by Lauren Wood
The more I thought about it, the easier it was to forget about how handsome he was and how attracted I was to him. This was not a marriage that I wanted and now that he understood that, I hoped that things would go a little better.
“It wasn’t like I had much of a choice either Gemma. Your father is very convincing and he knew what it was that I wanted. You were part of the deal.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“About as well as your last statement was supposed to make me feel. You can choose how we get on Gemma, but there is no sense in hating each other. We are going to spend a lot of time together, so we might as well get along. I don’t mind having a real marriage with you. You are beautiful.”
I scoffed at the idea of it. He had a choice, just like I did, but the difference was that I would have been left indigent and he has more money than most of the world.
“Can I just ask you something Keenan?”
His smile was to throw me off guard, but I wasn’t going to let it affect me in that way.
“Shoot.”
“Why would you do this with everything you already have?”
“Your father can give me the legitimacy that no amount of money can buy.”
Sighing to myself, I looked out the car window and wondered how I got here. This was not at all what I had seen happening in my head when I thought of marriage. Never did I think that I would feel such a disconnect with the man that was beside me. We were so different that I didn’t think that we could ever see eye to eye. I don’t know if I wanted to see the world through his eyes when billions of dollars wasn’t enough.
“Well that is that then.”
He asked me a few more questions about what I liked to do. I answered as little as possible because I didn’t really want to talk to him. He was right about us getting along for the sake of sanity, but I wasn’t ready to give in just yet. I felt like I at least had a little bit of time to sulk. This was my wedding day and I should be able to do what I wanted. Soon enough I was going to have to step out of the car and plaster a smile on my face. I needed a moment to really wallow in the fact that I was next to a stranger that I had just declared my everlasting love for. It was a mess and it was a mess that I didn’t want to be in the middle of.
“You are really quiet. We will be there in a few minutes. Is there anything that I need to know about you before we go meet your friends and family?”
I shrugged. It didn’t really matter. The ones that would know already knew that this was all a sham and the rest didn’t really matter all that much to me. I never had been too worried about what I looked like to everyone else, especially those in the society that I never associated with.
“Not really. They are all going to ask questions, just say whatever you want. This is yours and my dad’s show anyways.”
If there was a way, I would have just gotten out of all of it right now. Where was it written in stone that I had to go to the reception?
When the car stopped, I looked to Keenan and proposed we just get out of here. “Come on, we can tell people that we were just so in lust that we had to leave early.”
“So in lust?” Keenan looked at me strange.
“You know, so in hot for each other and everything.”
“That wouldn’t be a lie. I have been hot for you and so in lust since I met you down the aisle. You are beautiful Gemma, you really are.”
“Why do you keep saying that like you are so surprised?”
“I wasn’t expecting you to look like this.”
I still didn’t really understand him, but I had a feeling there was much that I never would or understand about Keenan. I didn’t get men like him and his attention on my body was a hard one to process. I had to get my mind back in it and focus on what we were talking about.
“Well I knew what you were going to look like and you are cute, but you aren’t my type. This isn’t a real marriage and there won’t be any extracurricular activities in this marriage. I am saving myself for real love, not this forced situation with you. We can get along, but you keep your hands to yourself.”
“Saving yourself?”
I opened the door and got out before we could delve any deeper into the subject. This was just a few moments that I had to get through and then I would be away from my father’s rule and I would be able to do what I wanted. This didn’t have to be so bad. Keenan knew where we stood and I felt better with that all being so black and white, there was no room for error when we both knew where the other was coming from.
“Can I ask you something Gemma?”
His hand stopped me with a slight grip on my arm. “What?”
“Why did you do this?”
I pulled my arm away and sighed. “I was going to be left destitute if I didn’t. I really didn’t have a choice Keenan. This is nothing like a real marriage.”
I turned around and started walking into the reception alone. I thought to wait for him at the door, but it was only until he was just behind me. I just wanted to get this over with and get home where I wouldn’t have to worry about what others saw when they saw us together.
About to enter and start the whole charade, I felt Keenan’s hand slide into mine and he smiled over at me. “For the guests.’
I nodded my head like I understood. It was just like the kiss from earlier, but it didn’t feel like it was just for show. That kiss almost buckled my knees. I didn’t think that I would be able to stay so close to him for too long. Just being in this close of proximity to him was a problem.
The sea of people from the church was now here and now everyone wanted to talk to us. I didn’t know what to say and my cousin was giving me this look like she knew more than she was telling. I didn’t want anyone to know, so I avoided her and the part of the family that liked to ask too many questions. I didn’t have any answers for them and even though Keenan was a smooth talker, I didn’t want to take any chances.
By the end of the evening, I was light headed from all of the wine and I wanted to go home. I almost left without my husband, but I was reminded twice that I was supposed to be leaving with him. Just because this was our wedding night, who was to say that we had to leave together?
“Where are you going Gemma?”
“I am going home once I find a car.”
He took my hand and told me that I wasn’t driving anywhere. I assured him that I wasn’t that drunk, I really wasn’t. But Keenan didn’t believe me and took it upon himself to take me home. Halfway home I realized that we were going to the wrong place.
“I want to go home Keenan.”
“This is your home. Your home is with me now. You didn’t think that you were going to be staying at your parent’s house, did you?”
I didn’t answer, but I had thought just that. Why would I think that we would live together? This was all just a charade anyways.
“I was under the impression that I would get more freedom finally. I don’t want to live with you. I don’t even know you.”
“Well I guess it will be a good way to get to know each other.”
He had an answer for everything and I was not in the mood to argue. It was just for the night. It wasn’t like this couldn’t all be changed in the morning. I was tired and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep. It really didn’t matter that much to me where it was that I did it.
“Fine. I will figure something out tomorrow, but don’t think that I am sharing a bed with you.”
I was snappy and I hated to hear that tone, even from my own lips. I was out of my element and I wanted to get back to where I knew what was going on. Keenan left me anxious of what tomorrow was going to bring. He was the unexpected that had come into my life and I was now trying to get used to it.
“I wouldn’t dream of it Gemma. I know that you are saving yourself for someone that isn’t me. You have made yourself clear.”
There was a hint of aggravation or something like that in his tone, but there was nothing that I was going to sa
y to change anything. “As long as we understand each other Keenan.”
Chapter 8
Keenan
My wife was the most insufferable woman that I had ever met. I had thought that maybe this would turn out to be good. She had a banging body and had seemed nice enough, smiling at me like she was happy. It was all a ploy though and as soon as we were together alone, she made sure I knew where we stood.
Now I had just shown her to the guest room that she would be staying in until we could make better arrangements. She thought that this was going to be temporary, but I wasn’t convinced. It would get easier and if I was willing to deal with her vitriol, then she should be able to handle me as well. I was certainly more appealing than she was at the moment.
“Keenan?”
I heard her voice and I was just getting the shirt off that I had wanted to all day and the tie that was literally choking me. I was done with all of it and I was not able to put the smile back on my face, no matter how hard I tried.
“What?”
“Can you help me with something please?”
I asked her what it was that she wanted, but I didn’t immediately get an answer from her. Whatever it was, I had a feeling I was not going to like it. When I opened my bedroom door and saw her standing there still in her dress and barely able to look me in the eyes, I will admit, I was intrigued.
“What do you need Gemma?”
She could barely meet my gaze.
“Can you help me with this dress?’’
I looked at her puzzled and then remembered that she had told me it had taken two other people to help her get into it. I was now those people and the help that she needed was not so hard after all.
“Sure. What do you need me to do?”
Her body was close and I wanted to get my hands back on her curves, whether she wanted me to or not. This was a legitimate way to feel her, without actually having permission.
The hands that moved to her zipper in the back were tan against the cream color of the dress. It looked white, but when I got closer I realized it was something with a little more color in it.
Her back was slowly revealed as I unzipped and unbuttoned my way down. Gemma was so pale under the dress and it contrasted wildly with my hands. I felt like I might smudge up her perfect complexion without meaning to. She really did look like a porcelain doll and I was left with my hands on the bottom of the zipper, fingering the skin lightly with my fingers. She was a rude woman and there were many faults of hers, but right now I was only thinking about the physical side of things.
I pushed the shoulders of the dress off of her and down her arms. Gemma’s head was to the side and I don’t think she realized what I was doing until it was off and she was standing in lacy underthings that made her skin look even more delicate.
“Did you need help with anything else?” I pulled her body to me and kissed on her neck. For a moment she agreed but it wasn’t long before she opened her eyes and moved away from my touch. Stepping out of the dress, Gemma turned towards me and thanked me. She didn’t say anything else, just leaving me standing by the bedroom door looking after her.
The words she had burst out with before came back to mind and I had to wonder if it was real. Was she really waiting for love? Did that mean what I thought it meant? Her body acted like it knew what to do and how to respond, but the woman herself left me wondering if she actually did know or not.
It would be my luck of course. I would not only have to marry a beautiful woman that didn’t want me, but an innocent woman that I couldn’t have. It was all wrong as far as I was concerned. All I wanted was the woman that just left and now I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. Helping her with her dress was just another way to tease me and remind me how I was never going to get her. It was a slow torture and I went to bed still remembering what her skin felt like under my fingertips.
It was going to be a long marriage if I was going to have to go to bed like this every night, ready to burst. I was going to have to get back to my old ways, because going without for long wasn’t an option. It was about as much of an option as Gemma letting me ever touch her. She wanted it, but something inside of her was telling her no. I wasn’t sure what it was, but if she had waited this long, it didn’t seem like much of anything was going to change her mind. Gemma certainly wasn’t going to get her mind changed because of some man that her father made her marry, not even me.
By morning I had decided that once I get away later today, I was going to go see one of my lady friends and set my mind right.
***
“I didn’t think I would see you again Keenan. I heard you got married.”
“You should know that you shouldn’t believe everything that you hear.”
“It was in a paper that I read this morning. Are you sure that it is wrong?”
I sighed. I wasn’t ready to tell people in my life that I was married. I certainly didn’t want to tell Charla that I was. She was liable to be done with me and since I went to see her on a semi-regular basis for strings-free lovemaking, I was not looking forward to losing her. Losing Charla wasn’t part of the deal.
“No, I am married, but it isn’t what you think.”
“What, dare I ask, do I think?”
“You think that I married someone because I love them.”
Charla laughed and shook her head. It was so long and hard that she had tears in her eyes that I wanted to wipe away. Was it that hard to believe?
“Oh Keenan, I know that you aren’t capable of love. I just wonder if you got a prenuptial?”
I had heard that at least a dozen times in the last week. Why was everyone so worried about my money? If they weren’t trying to get their hands on it, it didn’t make sense.
“No prenuptial. Her father is one of the richest men alive.”
“Then why would she marry you?”
The question threw me off, but it also made me think. Was this what everyone was thinking? Was I the one that was not worthy of the family name? My father had made a name for himself, but before he came to America on a visa, we were from a very poor town in Germany.
“Why wouldn’t she marry me? I am a catch.”
“Well you do have your strong points Keenan. I will give that to you. You have always been a generous lover.”
She kissed my neck and I pulled the redhead to me. Like most of the woman in my life, I didn’t see Charla that often, but when I did it was for something very particular. Charla was good at making me forget the world for a bit and all of her questioning was defeating the purpose. Only when she started to kiss on me, was I reminded what she was here for, what I was here for.
I pulled away and asked her if she cared that I was married.
“No, why would I? Like I said before, it’s not like you love her.”
I don’t know why it would matter if I loved my wife or not. It shouldn’t and even though we were married, it wasn’t like it was real. It wasn’t real, but why did I feel so wrong being here with Charla?
“Like you said Charla, I am incapable of love.”
“But you are really good at lust.”
The word made me think of Gemma and the way she had tried to talk about passion. I realized then that I didn’t want Charla in my arms, but my wife. What a strange turn of events, though my body wasn’t going to be turned away again. I certainly didn’t have it in me to tell Charla no, no matter what my conscience had to say about it.
Her expertise always knew what was needed, when it was needed and I needed her tonight. After the day before and the wedding, it was enough to drive any man crazy. Unzipping my wife’s dress had been the solitary hottest thing I had done in a while, but Charla moving down to her knees in front of me was second by far. She had a look of mischief in her eyes and I closed my own when her hands started to rub on the hardness through my pants. I needed this and even though I thought of another, it was Charla that satisfied me.
Because I had Gemma at home and it was our first full day
of marriage, I went back home afterwards, getting in the shower before going to find her. She was not in the room and when I went back outside, I noticed that her car was still in the driveway. That meant she was somewhere around the house, I was just not sure where.
I was walking around the huge estate and it hit me that I didn’t even know my wife’s cell phone number. It would have been so much easier if I would have been able to call her and find out where she was that way. It was quickly becoming clear that this house was just too damn big. Some of the rooms I literally had never been in and I didn’t even know who had decorated it. It seemed strange that I was touring my own house.
The house was empty of her, although there was a chance that I was just missing her and we could have been on the same floor and never ran into each other.
About to give up, I heard something through the second kitchen that led to the patio. It took me a couple of moments to find out where the sound was coming from. Gemma was in the infinity pool and I watched her swim around for several more minutes before I even had an inclination to move towards the glass doors that led outside.
The little red bikini that she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination. It contrasted well with her light skin and I could even see a few freckles on her shoulder blades as she back stroked towards me. Then I saw that she had something in her ears, most likely some music because even after I called her name a couple of times she acted like she didn’t even hear me.
“Gemma!”
Her eyes popped open and I noticed how blue they were right before she let out a screech and splashed me with water. After a second she realized that it was her husband and pulled the ear buds out. “You scared me to death Keenan.”
She was paying attention to me and I was watching her supple tits bounce in front of me. The plan with Charla had backfired. I wanted Gemma and even though I had just found relief several times earlier, it didn’t stop the almost instant hardness in my pants. Her eyes fell to my problem area and I saw them widen. She backed up and swam to the other side of the pool before she looked back up at me.