face.

  “Here is the deed for the house sweetheart.” He took a folded paper from his coat and handed it to her. Victoria looked at it for a moment in calm amazement. Could that lovely house really be hers?

  “You are just going to give it to me, just like that?” Victoria asked her voice incredulous.

  “Yes. It is yours. See your name is printed on the document,” William said, gently, smiling as he tapped the deed next to her printed name.

  Victoria recognized the gift for what it was. A sense of inevitability gently rolled through her. This was the first installment of their deal and when she took it, she officially accepted his terms.

  With trembling hands, she folded the deed and tucked it into her little bag. She didn’t need to look at William to know that he was staring at her. It was final. Now, she must fulfill her part of the deal.

  The deal with the devil was complete.

  God help her.

  The carriage jolted her back in her seat and started to move.

  CHAPTER 16

  Dear Mandy,

  I don’t know how to find the words to tell you this, so I will say it as plain as I can. I have agreed to become Mr. Worthington’s mistress. I hope dear sister, that you will not judge me harshly in this, or him, for that matter. I wish I could tell you that I had agreed to this only in an effort to keep the store and somehow find a better life for the two of us, but that wouldn’t be the whole truth.

  The truth, my dear sister, is that I want to be with William more than anything I have ever wanted. You know how I feel about marriage, and now that I have met him, I know I shall never marry another. I know you will not understand why I didn’t hold out for marriage, but you see, Mandy, William and I could never marry. I couldn’t fit into his world, I would never belong, any more th
an he would belong in mine. I know that I will never want to marry another. So you see, it was the only choice I could make. Believe me when I tell you, I am happy with my decision. Don’t worry about me. While I am here, I will be having the grand adventure I always wanted. This, Mandy, will be the time of my life.

  I do not know how long I shall be here in San Francisco, but I will write you every week.

  All my love,

  Victoria

  Blowing gently on the ink, Victoria folded her letter, put it into an envelope and sealed it. Heart pounding, she addressed the envelope and set it to the side of the desk to be put into the mail in the morning.

  Taking out a book to distract her, Victoria willed herself to read rather than think about where William was and what he was doing. She was acting like a child having her first crush on a boy, which was inappropriate given the mercenary terms of their relationship.

  Suddenly, awareness swept over her and blew a cold chill through her that causing the hair stand up on her arms and on the back of her neck.

  Slowly, Victoria’s gaze left her book and met William’s smoldering slate orbs. She had not heard the door open, but he had managed to materialize in the doorway connecting their two rooms.

  His large frame blocked out the light behind him. He was wearing a white shirt that was partially unbuttoned, revealing dark brown curling chest hairs that beckoned to be touched.

  His smoky gray eyes touched her inside and out, burning her to the core, telling her he had come to her room for a reason. Victoria’s breath caught, and for a moment time suspended.

  He was going to have her this night.

  But she was not ready.

  Where she had been brave and pragmatic, she was suddenly afraid — more afraid than she had ever been in her life.

  Oh, it wasn’t that she was afraid of making love with him, nor was she afraid of becoming his mistress, those things didn’t frighten her.

  What she was afraid of was what he would do to her heart. He had the power to trap her in his invisible web. She was certain that once they had been intimate, he would trap her forever in his invisible web.

  Victoria pulled the bed covers high up under her chin staring at him.

  “I am not ready for this yet,” she said, her voice barely a husky whisper.

  “Everything will be fine, love. I promise.”

  “No,” her voice was stronger as her heart pounded faster and faster with each passing second. “It does not have to be so soon.”

  “It is only natural to be afraid, therefore, it is better to put this part behind us, lest you build it up in your mind to dramatic and unrealistic proportions.”

  “I am not ready.”

  “Don’t fight me, Victoria, darling,” he soothed, coming slowly into the room. “I am certainly not going to force you. But it is what I want, and I know it is what you want too. From the moment we met it was inevitable.”

  As he moved slowly to the bed, his eyes holding her motionless, Victoria swallowed hard feeling like a helpless moth caught in a silken web of a spider, unable to move.

  Until panic overtook her.

  She wasn’t ready for this. She knew what she wanted. It just wasn’t the time yet.

  Victoria attempted to scramble out of the bed, but her legs got caught in the bed sheets.

  “Don’t, Victoria love,” he said in a quiet, coaxing voice. William stopped moving toward her, gravely disappointed that he had frightened her. “It will be okay, I promise you.”

  “Easy for you to say, you have done this before, I haven’t,” she said, pulling her legs free and swinging them over the side of the bed.

  “It is not easy, not easy at all!” he said harshly. “You make me hate myself. I had intended to wait until you were in your new home – give you more time – but damn, I never wanted a woman so much.”

  Victoria hesitated, his words moving her.

  “I wanted to wait to see you in red.”

  “Please stop,” she said, closing her eyes.

  He laughed softly. “I can’t stop, and if you were honest with me, you would tell me that you feel the same. It is just that you don’t know the full story of lovemaking as I do. Instead, you look as if you have been sentenced to death,” he said, as he watched her frantically kicking away the bed clothing in an attempt to scramble away from him.

  “Let me just sit next to you on the bed,” he said, slowly advancing to the bed.

  Victoria watched William warily as he approached the bed, caught in his smoky gaze. Why was she suddenly so afraid? It was silly. She was a grown woman, she knew what was involved, she wanted this, and yet this panic would not leave her.

  William sat down slowly on the opposite side of the bed and reached out his hand to her.

  “I am not going to force you, Victoria,” he said quietly. Victoria stared at his outstretched hand as if it were a poisonous snake.

  She didn’t want to touch him, yet his long beautiful, masculine fingers tempted her to touch him.

  She knew that touching him would end this silent, sensual battle and William would be the victor.

  If she touched him, she was certain she would want him with the same desire that had consumed her the other times she was with him. Then, he would have power over her that no one before him had ever had.

  It was because she loved him.

  And that was also why, after a moment, Victoria reached out her small, trembling hand and placed it into William’s beckoning, tempting, outstretched hand.

  Whatever the future had to offer, Victoria was going to take it.

  When they touched, William’s warm hand sent a delightful shiver through Victoria’s arm and through her body. Victoria did not stop William when he pulled her to him, closing his strong arms around her shaking body.

  Victoria took in his faint, musky, masculine scent. Her pulse quickened.

  “I wouldn’t hurt you, darling,” he murmured against her hair, his breath warm. He gently stroked her hair and back, calming her entire being.

  “I know I should just give you the money for the store and just let you go, that is what I should do, if I was a good man that is what I would do.

  But I want you so badly, and by God, I will have you,” he whispered harshly into her ear. “But I will take care of you Victoria, that I promise.”

  Tilting her head back, he looked deeply into her eyes before consuming her mouth .

  Any fear she had dissipated into the air. His need called to her primitive instincts and she opened her mouth in invitation. Victoria was immediately lost in the fire that burned between them. First, William touched, explored and teased every inch of her body. His mouth tasted every inch of her, starting with her lips and face and moving down her neck to suckle her rose-tipped breasts that begged for his touch.

  William stroked and tasted her in the most intimate places until Victoria was ready to come off of the satin sheets. Needing more, Victoria grasped his shoulders, digging her nails into his muscled back.

  “Please,” Victoria uttered unable to say anything else. Her fear had long since been replaced by consuming desire.

  “Hold tight darling,” William whispered into her ear. “This might hurt a little so I am going to go fast.”

  William came between her legs and thrust inside of her. Victoria screamed in surprise and pain.

  Suddenly, the burning desire that had consumed her was replaced by a searing, white hot pain.

  “Stop,” she gasped, trying to push him off of her.

  Victoria felt so full, so vulnerable, so torn, and now, so disappointed. She struggled under his weight.

  “Darling, don’t,” he whispered, his voice soothing and gentle. “I know it hurts now, but it will be alright. I thought you knew about the first time.”

  She choked on the angry words that flew to her lips.

  “Not like this, it isn’t supposed to be like this!” she said, her voice quivering. What an awful experience. “This isn’t a little burning that I he
ard about! This isn’t a little discomfort that I heard about! This is pain!” she hissed.

  “It will be alright,” he soothed. “I promise it will only be like this the first time.”

  Caressing her hair, he continued to speak to her in low soothing tones.

  And soon he was moving slowly inside of her again. And the pain was forgotten.

  Everything Victoria had ever thought was forgotten. She only felt intense pleasure.

  Before the night gave way to dawn, she had sobbed with pleasure. William left no part of her untouched or unexplored. They did things that Victoria never dreamed men and women did. Time and space ceased to meaning. Victoria surrendered to passion that burned like a wildfire on a dry prairie.

  Williams’s hands were gentle, but urgent. His whispered words evoked intense feelings pulled from the core of her being.

  Just when Victoria thought the pleasure had reached the highest possible pinnacle, William would softly whisper in her ear.

  “Give me more, darling, a little bit more.”

  Then he would work the magic again and again, until tears ran down Victoria’s face from the sheer pleasure of the things he did to her.

  William had wanted to go easy. He wanted to hold part of himself back, but nothing had prepared him for the absolutely consuming pleasure he had found with her.

  Like no other sexual encounter, making love to Victoria was truly making love with the fullness of the word’s meaning. And William lost himself inside of her hot, inviting flesh more times than he should have.

  It had taken every shred of self control to go easy on her the first time, to hold him back in the midst of his own blinding, hot need. But for the first time in his life, William’s body would not listen to the things his mind wanted him to do.

  Like a man dying of thirst, William had returned again and again to quench his thirst. Even now as he watched her sleep, knowing she was tired and probably very sore, selfishly, all he could think of was having her again.

  And her passion matched his. His back, with the hundreds of tiny nail marks, was proof of that. Victoria had matched him and responded with the same need that had driven him. Her cries of pleasure had only fed the feverish pitch of their lovemaking. And William knew that he may have enjoyed sexual encounters many times in his life, but he had never truly made love to another until tonight.