Possessed by a Stranger

by Jeny Stone

  The audacity of his hand on her back fueled her anger. He’d lost that right. She pushed his arm away and stepped sideways.

  “Of course it does. The mirror needs work. I didn’t want my restorers to look at it until you had seen it. I have another buyer anxious to buy it. I promised him an answer next week.”

  Robert removed his phone from his pocket. “Monday at ten AM at the storage buildings. Everyone raved about my townhouse. I refused to divulge your identity out of spite since you stood me up. You should have attended my party to take a bow. I had a double chocolate cupcake made special for your birthday. By the way, belated birthday and I ate your cupcake. Garret was there. Tell the next Mrs. Lindale how everyone loved her work.”

  He was still reeling from her removal of his arm. Her dismissal pained him more than if she had cut his arm off and tossed it away. He felt his world imploding, crushing him. That fucker had seen Hannah in those tight jeans and pink braless tank top. His oversight of Hannah’s birthday, a birthday Robert remembered, fueled the anger boiling his blood. All his unforgivable mistakes, oversights, selfish inconsideration in regards to Hannah flashed through his mind. How could she love a bastard like him? He had to make her understand he would change. He would be a man worthy of her love.

  Oh, that topped the cake; the night she cried her eyes out, he was at a party thrown to celebrate her hard work. She had to distance herself before she clawed his eyes out.

  “I’m sure Mr. Presley didn’t give a rat’s ass about all the effort I put in to create something worth keeping. I’ll see you Monday. I am warning you now. I won’t sit there waiting on you for two hours, like I did last time.” Hannah turned, in the opposite direction of Garret, to leave.

  “Damn, she’s in rare form. I would hate to be the person that pissed her off. How do you know Hannah, Garret?” Robert’s eyes were on Hannah and most likely her ass. Garret stepped to block his view. She belonged to him not this blubbering asshole.

  She was in rare form with all her anger deservingly aimed at him. “She’s a friend of my mothers.” It wasn’t any of Robert’s fucking business how he knew Hannah.

  Robert leaned sideways, passed Garret’s possessive wall to get in a final word. “Save me a dance Hannah.”

  “I’m not staying for the dance. I have a previous commitment.” She answered over her shoulder not stopping or turning around. She left the narcissistic arrogance of the two men, wanting her for the pleasure of preventing the other from having her. One of them had filled her bank account. The other one had filled her heart. Neither of them held an ounce of respect for her or her feelings.

  She drifted through the crowd, on a mission to say “hi” and “bye” to Mrs. Presley. She stayed focused on the privacy of her cottage as her main objective. She was never going to make it through the crowd if clients and total strangers didn’t stop detaining her. She regretted her over the top performance of vindication. When she reached Mrs. Presley, she clutched the back of a chair to keep herself upright. Garret’s tall blonde commitment stood side by side with his mother. Her heart thumped furiously against her chest. She held her breath, fighting her tears. A resentful anger, of mega proportions, stewed in her stomach. She fought to stay in control and postpone a complete emotional breakdown.

  “Oh Hannah, your speech was wonderful. I want to introduce you to some prospective clients. Here is Jeremy Ashton. Jeremy this is Hannah Greer. He’s opening an antique shop in Old Town.”

  Jeremy’s arm swiped over her bare back as he moved in front of her. Damn, doesn’t personal space hold any meaning to any of these people? She wasn’t a piece of merchandise to be tested or touched before purchasing. Was Garret’s mother enlisted to dispose of his leftovers? Was Jeremy her settlement?

  “Hello, I’ve heard we’ve met online. I don’t mind losing nearly so bad now that I’ve seen you. I must say, you are as hot in person as you are in competition.”

  Jeremy Ashton, best guess sexmasheen online, needed to back off. He blocked her escape path and right now that was a dangerous place for anyone to stand. Her skin burned with indignation. She noticed the pink glow on her arms, felt the heat in her cheeks. That was always a bad sign as far as her temper was concerned. She was determined not to give Garret the satisfaction of witnessing her make an ass out of herself.

  “I think untouchable would be a better description. I don’t always advertise my inventory. If you interested in something specific, send me a list through my web page.” She stepped to the side hoping he would move to let her pass.

  “If I let you know what I want, you could raise the bid. More likely, it’s a ploy to see me again. Why don’t we set up a meeting now?”

  She pointed a determined finger straight at the cocky man standing in her way. Her blood boiled wondering if Garret shared his sexual encounters in locker rooms or over lunch. The lustful glare in Jeremy’s eyes raised her suspicions.

  “I don’t mix business with pleasure. I suggest we meet online. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment to keep.” Hannah scooted a chair out of her way to pass him without actually touching him. He wasn’t about to budge and lose face in front of his friends.

  Her shaky composure was a ticking time bomb. Every glance or stare she received screamed whore after she openly flaunted herself on stage. With the exit in view, she picked up her pace trying to beat the explosion of tears. She was almost there, her path to freedom, when Garret stepped in front of her blocking her path.

  Her escape plan was evident with her eyes focused on the exit doors. He circled around a group of people to stop her in her tracks.

  “We need to talk.”

  She halted abruptly then stepped backwards as if his words knocked her there. Her cheeks bright with the blush of anger were damp with tears. He wanted her in his arms to soothe her anguish.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. Just move and let me leave here with some dignity.” She lowered her voice not wanting any of the crowd to overhear. She prayed he just stepped aside before she lost it completely. He wanted to talk but about what, her heart bleeding pain through her arteries because of him or maybe about his date.

  “What in the hell do you mean by that?” He grabbed her arm. He forcefully led her to the nearest corner for some privacy. She jerked her arm until he released his hold. He trapped her against the wall with his arms as blockades. She wasn’t escaping him, ever, and she had to be made to understand that fact.

  Her eyes pierced his. “I mean my whoring days are over. Go back to your presentable date before we cause a scene. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends.” She forced the words passed her clenched teeth.

  His blood ran hot. He clinched his fist to contain his anger. “I told you before I won’t tolerate you calling yourself a whore.” The pain in her eyes twisted a knot in his gut. She was long past reason ready for a showdown.

  She pushed against his chest. Unable to push him off her, she slammed him with the truth. “Oh, so it’s all right to treat me like a whore as long as you don’t have to hear it. Well, too damn bad … because that’s all I’ve been to you. A weekend fuck … hidden away so you can date respectable women during the week.”

  “Hannah shut the hell up. You know that’s not true.” He had broken her heart and she was retaliating by breaking his. He had to win this battle. Both their lives depended on the outcome.

  “I’m so sorry to offend you with my lies. So let’s state the facts. I’m here alone because you had a previous commitment. She’s sitting with your parents. I see your parents all the time and they don’t know you’re fucking me every weekend in secret. Why is that Garret? I’ll tell you … because I’m your whore and you don’t want to be seen in public with someone below your standards. Well, you won’t have to worry about that any more … I stupidly fell in love with you … damn it. I knew going in you would break my heart and now you’ve succeeded. Congratulations, you won. Now, you can move on. Oh wait, you already have … so get the hell
out of my way.”

  Hannah covered her face with her hands. She was broken beyond repair. Her legs buckled and she started her slow decent sliding down the wall to utter despair.

  It took several seconds for Garret to react. No, he hadn’t won, not yet. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t quit until he did. He lifted her by her arms gathering her into his. He would never let go of her. She belonged to him. He loved her. Oh God, he loved her. He had inadvertently hurt her and he had to make it right again. She cried in his chest from the pain that he caused staining his heart with each tear. Several people attempted to intervene but he warded them off with a nod or warning glare. One person was kind enough to offer him some tissues, which he accepted. He mouthed a thank you.

  She reverted to sobs so he handed her the tissues. He kept her in a firm grip. She wouldn’t escape him this time. This time was too important, too final, if she did. He knew he had to prove her wrong, prove his love before she would believe his words.

  “May I go now or have you thought of another way to humiliate me?” She sobbed wiping the tears from her anger stained cheeks. Her façade masked her face, voice and body stance with determination.

  “No.” He stated firmly as he swept her off her feet into his arms. She gasped in shock grappling her arms around his neck. He made a path through the tables, crowds of staring people, and his shocked parents with her cradled in his arms. He was on a mission to claim the woman he loved.

  After already, making a fool of herself in public Garret carried her through a startled crowd of people. None more startled than her. She buried her head in his shoulder in a useless effort to hide.

  “Damn it Garret, put me down or I swear I’ll start screaming. Why are you doing this to me?”

  She should scream. It couldn’t possibly embarrass her more than she already was. She was so far past mortified dying in his arms was her next recourse. She realized death by mortification could be imminent, superseding dying from a broken heart, as he climbed the steps to the stage. She couldn’t breathe. Her head spun dizzily tempting her stomach to empty.

  He dropped her legs keeping her trapped with his arm around her torso in the middle of the stage. He grabbed the microphone off the podium testing it with several loud taps. She buried her face in his chest wanting to disappear. She vowed to murder the bastard if she lived through this horrific night, one way or another.

  “Excuse me … May I have everyone’s attention. I know you heard Hannah Greer’s speech. I think we all can agree she is a beautiful, successful businesswoman but there is one other thing I want you to know about this woman … I love her … Yes, you heard me right … I love her …”

  She tilted her head to look in his eyes. He added pressure to his hold afraid she might faint. He had won. He saw it in her eyes.

  “I’ve loved her from the first time I saw her. It just took a while for me to realize she was the only woman in world I’ll ever love the way I love her.” He flipped off the microphone placing it back on the podium.

  Garret gazed into her wide eyes teeming with the love he previously dismissed. His hand soothed her cheek moving to her neck. His thumb supported her chin preventing her from disconnecting the soul-searching lock he held on her eyes.

  “I love you Hannah. I didn’t think I was capable of falling in love. Tonight, I realized you are the first woman I’ve ever truly loved. I hate to admit this but I have more in common with Jay than I knew. Lorraine didn’t break my heart she bruised my ego. She is the woman I am with tonight. It’s not what you think. I haven’t been with another woman since I met you. Her husband is a good friend of mine and he’s in a wheelchair. I escort her to dances occasionally as a favor to him. It’s a long story and I’ll tell you every detail later. Right now, all you need to know is when I compared what I had felt for her then and what I feel for you now, the difference is astronomical. She’s a grain of sand and you are my universe. I can’t live without you. Loving you is what makes my heart beat. I’ll never let you go. I can’t. Tell me you love me, Hannah.”

  His grip tightened on her neck as he waited to hear

  His voice was low, slow, and seductive. Hannah had left the stage the moment she heard “I love you“. She may have passed out, she wasn’t sure. She may have actually died for a brief moment. The rest of his passionate confessional had echoed off the beat of her heart pounding in her ears. He loved her. He truly loved her. The crowd of people no longer existed. She stood staring into Garret’s love filled eyes with her and him as the only two people on the planet. Nothing or no one else could penetrate the world they created together.

  “I’ve always loved you Garret … and I always will.”

  He fell on her lips oblivious to the crowd of people. The taste of her kiss was sweeter, the velvety dance of their tongues’ more stimulating, her body hotter and explosively arousing beyond anything he could have imagined. This was love. This was lust. This was two lost hearts beating as one. God, he loved loving this woman.

  Garret and Hannah remained on the stage for hours. The music from the orchestra in ballroom surrounded them in their private world. They danced, talked, kissed and held each other professing their love.

  They spent the weekend in Garret’s townhouse making plans to share their future. On Sunday morning, on the front page of the Society page in the newspaper, they were presented with the perfect engagement photograph. Sometime during their private ball on that stage a photographer had captured an exact replica of the portrait hanging over Hannah’s bed. Luckily clothing was included in the photo but more importantly so was the love that would last forever.

  EPILOGUE

  There are questions in our lives that will forever remain unanswered. Different theories have emerged to explain our meager existence in the vast expanse of the universe. Some people believe our lives are predetermined, mapped with various paths referred to as choices. Completing the obstacle course and fulfilling the task set forth in the grand scheme of things is left to the discretion of each individual. Once your domino is placed you are allowed to move forward into eternal bliss. If you fail the quest, you are fated to re-travel your journey until the preordained domino joins the universal map.

  The theory can’t be proven, only believed. Believing doesn’t make it true just as disbelieving doesn’t make it false, so it remains an unanswered question. Being blessed with the gift to choose has given us an exaggerated sense of our importance. Even when confronted with undeniable coincidences we find it easier to dismiss the coincidences than to believe we are governed by fate. We trudge through life more comfortable wearing blinders than embracing a panoramic view of the unexplained.

  Yet, there are many stories just like Hannah and Garret’s. You be the judge.

  Other books by Jeny Stone:

  PASSION KILLS

  A key opened the bedroom door and the slight sound of a creaking hinge made Emily open her eyes to see a shadowy form entering the room. She wasn’t afraid. Instead she watched in anticipation as the figure came closer to the bed. Freshly shaved and dripping wet from a shower, wearing only a towel she saw those inviting blue eyes sparkling in the moon light. He pulled back the covers as she leaned up in the bed. She looked into his eyes and a devilish grin crossed his face. She smiled longingly at him as she reached for the towel to pull him closer

  His warm damp body pressed close to her and it felt like he was peering into her very soul. She started to speak but his index finger gently touched her lips and she heard “Shhhh” come from his sexy smooth lips. Propped up on his elbow he slowly starts to undress her. Their eyes locked together. Her hands found their way to his face, and her fingers tried to memorize every inch of him. He gently removed her nightie, slowly making sure to touch every place it had occupied.

  She slid her hands down his neck to his chest. She didn’t want to miss any part of this beautiful man. Their eyes stayed locked as the electricity started to flow through their hungry bodies.

  He smiled and started to use his lips w
here his hands had been. Soft, wet and gentle kisses set every cell in her body on fire. She wanted to scream but not from the fear she had felt before. Her body was telling her to scream for more. More of everything he was doing and everything he was going to do.

  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/261589

  Claimed by the Rancher:

  When Ashton walked into the house, the smell from the kitchen awakened his empty stomach. He followed the delicious aroma and saw Brie busy cleaning up. She looked up, just seeing him caused her face to turn blood red.

  “I’m starving. This smells great. What did you fix?”

  “You get a choice. I’m freezing meals for you later. You can have deer chili, stew, lasagna, or a chicken casserole.” She turned away never looking into his face or eyes.

  He watched as she continued her busy work. Knowing she was embarrassed, he decided to have some fun. “I’ll taste them all. Seems to me you’re still mad I saw you naked.”

  His flippancy sent her temper flaring. “It wouldn’t be nearly so bad if you could refrain from your lewd comments.”

  Ashton casually fixed a plate from all the choices. “I haven’t made any lewd comments I’ve just stated facts. I saw you naked… get over it. A lewd comment would be if I told you in explicit details how fucking sexy you looked or how hard my dick got when I ran my hands over your naked body.”

  She glared directly in his eyes no longer embarrassed since her anger left no room.

  “Well tell me exactly how it made you feel to take advantage of an unfortunate situation, just to cop a feel? Are you that desperate for female companionship? Why don‘t I just give you a twenty then you can go buy some whore.”