Wife Number Seven (The Compound, #1)(39)

“Come here.” He stroked the collar of my dress, tugging at it slightly, pulling me down so that my chest was pressed to his. He nipped gently at my bottom lip, then took it into his mouth, and my eyes widened at the unfamiliar, but enticing, sensation. He released his hold on my lip, allowing himself to smile in satisfaction. His hand traveled down my back and landed on my bottom, where he squeezed, and I wriggled with pleasure.

A familiar pulsing in my private area returned and I knew that if he didn’t leave soon, our clothing could soon be shed, and we’d be committing adultery in the house of Lehi Cluff.

I couldn’t do that. Not there, not in Lehi’s home. I just couldn’t.

“But you have to go, Porter. We can’t—we can’t do this here. Someone could catch us. And I can’t risk that.”

“All right.” He groaned. “Fine. I’ll go. But first, let me show you, okay?” He reached into his other pocket and retrieved another phone, dialing a number. The phone in my hand buzzed and I flipped it open.

“What do I do?”

“See that? It says new text. Just press this button.” He pointed at a small button that was labeled Enter. When I pressed it, a message popped up on the screen.

P: Cool, huh?

I giggled behind my hand. “Yes, very cool.”

“That’s all you have to do.” He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. “And if you want to text me, you press Enter on the last text I sent, then just type with the keyboard.”

“The letters are so tiny.”

“You’ll get used to it.” He laughed. “I don’t have a charger for you. But I will. And you should be good for a while. I charged it before I came here.”

“Thank you.” Delighted at his gift, I gathered my courage and lifted my hand, allowing my fingers to trail down the side of his face. His skin was so warm, and a little thrill shot through me.

He took my hand in his and kissed it. “I should go.” He reached for the phone and pointed to a red button and then a green. “This button turns it off, this one turns it back on. Simple enough, right?”

“All right.”

“I’ll miss you.” He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and squeezed my hand.

“I’ll miss you too.”

“Hide that.” He pointed at the phone. “Right away, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

Porter sat on the edge of my windowsill, placed his baseball cap back on his head, and hoisted himself onto the nearest branch. His body hung for a moment before he gained the momentum to fling himself onto the tree.

Relieved that he would make it down without injury, I closed my window and scurried to my closet. I flung open the shoe box and retrieved my purse. My heart racing, I tucked the phone in its secret compartment, right next to my birth control pills.

My secrets were mounting. And as nervous as I was, I didn’t care. Not enough to stop.

He’d given me a way to contact him whenever I wanted to, whenever I needed to.

That little phone gave me a feeling of control that I hadn’t had in twenty-two long years.

The thought of it made my nerves calm, made my mind wander, and made my heart dance.



Chapter 15

Every spare minute I had was spent pushing the little plastic keys of the phone Porter gave me. Porter called it texting, but I called it freedom. Even if it was only the tiniest of slivers, it felt glorious. Each morning when I awoke, I ran to my closet, turned on the phone, and read the latest message from Porter.

This morning, however, I couldn’t enjoy my new morning ritual.

Lehi was in my bed, fast asleep and snoring, his nose whistling with each exhale.

The defiant part of me wanted to tiptoe across my small room, open the closet door, and crouch down to read my latest text. But smart and cautious Brinley won that fight. I had to be patient. Soon Lehi’s alarm clock would chime and rattle him awake. He’d be out the door without even saying good morning.

Despite the fact that Lehi slept in each of the wives’ bedrooms, all his personal belongings were kept in Leandra’s large walk-in closet. Since we shared one large residence, there was no need for him to leave fresh clothing or toiletries in each wife’s bedroom—all he had to do was walk down the hall and Leandra would provide him with whatever he needed to start his day.

Aspen was convinced it was Leandra’s determination to maintain control that kept Lehi in this routine. Her cryptic words alluded to some great secret kept between Lehi and his first wife. When I became curious, when I pressed her for more information, a wicked curl of a smile appeared on Aspen’s lips and she’d simply said, “Don’t worry about it. But I’m on to him.”

On to him? She had me intrigued. Did Lehi have secrets? Of course he did; didn’t we all?

I, myself, was relieved that he didn’t take up any sort of residence in my space. It kept my secrets where they belonged—hidden from his domineering eyes.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

Lehi groaned, then swung his arm like a pendulum to slap the sound from the clock. I stayed quiet as he sat up.

“Wake up.” He yawned. “Today’s the day. Jorjina is expecting you, as is the prophet.”

Jorjina Black was the mother of our prophet. Before that day, I knew next to nothing about her. When I was younger, she would parade through our compound, her nose pushed up toward the clouds. She was our royalty, the queen who bore the prophet, blessing us with his guidance and wisdom in our time on this earth.