“Binding us,” he’d reminded her as he wrapped his arms around her to thread one end of the hemp around her back.
“Forever,” she’d replied.
When it was done, he’d wanted to take her to bed, make love to her while she wore his creation. But he’d held back. Tonight, after the showing, he’d do exactly that.
Now she climbed on the bike and put on her helmet. Through the earphones, he caught her saying, “Rope and helmet hair. This ought to make a great impression.”
“Wear your hair in braids,” he said as he started the bike. “You won’t have to worry about helmet hair.”
“My hair’s not as long as yours.”
It was a fairly short ride to the gallery on the square. Ash parked in back of the building, and they entered through the rear. Felicia went into the bathroom immediately, and when she came out, her hair was as perfect as it had been before she’d put on the helmet.
He took her hand, and they headed into the main room. The opening had just started, yet the room was full. His sculpture of an eagle in flight was in the center of the room. Several of his smaller pieces surrounded it.
The work was good, if he did say so himself. People were gathering around him to shake his hand and ask about the art, how he’d done it and what tools he’d used. Ash answered them as Felicia had dropped his hand and was milling around the sculptures. He saw her examining them carefully. Her expression told him she liked his work. After she’d walked around the last one, she looked at him with a big smile on her face.
Then the woman who had interviewed him that afternoon, Monica, was by her side. Ash crossed the room quickly so he could run interference for Felicia if need be. But from the conversation he heard as he drew nearer, he knew it wouldn’t be necessary.
Felicia was telling Monica that yes, Ash had made her corset; after all, he was a talented artist in many areas.
He took Fee’s hand and brought it up to his lips.
“You two obviously love each other very much,” Monica said.
“Yes,” they responded in unison, which made the three of them laugh. Monica told Felicia she’d like to have lunch one day. Felicia responded that would be nice. As the journalist moved away, Ash caught sight of his brother working the room. He was flirting with a group of older women near the front. They were all laughing and batting their eyes.
Keno caught his gaze and made his excuses to the ladies. As he walked over, Ash searched the room for the one person he hadn’t seen yet tonight: his mother. He’d seen his father, who had smiled broadly as Ash had entered the room.
His father wouldn’t bring up family business in public. But his mother would, and he worried that she’d heard what he’d done, and was planning something to get back at him.
Keno slapped him on the back, which broke Ash’s concentration. “Good job, little brother.”
“Thank you.” They shook hands, and then Keno kissed Felicia on the cheek.
“Welcome to the family, Felicia.”
“Thanks. It’s good to see you, Keno.”
He nodded before he leaned in as if to impart confidential information. “Be on the lookout. Mom’s on the warpath. Some journalist called to ask about your upcoming nuptials. She was so hot, she touched a candle and it burst into flames. I’m surprised the house didn’t burn down.
“I always thought you two would make beautiful babies,” Keno said. “One of them should be named after his Uncle Keno, don’t you think? Especially since I haven’t been asked to stand up for my little brother. Just saying.”
As Keno walked toward the food, Felicia laughed. “Is your brother living with your parents?”
“No, that would impair his sex life. He goes there for every meal he can, though.”
“What is he doing for a living?”
“As little as possible.” He kissed her, aware that several people watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that made him blink twice. “Fee. Your mother’s here.”
He felt her stiffen, and then she was looking around. By the time Felicia had whispered, “Oh my,” her mother was on her way over to them. She wore a dress that made her look as if she went to this sort of affair all the time.
“Felicia.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek before she turned to Ash. “Hello.”
“Mrs. Montrose.” He was surprised when she told him to call her Betty. Right after she did, Felicia told her how shocked she was to see her.
“I don’t trust the mail. I brought your birth certificate.”
“You drove five hours to bring it to me?”
Her mother glanced around the room. “Is there punch? I’m thirsty.” She looked her daughter up and down. “That’s an interesting outfit you’re wearing. It’s not like you at all.”
“Ash made it,” she replied. “Maybe it would be like me if I lived my life for myself. Tell me what you’re really doing here.”
This was a side to Fee he’d never seen before, at least not where her parents were concerned. She’d never talked back to them as far as he knew.
“I’m going to find something to drink,” her mother said as she walked away.
“Something’s up,” Felicia said. “There’s no way she came this far to bring me paperwork. I think your mother scheduled an intervention or something.”
“Yup,” Ash agreed. “I think you’re right about that.”
Ash put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. “Keep an eye on her. She doesn’t seem as if she could start a fire, like Keno said Mom did, but you never know. I’m going to go find my own female parental unit and see if she can give me some insight into what’s happening.”
It didn’t take him long to find his mother. She stood near the back door, smoking a cigarette.
“Mother.”
“You just had to do it, didn’t you?” She took a drag and let the smoke drift out the door before she turned to him. “You look ridiculous.”
“Thanks, Mother.” He took the cigarette from her hand and tossed it out the door, taking the time to step on it before he turned to her. “Believe it or not, I’m not marrying Felicia to get back at you.”
“Aren’t you? You told me many times that you thought we ruined your life by keeping the two of you apart. You were angry, and this is your way of paying us back.”
“This is my way of being happy. I’m sorry you can’t see that.” He started back for the main room. He stopped after a few steps and turned back to her. “Felicia’s mother is here. Do you know anything about that?”
He could tell from the glare his mother shot him that she did.
“Did you schedule an intervention, like Felicia said? Let’s see if we can keep Ash and Fee apart a little longer?”
“It was just puppy love, Ashkii. The sooner you realize the two of you are not suited for each other, the faster—”
“Why?” He knew the question was too loud, but he didn’t care. “What the fuck is wrong with the two of us being together? And don’t give me crap about her being white. That doesn’t wash with me, and you know it.”
“We’ll discuss it later,” she said as she pushed past him. He wanted to go after her, but he knew it wasn’t a good time. Instead he took several deep breaths, wishing he had a cigarette of his own to try and take the edge off his nerves.
For once he knew his mother was right. This wasn’t the time or the place to discuss things. If Fee’s mother was here, then her father was close by too.
And if their parents had banded together to butt into the wedding, Ash would put a kink in their plans. The six of them needed to talk, true, but it would be on terms that he and Fee set down.
For once they were going to be in charge, come hell or high water. He went out into the main room and looked for his bride. They had a few plans to make.
He found Felicia in the main room, her mother on one side and his standing slightly away, as if she were afraid the other women carried germs and would give her a disease.
He strolled ov
er casually, stopping to talk to patrons as he went. He shook hands and smiled and gave out business cards to people who asked about hiring him to do a piece for their home or business.
When he was next to Felicia, he kissed her cheek. Then he summoned his mother over. “We’re meeting at my house at nine tomorrow morning.”
His mother opened her mouth to say something, but Ash held up one finger. “You know the old saying, it’s my way or the highway? That’s in play here. Fee and I will have breakfast ready for everyone at nine. If you want to talk, you’ll be there. If you don’t, then don’t show up. Tomorrow will be the one and only time this topic is up for discussion.”
Ash recognized the stony look on his mother’s face. He was sure that if they hadn’t been in public, she would be screaming right now. Instead she gave him a curt nod and turned to talk to a woman who stood nearby. As they spoke, he realized it was as if his mother hadn’t been angry just moments ago.
“She should have been an actress,” he said.
“She’d have a trophy case full of awards by now,” Fee replied. He saw that Felicia was looking at her mother. “Are you coming tomorrow?”
There was a short pause. “I’ll need directions,” her mother said.
“I’ll write them down,” Ash told her. He took one of his business cards and a pen from his pocket. After he’d gotten down the info, he offered the card to Mrs. Montrose. She took it and tucked it into her purse without looking at it.
“Felicia.” She gave her daughter a halfhearted hug before she walked out of the gallery.
“Tomorrow’s going to be fun,” Felicia said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
“It could be,” Ash replied. “I meant what I said about it being the one and only time. We get everything out, and then we move on with our lives, with or without their approval.”
* * * *
The sun was very low in the sky when the event ended. Felicia was tense, even though everything had gone great, except for the arrival of her mother. Not that she wasn’t happy to see her, but Felicia couldn’t shake the feeling her mother had an ulterior motive.
The point had been driven home when her mother had phoned about twenty minutes after she’d left.
“Your father wants you to join us for dinner,” she’d said.
“Great,” Felicia had replied. “What time shall we be there?”
“Just her,” she’d heard her father yell out when her mother had repeated what she’d said.
“Forget it,” Felicia had retorted. “I’m with Ash on this one. We’ll be at his house in the morning, and if you want to talk, we’ll do it then.”
As her mother relayed the message, she’d imagined her father pacing the floor of their hotel room, his blood pressure shooting skyward. Tomorrow, she planned to ask him point-blank what it was about Ash he didn’t like, since he really didn’t know the man.
As they were suiting up to leave, she’d told him about the invitation. He’d shaken his head slowly as he’d fastened the strap on her helmet for her. “We need to stop at the store to buy some food for breakfast,” was his only response.
They’d hit a grocery store on their way home, stocking up on what they would need. After they’d gotten home she started to put things away, familiarizing herself with her new kitchen. Excitement coursed through her as the realization set in. She and Ash were getting married. She would be living in his house—their house—and they would be together 24-7.
She put a hand on her stomach as if she could calm the butterflies that had taken up residence. Her life was changing so fast that it scared her. The only constant was Ash. If he was there, she could handle anything.
“What’s up?” the man she’d just been thinking about said.
“I’m going to have to get a job,” she replied. “I haven’t looked for a new job in years, and I’m nervous about it.”
He laughed. “We do have schools in Santa Fe. Or you could go for a whole change of pace and try one of the galleries, or one of the boutiques, or a museum.”
“I don’t have that sort of education.” Felicia shrugged. “Just general education.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if he were assessing her. “Well, you could be a stay-at-home love slave, for room and board. Of course, if you wanted extras, like clothes or books, we’d have to negotiate the terms.”
“Oh really?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What exactly is included in room and board?”
He stroked an imaginary beard. “Let’s see. A bed to sleep in, after you get me off. And water for bathing and drinking. Some meals—breakfast and dinner, but I think you’ll be on your own for lunch. And we’ll have to talk about TV time. I think that’s a luxury.”
“I think you’re full of it.” She tried to frown but couldn’t stop the smile that took over her mouth.
“I think you should be full of it”—he wiggled his eyebrows—“as in full of my dick.”
Felicia crossed to him and cupped his crotch. “You mean this.”
He looked down, then back up at her. “Yeah, I mean that.”
She applied a little pressure. His sharp intake of breath made her nipples hard. “Let’s see how I do at this love-slave business,” she said. “It could be an interesting job.”
“We’re going to have to do an interview first, and a test run to make sure you’re up for the…position.”
There was that sexy look again, one eyebrow lifted, one corner of his mouth turned up.
“To the bedroom with you,” he said, pointing.
“Yes, sir.” She hurried to the hallway. “I want to make sure I’m on time for my interview.”
When she entered the bedroom, she found that he’d opened the sliding glass doors that led to the patio. A warm summer breeze drifted through the screen.
“Take off your shirt,” he ordered as he came in. He sat down in the middle of the bed, cross-legged.
Felicia stepped in front of him and fingered her rope corset. “How am I supposed to get out of this without help?”
He pursed his lips as if he were in deep thought. Then he rolled across the bed toward the nightstand. When he stood up, he produced a pair of scissors.
“You’re going to cut it off? It seems like such a waste.”
“Not the corset. I’m going to cut away the blouse under it.” The sound of the scissors clicking together made her shiver.
“You’re going to do what?”
“Just put out your hands and stand still.”
Felicia backed away from him. “Again, it seems like a waste. This is a great shirt.”
“We can buy another one.”
Felicia took one more step. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, work it out from under the rope?”
“I could.” He studied his creation. “But it might take a while.”
“It might be fun too.” She licked her lips. “Like a slow striptease.”
For a moment, she thought he was annoyed. But then he tossed the scissors onto the dresser.
“Or I could just take them both off and reconfigure the rope decoration.”
“That works.” She held out her arms without being asked to. It took Ash considerably less time to undo the corset than it had to make it. When the rope was on the bed, he lifted the shirt over her head and undid her bra. His hands were like silk as they touched her skin, and she wanted to tell him that whatever he had in mind, they just needed to have sex, hard and fast.
With deft work, Ash redid the ropes. He made a halter-type bra that crossed over her shoulders and under her breasts. He wrapped rope around her midsection several times, and it felt very similar to the corset she’d worn, but not near as intricate.
“I’m going to have rope marks.”
“They’ll be beautiful,” he said as he sat back on the bed and asked her to kneel behind him. When he said, “Take down my hair for me,” she thought she would lose her ability to function. Her hand shook as she grabbed the brush he’d set on the bed. Obviously while she’d b
een putting away food, he’d been getting ready in other areas. She’d wanted to do this the whole time they’d been on the road, but it had never seemed to work out for her.
Felicia started with the left braid. She untied the leather thong at the end, then leaned over to place it on the nightstand when it was free. She started slowly, working her fingers through the sections, letting them fall apart in her hands. His hair was silky. After she’d undone one inch, she ran her fingers through the free ends, which were slightly crimped from being braided for so long.
When she was done with the first one, she started with the second, taking it leisurely because she didn’t want it to end.
“Do you remember the first time you did this for me?”
“I do. It was during one of our last camping trips.”
He turned to smile at her. “Courtney and Doug had just left the tent. I wanted you to do it while we were alone. I want you to know that I’ve never, ever let another woman do this.”
Her heart caught in her throat. He nodded, then turned back so he was facing away from her. “I’ve had women ask, but it never seemed right to me. It’s too personal. This was, and always will be, something only you could do.”
She’d stopped working while he was talking. She thought she might start crying, because he’d kept something like this only for her. She undid the other braid before she fanned his hair out across his shoulders.
“It’s so much longer now.” She started to work the brush through it.
“I only trim it,” he told her. They were silent for a few moments while she continued to stroke his hair with the bristles.
“We have an important question to ask,” he said seriously as he turned to her.
“Why?” That was what she wanted to know. She would press her father for an answer as to why he was determined to keep her apart from the man she loved.
“I was thinking more about whether we should fuck in here or go outside.”
“You are the most insatiable man I’ve ever met in my life.”
He laughed before he pulled away from her. When he offered his hand, she said, “I guess we’re going outside?”
The glint in his eyes told her it had never been a question. “What do you have set up now?”
Riding Bitch Page 9