Take On Me (Cursed Kin Series Book 3) Read online

  “Are you okay, lass?” he asked softly and she barely heard him over the music, but she did hear him. He was the first person that seemed to even care enough to ask how she was. Silently, Vanessa felt her eyes begin to water again as she shook her head in a silent no. He nodded and pushed open the door enough to slip inside, locking it behind him.

  “Do you want me to call the police for you? Or maybe an Uber?”

  “No, I’m supposed to be out there with them.”

  “Do you want to be?”

  “No, this isn’t me.”

  “I didn’t think so,” he said with a sad smile. “This isn’t me either. I was honoring a friend by having his favorite beer and remembering him.”

  “I’m so sorry – did he pass away?”

  “It was his time, yes.”

  “Was he your partner?” she asked politely. It figured. She had Russ and the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen was in a relationship with another guy.

  “No, he was like family. I’m not…”

  “Oh! I wasn’t trying to be rude or anything about it. I mean, it’s okay- you know? If you like guys, I’m sure a gorgeous man like you could…”

  “You think I’m gorgeous?”

  “Have you looked in a mirror?” she gaped, and pointed at their reflection in the small mirror. He was wearing a pressed dress shirt and black jacket. It looked so formal against her bright red dress. When she met his eyes in the mirror, she saw the keen look of desire in his gaze. Turning slowly, she looked up at him. He was so close to her, and the walls seemed to close in around her. Vanessa let out her breath as her body seemed to flare to life like a match being struck.

  “I think I need to leave,” she whispered. Her eyes were locked with his and she couldn’t seem to look away from him. There was something about him that called to her very soul. She needed to get out of the bar and get away from this place but she couldn’t move. It was like her mind and body were at war – and the body was winning.

  “You are the loveliest lass I have ever seen in my life,” he breathed intimately. His hand reached up to touch her cheek, like he was scared she would disappear. “I have never seen anything more angelic in my life.”

  “I’m no angel,” she said faintly, swallowing hard.

  “I wouldn’t want one,” he said with a faint smirk. “I would rather have a down-to-earth girl that simply knows what she wants and goes after it. A lass that wants to be held, talked to, and loved.”

  “By you?”

  “By me,” he confirmed as he leaned down and captured her lips. Vanessa knew that it was wrong. She shouldn’t be here, kissing another man, but the moment his lips touched hers… everything clicked into place.

  This was beyond perfect, beyond right… and kissing Russ was very, very wrong. When she held Russ’ hand or kissed him, it was perfunctory. Kissing this stranger was magical. It felt like something inside of her snapped into place for the first time ever. It wasn’t an aggressive kiss either – it was tender.

  Bittersweet.

  Gentle… like he was waiting for her to make a choice.

  Vanessa made it without a second thought. She wrapped her arms around his neck and found herself stepping on her tiptoes to get even closer to the man. His lips and hands were everywhere. He touched her shoulders, her back, and laced his fingers with hers in a way that made her heart skip a beat. The man didn’t just kiss her, he made love with his mouth and coaxed her to respond to him like no one else ever could. He wrapped his arms around her, slowly drawing up her dress as he gently nipped at her neck.

  “That feels wonderful,” Vanessa breathed softly. Her hands seemed to have a life of their own as she began unfastening his clothing. Her mind wasn’t working or she would have second-guessed herself right out of his arms. Right now, she couldn’t put words together to form a sentence.

  It was not that something felt wrong.

  Things couldn’t feel more right.

  For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged. Every touch felt like an affirmation that this yearning between them was more than just her, or just him. It was as if a bond was being woven between them that neither could understand, written in a language as old as time.

  She chose him.

  He’d found her.

  Inelegantly and awkwardly perched against the sink, her leg propped up on the handicap bar – she had never felt more beautiful or loved in her life. His hands were touching her thighs and cupping her bottom. The feeling of his large, warm hands made her feel practically fragile and treasured.

  “Lass, are ye sure?” he whispered thickly against her throat, giving her goosebumps as his breath caressed her exposed skin. Instead of answering, Vanessa simply arched against him in a silent invitation. His hot member pressed against the very core of her femininity as he slowly took possession of her.

  “I’m sorry,” he breathed raggedly. “I’d no idea ye were a maid.”

  “Yes.”

  “Am I hurtin’ ya?”

  “Only if you stop,” she admitted shyly. Her blue eyes met his and she saw a flicker of amusement, combined with barely restrained lust, in his eyes.

  “I doona think that’ll be happening,” he confided, as he began to move slowly. Vanessa closed her eyes, letting herself ride the waves of pleasure that she was feeling. It was like time was standing still between them. She felt her body climbing higher and higher, her heart hammering in her chest.

  “Open yer eyes and look at me lass,” he demanded gently. “I want… I need you to see me.”

  Vanessa slowly and leisurely opened her eyes to see the lines of strain on his face. In her mind and heart, she knew he was holding back to make sure she enjoyed this between them. He was so sexy, so seductive, in the way he cared for her and made love to her.

  “What do you need?” she asked softly.

  “Everything,” he whispered raggedly. “What about ye?”

  “I need everything you can give me,” she breathed wantonly, biting at his lower lip. That must have been the signal he needed, because it was game on from there on out. His tightly controlled movements became wild as he no longer gave but took from her. He had asked her to open her eyes, but as her passion climbed, she found herself closing them uncontrollably. The world seemed to be shaking around them. It was more accurately described as her body being slammed into repeatedly by this large, sensual man who was possessing her.

  “Everything?” she heard him ask again mindlessly and only nodded in agreement. Hearing a faint growl, she felt a keen burning sensation as his body went into overdrive, bringing things to another level. Her body was electrified and tingling everywhere. There was no inch of skin untouched. Her breasts lay bare, bouncing against his chest with every thrust. Her dress was bunched up around her waist and that was when she felt it – her release.

  Vanessa couldn’t help the deep moan of pleasure that was ripped from her as her body exploded around his. It seemed to go on and on, washing over her again and again. She felt him draw up and release a shiver of delight as the sensations washed over him as well. His hot juices flooded her womb and brought her back to reality as she looked down at where their bodies were joined. She saw the bachelorette sash against her bare skin and instantly felt sick.

  “What have I done?”

  2

  “Lass, let me help you…” the man offered and Vanessa couldn’t think straight. What had she done? Maybe her father was right after all? She went off half-cocked most times and didn’t think things through. Well, wouldn’t he be shocked? This time Vanessa went off completely cocked –literally- and it was a beautiful one, she mused.

  Her mind suddenly started putting things into place.

  This was bad.

  Really. Really… capital B. A. D.

  Vanessa slapped his hands away as he tried to put her dress back into place on her. She didn’t want help, she wanted to be left alone to think. What had she done? Russ didn’t deserve this or her – and what kind of wife woul
d she be if she would cuckold her fiancé in the bar’s bathroom?

  Grabbing several sheets of paper towels, she wadded them up under the faucet and shoved them in-between her legs in an effort to staunch the flow of his seed from her womb. It would be hard enough to explain why she looked so disheveled but if there were stains on her clothing? She would never be able to lie her way out of that.

  “Lass…”

  “Stop saying that,” she bit out, bordering on hysterics. She had been a virgin and gave it away to a stranger in a cheap bathroom from the eighties.

  “My name is Vanessa and I… I….” she stopped and looked at him in horror. “I am getting married in just over a week. What have I done? You! You need to leave! Right now!”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too,” she admitted, feeling a panicked giggle well up from nowhere. This was escalating emotionally and she was on the verge of a breakdown. She didn’t handle stress or grief well at all. She was that person that giggled at funerals because of her nerves.

  “That was probably the best thing I will ever feel in my entire life and now it’s over. My real-life sucks and I just…hahahahaha!” Vanessa was fully laughing now and tears were wildly running down her face. “I am ruined and I have destroyed everything. My father was right to take charge of everything for me.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Cause I make shitty decisions?”

  “Was this one?”

  “No, this was…hahaha….” Vanessa laughed painfully. “This was more beautiful than anything and I don’t know what to do now.”

  “Let’s go somewhere and talk,” he offered, straightening up his own clothing. “I could use a cuppa tea and…”

  “No,” Vanessa said plainly. “There is something about you that I need to stay away from. I need to gather my thoughts and put myself back together again. I can’t do that with you anywhere near me.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “No,” she whispered painfully. “But I will have to be. Thank you for this and I will treasure it always. Now go.”

  “Don’t do this.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Vanessa snapped and then drew back away from him. This had been the one glimmer of light in her world; there was no reason to attack him. He didn’t understand and didn’t know any better.

  “Everyone else tells me what to do- please be different from them. I need you to understand that. I need to have someone in my life that doesn’t tell me what to do and when to do it. I need this to be mine. My moment, my treasure, my little bit of happiness… and reality just tends to ruin things.”

  Vanessa saw the comprehension in his eyes and the veil of sadness return. Both of them were lonely in different ways and had found a single moment of respite in each other’s arms. Now that moment was gone and the solitude of their worlds was returning.

  “I need to hold onto this moment - just like this,” she pleaded softly. “Please understand. My clock just struck midnight and it’s time for this Cinderella to leave the ball.”

  Hurriedly, Vanessa straightened her clothing and walked out of the bathroom leaving her handsome stranger behind. She would feign an illness just to be able to leave quickly. This was no longer a party or celebration. She had just found out what Mr. Right felt like and tasted like… and it was definitely not Russ Stallings.

  She alone needed to figure out what the heck she was going to do and there was little time to do so. She couldn’t confide in anyone what had happened, nor ask for advice. This would all be on her and she could only pray she didn’t screw things up further. Leaving the bar, she glanced over her shoulder and saw her handsome stranger watching as she walked out of his world altogether.

  3

  May 2017

  “Vanessa, I’m so happy for you,” Holly told Vanessa repeatedly. Maybe if Holly kept saying it, eventually she would feel it. Today didn’t feel like a wedding, it felt like a funeral. Vanessa was downright miserable and felt like someone had just crushed her spirit, her soul. Nothing had been right since that night. Her whole world had changed. At first, she thought she would try simply backing away from the entire situation. The ostrich method of living – put your head down and ignore the world around.

  That doesn’t work- FYI.

  Vanessa had feigned illness and passed on lunch at the country club, then bailed on dinner with her family. She didn’t want to be near anyone and was petrified to look Russ in the face. Every time she shut her eyes, she saw her handsome stranger’s deep, murky blue eyes full of blazing passion as he had taken her. Oh gosh, she thought, remembering how it had felt between them.

  If she couldn’t look Russ in the eyes, how was she ever going to handle being married to him? How was she going to handle the disappointment in her father’s face? On a whim, she met up with Russ’s mother, her friends, and other cousins to finish the details. She was good and trapped with no escape in sight. Maybe avoiding Russ would make things ease over time, she just had to forget him- the other man.

  That decision had been made five days ago and it was too late to bail now. Vanessa was standing there in a poufy wedding dress that looked like sequins had been on clearance when it was made. Every time she moved, there was an audible swish and clicking sound as the satin and sequins hit each other.

  “This is atrocious,” Vanessa whispered under her breath, horrified. She should have insisted on picking her own dress when Russ’ mother, Sylvia, said she had already bought the perfect gown.

  Perfectly dreadful, perhaps?

  “Help me, Holly.”

  Holly jerked her head up and Vanessa saw the pitying look in her eyes. The dress was bad and they both knew it. Several other women were chit-chatting together and ignoring the two of them completely. Sylvia, her upcoming mother-in-law, was walking over with makeup and a can of hairspray tucked under her arm. Sylvia obviously thought it was time for a final touch up before the ceremony was to start.

  Touch up?

  Perhaps if she had a lighter and borrowed that hairspray can to ignite the satiny monstrosity? This called for a serious Torch-up! The dress couldn’t look any worse than it already did.

  Vanessa looked at Holly for help. Thank goodness her friend could read her expression and picked up on it right away. Holly jumped to her feet and started waving women towards the doorway.

  “Ladies, I can’t wait to see this…this all begin but Van and I have known each other for years and we need a second alone. Meet-cha at the altar?” Holly exclaimed gleefully, and plastered a smile across her face. Holly grabbed her hand emphatically, pulling Vanessa behind her back in an almost defensive stance. As they filed out of the room and the door closed behind the last woman, Holly turned to look at Vanessa’s pale face.

  “Are you alright?”

  “No,” Vanessa admitted in a faint voice. She was horrified and didn’t know what to do. “This isn’t me at all. I mean, I have known Russ since a child and we grew up together. Once he started working for Daddy, it was always assumed that our families would be together. We started dating and it just seemed normal – like this was supposed to be, you know?”

  “So what happened?”

  “Holly, there was this guy at my bachelor party…”

  “I knew I should have gone!” Holly yelped, slapping her forehead. “Don’t chase down the rabbit, okay? It just leaves a big, stupid, regretful mess.”

  “That’s me. One big ol’ regretful mess,” Vanessa wailed pitifully, her eyes tearing up and looking at her friend in stunned shock. She felt like her life was one massive train wreck and she was staring at the chaos, unsure what to do first. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “What happened?”

  “Holly, I slept with him… in the bathroom of all places,” Vanessa admitted horrified at the curl of pleasure in her stomach that came with remembering their joining. She covered her face to hide the fierce blush on her cheeks that she felt. “I can’t stop thinking about it and seeing him in my mind.”


  “Oh my gosh, you did? You can’t? Van, you can’t go… you aren’t supposed to… you are marrying Russ in less than ten minutes!” Holly blurted out, dumbfounded. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  “No! Of course not! How could I tell Russ that I slept with someone else and don’t want him anymore?”

  “Seriously? You are thinking of trashing your whole life for this guy? What’s his name? What does he do for a living?”

  “I don’t even know,” Vanessa admitted, her face flushing with shame now. “It didn’t matter at the time. I mean, I just saw him and my heart kinda stopped. Then we were… uh… we were…”

  “Don’t tell me,” Holly interrupted. “You slept with some no-name vagrant and now you want to throw away everything?”

  “He wasn’t a vagrant. He was wearing a gorgeous suit and I thought he was the stripper, you know? I mean, things were so hot, so kinky, and I loved it,” she confessed, blushing hotly covering her face with her hands again.

  “Well obviously he stripped off something, now didn’t he?”

  “Oh gosh, Holly, you’d have put money in his g-string too…” Van laughed sadly at the memory, “but he wasn’t wearing any. I’ve never felt like that before and… I know Russ isn’t it for me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “My duty to my family…and it feels like I’m dying inside.”

  “You look like it too,” Holly blurted candidly. “Van, if you are sure about this – you owe it to Russ to actually try to be happy. If you can’t or don’t want to try, it’s not fair to him. He’s been good to you and deserves a chance at least.”

  “I know. I’m going to try.”

  “You need to do what is right for both of you – no matter how hard it is.” Holly stood there watching her carefully. “What do you want to do?”

  “I’m going to marry Russ,” Vanessa said with a tremulous nod. She looked at Holly pleadingly. “Don’t tell anyone, please.”