A Betty's Pledge: Volume One (23 page)

Instant full-blown hard-on.

She looked like a little lost kitten, gorgeous but out of place. It wasn’t because
of her choice of attire or the fact that she’d decided a cocktail dress was better
than what the other women had on. It was because she looked like a white dove among
a pack of rabid wolves. Pristine. Innocent. Pure.

“Excuse me,” I told Sonia, dodging away from her to regain my bearings before the
sap took over my mind and proclaimed his undying love to the little lost Betty.

I heard Sonia try and call me back to her, but Mady’s grand appearance tonight had
my mind whirling, and I didn’t trust myself to be able to effectively flirt with the
girl without glancing at Mady every five seconds to make sure she wasn’t doing the
same with someone else. It was all right for me to leave my basket half full, but
fuck her if she thought her body wasn’t for me and me alone. I’d make her remember;
I’d emboss myself on her body, her mind, and her soul.

I needed to get out of there, separate myself from this atmosphere before I did something
I’d regret later. I knew all this obsession with her had to be due to her virginal
quality. She looked just so damned innocent, and if I hadn’t seen her with Diane and
Nate with my own two eyes, I would have claimed until my last breath that she didn’t
have had the balls to do something like that. Even now, I was convinced that the only
reason she even did that sort of thing was because she wanted to feel a part of the
crowd. I wanted to teach her, claim her, help her learn all the unexplored pleasures
her body had yet to experience. And then once I was done with her and she was left
a wanton mess of Jell-O on my floor, I’d move on to the next one.

It had to be that simple . . .

But I’d have her first. I had to make sure of it. I’d take her in the bathroom again.
No, in the library. Yes! I could take her on the piano; make sweet, sweet music to
her pussy lips.

I was broken out of my inner dastardly plans by a sharp rap at a crystal goblet and
a light clearing of a throat. I looked up to see Jackson standing in the middle of
the room, addressing the guests at large. I silently wondered how long I’d been lost
in my thoughts, for the room was filled with Pledges and Consorts, as well as my aunt
and uncle at the center of it all.

“Good evening everyone. I’m so thrilled to start another year with the program as
the manager. Brooke and I welcome you all to the Grants and hope that you will take
what you can away from this experience. I can tell you that everything we learned
here has helped Brooke and me have a complete and fulfilled relationship, and I couldn’t
have been happier with my results.”

I heard Brad say something over in the corner that earned a few laughs from those
in hearing distance. I glanced over at him in curiosity and saw Mady standing next
to him, her eyes alight with humor. She looked so beautiful, her smile light and carefree.
I felt a part of me rip deep inside, but I didn’t have time to question or research
that odd occurrence further. It was then that I realized that Brad had his hand placed
gently on Mady’s bare shoulder, his thumb rubbing along the silken skin in a gentle
caress.

My skin!

The sap and the dog roared together in protest. I glanced at Mady to see if Brad’s
actions were offensive to her in any way. She just stood there beaming at Jackson
as he spoke, listening to his every word, oblivious to the fact that Brad was practically
groping her in front of everyone.

I stared at her for several minutes while Jackson droned on with his welcoming speech,
daring her to show any more affection for another man. I wanted her to look at me,
needed her to see how much desire I had for her, to know that she was mine and I’d
take her before any one of these other fuckers could.

In a blink of an eye, I saw her glance at me. The contact was brief and uneventful,
except for the curve of her eyebrow that told me so much. I knew that she could feel
me watching her—could feel the heat of my wanton stare. It wasn’t by her expression
or the fact that her attention seemed so fixed on Jackson’s inane words of welcome.

It was her tense posture, the way she held her chest out forward slightly, her legs
crossed below her to calm the ache. How she held her head to the side, presenting
her silken neck to me like she wanted me to skim my lips along the soft skin.

It was in the slight movements that told me she knew I was watching, knew that I burned
for her. She wouldn’t hold my gaze—it would be too much for her, so I couldn’t blame
her. I held her attention just as assuredly as she held mine. She just wouldn’t admit
it, not in a public setting like this, and especially not after I treated her the
way I did earlier in the day.

Mady was probably still pissed at me for my cocktard ways, and I didn’t blame her.
I’d been an asshole; I knew it. So did everyone else in this damn house. But I planned
to make her forget my actions, my words. I’d make her forget her mother-fucking name!

“And so, before we begin the feast Ms. Cooper has prepared for us, I’d like to take
the opportunity to welcome the lovely Betties properly.”

Jackson turned to his wife, taking one of the dark boxes she had in a velvet-lined
basket.

“This is something that has been somewhat of a tradition for the pledges,” he told
the group at large, but mostly speaking to the women. He presented the flat box made
of the finest mahogany as though it were Pandora’s long lost trove.

“I want you girls to know that we cherish every single one of you.” He paused for
a moment, making sure to make eye contact with each lady so that she could feel his
sincerity before he continued. “This is but a small token of our friendship and loyalty.
I hope you take them with the knowledge that you mean more to us than any financial
stipulation could convey.”

“Much more,” Brad replied, holding up his champagne goblet in a small salute. A couple
of the girls giggled at his comment. I saw Mady’s eyes tense slightly, but she had
a smile plastered on her face. I watched with great delight as she inched away from
Brad under the pretense of talking to another Betty, but I could see her ruse for
what it was. Brad’s asstard comment offended her.

One Consort down, fuckers!

During the rest of the evening, I saw Mady glance at me furtively from time to time.
I noted how she seemed to distance herself from me, sitting at the complete opposite
end of the table but remaining in my line of sight. Nothing she did passed by me unnoticed—not
the way she moved, how she interacted—or how she drank more than her own weight that
night, but only precariously nibbled on her food.

She was biding her time, and I hope she knew it. I was coming for her tonight. I’d
take her. One way or another, I’d make her mine.

The Jerk

~ Madeline Cain ~

I didn’t understand what his problem could be. I mean really, why the fuck was he
staring at me all damn night? I thought he hated me, but yet, Isaac couldn’t seem
to take his eyes off me. And his blank expression didn’t give any hint as to what
he’d been thinking—a fact that left me incredibly anxious.

I swear, I thought my stomach was going to implode with nerves. Did I have something
on my face? Was I really dressed that inappropriately that he felt he had to make
me feel even more self-conscious?

Fuck!

I could feel the prim and proper mask I’d put on for the evening getting closer and
closer to dissipating as the hours dragged on, all while Isaac continued his endless
staring. If he didn’t stop his fucking bullshit intimidation tactics, I was going
to stand up in the middle of that dining room and tell him to go fuck himself.

I’d had enough of the righteous indignation from Sonia that evening, having to deal
with her snide looks and apparent whispers of disdain throughout the meal. I didn’t
think the asshole could top that, but it seemed he set out to prove me wrong.

As the servers came to clear our dinner plates, filling orders for drinks and taking
requests for dessert, I had to excuse myself from the table under the pretext of needing
the powder room.

Inwardly, I was ready to explode with anger.

Fuck Sonia and her petty bullshit! Fuck Isaac and his extremely brooding good looks!
Fuck this bullshit, I was better than all that.

I made my way down the hall, trying to find a suitable place to gather my thoughts.
Maybe some fresh air would do me some good, I decided, and made my way to the side
exit and out into the garden.

The evening was cool, and part of me thought it was silly of me to come traipsing
out here in the middle of a dinner party. I was sure that Sonia and her evil crony
Tricia would probably think I was running away because I couldn’t take the heat, but
I didn’t care.

They were probably right.

It was just after everything I’d been through in my life, I really didn’t have energy
to spend on petty bullshit like their superiority. I couldn’t give two-shits what
they thought of me. I just didn’t think their behavior toward me was fair.

Those girls didn’t have a clue who I was. And Isaac? Well, he could just go fling
himself off the nearest damn bridge for all I cared.

I sat down on a stone bench overlooking the luscious grounds. The cold bite of the
marble radiated through the thin material of my dress, but I didn’t mind. It was a
change from the raw anger I felt inside me, and I’d take any small reprieve I could
get.

“Well, look who I found.”

I turned at the sound of a male voice coming from somewhere on the grounds. Keith,
the Grant member who’d been dressed as Hugh Hefner at the costume party, stepped out
onto the walkway. That night I learned that he was mated to Emily and the two had
been joined at the hip. I glanced behind him, wondering where he’d come from, and
noticed a smaller structure hidden in shadow. Glancing back at him, I caught him eyeing
by body from head to toe, pausing at certain areas, which left me feeling cold inside.

“I didn’t think the mated couples were coming to the dinner tonight.”

Keith smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of crashing the party. I find other things to occupy
my time rather than playing cat and mouse before dinner. I prefer the ‘pounce and
devour’, if you know what I mean.”

“All play and no work?”

He took a step closer to me, coming mere inches from where I sat. “I think you’ll
find that I work
very
hard at what I do. I just don’t see the point in dancing around each other like subjects
at a farmers’ market. I take what I want.”

His eyes traveled back down my body and a chill ran through me. I didn’t like the
way he was looking at me. Desperate to get his focus off me, I crossed my arms over
my chest and leveled him with a glare.

“And Emily? How does she feel about your shopping habits?”

Keith’s lips curved up into a grin but he didn’t respond. After a few moments of heavy
silence, he turned on his heel and left without saying another word.

The whole confrontation left me feeling a little odd. Keith was a good-looking man,
and it’d never bothered me when a hot guy checked out my goods. But something about
that man didn’t sit right with me. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he’d been
paired with Emily, having already gone through the program. Logically, I knew that
I was off-limits to him. Only Consorts and Betties were allowed to play. Yet something
told me that Keith wasn’t the type of person to play by the rules, and that thought
made me wish I hadn’t fallen on his radar.

“It’s a little chilly for you to be out here tonight half-naked, don’t you think?”
I heard Isaac’s voice behind me, and I almost melted into a liquid pool of goo despite
the frigid air. I closed my eyes against the onslaught of heady emotions running through
me, the least of which had been my previous anger, unfortunately.

“I’m not
half-naked
,” I told him, trying my damnedest to keep my tone flat.

“I beg to differ. I can see half of your body right now.”

“Well, get your fill in now, ’cause this is as much as you’ll be allowed to see. Trust
that.”

“Oh, I think I’ll get you completely bare before the night is out.”

“Fuck off,” I said, this time letting my rage peek out a little bit to throw him off
the reality of what his words did to me.

“Tsk, tsk, little one. A mouth like that can find you in all sorts of naughty places.”

“And none of which find you with me,” I retorted bitterly as I stood from the bench
and walked in the opposite direction, away from his silken promises of hot sex and
steamy nights.

I couldn’t allow this sudden reappearance of the guy I’d met last weekend to sway
my judgment of him. He’d treated me appallingly earlier, and I would in no way allow
him to do more than look at me if I had my say. Unfortunately, the growling sex kitten
within me wanted to throw him down on the ground that minute and make him play out
his dirty thoughts.

I hurried down the veranda, proud that I got away from him without further incident
or hateful words. I ventured along the cobblestone walkway, toward the back acreage
without tripping in my four-inch heels. Despite my need to distance myself from Isaac,
I felt a strange pull in my gut the farther away I got. I paused by a large oak tree,
taking a moment to catch my breath and organize my rampant thoughts.