Let’s Pretend

by Laurent, River

  I feel heat rush into my cheeks. "That’s because you’ve been hanging around with the wrong kind of people," I joke lamely, and I earn a smile from him. I like it when he smiles at me. It sets off something deep down in my belly, something that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And a little off-balance at the same time, but in a good way.

  "Maybe I have," he murmurs, as he slides the book back on to the shelf beside me. His eyes flick down to my mouth.

  I can tell he’s thinking the same thing I am. I swallow hard and tear my gaze away from his. He is standing so close to me, I could just turn my head and kiss him if I wanted to...not that I want to. Or, more importantly, not that I’m going to let myself. I would have to be crazy to let myself fall for a man like him, for a man with his reputation. Even letting myself flirt a little is dangerous. I’ve had quite enough excitement in my life for the time being as it is. I need to set some rules for our relationship or I will end up making a fool of myself.

  "I just want to make one thing clear," I tell him firmly, or as firmly as I can since my voice is shaking. An unreasonable, illogical part of me wants to go through with this, wants him to lean forward and kiss me, push me up against these books, pull my body close.

  But I won’t.

  I have more important things to focus on right now. I have a promise to keep to my mother, and a home to secure for my sister. I’m not going to let some fleeting attraction to someone I know I don’t even like, get in the way of that.

  "Go ahead," he urges, but already I can hear the coolness that has come into his voice.

  "I’m not here because I like you and other than the physical aspect of our bargain, nothing can happen between us," I say. "I know how you run your business, and it’s not something I want to get involved with, not beyond this…this fake marriage. The way you just pick over dying companies...yeah, it’s really not something I can get behind."

  "I get it," he replies, his face impassive, not showing a hint of emotion. If he is pissed at me, he’s not letting me know about it.

  I should have stopped there, but I couldn’t. I hear more words coming out of my mouth, "I might like the same books as you, but I’m not like you," I continue, running my fingers through my hair. "Is that clear?”

  He levels his gaze with mine, and a smile curls up along his lips.

  This smile makes my belly ache for something I know I’ve never wanted before.

  "Crystal," he says softly.

  Chapter 10

  Zach

  She crosses her arms over her chest as though she is trying to cut me off from her body. A moment ago, it felt as though we’d been on the brink of something real, but I’m starting to wonder if I’d invented that fantasy in my head.

  I am irritated and I refuse to show it. I know I shouldn’t let her get to me, but there’s something about her that has already begun to worm its way beneath my skin. Maybe it’s just that I wasn’t allowed to go near her for so long and now, there is nothing standing in the way. Well, nothing but her high and mighty declarations that she wants nothing to do with lowly me, of course.

  “Don’t worry,” I say as nonchalantly as I can. “You’ll only need to perform your wifely duties until I get bored of you.” I see a flicker of hurt pass over her face, and I ignore it. I’m not here to soothe her ego. I'm here for business and to have her like I’ve always wanted to.

  "And I’m sure that won’t take too long," she mutters.

  “Probably not.”

  Her mouth parts with a small gasp.

  Now, I know I’ve really hurt her. "Come on, let me show you where you’re staying," I throw over my shoulder as I turn away from her.

  She follows me out of the library silently.

  The muscles in my shoulders feel tense and strained. We jumped so damn fast from actually getting along with one another to this prickly atmosphere that it’s giving me whiplash. I didn’t like not being the one in control… it didn’t suit me at all. I didn’t get where I have in the business world because I let other people tell me how to play the game, that is for damn sure...

  No point me getting all twisted up about her. I’ll get her out of my system then go back to the life I am used to. Women on tap and no strings. I have an apartment in the city that I normally use for hook-ups, making sure none of them actually get to come to this place. This is my hideaway, and it’s being invaded even as we speak by a woman who has just shown open contempt for me.

  I lead her up the stairs to the bedroom.

  Scarlett follows close behind, her arms still crossed over her chest in an attitude of rejection.

  Her perfume is sweet with undertones of something spicy. It hides her real scent and I hate that. "This is where you’ll be staying," I tell her, pushing the door to the bedroom open.

  She steps inside and after a quick glance, she turns to me with her eyebrows raised. "This is your bedroom.”

  "Yeah, I’m aware of that," I answer dryly.

  She laughs, but there isn’t much mirth in it. "You really think I’m just going to move into your bedroom?”

  I cross my arms over my chest. "Look at it this way. The sooner you bore me the sooner you’ll get your own room.”

  "Fine," she snaps.

  "You want a hand unpacking your things?"

  She shakes her head. "I can handle that on my own," she shoots back. She goes to pick up one of her bags, but it slips out of her hand, and lands with a thud on the floor.

  "What have you got in there, bricks?” I ask as I lean down to grab it for her. When I straighten, we’re standing so close I can see her teeth buried in her freshly licked bottom lip and her eyes glowing with that rare gold tinge that makes my gut burn for her.

  "Zach," she murmurs, her pupils dilated. "I..."

  Before she can say another word, I capture that plump mouth with mine.

  It may look like I’m playing a risky game since she just told me she thinks I’m an asshole. That she wouldn’t be sleeping with me out of choice. But guess what? I don’t fucking believe her. I think she’s a liar. She’d been so turned on in my office, I could fucking smell her little pussy. So, this… this is just testing the waters. If I hook nothing, fine, I’ll sleep over at my apartment in the city and she can stay here and play the Ice Princess by herself.

  But if I catch...

  She lets out a moan as I part her eager lips with my tongue and taste her for the first time. Damn, she feels so good. I slide my hands down her sides and grasping her hips, slam her body into mine. I’m uncharacteristically rough, but I can’t stop myself. I want to feel her body. I want to make it mine.

  Fuck, I want to own her utterly.

  She sinks against me and rakes her fingers through my hair, grasping, and pulling me closer to her. As if she can’t get enough. She moves her hips back against my cock, her movements as sensuous as a snake. Her body wants my cock.

  So here we are, in my bedroom, her tongue in my mouth and her soft, supple body against mine, and all I want to do is throw her on my bed, rip off her clothes and—

  A knock at the door draws my attention, but she is so into it, she doesn’t even hear it. I pull away from her and she looks up at me, her cheeks flushed, her mouth swollen, and her eyes wide and glassy. “What is it?” she whispers. The discreet knock comes again and this time she hears it and jumps back like a startled deer. She is so embarrassed she can’t so much as look me in the eyes.

  It’s so damned cute. I can’t remember the last time a woman was embarrassed because someone knocked on the door while we were making out. "Come in,” I call.

  The door opens. "Sorry to interrupt, Sir," Arnold says in his formal voice, but there is a flicker of amusement on his face. "But there’s a phone call for you. They say it’s urgent, can’t wait."

  I open my mouth to tell him that they’re just going to have to wait, but then I glance over at Scarlett and change my mind. Her body is tightly strung, her breath is coming in short, sharp bursts, and she is looking at me with blatant desir
e. If I send Arnold away, I could have her right here and now. And even though I’m so turned on I’ll probably have to relieve myself soon, I want to make her wait for it. The longer she waits the sweeter her release will be.

  "I’ll be right down," I reply. "Thanks, Arnold." I shoot a look at Scarlett.

  She looks flabbergasted.

  Good! Then I walk out of the room and leave her to overheat with the promise of our unfinished business.

  Chapter 11

  Scarlett

  I stand here, mouth open, staring after him. What the hell...? I am sure he was into it as much as I was, but he walks away from me like it is nothing.

  Hell, I can still smell his aftershave on my skin.

  I close my eyes and let his scent wash over me. It pulses through my whole body. I want him back. No… more than that…. I need him back. I need to touch him again. I want to kiss him. I’ve never been kissed like that before in my life and it made me feel like my whole body was being set on fire.

  Why wouldn’t I want more of that?

  I frown thinking about him. He must have known I was desperate for it, but could he have known I’ve never done that before? Maybe that’s why he found it so easy to walk away from me? Maybe I am a terrible kisser? The thought thrums in my head, panic, and humiliation running through me all at once.

  But no. That can’t be it either.

  The look he gave me when he left the room promised more was coming later. Now that I think of it, the whole exercise must have been a tease. Maybe, when he is done, he will come back here and finish what he started. The thought thrills me and exciting pulses shoot down my spine, which is weird considering I just told him, a few minutes ago I didn’t want to get involved with him. And I still don’t. I don’t want to get involved emotionally with him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t allow myself to have a little fun while I’m here.

  I hang around for fifteen minutes before I realize he is not coming back. He just left me high and dry to pine for him. I glance to the bed. Damn him. I don’t masturbate a lot. The last year has been sad. Taking care of a sick man doesn’t put any sexy thoughts into your head. Also, there had been no Zack around to arouse me.

  I make sure that the door is closed before I slide on top of the covers and slip my hand down my panties to find my clit. It is still swollen and throbbing.

  I move my fingers against my pussy, pushing back against them, needing more pressure, more. I close my eyes and pretend they are his fingers, brushing against my clit. I imagine his hard body is here with me on the bed.

  What would he do to me if he were here?

  I let my imagination take control, and soon enough my head is filled with images of us in his office. This time, he doesn’t let me pull my panties back on. He orders me to come sit on the desk in front of him and spread my legs wide. I obey him. His face is only a foot away from my open pussy. In his eyes, I see that insatiable hunger again. He caresses my clit, his heavy-lidded eyes on mine as he watches my reactions. I feel an explosive shudder of lust running through me making my body jump as his fingers circle my clit. Oh God, I’m going to come.

  “You’ve never been touched by a man before, have you Scarlett?” he asks, as he plays with my pussy, his fingers tracing around the outside of my hole.

  I nod. How would it feel to have him inside me there? Would it hurt? He knows what he is doing, he would know how to make it work...how to make it feel good for me, even though I’ve never done it before.

  "Saving all this for my cock, huh?” he murmurs, plunging his thick fingers into my pussy.

  I push a finger inside of myself and gasp at the wetness, the slickness, the smoothness within me. And I’m taken aback by how damn good it feels. I thought it would hurt, but instead, I find myself adding another finger, just wanting to find out what it would be like to have his cock inside me.

  I know my fingers are a poor substitute for what he can give me. He could wrap his arms around me and pull me close, kiss me just like he kissed me today, his tongue deep in my mouth, exploring me like he never wanted to stop. I find myself lifting my hips and moving back against my fingers helplessly, a small moan escaping my lips. I know there are other people in this house and I could be busted in the act at any moment, but I don’t give a damn. I just want to feel that release, the release I have been craving since he touched my sex with his eyes in his office and told me, without words, that he was going to make me his...

  When my climax rolls through me, I have to press my lips together to keep from screaming. The pleasure bursts through me, my nerve-endings lighting up like a Christmas tree. It is so real I can almost feel the touch of his sweet mouth on mine again, even though he feels so far away.

  I let myself come to stillness again, and gaze up at the ceiling.

  As the fog of pleasure clears and I return to my body all over again, I wonder what the hell I am doing. I just made myself come in his bed! How could I have lost control so completely and so quickly? I haven’t even been in this house a full hour yet, and he has already found a way to push me to the point where I can’t take it without giving myself some relief.

  Then I remember the look on his face and I realize that this is probably exactly how he wants me. He wants me desperate for him. He wants me starving for his touch. Because, I’m sure, he plans on feeding me again. And he wants to make sure I’m ravenous for him when that time comes.

  I close my eyes. I am so exhausted from everything that has happened the last few days that sleep comes to me almost at once. I inhale the scent of him still left on his pillow from the night before, and let myself drift off.

  Chapter 12

  Scarlett

  When my eyes flutter open, back to wakefulness, it is morning. I can tell from the buttery yellow light filtering through the gaps in the curtains of the large window opposite the bed. I squint my eyes half-shut to protect them from the brightness, still not quite ready for the light of day yet.

  I glance around, half-expecting to see Zach asleep, on the pillow next to me. It will be the first time I’ve woken up next to a man. But it is empty. I’m alone. I wonder where he is and what time it is. I have no clue, my phone is low on battery, and no clocks are on the walls.

  I peel myself out of bed, put my charger into my phone, and head to my luggage to grab some clothes. Kicking off what I was wearing as I walk to the en-suite bathroom. The sight of my naked body in the bathroom mirror makes me flush. I think of Zach seeing me like this. Then I remember what I did last night right there in his bed and how the idea of him looking at my pussy turns me on so much I came in record time.

  Quickly, I shower, get dressed, and pull my charger out of the socket. I can see that my sister has called once and Molly has called thirteen times. A lot of people come and go when you have the kind of cash that my family does, but Molly has always stuck around and never asked for a thing from me. When she heard about my father, she practically moved in for a few days to help me with the funeral arrangements. I send her a quick text since it’s too early to call her now. She likes to sleep in on Saturday mornings.

  Sticking the phone into my purse, I wander out of the room. The long corridors are deserted and I meet no one on my way down the grand curving stairs. It would be so easy for me to get lost if I wasn’t keeping my wits about me, and frankly, even as it is, I feel distracted and a little off-balance.

  I know my body is looking for Zach. He feels like an anchor in this enormous place. I need to call Molly when I get the chance. She will ground me.

  "Good morning, Miss Johnson.” a voice calls to me as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

  I'm startled and glance around to see Arnold looking over at me from a set of wide double doors. “Oh, good morning to you too.”

  “Can I show you to the breakfast room?”

  "Uh no," I reply, wrapping my arms around myself protectively. "I was just wondering where Zach is?”

  "He’s at work," Arnold explains.

  I raise my eyebrow
s. “It’s Saturday.”

  "Mr. Black has been known to even work on Sundays," Arnold replies gently, with the faintest flicker of a smile.

  I run my hands through my hair. If he isn’t around it might be my best opportunity to meet up with Molly. "Oh, I think I want to go out and get something to eat. Do I call a driver? Is there a car, or...?”

  "Mr. Black did leave these for you," Arnold replies, dipping his fingers into his jacket packet and holding out a set of keys in my direction.

  I stare at them for a moment. Did he really...?

  "Thank you," I say, taking the keys from him. I glance down at them, and see a Porsche keyring dangling from the chain. My eyebrows shoot up. There is no way in hell he actually got me a car this fancy.

  "It’s one of his fleet," Arnold explains, noticing my surprise. "He said you are to use it as long as you’re here.”

  “I’ve never driven one,” I confess.

  “I think you’ll find that it is one of the easiest cars to drive.” He drops his voice to a whisper. “And it’s automatic.”

  I grin. “Is it insured?”

  He grins back. “If you like I can show you how it all works.”

  "Yes, please!” I say enthusiastically. I might not know much about cars, but I know for damn sure that a Porsche is one of the best in the business. The kind of thing that my father would have deemed as too dangerous for my sister and me to ever drive. On my eighteenth birthday, I received my first car, a Fiat. Second hand, because my father said, I was bound to knock it about, and soon afterward Dad fell ill. A new car was the last thing I thought about.

  Now, I am about to get to play with a Porsche and I’m already feeling excited about the prospect.

  Arnold leads me out to a massive garage at the back of the house, and I am practically skipping on the spot as I follow him. We walk past an Aston Martin, a Rolls Royce, and a Lambo and I can’t believe this is really happening. It feels crazy, but in the best possible way. And I am touched, to be honest, that Zach has already given enough thought to my needs when he is not around.