Courted: Hyacinth Brides Box Set

by Bree Cariad

  “Would you like to join us for dinner, Jerod?” Alex asked.

  “Love to.” Jerod took her hand in his and they walked into the dining room together, her father following them. As Drake and her mother spotted them there was a combined yell and next thing Cami knew, her mother hugged her and Drake swung her around in congratulations.

  Chapter 7

  April

  Staring out the window of her bedroom, Camille was excited. Her nineteenth birthday was a few days away and she was looking forward to it. This one was so different from her disastrous eighteenth where she was reeling from Damian having up and disappeared from her life. The first half of her eighteenth year was something she would prefer to forget, to bury, and never to think of again. The problem was that she knew better now not to try and hide it. Hiding things just made them worse.

  At first her parents, and then her boyfriend, had convinced her that trying to ignore her problems was not the best course to take. And while it wasn’t easy to admit to her mistakes, there was a freedom to doing so, not for the least was the fact that Jerod seemed to adore her more when she admitted to them.

  They were half way through the fifth stage of their courtship, which was the most serious one as far as her father was concerned. This was the stage where she could walk away without any reason whatsoever, though Camille had no intention of doing so. She had never been as happy as she had been these last few months with Jerod. Even when they started their fourth stage and she knew he could spank her, she wasn’t bothered by it.

  As it turned out, Jerod wasn’t as heavy handed as her father on most things. He was a caring and loving man. But there were some rules she could not cross and he made those very clear.

  “You will never put yourself in danger, either physically or mentally,” he told her firmly at the beginning of March. As it turned out, to him that also meant putting herself down in any shape or form.

  During a rather drastic meltdown episode, she found out how serious he was. The day had started out well. She was at his house making them both lunch when the knife she was using slipped and sliced her finger. Having worked in the kitchen her entire life, this was not the first time she had slipped up, but it was her first time slipping up in front of him while cooking. Her old doubts and fears leapt to the surface and next thing she knew she was crying as he forced her into a chair, gently shoving her head between her knees while he held her hand up and checked out the cut.

  “It’s just a slice,” he said soothingly. “Let me get a bandage for it. Hold your hand up.” She sat there mortified while he doctored her finger and when he was finished could not believe what a fool she had made of herself. Yanking her hand away from him, she bolted out of the chair and ran outside. She just wanted to get away to calm down by herself, but he ran after her, grabbing her shoulder. “Cami!”

  “Let me go!” She yanked out of his hands and ran down to the lake, crying the whole way. He was faster than she was, plus he knew the land better. In no time he caught up with her, lifting her off her feet and sitting down, holding her on his lap. “Let me go!” Cami struggled, but it was like struggling against a straitjacket. Jerod didn’t release her.

  “Shh,” he said gently and his kindness just made her feel worse. “It’s okay, Cami. I can understand how scary that was.”

  Spluttering, she looked up through blurry eyes into his kind face. “Scary? I’m a mess! Why can’t you see that? The day you met me I was a mess! And it’s almost a year later and I’m still a mess! I can’t even cut my finger without falling apart!”

  “You aren’t a mess…” he began but she didn’t listen.

  “Yes, I am. I screw up and can’t do anything right. I lie, upset everyone, and cover it up because, oh, yes, that just makes it so much better,” she added sarcastically. “I’m a horrible person, Jerod! Why can’t you see that?”

  In a movement that startled her into silence, he stood up and ambled over to the woods that bordered his property. Setting her down on her feet, he walked up to one of the trees, tested several branches, broke three off and pulled a knife out of his pocket, scraping off the twigs and bark. It was such a strange thing to do that she just stared at him. As soon as all three branches were smooth, he pulled the tie out of his pony tail and wrapped it around one end, securing them together.

  When he was done, he sat down on a nearby boulder and crooked his finger at her. Confused, she walked up to him. When he patted his lap, she went to sit on it but he shook his head. “No, Camille. Over my lap.”

  Her eyes widened as the enormity of what was about to happen hit her. Not only was he going to spank her, but he was going to use a tree branch to do it with. “Umm…” Her brain searched for a way out of the situation, but nothing came to mind.

  “Come on,” he said quietly and shocked, she found herself bending over his lap, startled when he lifted her hips a little higher so that neither her hands nor her feet touched the ground. “Camille,” he said, the deep timber of his voice resonating against her. “You will never say such disrespectful things about yourself again. Every bad thing you call yourself hurts. And don’t try to tell me it doesn’t, because I know better. I told you before that my biggest rule was that you were never to put yourself in danger. By badmouthing yourself, you endanger your entire sense of self. And I won’t allow it. Have you ever been birched before?”

  “No,” she whispered. “Paddled and spanked.”

  “You should know that this is my preferred form of discipline. There may be times for lesser offenses that I may spank you with my hand, but when you endanger the woman I love? This is the result.”

  Even in this most worrisome of positions, her heart soared at his words. While he had said many things and had shown her how much he loved her, this was the first time he had said the actual words. “As you have never been birched before, you will take six.” She had no idea what to expect, having only felt the paddle or a hand before. Her father preferred to use the wooden paddle, her brother his very hard hand. Obviously every man had a preference.

  “One,” he said in what was a very kind tone as the birch rod fell onto her denim-covered behind. A shrill cry left her throat and she grasped onto his leg as the second one landed. By the third, her buttocks throbbed and tears fell from her eyes as her body shook and squirmed on his lap. By the fifth, she was sure she couldn’t take anymore.

  “Please,” she begged, hiccupping through her tears, “Please, Jerod. I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said gently. “It isn’t that you get upset, love. It’s that you won’t let anyone help you and instead try to hide everything both from those of us that love you and, worst of all, yourself.” The sixth blow fell and she cried, lying limply over his lap as gut-wrenching sobs ripped through her. Some of the tears were from the physical pain – a birch rod was even worse than a paddle – but most of the weeping was letting go of her guilt at ripping herself apart.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, as he lifted her gently into his arms and held her tight. “One of these days I’ll get it right and be the woman you deserve.”

  “Cami,” he said in a reproving voice. “What makes you think I only want the perfect woman?”

  Blinking the tears from her eyes, she glanced up into his loving eyes. “Who would want the mess?”

  “Ah, love, you need to understand. I don’t want just a beautiful woman on my arm, or the perfect cook, or a lady who is the perfect dinner party hostess. All of that is just dressing. I want and need you, Camille. I love you,” he said calmly and slowly. “You, Cami, not the person you think you should be. I love the woman who fought her way back from despair. I adore the girl who built her own business and loves what she does. I am utterly fascinated with you, don’t you understand that? Every word, action, deed… it matters to me. When you are being you, I love you even more. The way you love and try to protect your family, laugh with Drake…” He slowly shook his head. “Camille,
you make me happier than I’ve ever been. Don’t change. Just let me help you when you feel unsettled. I want it to be my job, love. Lean on me.”

  Grasping onto his arms, she leaned against him, a little thrown by his words as several things fell into place in her mind. One of the things Xan had said he loved the most about Kathy was how she leaned on him and let him help her. That in doing so, she had completed him. Her mother mentioned that in submitting to her father at first, it had gone against everything she had been taught and had scared her. But that by doing so, she had made herself happy and him even happier.

  “He needs to be needed,” Charlotte had explained. “And I’ve found that needing him isn’t a bad thing. As I don’t need him for everything. I’m a strong woman and could do everything myself. But, why? Camille, that is the worst thing women do to themselves nowadays. Expect to be able to do everything by themselves. By leaning on him when I need it, it brought us closer together, and it made me stronger. Knowing that I don’t have to try to do everything, that he is my partner and has an equal stake in our combined happiness, is a big relief. Never look at it as a weakness, honey. Because, actually, the strongest thing you will ever do is to lean on the man you love and let him lead.”

  Thinking of her mother’s and brother’s words, Cami felt an immense calm settle over her. What she used to think love was, paled in comparison to what she felt today. The flighty feelings she felt when she thought of Damian weren’t even for him, they were for a dream. Here in Jerod’s arms, she felt more secure and happy than she ever remembered. And that gave her the freedom to open her mouth and speak the words she had thought many times, but had never spoken. “Jerod, I love you.”

  Reaching behind her, Cami rubbed along her rump. Of course, the discomfort and welts from the birch rod had faded quickly, but the feelings brought forth from them had just intensified. In the last month, her love for Jerod Kinsley had quadrupled. It felt strange in that now when she felt bad, she instantly went to him and he pulled her into his arms and let her cry as long as she needed. Sometimes she worried that he would get tired of it, but then she would look into his warm, loving eyes and her doubts would disappear.

  “Cami! Look who’s here!” Drake’s voice hollered up the stairs and she hopped off the bed. Jerod was unfortunately at a convention in Seattle so she knew it wasn’t him. As her foot hit the first step, she heard their voices.

  “Xan! Kathy!” she shrieked, running down the stairs and into her brother’s arms. Laughing, her elder brother swung her around. “I didn’t know you were coming!” As soon as he put her down, she wrapped her arms around her best friend who was looking a little green. “Kathy, are you okay?”

  “Fine,” she sighed. “As it turns out, I’m not a plane person. They make me sick.”

  “We won’t be able to be here on your birthday,” her brother explained as they walked into the living room. “Kathy has a paper due on Tuesday and a test on Wednesday, but we wanted to help you celebrate. Is Jerod coming over tonight?”

  “No,” Cami sighed, sitting next to Kathy on the settee. “He’s at a conference in Seattle.”

  Xan smiled. “You look happy, sis. Really and truly happy. It’s good to see.”

  “You do,” Kathy agreed. “I’m glad Jerod came along.”

  “Me too,” Charlotte agreed, walking into the room. “Are you two staying here or at Kathy’s house?”

  “We’re staying with Gerald and Carilyn,” Xan said easily. “Kathy’s bed’s more comfortable than my old one.”

  Springing to her feet, Kathy rushed out of the room, Xan after her a second later. Charlotte leapt to her feet to go after them but Camille stopped her, knowing she would hate an audience. “Kathy suffers from air sickness and still isn’t feeling well.”

  “Poor thing. I’ll go get her some crackers. That should help.”

  While the crackers helped, it was evening, so the two left to have dinner with Kathy’s folks. “We’ll be back tomorrow,” Xan assured them as they left. “Kathy will be feeling better by then.”

  As it turned out, she didn’t. When Cami came down to breakfast, it was to find her mother and father with their heads together whispering back and forth. “Good morning,” she said, sitting down and grabbing a cinnamon roll.

  Charlotte smiled. “How are you feeling this morning, honey?”

  “Good. When are Kathy and Xan coming over?”

  “Alexander will be over soon. Kathy probably won’t be.”

  “Why not?” Cami paused mid-bite because she had been looking forward to spending time with her sister-in-law and talking about Jerod. Kathy would understand because her courting had just been a year ago.

  “Well,” her mother said, her face breaking into a huge smile. “Looks like she didn’t have air sickness. Kathy’s pregnant.” Screaming with excitement, Camille dropped her roll and clapped her hands like she used to do when she was a kid.

  “When’s she due?” she asked, feeling like she wanted to jump up and down.

  “Oh, it won’t be awhile. They don’t figure she could be any further along than a month.”

  “What’s all the racket?” Drake asked, walking in and yawning.

  “You’re gonna be an uncle!” Cami told him and he startled, staring at her with his mouth open. It took less than a second for her to realize he thought she meant her. “Kathy! Not me!”

  “Oh,” he said looking relieved and then excited. “Cool!”

  Alex smiled. “Yes, we are all very pleased with the news, but Alexander wanted to make it clear this was not to overshadow why they’re here. We all want to celebrate Camille’s birthday.”

  “Oh, never mind that,” Cami said, waving her hand at him as she picked up her roll again. “I’m gonna be an aunt!” That was the best birthday gift she could have gotten. “Oh, Mom! We can go baby shopping.” She and Charlotte chatted back and forth about the stores nearby and what they could do for the couple as Alex and Drake watched, looking somewhat flummoxed.

  The rest of the day was spent in the same kind of excitement. By the time Xan came over, she was filled with ideas. “Can I help decorate the baby’s room?” she asked the second he walked in the door. The men kept trying to bring the conversation back to her birthday, but she would just ignore that and continue on with the excitement. When Xan left to go check on Kathy, Camille ran upstairs and grabbed her cell phone, sending a text to Jerod. I’m gonna be an aunt!

  By the time Saturday dinner arrived, she was still riding high on this new wonderful development when the door opened and Xan walked back in with his wife and in-laws in tow. The atmosphere was jovial and happy and the dinner table was wonderfully filled with family. Camille felt full to almost bursting with joy. She wished Jerod could be here as well, but he would be back by her birthday.

  Her mother brought in a three-layer birthday cake for her and as everyone sang Happy Birthday, she watched the candle atop the cake. As she blew it out, she wished that she could be as happily married as Kathy and Xan were. Instead of clapping, nobody made a sound after she was done. Looking up, she saw them all looking at her. No, not at her. They were looking past her. Turning around, her hand slammed over her mouth as she cried out in surprise. Kneeling in front of her was the man she loved dressed in a dark three-piece suit. It really made his gray eyes stand out.

  “What are you doing here?” she finally whispered. Several voices behind her chuckled but she was to intent on the man in front of her to figure out why.

  “Camille Vy Covington,” he said in the deep warm voice that she loved, “you are everything to me. I never expected to find someone I not only loved but who shared the same beliefs and values I did. You turned my world right-side up and I never want to be without you.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box and she squeaked, her mind finally catching up with what was going on. “Cami, will you do me the utmost honor of becoming my wife?”

  She moved before she even realized, on her knees in front of him with her arms around h
is neck. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  As he kissed her, cheers erupted behind her. He slid the thin gold band over her finger, the small square diamond twinkling in the light. After he stood up and helped her to her feet, she remembered they were only in their fifth stage. The proposal wasn’t supposed to come until the eighth. When she looked over at her father, he winked at her.

  “Jerod came to me two weeks ago and asked me for your hand. He already has the house and makes a living good enough to support my little girl and makes you happier than I’ve ever seen. What else could I say?”

  Letting Jerod’s hand go, she leapt into her father’s arms, hugging him tightly. As she pulled back, Drake got up from his seat next to her and smacked Jerod on the arm. “Take my seat. I’ll sit next to Xan.” Turning to her, Drake gave her a rough hug. “Told you there was a guy perfect for you,” he murmured in her ear.

  Laughing, she nodded and as her eyes met Kathy’s across the table, they both smiled. Kathy winked and Camille knew the two would be talking later. She had so much to tell her and so much to ask in return. It was a wonderful thing to have your best friend also be your sister-in-law.

  Epilogue

  September, five months later

  A strong breeze blew outside the room Camille sat in and she listened to it, but her mind was on too many things to truly pay attention. Voices, jovial and full of love, reached her and a soft smile covered her lips as she recognized the ones she loved the most: her father, mother, Xan, Kathy, and Drake. Somewhere in the building was the other voice she loved. Jerod’s. In less than fifteen minutes her father would walk her down the aisle and she would become Camille Vy Kinsley. She could hardly wait.