The newly refurbished ballroom in the old mansion they'd found could not be more perfect for the event. Lauren smiled, looking around at the elegant black and white decor and the white-coated musicians tuning up. "Everything looks amazing!" said Clara, coming up behind her and flushed and pretty in her own peach-colored dress.
"Doesn't it?" said Lauren, "I have a great feeling about tonight, we're going to raise the most money ever! The Genesis Project deserves it, you'll see." She grinned at Clara, squeezing her hand.
The gala was already crowded and underway when a sweating, nervous Miles sought Lauren out. "I feel ridiculous," he groaned, sliding a finger under his white collar and bowtie, "do I look like a complete ass?"
Laughing, the girl shook her head. "You look like a visionary," she assured, "that will inspire all of these wealthy people to pull out their wallets and just start throwing credit cards at you." They both broke into uproarious laughter, a little giddy with excitement about the potential for the evening.
It was then Lauren heard the voice of her husband behind her along with the irritating tone of the horrible Number One. "Ah," drawled Thomas, "and here he is, our honored guest this evening." Miles's big grin slipped as he looked up at Thomas, who was quite clearly looming over him.
Lauren hastily made the introductions to both men and Miles shook their hands, flinching slightly at Thomas’s brutal grip. "I'll just take him over to Arabella," she interceded, "she'll get him ready for his speech. I'll see you later?" She smiled up at Thomas, who leaned down to give her a lingering kiss on the lips. Lauren was startled. The Corporation's cool, collected Second in Command was not prone to public affection, particularly at a Corporation event. But smiling up at him, she sheepishly swallowed her giggle before leading Miles away.
It all went as it had been rehearsed, she thought, watching Arabella introduce Miles, who spoke passionately and persuasively about the Genesis Project and the lives of the students it had changed. Lauren didn't realize how often the guest of honor's face turned to hers for support, reinforcement as she nodded encouragingly, but more observant souls did. Her eyelids drooped as her husband's beautiful voice whispered into her ear, his breath stirring the fine hairs escaping from her headband.
"Why don't you take a walk with me, little girl," he purred, "I do believe it's time to remind you who you belong to." Lauren was a bit confused, but obediently followed him out into the hall and down through another set of tall doors. Looking around, she realized it was the old library for the mansion. There were still hundreds of dusty books on the shelves, and her mouth actually watered, wanting to go through the titles and explore the collection. Thomas had other plans, leading her over to a tall reading table and hosting her abruptly onto it and her knees apart, stepping between them pressing his pelvis flush against her's. "My beautiful, incandescent bride," his voice was so deep with arousal that it ran against her throat making the girl shiver and him chuckle approvingly, his lips running along the shell of her ear, "I've been longing to get you out of that dress from the moment you put it on."
Lauren suddenly tried to draw her knees together. "Oh, but Thomas- n-not here, right? The party's just down the hall? Anyone could walk in?" His big, warm hands slid between her knees, pulling them wider again. She could feel the rasp of his calloused fingers travel up her thighs, snagging slightly against the gossamer-fine thread of her stockings. He was pushing the skirt of her dress higher, she realized, then pushing the slit on the side wider when the fabric bunched stubbornly by her hips.
One finger slipped past her silk undies to stroke along her center, Lauren gritting back a whimper and shifting anxiously as the offending digit circled her opening. "Now baby, don't be shy..." Thomas's voice ran along her nerve endings, sank into her senses, and blocked meaningless things like propriety and common sense. Thomas was always so controlled, he would never do anything that deviated from his perfect image, right? He was still murmuring beautiful filth into her ear, and Lauren shook, her thighs loosening shamefully as she felt the hard heat of her husband's cock pushing against her wet center. One of her beaded straps slid over her shoulder and down one arm, exposing a breast captured in Thomas's heated mouth.
"Thomas," she barely whispered, "you feel so... I..." his mouth was sucking on her nipple and she gasped, not able to think of what to say next. This felt horribly uncomfortable, perched on this dusty table with the music from the gala reverberating through the wood under her ass. But his sure hands were stroking over her skin and when Lauren heard the rasp of his zipper, she couldn't think of anything but the heat of him, his pulsing head pushing up her passage, slowly this time, ridiculously, gloriously, unfairly slow as each inch of him spread her walls, then pulled back to do it again, squeezing and kissing her breasts. Thomas teased his cock in and out of her, enjoying the tortuous slow stretch of him inside her before pulling it from her again, enjoying how her heels dug into his ass, the pleading noises from her mouth to do it again, come back in her again, and-
"Are you ready, my juicy little slut?"
Lauren froze at the crude phrasing, but she still felt the tell-tale shaking and clenching inside that told her she was about to come, and-
"Squeeze all those dewy muscles inside that tight cunt of yours, whore. Clench down for your Sir, now..."
They exploded together, Lauren gasping and sinking her teeth his thick shoulder and relishing his groan as she felt his heat flood her.
"Lauren? Are you in here? Mr. Kingston said you were heading in this direction and-" Miles stopped instantly as he caught the image of a taut, muscular ass stroking slowly into the girl he wanted so much. "Oh, god! I'm sorry! I'll just- yeah, I'll see you back in there so sorry and-"
Thomas pulled himself from her abruptly, making the poor girl jump and gasp. They could hear the door slam behind them as Miles made a hasty retreat. Lauren's head jerked around as Thomas placed his fingers on her mouth. "Not a word, little girl." Irritably handing her a cloth, he ordered, "Tidy yourself," before straightening her dress and hoisting her inelegantly off the table.
Lauren was so sick with humiliation that she couldn't breathe. Her husband had just fucked her in front of someone else - a stranger, practically - as proof of ownership.
Thomas straightened his tie. "Pull your skirt down," he said, looking towards the door. "They will be announcing the fundraising total soon. Collect yourself and get back in there."
Hands shaking in fury, Lauren did as she was told before heading for the door and leaving without another word.
Chapter 25 – You Are Whatever I Tell You To Be.
In which the cold, collected Number Two begins to question his wife's behavior, and his own.
Lauren was actually grateful for the following hours that kept her from having to be alone with the bastard who'd made her marry him, though she spent them in a nightmare of pretending everything was fine, while bitterly clenching her thighs together, trying to keep her cruel husband's seed from trickling down her leg. Because she was naturally shy, there were many embarrassing moments in her life. But never an experience so humiliating that even stepping outside of herself and pretending it was happening to someone else could not distance her enough from the shame she felt. To make matters more unspeakable, Number One was hovering close by, an ugly, knowing smile on his nasty face as he looked between her and an expressionless Thomas - and more worryingly - at Miles before running the visual circuit again. But Mrs. Thomas Williams completed her duties as a gracious hostess and co-chairman of The Corporation's charity, obediently applauding each new bid as the total contribution for the Genesis Project rose higher and higher, even outstripping her original estimate of 1.5 million pounds by a full million more. When the total was announced, Miles's knees actually buckled and he was hoisted up by the eager Kevin, the partner of their sales executive in gold and silver futures. Lauren stood carefully away from the stage, clapping and smiling mechanically. The worst part of it wasn't the humiliation from being caught as Thomas fucked her - more or less - in public, it could almost have been seen as sexy that her husband wanted her too much to wait. She would have cringed but still felt a little daring as they walked out of the library. It was the misery of actually being shocked that Thomas woulddosuch a thing to her. Deliberately. Treat her like a whore - he'd called her that at one point, right? - and being sent out still wet between her legs and seeing Kingston hovering in the hallway outside, clapping her disgusting spouse on the shoulder in an amused, "boys will be boys" way. Lauren was angry that his act stunned her, knowing after all exactly who she was married to and somehow forgetting his monstrous acts because he'd been so sweet with her recently. Was that all it took? A bouquet of those huge hydrangeas from the flower shop by the church? (Because of course, Chuck told Thomas about the place and her momentary interest. Of course.) The hours of kissing her everywhere, murmuring bits and pieces of Shakespeare into her ear, enjoying her little, rapturous shivers?
Applauding again, Lauren refused to look in the direction of either Thomas or Miles. The former didn't deserve one second of her attention, and the latter did not deserve to be punished in some sick way if Thomas somehow thought she was interested in Miles.
Fortunately, their guest of honor seemed quite clear on the awkwardness, and kept away from her, finally waving goodbye with an uncomfortable smile on his way out the door. Lauren's heart sank. She had been so excited to see the new programs implemented in the lower-income schools. Now she knew she would never be able to step foot in another classroom if Miles was in it. Forcing a false social smile, she turned and cordially congratulated the rest of the committee, counting down the moments until she would be allowed to leave. The girl just managed to avoid a shudder when Thomas's hand landed on the small of her back. "Let's head home, darling," he said, leaning in close and not missing the way her head instinctively arched away from him.
The ride was silent, Lauren staring out the window and counting her blessings that the man beside didn't initiate conversation. She just wanted to get away from him and scrub herself raw in the shower. She had always felt a strange thrill when Thomas came inside her, enjoying somehow the proof of his attraction to her. Now, she just felt disgusting. "I'm just going to go have a shower and go straight to bed," she said quickly as they entered the house, praying he wouldn't say anything. "So, good night." The cold Number Two was still silent as she hastily ascended the stairs and Lauren managed to hold the tears at bay until she got into the shower, not quite ripping the dress off of her and leaving it in a pile on the bathroom floor.
But it was only after a few moments of sobbing that the girl felt her fury rise.How fucking dare he?she raged silently, she had never done anything inappropriate or anything to make him look bad. Did Arabella say something to Kingston? Did he see something on the feed from the meetings? Did Chuck exaggerate her behavior during the meeting at school? Angrily washing her hair, Lauren dismissed the last thought. She was quite clear that her bodyguard reported every second of her comings and goings to her controlling husband, but she didn't think he would deliberately try to get her in trouble. Lauren jumped and let out a little shriek when the shower door abruptly opened. Thomas was standing there bare-chested, still in his tuxedo pants and looking her over coldly.
"I'm nearly finished," she gritted out, trying to get the shampoo out of her hair as quickly as possible, "then the shower is all yours." Her goddamned husband still didn't say anything to her, merely leaning against the shower door and watching her bathe, his polar gaze traveling over her wet skin. Angrily turning her back to him and not realizing Thomas was just as happy with the vision of the suds slipping off her pert ass, Lauren snarled, "Could you please give me a moment? Some privacy?"
"No."
It was all Thomas said, but it sparked her fury into an inferno, and Lauren's arm clutching the soap raised back to throw it at him, but his hand shot up like a snake, grasping her wrist and holding her immobile. "L- let go of me, you-"
