Under His Care (10 page)

Easton got up and grabbed her hand. “Come on,” he said, walking towards the stairs and pulling her with him.

“Come on where?”

“You know where,” he said. “I’ve been wanting you all fucking day and I can’t stand it anymore.”

“I was still eating,” she complained, although she didn’t really want her food badly enough to stop what was happening between them.

“The food can wait. I’ll make you a new meal afterwards,” Easton said, and then suddenly he scooped Kennedy in his arms and ran all the way up the stairs, while she shrieked and held on for dear life.

When they got to the bedroom, Easton gently laid her on the bed. He looked down at her with eyes that wanted her more than ever, and Kennedy was instantly wet as she imagined what he might do next.

“I’m dying to fuck you,” he whispered.

“Then fuck me,” she said, smiling flirtatiously, her heart speeding up, just as it had the first time she’d seen him in the office for that interview.

Easton began taking off his tie, unbuttoning his shirt.

Kennedy lifted her foot and began pushing the sole of her foot into Easton’s crotch. She could feel his erection, and she enjoyed touching it, even with her foot on the outside of his pants.

Knowing that soon it would be out and in her mouth, and then inside her deepest place.

Easton leaned down and grabbed her skirt, pushed it up, and then deftly flipped Kennedy onto her stomach.

“Oh!” she cried, a little surprised.

“I told you enough of that texting crap, didn’t I?” he growled.

“And I told you that—“

“Enough excuses,” he said, and suddenly Kennedy felt the slap of cloth on her bare backside. She turned her head to look and see what he’d spanked her with, exactly, and realized he’d used his silk tie.

“Easton!” she said, shocked, but pleasantly so.

“No,” he said, playfully. “I’ve had it with your backtalk.” And then he snapped the tie against her buttocks again.

It didn’t hurt, not much anyway. Certainly it was nothing compared to the paddle he’d used, or his hand. But it was still pleasant and exciting, and there was a tiny sting, a bite to the soft caress of the silk against her skin.

As her pussy grew wet and Easton slapped her backside again and again, prompting her to moan, Kennedy couldn’t quite understand why the use of his silk tie seemed somehow appropriate.

But then Easton was taking himself out and sliding his slick, hard cock into her dripping pussy from behind, and she was going to come fast.

He knows exactly how to fuck me
, she thought, growing even more excited.

And then, her thoughts continued to drift, as she gave way to pure ecstasy. It turned out that she did understand why the silk tie was so appropriate.

The tie was like Easton, in a way—strong and dependable, yet also soft, silky, beautiful and elegant. It still was capable of providing a bite, a sting, an element of danger.

It could be used to bind her, or it could easily be removed and free her from that same bondage.

In the end, Kennedy realized, Easton had been the very thing that had freed her from bondage, and even though she liked to be tied up and spanked, Kennedy would never again allow herself to be ruled by the opinions and judgments of others.

She was always going to be free.

Luckily, she thought, she was also free to love the man of her dreams.

ONE MONTH LATER

Grace Knowles hadn’t wanted to help her brother with this wedding. But she couldn’t really afford to say no, either—on multiple levels.

Scott had always been there for her in the past, and recently he’d even helped her with rent for the second month in a row.

The bottom line was, she owed her brother big time.

Now Scott had finally called in his favor, and Grace had said yes, which was why she was helping her brother set up for the biggest wedding he’d ever booked.

This was a dream come true for Scott—to plan a wedding for Kennedy Saunders and Easton Rather—this wedding was being talked about in all the gossip columns and pictures of the nuptials would likely end up in US Weekly and the like.

The guest list read like a who’s who of the biggest movers and shakers that Manhattan and L.A. had to offer, and a successful wedding on this day would likely make her brother’s career.

If she hadn’t been so busy sweating and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, Grace would have appreciated the surroundings more. After all, this was Slough Castle on Long Island’s famed Gold Coast. Supposedly, the parties at this castle had even inspired scenes from The Great Gatsby.

The thirty-two bedroom castle sat on nearly forty acres of pristine countryside, and the castle itself was a mixture of old-world charm and modern amenities. It offered everything you could imagine for weddings and other lavish events—from the eighty-foot ballroom with its enormous chandeliers, to the exquisite gardens outside, that stretched almost as far as the eye could see.

But Grace couldn’t really take a second to appreciate what was on offer at Slough Castle, because she was running to and fro as her brother shouted orders, sweat pouring down her face and soaking her expensive black sheath dress.

Luckily, the sweat didn’t show much because of the dark color of her dress, plus she was wearing a black cardigan as well.

As the minutes ticked by, more and more people began showing up. The castle came with its own staff and regulations, and then Scott had also brought a small group of workers—of which Grace was one—and then the chefs and musicians also began arriving.

This wedding was going to have over one hundred attendees, and most of them would be of the VIP variety.

And because it had been arranged on short notice, Scott had confided to Grace that he’d been forced to make a lot of last minute decisions and just pray that the bride would be happy with what he’d come up with.

After Grace inadvertently bumped into one of the snooty castle staff and was told she “better watch where she was damn well going,” Grace decided it was time for a break and went outside, just as a large group of cars entered the gates and parked.

It must have been the groom and his groomsmen, Grace realized, as she saw one handsome rich guy after another getting out of the fancy cars.

There was Easton Rather himself, who she’d have recognized anywhere, because Scott had excitedly shown Grace pictures of him and talked about how “hot” he was in person.

And then there was Red Jameson, the high-rolling playboy who’d finally been tamed by his gorgeous wife, Nicole. Everyone in New York knew their love story.

A few other men she couldn’t place at all, but they were mostly of a type. Middle-aged or thereabouts, sophisticated, wealthy, entitled.

Grace couldn’t help but be fascinated and yet somehow disdainful. She was from an entirely different world than what these people inhabited. And unlike her brother, Scott, she didn’t have any desire to be one of them.

They’d likely gone to private schools, had gone through nanny’s by the truckload, been given Mercedes and Porches and Jaguars for their first cars, attended Harvard and Yale and Princeton because their parents had donated a building.

Whereas Grace had been born in a small Maine town and lived in a tiny house that could easily have fit into one of the bedrooms of this castle. She’d had to work for weeks and months and years bagging groceries at the local supermarket and ripping tickets at the second-run movie theater to get enough money to buy a car that had hardly lasted a year.

And she hadn’t been lucky enough to attend an Ivy League school, but had instead gone to community college for a year before deciding it wasn’t for her, and moving back home before finally heading to New York City six months ago to make a change.

Unfortunately, the only thing that had changed was her bank account was now showing a minus in front of it and Grace was regularly borrowing money from her brother to make rent every month.

Maybe that’s why she was inadvertently scowling at the immaculately dressed groomsmen with their swagger, and their confidence and loud voices, as they moved past her up the steps to the castle entrance.

Nobody was paying her any attention anyhow. She was, after all, “the help.” Just another nameless, faceless girl dressed in understated black clothing so as not to take any attention away from the surroundings, the guests, the bride or the groom.

But as the groomsmen trooped by her, one of them did in fact take notice.

“Having a bad day?” the man said, and stopped abruptly as the others continued walking, not having noticed his absence.

“I’m fine,” Grace said, taken aback by what was transpiring.

This was not in the plan. This man who’d stopped to talk to her was beyond handsome—beyond just good looking. There didn’t even exist a word to describe the way he looked.

His hair was light brown and slightly wavy, almost but not quite curly. It gave him an air of wildness, as did his mischievous light blue eyes that seemed to indicate he could never be totally serious, no matter the circumstance.

His shoulders were large, a little bulky, but in the muscular sense. Even in his tailored suit, he was clearly in great shape.

Basically, he was the kind of guy who would never talk to someone like Grace in a million years. He was the football star in the Division One College who walked around like he owned the campus.

But Grace had never even gone to a four-year college, so the basic fact was, she never should have met someone like him.

“You don’t seem all that fine,” the man said. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-four or twenty-five at most.

“I’m just on a quick break,” Grace said, looking around anxiously. The last of the groomsmen had disappeared through the enormous wooden doors and into the castle.

“A quick break from what?” he said, those wild blue eyes piercing as he grinned at her.

“I’m helping with the event planning.”

“Well now the day’s here—isn’t the planning over with?”

She grew flustered. “It’s my brother—he’s the wedding planner.”

“Oh,” the man said, putting his hands behind his back and nodding. “So you’re just here to help your brother. I get it.”

She was suddenly aware of how close he was standing, the smell of his minty breath. He was chewing gum. His lips were bright red, and she couldn’t help but imagine him leaning in, with his minty breath, his red lips and red tongue…

“I should go back inside,” she said, feeling panicked. Her brother would kill her if he saw her chatting away with one of the wedding party.

“Cool, I need to go inside too.” He started going up the steps with her, matching her stride almost perfectly.

“Are you trying to mess with me right now?” she said.

He just laughed, and then sprang to the top first and opened the door for her. “After you,” he said, bowing slightly, the grin still obvious.

Grace gave him a nervous glance as she passed by, went inside, sweating now more than ever.

“Hey,” he called out, as she tried to keep walking.

There were so many people around now that she was terrified. They were surely all watching. Grace turned and looked at him, praying he wouldn’t embarrass her.

“I didn’t get your name,” he said.

“Grace,” she muttered.

“What’s that? Greta?”

“Grace,” she said again, but louder.

He nodded, smiling. “Grace,” he repeated, watching her. “I’ll see you later, okay Grace?” And then he turned and disappeared down one of the hallways, as if he knew the layout of the castle like it was his own.

She breathed a sigh of relief and then her brother was there, charging toward her like a bull seeing red. “What the hell was that?” he said, wiping a white hanky across his forehead.

“What was what?”

“You were talking to one of the wedding party. Not just anyone, either. You know who he is, right?”

“I don’t think so…”

“That was Liam Houston,” Scott said, waiting for her reaction.

“Is that—should I know that name?”

He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her over to a corner where there were no people hovering. “The Houstons,” Scott whispered aggressively. “I told you all about them, remember? They’re the ones who own this whole freaking castle now. Liam’s one of Easton Rather’s friends and that’s how they were able to get this place on short notice.”

“Oh,” Grace said, vaguely recollecting Scott lecturing her on the topic a day or two ago, but Scott was always lecturing, so she’d begun tuning him out as of late.

“Yeah, “oh,” is right,” Scott retorted, spittle flying from his lips. “The Houston family is a dynasty, Grace. They own half the real estate from here to Brooklyn and Manhattan. Not to mention their holdings in Japan, China, France, England. Are you kidding me?”

“Scott, relax. Nothing bad happened. He just talked to me—that was it. What’s your problem?” Grace said, finally getting pissed off now. “I understand this is a big deal for you, but you’re being a real jerk.”

Scott leaned in, pointing at her. “I’ll tell you my problem, Grace. It’s that you don’t give a shit about anything, and so you don’t think anything matters. But today matters a lot to me, and I need it to go perfectly. What I don’t need is you running around where you’re not supposed to be, talking to guests, making problems. Stay under the radar like I told you, and we won’t have an issue.”

“I got it. I’ll be invisible.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult for you if you’d stop trying so hard to be a pain the ass.” He turned and walked away from her.

Grace stared after him, wanting to tell him to go screw and then she would just walk right out the door. But the impulse passed and she didn’t go.

Just a few more hours and it will all be over
, she reminded herself.

The castle was full of people now, as the first wedding guests would be arriving in less than an hour. Things were kicking into high gear.

At that moment she hated Scott in a way that she’d never felt before. But she didn’t hate just him—she hated all of these people with their snooty attitudes, their fancy clothes, their arrogance and entitlement.

But most of all, she hated that man. Liam Houston. He’d treated her like some poor servant girl, enjoying the fact that he was practically royalty while she had to bow and scrape and scurry around doing people’s bidding.

Someday
, she thought,
I’m going to get my chance to tell the Liam Houston’s of the world what I really think of them
. But that day was not today.

**
*

The wedding itself went off without a hitch.

Even Grace, as angry and bitter as she still felt, had to admit that much. It took place out in the garden, and the bride was stunning in a long white gown that probably cost ten times what Grace’s parents’ house would have sold for on the market.

She even had to admit feelings of jealousy when the bride and groom exchanged their vows with a sincerity that couldn’t possibly be faked.

Their kiss sent a pang of desperate loneliness through Grace’s heart, and she actually had to avert her eyes. The bride’s shining, happy face was just too much to bear.

Why is it that some people have so much and others have nothing
? Grace thought, as she watched from the very, very fringes of the ceremony.

Her brother was delighted, of course, and as the wedding ended, he sent people scurrying to prepare for the reception in the banquet hall, the bride and groom’s entrance, and then the food.

As the reception got under way, Grace had less and less to do. Scott had finally begun to relax, especially once dinner had been served and all of the guests seemed happy.

He began ignoring her, which freed Grace up to move around the castle like the ghost she seemed to be, attracting no attention from either the guests or the other staff. The truth was, she didn’t really belong here. She wasn’t truly a member of Scott’s company, nor was she a member of the castle staff, or one of the guests or a part of the bridal party.

No, Grace was just floating, watching the lucky, perfect people as they ate and drank and toasted and enjoyed the kind of life that others could only dream of.

At one point, the groom, Easton, stood up and made a toast.

“All of you who know me, know that I can be something of a pill,” he said, to raucous laughter. He then glanced down lovingly at Kennedy, the bride, who stared back at him adoringly.

“But those of you who really know me well, also understand that I will do anything for the people close to me,” Easton continued.