Training the Help [Hedon Falls 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (5 page)

“What do you think?” Kendra asked with a grin.

“Amazing,” Sophie said. “If I didn’t know it was you, I wouldn’t know it was you.”

“That’s the idea,” she said. She showed Sophie how to set the alarm and then they got into the car. They pulled out of the garage and Sophie began navigating down the driveway. Before they reached the gate, though, Kendra stopped her and pointed to another drive, which branched off from the main one.

“I didn’t see that last night,” Sophie said as she turned onto the smaller road.

“It’s in a spot that’s hard to see when you come in on the main drive,” Kendra told her. “And there’s a gate just up here that needs a passcode. Jack is a little obsessive about security. This is here so that we can come and go without being noticed when we don’t have a guard or driver with us. The paparazzi will occasionally stake out the main gate.”

They had just come to the gate Kendra had mentioned. Sophie pulled up and rolled down the window. Kendra told her the security code, and the gate swung open to let them pass. The driveway meandered for quite a way before they came to a second gate, and then finally it connected to a real road. Following Kendra’s directions, Sophie drove them into the town.

“Have you been to Hedon Falls before?” she asked. Sophie shook her head. “It’s a great place. It has lots of amenities, but it’s still small enough to be quaint. I grew up here.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My parents live on the other side of town. We’re actually going to meet my mom for lunch, if that’s okay.”

“Sounds great,” Sophie said. “But if you grew up here, don’t a lot of people recognize you?”

“You would be amazed at how unobservant people can be when they expect to see one thing. I’ve purposely gone out with big hats and sunglasses a few times and let people notice me then. Now everyone expects that. They don’t expect this.” She waved at her hair.

Kendra continued giving Sophie information about the town and pointing out sites of interest as they made their way to the mall on the far side of town. Before they got out of the car, Kendra said, “When we’re out, I need you to call me Sandra. That’s my alter ego.” She giggled. “It’s like being a superhero!”

Sophie laughed with her as they made their way into the shopping mall. They were meeting Kendra’s mother first and so they went to one of the full-service restaurants inside. Without stopping at the maître d’, they went straight to a booth near the back, where an older version of Kendra sat with a coffee. She glanced up at their approach and smiled.

As Kendra and then Sophie slid onto the bench opposite the older woman, she said loudly, “Sandra, it’s so lovely to see you again!”

Kendra laughed and introduced Sophie to her mother. The three women had a great lunch, and Sophie found herself missing her own family, who were all in Montréal. She didn’t get to visit very much. Kendra’s mother, Anita, assured her that she was welcome to be an honorary member of their family anytime. After they were done, Kendra kissed her mother good-bye and Sophie found herself being hugged by Anita before they left.

As they exited the restaurant, Kendra reached out and took Sophie’s hand. A tiny thrill shot up her arm at the contact. “I just love going shopping with a friend,” she said. “It reminds me of when I was a teenager.”

Their first visit was to the wireless store. Kendra went up to the man at the counter and said, “Excuse me. My friend is the housekeeper for Kendra Hughes. Can you believe it? She actually lives with a famous movie star! And she told me that she’s supposed to get a phone from you, but, like, she’s too shy to actually mention it, because she doesn’t want to go dropping names. But I said, ‘Girl, you just let everyone know! You live with a friggin’ movie star!’ It’s so cool! So I think she needs to get the best phone you have, because it’s not like she has to pay for it or anything!”

Sophie’s face was beet red and she nudged Kendra’s arm. “Sandra…” she began.

“Sophie, look at the phones he’s got!” she squealed. Kendra continued the act the whole time they were there and when they were finally on their way out the door, she called, “My friend will get you an autograph! You’ve been so helpful!”

Sophie dragged her out of the store and they dissolved into giggles. They went to a number of stores, and became more laden down with bags at each one. Kendra was very generous, slapping down her credit card before Sophie could object, and eventually she discovered that it was easier to just go along with it than to argue. Their last stop for the day was a store that specialized in bridal wear.

“What are we doing here,
Sandra
?” Sophie asked, putting extra emphasis on the name.

“There’s a gallery opening at the beginning of December that we were invited to,” Kendra said in a quiet voice. “I’ll be out of town on business, so I told Jack to take you instead.”

“Me?” Sophie said in surprise. “Why me?”

“You’ll be around, and he doesn’t really have anyone else he can take. And if he goes to these things alone, the other women tend to fawn all over him. Men, too, sometimes. Anyway, it’s a formal event, so you need a gown.”

“Are you sure?” Sophie asked. She felt kind of strange having Kendra pick out and pay for clothes so her husband would have a date.

Before she could say anything else, a saleswoman had approached them and Kendra was handing her dresses for Sophie to try on. Sophie found herself pushed into the fitting room and confronted with an overwhelming assortment of dresses. She stripped to her bra and panties and stood, staring at the gowns. She really wasn’t sure where to begin.

“Ke—I mean, Sandra!” she called. “Which one should I try first?”

“Open up and let me in,” she replied.

Sophie opened the fitting room door and Kendra came in. Sophie felt a little self-conscious. Kendra was the epitome of feminine beauty—slender, fair, and petite. She had the body other women paid dearly to try to get. Sophie was overweight and plain. But when Kendra’s eyes travelled over her barely dressed body, Sophie found herself becoming a bit flushed. Kendra turned away and picked up a strapless burgundy satin gown with an empire waist. She held it out so Sophie could step into it.

As Sophie pulled the gown up over her hips, Kendra said, “You should take off your bra. You won’t be able to wear one with that anyway.”

Sophie glanced down at her ample bosom. “Can’t I get a strapless bra?” she asked.

Kendra stared at her chest. “Take the bra off and we’ll see.”

With a shrug, Sophie reached behind her to unhook her bra. She pulled it off and stood while Kendra’s eyes roved over her breasts. To Sophie’s horror, her nipples began to harden under the other woman’s gaze. Kendra lifted her eyes and Sophie thought she saw a hungry look in them, but it passed a moment later.

“It’s cold in here,” Kendra said in a husky voice. “I think you’re right. You’re too well-endowed to go braless, but let’s zip up the dress and see.”

Sophie gratefully pulled the gown over her breasts and turned so Kendra could zip it up. The other woman’s fingers grazed the skin over Sophie’s spine as she pulled the zipper up. A shiver ran through Sophie. In an attempt to distract herself, she looked up into the mirror. To her surprise, the gown looked stunning on her. The color was the perfect complement to her skin tone, and the style flattered her fuller figure. Behind her, Kendra placed her hands on Sophie’s shoulders and met her eyes in the mirror.

“You’re so beautiful,” she said softly. They stood staring at each other for a few moments.

“So do I wear a bra or not?” Sophie asked. There was a slight tremor to her voice.

Kendra moved in front of her again and examined her chest. She reached out and adjusted the dress a bit, then placed her hands under Sophie’s breasts and pushed them up a bit, causing Sophie to gasp. Their eyes met again before Kendra pulled away and said, “You should get a push-up bra. We can go to the lingerie store after we’re done here.”

Kendra opened the fitting room door and called the saleswoman over to ask about shortening the dress. As the two of them fussed over the hem, Sophie reflected on what had transpired. She wasn’t an expert, but she swore that Kendra was attracted to her.

What surprised her more, though, was that she felt the same way.

The drive back to the house was quiet. Sophie was trying to concentrate on not getting lost and reflecting on her interactions with Kendra. She had never really felt attracted to women before. She enjoyed looking at them, especially the ones who had the bodies that she never would. But that didn’t mean she had sexual feelings toward women. Or was that just an excuse to look? It didn’t matter. Whether she was attracted to Kendra or not was irrelevant because the woman was married.

They arrived at the house and carried their purchases inside. Jack was sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper and he looked up when they came through the door. “Where were you two?” he asked as his eyes flicked upward to take in Kendra’s wig. “Out and about?”

“We went to the mall for lunch with Mom and shopping,” Kendra replied. “I love being able to do normal things once in a while. And we found a great dress for Sophie to wear to the gallery opening next month.”

Jack’s eyes roved over Sophie for a minute and she blushed as she remembered their charged encounter the night before. “I’m sure she’ll be dazzling.”

“Absolutely!” Kendra said. “I’m going to head upstairs and put this stuff away.”

“Don’t be long,” Jack said. “I brought supper home and I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered as she walked out of the room with a multitude of shopping bags hanging from her hands.

“I could have made supper,” Sophie said. “You didn’t have to bring anything home.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jack said as he rose and walked toward Sophie. “I wanted to give you a break. You haven’t had time to get to know our preferences, or plan any menus.”

He was now standing directly in front of her. Sophie had to crane her neck to look up at him.
God, he’s tall!
As they looked at each other, she could feel the tension building in the air again. Her stomach tightened and her pussy tingled.

“I’m going to get dinner heated up,” he said softly. “Are you going to come?”

Sophie heard the double meaning in his words and swallowed. She took a tentative step backward, needing to move out of his sphere of influence. But she stumbled and he reached out and grabbed her before she could fall, and that brought her right up against him. His face hovered just above hers.

“I need to put my things away,” she said softly. Having him so close was doing strange things to her body. Warmth flowed through her, starting low in her belly and spreading outward, leaving her skin tingling, and her ears ringing.

“You’ll put them away when I say you can,” he replied, his tone hard but heated. He continued holding her, his eyes boring into hers until she looked down. “That’s better,” he said. “Now go put your things away and get back out here. If you’re not back in five minutes, I will come in after you.”

A thrill went through Sophie at his words. He let her go and she walked on shaky legs to her room. She closed the door and sank down onto the love seat. What had just happened? He had ordered her around like he owned her. Part of her bristled at the idea of anyone telling her what to do, but there was a small part of her that had found the whole experience arousing. Actually, it was a larger part than she wanted to admit. She briefly wondered what he would do if she was more than five minutes. She toyed with the idea of finding out, but then decided better of it and went back to the kitchen where she saw Jack standing, his mouth set in a grim line as he looked at his watch. When he saw her, he smiled.

“Good girl,” he said. “Come here.”

Sophie went to stand before him. She kept her gaze lowered, not wanting to meet his eyes again.

“You need to learn to follow directions if you’re going to be a member of this household. If you can’t, I may have to punish you. Do you understand?”

Sophie nodded slightly, wondering what kind of punishment he had in mind.

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes, I understand…Sir.” She chanced a look up at him. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

“You’re a fast learner,” he said. He reached out to run a finger along her jaw.

“Leave the poor girl alone,” Kendra snapped from across the room.

Sophie jumped and whirled around to see the petite blonde standing with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. Her look was icy cold, but Sophie noticed it was directed at Jack and not her.

“Kendra…” Jack began, his tone holding a warning rumble.

“Stop it, Jack,” she said. “She’s not one of your trainees. Let her be!”

Sophie’s gaze bounced from one to the other as the couple stood glaring at each other. Something unspoken passed between them, and they both relaxed. Jack turned to the fridge and Kendra began taking dishes out of the cupboard to set the table. And still Sophie stood rooted to the spot. She didn’t understand what had happened. The tabloids always said how temperamental celebrities could be, but she assumed they were exaggerating. After a moment, Sophie managed to get herself into the kitchen and tried to help, but Kendra shooed her to the table.