Courted: Hyacinth Brides Box Set

by Bree Cariad

  His arms tightened around her. “Everything will be how you left it, Dora. We may have more little ones about the next time you see us, but we’re here for you any time you need us. Any time,” he emphasized. “I love you, little Dory, I really do.”

  Nobody bothered them, as if people were giving them a private moment to say goodbye, which was nice, and when she pulled back, he offered her his arm. “Come on. There’s a man waiting to see you.”

  She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and let him lead her out of the room.

  Dora never really noticed the wedding. The moment her eyes met Gaelic’s at the end of the aisle, everything else ceased to exist. She must have said the vows and did what was required because suddenly he was kissing her and there was a ring on her finger. She still felt like she was floating as they walked down the aisle and over to the reception area.

  Cake and casseroles abounded. When she spotted the table the food was on, at first she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Gaelic pointed it out. “Nothing is together. I thought Chris hated that.” It was true. All the different kinds of food were mixed up and she looked around to see if her best friend and brother looked like he had a headache. When she caught his eye, though, he winked at her and she burst out laughing.

  “Looks like that was a wedding gift,” she said, actually touched so much thought went into it. Now that she looked at the table, she could see there was at least color-coordination going on, even if the types of food didn’t match.

  They danced three dances together and she danced a few with Chris, Xan, and Mr. Covington. When the reception was finally through, it was her friends who guided her back to the bride’s room and helped her change out of her gown and into a deep emerald dress. The three talked and laughed, keeping the whole thing light-hearted which helped as Dora wasn’t sure if she wanted to sprint out of the room into her husband’s arms or to clutch onto friends she wouldn’t see for a long while. In the end there were tears, a lot of hugging as well as laughter, and a few words of wisdom from the three most important women in her life.

  “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” Stephanie advised, combing through her hair. “Just love and believe in your relationship. Everything will work out. And if it doesn’t, call us. Chris will be on the next plane to kick someone’s butt.”

  “Be happy,” Kathy said when it was her turn. “Xander is the best thing to ever happen to me and I was sure courting was a horrible invention. I can tell you from experience that Covington men really know how to treat their women right. You’re going to be blissfully happy, Dora.”

  The last was Cami who straightened her collar as she spoke. “Gale is a great guy and you are one of the best women I know. Have a wonderful life, Dora. See the world, have fun, laugh lots. Come and visit us when you can, but never look back. Who knows? Maybe if you settle somewhere exotic, Jerod can bring me over to visit.” Tears were in her voice and she barely held on as she hugged Dora tight. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  While they had been making merry, the clouds outside had blanketed the world in white and it was magical to be the first two people to walk out the door into the snow. Cheers followed them to their car and she waved as they drove away. Once the church was out of sight, she turned around and faced him.

  “Everything all right?” he asked in a calm voice.

  “Perfect. Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He flashed her a grin making her laugh.

  The drive was quiet. Most people weren’t on the roads due to the snow and even with the increasing snowfall, they reached Seattle without incident. It was still afternoon when they arrived and he drove straight to the airport. She was so excited as she had never flown anywhere before that she didn’t really pay attention. Until they boarded the plane.

  “Boise?” she asked with surprise.

  “It’s a start.”

  She had no idea what he was up to, but was happy to curl up next to him in the seat. Not only was she on a plane for the first time, but they were in first class. It was highly comfortable and she wondered what the other seats were like. Her friends always complained about flying.

  The flight was short and when they landed in Boise, a car picked them up. It was dark and she had no idea where they were but when the car stopped, they were in front of a cabin. The driver took their bags to the front door.

  “What time tomorrow, sir?” the driver asked.

  “Noon.”

  Gaelic opened the door as the car left and she walked inside. It was a simple cabin with a combined living room and kitchen and one bedroom and a bath. As he put their bags in the bedroom, he explained. “This is the first hotel I ever stayed at when I started to travel. As this is your first chance to see the world, I wanted to share it with you.”

  Grinning, she nodded, unsure of what to do now. Unfortunately there weren’t lessons in what to do on one’s wedding night. Getting from A to B suddenly seemed like a rather large hurdle.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked. She shook her head. “Ready for bed?” His voice dipped into a husky tone and she gulped, nodding. “All right. Why don’t you use the bathroom to get ready?” He put her bag in the bathroom and left her alone.

  Why didn’t someone tell her it would be this strange? She never realized how nerve wracking it would be to suddenly be alone with the man she loved only to realize there was nothing holding them back anymore. All her life, it had been ‘no, no, no’. And suddenly she was a married woman and everyone was all ‘go for it.’ She took time brushing her teeth and washing her face, scrubbing off all the make-up and getting rid of the sticky spray in her hair. By the time she had on a thigh-length nightie, she realized she had been in the bathroom for a while. She hoped Gaelic wasn’t thinking she didn’t want to. Because she did. Dora just had no idea what to do.

  He was seated on the bed in a robe when she opened the bathroom door. Two glasses of wine sat next to him on the nightstand and he smiled as she exited, his eyes flowing down and back up her body. “Dora, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered, standing up and walking over to her. “Every time I see you, you get even lovelier.”

  Leaning down, his lips touched hers and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Thankfully, he took that as an invitation and she didn’t need to explain just how little she knew or understood really. For large hands that had always felt calloused, his touches were soft and loving, caressing her like the finest velvet. His fingers found places she had no idea would feel so amazing and when he made her his in every way that counted, Dora was glad she had waited for this: this man, this moment, this time.

  As their heavy breathing filled the air, he sat up in bed and pulled her up against him, handing her a glass of wine. “I love you,” he murmured, kissing her neck.

  “I love you, too,” she murmured, leaning against him. There was no shame about being naked in his arms. Not one bit, which sort of felt strange, but natural as well. His hands continued to stroke her softly, never once leaving her body. “So where are we off to tomorrow?”

  “France. I rented a villa for us for a week. I can hardly wait for you to see it.”

  “Mm,” she said, yawning after taking a sip of wine.

  “Sleepy?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “Come on, let’s get some sleep, darling. We don’t have to leave until noon. Plenty of time for sleep tonight and more loving tomorrow.”

  Smiling as she had the feeling she knew what he meant, she squirmed until she was lying down instead of sitting up as he turned off the light and slid down beside her. Strong arms pulled her against his side and with a sigh, she curled up against his warm body. As she slid into slumber, he murmured, “In France, I look forward to introducing you to a real slippering.”

  “As opposed to the ones you’ve given me?” she murmured.

  “Oh yes,” he chuckled, the deep rumbling in his chest making her grin. “And you’re gonna love it.”

  “Mmm,”
was her last conscious thought before she fell asleep.

  When he woke her up in an amazing way she had never known existed, Dora was sure her education had been sadly lacking and was glad she had a husband who so clearly loved what he was doing. As they boarded the plane to France several hours later, she could hardly wait till they arrived. Ten hours without being alone with him seemed far too long at the moment.

  The End

  Courted by Experience

  In Hyacinth, Book Five

  Bree Cariad

  ©2015 by Blushing Books® and Bree Cariad

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Blushing Books®,

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  Bree Cariad

  Courted by Experience

  EBook ISBN: 978-1-60968-742-4

  Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Chapter 1

  Fluffing up her pillows, Celia Compton looked around her new room. Well, her new old room. She sort of had memories of living here as a child. Letting her fingers drift over the new, off-white, eyelet drapes that hung over the window above her bed, she could practically see the pink pillow shams, cartoon characters, and joy that had once inhabited this room. Until her mother took her away.

  “Celie?”

  “Coming, Nana!” she called back, giving her room a once-over to make sure everything was in its place before going downstairs. Nana and Pappa lived in a two-story house on the outskirts of Hyacinth, Washington, a small town built on traditional values her father and grandparents cherished. Even though she had lived with her mother who did not hold to those same beliefs, Celia had found herself desiring them more and more as the last few years flew by.

  While afraid all of her memories had been those of a child and that when she returned she would find Hyacinth to not be what she was looking for, Celia had jumped at the offer when her grandmother asked her to live there. Her mother had been less than pleased.

  “Celie, Hyacinth? Really?” Kaycee Compton whined when Celia told her. “I escaped from that place so that you wouldn’t have to deal with all their rules. Why do you want to go back now?”

  It had been difficult to explain, not for the least of which was the fact Celia wasn’t even sure she understood her desire.

  “It’s just a year, Momma,” she had assured her mother. “And you always said you wanted to live the high life for a while. Maybe now’s your chance with no child in tow.” From the time they left town in the dead of night after her father died in a freak accident, Hyacinth had been a swear word to her mother. She had fallen in love with Celia’s father, Reginald Compton, in college and when he proposed, Kaycee had accepted.

  She told Celie several times that she had been happy with Reg when he was alive and that she left to get away from the memories. Celie hoped that it wasn’t Hyacinth that her mother hated. It was living in a town where everything reminded her of him. Sometimes even the mention of anything Hyacinth-related made her mother burst into tears.

  “But you’re almost eighteen now,” Kaycee had insisted, though not very intensely. She raised her daughter to think for herself and knew once her mind was made up, there would be no changing it.

  Their discussion/argument lasted four months before her mother had relented. “Maybe travelling constantly with a mother who goes from town-to-town singing to make money isn’t that much fun,” she admitted before Celia left. “But don’t let them force you into something you don’t want,” she begged.

  Laughing, Celie had shaken her head. “Momma, since when has anyone ever forced me to do anything I didn’t already want?”

  Relieved, her mother had nodded, hugged her, and put her on the train headed west. If her mother had even guessed that Celia was headed to do exactly what Kaycee was warning her against, there would have been a fight. And Celie hadn’t wanted a fight. The only times she and her mother had fought had been about Hyacinth and it’s antiquated rules.

  “Hey, Nana,” she said, walking into the bright yellow and green kitchen. If asked before she came if a yellow and green kitchen would work, she would have said “absolutely not.” As it was, the kitchen was cheery, open, and welcoming, it’s soft green cabinets a nice compliment to the bright yellow walls.

  “Did you get settled?” Jude asked, smiling over her shoulder as she placed a large pan in the oven.

  “Yep. Everything’s unpacked. The room even feels familiar. Sort of.”

  “Well,” her grandmother said, standing up and putting an arm around her shoulder. “I will admit that Leyton and I kept your room like it was for a long time, but with you being eighteen, we thought you might want a more adult space rather than one with rainbows on the walls and unicorn stickers on the door.”

  Laughing at the memory, Celia nodded. “I’d forgotten the unicorn stickers.”

  “Your dad loved finding them for you,” Jude said with a soft smile. “If the internet had been as commonplace back then as it is today, you would have had millions of unicorns in your room. Now, want to help me make dessert?”

  “Sure, but you should know I can’t cook.”

  Jude looked up in amusement. “Just like your mom? No worries, honey. Get out the milk and eggs and I’ll show you how to make a custard.”

  Cooking didn’t come natural, but then since she was eight years old, Celie had been living in motels. Take-out and food that would normally be thrown out from restaurants her mother performed at had been her normal sustenance for a decade. Real food was a luxury she had almost forgotten. And yet, Jude talked her through it, calm and peaceful and when they put the jiggly custard that smelled strongly of lavender and vanilla into the fridge, Celia felt like she had accomplished something.

  “Do you still have Mrs. Wigglesworth?” she asked as the two walked into the living room and sat down.

  “Oh, dear no,” her grandmother said with a smile. “Wiggles was twelve when you were last here. She passed away a few months after you left.”

  Frowning, Celie slowly sat down in one of the three armchairs that faced a large fireplace. Besides the memories of her father, her strongest memory of Hyacinth had been the huge golden retriever who followed her everywhere. “Nana, is Hyacinth going to be anything like I remember?”

  Jude’s eyes softened and she leaned forward, placing a hand on Celia’s leg. “Yes and no. Some things are the same. Same streets, same values, same seasons. But there are also a lot of changes. But fundamentally, with what you are here to do, no. Courting is still the same.”

  “Momma would kill me if she knew I came here to court,” Celie admitted.

  “She never did embrace that ideal,” she said gently. “But she did love your father very much. When he died, I think part of her did, too.”

  “Why did it take you so long to try and find me?” Celie asked, a question she had wondered about ever since she received their letter three years ago. For seven years she hadn’t heard from her grandparents and then suddenly ‘pow!’ they made contact. She had been too happy to ask why at the time, but now—especially as she was nervous—she wanted to know.

  “To try and find…” Her grandmother spluttered. “Honey, we looked for you for seven years.”

  “What?” Celia looked at her startled.

  “Leyton hired priv
ate investigators for years and each one gave him the same information. That the case was cold and since your mother had custody, there wasn’t much that could be done even if they could find you. We lucked into a new PI just three and a half years ago. She didn’t believe in cold cases and took ours on with fervor. Three months later, we got the call that she had found you. It took another three months to work out an agreement with your mother to where she agreed that we could write you.”

  Closing her eyes, Celie leaned back in her chair. It shouldn’t surprise her that Kaycee had kept them away, but it did hurt. For years she had asked questions about Nana and Pappa and never got an answer. “Momma really doesn’t want anything to do with Hyacinth,” she said finally. “Dad’s death really hurt her.”

  A hand squeezed her knee. “You and us too, honey. I’m just glad we found you.”

  Opening her eyes, Celie turned and smiled. “Me too. I used to dream about coming here.”

  “So, are you ready for Sunday?” Jude asked after a few minutes.

  Grimacing, Celia shook her head making her grandmother laugh. “I came here to court, but I’ll admit I’m a bit scared out of my wits. I’m quite outspoken, you know.”

  Nana’s eyes twinkled. “That’s a good thing. Have to keep your man on his toes.”

  Giggling, Celie tried to imagine her grandmother talking to her grandfather in the way she tended to talk to men. She couldn’t see it. “I thought you followed Pappa.”

  “Of course I do. But I also challenge him when I think he’s wrong. I just don’t do it where anyone else can hear.” Jude winked making her laugh. “Don’t think the men here expect you to be a wallflower, honey. If they do? That isn’t the kind of man you want, anyway. I would have walked all over a man like that. Leyton has always listened to my side. He weighs both sides and then makes the decision. Sometimes he goes with mine, sometimes he stays with his. But I know he has listened to me no matter the outcome.”