Beaufort Brides: Hired Bride Part 6

She suddenly decided there was no reason not to get them. "Do you mind if we stop back at my house first?" she asked. "I need to pick something up. I can go myself, if you'd rather." She didn't own a car. She'd never been able to afford one. She could take a taxi if she needed one, but she figured he might still be playing his charming role and would insist on taking her himself.

He wanted her compliant. It was too early for him to start distancing himself. He didn't have her wrapped around his finger completely yet.

His eyes widened. "Sure. Of course. I thought you already brought things over, though."

"I did. I was going to leave some stuff behind, but I just changed my mind. It's fine if you'd-"

"I can take you," he interrupted, frowning as if he didn't appreciate the a.s.sumption he wasn't considerate enough to take her. "It's not that far out of the way. As long as I don't have to go into the room with those dead cats."

The Beauforts lived in one of the historic neighborhoods at the heart of the city. Most of the houses were gorgeously restored, and all of them were old and stately and streets lined with oaks and Spanish moss.

Mitch.e.l.l lived in a gated community in the south of the city, with new houses, large pieces of property, and plenty of privacy.

The Beaufort home wasn't anywhere close to Mitch.e.l.l's, and it was definitely out of the way, but Deanna didn't bother argue. He was trying to be nice so she'd fall for him even more.

When they arrived, Deanna saw a flutter of curtains in the parlour, so she knew her someone had seen them drive up.

Kelly opened the door before Deanna could turn the k.n.o.b. "Are you married?" she demanded."

Deanna shook her head and raised her hand so her sister could see the simple platinum band next to the engagement ring with the diamond solitaire Mitch.e.l.l had presented her with last week. She would have preferred a ring with more history and character than the sleek modern lines, but Mitch.e.l.l had bought the rings, and he'd obviously chosen what he liked. "The deed is done."

"How strange does it feel?" Kelly asked.

Deanna chuckled. "Pretty strange." She glanced up at Mitch.e.l.l, catching him watching her closely again.

She wondered what was going on in his mind. Did he recognize that she wasn't as compliant as she'd been last week? Was he starting to plot to make sure he got her back under his thumb, easy to manage once more?

A sudden brainstorm hit her-the kind of spark of naughty genius that almost never tempted her. But she couldn't resist, remembering how condescendingly he'd spoken of her on the phone call.

She gave him a warmer smile. "But I think it's going to be okay."

His face visibly relaxed. "I think so too."

"Grandmama isn't here," Kelly informed them, giving them both curious looks. "She's having tea with Mrs. Endicott. She'll be very upset about missing you."

Mitch.e.l.l's face relaxed even more, and Deanna knew he wasn't at all upset about missing her grandmother.

"We're not here to visit," Deanna told her sister. "I just decided I wanted my beads after all."

"Oh, okay." Kelly followed them as they walked up the staircase. "That's probably a good idea. You'll be kind of bored, won't you, sitting around in a fancy house with nothing to do."

"My house isn't that fancy," Mitch.e.l.l said, glancing over his shoulder in a friendly way. "And she's welcome to do anything she likes with her time."

Deanna could think of a few things she might do that he would have objections to, but she didn't mention them. "That's really nice of you," she murmured instead, lowering her eyelids in what she hoped was a shy look.

Mitch.e.l.l was definitely looking less concerned now, and Kelly was looking very confused.

Fortunately, her sister didn't say anything.

When they reached Kelly's bedroom, Mitch.e.l.l paused in the doorway at the sight of all the tins of beads and spools of wire that were scattered over the floor. "Wow," he breathed. "What are all these for?"

"I like to make jewelry and little purses and stuff with beads." She opened her closet and found a little beaded coin purse she'd made two years ago. "Like this, see?"

He took the purse in both his hands, staring down at it. Deanna had been proud of that one, since it had taken forever to get the roses to look right on it, and she couldn't help but be pleased when his expression showed that he was impressed. "You made this?"

"Yeah." She tried to look bashful and simpering, as he would expect her to. "It's just a little hobby I have."

It wasn't a little hobby. She loved working with beads, and she sometimes dreamed of making a living at it.

"This is really good. You make jewelry too? Have you tried to do anything with your stuff?"

"Yeah. I sell it online and a few local shops will stock some of my better items. So far, it's only brought in pocket money, though."

"Well, it's a start." He was looking down at the beaded coin purse, and his expression now was thoughtful. "We can put a shelf of some of your stuff in the Claremont shop, if you want. This is good enough to place there, and people at hotels buy all kinds of useless stuff they wouldn't otherwise." His head jerked up. "Not that it's useless. I didn't mean that. I just mean it's pretty stuff, not practical stuff."

Deanna laughed. She couldn't help it. He looked so guilty and worried by his gaff, although she actually liked him better for it, since he didn't seem so fake and practiced. "I know what you meant. And, thank you, I would love to put some stuff in the shop, if you think it would be of interest. I'll have to make some more first, though, since I've sold most of my best stuff already."

"Sure. Any time."

They smiled at each other, both of them clearly pleased by this arrangement, and Deanna suddenly remembered that she couldn't fall under his thrall again.

She would need to be careful. It felt like the spontaneous offer was genuine and wasn't part of his charming act, but he would use it for sure, and she couldn't let him succeed in wooing her.

As if he'd read her mind, he slipped an arm around her waist and smiled down at her in that intimate way, the expression that was supposed to leave her weak and boneless. Even now, knowing what he was doing, it almost worked. "I had no idea my new bride was so talented," he said.

She had to fight the instinct to pull away. Instead, she gave a silly giggle. "I'm not that talented. Thank you, though."

When she glanced up, she saw that Kelly was looking at her suspiciously. Her sister would know this was not normal behavior for her, and she would wonder why. "Well, let's start gathering all this stuff up," Kelly said, fortunately not asking about Deanna's actions. "Just be careful. We don't want another bead spill. Remember last time?"

Deanna shuddered at the memory of her grandmother knocking over a tin of beads in the back sitting room, where Deanna had been working on them. It had been months before they'd found them all.

She could just picture Mitch.e.l.l's face if tiny little beads ended up rolling all over his no doubt immaculate, modern house. He would hate that.

In fact, if he got too obnoxious, she could always arrange for a little accidental bead spill. It would be a good thing to keep in her pocket.

For now, though, he wasn't being too smarmy, although he smiled at her too much and gave her a few more compliments when she showed him her jewelry. The three of them managed to pack a few boxes with all her supplies and then the girls let Mitch.e.l.l carry them down to the car, since he insisted.

"What's going on?" Kelly whispered when he carried the first two boxes down at one time.

"What do you mean?" Deanna knew what her sister was talking about, but she acted innocent.

"You know. I a.s.sume you haven't miraculously fallen in love in a couple of hours. Why are you acting that way?"

"What way?"

"I don't know. All silly and giggly."

Deanna raised her eyebrows. "I have my reasons."

Kelly snickered. "Do you have some sort of wicked plot going on?"

"Maybe."

"He really got on your bad side," Kelly said. "I haven't seen you look like this since Melissa La.r.s.en told your whole cla.s.s that you'd slept with her boyfriend. What did Mitch.e.l.l do?"

"Nothing. It's not like that." Although it was exactly like that.

"Seriously, what did he-"

"Nothing," Deanna said quickly, waving a hand when she heard Mitch.e.l.l coming into the house again. "Now, shh, don't say anything."

Deanna was smiling sweetly as Mitch.e.l.l came up again, and this time Kelly was smiling sweetly too.

He pulled to a stop, looking at them warily. "What's going on?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

"Nothing," Deanna a.s.sured him, wishing her sister wasn't smiling quite so fakely.

"Were you talking about me?"

"Maybe a little." She took his arm to pull him back into the bedroom so he couldn't start to interrogate Kelly. "It's not every day that a girl has a marriage of convenience, and it's natural her sister might want to hear about it."

Mitch.e.l.l chuckled as he picked up the last box. His hair was slightly mussed, and he was sweating slightly in the heat. He looked even more attractive than he had before. "Maybe I want to hear about it."

"Well, you can't." She gave him a little swat, hoping that was something an easy-to-manage wife might do, and she followed him down the stairs, wanting to get out before her grandmother returned.

If Grandmama arrived, they'd have to do the niceties, which would mean they'd be stuck here for another hour at least.

Mitch.e.l.l didn't linger, so maybe he had the same idea, and soon they were on their way south toward his house, the boxes of beads in the back of his car.

They were stopped at a light when she recognized that Mitch.e.l.l's gaze was on her face again.

"What?" she asked, pushing her hair behind her ear and not having to pretend the feeling of self-consciousness.

"You look beautiful today," he said, his voice huskier than normal.

She dropped her eyes. She'd expected this. It was clearly part of the nice-act he was putting on to keep her doing his bidding. "Thank you."

"I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours before."

She'd actually heard this from other people-her eyes were a very unusual shade of light green-so it was possible that he meant it. "I always hated them when I was a kid. I had teachers who used to think I was wearing eye makeup, since my eyes were so light and my eyelashes so dark."

"They're gorgeous. All of you is gorgeous."

She blushed, and it was for real, since there was a note in his voice she couldn't help but like. Almost a caress.

She reminded herself to get a grip, though.

She couldn't forget that he hadn't been pleased by the prospect of six months without s.e.x. He would want to have s.e.x, and he wouldn't be able to go outside their marriage to get it.

Which meant he would want to have s.e.x with her. He'd agreed too quickly at the contract negotiations. He probably thought she would easily succ.u.mb to his advances, and her behavior at the engagement party must have confirmed this fact.

He no doubt believed that he'd have no trouble talking her into s.e.x with him tonight. She wasn't opposed to letting him believe so for now. Let him think she was every bit as silly and spineless as he believed.

It was Mitch.e.l.l who would be surprised and disappointed when he spent his wedding night alone.

After a brief flicker of concern when Deanna acted so skittish at the wedding, Mitch.e.l.l was pleased with how things were going.

Deanna was easy to get along with, and she seemed to get more beautiful every time he saw her. It wouldn't be hard to work out an arrangement that worked for him-a wife who didn't cause him any trouble and a willing s.e.x partner.

He was getting more excited about the s.e.x partner idea as the evening went on.

They'd gotten to his place, and he'd carried her beads into the sitting room of her suite, which he'd had fixed up for her last week. Deanna seemed happy with everything, and they'd both been in good moods after they'd showered, rested, and had dinner together on the terrace that overlooked the river.

Mitch.e.l.l asked her about her bead work, since he was sincerely interested in it and impressed by how good she was at it. Then she asked about his family, and he told her some about his sister and mother.

She seemed to want to hear about his mother's history with the Darlington Cafe. He'd started by only sharing a few minor details, but at her questions he told her more, until he was spilling all kinds of stuff he wasn't in the habit of talking about-including how his mother would come back from working at the restaurant late when he was just a boy and he'd be awake so she'd fix them both pancakes.

They split a bottle of wine so he was relaxed and satisfied as they fell into silence. The breeze brought with it the tang of salt and the sweetness of magnolias from the tree at the corner of the house. Deanna's eyes looked huge and otherworldly as they gazed up at him, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

Despite her docile demeanor, she seemed to have depth, like there was far more going on under the surface than she ever revealed to the world.

He wanted to know what it was, what was simmering under the surface. He wanted it to break the delicate prettiness of her quietude.

He put down his gla.s.s and shook himself off slightly, looking away from her at last. What the h.e.l.l was he even thinking? He'd like to get her into bed. That was probably all that was prompting his weird, intense thoughts.

It was still early-not even eight. Usually he worked out in the evenings, but if Deanna would like to go straight to bed, he would have no objections.

"What do you do in the evenings?" he asked.

She gave a little shrug. "It depends. There were always jobs to do around the house. It was really falling down around our heads. But otherwise, I'd just do some beads and watch TV or something."

"Well, you're welcome to do that here, if you'd like. You can watch the big screen one downstairs, if you want."

If she went into her own suite and closed the door, it would be harder to ease into s.e.x.

"Okay. Thank you!" She beamed at him, and he felt another surge of desire overtake him, along with that feeling from before of wanting to know what was really going on under the surface.

It had been a long time since he'd been as consumed by l.u.s.t as this. He wasn't even sure where it was coming from.

An hour later, they were both in the media room, seated on the floor in front of the couch.

Mitch.e.l.l wasn't actually a fan of sitting on the floor, but Deanna had set up her beads there, and he wanted to sit next to her.

She hadn't brought all the tins of beads down-just one that seemed to be a random mix of all different colors and styles. She was working on what she told him would be a fancy clutch, but she'd just started so he had no way of ascertaining what the finished product would look like.

He watched her, though, as much as she watched the old movie she'd turned on.