My Forbidden Mentor

by Laura Mills

  Robert interrupted him. “John, I don’t have time for trivial talk.”

  John became perturbed. After all, it was Robert who had caused the chaos this morning. John watched the waiter with impatience, his angered features clearly expressing his desire for privacy. It wasn’t until the poor waiter left that John noticed something had happened to Robert. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Nice of you to notice,” Robert replied, pausing as he looked toward the lobby, watching both stairways. He explained as his concentration stayed on everybody passing through. “That bloody idiot of a waiter ran into me. He didn’t pay attention to where he was going.”

  John began laughing. “I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose.” His laughter was cut short when he noticed Robert acting intent and focused. “Who are you looking for?”

  Robert, frustrated from getting diverted, answered with shortness. “Guess?”

  John’s bewilderment faded as another whiff of that same familiar perfume drifted by his nostrils. “Vanessa,” John said knowingly.

  Robert took a moment to reply. He thought he saw a blond head bop by but he was mistaken. “Yes, Vanessa. She’s just arrived. I’ve been keeping an eye on her. Luckily, her room is on the other side of the hotel from ours.”

  This bitch is deadly serious, John thought, which confirmed the urgency of Robert’s message. “If this is what your message was about why did you want me to meet you at the track?” John asked out of curiosity.

  Robert turned to face John. Robert wished he could have gotten a message off to John but he hadn’t dared lose sight of Vanessa. “I didn’t send you a message John. I would have but I didn’t want to lose the bitch.”

  Every one of John’s nerves flared with new intensity, as Vanessa’s plan hit him all at once. If that note was a deterrent and if Robert lost sight of her, like when the waiter bumped into him, oh Lord, Melissa! He hoped the doctor still accompanied her and he prayed to God that Vanessa hadn’t gotten to her yet.

  John started for the stairway to his room, telling Robert over his shoulder, “I’ve got to check on Melissa. She could be alone,” and he trailed off because he could no longer talk. His mind was rattled with the fear of not knowing how far Vanessa would go, what extreme measures she would pursue in her obsessive, jealous, maddening mind. Robert stayed close behind.

  It had been less than five minutes since the doctor had left. Melissa had assured him that she would be fine, not wanting to keep him from his busy schedule, and she figured John would be back soon enough. Turning away from the door, elation consumed her. So many things had been cleared up in the last twenty-four hours and everything was magical. The man she loved also loved her. They were to be married. They were to have a child, a child they had created out of passion and love. Life couldn’t be much better.

  There was a knock at the door and a charming voice on the other side of the door claimed to be room service.

  Melissa’s trusting nature was now leading her down a corridor with Vanessa at her left side holding a concealed knife to her ribs. Melissa silently screamed for John while Vanessa told her on the way to the stairs that she planned to take her to her room across the way. Her plans included tying her up and keeping her there until she was ready to dispose of her. She promised Melissa one last time to see John, which would be while he and Vanessa made love in front of her, and then the real torture would begin.

  Every time Melissa struggled Vanessa dug in deeper with the blade. When they reached the top of the stairs Melissa knew something had to be done before they got to Vanessa’s room. She wasn’t about to be hidden away from John so Vanessa could indulge in her warped fantasies.

  Approaching the first step, Vanessa insisted, “Now smile pretty Miss Howard, so it seems that we are the closest of friends.” When Melissa didn’t respond, Vanessa was harsh. “Do it,” she told her as she smiled herself, piercing at Melissa’s clothing with the sharp tip of the blade to let her know that she was serious.

  Melissa’s lips curved with slight intent, trying to stay calm enough to perform a beneficial maneuver.

  Vanessa leaned into Melissa, smiling sweetly as they approached the third step, and whispered a warning. “Don’t try to be courageous Miss Howard or you will regret it. Your lover isn’t here to save you.” Her laughter dripped with venom. “I’ve sent him off on an errand, a very urgent errand.”

  Melissa had had enough and she decided there was still a chance. They were almost halfway down the stairwell when she decided to put a crimp in Vanessa’s plans. John may not be here to save her but she would damn well try to save herself and the child she carried. Melissa’s strength was returning, her confidence bolstering. Melissa took a chance with a knife at her side but it was a chance she needed to take.

  Without warning Melissa turned her body, stretching out her left leg in order to trip Vanessa. She didn’t succeed as Vanessa regained her balance by grasping the wooden rail on her left, and it was Melissa who fell in the process, landing on her back and upside down in the middle of the stairway. Her head tipped against the edge of a carpeted step as she struggled with Vanessa, trying to get herself into an upright position, but Vanessa kept pushing at her and she could feel herself slipping downward one step at a time. Reaching for any kind of leverage seemed impossible until Vanessa lifted to better position herself. Melissa pushed and strained for the railing, determined to grasp the wooden spindle at her level. While her arm stretched out Vanessa managed to slice at her forearm, warning her verbally to behave or she’d take more drastic actions. Melissa ignored her, grunting in exertion, and she was able to grab the bottom of the spindle.

  John came hurdling up the stairs towards them, taking two steps at a time with Robert right behind him. Vanessa looked up and in desperation tried again to pry Melissa’s fingers from the wooden spindle, holding the knife in her other hand at Melissa’s throat.

  John yelled out, “Vanessa, no! She’s pregnant!” he warned, displaying evident fear in his eyes. All he could think about was getting Vanessa away from Melissa.

  The knowledge of Melissa’s pregnancy stunned Vanessa beyond belief, and as she turned to face John he closed in on them. Melissa watched the evil pouring out of Vanessa as both of her hands gripped the knife handle, lifting it high above Melissa’s head. Vanessa shifted her focus back to Melissa, aiming the blade right for her stomach. Melissa began shaking uncontrollably. I have to save my baby she thought as her right hand joined her left on the spindle and she tried sliding herself out of the way.

  But in a flash John had Vanessa pinned down, her arms above her head, and he applied enough pressure on her wrists to release the dreadful knife. “Let go, Vanessa,” John demanded. His strength overpowered her, making her hands grow weak and the knife come free. John slid the knife away so she wouldn’t be tempted to reach for it, and a glare of disgust filled John’s features as Vanessa stared up at him.

  “Let me go, you ungrateful bastard,” she yelled in his face.

  All John saw in her face was pure hatred. She had turned crazy, and her craziness was jeopardizing the lives of his future wife and child. His grip on her arms squeezed harder as his words seared between clenched teeth. “You’re insane, bitch.”

  Robert asked Melissa if she was all right and looked over her cut. Seeing it was superficial he took Vanessa out of John’s hands. “John let me have her.”

  John took Melissa in his arms. “It’s over sweetheart,” he whispered, reassuring her. Then he noticed the slash on her forearm. Seeing the bleeding was light he whipped out a handkerchief from his trouser pocket. Wrapping it around her arm, he kept it snug to slow the bleeding. He lifted Melissa into his arms and she hung onto him for dear life as he strode up the stairs back to their room. Once inside his foot kicked the door shut so he wouldn’t disturb Melissa’s position. Sitting on the bed, he held her for a long while.

  Curled on his lap, her arms still wound tight around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder and went from violentl
y shaking to lightly trembling.

  In a shaky whisper her feelings flooded and began streaming out. “I almost lost you and our baby.” Tears fell from her eyes as she continued on, “I can’t live without you John. I almost lost our child. Will you ever forgive me?”

  Her words stabbed him like a knife in his belly. Her pain was his pain and he wouldn’t have her believing it was her fault. His trembling words reached her ear. “Stop blaming yourself. It wasn’t your fault. Don’t dwell on what could have happened. You and the baby are safe now.” John’s lips touched her cheek. He couldn’t live without her either.

  She kissed along his neck that was saturated from her tears and revealed lingering thoughts of her gratefulness. “If you hadn’t come John I don’t know what would have happened. I, I just froze when she held the knife.” She kissed him again to ensure that he was real, that the nightmare was over, and that she could finally believe they were alive and sound.

  John let out an unsteady breath. “I don’t want to think about what could have happened. We need to return home and forget about all this madness.”

  She smiled against his neck. He truly was all she wanted, more than anything. She lifted her golden head away from his shoulder and her weary eyes fastened to his. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll go anywhere.”

  Words couldn’t describe his feelings at that moment. His head bent towards hers, his lips reaching for her swollen ones. His mouth experienced the sweetness of her mouth and the salty wetness from her tears. He turned her short intakes of breath into groans and he groaned in unison.

  John’s hands slid up her back to undo the buttons on her dress and Melissa’s hands began shoving John’s coat off his shoulders with reckless need. When a knock at the door sounded, they both stopped, their lips parted, and John rested his forehead against hers.

  “Should we ignore them?” he asked, his hands in the process of slipping the sleeves of her dress off her arms.

  She smiled while pulling his coat back over his shoulders. “It could be Robert. We shouldn’t make him wait,” she said, placing a light kiss on his lips.

  John wasn’t convinced. “What if it isn’t Robert?” he asked out of desperation.

  “John,” Melissa started to say when another knock sounded, and this time a voice spoke.

  “Are you two in there? It’s Robert.” John began buttoning her dress, muttering under his breath, “Damn it all.”

  “One moment Robert,” Melissa told him as she helped John before sliding off his lap and sitting next to him. John lifted from the bed to open the door for Robert. Taking his position upon the bed once again, his glare told Robert the obvious.

  Robert sat in a chair across from them. “Have I interrupted something?”

  Through frustration John responded before Melissa could. “Yes, you certainly have.”

  Robert smiled at John’s misery. It wasn’t as if John hadn’t put him in the same position when he’d wanted to talk about Melissa at all hours of the night. He and Rose would be in the throes of lovemaking when John would be insistently knocking at the door. “So sorry,” he said, looking in John’s direction before switching to Melissa, “but I hear congratulations are in order?”

  John and Melissa stared at other in confusion, knowing they hadn’t spoken to anyone yet. “How did you find out?” John asked.

  Robert’s grin widened. “You only shouted it so the whole town heard you John.”

  That’s right, John remembered. He had shouted it aloud, but not in the manner he would have preferred, and by now Melissa remembered the same thing. “Thank you,” they said in unison. “You can congratulate us again if you’d like. We’re getting married,” John informed him.

  “Well it’s about time. Rose and I were devising a matchmaking plan for the two of you,” he told them.

  “I’d like to meet Rose,” Melissa remarked.

  Robert leaned toward Melissa, handing her his handkerchief for her wet face. “And you shall,” Robert concurred. Eager to get home, he finished the update on Vanessa. “By the way, Vanessa is being evaluated by the local doctors here. There’s no telling where she’ll end up, but as long as she’s out of our lives I don’t care.” Robert stood. He still needed to pack so he could leave.

  “Hopefully her evaluation will take a lifetime,” Melissa replied, taking John’s hand in hers and squeezing, and she rose as well as the thought of Vanessa cued her to start packing. The farther away from that woman the better.

  As John watched Melissa step over to the dressing area he knew what motivated her actions. His gaze swung back toward Robert.

  “Leaving?” Robert inquired.

  “Yes immediately,” John said with a smile, and rising, he walked Robert to the door, where they said their goodbyes and made plans to meet in Richmond in a couple of days.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Has this turned into the battle of wills?” John inquired as he clasped his hands together on top of his lap. His head reclined into the leather seat of his carriage and tipped into a comfortable position so his eager and waiting eyes could watch her.

  Melissa brushed the velvet curtain aside, averting her attention away from the handsome, prowling man seated across from her. Since leaving the hotel he’d been tempting her to continue where they’d left off, in the midst of a prelude of lovemaking, blaming Robert for his unreasoned urgency although Robert had unknowingly interrupted.

  But Melissa found herself thinking about all the changes that had taken place in the last few days. The shock of Vanessa’s maneuver was finally wearing off, letting her mind explore the future, and unfortunately her present mood didn’t coincide with John’s adventurous one at the moment. Plus it might be sort of fun to put him off for a change and not respond so predictably.

  She answered him while her eyes fastened to the passing landscape. “I suppose it has since I need to prove to you that I can control my urges, and it will be you who loses control.” Managing a brief glance toward his languid form she saw exactly what she had expected, a lazy smile with equally lazy eyes. Don’t fall that easily she warned herself.

  John laughed. No, it wouldn’t be long. She was as hungry as he was and in a few short hours she’d be melting beneath him, begging him to take her. His manhood stiffened in anticipation. Should he bait her more in the mean time?

  Short Corner

  John became quite impressed with the stamina Melissa presented. She hadn’t backed down once to all the baiting he had tossed at her.

  Once they came to a stop Miss Beckett came flying out of the front door, anxious to greet them. Thunder and Laurel whinnied at their presence. Melissa barely made it out the carriage door when Miss Beckett embraced her. John conversed with his driver, explaining their situation while Melissa and her auntie said their hellos. Miss Beckett was surprised but relieved when she saw Melissa and John together.

  Their reunion was pleasant. Miss Beckett had prepared a marvelous array of dishes and she watched the two of them sitting across from her while they all ate and enjoyed their food. Seeing them together gave her the distinct feeling there was something more they had to tell her. “Is there something more you’d care to share?” she asked, watching their matching smiles come to life.

  John gave Melissa the honor.

  Melissa looked to John for support and he nodded for her to continue. “Yes Auntie, there is more,” she started, clearing her throat to go on. “John and I are to be married.” One hurdle gone, Melissa thought as Miss Beckett’s reaction was what Melissa had expected, ecstatic.

  “Oh, that’s absolutely wonderful. I’d always hoped,” she glanced at both, “Congratulations you two.”

  Melissa put off the inevitable by commenting, “Yes, I’m very happy, auntie. I believe it was meant to be.” She smiled, blushing at the awkwardness, her eyes downcast until John gently nudged her arm with his. Her focus swung to his, perturbed that he was pushing her. It had been exceedingly difficult to get enough courage to announce that she w
as pregnant. She held the utmost respect for her aunt and to reveal such news before being married would not only be humiliating but meant disapproval from her aunt as it would reveal her promiscuous actions while she’d been away.

  “What is it, love?” her auntie implored.

  Melissa couldn’t tell her now, perhaps she could wait until after they were married. They could marry soon enough to hide the obvious, which wasn’t so obvious yet, so she chose to wait, unable to face the disappointment that would be guaranteed from her aunt. “I wanted to ask if you would stand by me?” Melissa waited with the promise that she would accept. Her auntie became so delighted that tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Yes, oh, yes love, I’m honored,” she happily accepted.

  Melissa and her auntie embraced across the large oak table. Melissa didn’t dare look toward John, although she had a pretty good idea of the expression on his face right about now.

  John sat there astounded as he watched their joyful embrace. What was she thinking? Why didn’t she tell her? By now he was fuming. Was she embarrassed about the situation? They loved each other so it shouldn’t matter. She may have bypassed her aunt’s chastising but it wouldn’t slip by with him. He started thinking of a good reason to excuse them both from the table when Melissa spoke first, fabricating a yawn.

  “If you two don’t mind, I’m going to retire early tonight.” Her chair slid back across the hardwood floor, and as she rose her aunt rose as well.

  “Of course, love. I’ll clean up, then head off to bed myself,” and with that, Miss Beckett gathered the empty plates and carried them into the kitchen.

  Still avoiding John’s knowing glare, Melissa stole more chocolate pudding while her aunt was gone. She turned toward the stairway when a strong hand grabbed her arm before reaching the first step. His tall form stood behind her, his breath warm on her ear. “I thought you ate sufficiently enough for two, why more pudding?” he pointed out, pressing the fact that she hadn’t mentioned a word to her aunt about the babe.