Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (12 page)

''
Hurik
,'' Loren said. ''My last name's
Hurik
.''

''Let me guess, you're a Wild Indian,'' Josh said.

''No. It's an Armenian name. Do you know where that is?'' Loren asked.

''Don't get smart with me Mrs.
Of course,
I know where it is. It's near Russia. That's the problem with you high powered
bitches; you
think
people like us are dumb. If Tubby hadn't pleaded with me, you wouldn't even be here.''

It was then that Josh noticed Loren's incredibly smooth, shiny legs. They
were also bronzed
and just the shape Josh like. Long and slender.

''Can we come in?'' Harry asked. Josh stood aside and motioned for them to enter.

Loren liked the decor as well as the fabric of the house. Josh had
obviously
spent a lot of money with the best interior designers. ''Nice place,'' she said.

''Yer. Designed it myself. And furnished it.'' Loren raised an eyebrow. Not just a musical talent she thought. ''Listen, I don't mean to be rude Mrs, but Tubby here seems to have the idea I'm out of control. But that's bullshit. I've never felt better, so don't waste your time on me. I'm sure
there are people who really need
your services.'' They walked into the sitting
room; the
enormous flat screen was still full of dead warriors.

''Can
I, at least,
sit down
?'' Loren said. She sat on the sofa and Josh got a brief glimpse up her skirt. He smiled. It was time for a wager,
he
thought. He'd have her in bed in no time, fuck her brains out and leave her gagging for more. Then he'd tell her to piss off back to New York.

''This is nice, isn't it,'' Josh said looking at Loren and Harry sitting next to each other on the sofa. He was still standing. ''Shall we have tea or something stronger?''

''Tea's fine,'' Loren said in a superior tone. ''Shall I help you make it?''

Josh shot her an aggressive glance. ''I'm from the North of England. We know how to make a fucking cup of tea far better than any Yank.''

Loren looked at Harry when Josh had left the room. ''You're
right; he
's a
very interesting
case.''

''Just watch out you don't end up in bed with him,'' Harry warned.

''You are kidding, right?''

Harry shook his head. ''No, he's very
persuasive,
and a lot of women older than you have told me they'd wouldn't mind going to bed with him.''

''I can't imagine what kind of women you know Harry. Rest assured I won't be crossing that line.''

Josh stood in the kitchen waiting
for the kettle
to boil. It was
Mrs.
Booths day off.
Mrs.
Booth was his London mum. His housekeeper, cook, cleaner and confidant. She didn't see his stardom. To her he was a young man with a huge sex drive and a great voice. Why everyone over thirty was worried about him causing World War Three, she had no idea.

His thoughts turned to Loren. If Harry
really
wanted him to, he could tolerate her. She was hot for her age, and he was sure she'd scream the house down when he fucked her. The
whistling kettle
stopped his train of thought somewhere around the moment he took her panties off and pushed her legs open.

''Here, a proper cup of tea,'' he said putting the tray down on the table next to the sofa. ''You pour Loren, you're a woman, it's your kind of work.''

''You're lonely aren't you Josh?'' she said.

''How the hell could I be
lonely
with all the pussy I'm getting?''

''But that's just sex. There's no depth to it. No companionship.''

''Harry, is she
gonna
be like this all the time, because if she
is,
she's
really
gonna
do my head in?''

''That's the first time you've called me Harry in ages. Perhaps she's already having an influence.'' Harry grinned and slurped his tea before continuing. '' Perhaps you and Josh could arrange to meet in the next couple of days, Loren. You can go into all that then.
This is
just a getting to know
your
session.''

*****

''Hello Newcastle,'' Josh shouted. ''The fans went wild.
Thousands packed
into St James Park, the home of Newcastle United Football Club. The stadium had
been transformed
from its
normal
role as a bastion of male aggression into
theater
of pleasure for thousands of screaming girls.

''It great to see you all. Look at you Newcastle. The girls here are so fucking hot.'' More screams mixed with hysterical wailing. ''Northern girls, that what you need boys. They
really
keep your dick warm at night.''

Loren sighed. She was standing at the edge of the stage.
She
'd insisted on observing Josh in his natural environment. What she'd seen and heard thus far she hadn't liked. She jotted a few notes down and looked up as Josh began to sing. As the song unfolded, she noted the words love, respect and beautiful.

''Thank you very much,'' Josh said when the post song eruption died down. ''So who wants to come to my hotel room this evening?'' he asked. It was a reference to all the newspaper articles about what a bad boy he was for
bedding,
such young women. Thousand put their hands up. ''Sorry mate, don't do men,'' Josh said to a man at the front of the audience. Everyone laughed except the young man himself who had meant it. ''Seems I gotta a lot of choices tonight then. How many of you have no father?'' A few women put their hands up. ''I'm staying at the Holiday Inn, city center,'' he said. More screams.

At the interval, Loren came into Josh's changing room. ''Shall we talk about the first half?'' she asked.

''Why? It was fucking fantastic.''

''But the way you spoke to the women was inappropriate.''

''Fuck off. It was a joke. They understand that.''

''Not all of them.''

Josh picked up a can of coke and pulled the ring. ''The only woman in the whole fucking stadium that didn't realize it was a joke was you.''

''Well I don't agree....I''

Josh interrupted her. ''I don't give a shit what you think. Those people out there are my fans. I love
them,
and they love me. We joke with each other. We're all young. Not like you, past your fucking sell by date.''

His words hit Loren hard. She'd never
been spoken
to like that. People had always regarded her as a professional and respected her advice. Did he
really
think she was old? She still looked good. She looked past Josh into his dressing mirror. All of a sudden she saw wrinkles and a tired looking woman.

''Is that what you
really
think?'' she asked. Now it was personal. She needed to know.

''Do you really wanna know what I think about you?'' Josh turned around and looked her directly in the eyes. She turned her eyes away when she felt his gaze making her cheeks red. ''I see a
dam
good looking woman, a woman any man would give all he was worth to shag.
But you're so uptight.
What the hell happened to you in your life? You're a walking ball of inhibitions.''

''Well, we're not here to discuss me, are we? Harry asked me to help you.''

''It's you that needs the help. I'm perfectly fine. I'm not the one walking around with my head up my ass.''

Josh got up and went back to the stage leaving Loren in front of the mirror with her thoughts. She took out her notepad.
She
wrote Alpha Male, Sexist, Extreme Insecurity. Then she made a note to herself. Make an
appointment
with image stylist when back in New York.

''I just wanna ask
you beautiful ladies
something,'' Josh said after he'd finished the opening song of the second half. ''I've got this woman with me, some
sort of
shrink. She thinks I'm rude to women.'' A low groan engulfed the stadium. ''What
do you think?
'' He held his hand to his ear.

The whole audience shouted. ''Noooooooooo.''

Loren, by now back at the side of the stage, looked at her feet and shook her head. Maybe she should go back to New York and leave this British sexist pig to his fans.

At the after party there were a lot of young women. Josh and his band drank champagne as usual. Josh looked around for a girl that took his fancy, but his eye fell on Loren.

''Drink?'' he asked. ''It might lighten you up a bit.''

''Okay, just one.''

''Who says your getting more than one?'' he asked a grin on his face. ''I meant what I
said
in the dressing room. You are
very beautiful
.''

''You're my patient, as much as I like compliments, perhaps you could save your sexists rhetoric for the girls you so love here in the north.''

''Come on. Come and sit down with us. Lighten up.''

They walked across the room and sat down in the corner with the band. ''What did you think of the concert?'' Andy the guitarist asked.

''I loved the music, but the jokes were
shit
,'' she said looking at Josh. Josh looked at her legs again and wondered what she looked like naked.

''Tubby, where the hell have you been? Loren's been insulting me,'' Josh said putting his arm around Loren confidently.

''Josh, your mum's had a stroke. We need to get you across to Manchester straight
away.''

''Shit. Is it
really bad
?''

''I'm afraid so. We need to hurry. There's a helicopter waiting.'' Harry leaned to Loren and whispered. ''Maybe you should
come to
. Your expertise may come in handy if the worst happens.''

******

'Mum, can you hear me?'' Josh asked. ''Why's her face lopsided like that?'' he asked the doctor.

''I'm afraid that side of her face
is paralyzed
.''

''What the fuck? Will she get better?''

The doctor took Josh to one side. ''Josh, your mother has had a massive stroke. It's a bleeding in the brain. We have looked at the
scan,
and I have to tell you, she won't recover consciousness.'' Josh's eyes began to fill up. ''We can make her comfortable. But at some stage, we'll have to make a decision.''

''What do you mean, decision?''

''I mean whether to let you mum live as she is now, or turn off the machine that is keeping her alive.''

Josh peered through the tears and shook his head in disbelief. The door
opened,
and Josh's
sisters,
and step brothers and sisters entered the room. Harry and Loren stood at the back out of the way.

''Right listen to me,'' Josh said. ''Mum's had what they call a stroke. She's been bleeding in her brain.'' The kids knew bleeding wasn't
good
. One of the girls burst into tears. ''This is what I've got to say about it. We all know how great mum is and how much we owe to
her,
and we don't want her to suffer any more than necessary do we?'' All the kids nodded. Josh was their senior
by
some
years,
and they respected him. ''It's time now, to say goodbye to her.'' Now everyone was shedding tears. ''We have to be brave for her. The doctor can help her, but we can. We can help her go to heaven.'' Loren left the room and stood in the corridor. ''Everyone
take
as long as you want with Mum. Tell her you love her, okay. Then we'll say goodbye to her together.''

When Harry left the
room,
her found
Loren
blowing her nose. ''
Are you okay?
'' he asked.

She leaned against the wall and ran her hands over her thighs straightening her skirt. ''I'm fine. You know, he's not like any other human I've met.''

''You're right about that,'' Harry quipped.

''No, I don't mean it in
a glib
way. Look at the strength of character he has and how those poor kids listened to everything he had to say. He's leading them just when they need leading most. It's quite breathtaking.'' Loren sniffed.

''You aren't getting
emotionally
attached to him are you?''

''No, I'm not. It's just a professional observation.''