Transforming Love (A Koning Clan Novel) (3 page)

    
Tears
paved trails
down her
dirt
-
smudged
face. This can
’
t be happening. All she wanted was a little adventure, and now she was supposed to marry a man she didn't love
; one who
won her in some kind of game. What was she
,
some sort of princess from the times of yore? Didn't t
hey know it
was the t
wenty-first century?

     “
Jenny?”

     “
Yes
, I
’
m here.”
She croaked, her
voice lost with her right to choose
.

    
“
The Slag is in a month. It ends two days before y
our twenty
-
first birthday.
I left and tried to protect you, but now
we have no choice but to go through with the tradition. I am truly sorry.”

    
She didn
’
t know what to say, so she waited.

    
“
I
’
m sending Charlie to stay with you while you wait.
He will explain everything.
They won
’
t let you come home now, and I
’
m f
orbidden to see you for my crim
e of desertion.
You have to stay there. You can
’
t try to leave, or I could be punished. They know where I am now.
I love you
.”
He sounded so
shattered
, so defeated
,
she could hardly let her words of goodbye past her lips. She
had brought the hardest working man she had eve
r
known to his knees. That
alone was enough to break her.

    
“
I
love you too
.”

    
The line went dead, and Jenny couldn
’
t hold in her sadness any longer.
Her eyes scanned the bar
,
looking for a place to retreat.
She stood and headed to the ladies room. At least she could keep some of her dignity. She walked through the door and took in her surroundings. Well, it was clean. Jenny stared at herself in the m
irror and let her mind wond
er.

    
It was all her fault. If she hadn
’
t left, she could be at home with her dad and Charlie
,
riding hor
ses and rock climbing. Now she was
in a dingy bar with worn stools and frustrating males.
Her hands clawed at the edge of the sink
,
threatening to
break the porcelain as
vehemence
flooded her thoughts.
How could her o
wn father keep something like this from her?

     “
Special,”
she scoffed. “
What the hell does that even mean?”

    
Jenny turned the cold water on and splashed it on her face. She had to
calm down. She was smart
;
she could figure a way out of this
.
She jumped as a knock sounded at the door.

    
“
Jenny,
i
t
’
s Clint.
Are you okay? You
’
ve been in there awhile.”
He paused and continued, “
I
’
m suppo
sed to take you to your room.”

     “
Just a
second.”

    
She patted her face with the rough, brown, paper towels and tried to compose herself. She fus
s
ed with her skirt and her wild
,
windblown hair. She was as presentable as she was going to get. She stood tall and squared her shoulders as she opened the bathroom
door.

    “
Where
’
s is this room of mine?”

    
“
Gryph
’
s house is in the back. He
had
a room
prepared
for you
while you were
in the bathroom
. I
’
ll have your car towed
,
and for what it
’
s worth
,
I am sorry you found out this w
ay, darlin
’
.”
He smiled softly.

    
Jenny
lifted
her shoulders
,
not wanting to cry. “
I have a bag with some of my things in the trunk. I would appreciate
it
if you could bring it to me.”

    
“
Gryph already retrieved it, and it sh
ould be waiting in your room.”

    
How could he have retrieved it already? The car was at least six or seven miles down the road. There were no cars that she could see. Whatever
,
it
was the least of her worries.

    
She eyed the glass bottle on display behind the bar. She wasn't a huge drinker, but it seemed like the perfect time to start. She pushed past Clint and grabbed a sparkly pink bottle from the top shelf. That's where
the best stuff was supposed to be. Her hands shook as she turned the bottle to read the label. Alize Vodka from France, the bottle was beautiful and made her almost want to smile. So she took it.

    
"Whoa, hold on a second
, that's some special vodka you
have your paws on. Gryph's been saving
it. He's not gonna like this."

    
"I
don't really care what he likes
. It's his fault I'm stuck here. He could just let me go home." She narrowed her eyes and hissed. "If he has a problem
with
my drink choice,
tell
him to come see me."

    
Clint shook his head
and failed at hiding his smile
.
T
hen
he
took her down a hallway and out the rear exit. They walked along a well-worn path that opened to one of the la
rgest homes she
’
d ever seen.

    
“
It
’
s beautiful.”
Even in the
moonlight
, she could see
it was three stories and made of red brick. Colorful flowers grew
from planters in every window.

    
“
It has been in Gryph
’
s family for a long time.
It
’
s a little intimidating.”

    
Yeah
,
just like the man.

    
C
lint unlocked the door with ease and held it open for her. She pretended not to be impressed. The house seeme
d even larger from the inside.

    
“
Your room is up the set of stairs to the right and then the third door on the left. If you need anything
,
pre
ss pound two on your phone and just ask. Good Night.”
Then
, before
she could say
another word, Clint was gone.

    
Despite the beautiful appearance, the house was pretty creepy. It felt sterile, like all life had been sucked out. She suppres
sed a shiver
and placed her palm on the carved wood
rail
ing
for the stairs. It brought up memories of Buckskin Joe's haunted house. She would go with her friends during Halloween and wait to get the bejesus scared out of her. This was worse because she was alone and sh
e stayed scared. No laughing. No teasing. No smiles. He
r
grip
tightened on the bottle
.
She was going to forget
, at least for tonight, and the contents
of the b
ottle seemed like
the answer
.

    
Darn, which room was hers? She couldn
’
t remember. Jenny
’
s sto
mach voiced its upset at not being fed properly.
She did know one thing for sure;
after she took a shower she was going to eat en
ough to put most men to shame.

    
She opened the top of her stolen prize and took a swig. She coughed. She certainly had no
way to judge its quality
,
but the
slow
burn and almost instant numbing that followed said it must have been good. Her world spun as she took another
sip. That
time the taste was better, and it went down smooth as silk. She just wanted to forget. Everything
she loved was lost, and now she w
as in the clutches of a man who
set her body on fire. Heat
collected
between her
legs, soaking the scrap of lace
as she remembered the feeling of his lips. She wanted Gryph despite everything. She wanted to taste the salt
of his skin as she trailed her lips over the hidden ripples of his muscles. She wanted to break his control as he did hers. Her nails dug into her palm as she lifted the bottle to her lips. Maybe it would quell the stampeding lust tormenting her body.

  
 
"Get a grip, Jenny. It was just a kiss." She whispered as she found her room.

    
Jenny was in heaven
…
in the form of a four person Jacuzzi bath tub. It felt wondrous, like thousands of tiny fingers rubbing every care away. She found her room faster than she hoped, and planned on taking a warm, quick shower so she could eat. When she opened her private bat
h
room door, she fell head over heels in love with the tub and couldn
’
t resist a pleasant, relaxing soak. Heck, she deserved it. It wasn
’
t every day a girl was told she was
special and would be marrying a stranger.
She didn
’
t even know what being special mea
nt. She supposed she better get out of the tub and find out. She wanted answers. Plus
,
her heady buzz made her body sensitive, needy. She felt sexy amid the bubbles as she wished for a da
rk, brooding male to join her.
She lifted her foot high enough to see
her anklet. The silver charms were coated in small white bubbles.

     “
What didn
’
t you tell me mom?”
she whispered to the ghost of her past.

     She shivered and decided the water must be cooling off.
Water sloshed on the floor as she stepped out. Her s
kin was flushed and slick as small bubbles slid over her body. Maybe the alcohol wasn't such a bright idea. She looked at her body in the mirror. All she saw when she closed her eyes were images of Gryph touching her stroking her with his hands and his co
c
k. Her core clenched, and her breasts felt heavy. Maybe she just needed mo
re to drink. Yeah
,
that was it.

    
Jenny was snooping in the closet and found the softest robe she had ever seen. She de
cided she wasn
’
t going to leave
and would just eat at the c
ute little table in the corner. So she p
icked up the phone and dialed.

    
“
Hello Miss Ko
ning, what may I get for you?”
a
s
weet, feminine voice answered.

    
“
I
’
m not really sure. I
’
m very hungry, bu
t I don
’
t know what you have.”

    
“
Anythin
g you wo
uld like
.”

    
“
O-okay, May I please have some Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries an
d whipped cream? Um, and…
thick-
cut bacon, four links of sau
sage, and some chamomile tea?”