Free Losing Control by Mila McClung Page A

beautiful, inside
and out! Besides, the princess has a voice that could break glass!”
    “So do I, at certain times, if you
know what I mean?”
    “True, but when we’re making love I’m
too preoccupied to notice.”
    “Oh, really?”
    “Yeah, want to find out?”
    She grinned; the warmth of him under
the covers had relaxed her enough that she was ripe for another go-round. It
didn’t matter whose house she was in – though she did wonder if the old broad
had installed secret cameras in the bedrooms.
    Morning found them snoozing
peacefully together in the serene sunlight that poured through the open
curtains - until Jardin banged on the door.
    “Madame requests your presence at
breakfast, Mr. Trahern,” he forcefully uttered. “It is served promptly at
seven, as you recall.”
    Fawn was awake, listened to the clip
clop of the man’s shoes as he walked away.
    “Taury?”
    “I heard him. Want a quick shower?”
    “Um, yes, I could certainly use one
after last night.”
    “You had the pain again, didn’t you?”
    “I hoped you hadn’t noticed.”
    “I’m taking you to my doctor this
afternoon…”
    “But Taury…”
    “No excuses. I want to know what’s
wrong.”
    She nodded; she wanted to know what was
wrong with her, too. And she was tired of conjuring up all sorts of horrible
scenarios to explain the pain. Still, she was sure it was only a kinked muscle
or some such annoyance. Her love-hungry body wasn’t used to carrying on like a
newlywed in Tahiti.
    After a quick but fun shower they
threw on their clothes from the night before and headed down the hallway to the
open staircase. Fawn craned her neck, admiring the beauty of its curves and
adornments, thinking this must be the way the robber barons and gold-rush
millionaires lived back in the early days. She remembered reading somewhere
that most of the original Nob Hill mansions were destroyed by the earthquake in
1906. This one was built after that, probably. And though it was smaller than
those bastions of greed and inequity it was no less imposing.
    Taury held her hand, ushered her into
a bright dining room papered in a gold Chinoiserie mural embellished with white
parrots and vines. A rather aristocratic woman sat at the dark-stained Chinese
Chippendale table. She was wearing a simple but elegant cream-colored dress,
her black hair pulled back in a Sixties French twist, which made her seem older
than she was. Fawn was taken aback by the woman’s beauty – her prominent
cheekbones and perfectly pale skin were worthy of a Renaissance painting. But
her black eyes, though pretty, harbored an untrusting glare.
    “Come in, Taurus, and introduce me to
your companion.”
    She stood as they neared the table.
Taury pulled out a chair for Fawn; she waited until Elizabeth sat down before
taking her seat. She noticed that the woman had not offered her a handshake, as
most courteous souls would.
    “This is my fiancée,” Taury
announced.
    Elizabeth Trahern turned to Fawn
without blinking an eye. Fawn had thought Taury’s words would register some
emotion across her face, but she was coolly detached, on the surface, anyway.
    “Your name is Fawn Hamilton, I
believe?”
    “Yes, that’s her name.”
    “I was speaking to her, Taurus.”
    “Yes, it is,” Fawn replied.
    “And you are twenty two years old?
And divorced?”
    “Apparently, you’ve done your
homework, Mrs. Trahern.”
    “You’re right, I have. Jardin, serve
us please.”
    The butler entered and began doling
out fancy bits of quiche and fruit tarts and slices of bacon and ham. Fawn
looked at Taury, he winked at her; she smiled.
    Once Jardin had left the room,
Elizabeth delicately nibbled at her food, her eyes never glancing at the plate.
They remained locked on Fawn’s face, in an effort to intimidate her or what,
Fawn wasn’t sure but she was determined not to falter in front of this strange,
ominous woman.
    “You’ve given her a ring, I see.”
    “I have.”
    “Did you set a