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2014
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24
pages
English
Ebooks
2014
Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Title Page
Wedlocked
Erin Aislinn
Publisher Information
Wedlocked - published in 2014
by House of Erotica
an imprint of Andrews UK Limited
www.houseoferoticabooks.com
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
The characters and situations in this book are entirely imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or actual happening.
Copyright © Erin Aislinn 2014
The right of Erin Aislinn to be identified as author of this book has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Chapter One
The names on the screen blurred. Dates, numbers, amount. Farhad blinked, rubbed his eyes and refocused. He had to do this. He’d postponed it for a week already. For years, even though he had an accountant and a bookkeeper, he’d always kept tabs on the books. How many patients seen that month, how many procedures, how much material used, drug supplies. The software provided a variety of reports he could manipulate backward and forward, but as he followed the lines of data, none of it meant anything.
Erani was gone for good or she was about to be. She’d go off with her boyfriend to his parents’ summer house in Maine and that would be that.
This day had been coming. He’d known it last year. He’d known it for the last ten years, but somehow, he still had hope that something would keep the inevitable from happening. He could no longer deny it. He had to let her go.
Someone banged on the front door. He ignored it. The office closed an hour ago. Once the receptionist left, he never opened the door, to anyone. In an emergency, his cell would have beeped.
The banging resounded again. Farhad glanced at the neat lines of names and figures on the screen spreadsheet. Oh hell. What was the use? He couldn’t concentrate if he staked his last dollar on it. Persistent pounding rattled the door blinds.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” he sighed, pushed away from the desk and walked into the corridor. Two exam rooms lined the south office wall. A supply room and two more offices occupied the north wall. He crossed into the reception area and froze.
Erani stood in front of the door. She smiled tentatively, but the smile faded before he could move. God, she was beautiful. The familiar churning weight resettled in his gut. Farhad stuffed it down as he neared the door. He took a deep breath before he unbolted the lock and swung the door open.
“What are you doing here?” he said. Her big, brown eyes made him the center of her world. He tightened his jaw.
“I had to talk to you.”
“You couldn’t have used the phone? It was good enough for your boyfriend.”
Her gaze darted behind him. “May I come in?”
He stepped aside, catching a whiff of perfume as she brushed past him. That was new. She used a softer scent before, but that was almost a year ago, before she’d left home to join the big, wide world as a freshman at Harvard.
In the middle of the reception area, standing between a sofa and the coffee table covered with neat rows of magazines, Erani faced him. He noticed his breath halt.
“I thought you’d be in Maine by now,” he accused.
“Aunt Dorri told me you know everything. I didn’t know Damian would call her. I told him I wouldn’t do anything without her approval. I couldn’t very well tell him the real reason, could I, but I never would have gone without talking to you first.”
“You didn’t have to fly all the way from Boston for that.”
The muscles in her cheeks twitched. A strange shadow filled her gaze. “Yes, I did.”
That sweet face. He’d seen it mature over the years under aunt Dorri’s generous care. Lucky for him Dorri hadn’t even flinched when he dropped a 10-year-old Erani at her doorstep and asked her to act as her guardian.
“You look tired,” Erani said.
“Two emergency root canals today. It set me back.”
She nodded, but her lips remained set, forming a line around her mouth. “What are you still doing here? I looked for you at the house.”
His house had become too damn boring since she’d left last fall. He could no longer wonder if he’d walk into his kitchen and find her barefoot on the Tuscan tiles, cooking. He’d warned her repeatedly not to fuss over him, but as he’d kept his distance from Dorri’s house to avoid any suggestion of impropriety, Erani had taken up the liberty of showing up at his place whenever she’d wished. Aunt Dorri could not stop her. Neither could he.
“I had to look over the reports,” he explained.
She smiled her irresistible smile that he’d adored for so long. “Are you hungry?”
He wanted to scream, but he had to force himself to break all familiar patterns with her. The sooner the better.
“Not really.” He promised he’d set her free as soon as she was ready. Spending a summer with a boyfriend in Maine qualified.
“Come on. You have to eat. I’ll fix us something.”
He let out a sharp breath. “You don’t have to cook for me anymore. What are you doing here anyway? Didn’t Dorri tell your boyfriend he can take you to Maine?”
Her gaze dropped to the ground. “You sure you’re okay with that?”
“Are you in love with him?”
“No...”
“Then why are you spending the summer with him?” he barked.
Her head snapped up, irritation in her gaze. “Because you did everything you could to avoid me last summer. Why don’t you just tell me you don’t want me around anymore?”
He’d tried. Since last summer, he’d rehearsed the speech several times. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “We knew this day would come. I’ve told you many times that you’d be free to go. Hell, you were always free, but it’s time to make it official. I’ve contacted an attorney. The annulment papers should be ready in a week or so.”
Her chin quivered and she quickly looked down. She’d always done her best to hide tears from him, but he always sensed, even without looking at her, when she repressed emotion. It killed him that she did it now. He wanted to grab her, wrap his arms around her and tell her over and over that everything would be all right. She had been a strong kid. She’d be a strong woman.
She sniffed, tucked a long, silky strand of black hair behind her ear and nodded. “So, is this it then? You wouldn’t have said anything? Just sent me the papers without a goodbye? Am I supposed to pretend I don’t know you?”
He laid both arms on her shoulders. “You can count on Dorri and me for anything. You know that.”
She huffed. “I’ll be sure to come for my check-ups and cleaning,” she mocked.
He laughed, dropping his arms from her shoulders. “You better. I’ve worked hard for those pearly whites.”
She sighed, gave a sad smile, looked down then met his gaze again. “You know how grateful - ”
He raised an arm. “Don’t even go there.”
“I have to. Let me say it this once. Please.”
He held his breath. He couldn’t deny her anything when she looked at him like he was the only thing that mattered in the world.
“I know how much you paid my father for the bride price. My brother told me.”
He slammed a fist into his palm and stomped away, cursing under his breath. No woman should know that her own father had sold her for fifty thousand dollars. It was all Farhad had had ten years ago. He would have paid more. He would have paid anything just to get her out of Iran. Fortunately, he outbid the other suitors.
“Farhad? ” She called from behind him. “Please let me say this.”
He turned. The soft glow of gratitude in her eyes stopped him dead.
“It couldn’t have been easy to do what you did. No man would have married a ten-year-old girl without an ulterior motive. You didn’t even know me, and yet you accepted the responsibility in the prime of your life. You could have gotten married, had kids. Don’t ever think I don’t realize how much you’ve sacrificed. Now, you’ll be free as well.”
Free to be alone, to miss her for the rest of his life. But it had to be done. Erani had never belonged to him as a woman belonged to a man. Binding her to him without letting her make an experienced choice would be criminal.
“When are you going back?” he said.
She cleared her throat. “In a couple of days. I want to see Chrissy and Barb. You going home?”
“Not for a while.”
“I’ll take Coconut for a ride. I’ll talk to Barb about selling her.” Her voice trailed off, her chin quivering.
“You don’t need to do that. You’ll be back on holidays, vacations. Barb has already asked me about leasing her. She’d love to have such a gentle mare for lessons.”
Erani shook her head. “I gotta go. See you.”
“Erani...”
Erani shoved the door open like the hounds of hell snapped at her feet.