by Ashlee Price
He cut the night short, reminding everyone that they had races tomorrow and to get some rest. The men seemed more upset about it than Caroline, but she was looking at Dasha in such a way that it made him look twice. There was a jealousy in her eyes and it made him pause.
Dasha got up and started to clean the kitchen as the others left. Shane moved into the kitchen to help her, drying the dishes as she washed them. It was a comfortable companionship that he had said he wanted, but he kept looking over at her.
“So what do you think of this place so far Dasha? I hope you are finding everything to your liking?”
She nodded. “Yes, everyone is so nice, thank you. I was worried about things when I got here, but it will be good. I think you will be a good husband.”
Shane stopped when she looked at him, her blue eyes held something in them and he bent down to kiss her before he realized what he was doing. She sidestepped him and smiled. “Tomorrow. I want the first time you kiss me to be when we are man and wife.”
Shane straightened up, slightly embarrassed that he had tried to move so fast. It was hard not to though when she looked up at him like she needed his touch more than anything else in the world. She was literally trembling and he pulled away. “Sorry, you’re right Dasha. You are just so beautiful, a man can forget himself.”
They didn’t say anything else while they finished off the dishes. Shane felt like an ass for trying with her, but he couldn’t help it. All that time he had wanted a wife for help, there was a whole other side to marriage that he had seemed to forget about. He had forgotten how it felt to have a soft body underneath him and all he could think of now was that. It didn’t matter if she could do accounting, cooking, all he wanted was to kiss her and hear her moan his name softly.
Shaking his head, he helped put the dishes where they belong and then watched her go off to her bedroom. Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow there would be no more need for him to wait and their kiss would only be the beginning.
“I will see you in the morning Shane. Good night.”
“Good night Dasha.”
Chapter 4
Dasha went to bed thinking of the man she was going to marry. He was kind and seemed to be a nice man, but there was a smoldering need in him that was clear to her and she wondered how long he would wait. There was some things that she had kept to herself and one of them was how inexperienced she was. She had never been with a man in anyway, never even been kissed and tomorrow she was to be married. It made Dasha a nervous wreck and she went to bed wondering how it was all going to turn out.
There was a knock on the door an hour or so later, right before she was supposed to go to bed. Dasha figured it was Shane and opened the door. Instead it was one of his workers from dinner, Sammy.
“Can I help you Sammy?”
Sammy pushed through the door and she moved back suddenly. He was huge and when he pushed through, she moved back as far as she could. “Shane is in the other room if you need him.”
He shut the door behind him and shook his head. “Why aren’t you and boss man staying in the same room?”
Dasha shrugged. “We are to be married tomorrow. A man and woman shouldn’t share a bed until married.”
Sammy didn’t seem to agree and pushed towards her while Dasha moved away until the wall on the opposite side of the room was against her back. “Please go. I am ready for bed now.”
As he moved closer, she had nowhere else to go and it was clear to see the intent in his eyes. He wanted what Shane had wanted, but Sammy looked like someone that would not take no for an answer. He was almost in reach and she jumped over the bed and made it towards the door.
Dasha didn’t even think about it and went straight to Shane’s room. She didn’t knock, just pushed in and found him sleeping. Her body trembled with adrenaline and all she wanted to do was get away from Sammy. Closing the door behind her, she locked it and breathed deeply. Her eyes took in the half-dressed man in the bed. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she tell him that Sammy tried to corner her in her room? Dasha didn’t know. Instead she shook Shane slightly and asked if she could sleep with him.
He was groggy, but just moved the sheet aside. Her eyes went to his covered length that was raging in his boxers. Shane caught the look, but she slipped into the bed anyways. It was better than the alternative. Shane pulled her into an embrace and her body was tensed.
“Are you okay Dasha?”
She shook her head that she was and nestled in next to his chest. Putting her head against his chest, she sighed, her body still shaking from the encounter. Dasha knew that she was going to have to stay away from him but she didn’t want to tell Shane and make him angry at her. They all seemed so close. Would he even believe her if she did tell him? Dasha wasn’t so sure.
***
Shane woke up in the morning, hard and needy as the young woman lay sprawled across his body. She had come to him shaking the night before and he wasn’t sure why she had gotten spooked, but to have her there now was worth it. Her body was soft and warm, molded to his, her thigh stretched across his hardness. The touch drove him mad, but she didn’t seem to notice, moving ever so softly in her sleep.
He laid there for an hour before he fought himself to get up. He wanted to feel her body against him forever, assuring himself that she would be his forever. She would be his wife soon and by the way it was going, she was going to be a good wife. Her cooking, while different was really good and she seemed to get along with everyone.
Extracting himself from her limbs, he watched her sleep for some time. Moving to get dressed, he left her there as he started some of the chores of the morning. He felt a spring in his step that he had never felt before and lightness as he looked forward to the day ahead. All he could think about was Dasha and what the end of the day would bring.
“Sir.”
“Yes Caroline. You are up early aren’t you?”
“Well I can’t sleep I guess. There is something that I need to show you and I don’t want to.”
Her voice was unsure and since she was always sure of everything, that along made him wonder what was going on. “What is it Caroline?”
She shook her head like she couldn’t answer and urged him back into the house. Shane didn’t know what was going on, but he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it. He had known Caroline for years and it wasn’t right how she was acting.
“Caroline, what’s going on? You are acting strange.”
“I don’t know how to say it, so just come with me please. I was coming in here to get the paperwork for the race, the one by your bed and I saw them in the opened door.”
When Shane heard them, he realized that she was talking about the two people in his bed. Sammy seemed to be half-dozed off, his arm around Dasha. It became clear to him what had happened and he instantly got mad.
“Dasha?! Sammy?! What the hell is going on?”
Sammy seemed to be surprised, but it was Dasha that screamed when she seen him, moving out of the bed so fast she fell. Her night clothes were still on. “That man, why is he here?”
Shane tried to see it for what it was, if it wasn’t for the slight grin he seen on Caroline’s face. Sammy didn’t seem too bothered to be caught like he was and the way he looked at him made him wonder.
“Sammy, what are you doing in here with my fiancée?”
Sammy got up, only a small pair of boxers on. “She begged me Sir. You know it’s impossible to turn away. She said she wanted me to fuck her.”
Shane didn’t look at him, but at the reaction on Dasha’s face. It was a lie, that much was clear. While it might be thought that he was merely believing what he wanted to believe, it was her face that made him wonder what was really going on.
“Sammy, Caroline, get out of here. I will be down in the kitchen in a minute.”
Caroline didn’t seem to understand. “What, wait, you believe her? She just slept with the help.”
“The help?”
Caroline shot a
glance to Sammy. He was supposed to be in it for the money, but he didn’t like his lover calling him the help. Caroline had long-term goals with Shane and his money. Sammy never saw the big picture.
“Yes, the help. Are you really going to trust some foreign slut that is here for her green card, over me?”
The look in her eyes was manufactured, not even enough to hide the anger that simmered just under the service. It was bad enough that he had done what he did to get a wife, but to then trust her instead was too much for Caroline.
“Leave, now!”
Shane saw the exchange and his eyes went back to Dasha. She was afraid and he wondered how much of it she understood.
When the other two had left, he offered her a hand to help her up.
“What happened Dasha?”
“That man was in my room last night and I got out and came in here.”
“You thought I would keep you safe?”
She nodded her head and their eyes met for a moment. Dasha felt safe around him, though she had not worried about her safety or her body being in danger when she took the trip. The way that Sammy had looked the night before still made her insides tremble. He had been up to no good.
“Well I will. I don’t know what to say about any of this, but that I am sorry. I will get rid of them today.”
Dasha expected his anger and she didn’t expect him to believe her, but there was a kindness in his dark eyes that was hard to deny.
“He didn’t touch you, did he?”
“No I am still just for you.”
Shane wasn’t sure what that meant, but he really like the sound of it. Just for him. He hugged her to him until she wasn’t shaking so badly and it angered him more than they had done that to her. Shane figured that Caroline wanted her gone, maybe she was afraid her job was in jeopardy and Sammy was easy enough to understand. Caroline must have his hooks in her.
Leaving the room, he told Dasha he would be back. They had a wedding to prepare for after all and even if it was supposed to be a small gathering, they both were going to need some time. “I will be back. Just lock the door behind you if you don’t feel safe Dasha. I am sorry this happened and I promise you I will not let anything ever happen to you. You are safe here.”
He walked out of there and then it occurred to him that he might have to let some people go, so that statement was true.
Chapter 5
Shane walked back downstairs and couldn’t believe the two of them were still sitting there. If they had been smart, they would have left. But Caroline never had been very smart. She still thought that he would have no clue of what had happened. She was so convinced of herself.
“You two are fired, effectively immediately. Sad too because Sammy, you’ve been a good help here, but you followed the wrong woman.”
“I didn’t mean to Sir, but Caroline would have gotten me fired if I didn’t.”
Shane nodded, understanding the situation clearly now. “Yes well, my wife will not want you around because of it and I don’t blame her. You are lucky she doesn’t want to call the police. You need to ask yourself if Caroline is worth jail.”
Sammy looked over at Caroline and Shane could see that he didn’t think so. He walked out without another word and Shane knew that it was the last of problems with him. Caroline was still sitting there, back straight. It was as if she didn’t even hear his words or believe that he would fire her.
“Shane, I was here when your parents ran this place.”
“Sadly I wonder what other manipulations you caused through the years.”
“I was only trying to help Shane. I promised them I would and that bitch will ruin you. Look at you already, like she is some flower to be protected!”
She stood up pissed, her face red as she walked towards him. She was confrontational and he expected the slap across the face when it came. “This is why you will always be alone Caroline. No man wants you and even Sammy will see you for who you are.”
“We could have been good together.”
Shane made a sound of disbelief in the back of his throat. That was the last thing on his mind. “See yourself out of I will call the police.”
Shane went back upstairs and saw that Dasha was back in her own room. He knocked softly. He was afraid that after everything that happened in her first day, she would want to leave. If it was him in that situation, he thought that maybe he would want to leave himself. When she opened the door and was wearing her wedding gown, his heart stopped and then finally restarted. She wasn’t going to leave him after all.
“You still want to get married Dasha?”
“Yes. You will be good husband. Do you still want to marry me?”
“More than anything else in the world.” He watched her eyes and hated to see the bit of timid in her face. Something that he had expected was heartbreaking to see and before he could stop himself, he had pulled her to him. She looked up at him, her lips quivering and he moved down to brush his lips ever so softly against hers. Dasha sighed and then opened her mouth to let his probing tongue in. Shane took it as an invitation and they were both out of breath by the time he pulled away. Her taste like a drug and her blue eyes held something else now. Shane left before he ruined it by pushing too far and made his way to his own bedroom to get something on for the ceremony. The reverend was going to be there in a little while and now that there were less people, it would just be that much more intimate.
***
“Dearly Beloved…”
The reverend went on with the words that were in everyone’s hearts and minds. Shane couldn’t hear them, only seeing Dasha. She looked down, unable to keep his gaze. Her own mind was riveted with an idea of what would happen next. She had to be prompted to respond when finally asked if she agreed. Looking back up at him, she thought to herself, how could she not?
“I do.”
He had already said his part and when they were made official, her heart skipped as he moved in for another kiss. She could still feel him on her lips and they melted together with the touch. Shane had to pull himself together when he realized that there were people watching him and he pulled away with a red face. Her eyes were still closed.
It was official. They were married and she was his. The day had been a crazy one and he knew that it may not end the way he wanted it to, but it didn’t matter. In that moment, it was perfect. She was perfect and the way she finally looked up at him, he wouldn’t have changed for the world. She looked at him like he was the man on the white horse to save her. Dasha felt safe with him and he took that trust very seriously.
The pastor left and everyone else went back to work. There was to be no honeymoon for the two of them, especially not two people short on the ranch, but Shane was not going to work anymore that day. He just wanted to spend the rest of the day with her.
They went back inside after everyone left the small gathering and Dasha was quiet. She looked nervous and Shane wasn’t sure why.
“Are you okay Dasha?”
It was too much, hell it was too much for him and he was used to the craziness of the ranch. He felt bad about what happened and he just wanted her to feel okay with it.
“I’m fine, just a strange day. Is it always like that here?”
“Not like that, but there is always something going on. I got rid of Caroline and Sammy, so it will be calmer now.”
“Why Caroline?”
Shane paused, should he tell her. “She pushed him to do that.”
Dasha nodded. “She wanted you as her husband?”
He was surprised she put it together so quickly.
“Yeah, something like that. How did you know?”
“A woman knows. Were you two…”
“No, no, nothing like that. She is not my type at all.”
Dasha seemed to like that answer, though she still wasn’t smiling about it. Dasha moved to their bedroom and started to put away the rest of her things. She didn’t know what else to do after the day she was having. Her emotions were
everywhere, but the one constant feeling was how safe she felt with Shane. The idea of him with that blonde woman made her angry in a way that she didn’t quite understand.
“What would you like to do today Dasha? I know that this isn’t a regular marriage, so I am not sure where to go from here.”
Chapter 6
She turned around and looked at him. She was still in her wedding dress that made her seem even more slight. It was absurd really, to be talking there like that right after their wedding. It wasn’t a normal wedding though and the confidence that he had felt before meeting her was gone. Everything that he thought he knew was wrong. Now he understood why people would go to such extremes, such lengths to be with someone. Now Shane understood what all of the fuss was about.
“Are you not sure what to do?”
Dasha sounded incredulous and it made him grin a little.
“I know what to do when it comes to that Dasha, but I didn’t know what you wanted to do. It’s your choice. Whatever you want.”
She turned her back to him and met his eyes through the reflection of the mirror on the dresser. Shane could tell she was blushing and it made certain changes in her demeanor make more sense. Dasha had been so sure of herself yesterday, but after Sammy trying to seduce her and then as the consummation became a question, the timid woman that he seen now had appeared. His fear had been that she would be this way always, the fire from before gone, but now he knew that she just never knew a man in that way.
The knowledge gave him more insight, but also created conflicting feelings with it. He wanted to take his time, but the idea of being the first made his blood boil.
“Will you help me take this off please?”
Her voice was so quiet, but he heard it as if it was thundering in his head. Shane found his feet planted to the floor for a moment, questioning if it was what he had actually heard it or was it what his mind made him think he heard. It was what he wanted to hear.