By the time she was being led to the doors to the magnificent glass pavilion, Lauren could feel the warmth spreading through her muscles, her arms, and legs, smoother and more coordinated. Her head wasn't pounding anymore and she was even humming a little. Until her father stepped up to her. Reluctantly placing her hand on Frank's offered arm, Lauren took a deep breath, grateful for the effects of the blue pill.
If she'd been less heartbroken and terrified, she would have been amused at the deft way the wedding planner had settled the awkward "bride and groom" sides of the seating. All The Corporation lackeys were seated on the "bride's" side of the room, and a group of stern and ominous men and their wives were settled in the chairs on Thomas's side of the pavilion. For one, terrible moment, all she could hear was the Imperial March theme from "Star Wars" as she walked down the aisle, and she tried desperately not to break out into a laugh she was certain she wouldn't recover from. But Lauren focused on raising her chin and not looking at anyone, much less the beautiful, tall, and terrifying man clad perfectly in an Armani tux and waiting for her at the exquisite arch of flowers at the end of the room. Numbly offering her bouquet of baby blush roses and white lilies to Arabella, Lauren turned to Thomas, not even noticing her father slink away to sit in the front row.
Her soon-to-be husband raised one elegant brow to feel how hard her hands were shaking, but he did nothing but squeeze them gently as he turned them towards the priest who was beginning his speech about love and honoring each other. Lauren stared at a fixed point just behind the priest's ear until it was time to say their vows. "With this ring..." Thomas's voice was at its most beautiful, deep and nearly vibrating through her bones as he promised to love and honor her, slipping a huge and beautiful Tiffany diamond ring on to her finger. Lauren floundered for a moment until Arabella shoved a ring box into her hand.
Clearing her throat, the girl's soft, lovely voice repeated the vows as she slid the plain platinum ring on Thomas's broad finger. She wondered if he's chosen the rings, or if it was something else that the ever-efficient Jessica had put together. But then her new husband's hand was under her chin, raising it so she was forced to look into the polar blue of his gaze, feeling him hold her still as he brushed a slow, light kiss against her lips.
Thanks to her blue pill and another glass of champagne to drink to the several, overly flattering toasts made to the new couple, Lauren was able to stay calm throughout the reception. Nodding and smiling at the correct times, she drank, ate a bite of cake, and sat silently next to the terrifying man who apparently now owned her. No one here knew this, but one of Lauren's best friends from her expensive, exclusive high school in Manhattan was a Russian immigrant, his surgeon father, and professor mother quite happy to welcome a shy young friend of Yuri's at their dinner table. So, she knew that the harsh men shaking Thomas's hand and squeezing hers painfully were telling him what a "sexy piece," he'd captured, that they wished they'd be there to "hear the screams from the marriage bed." No, she was smarter than the desire to tell them they were utter pigs, though the tightness around Williams's mouth made her wonder if he thought the same thing.
Then, finally the moment she'd been dreading most. And the tears in Arabella's eyes and the look of pity she hated in Jessica's expression meant it was time for the "happy bride and groom" to be on their way. To be alone and consummate the marriage. "Don't fight him, remember that!" Arabella whispered, "Don't give him an excuse to hurt you." Lauren eyed the older woman and wondered if that had been her wedding night with the scary as fuck Number One. She nodded and smiled, doing the same as Thomas took her hand and pulled her through the cheering crowd, barely acknowledging the magnificent fireworks exploding outside the Royal Opera House as she and her new husband made their escape.
"You didn't eat anything at the reception. Are you hungry?"
Lauren startled at the sound of Williams's voice from just behind her as he led her into his gleaming kitchen. His townhouse in North London was of course, beautiful. Four stories high in an exclusive neighborhood in Hampstead Heath, and decorated - of course - with exquisite taste. Standing uneasily in his chef's kitchen, looking at her reflection in the stainless-steel appliances, she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thomas!" she hastily added, her tired brain trying to remember his rules.
Thomas was shrugging off his tuxedo jacket and simply nodded. "Very well. Come with me."
Numbly following his perfectly-sculpted ass up the narrow stairs, Lauren tried to hoist her long skirts higher, praying she wouldn't trip over them. On the fourth floor, he opened a beautiful old oak door. "This is your music room." She looked inside to find her plethora of musical instruments carefully displayed on their stands.
"Oh... thank you, Thomas." she wasn't expecting this small kindness and it threw her off balance. But she didn't have a chance to recover her equilibrium before he went down a flight and opened another door.
"This is the master bedroom."
Lauren paused at the door as he walked through, pulling his expensive cufflinks free from his tuxedo shirt and ignoring her. As he stripped off his shirt, displaying his beautiful musculature, he finally looked back, registering with irritation that his blushing bride was frozen in place. "Come here, Lauren."
Ohhhh, that voice!She mourned internally. If only her new husband had the soul to match that beautiful voice, so lovely and deep, brimming with promise. Forcing her pretty Jimmy Choo-shod feet to cross the threshold, the girl walked numbly into the room.
"Turn around, darling."
She did as she was told, trying to repeat Arabella's advice in her mind, over and over as his long, warm fingers began undoing the long line of buttons that held her dress together. The bodice had been very tight, and Lauren breathed a small sigh of relief as she felt it loosen against her constricted ribs. But feeling his warm breath on her neck, those sure hands pulling down her dress, the girl clamped her arms tight against her sides and tried to hold it together.
Thomas, however, was finally relaxing now that he was in the privacy of his own home and away from those Bratva bastards and the smirking, knowing leers of Numbers One and Three in his own organization. Lauren had performed beautifully today, nodding and smiling at the right times, keeping her mouth shut, He was feeling quite appreciative of her efforts and beginning to notice as he undressed her, how very lovely his new wife was. Really, when she'd walked down the aisle, there had been an audible gasp of appreciation when Lauren passed the guests by on her way to him. He'd selected the perfect girl, after all. Thomas chuckled internally. Number One had been so infuriated when he'd rejected all of his candidates, but he'd still chosen a girl with unbreakable ties to The Corporation. Despite his hatred of being railroaded into this sham, the tall man undressing his new bride like a delicate, invaluable package was feeling his cock rise in interest at the sight of her long spine and the creamy, pale skin of Lauren's back. Bending to place a kiss against the base of her neck, he enjoyed the scent of her sweet, light perfume and the irresistible pheromones of fear and arousal. And then, his hands paused as he realized those slender shoulders were shaking. Lauren was crying soundlessly. Pulling his hands away from her dress, Thomas turned her around to face him.
Lauren was looking at his polished oak floor, but she swallowed hard and managed to whisper, "I can still... if you want to. I won't... I won't fight you." The tears were dripping off her cheeks and splashing on to his bedroom floor.
Thomas recoiled in disgust. Neveroncehad he ever tried to force a woman to- "What the bloody hell- do you think I want torapeyou? I'm quite sure you feel you've married a monster, but I'm not a rapist." Angrily, he stepped away. "Just... get in bed, Lauren. Go to sleep."
He could tell she tried to obey him, moving slowly towards the bed while keeping her arms in a death grip around her beautiful dress, still crying those awful, silent tears. With an irritable sigh, Thomas yanked out his own bathrobe and settled it around his bride's shoulders. "Drop your dress and put your arms through the sleeves, there's a good girl." Tying his robe around her, he helped Lauren into his high, wonderfully plush bed and settled her comfortably, making her drink a glass of water and handing her a tissue, helplessly watching the tears stream silently down her reddened cheeks. Finally, he groaned and got into bed with his new wife, pulling the fluffy comforter over her and guiding her into his arms. The contact with the skin of his bare chest seemed to galvanize Lauren into pulling away, still crying but turning her face away from him.
Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, Thomas settled Lauren more securely against him as she twisted her shoulders, trying to distance herself without angering him.
"Darling. I know you don't want to accept comfort from the man who is causing you misery," he finally offered, feeling her strain away even more at his words. "But I am all that you have right now, Lauren. So... just pretend I'm someone else. Let me take care of you."
The terrifying Second in Command of Jaguar Holdings knew his bride understood his suggestion when she sagged gratefully against him while she cried herself to sleep. Williams continued to hold her, rocking Lauren gently as he stared out the window at the streetlights outside.
Chapter 5 – No Diggety
In which Thomas gives quite a spanking. Also, dinner out, sinister Bratva lieutenants and dirty dancing.
When Lauren woke the next morning, she was alone in that sumptuous bed. Sitting up and tying Thomas's robe more firmly around her, she thought for a moment. They'd come here... he'd showed her a room on the fourth floor where he'd had all her instruments set up... and then...
"Ugh!" Lauren buried her face in her hands. And then she'd lost it and started crying. And told him she expected him to rape her. The genuine surprise on his face made her wonder if Arabella knew him as well as she thought. Forehead wrinkling, Lauren wondered why Arabella had told her those things. She'd been quite intent on it, bringing it up twice. Was Kingston's wife being as kind as she'd thought? But what would be the point of scaring Lauren further? Settling more comfortably against the fluffy plethora of pillows, she remembered meeting - what did they call him? Number One? - last night at the wedding. She'd felt a chill shoot up her spine when the president of The Corporation took her hand in his cold one, smiling fondly with his lips while his coal-black eyes examined her like a particularly interesting species of insect.Hedidn't like her, that was quite certain. Then her full lips firmed angrily. Rapist or not, her new husband forced her to marry him by threatening to kill Frank and then her if she didn't behave. Thomas Williams wasnota good man.
The sound of the front door closing drew Lauren out of her thoughts and with a stifled shriek, she leaped off the bed like a gazelle and tore into the bathroom, grabbing her overnight bag on the way. Hastily showered and dressed, she was buttoning up a pink striped shirt over her jeans when there was a knock on the door.
"Sorry! Coming!" Lauren trilled anxiously. Her hand tightened on the handle; she was dreading seeing Thomas this morning. Would he be scary and cold again? Kind, like last night?
As it turned out, neither. Strolling into the bathroom, he eyed her briefly while pulling off his sweaty shirt. "I'll need to go to the office today," his sonorous voice was calm, slightly indifferent. "I'm sure you'll want the time to unpack and get settled," Thomas was still facing her, talking casually as he toed off his running shoes and began pulling his shorts down. With an alarmed intake of breath, Lauren whirled and scampered from the bathroom, not hearing Thomas's low chuckle as he started the shower.
