by Lauren Wood
“Why do we always end up making out in the back of cars like this?” she asked breathlessly in between our eager, colliding mouths.
“Because we just can’t wait?”
“I think we’ve actually shown an admirable amount of restraint, all things considered. We’ve only slept together twice this whole time.”
“Oh, yeah?” I raised a brow at her as I gathered up the torn layers of her dirty dress and did my best to toss it all out of the way. I trailed my fingers up her thighs and plowed my tongue further down her throat to show just how done with restraint I was.
I thought I heard the faint murmur of a reply, but it was lost as I snuck two fingers past the damp lacey fabric of her panties and teased along her folds. Her soft whimpers of arousal drove me mad and made me even more impatient. I slid inside of her as she clutched my shoulders and opened her mouth wider, deepening our kiss.
We were lost like that for the rest of the way to the hotel. I made sure not to push her too far. I wanted to have her laid out in front of me in plain view as she climaxed, even if it would have been fun to coax it out of her right there in the car.
By the time we got into our room, which was lavishly decorated with candles, rose petals, and buckets of chilled champagne, different needs started to take over.
“Could you imagine walking into all this if things hadn’t worked out this way?” she asked, taken aback by the scene.
“No, I couldn’t,” I answered, imagining what a nightmare that would’ve been. “I never would have. I had a back-up room in case you didn’t feel like sealing the deal. But that was before I realized we’d be leaving all our guests behind with no wedding or reception.”
We looked each other over in our ruined tux and dress and started laughing all over again. I was ready to pop open one of the bottles of champagne, while Maya said she was desperate for a shower. I threw back a big glass of bubbly, giving her a few moments alone to wash off, but I wasn’t about to let her have the shower all to herself. I quickly stripped down, glad to be free of the formalwear, and crept into the bathroom behind her.
“Oh, hello.” She smiled coyly as I opened the door to the shower.
I closed the door behind me and adjusted to the steaming hot water, which was only more intense with the sight of Maya’s naked, wet body standing in front of me. I couldn’t wait a second longer to feel it up against mine. I pulled her in close as our mouths reunited, picking up right where we had left off in the car. My fingers returned to the job they had started as I pressed her up against the tiled wall.
She wrapped a leg around me, surrendering herself to my touch. I relished in the way her body curved to mine with each stroke and how open her mouth was with each unabashed moan of pleasure. Desperate to draw even more out of her, I lowered to my knees and settled between her legs. I lapped her up until she was shaking and digging her nails into my back. The cries of her climax finally sang out, echoing through the bathroom walls.
“I feel much better now,” she snickered as she slowly came down from the swell of pleasure.
We stepped out of the shower, unable to stop kissing for more than a few seconds at a time as we dried off with the big white towels laid out for us. I was eager to lead her to the bed and have more of her. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to know that she loved me back. It was thrilling to think how many more times I would get to explore every inch of her body as we lost ourselves in each other. We didn’t have to hold back anymore.
I threw her down to the bed and pulled her hips to the edge, lifting her so that I could finally slide inside her at just the right angle. She writhed against the sheets as I thrust in and watched the rose petals that had been sprinkled around getting tangled in her hair. It was like a dream to see her that way and to feel the waves of gratification that pulsed through me as I moved inside of her. Her breasts bounced with each plunge, drawing my hands up to caress them.
“You feel so good,” she groaned, thrashing her head back.
“Even now that I’m not forbidden fruit?” I chuckled, though my laughter was quickly cut off by the building sensations.
“Even better,” she gasped with another deep thrust forward.
Everything inside of her tightened around me, begging me to come. I moved faster and harder, holding on to see her go again. She grabbed her breasts and circled her thumbs around her nipples, delighting in how I watched her. It felt like she was forcing me to hold off just to torture me. But I moved her legs up and pushed in deeper. The joke was on her. I could feel her quivering from the inside out as I filled her completely, pulled out, and quickly crashed forward again. With a few more swift movements, she was crashing into oblivion, with me close behind her.
We had somehow found our way further onto the bed, with me on top of her as our bodies melded together. We both cried out with more urgent gasps and broken words as it climbed and descended. I slowed but didn’t pull away. I wanted to stay like that, buried deep inside of her for as long as I could.
With my head lowered to her pounding chest as we both caught our breath, I couldn’t believe what a day we had. I woke up this morning thinking the best possible scenario would be if I could coax her to this room to enjoy the benefits of our situation. Even if I hadn’t been so lucky, I would have a fake bride and my family would be happy.
Instead, we laid there together, unmarried and madly in love. There were no more secrets. No more pretending. Just us. So what if that wasn’t enough to make my family happy. It was definitely enough to make me the happiest guy in the world.
Epilogue
Maya
While I never thought I’d find myself walking down an aisle as a bride, there I stood for the second time with Jesse waiting for me at the other end with a big smile on his face. Only this time, there wasn’t a room full of people we were deceiving. There wasn’t a room at all. Just the breeze from the ocean sweeping through our little circle of palm trees, nestled into a far corner of the private beach. No big ridiculous wedding gown. Just a sheer, elegant, simple sundress. And rather than wearing heels, I went barefoot. Everything was different this time.
I had no trouble making the long walk the second time around. I was eager to make my way to Jesse and take our vows. We held each other’s hands and looked deep into each other’s eyes, promising to forsake all others and live in devotion to our love for one another. Through a mixture of tears and laughter, we said our vows.
The best part was what came after our spoken promises to each other—the kiss. A year had passed since we confessed our love for each other, and somehow his kiss still melted me. It never got old or boring. It turned out that I was potentially more insatiable than Jesse.
Our private little ceremony was short and sweet and perfect. Afterward, we walked along the white sandy beach, holding hands. I had never been anywhere so beautiful, but then again, I had said that several times over the past year. Jesse meant what he said when he told me he wanted me to be able to travel the world and see everything beyond the United States. The list of places I wanted to go, purely based on fantasies and books, hadn’t steered us wrong yet. Each place we ventured to was more stunning than the last.
The shores of San José del Cabo, Mexico, were white as snow, with crystal-clear, blue waters as far as the eye could see. The only thing that made it better was being here with Jesse. He had gotten very tan from all our recent travels and was looking particularly hot that day in his loose-fitting, white linen suit. He had stripped down to nothing but the pants, keeping his shirt and jacket draped over his shoulder. I looked at his six-pack glistening in the sun, leading up to his chiseled chest, and couldn’t wait to get him back to the hotel room later.
Jesse decided to come clean to his family after we abandoned the big show of our wedding. He told them all about the agency, the arrangement, and the contract, which was all much more bearable since he could end it with the fact that we had found true love. We would one day be getting married, just not right then. It turned out
they had become just as fond of me as I had of them, so they didn’t really care how we had come together, just so long as I was sticking around.
He didn’t quite tell the whole story to his grandfather. He couldn’t take the embarrassment of telling him about the matchmaking service, but he did tell him we rushed into things because he was so eager for him to see the wedding before he died, though he could take comfort in knowing that his grandson had found love. The fact that I was also independently wealthy only delighted his grandfather even more.
His grandfather did, sadly, pass away a few months later, but he did so with reassurance from Jesse that we were in love and would get married soon enough. It was a sad time in the Halstead family, but I was glad I could be there for them during it all. I mourned the loss right along with them. After all, if it hadn’t been for their grandfather, Jesse and I might never have found each other.
“So, how does it feel?” I asked Jesse as we continued walking along the beach.
“Being married?” he asked.
“Not just that, but being the last Halstead brother to get married off. All the notorious heartbreakers finally settled down.”
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he argued with a smile. “I bet all our marriages last, unlike some of those suckers out there, dying to settle down with the first person they meet.”
I laughed, hoping he was right. Jesse and I were definitely right about one thing. We were friends. Best friends, actually. He was a friend that I didn’t realize I so desperately needed. Losing him would leave a huge hole in my life, so we both promised never to let that happen. The only thing we got wrong was about us being just friends. Even without a contract, we were much more than that.
In addition to being lovers, we were now business partners. Eric finally convinced Jesse of what he had known was true for a long time. He wasn’t that happy working at Halstead Corp, and it was much easier for him to quit since Eric had done it first. Meanwhile, I had opened my own gallery, which Jesse visited quite often while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.
It didn’t take long for him to get swept up in the thrill of collecting art, which fit in perfectly with our world travels. We collected work from local artists all over the place and brought them back to the city. A few artists who were previously unheard of were now famous because of us.
“Should we head over to the art walk?” Jesse suggested after our legs started getting tired.
“You’re not just insatiable in bed. You have an insatiable art addiction, too,” I teased.
“All thanks to you. You were my gateway drug.” He pulled me over and playfully bit into my neck, causing me to shriek.
We laughed and walked through the city streets, lined with booths of paintings and drawings. After acquiring a few pieces to take back home with us, we retired to our room and made love for the rest of the afternoon. After lots of sex and napping, we woke up in the evening hours for dinner and drinks.
“This has been the perfect wedding day,” I sighed from across our candlelit table, lined with tropical flowers.
“Agreed! Way better than the first one.” He lifted his glass to mine for a toast.
We never got tired of making jokes about how we came together and how we almost got married before we had really had a chance to be together. His brothers would tease that they couldn’t wait to tell our kids one day, but we weren’t quite there yet. Getting warmed up to the idea of love and marriage was a big enough of a leap for both of us. Kids could wait if they came at all. For now, we were more than happy to keep traveling the world and collecting art.
After a delicious meal and several drinks, we sat back and listened to live music and watched the dancers on the stage. The women were scantily clad in their sequined tops and bikini bottoms. The waitresses were dressed the same, and in addition to that, there were a number of attractive women in skimpy dresses floating around the dance floor.
Sometimes my old fears still got the best of me. Would Jesse ever get bored of me and miss his bachelor’s life? But as the women passed, he seemed to have on blinders. He looked straight at me, deep into my eyes, and asked me to dance. I smiled and slipped my hand into his as he led me out onto the floor.
We tangoed around each other in laughter. Sometimes the music would slow, and we would stop laughing. We would eye each other intensely and move in close together with slow, seductive movements, dreaming of when we returned to the hotel later. Either way, it was like we were the only two people in the world. I knew what Jesse had promised was true. He only had eyes for me now.
We may have been looking for a fake arrangement to help us both in different ways, but we found real love that helped us in all the ways we didn’t know we needed.
I hope you enjoyed The Billionaire’s Fake Bride! If you did, I would love if you could leave a review HERE to help other readers find it.
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Turn Your Page
The Billionaire’s Lawyer
Halstead Billionaire Brothers Series (Book 3)
1
Eric
I sat at a table with my brothers, Dominic and Jesse, as we watched our other brother, Jason, twirl his new bride around on the dance floor. Weddings used to be my favorite kind of party – free booze and food and tons of single girls dreaming of their own wedding day, making them particularly easy to charm away into bed. What’s not to love?
But as happy as I was for Jason and Tara, there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach – one that had been growing for a while.
“What’s gotten into you?” Dominic nudged me. “Didn’t get enough sun on this last trip to the Bahamas?”
I smiled but didn’t answer. I had talked to Jason about how I’ve been feeling, but I had yet to break the news to Dominic. His girlfriend, Vanna, leaned against his shoulder and looked up at him with starry eyes. I knew I had to pull him aside to talk now before the two love birds went dancing off in the crowd.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I whispered discreetly in his ear, but of course it still piqued the interest of Jesse.
Being the youngest, Jesse was always a little nosy and immature with this constant fear of being left out of things. We were definitely in the same boat as far as being resented by Dominic and Jason. They were the mature, responsible ones – always taking the lead with our family’s multi-billion-dollar corporation. Jesse and I were much more aloof, me even more so than him. The fact that the responsibility and lifestyle of running this huge company just got plopped onto our shoulders from birth, whether we liked it or not, didn’t bother our older brothers because they were naturally suited for it.
Their work made them genuinely happy. I couldn’t speak for Jesse, but I knew since I was a teen that it was not the life I wanted. After thus far spending my entire adult life taking advantage of the billionaire life, jet setting around the country with hot models and actresses galore, it was finally time to stop running from things.
Dominic followed me out into the corridor of the reception hall, already looking disinterested in whatever I had to say. I couldn’t blame him for feeling the way he did about me. I’ve never carried my fair share of the weight in the family, and, up until now, I’ve been pretty unapologetic about it.
“They look happy, huh?” I offered, wanting to break the ice.
“It’s crazy how fast it all happened,” he nodded. “First me and Vanna…now Jason and Tara. I can tell Vanna is already on edge about when I’ll pop the question to her.”
“Will you?”
“Of course. When the time is right. I love her,” he shrugged as if choosing one woman to sign your life away to was the easiest thing in the world. “And what about you? I keep thinking one day you’ll come back from one of these ridiculous trips telling
us you eloped with one of your girlfriends.”
I laughed, choking a little from the tightness in my throat. I was definitely ready for something different in my life - the next chapter, sure - but marriage was not on my radar. But I didn’t bring him out here to talk about that.
“Hey, just because you two rushed off into settling down doesn’t mean I have to.”
Dominic used to be more like me and Jesse as far as women went. We didn’t think he’d ever get saddled down with one woman. But he met this hot caterer named Vanna and the rest is history. He hasn’t been the same since. Now he suddenly has this air of arrogance to him, like he’s better than us for having found someone. And Jason’s marriage has only reinforced his ego as well.
Vanna’s best friend, Tara, got herself into some trouble, which Dominic got roped into helping them out of. Jason’s wife had been tragically murdered the year before, leaving him on the hunt for a new nanny so he could return to work. They convinced him to hire Tara and the whole thing happened again – he was a goner, just like Dominic.
It was starting to feel like it was something in the water around us Halstead brothers, and I was not about to get poisoned with the same thing. At least Jason had already taken the wife and kids plunge. It made sense for him to remarry, but for Dominic to be a lost cause too – it was hard to look at him the same.
“So, what’s on your mind?” he crossed his arms and glared at me in a fatherly way.
“I talked to Jason a little about this while you were in Paris,” I explained slowly. “But I need to come clean about something. I…well, I guess it’s probably no surprise…but I’m not really interested in sticking with the company.”
