“You got married…” her mother paused, a hand pressed to her chest, “you went through one of those drive-through chapels?”
Piety waved a hand, forgoing the answer, which was probably a good idea since neither of us actually had any idea how the ceremony had gone. “It was just making things official. Kaleb and I knew what we wanted.”
Damn, she was good at this.
Sliding a hand down her back, I glanced at her father.
He was still skewering me with his eyes.
“Just what do you do, Kaleb?”
“Right now? Not much of anything.” I shrugged and turned my head into Piety’s hair, nuzzling her neck. “I had to quit my job so I could be with Piety.”
She gave me a smile so warm and sweet that my heart ached a little. Then it ached more as I reminded myself that this wasn’t real. None of it was. We enjoyed being with each other, but that was as far as it went.
“How…thoughtful of you,” Silas said. I could hear the fury pulsing in his voice. “And what was it you did before you quit?”
“Well, I didn’t hold the job long. I’d only taken it mainly to get some money and get over here to the States.” I had a feeling that would piss him off – and it did. His mouth tightened, and I could see the redness slowly creeping up his neck. He looked like he wanted to punch me already. And I hadn’t even gotten to the good part. “Back in Australia, I did a bit of this, bit of that. Planned on opening up my own surf shop, but that didn’t pan out. Anyway, I came over here after Flames Down Under took me on.”
“Flames…” It was her mother who said it. Amara’s face went white, and she looked from me to Piety before covering her mouth with her hand.
I bit back a smile. Her mother knew what Flames Down Under was. I’d have to point that out to Piety later if she hadn't caught it already.
“You’ll have to help me out there, Kaleb.” His jaw was tight, yet he managed to sound calm, casual even as he continued. “I’m not familiar with Flames Down Under. Is it a restaurant?”
“No. It’s a dance troupe…of sorts.” I paused and then added, “We’re – well, it’s not we anymore since I quit – but Flames are kind of like the Aussie version of the Chippendales. Strippers.”
I added the last part in even though it wasn’t necessary. He’d figured it out.
“You married a stripper,” he said, finally giving up the pretense and whirling on Piety with rage stamped all over his features.
“I married Kaleb.” She lifted her chin and stared him down. “I’m hardly a child, Dad.”
“That’s hardly evident!” He flung a hand in my direction. “He just outright admitted that he came over here for money, shakes his ass…for money, and you went and married him. You don’t even know him!”
“I know what I need to know.” Piety looked over at me and the smile on her face did little to calm the anger that had started to burn in me.
The anger had nothing to do with what her father was saying about me – I didn't give a damn about that – but he had no right to talk to her like that.
Bastard.
“And just what is that?” Silas held up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want that answer. This is insane, Piety. I won't stand for it.”
After a moment, he turned on his heel and moved to pick up a phone. He spoke quietly into it and then replaced it before looking at me, eyes hard and cold as steel. “I’m having a car brought around. The driver can take you…wherever. But I need to speak with my–”
“I’m not going anywhere without my wife.” I took Piety’s hand. “Not unless she wants me to.”
“This is my house, you son of a bitch,” Silas said, voice choked.
“And he’s my husband.” Piety tightened her hand around mine. “If he’s not welcome…well.” She glanced up at me. “Come on, Kaleb. Let’s go.”
“Piety, wait.” Amara rose as she spoke for the first time in several minutes.
“I won’t stand here and have Dad talk to me like I’m an infant.” Piety lifted her chin.
“Then stop acting like a child!”
I turned on the senator then. “Exactly what is your problem?”
He blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the stripper daring to talk to him.
Next to me, Piety tensed.
I continued, “I couldn’t understand it, the whole way here. Piety has been so…well, she’s amazing. I’ve seen her give her heart to people. She laughs, and she makes me laugh. She’s kind and sweet and funny and confident. And then on the way here, all that changes. Now I get it – she was worried about dealing with you.”
He opened his mouth, but at that moment, a towering man appeared in the doorway, his bald head gleaming as if it had been polished with wax. The thought made me chuckle, and I shook my head, amused at the absurdity of it all.
“You think this is funny?” Silas asked, the words grinding between his clenched teeth.
“Sir, how may I be of assistance?” The giant eyed me narrowly.
“You aren’t needed, Timothy,” Piety said. “Dad was trying to make my husband leave, but if he can’t stay, neither can I. We’re both going.”
“Your husband…” Timothy – the giant – studied us for a moment, then nodded at Piety. “Congratulations.” Then he nodded at the elder Van Allans and left.
“She makes me happy,” I said without thinking. For a minute, this wasn’t a scam, wasn’t anything I was doing for money. I was just seeing the rage, the disappointment, all the negative emotions in the older man’s eyes – emotions directed at Piety – and it pissed me off. “And I think I make her happy. If you love her, I don’t understand what your problem is. Unless, of course, you’re more worried about your life than hers, and that makes you the son of a bitch here.”
A soft gasp escaped Piety at my words, and I decided I needed to stop before I said something stupid – or more stupid. Taking her hand, I lifted it to my lips. “Come on, love. Let’s go.”
“Thank you.”
We'd been driving in relative silence for the past ten minutes, and the soft words were loud.
I looked over at Piety. “You’re not mad?”
She laughed. “No. I…hell, Kaleb. There have been so many times I’ve almost said those exact same words to him.”
“Not being related to the uptight bastard makes it easier.” Grimacing, I added, “Sorry. He just…I don’t like how he talked to you.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled, her gaze locked on the road. “My parents love me, Kaleb. I know that. They just don’t understand me. Anyway…it went about as well as we could hope. Now we just…well, we’ve got the family reunion. Then you and I will have some massive blow-up, and we’ll call this quits so you can go on your way. I’ve got the money I promised you – half of it now, the rest after the family reunion. Okay?”
I swallowed hard. “Sounds good.”
“Oh, by the way…” She glanced at me. “Astra’s cousin is a lawyer. I don’t know if you’re wanting to stay over here or go back to Oz, but we can talk to him. He can help you figure things out.”
“Brilliant.”
But I wasn’t paying that much attention.
In a few more days, this would all be over.
I should have been relieved. I could focus on what really mattered. I could deal with Camry. Do what I'd come here to do.
Yet I wasn’t relieved.
And even though she was sitting right there next to me, I was already missing my wife.
Chapter Twelve
Piety
I checked the time.
Again.
It was only ten minutes later than when I’d checked the last time.
Sighing, I dropped down onto the couch, determined to find some way to fill my mind.
Something underneath my butt managed to preoccupy my thoughts…for maybe two seconds.
I frowned as I pulled out a cell phone. Not mine.
“Kaleb’s.”
Had to be.
I rubbed
my finger along the surface of it for a moment, nibbling my lower lip. Then I put the phone down and dropped my head back to the couch. He wasn’t here, and I was slowly going out of my mind.
Astra had indeed worked her magic and gotten him a meeting with her cousin Samuel. Whether or not anything solid would happen today, I wasn’t betting on it, but at least they could start the ball rolling.
I’d feel better if I was with him, but Kaleb had told me there was no need for me to go. Something told me that he wanted to go alone.
So I stayed home.
I wasn’t hurt or anything. It wasn’t like he needed me to hold his hand, and our marriage wasn't about a green card for him. Besides, I could use a little more downtime and relaxation before heading back to work next week. I certainly wasn’t going to be getting any over the weekend.
I snorted at the thought and tried to picture how things would go when my dad already looked like he wanted to explode just thinking about Kaleb.
Dad had tried calling, but I’d ignored him.
He’d even broken down and texted even though he'd always insisted that texts were so impersonal. He didn’t like emails, either, but understood they were how people communicated these days.
But texts?
Senator Silas Van Allen didn’t text.
But he had sent me one earlier.
You need to stop acting like a child and talk to me. Please join your mother and I for dinner.
I’d responded with a simple question. And Kaleb?
We haven’t been able to spend time with you in several weeks. We need time to catch up. He can join us some other time.
I'd given him a simple answer.
No thank you.
That had set him off, and Mom had taken over from there, but I was ignoring her too.
It was weird how freeing this was. Granted, it was all a farce, and I needed to think through how things would be after this, but for the first time, both my mother and my father had stopped trying to talk through me, stopped looking through me.
Yes, they were angry, but I could handle that.
I couldn’t keep handling how they spent more time worrying about how my life was going to affect theirs.
If they were that hung up on it, they should have had a poodle instead of a daughter.
I checked the time again without any conscious thought, then groaned. It was going to be another hour, maybe two, before he was done with Samuel.
I was about to go out of my mind…
The phone next to me buzzed again and I looked down at it automatically.
A pretty girl’s picture flashed up across the screen, along with the notification that he’d gotten a message.
“Don't do it, Piety,” I muttered to myself.
He was a good-looking guy. He probably got messages from a lot of girls. Of course, he hadn’t told me that he was involved. I hadn’t asked.
But…
I'd married him, and we were having sex. It wasn't just about me, since I knew where we stood with each other. I didn't want to be the other woman. At least that was the excuse I gave myself as I swiped my thumb across the phone to unlock it.
Her name was Camry.
That was the first thing I noticed.
She was also flashing a wide, open grin into the camera.
She looked…happy. Sweet and young and happy.
Who was she?
The phone jolted in my hand as another message came through.
Are you there, K? Come on…I need to know. Things are getting desperate here. You got the money or not?
A strange, heavy sensation settled in my gut, and I closed the messages, putting the phone down.
I knew Kaleb needed money. He’d been honest about that from the beginning. Or had he?
Had he known who I was from moment one? Astra said she remembered how things had gone the night Kaleb and I had gotten married, but how reliable was her memory.
Had Kaleb been playing me this whole time?
And just who the hell was Camry?
Married A Stripper continues in Part 2 and Part 3. CLICK HERE to download the complete 300-page story.
Book Description
When twenty-four-year-old Honor Daviot returns to the States after her latest tour overseas as an army medic, she's ready to settle down with her fiancé, and open her own pediatric clinic. A nice, quiet life, away from violence and war.
But fate intervenes when she crashes her car...and wakes up to find a handsome stranger watching her. His name is Gracen Lightwood, and he is unlike any man she's ever met before. Hot and sexy and…too bad he’s also delusional. Not only is he wearing clothes that look like something out of a museum, he insists that the year is 1775.
Chapter One
The bullet grazed my shoulder seconds before I realized what was happening, burning a path across my skin.
The noise around me was deafening. Automatic gunfire mixing with shouts in English and whatever dialect of Arabic our assailants were using. A hand pushed my head down, and my entire body slipped into the front floorboard as bullets slammed against the SUV’s shell.
Shit!
“Get us out of here!” I snapped the order even as my brain was still registering the fact that what should've been a simple mission had turned into a shit-storm.
I looked up at Wilkins as he slammed on the gas, throwing all of us backwards. I tried to push myself up, already reaching for my weapon, but he shoved me down again. I glared at him but didn't try to move. He needed both his hands to drive, and I'd only be a distraction.
“Chew my ass out all you want when we get back to base, but for now, stay the hell down,” he yelled, maneuvering the vehicle expertly as shots ricocheted off the SUV.
I didn't get up, but I did turn so I could see the rest of my team. Rogers was in the backseat, his hand on his side as I watched the blood stain his shirt. Instincts to serve and protect over-rode natural self-preservation, and I started to push myself up.
“Dammit, Honor, get your sexy ass down!” Wilkins shouted. “You can’t help him if you’re dead. I need ten minutes.”
“He doesn’t have ten minutes!” I shot back, shoving gauze against my own flesh wound. It wasn’t the first time Wilkins felt the need to protect me just because I was a woman. I can take on this war just as good as any man.
Wilkins quickly glanced behind him, cursed under his breath, and pushed down harder on the gas. Rogers groaned in pain as we hit a speed bump, but he shook his head at me when I leaned forward. Damn him and his ability to read what I was thinking. I gritted my teeth, my impatience making my fear secondary even though gunshots were still ringing around us.
As we moved out of range, Wilkins didn't slow, but he did gesture for me to move. I quickly jumped into the back seat, grabbing for my medic kit as I went. I picked up a pair of scissors and cut the hole in Rogers' shirt so I could get a better look at his wound. Working quickly, I caught Wilkins’ eyes in the rearview mirror and glared at him before turning back to Rogers.
“Will he be okay?” Wilkins asked as he took another hairpin turn.
I ignored the question, keeping my mind on the task at hand as the SUV bumped from side to side on what passed for a road here.
“That was a little unexpected,” Wilkins ventured.
I shot him another look, and this time, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “This was the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do, Wilkins!”
“That's saying something,” Rogers gasped out. His face was pale, and I had a feeling he was distracting himself.
“It was recon,” Wilkins argued.
“It was miles away from where we should have been,” I shot back. “I'm okay with dying for my country, but I don't want it to be because my driver was off doing his own thing.”
Rogers put a hand on mine and managed a grin. “No one's dying here, corporal.”
I could see how much pain he was in, but the fact that he could smile and was taking the time to reassure me helped me relax. Or, at
least as much as I could relax over here.
I hardly ever slept.
It wasn’t insomnia, per say, just the combination of adrenaline and my thoughts, which I had come to learn was never a good thing. Still, there was some consolation in being the only one up at an hour when everyone around was fast asleep. Things usually seemed clearer then, thoughts more discernible, and sometimes, I eventually got a couple hours of sleep.
Iraq was taking its toll on me. Hell, it took its toll on everyone, but I thought being a military brat had helped me be prepared. It hadn't. But I'd done my duty. Six years in the army, having enlisted right out of high school, and I started to think I was ready to go home. Ready to be a civilian. The thought of opening my own pediatric practice was the only thing that seemed to make me smile these days. Still, I knew that I'd done the right thing by enlisting.
I kept pressure on Rogers' side until we pulled into the base camp, then yelled for some help. I was tall and strong enough to pass the physical part of being an army medic with flying colors. Rogers, however, was a giant and I doubted most men would be able to carry him without assistance. Less than two minutes later, we were in the infirmary and Rogers was getting the attention he needed.
I made my way down the dim hall, automatically blocking out the chaotic noise coming at me from all sides. I'd gotten used to the military atmosphere early on, my dad bringing home a small part of the army with him even after he retired. He ran the house like his own little unit, and to me, it had always been like I was part of something bigger than just my immediate family.
I recalled late nights on the couch with my brother while our father sat in his favorite chair, telling us stories about the army, our eyes wide with awe. Ennis had enlisted too, of course. It was how our family had put themselves through college for years. I'd never doubted that I'd do the same.
I stopped at Captain Riley Nolan’s office, knocking lightly, and walking in when the call came for me to enter. I saluted and stood at attention.