We all need to be touched. To feel the skin of another person. No matter whether that touch is a kiss, a hug or a friendly pat on the shoulder. It tells us we matter and that we are important.
So, what happens if you don't get any closeness? What if you have everything else (wealth, fame), except that one thing you really need?
These thoughts were the reason behind this story and I hope you will enjoy reading it.
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Copyright (c) 2019 Ada Stuart, All Rights Reserved.
This work may not be published whether for fee or free without this copyright.
A special thanks goes to AussieGuy52 for editing this story
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Brief summary:
Holly has married an older, wealthy businessman. A match made in heaven, until she realises she is just for show and not to be touched or loved. Alone and bored she wants to break free but dare not. Until, she's kidnapped by the sexiest man she's ever met.
Darren has a mission. Get the wife of their suspect out of the way for 24 hours. He never planned to do more than babysit the spoilt Missy. Until that one night that changes everything.
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***
How had it come to this, Holly thought, as she glanced in the mirror. The woman staring back at her had a pretty face and a slim body with full breasts. She had always tried to take care of herself and her looks, and right now she probably seemed picture-perfect to anyone that didn't know her. With her groomed long blond hair, exquisite makeup and perfect manicure.
The only thing that ruined the picture was the sad look in her eyes and the downward curve on her mouth. She should be happy, but that feeling had faded long ago. She felt every one of her 26 years, even though her husband insisted that she kept fit by having regular workouts with a personal trainer.
After marrying him, she thought her life would be perfect, just like in the fairy tales when the peasant girl married the prince. The attentive and wealthy older man had seemed like the best of choices, making her give up her career in the pursuit of being the perfect wife.
The happiness had only lasted about six months. Then she had realised that her husband had more important ventures in his life than catering to a younger wife. Instead of feeling content with what he had, he seemed to be in a constant struggle to gain more, earn more, buy more, leaving very little time to anything else.
She had talked to him about her getting a job or if they could take a holiday together, but all her suggestions had been turned down the minute they were mentioned. It seemed that he had bought himself a wife and now he was content with showing her off, allowing other men to envy him.
He put her up on a pedestal, only to be watched and never touched. That was the worst part of it all. He rarely touched her and he had stopped coming to her bed about a year ago.
After being ignored for quite a while, she had tried to go to him. She had thought he would appreciate that, but he had repeatedly turned her down. He was too tired, too busy or simply not there. He seemed to be constantly on a business trip somewhere.
She spent more time with his servants than with her husband and the servants treated her with haughty disdain as if she was a nobody that had married nobility.
She felt a princess in a cursed castle, lonely, with no prince in sight and constantly starved of human contact.
It was so different compared to her younger years. When she grew up, she was constantly surrounded by family members, chatting and teasing, hugging and swearing. A constant cacophony of sound and warmth. The money had been tight, but they had always managed.
She had put all her effort into doing well at school and she had gained a good education and a good job. But as she met the rich Mr Ashton she had thrown it all away and walked into the sunset with him, thinking everything was a like a dream come true.
In retrospect, she had been young and stupid, leaving all her family and friends behind when she married him and followed him to his hometown. It had been a mistake to marry him. She had realised that during the first year of their marriage.
Still, the lifestyle and her newfound freedom had persuaded her that the vow she had given should cover some of the lonely days in their large mansion. Three years later she wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do.
She should have left him years earlier. Left him and tried to make a living of her own, earning her own money and buying herself a place to live. Looking for another man that actually wanted her.
Instead, she found herself locked in a golden cage without having the courage to break free.
***
"It's just a job, Darren," his commanding officer said.
"Kidnapping a woman? Some job. I'm a soldier, not a nanny."
"It's for her own good. The feds need access to the house without alerting the husband."
"Can't you just lure her away somehow? Free tickets to a shopping spree somewhere."
"Look, it's just for 24 hours. Besides, you own me a favour."
"Get one of the other men to do it."
"And scare her to death? No, she's an innocent in all this mess. It's better that she doesn't get involved. Besides, she spends all her time cultivating her looks so she's probably very meek and cooperative."
"And if she's not?"
"Just scare her a little. She would probably have a nervous breakdown breaking a fingernail."
"Babysitting a diva. Hrmph. You had better have something better for me next time," Darren said as he left his boss's office.
***
The day couldn't possibly become any worse, Holly thought, as she looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. She had been kidnapped and pushed into the back of a small van. There were no windows but she could feel that they were heading away from the city centre and away from the parking lot from where she had been grabbed.
The man asking for the time had seemed so harmless. A young blond man with an easy smile, so apologetic and handsome at the same time. She had fallen right into his trap. As soon as she had looked down to her mobile he had grabbed her and pushed her inside of the nearest van.
All her struggles had been in vain. He had quickly tied her hands and legs together before he stuffed her mouth with a cloth. There hadn't been anyone else around but she still wondered how one man could accomplish this alone. There had to be more kidnappers around.
After a long drive, the van stopped abruptly. She heard him jump out and walk around to the back. Soon after he opened the door and she was pulled out. While he carried her on his shoulder, she tried to take in their surroundings. The view made her lose her nerve.
They were in the middle of a forest and she could not see anyone around. He started walking and his shoulder cut into her stomach. She wanted to vomit as the pressure got worse. Soon he carried her up a few stairs and inside a house. It was wooden, one-story building.
She heard a dog bark and she glanced in the direction of the sound. She froze as she saw a large beast of a dog, showing his teeth.
"Quiet, Rex," the man said calmly and the dog sat down and watched.
She was carried through a doorway and suddenly she was dumped on a bed like a sack of potatoes. She cursed behind the cloth he had put into her mouth.
"Not happy with your surroundings Mrs Ashton?" he said snidely. "It's nothing like your usual standard, but until your husband decides to pay, you'll stay here."
"Pay what?" she tried to ask, but it only came out in muffled sounds.
The man ignored her and walked away. She felt trussed up like a Christmas turkey, tied up with restraints that didn't budge. She tried to voice her opinion and fight the bindings, but it was no use. It seemed that the man wanted something from her husband.
What it was she could only guess. Probably it had something to do with her husband's business. He had never allowed her to get to know that part of him. All in all, it was just another miserable day had turned even more miserable. And now this man thought he could blackmail her husband to have her back.
She wouldn't be surprised if her husband refused, and where would that leave her? Between a rock and a hard place, and she would probably be dead at the end of it all. Oh well, if the kidnapper thought he had grabbed a meek little trophy wife, he was in for a surprise.
She might be a trophy wife, but she was definitely not meek. She would have to cooperate for a while and when he started to relax, she would escape. That was the only way out of this mess.
The man returned and started to remove the cloth in her mouth. She spit it out, trying to make her mouth produce enough saliva for her to speak her mind. He flicked open a knife and cut the bindings at her hands and legs.
"Behave, or I'll put them back on again," he said.
She nodded.