Awakening Beauty Read online

  Aurora pulled open the curtain and came out of the dressing room wearing the last clothes she’d tried—another pair of jeans and a little thing the salesgirl had called a halter top. She’d also pulled on a long-sleeved sweater to hide her bare arms. The denim pants covered her legs completely but still left her feeling exposed. The purpose of a woman’s long skirt was to hide the fact she had any limbs beneath it at all.

  As Joel’s gaze swept her body, Aurora might as well have been naked. His eyes seemed to pierce her clothing and see all of her. But if his gaze was hungry, his tone was calm. “You look very presentable. You’ll blend right in.”

  The woman with the ring in her nose came up behind him to inspect Aurora. She bobbed her head approvingly. “You’re smoking. But you should take off that sweater. It doesn’t really go with the top.”

  Reluctantly Aurora handed her the pile of clothes while she removed the sweater. Her arms prickled with gooseflesh although the room wasn’t cold, and Joel’s gaze grew even more intense. He swallowed and gestured at the clothing in the salesgirl’s arms. “I’ll, uh, pay for those.”

  Aurora followed them to a counter and watched with interest while the woman ran a little device over the tag on each garment, then accepted a card from Joel. She did something with a machine and he signed a little piece of paper. It was all very mysterious, and Aurora wondered what had happened to gats and shitzols, the currency used in Schlaushagen in her time. Good heavens, she sounded like her great-grandmother comparing the present day to “her” time. It was as if she was old, yet she’d never even had a chance to be young, the way her parents had protected her from every aspect of life.

  Joel handed Aurora a large bag with her ball gown bundled into it. He carried the rest of their purchases.

  “Hey,” the salesgirl said. “You might want to rethink the shoes, too.” She pointed at Aurora’s low heels with the emerald encrusted buckles. “There’s a shoe store a couple of doors down.”

  “Thanks.”

  Joel led the way to a cobbler shop, where Aurora was overwhelmed by the variety of footwear. What looked like workingmen’s shoes and boots had a section not far from ladies’ fashionable high heels. She tried to make sense out of the egalitarian display. “Does everyone buy their shoes from the same store, the commoners and nobility alike?”

  “Yes. There’s no denying class still exists, but not in the way you’re used to. If someone has enough money, he or she can buy whatever he wishes.”

  Joel guided her to an aisle of women’s footwear, where he chose a box from the shelf and took out an ugly shoe with a flat sole and tall sides. Aurora sat on a low stool while he knelt and loosened the laces before slipping the shoe on her foot.

  “Isn’t that a worker’s shoe?” she protested, trying to find a polite way to tell him she’d rather die than wear such an unsightly thing.

  “Everyone wears tennis shoes. They’re good for walking, running, sports, everything. They’re an essential part of your wardrobe.” He tied the laces and told her to walk back and forth

  Aurora was surprised at the comfort of the shoes. They might look horrid, but they were like walking on cushions.

  “Do they fit?” he asked.

  She nodded and sat down, leaning to untie a lace and wondering why no one was serving them. A young woman wearing a very short skirt lingered at the counter, staring out the window. Aurora lowered her voice. “That salesgirl is not helpful. If the cobbler who owns the shop returns, I’m certain she’ll be let go.”

  “Maybe.” Joel laughed and rose. “Want to try on a few more pairs? Sandals, high heels, loafers?”

  Aurora browsed the shelves, selecting various types of shoes that might go with her new clothing. She returned to the chair with an armful of boxes.

  Joel grinned. “Some things never change.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Women’s love affair with shoes. A lot of things may change in the world, but people really don’t. We still have the same desires and dreams.”

  “What is your dream, Joel?” she asked as she slipped on a pair of low slippers with a strap that apparently went between one’s toes. “Tell me something about your life, for I’m certainly tired of thinking about mine. You said you are a businessman. What exactly is it you do?”

  “Spend far too much of my time in boardrooms and meetings and at my computer. I run facts and figures and get people to come to agreements for their financial benefit and, of course, my own.”

  “Do you enjoy your work? You sound as if maybe you don’t.”

  He paused, weighing a silver shoe in one hand. “I enjoy the chase, the conquest, the kill. I enjoy winning. And I really enjoy the money. I didn’t grow up with it, so I still appreciate having whatever I need or want.”

  Aurora watched his face, his expression suddenly harsh and remote. “And what is it you want?” she prompted gently. “Do you really have it?”

  He glanced at her, then put the shoe back on the shelf. “I have everything I need.”

  Aurora recognized his tone. It was one she’d used in her mind often enough when trying to convince herself she was content with her life. She was a princess. She wanted for nothing except perhaps a little freedom. She had no reason to complain. Those were all things she’d told herself, but one day her pent up frustration boiled to a head and led her on a foolish adventure into a forbidden tower.

  She changed the subject. “May I take these…and these? And really this pair would go well with the striped top.”

  “Sure. Take them all,” he said. “Are you hungry? I’m starving. We could stop for something on the way back to my hotel, but perhaps it would be better to order room service. You’ve been through a lot and might appreciate some quiet time to adjust to it all.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Aurora agreed, for her head was suddenly pounding from the sheer number of things she’d seen in the past few hours. There was simply too much to think about and try to understand. For someone who’d never been out of her own environment, the world was too overwhelming.

  As they walked toward Joel’s hotel, which was not too far away, they passed a park where children played and their nannies, or perhaps their mothers, watched them. A stab of loss went through Aurora as she saw a family strolling together. How many times had she walked in her garden with her own mother? Now she never would again.

  Then her gaze was caught by a couple sitting on a bench kissing in broad daylight. The young woman’s arms were wrapped around her suitor’s neck. His hands were…well, they were all over her body, touching and stroking and even grasping at her bosom.

  Aurora looked quickly away, her body burning with embarrassment at the display but also with deep desire. She thought of how Joel’s kisses had felt and his arms around her, and she wanted to do what those young people were doing. It was shameful.

  Beside her, Joel chuckled. “A little too much PDA for you?”

  “What?”

  “Public display. That couple over there.”

  “Do people do such things now?” she asked. “Right where anyone can see them? There are children all around. It’s most unseemly.”

  “Yes, it’s still considered impolite to grope like that in public, especially when kids are around, but in general, these days, people are a lot freer in their behavior.”

  “I have never even seen anyone kiss in public, let alone do something like…that?” Aurora snuck another glance at the man and woman pressed together so closely a sheet of parchment wouldn’t fit between them.

  “Have you ever kissed someone?” Joel’s amusement at her expense was rather annoying.

  “Yes. My fiancé, Prince Karl, after our marriage arrangement was finalized.” She was annoyed that Joel thought she was so innocent—even though it was true. She wanted to prove to him that she was an adult woman with desires a virginal princess wasn’t supposed to possess. “I was quite prepared for our wedding night. I know what happens and what a wife is supposed to do. In fact
, I was quite eager for…it.”

  That wasn’t exactly true. She’d been rather more nervous than eager to lie with Karl. It occurred to her she’d never really thought of him as a real person. They’d hardly spoken, and when they did it was stilted and mundane. No doubt their lovemaking would have been the same, wooden and awkward.

  Nothing like the instant attraction she’d felt from the moment she beheld Joel. It was as if a force beyond herself had invaded her. She responded to his touch with practiced ease and wanted to do oh-so-many things with him a young lady shouldn’t want to do.

  Joel dropped the subject.

  They passed out of the park and soon reached the inn where Joel was staying. By the time they’d reached the building, Aurora was exhausted from both the long hike down the mountain and through town, and from the onslaught of new sights and information and customs.

  The man at the reception desk of the hotel hardly spared them a glance as they walked past. Aurora had the fleeting thought that it was utterly improper of her to go up to a man’s room in an inn, but she was beyond worrying about such things now. Her life was in shambles, the world had moved on, and if she didn’t adapt to the new ways, she’d never survive.

  Joel ushered her into a rather small room with a very large bed, a dresser with a mirror and a box on top of it. There was a window from which Aurora could see the street and a little side room with strange contrivances in it. Joel set the many shopping bags on the floor and took the bag containing her dress from Aurora.

  “You look about done in,” he said. “You should take a hot shower and a nap.”

  A nap sounded lovely, but she had no idea what a shower was.

  When Joel led her to the small room and showed her how water gushed directly from the wall like a fountain, Aurora was enchanted. She put her hand under the steaming spray, testing the heat and strength of the water.

  He showed her the soap for her skin, a different, liquid kind for her hair, a washcloth and a towel to dry off with afterward. Then he laid out a shirt and short pants for her to put on, and then left her alone in the bathing room.

  Aurora stripped off her new clothes and gingerly stepped into the shower. The heat and moisture enveloped her, soothing her aching muscles. This was the most amazing invention she’d seen yet. She closed her eyes as the water pummeled her back and she breathed in the steam. She could almost have fallen asleep leaning against the tiled wall. Her hands moved dreamily over her body, shampooing her hair and washing with the fragrant soap, and in her haze of sleepiness, she imagined what it would be like to have Joel’s large hands roaming her body liked this.

  Aurora had noticed all the women’s naked legs she’d seen that day were shaven, so she took the shaver Joel had provided and carefully drew it up her legs until they were silky smooth. She also trimmed around the tangle of curls at the junction of her legs and then she slipped her finger between her folds and touched herself. She’d learned to pleasure herself in her bed at night when all her maids had finally left her alone. It was the one part of her life she felt she could control. No one there to watch or judge or tell her it was wrong. She’d enjoyed those sublime moments of ecstasy she’d given herself, even while she knew it was probably considered horribly wrong.

  But now, there was no one to tell her what to think or do or say or believe.

  Clearly she had awakened in an entirely different world. One in which a couple in love could very nearly copulate right on a park bench if they wanted to. Such freedom of expression was astonishing, a bit off-putting under the circumstances with the children and all, but also extremely liberating. Aurora felt as if invisible bonds were falling away from her as she realized she too could touch and kiss and feel without boundaries.

  Leaning against the wall with the water beating down on her, she closed her eyes and imagined Joel’s fingers touching her there. He would stroke the little bud that sent sparkles of delight through her, and then he might push his finger inside her like so, testing her wetness and depth. What else might he put inside her? Aurora knew. She was not ignorant of what men did with their cocks. But she’d never seen one and couldn’t quite picture how it looked or how it might feel inside her. Would it hurt, or would it fill that aching yearning inside?

  A loud knock on the door jerked her hand away from between her legs. “Are you all right in there?” Joel’s distant voice called.

  Aurora was as flustered as if he’d caught her touching herself and knew that he was in her fantasy. “Yes. Yes, I’m doing well. The shower is very nice.”

  And clearly she’d spent too much time in it if he was asking about her. Aurora rinsed off one last time and reluctantly turned off the water. She pulled back the curtain to find steam so thick she could scarcely locate the towel. She hurriedly dried her body with the soft towel, so much more absorbent than the flannel cloth she was used to using. A person could become accustomed to modern luxuries like running water very quickly.

  After dressing in the top and shorts, Aurora regarded herself in the mirror. Her arms and legs were so…bare. She couldn’t imagine going into the other room and exposing herself to Joel like this. At the same time, excitement flickered through her at the idea. She liked the way his eyes darkened and his lids lowered when he studied her body as he’d done several times since they’d met. Knowing he was attracted to her made her feel very powerful in an odd way.

  Aurora drew a deep breath, turned the knob on the door and walked into the coolness of the bedroom with its very large bed. Joel lay stretched on the bed, leaning against a pair of pillows and watching moving pictures on the box that sat on the chest of drawers. Voices and music came from the box. Aurora gasped in astonishment, forgot all about her appearance and padded barefoot over to the bed. She couldn’t take her eyes from the colorful images as she plunked down onto the mattress beside Joel.

  “What magic is this?” she murmured.

  “Not magic. Technology,” he explained. “Images sent through space and received by the television set. This is how we get our news and other information, but it’s mostly used for entertainment. Have you seen plays before?”

  “Traveling performers come to court sometimes. They sing ballads, juggle, tell stories and sometimes act out scenes.” Aurora pushed her damp hair back from her face and focused on the fast-moving pictures. It was enough to make her queasy how quickly they shifted.

  “This is something like that. It’s a way of telling stories. People act them out.”

  “Astonishing.” She began to actually hear what the man and woman in the box were saying to each other. They wore clothing similar to what she was used to, and the man was telling the woman he loved her, that it had always been her even when they fought.

  Aurora leaned forward with her cheek resting on her hand and her elbow propped on her knee and listened to the story.

  Chapter Six

  As entranced as Aurora was by the TV, Joel was equally mesmerized by her. She was fucking adorable wearing her little tank top and boxers with her elegant limbs on display. Her red hair lay in dark, damp hanks over her back. He’d drawn the drapes so the room was quite dim for late afternoon and Aurora’s pale face reflected the flickering light of the television set. Her beautiful, hazel eyes were wide and her expression as transfixed as if she was having a religious revelation. Joel felt a little stab of guilt for spoiling her purity with the drug of television. It could be terribly addictive to a woman whose life had been empty of technology.

  But she was content and relaxed and clearly enjoying the period drama about star-crossed lovers, so he leaned back into the pillows and simply watched her.

  It was good to see her distracted from her own grief, even if just for a little while. He’d never doubted the grief was real, whatever her impossible fantasy. Uneasily, he remembered the castle vegetation that had seemed to spring across their path far too continuously for chance.

  Joel shivered. He was being infected by Aurora’s madness. But what the hell was going on with h
er? She’d suffered no obvious injury. There was no clear reason to account for her memory loss or her very peculiar fantasy. It wasn’t even a fantasy that brought her any joy. Perhaps she’d always been crazy.

  Fresh unease twisted through him. She didn’t appear mad. In fact, she was disturbingly sweet and vulnerable and sexy…and he couldn’t deny he’d felt as threatened as she did up at the castle this morning, however silly that seemed now he was back in civilization.

  A burst of music from the television heralded the roll of credits. Aurora’s head snapped round to him in indignation.

  “What’s happening, now? Where have the people gone?” she demanded.

  “The program’s finished,” Joel explained.

  “It can’t be! That woman has just discovered her long lost son is still alive, and the man with the ridiculous name wants to kill himself because the beautiful, blond girl is marrying someone else! What will happen to them?”

  “You’ll find out next week,” Joel said hastily, sliding off the bed to escape the furious accusation in her eyes. “When the next episode is on.”

  She frowned. “Truly?”

  “Truly. Now, shall we order some food? What would you like to eat?” Grabbing the room service menu from the table, he dropped it into her lap.

  Discussing the food was fine; waiting for it to be delivered while flicking around the television channels was fine too. Only when it had arrived and they spread it between them on the bed like a picnic did the shadow fall back over her face.

  Joel couldn’t help reaching out and touching her pale, scratched cheek. “It’ll be all right,” he said gently.

  But instead of cheering her, his kindness made her eyes fill. “Will it?” she whispered. “How?”

  “I don’t know,” Joel admitted, dunking a piece of bread in the tasty stew. “But we’ll work something out.” Since she continued to gaze at him with expectation, he was forced to admit that the time for soothing platitudes had passed. He gave her a lopsided smile. “We have to decide what to do next. And for the first time in years, I haven’t a clue what that should be.”