by Ashlee Price
“Oh there you are. Have you told her yet or what? There are all these people waiting out here and it seems rude to be sitting in here chatting about it.”
Beverly glared at him. “Howard we will be in there in a minute. Stop rushing me!”
As her mother got upset, so did Aria. She did not understand what it was all about and she certainly didn’t know what wedding he was talking about. Why was everyone waiting for her and what had her mother looking at her as though she had just sold her to the devil?
“You’re getting married Aria. Today.”
Aria was shocked. She asked her to repeat herself, unsure that she had heard her correctly. The words just didn’t register in her head.
“Aria, you were always promised to Keith. I didn’t want to burden you with all of this. I wanted you to live as normal a life as possible.” The older woman paused, sighing like she was releasing pressure that had been on her shoulders for years. There was also an internal struggle inside of Beverly. The inner question of how much does she say?
“I don’t understand mom. I thought I was getting a car or a backpacking trip, not a husband!”
Aria voice was raising but she didn’t care. Her mother was just too calm about it and she for one, wasn’t going to read into all of the nonsense about promises. Aria had made no such promises to anyone.
“Calm down Aria. They will hear you. Do you really want to start your marriage off on a bad foot?”
Aria just stared at her in astonishment. She was acting so emotionless about it, like it wasn’t the rest of her life she was talking about so nonchalantly.
“Mom, I am not getting married. I am eighteen now and even if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t agree to this. What are you guys talking about and who are all these people?”
“They are your new family Aria.”
“How can you do this? How can you give your daughter away?”
Aria was crying and though she knew they could hear her in the other room, she didn’t care. Beverly got up and went across the table and went to her level. “Aria you had to have known that you were different. That you don’t look anything like me and your father. You had to know that, I mean look at you?”
Aria still did not understand, though she was trying to. What did she mean that she doesn’t look like them? “What?”
“Aria you’re not really my daughter. Although I love you as though you were, it is true. The truth is, you were given to me to take care of until your eighteenth birthday. They are here to collect you now.”
“I don’t understand, so they are my family?”
“No, they are the family you were promised to as a child. It was your real parents that made it. I am only here to honor my side. They paid a handsome reward for the success of your raising, so please don’t make me look bad. You can do this Aria. I raised you to be strong. You’re meant for Keith, even if you don’t realize it yet.”
Aria couldn’t think and when she was pulled to her feet, she didn’t want to move but she did anyways. Aria was the ever obedient daughter, to whoever the woman next to her was. She was all she had ever known and now, it was all gone in the blink of an eye. Back in the other room, all eyes were on her and the one that she had spoken to earlier, stepped forward to take her hand.
Chapter 3
The wedding wasn’t much more than a ceremony. Aria couldn’t even think and her mind was in a blur. She was prompted to say ‘I do’ in the right place and then his hot mouth was on hers. By the time she had recovered from the sudden shock on her lips, he was done and pulling away.
Aria was pulled out of the house and she noticed one of her bags was thrown in the trunk of a black sedan.
“This way my love.”
She balked at his words and touch, but did as she was told. There wasn’t anything else to do. She was promised before she could talk and now she had to live with it. None of it added up to what she had once planned. Aria had a thick feeling of resentment that she wasn’t told sooner. She had resigned herself to the fact that this new reality was hers, but it was harder to stomach the idea that she had been left to dream of things that she’d never know. That was the worst tragedy of it all, hope.
“I have waited so long for this day. Do you know how long eighteen years is?”
The man did not look much older than her, though he talked about it as though he had actually waited that long. Surely when he found out about her, he was just as young. She paused for a moment, realizing that maybe he had had as little of a choice as she did. That thought seemed to brighter her countenance for the man. It was easier to swallow that they were in it together.
“I wish I had known. Were you told or did you just find out as well?”
Keith looked at her strangely and his strong jawline softened as he smiled. “I have always known Aria. It is the way it has always been.”
The more he talked and the more she learned, the more confused she became. Her head hurt from it all and she was overtaken with an exhaustion brought on by emotions. Aria half-thought that she was in some kind of dream, though she could feel the heat emanating off of him and she didn’t think that was a sensation that transferred. Her lips could still feel his on hers. They tingled with the very memory.
“How can I be married to someone I don’t even know?”
“Arranged marriages are far more common in the world than love-induced. Can you not feel our attraction to each other already?”
Aria did not look at him. He talked of love like it was a disease to be caught and he seemed less like a husband. While his words of attraction were true, Aria planned to ignore her body’s responses to him. She moved further away from his disturbing presence and hugged the interior of the door. He made a chuckling sound and she had a thought go in her head. “You can run my dove, but you can’t hide.”
Her eyes lifted and met his blazing depths. The dark brown had lightened up to a glowing ring of yellow. She gasped and looked away. She realized than that she had not said anything out loud and the last part he had not either. Silence overtook the car and Aria tried to clear her mind. She had a nagging question of where he was taking her, but she refused to verbalize it.
“We are going home dear. Well, one of our homes. You will like it there.”
Aria grimaced. She doubted she was going to like anything that was about to take place. She had effectively gone from one cage to another and the one she currently resided in was shared with a lion. Her heart pounded and she closed her eyes, not even caring to see the beast beside her.
***
It was dark and Aria had dozed off before they had arrived. She started to awaken when the car came to a stop and then she felt him shake her slightly. She looked over at him and sighed. “It wasn’t a dream.”
“I am afraid not.”
Aria got out of the vehicle and she was at first overtaken by the darkness around her. There were no outside lights besides the moon and stars. The moon was almost full and after a few moments, her eyes had adjusted to the blackness and she could see the outlines of a large, sprawling house. The garden in the front was perfect and there was a little grass on the edges. The rest of the house though, was surrounded by deep, thick woods. It was as if a tiny slice of heaven was placed in the deepest thicket.
She looked down at the dirt packed driveway. There were several weeds growing up through the rarely-used path. For some reason, the idea that very few people went there, made her even more nervous.
“Come Aria. It will be okay.” She was ushered towards the uninviting house by a firm grip on her arm. There was no reason to fight as it would be moot anyways. Aria was resigning herself to an unknown fate.
Lights started to fill the windows and she was greeted with a flood of colors. Her eyes squinted, trying to readjust and she was then thankful for his steering. He seemed unaffected by the blare of the light and she was quickly in a large old house that boasted furniture from another era. Several men and women started to quickly remove plastic tarps over couches and
tables.
“Sorry it isn’t ready yet. We rarely use this place.”
“We?”
“The rest of the family. You will meet them later. I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
Aria made a disparaging noise. “A bit late on that one hubby.”
Keith smiled. Glad she was getting her spunk back and especially liking his new title.
“Petra will show you to our room. I will be up after I attend to some business.”
He turned away, not really waiting for an answer. Aria was partly peeved, but there was nothing she could do but go with the raven-haired woman. She walked up the long staircase and tried to gauge her reaction when she took her into a beautiful room. Her eyes went to the bed and she avoided it like the plague.
“Is there a bathroom here that I can use to take a shower?”
“Sure it is right over there. There are clothes in the closet and I have laid out a dress to wear after you get out.”
Aria crinkled up her face. The last thing she wanted to wear was a dress. She looked down at her shorts and tank top. “I don’t really wear dresses. Is there anything a little less girly?”
Petra was taken aback. Not only was the woman different than them, she demanded things of them like she were already Queen. Petra realized then that all of the family’s fears that he had made a bad choice were laid to rest. She should not have questioned his judgment.
“This is what Keith would like you to wear Ma’am.”
Aria noted the address and the change of her tone. She had said the words out of anger, yet she didn’t really think that it would be heeded. “You let me worry about him. I need some shorts or pants, something that isn’t from another century.”
“We have modern dresses in the closet.” The woman’s bird-like face was apprehensive. Aria started to realize that she was worried about something. Aria wondered if she was scared of her husband.
“I assure you, nothing will happen to you. I am just not going to wear it. I will find something, thank you for your help.”
Aria was trying to qualm her fears, though she did not think that she had done such a good job. She looked even more stricken and her hand touched her shoulder lightly. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I am fine.” Petra shook her head and looked to her with black eyes. There was something in her depths that Aria didn’t understand. Everyone she had met since the sham wedding, were so strange and she had to wonder what her life would be like with them in it. There was so much for her to learn. “We are all glad you’re here Aria. Just remember that.”
The small woman left the room and Aria to her thoughts. Petra shook her head and was stunned. It was going to be interesting, she thought to herself.
Chapter 4
Aria grumbled for a minute as she looked through the clothing. It was like the furniture and the house itself, from another time. She did not see much of anything that she wanted to wear until she came to the back that had some more modern choices. There were still mainly dresses, but there were some leggings and a couple of tops that she thought would do.
While Aria had a real aversion to all things girly, it was the idea that he wanted her to wear them that made her rebel so much. Keith seemed to be one of the collaborators and not a victim. There didn’t seem to be anything vulnerable about him and she had the feeling, he could read her mind anyways. Something was amiss and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what. Some things can’t be unlearned or unseen. Her resignation feeling from earlier had passed and she started to wonder how hard it would be to just walk out of there.
Walking into the bathroom, she sighed from the bright interior. Even though everything else seemed dated, there were modern conveniences tucked away and she wanted to hug the shower. It wasn’t because she was dirty, but because she ached for something familiar like the relaxation of the steamy water. As soon as the steam started rising in the room, Aria was already feeling better.
She quickly undressed and slipped into the shower stall, groaning from the hot spray on her skin. It felt heavenly and helped wake her up. She didn’t hear the door to the bathroom open, nor did she see the moving blur through the opaque textured glass. It was only when the door opened and a naked Keith started to push in, did Aria realize she wasn’t alone.
Aria cried out and covered herself. “What are you doing?!”
She clung to the side of the shower as his body filled up the cocoon she was in. He closed the door and though she tried hard not to touch him, her large breasts heaved inches from his rock-hard chest. There was one part of him that touched her and when she looked down, she gasped, moving farther away.
“I am here to help dove. Turn around and I will wash your back.”
He was already turning her, long before she gave her permission. Once again, the man did not find her compliance that important. Aria had very little time to worry about anything, before his hands were on her. With a bar of soap in hand, he started to rub a trail of bubbles on her shoulders and arms. Keith worked his way down her body, his hands massaging more and more.
The soap dropped from his hands and instead of trying to pick it up, he used the soap already everywhere on her, to continue his torture of her quivering body. Aria’s head dropped back to his shoulders as she let him envelope her. It was when he got to the area between her legs that she finally balked. Her hand tried to move his, but it only resulted in him capturing hers and holding them down to her sides.
“It is impossible to deny me. I bet your body is already wet.” Aria denied it in her mind, but when he slid his hard length between her thighs, the bluff was called. He hissed in her ear as he started to slide himself back and forth across her quim. The wetness was slicker than water and for a second, Keith didn’t want to wait or to do things the right way.
His grip tightened on her arms as he pumped quicker between her thick thighs. His breath was ragged and matched Aria’s. The friction and rubbing were heating her below and each thrust of his hips, slid his thick rigid head across her clit. Before she could stop herself, her body tensed up. She tried to push away, not wanting to give in to him.
“Stop Keith.”
He immediately did. His throbbing head was discolored purple as blood poured in and she could see it sticking out of her legs below her.
Her hand wanted to touch it, but she was held down and unable.
“Are you sure?”
Keith’s voice was strained, as he too had found the stimulation enough as well. He was on a cusp and he could still feel her quivering against him at her own precipice.
“Yes, I just wanted to take a shower. I am not ready for this.”
Keith slid back slowly, pressing his twitching rod against her. It was as if he was nudging her at the edge, leaving her teetering. She made an anxious noise and she almost asked him to finish her, but she didn’t. His mind reading didn’t seem to work and he turned her back around to face him.
“Only when you’re ready Aria. Are you sure you’re not ready now?” His large hands engulfed her breasts, pulling at the hard tips, making her blue eyes flutter closed. Each pleasurable shock went right to her needy core. When she didn’t answer him, he gave her a light kiss and got out.
“Soon Aria.”
Chapter 5
Aria was left in a fuddled state that she only pulled herself from when the water got so cold she couldn’t stand it anymore. She toweled herself off and heard the bedroom door open and close. She had a hopeful surge that it was Keith coming back to take her out of her misery, but instead the small black-haired Petra was back.
“I am here to help you get ready.”
Aria was looking around for a towel at the moment and she went to a cabinet and handed her one. She thanked her, but was surprised to feel the woman’s eyes on her body. Aria covered herself, sure that she could tell what had just happened. Or what hadn’t happened.
“Would you like me to go get your husband?”
She shook her head ‘no’ a bit too quickly. “I don�
��t need help getting dressed. Thank you though.” Aria tried to temper her answer, but she was annoyed at the way they were treating her. She wanted answers that made sense and it didn’t seem like she was going to be getting many until they deemed it necessary.
“You’re to meet your new family for the first time in this?” Petra had picked up the black leggings and black top. She obviously didn’t approve by the way her nose crinkled up, which only made Aria want to wear it even more. The idea that Keith would be as unhappy with her choice was just a bonus. She was sick of accommodating the madness and she put her foot down with her clothing. It was still not clear if she was going to put up with the charade much longer anyways.
Petra snapped a look to her, but said nothing more on the garments. “Let me at least do your hair.”
Aria dropped her towel and walked to the mirror. Her curves held no secrets from the shower though she was almost convinced she’d have had a sign in red signaling its moments. The eyes behind her met with hers in the mirror. She pushed her fingers through her short hair and it spiked a little as the majority slicked back. “There, finished.”
She pulled her leggings on and the top as well. The underwear had come from the modern side of her new wardrobe. They made her feel normal, in such an abnormal reality. They also seemed to get more than enough attention from Petra. It was not uncomfortable, just different in the way that she felt. With her sex drive so high, she almost looked at her in a sexual manner for a moment. Shaking her head and the ideas churning out, she said she was ready to the now quietly observing woman.
***
The dining room was just as elegant as the rest of the house. The people sitting at the long, clothed table were perfect for the surroundings and Aria started to immediately feel out of place. She hastened a thought of not fitting in and maybe she should have worn what he suggested, but the very idea that he was right offended her senses.