“Thank you for Halloween,” whispered Harper sleepily, as I tucked her up in bed. “It was the best ever, Bianca.” She reached out and stroked my hand. I had to blink away tears.
Poppy kissed me goodnight, and even Max gave me thumbs up sign as I turned out his bedroom light. With a heavy heart, I left them.
I returned to my bedroom. The house had suddenly grown silent; everyone was out hunting. I could see the light from various lanterns bobbing in the darkness outside, and shrieks as a group discovered some spooky display or felt ghostly hands upon them. George had dressed up a few staff as ghosts and mummies, crouching in the darkness at various spots.
I sighed. Should I just undress, and go to bed? But the night beckoned to me. I would be leaving, soon. I sat on the side of my bed, thinking.
Then, suddenly, I knew what I was going to do. It would be a fitting good bye to Birrimba, and a very apt gesture on Halloween. The night when the spirits of the past walked the earth.
I went back into the kitchen, finding a little jam jar, a small candle, and a box of matches. Luckily there were a few lanterns leftover. I grabbed one, turning it on.
Then I set out into the darkness, joining the sea of lights bobbing in the night.
I passed groups of vampires, werewolves and other creatures as I made my solitary journey, holding the lantern high. I remembered the way. Despite myself, I felt a small fission of fear.
At last. The old graveyard. George had made sure there were a few lights around, and some Halloween decorations for added ambience. He needn’t have bothered; the deserted graveyard was scary enough in the dark. I could hear people in the distance, but no one disturbed me. They were elsewhere, at least for the moment.
I set myself down at the old headstone, holding my lantern high so I could read it, again. Florence and Violet, sleeping together for eternity in the red earth. What a tragic story; I felt again the sadness of Florence’s words in the journal, and pictured the faces of her and her daughter in the old photograph.
I set the lantern down, then lit the candle, putting it into the jam jar so that it would be protected against the wind. Then I placed it down. It flickered slowly in the night. I felt an overwhelming sadness; not just for these long-gone people, but for myself. For the fact that I had given my heart away to this forlorn place, and I would leave it here, battered and broken.
“Bianca.”
I almost jumped out of my skin, rearing around so quickly I almost lost my balance. It was Zane. He reached out and steadied me, kneeling beside me.
“What…are you doing here?” I could barely talk, he had frightened me so much.
“I followed you.” His voice was soft, carrying on the breeze. “When I couldn’t find you, I went back to the house. I saw you leave by yourself.”
“Shouldn’t you be with your guests?” I turned away, towards the headstone. Tears had formed in my eyes.
“They’ll wait.” He reached out and took my hand. A shiver went through me, at his touch. “The hunt is over, anyway. They are all heading back to the house. This is more important.”
“What is?” I cursed my voice. It was trembling. Keep it together, I told myself fiercely.
“You.” He stood up, pulling me to my feet. I could just see his face in the light of the lantern. He reached out and stroked my face. I choked back a sob.
“Bianca, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I haven’t reached out to you, since that night. It was just…”
“You don’t need to explain.” I turned my face away. “It’s obvious, Zane. You are still in love with your ex-wife. What happened between us…well, it was just sex, wasn’t it? I was stupid.” The tears that had been threatening finally fell. “I’m leaving Birrimba, heading back to the States. It’s just too difficult.”
“No!” He grabbed me, pulling me towards him. “That’s not going to happen! I won’t let you go!”
I wrestled in his arms, trying to pull away. “I can’t stay here! Not like this!”
“Like what?” he hissed. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath. “Like the nanny? I don’t want you here as the nanny, Bianca. I want you.” He feverishly started kissing my face, as he pulled me closer. “I’m not in love with Jo anymore. I was just finding it hard to let go. It’s you I’m head over heels in love with.”
“You love me?” I gasped. I closed my eyes, not believing what I was hearing.
“I love you,” he whispered. His lips came down on mine, warm and sweet. “My God, how could I not? You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You have settled my children back home, which is no mean feat. All the effort you have made, for this night. And you have shown me that you love it, here. You have connected with the place, in a way that Jo never did. Birrimba is my heart, Bianca. It runs in my blood.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I can feel that connection. Oh, Zane, is it possible?” I looked up at him, his eyes glimmering in the soft lamp light. “I’m in love with you, too.”
He let out a whoop, echoing in the night air. He picked me up, twirling me around.
“Let’s go back to the house,” he said. “I need to get rid of the guests, so I can take you to bed.” His eyes narrowed as they looked at me. “You look so beautiful in that dress, I’ve barely been able to take my eyes off you all night.” My body warmed at his words.
He took my hand, then reached for the lantern. I looked back at the candle, flickering on the grave.
I heard the last car leave, snaking its way down the dirt track. All was silent. There would be a lot to clean up tomorrow, but it could wait.
My bedroom door opened. It was him. I shivered.
“Everybody gone.” He crept into my room. Then he stood looking at me, as if his eyes drinking me in. “What a night.” His voice wavered with tiredness.
“Do you need to sleep?” I whispered. He looked at me as if I was crazy.
“Sleep is the last thing on my mind,” he growled. “Stand up and turn around.”
I stood up. I had managed to get the lace dress off, but the corset was another matter. I hadn’t wanted to ask Mrs. Price to unhook me.
He let out a slow whistle as he looked at me. “That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen,” he said. “A Victorian corset. Wow.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it.
He put his hands around my waist, feeling the stiff boning. “A six-inch waist?” he murmured, pulling me to him. Then he spun me around, slowly unlacing me. I felt the corset give away, and then his hands snaked around, finding my breasts, kneading them.
“My lady,” he whispered, in my ear. I saw our reflection in the full-length mirror. “May I make love to you?”
I nodded, weakly, my head falling back against him. He had found my nipples, and was pulling them into peaks. Desire tore through me, as I felt his hardness against me.
Suddenly, he pulled my panties down, and bent me over. He entered me, swiftly. I gasped again at the pleasure of having him inside me. He was watching us in the mirror, as well. I could see him behind me, his eyes closed as he gently thrust. I backed against him, lost in the moment. I could feel it building, and could see by his face that it was close for him, too. Watching ourselves was an added thrill.
He gripped me, straining. My climax shuddered through me, unspooling like a ribbon of light. I couldn’t help it. I groaned, softly. He shouted as he reached his peak, gripping me tighter still.
We collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily. At that moment, the first rays of the new day suddenly started streaming through the curtains. He turned to me, stroking my face.
“Bianca,” he whispered. “Don’t ever leave me. Will you be my wife?”
“Yes,” I whispered back, joyfully. “Oh, yes!”
We lay in each other’s arms, softly stroking each other. Birds started twittering; I could hear Harper’s bedroom door open and close, as she went to the bathroom. Another day was starting, at Birrimba.
And I would be here, to gre
et it. With Zane, and the children. Just as I planned to be here, forever. I couldn’t think of a place I would rather be, than here with this man and this family.
I looked over at the old lace dress, hanging on the back of a chair. Thank you, I silently said. It felt like the spirit of Florence had guided Zane to me. Maybe she wanted one of her family to live happily ever after, content in this beautiful house in the endless, open desert.
THE END
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Be Mine
Becca
“I need to run out, but I shouldn’t be gone longer than an hour, and you don’t have anything scheduled but lunch. Make sure you eat because you never like these rubber chicken dinners, and tonight will be a long one.”
My boss Eric, who also happens to be my cousin, just stared at me with an amused smirk on his face.
“Need to get all prettied up for the Valentine’s ball tonight?” He wiggled his eyebrows trying to embarrass me. We didn’t grow up together, but we’d spent enough time together to be comfortable. And he never failed to do his best to pull my leg.
“Not hardly,” I scoffed and threw in an eye roll for good measure. “Some of us actually have to work tonight, but the dress I’d planned to wear has a mysterious stain, which means I need an emergency replacement.”
I liked shopping as much as the next girl, okay not as much, but there were times I found it therapeutic. But when it came to buying fancy-ass ball gowns I’ll never get to wear again, shopping was a chore.
His amusement dimmed at my words. “Right. Here, put it on the company card.” He held the card out to me and I knew what this was. Sympathy. I appreciated it, but I hated it too.
I held my hands up as far away from the offensive black card as possible. “Not necessary Eric. I’m not rich, but buying a pretty dress won’t break me.” Eric’s mother and my mom are sisters, but my aunt had married well, so Eric got a great start in life. He’d taken that start and turned it into pure gold. Maybe platinum. My mother, however, made the worst decision imaginable, and my grandparents cut her off. Which meant I got the life of Cinderella.
Before the Fairy Godmother.
But I didn’t begrudge Eric any of his success. At all. He worked hard and deserved it. Besides, he paid me very well for my long hours and complete devotion to his life and his business.
“But thank you. Seriously.”
He still held the card out. “But you could get a pair of those sparkly shoes I know you love so much. Impractical as they may be,” he teased. “Think of it as a bonus for all the hard work you’ve put in to pull this ball together.” I hesitated, and his grin widened because he knew I would give in. Eventually. But my boss was not a patient man. “Fine Becca, have it your way. This is an order. Take the card.”
I rolled my eyes but the effect was lost by the grin I couldn’t hide. “Thank you, Eric.” I took the card with my thumb and forefinger like it might bite, and he laughed. “Seriously, eat when Martha brings in your lunch.”
“Yes, mother.” He gave me a salute and I turned, shaking my head as I walked away.
By the time I made my way to the high-end department store where my friend Jenn worked as a personal stylist, I had already double checked with the florist and caterer for tonight’s event, updated the guest list and made a few tweaks to the seating arrangement. Things were just about set for tonight, which only left me one problem at the moment. Finding a damn parking spot at least in the same zip code as the store.
As if the drive here wasn’t frustrating enough.
I loved living in New York, I mean who wouldn’t when there was constant action and the city never went to bed. Plus, you could get any type of food delivered to your apartment, day or night. Most days, like all of them, it would have been quicker to take the subway. But Eric wanted what he wanted, and now, which meant I couldn’t rely on the totally unreliable public transportation.
But finally—there!—I found a spot between a beat up delivery van and a sleek blue Tesla. Typical New York. Gotta love it.
I pulled ahead and prepared to back into the spot, but a fancy-ass red sports car swoops in, nose first, and steals my spot! That asshole just ate up another ten minutes of the hour I’d allotted to get my ball gown, so I decided to take a few seconds for myself.
To calm down…
To hell with it!
I backed my little Prius up until we were parallel and he was a captive audience because I had him trapped.
“Hey asshole, thanks for stealing my spot!” It wasn’t the cleverest thing I’d ever shouted at a shitty driver, but he was lucky I didn’t just ram my little piece of crap into his fancy car.
The bastard.
No, the handsome bastard flashed a smile I was sure made all the women in his orbit lose their panties. Well I appreciated his face, but my panties were firmly in place thank you very much.
“When you’re Jackson Steele, honey, you can park wherever the hell you want.”
Jackson Steele. Sounds like the name of some rich prick who thought the world spun solely to serve him. The name was familiar, but at the moment I didn’t give a damn who he was. This was New York, you couldn’t toss a hotdog wrapper in the trash without hitting a celebrity. Color me not impressed.
“Yeah? Well enjoy your spot, dickhead. I hope someone keys your car!” I’m not even ashamed of what I did next because he deserved it, and my patience had fled halfway through the trip here. “Rot in hell, asshole!”
I threw my half-drunk cup of cold coffee through my passenger window and right into his chest. It bounced off his shoulder and hit his passenger seat. Satisfied I’d ruined his day too, I sped off.
To find another parking spot. In bum-fuck Egypt.
“Damn girl, you look like you’re ready to kill someone.”
Jenn flashed a sympathetic look and held her arms out in case I needed a hug.
I love this girl, she’s been like a sister to me since we met. “I am ready to kill, but I tossed a cup of coffee at him and I feel better. At least I will. Eventually. Plus, I can’t go to jail, Eric is counting on me for tonight.”
Guys like that really got under my skin. It wasn’t enough they were handsome, rich and successful, but they had to make sure the rest of us knew it too. “It took me forever to find a parking spot.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already picked out a few dresses to get us started, but first,” she grabbed my arm and led me to one of the thick, wine colored settees and pushed me down onto it. “You need a drink.”
“I wouldn’t say no,” I told her on a rush of breath. Drinking in the middle of the day wasn’t something I ever did. With Eric’s nonstop schedule it was impossible to do that and do my job well, but today wouldn’t end until the wee hours of the morning, so I could have a single drink.
Okay, I had two. Maybe, three.
Whatever it was, I needed it to calm down and ignore the ridiculous price tags on the dresses Jenn had pulled for me. The dresses were gorgeous, made of incredibly delicate fabrics sewn and woven to perfection. And they all made me feel like a fraud.
“This is way too much.”
The royal blue velvet halter dress was magnificent. The neckline was dotted with jewels, drawing attention to my long neck. It clung to my curves. Finally, a dress existed that made my five-foot-ten height and curves look slender. Damn near alluring.
“But it looks amazing,” Jenn insisted as she circled me, tugging the fabric to check for imperfections. “It looks damn good.”
She was right. Even I thought I looked hot, and most days I figured I was cute at best. “But the price…”
“It’s on your fancy pants cousin, take the dress. I have the perfect shoes and lingerie for you.” She filled my glass again with a saucy smile. “Take off the dress and hand it over,” she told me as she held the glass just out of my reach.
“Fine,” I groane
d and went back to the oversized dressing room. The thing looked at least a time and a half larger than my bedroom. The dress, though, was perfect and I decided that Jenn was right. Eric had offered to pay, so I would get what I needed and not think about the rest. At least until tonight when I had to put the dress on and wear it in front of people. Important people. “Okay I’m going to get this dress and we should …” The words died on my tongue as I took in Jenn’s disapproving boss as she approached.
“What is the meaning of this, Jennifer?” Her boss was tall, thin and fierce. A mere manager at the department store who acted like she owned the place. She gave the snobby shop girls in Pretty Woman a run for their money.
“Jenn is helping me pick out a dress for the Valentine’s Charity Ball, you know the one where all of the city’s beautiful and important people will be?” I stared at her. No, I stared her down, because I learned quickly working for Eric that the only way to get them to back off was to prove your dick was bigger. Today, mine was.
She sniffed the air and dismissed me. “Jennifer, you cannot simply use the champagne for all shoppers. It is expressly for our VIP customers.”
Okay, now that pissed me off.
“And how exactly do I not qualify as a VIP when I’m spending thousands of dollars in this store? You know what, never mind. I’ll just call my boss and my cousin, Eric Peters, the talent agent, and tell him how this place treats people. I doubt any of the new girls we sign will come back here. As long as you’re around.” I added for good measure.
She called my bluff and so I did just that. Sort of. I pretend-called Eric. “Hey cuz, yeah I got my dress. Well I’m only getting it so Jenn gets the commission, but we’ll have to go elsewhere to get your new wardrobe for the summer, and to dress Harmony’s Delight. Yeah, sure I’ll call back that shopper at Sak’s.” I tapped the screen with a frown and looked to my friend who looked scared shitless. “Now Jenn, you said something about shoes and lingerie?”
Daddies & Nannies: A Contemporary Romance Boxset Page 38