Raw Fever Chapter 2

Dakota woke up to a pounding head and the extreme light from outside didn’t help either. She got out of bed and stumbled over the bed sheets as she walked to the window. It was near mid-morning and she wiped the sleep from her eyes. Outside was a carriage filled with trunks and several servants walking around. She frowned and cocked her head wondering was going on. Turning, she fled out of her chamber and down the stairs.

          Loud conversation was heard as was the sound of cleaning and orders being shouted. She saw strange people walking about and she reached out her hands to stop one of them.

          “Who are you? What are you doing about in my home?” she asked.

          He didn’t answer and kept moving about. She looked around finding the servants moving and changing the designs of the room. When one of the women grabbed the frame of her mother’s painting above the fireplace, she ran to her and grabbed her arm.

          “Do not touch my mother’s painting!” she shouted.

          “Leave that.”

          Dakota turned around to the voice behind her and found a man standing before her dressed all in black. His eyes were a piercing hazel and his hair was as dark as his eyes. He had a handsome, rugged, dark look to him that made her heart pound. She was instantly mesmerized by his look and lost her speech for a moment. But then she found it again and straightened herself up.

          “Who are you? How dare you enter my home!” she yelled.

          He cocked his head to the side and then a smile spread across his face. “Lady Dakota Trey, I assume?”

          Dakota gasped, surprised. “You know who I am?”

          He smiled and placed his hands behind him. He walked around her and stared her up and down. Then he came to stand before her. “I know who you are. I know exactly who you are.”

          She narrowed her eyes and then she laughed. “Oh! You must be that Lord from Newshire! The one who has bought the company from my father? Do not think for a moment that I am going to bow down and pay respect to you. I still intend to take back my company. My ancestors built that with their blood. You are not of our heritage and although you may be here, you are not welcomed. You’re a guest, remember that. You’re nothing but a vile, greedy man with no heart.”

          He laughed. “Is that an insult?”

          She glared at him. “You are lower than dirt if you cannot tell that it was an insult.”

          He leaned in close to her. “Well, the next time you want to insult someone, make sure your breasts are not showing.”

          Dakota gasped and suddenly remembered what she was wearing. The thin gown that covered nothing was on her body and with the light from the sun pouring in her body was exposed as if she was naked. She swallowed, blushed, and ran up the stairs. When she got to the safety of her chamber, she let out a scream and tore off the gown. She tossed it aside and felt the anger sear through her teeth.

          Dressed in a blue gown that covered up to her neck, she descended down the stairs and found the servants working on setting the mansion to their liking. The huge dining room was cleaned, antiques were placed where she had sold her own, and the room lit up with life again. As much as she liked seeing life in the place, it still hurt that it was someone else doing it instead of her own people. She’d had to let all of the servants go because she couldn’t pay for them. An elderly woman dressed in a plain brown tunic with graying brown hair came toward her. She had soft blue eyes and a face that reminded her of her mother.

          “My lady, Lord Holton has asked that you seek over the completion of the design. If anything is not to your liking, you’ve only to say so and we shall do as you’d like,” she said.

          Dakota stared at her, a bit surprised at her words. But she wasn’t going to let it get to her and see the pleasantness in this evil man. He stole from her and she wasn’t about to let him off easy.

          “Where is your lord?” she asked.

          “Outside in the garden, my lady.”

          Dakota turned and darted out the door toward the garden. The afternoon sun was already up and she realized through all of the commotion, she’d yet to have breakfast. But food was the last thing on her mind. She was out to seek an eye for an eye. She found him staring out at the open meadow field, probably wondering which part he was going to tear down. He was still dressed in his black tunic and black pants. He was a sight for sore eyes with his dark clothes and mood.

          “Do you honestly think you will win over me with your charity?” she asked.

          He turned around and smiled at her. “So…you’ve emerged…dressed a bit more properly.”

          Dakota laughed. “You act as if you’ve never seen a naked woman before.”

          “I have, just not in the way you’ve presented yourself, milady. There is a better way to offer yourself to me.”

          She gasped, offended by his words. “If you thought it was to entice you, your head is clouded! You have no right to say such words to me! I am of royalty.”

          “Of course, you’re of royalty, yet you showed up dressed as if you were common. Honestly, milady, how do you expect me to treat you after you yourself have showed such little respect for yourself?”

          “It was an honest mistake! I was in a hurry to see what was the commotion in my own home and forgot I was dressed in my night attire. It was not done on purpose.”

          “If it was not done on purpose, why are you so heated?”

          Swallowing hard, she replied, “You have created a monster in me, my lord. You are not as handsome in manners as you are in appearance. You may hold the keys to the company, but you do not hold the keys to the manor here. You cannot go changing things around this place. It has been set in place for certain purposes. You can’t go changing things here simply because you’ve earned the title of the owner.”

          He walked to her and took a deep breath. “You’ve misjudged me poorly, milady. I have no intention of rearranging anything around here. I’m simply here to run a company. The rest is up to you and your father to do. I am here to give you my servants to use as you please. I do not wish to be interrupted as do you. We are to go about our lives as normal as possible. I do not wish to make you any more agitated than you already are. I am a stranger among your home, yes, but I have my reasons. Believe me, this is the last you’ll be seeing of me.”