Bride by Design 2: Manchala on the Mind (3 page)

His eyes were roaming all over my body, and I seemed to feel the sparks flying out from him.

"The girl said you didn't want to come out, so I came in to see you."

"You don't have to see me!"

He grabbed my wrists and pulled my arms down to my side. "Oh, but I do. I need to know everything, nothing to chance, remember?"

He smirked and I felt myself burning up inside. I hated him
seeing
me like this, the thin scraps of fabric left me just about naked.

Colin moved his mouth nearer my ear and whispered, "Of course, if you don't want this to be just about business…"

His lips closed around my earlobe and he bit gently, before moving down the side of my neck, his lips leaving a trail of hot, burning flesh. He bit down on that sensitive place where my neck met my shoulders, and let go of my wrists.

He grabbed my waist and pressed
himself forward
against my ass. I could feel his hardness, and it gave me a sudden thrill, my own arous
al making me forget my shyness. He smelled of cedar, pine and musk, and I breathed in deeply.

Colin traced his finger along the top of my low-cut bra. At his touch, my breasts seemed to swell, and I felt my nipples harden.

"Very nice," he murmured, and I wondered if he was talking about the lingerie or my breasts.

He pushed the cup down, freeing my nipple, and moved on to the other cup, pushing it down as well. My nipples stood erect, proclaiming my excitement, and he pushed my panties down. I watched in the mirror as he
kissed my neck and rubbed my engorged clit.

"We don't want to make your new underwear wet, do we now?"

My moistness was seeping out, and with a shock I remembered where we were. I couldn't let him do this!

I pushed him away roughly, and glared at him, my back to the mirrors. I covered my breasts with my arms and hissed, "Get out!"

He raised an eyebrow and ran his eyes down my body slowly, pausing when they reached my hips. I glared at him, moving one hand to cover myself there, and trying to cover both my breasts with one arm.

Colin raised his
glance
up again, his eyes glimmering with amusement and desire. "Your nipple's showing," he said lightly, before stepping out and closing the curtain behind him.

I groaned silently. What was wrong with me? I wanted to slap myself back to life, why was I letting him get under my skin like this?

I changed quickly back into my regular underwear and clothes, and walked out, horrified at my behavior.

I refused to look at Colin, and felt his eyes on m
e
as I let the two ladies pull out resort-wear for me.

The first dress they selected was a skimpy white sundress.

"Monsieur Colin has requested that you wear the white bra with this dress."

I nodded, and went to try it on. It was horribly tight, my nipples poked through the thin material, and the short skirt barely grazed my thighs. I was led out like a show
horse
to display myself for Colin, and I felt strangely gratified
when he looked at me with parted lips and wide eyes.

He recovered quickly and shook his head. "Too skimpy. We want family-friendly clothes, more conservative stuff."
 

The grey haired lady nodded, and loaded me up with longer sundresses, maxi dresses and other beach-friendly clothes. I tried them on, one after the other, being led out for Colin's approval. He nodded at some and grimaced at others, until there was a decent stack of clothes for me to take.

I was also made to buy a two-piece swimsuit. I wanted to protest that a conservative one-piece bather might be more family friendly, but the two ladies insisted that I take the skimpy bikini, exclaiming that I looked lovely in it, and Colin sided with them.

When we were finally done and got in the limo, Colin passed me a bag containing a shimmery blue dress and another containing the white bridal set.

"Wear these tonight," he said, "I'll pick you up from Maxine's."

He looked at my stunned expression and said, "You have an appointment at 5. I'll pick you up after an hour, they'll do your makeup for tonight."

I felt grumpy and pouted angrily. "You never said anything about tonight," I whined, "The contract was for a week in Manchala."

"Yes. But tonight is essential practice."

Colin moved to sit next to me and placed a hand on my thigh. "Make sure you wear the white underwear tonight." His voice was husky. "We could get those panties wet, if you'd like."

I giggled despite myself, and pushed him away. "I think I'd better bring my pepper spray with me to Manchala."

Colin grinned. "I didn't hear you mention pepper spray in the dressing room."

"Hmmph, well," I sought desperately for an excuse, "I was a bit overwhelmed by it all."

Colin raised an eyebrow. "I hope you feel overwhelmed by Manchala, then."

I grinned despite myself. His charm was catching, and I could feel
the waves of desire vibrating between us.

"Pepper spray it is," I said, and hopped out with the bags.

Chapter
Three

By 6 pm, I was ready.

Starting from my newly-styled hair, down to the tips of my freshly manicured feet, I felt and looked like a completely different version of myself
.

I felt relaxed, in what seemed like years. My makeup was flawless, and the shimmery floor-length blue dress accentuated my curves.

When Colin
walked through the door, I felt the charge between us. The hair on my arms stood up, and he looked me
up
and down slowly.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" crooned Shane, and Colin nodded.

"She is, indeed."

I flushed with pleasure. "You look ok, too."

Colin looked better than ok - in his dark tuxedo, he looked dashing and elegant
.

I took his arm and let him help me into the limo. "Where are we going?"

"It's a charity auction to help raise funds for AIDS awareness. I just want you to see the kind of folks you might have to hang out with. Maybe the other guests on Manchala will be different, but why not have some free champagne and dinner tonight."

I nodded, and
when we finally got to the hotel where the auction was being held
,
I let him help me out
.

I walked into the grand ballroom, admiring the high ceilings, elegant décor and lovely chandeliers. The whole place was buzzing with society ladies and obviously wealthy patrons.

Colin nodded to some people from a distance, and chatted with some other people. He avoided introducing me unless he had to, and I wondered if he was embarrassed to be seen with me.

A few ladies came up to him suavely, purring and batting their eyelashes despite my presence. I felt something inside myself growl instinctively, I wanted to claw their faces and rip off their fake
eye
lashes.

But I forced myself to smile instead. After all, I was only with Colin for a week, and that too was a pretense. So if anyone wanted his cold soul, they were free to take it. I doubted they'd get it; he clearly discarded his used women and moved on.

At last, the introductions and chit-chat were over. I felt glad for Colin's presence throughout - I was
obviously
a fish out of water here, and nobody deigned me worthy
of conversation
. I was a nobody in their circle, and they all knew from experience that they might see me again once or twice, but no more after that.

I noticed the snide glances in my direction though. I wondered what they were thinking, but any nosy eyes were averted whenever I caught their glance.

I sat through the auction silently, and Colin
half-heartedly bid on a yacht, which he lost
. When our food arrived, the portions were tiny. The lobster bisque was delicious, but the roast chicken seemed dry and the steamed vegetables were barely tolerable. The highlight of the meal was the delicious tiny fruit tarts served as dessert, and I munched through them happily, not caring that none of the other women touched their dessert
and barely touched their main courses, either
. One of the benefits of not being a society beauty, I thought
happily
, and licked my lips when I was finished
with the tarts
.

We were about to leave, and were waiting for the limo to pull up, when a short, stocky man accosted us.

"Colin," he slurred, "How nice to see you again."

"Roger."

Roger looked at me and grabbed my arm, trying to pull me towards him. I pulled back in fright, wondering what was going on.

"Did Colin tell you who he is?" Roger sneered.

I stared at him in surprise and Colin pulled me towards himself and wrapped an arm around my waist protectively. "Leave her alone, Roger."

"He's a bastard," said Roger, delighting in Colin's discomfort. "His mother was a crack whore, he never had a father, and he never even finished high school. Tell her, Colin."

He grinned, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"You've had too much to drink again, Roger," said Colin lightly, trying to look unperturbed. "Why don't you get back to Celine?"

Colin
helped me into the limo and was about to step in himself, when Roger said, "That slut. She wouldn't come with me today."
He looked at me again and said, "Be careful, sweetheart. You don't know who this guy is and you don't know what he's capable of."

He began to mutter something
I couldn't hear
, and Colin stepped in and slammed the limo door shut.

He turned to me, his eyes full of concern. "Are you ok?"

I was shrinking into my
seat, wondering if what Roger said was true. I nodded my head shakily, trying to see Colin through Roger's eyes. "You must have done something pretty bad to make him hate you."

Colin shrugged. "I took away some deals he thought he'd get. Big
whoop
. Just because he went to Harvard and has the right buddies doesn't mean he can get everything handed to him."

I nodded, unconvinced. There must have been something else, but Colin wasn't letting on.

"Was that true?" I asked lightly, "About your mother?"

Colin looked at me, his
emerald
eyes distant and glazed with fog. He ran a hand down my hair gently. "Don't let that jerk bother you, Lisa. My parents died when I was young and I was adopted by a lovely couple who raised me well. I'm not the kind of monster he's trying to make me out to be."