Blackmail

Titus spent the week rearranging all his appointments. When asked why he was taking Friday off, all he said was he had something important to do.

He had his housekeeper make up the spare room for Trixie. There was no way in hell she was sleeping in his room with him. It was bad enough that she would be living in his home for a year.

He did stop to buy a set of wedding bands, making sure to buy the cheapest ones available.

It’s not that he wanted to wear one, but she’d insisted, and since she held all the cards, he had to go along with it.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it, and he was determined to make her life a living hell for the next year.

On Friday, as planned, Trixie made her way to Titus’s home. Pulling up and parking her little sports car, she stepped out and looked up at the house.

It was nice, but not as big of a place as she was used to living in, and she wondered if he had any staff, which was something she had forgotten to ask him.

Going up the steps to the front door, she rang the bell and waited. When Titus opened the door, she frowned at his jeans and sweatshirt.

“Oh, my God. I hope you don’t plan on getting married in those clothes?” she asked, shaking her head in disgust.

Titus looked her up and down before answering. She was wearing diamond earrings and a cream-colored dress with matching heels.

The dress hugged her curves, and with the shining necklace, he couldn’t help but notice her great rack that got his heart racing.

“You’re early; I was just about to change. Come in,” he said, moving aside to let her enter.

“This is…cozy.”

“I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to.”

She followed him into the living room. “Where is your staff?”

He turned to her and chuckled. “What staff?”

She walked around the room, checking it out. “Don’t you have any maids or butlers? Surely, you don’t do the cooking and cleaning yourself?”

He rolled his eyes, knowing damn well he had a spoiled little princess on his hands. “I have a cleaning lady that comes three times a week to clean.

“As for meals, I make my own. Sometimes, I go out or bring home takeout. But now that you’re here, you can cook my meals for me.”

She turned around in a huff. “I don’t cook.”

“Then I guess you’ll go hungry,” he said, smirking.

“You would let your new bride starve?”

“Get one thing straight, lady, I am not going to cater to you. If you want to eat, you will learn to do it yourself. Now, if you will excuse me, I’ll go change.”

No staff yet, she thought as he left the room,~ but there will be soon.~

Upstairs, Titus swore as he got dressed in his dark suit. He had half a mind to stay in his jeans just to piss her off.

As he dressed, he tried to figure out how he was going to explain this marriage to his boss and coworkers. As far as everyone knew, he wasn’t even seeing anyone, much less close to getting married.

When Titus went downstairs again, he found Trixie on the patio. He watched her as she stared ahead, unaware he was there.

Damn, she was beautiful, and when she turned her head ever so slightly, he noticed how sad she looked.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. “Well, let’s get this fucking wedding over with.”

She turned her head to look at him. “Do you have the wedding bands?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two rings. “Right here.”

Going over to him, she took the bands from his hands before narrowing her eyes. “I see you spared no expense. The least you could have done was buy some nice ones.”

“Why would I spend good money on a marriage that I don’t want?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Are you going to continue throwing that in my face for the whole year?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, my dear. I don’t plan on spending very much time with you. I just want this year to go by quickly so I can get you out of my life and out of my hair.”

“I feel the same way. The sooner we get this started, the sooner we can part ways.”

When they got to the car, Titus, once again, didn’t bother opening the door for her. Even though she found it rude, she kept quiet and figured she might as well get used to it.

Not being totally insensitive, she could understand how he was feeling. If things were reversed, she knew she would be resentful too. But she was going to make the best of the year regardless.

***

They didn’t have to wait for long at the courthouse, and the ceremony was soon underway.

He made no effort to kiss her when they were pronounced husband and wife but he wasn’t going to get off that easy.

She placed the palms of her hands on each side of his face and pulled him close to give him a big kiss on the lips.

Needless to say, he was shocked but didn’t pull away. He had to admit, the kiss was nice and brought back memories of the time they made out behind the bar.

Nonetheless, when they left the courthouse, he stormed towards his car, leaving her behind him and trying to catch up.

“Titus, slow down. I can’t keep up with you in these heels.”

“No one told you to wear damn heels,” he snapped as he got in the driver’s seat. He was so pissed off, not just because she’d kissed him, but because he liked it.

It had been a while since he’d been with a woman sexually and it was getting to him. He knew he had to be strong and not give in to temptation.

Getting in the passenger side and shutting the door, Trixie glared at him. “I know you don’t like the situation you’re in, but must you be so rude to me?”

“Get this straight, lady. I don’t like you, so don’t expect me to be all sweet and lovey-dovey towards you. Just stay out of my way, and we’ll get along just fine.”

“If that’s what you want, let’s stop by the mansion and pick up my belongings. We might have to make two trips.”

“Why the hell don’t you just rent a small truck and have everything brought over? Just how much stuff is there?”

“Well, there’s my personal belongings, such as my clothes and so on. I also have a lot of pictures and other things that I was allowed to keep.

“And don’t worry, a lot of it will stay in the boxes. I’m sure you have a storage area where I can put them in until I get my own place, else I’ll store them at the condo.”

Grumbling, he drove to the mansion that had once been her home. When they got there, he put his car in park and folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, I’ll wait here.”

“Aren’t you going to help me carry them to the car?”

Rolling his eyes, he opened his door and got out. His mother did bring him up to be a gentleman, and she would be so disappointed if he didn’t help Trixie.

Walking inside the mansion, he looked around—it was absolutely stunning.

People were rushing around, packing things into boxes, and carrying furniture out. He caught a glimpse of sadness on Trixie’s face as she turned her head and watched what the movers were doing.

Just then, a man dressed in a butler uniform appeared.

“Miss Brown, the maids have already packed the belongings that you requested. I will have them bring everything down.”

“Thank you, George. While they’re doing that, I think I’ll take another walk through the mansion, one last time,” she said as she walked away.

Titus just stood there, not sure if he should follow her or not. He turned to the butler and smiled at him. “I bet she’s been a handful over the years?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”

“Oh, come on, it’s obvious she’s spoiled and high maintenance.”

“People are not always what they project to others. One must get to know someone to find out who and what they truly are,” George said.

Several maids approached them, carrying suitcases and boxes.

“Here come her belongings, I will help you carry them to your car,” George said.

They loaded up the trunk and the back seat with as much stuff as they could.

“How many clothes does one woman need?” Titus asked as he put the rest of the suitcases in the backseat.

George chuckled. “Oh, this is only half of her belongings. Will you be coming back for the rest or would you like me to arrange for someone to take them to your place?”

“I’d rather have someone bring them.” He wrote down his address and handed it to George. “Aren’t you curious as to why she is staying with me?”

“It’s none of my business. You may come in and wait for Miss Brown if you like, but I’m sure she won’t be much longer.”

“I’ll wait here. And if you see her, please, tell her to hurry up.”

“No one tells her what to do, especially the help. I do hope you will be kind to her. Whatever is going on, she is still a human being and has feelings even though she may not show them.”

“Sounds to me like you care for her.”

As George was walking away, he stopped and turned to look at Titus. “Out of every staff member here, I was the only one she ever spoke to.

“I felt sorry for her. She had everything anyone could want, and her grandfather loved her with all of his heart. Yet, she was like a lost little soul. Good day, sir,” he said and walked to the house.

Titus leaned against the car and, with his arms folded across his chest, waited for her to come out.

Fifteen minutes later, when she still hadn’t shown up, he decided to go looking for her.

Instead of going inside, he walked around and headed towards the back of the mansion, which took him a while due to how big the grounds were.

When he got there, he noticed Trixie sitting on a swing under a tree.

Making his way over to her, he stopped behind her. “Trixie, it’s time to get going.”

“We’ll leave when I’m damn well ready to,” she snapped, turning her head to look at him.

Her snotty attitude and comeback did not go over well with him, and he snapped back. “Listen, you either come now or you can find your own way back to my place.”

“Don’t you mean our place?”

He moved closer and in front of her. “No, it’s my place, it will never be your place. Now, what’s it going to be, are you coming or not?”

She jumped off the swing and got right in his face, placing her hand on his chest. “Calm down, hubby. It just so happens that I’m ready to go now.”

He watched as she walked away, deliberately swaying her hips seductively. There was no doubt in his mind that she was doing it on purpose just to get him riled up.

Damn if it wasn’t working… His buddy down below liked what she was doing.

She got in her side of the car and, after buckling up her seatbelt, turned to look at him. “Can we get something to eat before we go back to your home?”

“We can eat when we get back to my place.”

“But it’s our wedding day; we should celebrate.”

“I don’t have any reason to celebrate.”

“Oh, I get it. You want to get home so that we can consummate our marriage.”

“No chance of that. You’re the last woman in the world I would want to sleep with.” He didn’t want to be mean but he was tired of her insinuating that they were going to have a sexual relationship.

Also, there was plenty of food at his place, and she could make herself something to eat. If not, then she could go hungry for all he cared.

She sat quietly in her seat throughout the ride to his place, using the time to think about what she had just done.

She’d never believed she would get married, and if she did, she had always assumed it would be for love.

Glancing over at Titus, she felt a little tingle rushing through her body.

He was so handsome and had a very muscular build. It wasn’t just the bulging muscles that made him look big; he had broad shoulders and a firm chin, and his hands looked so strong.

She could just imagine what those hands could do to her body and felt herself getting all worked up.

But he was also one stubborn son of a bitch, and she knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting him to make love to her.

But she, too, was stubborn—and determined.

Titus felt Trixie’s eyes on him and turned to look at her and saw the smile on her face. “What are you smiling for?” he asked in a grumpy tone.

“Nothing,” she replied with a smirk.