by Jenika Snow
1
Mail Order Bride service.
God, am I really going to do this?
Anna stared at her computer screen, not sure if she was really going to go through with this. Financially, it was exactly what she needed, a lifesaver that would help her get out of debt, but more importantly, it would give her brother and mother that security that they needed right now.
She picked up her cell and looked at the most recent text from her brother.
Jack: If you have any extra money this month I could really use it for mom‘s meds. I’m scraping by as it is.
She quickly typed her reply.
I’ll send what I can. I’m picking up a double shift tonight so the extra I get on my check next week I’ll send that too.
Her heart broke, knowing there wasn’t much more she could do financially.
But there is.
Be a mail order bride.
With Anna living a few hours away, barely making ends meet herself, working full time and going to school part time, any extra money was sent to Jack and their mom. It was an uphill struggle, and more times than not Anna was so close to giving up school and moving back home. But there was no work in her hometown of Charles. She’d tried, looked until she’d been so stressed out she was on the verge of a breakdown. The little extra she did make, though, she sent home.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Anna exhaled and closed her eyes, bracing her hands on either side of her head. She was starting to get a headache, one from stress and worry no doubt. After a few moments she opened her eyes and stared at the screen again.
Mail Order Bride opening. Flat rate given. Time frame negotiable for select applicants. Stipulations applied if selected. Must be mentally and physically checked by in-house physician. Background check required.
Time frame negotiable. At least there was that. Maybe she could just be a wife of convenience? Maybe she’d get lucky and it would only be a year term until her prospective husband did whatever he needed to do that required a wife?
But what if he wanted children, an heir? No, she couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t. Anna wouldn’t bring up a child that wasn’t created out of love, or at least out of mutual desires. What she was doing, if she did decide to be a bride for hire, was strictly a business transaction. At least that’s how she saw it.
And what if it was longer? Could she actually sign up to marry someone, a stranger?
If it’ll help my mom and Jack, I have to do it.
With school letting out for the summer she’d at least have one less thing to worry about there, for the time being anyway. And with the fee she’d get from the bride agency she wouldn’t need to worry about money for a long while.
Anna glanced at a picture that sat on her desk, the one of her brother and mom that was taken last year, the silver frame shining softly under the dim light above. It was when her mother had first started cancer treatment, before she’d been too sick to even get out of bed. The remission hadn’t lasted very long, and now her poor mother was back in treatment and trying to kick this cancer in the ass.
She had to do this for her mom. She had to do this to help her brother.
Anna exhaled, straightened in the chair, and started entering in her info. She didn’t even know if the agency would pick her. And even if she went in for the initial interview, she’d still have to go through the rigorous interview to even get on the damn site.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Hell, she didn’t even know if she’d get chosen. The women on the site were beautiful, exotic, and probably had men lined up. Anna, on the other hand, had always been plain, felt frumpy, and had been considered overweight her whole life. Although she’d much rather consider herself curvy.
But she stared at the screen, at where the cursor hovered over the submit button. And then she clicked it, sat back, and knew that what she’d just done might possibly change her life completely.
Landon tossed the last piece of cut wood into the pile and walked over to his garage to grab a rag. He wiped off the sweat that covered his brow and neck. The sun was especially brutal today, and the heat scorching. He was trying to keep busy, though, trying to keep his mind off the email he’d gotten earlier this morning.
His membership to the mail order bride agency had been confirmed and he was free to start looking for a woman.
Living away from society, and barely having the convenience of modern technology meant that Landon was a recluse, a loner. But he’d preferred that his entire life. He had no siblings, and his mother and father had moved away after they’d retired. He was well and truly on his own out here, and it hadn’t bothered him until this past year.
Until he realized he wanted a woman. A family.
He grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink from it, staring at the home he’d built with his bare hands from the ground up. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was two stories, and he owned about five acres. Most of it was wooded. It was exactly what he’d always wanted, and he’d worked his ass off to make it his dream.
It was plenty for him, and would soon be filled with a companion. A wife. A woman who would give him children.
And because he was anti-social as fuck, and the whole dating scene wasn’t his thing, this was the best route for him to go.
He made his way onto the front porch and pulled the door open, taking his boots off and walking on the hardwood flooring over to where his computer was set up. If he’d had his way, and money wasn’t an object, he would have ditched the Internet and phone lines. But he had to make a living, and because most of his work required online sales from his woodworking projects, this was a necessary evil.
He was impatient as he brought up the agency’s webpage and immediately started searching the available women. He didn’t want a high maintenance wife. He didn’t want one who wore high heels and required a full face of makeup every day. He wanted a wife that could work hard beside him, reap the bounty of their fields. He wanted a woman who was down to earth.
But all the women he saw looked like ones that he was staying away from. They were not what he wanted.
And just as he was about to turn off the computer he saw her. She had long dark hair, and bright blue eyes that were round, wide, and vulnerable, calling out to the male side of him. She wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup, and the full body image of her told him she was made for a man … for him. She was curvy and perfection. His cock got hard instantly, and every possessive side of him roared out that she was the one. She was the one Landon would make his.
Mine.
2
Anna had heard that with the Internet life seemed to move at a faster pace, but this was crazy. She sipped at her coffee, and told herself that this was a very bad idea. There were men and woman online who hurt people, and here she sat, in a coffee shop, waiting for a prospective husband.
Insane.
Even as she thought of the hundred million reasons why she shouldn’t be here, there were only two that kept her butt in that seat. Her brother and mother. They needed her a lot more than she needed to worry. Besides, the agency she’d gone through was safe and the men rigorously screened. This could change their lives forever. Whatever this guy had seen in her, she wasn’t going to complain.
For a short time while she was processing her details on the website, she’d thought no one would want to marry her. She’d never considered herself to be overly pretty, or even a real catch to any guy. But the agency had called her the next day, set up a formal interview, got her in for the background check, heath and screening, and now here she was. Waiting. It had all happened so fast. From the time she’d submitted her details until she’d been selected as a prospective wife, it had been on warp speed.
Her family was the most important thing in her life, so doing this was not a hardship.
She finished off her first cup of coffee, and ordered herself a second.
The caffeine helped her, as she’d spent all last night worrying about what would happen, how things woul
d play out.
Blowing out a breath, she wondered what they were supposed to talk about, what they were supposed to do. Would he want to take her to a hotel room, strip her naked, and have at her because he saw her as a piece of property? According to the website, all prospective husbands were investigated and only the best were allowed complete access to the website. She hoped what they meant by that was no serial killers were allowed on their database.
She snorted at that thought.
Good going, Anna. Try to make some money, and this is what happens.
With her second cup of coffee nearly finished, she turned toward the door as it opened, hearing the little bell above it chime. And then there he stood. She knew it was him even though the photo that had been sent her way didn’t exactly do him justice. He was older, seventeen years older than her twenty-one years.
The email he’d sent her was a desire to meet so that they could talk, get to know each other better. And as she looked at him now, she was overcome with instant arousal.
She’d never experienced this before in her life. The man moved toward the counter, and she watched him. He wore a button-down shirt under a jacket, his arms thick, muscular. Even the jacket he wore couldn’t hide how large he was. Glancing from his feet up, she saw that he was indeed tall, and that most women in the coffee shop were admiring him.
Should she do something completely stupid like give him a wave?
Instead of doing any of that, she remained in her seat and took a sip of her coffee. She pressed her thighs together, cursing her body for having such a reaction to a man, a stranger. This man might want a wife but that didn’t mean he was any less of an asshole.
Focus, Anna.
Focus.
Before she could think straight, or realize what was happening, the chair opposite her came out and then he sat before her. His hair was a little messy, like he ran his fingers through it often. It looked soft, though, and her fingers itched to touch it. She was shocked by the level of attraction she had for this man. He had a days’ worth of stubble over his cheeks and chin, which gave him this masculine sexiness as well.
“You’re Anna?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes.” She swallowed. “You’re Landon.”
He smiled. It was genuine and suited him well, made him even more attractive if that was possible. “Glad we got the names out of the way.”
Anna sat up straighter. His tone was gruff, and the very feminine part of her rose up even more. He stared down at the table, his expression one of a bitter taste left in his mouth. The air shifted and she grew anxious over how things were playing out.
“You don’t like coffee? We could have picked a different place to meet up at,” she asked.
He looked up at her, and for several seconds he simply stared at her. “Coffee’s fine.”
She gave a nervous chuckle. This wasn’t going how she’d thought it would. “Well, you recommended this place, so I assumed maybe you enjoyed cafés.” She nervously laughed again, feeling her face heat, knowing her nervousness was probably evident.
“You’re nervous?” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her.
“Wouldn’t you be? You don’t exactly look happy to be here. It could give a girl a complex.” She smiled but it was forced.
Once again he stared at her, and his gaze scanned over her face, then down to the table.
“You’ve got no reason to have a complex at all.”
Her nipples tightened and she licked her lips as her mouth went dry. God, how insane that he was causing this type of reaction in her after only being in her presence for a few short minutes. She was insane—that, or terribly lonely.
This woman was fucking perfect.
Landon stared at her full lips, and couldn’t help but imagine them wrapped around his cock. He could literally picture her moans as he touched the back of her throat, making her take all of him. Not only that, her tits were lovely and large. He’d always loved a woman with some meat on her bones, and Anna looked exactly like her picture showed.
The only question for him was would she be able to handle his reclusive lifestyle?
First, he needed to make sure she was on board with being his wife, and he wanted to know a little bit about her, and why she’d signed up to be a bride.
“If you must know, this is not about the coffee. I just … I’m not very good in social settings like this, but I didn’t want you to feel unsafe or think anything bad.”
She smiled, but exhaled. “I am so nervous, if I’m being honest.”
She had a beautiful smile.
“I can handle a little rough around the edges. The coffee’s good though.” She held her cup up. “This is my second one.”
“You’ve been waiting for me long?”
“I didn’t know where it was and so I made sure I got here in plenty of time.”
“You must be hungry. Let me order us both a couple of sandwiches, if you want.”
This was feeling easier, more comfortable. Making small talk, trying to not be rough around the edges was hard as hell, seeing as Landon really didn’t do social settings.
“Yes, sure.”
He got up and headed to the front counter, not waiting for the waitress. Landon glanced over his shoulder and saw Anna watching him. God, she was beautiful. He liked that she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. It made him feel like a real man. She looked nervous, though, and all he wanted to do was put her at ease.
Once his order was placed he looked at Anna again. She was focused on her coffee cup. He was curious about her though. Why had she decided to put her life on the Internet? To be hand picked as a mail order bride? He wanted to know everything. First, he intended to feed her, to make sure she was content, and most of all to make sure she was comfortable. Landon made his way back over to his prospective bride. Honestly they hadn’t needed to meet. He could have just had her sent to his home, in true mail order bride fashion. But he’d wanted to meet her as much as she probably wanted to meet him.
This was their lives they were dealing with, not some random blind date.
“So, why did you decide to become an applicant for mail order?” he asked, sitting at the table. She didn’t speak for long seconds, maybe nervous about the question. He could assume women signed up for these things for various reasons, maybe some not so savvy, others depressing. “I’d like to know, if you’re comfortable letting me in.” Landon had never been sweet and gentle. It wasn’t in his nature. But where it came to Anna this part of him rose up, one that wanted to ease her into all of this.
She stared at him. “Tell me why you need a mail order bride first.” She smiled softly.
He didn’t see a reason to force her to answer first, and so he gave his. “I want a family.”
“A family?”
“A wife, kids … a family. Mail order brides take away the dating element. I don’t have to go in search. I can find a woman with mutual interests, and maybe hope that something develops as we build a family.”
“Are you talking about love?”
“I can’t expect her to love me right away, but eventually, yes. I hope that will happen. In the meantime I guess I’m leaning more toward companionship. Stuff like that. I prefer my solidarity, my isolation. And because of those factors I haven’t had the desire to find a woman for myself.”
“I believe in love and I had hoped that when I started a family it would be for that.” She ran fingers through her hair. “My mom. She’s sick, and my brother needs help paying her medical bills. Unless I quit college to work more than I am, I can’t afford it. But I’ve worked so hard at school, and I know my mother wouldn’t want me to give it up. I’m only just scraping by now, hence why I need to go this route.”
At least she was honest.
He didn’t know how to respond. She was doing this out of desperation. Before Landon had gone away from society he’d gotten a business degree, tried to do all the things “normal” people did to make a life. It hadn’t been for
him. He’d had his own business, an actual woodworking shop that he devoted his life to. But in the end he’d felt trapped, like his life was wasting away.
Being out in the wild, that was what life was about, and he intended to live his life to the fullest.
“School is very important. I’m sure your mother wouldn’t want you to give up your dream.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything in reply.
“I want a wife and a family,” he said again, his voice softer, trying to ease her worries a bit. “We could take time, get to know each other, and see where this goes.” He wanted her. His cock was rock hard at the thought of exploring her, of claiming her as his.
Landon had read every single stipulation, knew how things would play out. This wasn’t a set in stone kind of deal. They could break the marriage off like anyone else if it didn’t work out. But fuck, he sure as hell hoped it worked out.
The agency would handle everything in terms of date and marriage, but Landon was impatient. He knew this would take time, but he wanted Anna now.
“In the end this is your call.”
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