Be a Doll(13)

The maid almost dropped the plate in her hand, but she recovered and quickly took mine and disappeared.

“Oh, but believe me, Miss Hodge, we will have a full night at the Plaza to do just that.’’

Her smile disappeared and in its place, the pink hue in her delicate cheeks.

***





LILA


The wedding night. My heart hammered in my chest at the prospect of my wedding night with that man. With a movement less graceful than before, I grabbed my wine glass and sipped the rest of the red wine, hoping against hope that it would dull my sudden nerves enough to make the rest of the dinner bearable.

“Is everything all right, Miss Hodge?’’

The smarmy, yet handsome man made me want to claw his eyes out and wipe out the condescending smile from his mouth. He was truly probably one of the most good looking men I had ever laid eyes on, but his character only ruined his looks and made me shudder in disgust at the thought of his big hands on my body. But the fact was, I didn’t have a choice.

At that very moment I felt like a glorified prostitute.

Once I would officially be Mrs. Mathis Grimes I wouldn’t have much of a choice in the matter of my sex life. I’d have to spread my legs on the evening of our wedding for him to take me however he wanted while I made sure to be good enough for my husband.

“Can I have another glass, please?’’ I asked with a voice a lot steadier than I truly felt. Hiding my worries and insecurities was a perk of my education at Carter Manor. That was something I was truly thankful for.

After a few seconds longer while his dark eyes detailed me with attention, he poured us both another glass of the delicious, yet extremely expensive, red wine. I thanked him and downed another two sips before setting the glass at its place and locked eyes with my fiancé.

I was aware that I was lucky in a sense. Mr. Grimes, while despicable, was young and good looking, something most of us here at Carter Manor couldn’t hope for in a husband. Sleeping with him would be probably less appalling than if I had married one of my two previous prospects and I went through enough to not have any romantic views regarding sex. Sex was sex, something rather mechanical, that when done correctly could chase away other thoughts. Sex could be messy, but at least now my emotions wouldn’t play any role here. I had to remember that I wasn’t who I used to be and that sex would only be a part of my role as a trophy wife. Anyway, I bet that after the wedding night he would go back to the usual strings of women he slept with.

“I suppose I momentarily forgot about my marital duty,’’ I said after a beat, my voice steady and my eyes cold as I found my composure back with enough hate for that man in front of me to keep me clear of any and all fears regarding sleeping with him.

“Really.’’ His smile, twisted higher on one side and carved a dimple in his cheek. Something so boyish was at odds with a man like him. “I have big plans for you, Miss Hodge and I look forward to them.’’

His eyes trailed over what he could see of my body while I was sitting stiffly in the chair. My skin broke out in goosebumps, but none of it came from a good place. I craved making him eat his Armani suit perfectly tailored to his muscular body and I was dying to color his cheek red in the exact shape of my hand. At this point, I bet that even if I made a scene he wouldn’t cancel our impending wedding to pick another more suitable woman. He was the kind of man who would take great pride in taming me, as he put it.

I daintily brought my napkin to my mouth and put it next to the cutlery. I made sure to lock eyes with my fiancé as he started frowning. “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Grimes, but I feel quite nauseous all of a sudden. I’d rather get back to my room now. I’m sure you don’t have much of anything else regarding the wedding ceremony to discuss anyway.’’

I stood up and started walking briskly to the door when I heard him standing, the chair scratching on the old floor. I didn’t have enough time to reach the door before his big hand gripped my upper arm. His strong fingers bit into me, but it wouldn’t leave a bruise. Somehow and in spite of my poor judgment of the man, I couldn’t really see him as the violent type. He enjoyed playing and being manipulative too much for that.

He forced me to turn around and face him. My eyes landed on the knot of his anthracite tie. Slowly, I tilted my head up and locked eyes with his. The dark brown orbs fixing me were burning so hot it was hard for me to keep looking at them. For a brief moment, there was no trace of the cold man I had seen so far and something else lurked on the surface, something that suddenly had my heart beating wildly in my chest.

“Mark my words, Lila. You’ll be mine in all ways you can imagine.’’

My mouth dried at his ominous words and before I could utter a question he released me and opened the door for me. Unsettled, I walked through and didn’t turn around when the door closed behind me, separating my fiancé from me for the last time before the wedding that would link me to him for the foreseeable future, a future that was turning out to be less and less certain as days went by.

You’ll be mine in all ways you can imagine.

These words kept on playing in my head as I walked through the Manor back to my room and the anxiety mounting inside me drew out cold sweat all over my skin.





LILA


In a normal situation, the bride probably was a nervous wreck upon marrying the man who would become her husband. After all, a wedding was often one of the great expectations a woman had when in a relationship.