“Really?” She looked to Devin for an approval, and he looked toward me.
I nodded my head yes and even caught a smile from Izzy before she turned back to Devin.
“Yep, I think that will work.”
“And you guys can bring her home in the morning after church if that works for you?” Mrs. Edwards added.
Church? I hadn’t even gone to church with my parents in the last three years. I wasn’t so sure I was ready to go with a fake husband and his child. Even though I wasn’t a religious person, walking into church in the midst of such a big lie seemed a little like taunting God.
“That sounds great, thank you,” Devin said to Mrs. Edwards. “We will have her home by noon.”
“Really? I get to come,” Izzy screamed as she jumped up and hugged Devin. “I’m going to go grab my swimsuit.”
Izzy started to leave the table, but Mrs. Edwards put a stop to her excitement fairly quickly.
“Izzy, get back to your seat. It’s dinner time. You can pack your things when you have finished what’s on your plate.”
The firm tone of her voice caught me off guard, but Izzy listened to her right away and sat back down in her seat. She didn’t seem upset by the rule that was set for her either. Instead, she simply started to eat her dinner quickly so she could go do what she wanted. It was a small peek into what it would someday be like to be a parent. Setting rules and enforcing them wasn’t something I was prepared to do at this point in my fake marriage to Devin, though.
After dinner, Devin and I sat on the couch while Mrs. Edwards helped Izzy pack a small backpack with her things. It all felt so grown up as we walked back out to the car and loaded in to head back to the hotel. I was no longer just pretending to be Devin’s wife, but I was also pretending to be a step-mom. The lie was starting to give me an upset stomach. Lying to a grownup was something I was alright with, but lying to Izzy wasn’t sitting well with me.
“Should we stop at the mall so you can get an outfit?” Devin asked as we got on the interstate.
As much as I didn’t want to spend any of Devin’s money, I hadn’t gotten my paycheck before I left Chicago, and I did need something to sleep in and something to wear the next day.
“Sure,” I answered.
“I’ll give you my credit card, and you can run in and grab what you need. Will that work?”
“Um, no. I don’t want your credit card,” I protested.
Devin looked at me and then clearly looked back at Izzy as if to tell me not to protest his offer in front of his daughter. I had no choice, so I agreed.
“Okay, sorry,” I said.
It only took me about twenty minutes to run into the mall and get back to the car. I grabbed a casual pair of jeans, some leggings, and a T-shirt. I figured I could mix and match them as needed to get through the evening. I purposely did not get a swimsuit though because I wanted Devin and Izzy to get some time alone in the pool.
“Here you go,” I said as I handed him back the card. “I spent thirty-three dollars and eighty-five cents.”
I handed Devin the receipt for what I had purchased, and he laughed at me and then crumpled it up and threw it into the back seat. This made Izzy laugh as it ended up landing right next to her.
“You don’t need to give me your receipt.”
“I’m sorry, I just wanted you to know how much I spent so you could balance your checkbook.”
Devin continued to laugh, and I wasn’t sure what was so funny.
“I don’t balance a checkbook.”
“Then how do you know how much is in your account?” I asked.
It was a genuine question I had. Even if he had a lot of money, I thought everyone balanced a checkbook either on paper or digitally. Obviously, I was young and didn’t know that much about finances, but I knew what it was like to have a bounced check on my bank account, and I didn’t want something like that to happen to Devin because of the money I spent.
Before pulling out of the parking lot, Devin pulled his phone out and pressed his finger onto the home button. The phone unlocked, and he opened his banking app.
“I’m not worried about how much is in there.” He laughed and handed me the phone once he had his banking app open.
The number on the screen took a good twenty seconds for me to register. I counted the zeros and then counted them again. Devin had $87.017.760 in his checking account. The number was beyond anything I had ever seen on a digital bank account app. My personal account had never reached more than $400 at any one time.
“Oh,” I managed to say as he took his phone back and put it in his pocket.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be cocky. Was that cocky? Sorry.”
“Ha, well I think that was a little cocky, but I’ll let it slide.”
“What does cocky mean?” Izzy asked from the back seat.
Devin and I both widened our eyes in the realization that we certainly weren’t paying attention to what we were saying.
“It means someone is full of them self or bragging too much,” I said.
“Oh, what does full of yourself mean?” Izzy asked.
I pointed to Devin to take this question. I wasn’t about to figure out how to explain that funny little phrase.
“Um, it means someone who is cocky.” Devin laughed and so did Izzy. “Basically, I shouldn’t have shown Lilli my phone.”
“Lilli, are you coming swimming with us?” Izzy asked as she quickly changed the subject.
“I’m not. I’m really tired, so I was going to take a shower and then go to bed. Is that alright? I also don’t have a swimsuit. I forgot to bring mine with us.”
“That’s fine. Dad, will you throw me up in the air while we are in the pool?”
“Sure honey,” Devin said, and Izzy finally went silent for a few minutes as we drove the rest of the way back toward downtown and our hotel.
When we arrived back at the hotel, Devin and Izzy quickly changed into their swimsuits and made their way to the rooftop pool. I was exhausted and didn’t even bother showering as I slipped into my new leggings and T-shirt and climbed into the bed. I moved all the way over to one side of the bed and closed my eyes.
It was very tiring trying to be something I wasn’t. Everything I did, or said, was replayed in my mind as I tried to get to sleep. Had Mrs. Edwards believed the lie we were portraying? Did Izzy believe us? Did Izzy even understand what being married was or that Devin and I were saying we were married?
There were so many questions that I didn’t think I was going to be able to fall asleep at all. I tossed and turned for a while, but about thirty minutes after crawling into bed, I finally drifted off to sleep.
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Preview of “The Deal”
Chapter 1
Jason
“Nice swim suit,” I said with a chuckle as I noticed my neighbor Anna in her back yard.
“Thanks. Are you seriously mowing your yard again?”
“It’s a weekly thing. Are you seriously tanning again?” I teased her.
“Nah, I was actually going to jump on the trampoline,” she said with a wink.
Anna Cook was my extremely tempting neighbor. Her long blonde hair and young bikini clad body were a constant in my late-night fantasies. When she put up a trampoline in her backyard, I couldn’t help laughing at the idea. What sort of adult would actually play on a trampoline? But then again, Anna was only a year or two into her adulthood, and she did love to torture me with that body of hers.
“Don’t you dare,” I playfully protested. “I’ve got mowing to do, and then I actually need to get work done today from home.”
“Where’s Clyde today?” Anna asked as she jumped up from her lounge chair and came over to the open gate.
My body instantly throbbed as I took in every inch of her body. Anna’s tiny frame was accentuated by the tight strings of her bikini. Her voluptuous breasts were barely covered by the white triangular fabric that stretched over them. I close
d my eyes for a moment as I took a mental picture of her licking her lips and tossing her hair back on her walk over to me.
“Rosie took him to school today.”
“Come on Jason, school? It’s August. Why would you do that to the poor kid?” she asked as her hand wrapped around my forearm, and she leaned in toward me.
“Yeah, he actually really likes his summer program. It keeps him busy and gives him something to do. He’s only five. Being home with me is actually boring when I’ve got business to do all day.”
“So, you’ve got the house all to yourself?” she asked as she pressed her delicious tits against my arm.
I held onto the fence with my arm firmly planted in front of me. She wasn’t coming over. Anna Cook wasn’t setting a foot in my house, and not because I wouldn’t love to throw her on my bed and have my way with her. No, she was off limits because her father was the chief financial officer at a company my firm was looking to purchase. The deal I was doing with her father’s company was only in place because he and I were friends. Not to mention he happened to be my neighbor. Anna was one hundred percent off-limits to me.
Edward Cook trusted me and had let me in on the company’s financial difficulties in an effort to get my help. The deal I was working on with his boss would help all of us. The reorganization I could offer them would keep the Cook, Sparser, and Conner Building Company operational. But succumbing to the primal temptation I had for Anna could seriously ruin everything.
“I’m going to go mow now,” I said with the last bit of willpower I had.
“Sooner or later, I’ll have you, Jason,” she yelled after me as I walked away with my lawnmower.
God, I hoped that was true. Somewhere down the line when all the business dealings were done I’d relish the chance to have Anna in my bed. But until that time came, I’d have to avoid her as much as possible.
I started the mower, put my sunglasses on, and turned my headphones on just to separate myself from Anna as I watched her climb up onto her trampoline. The white fence between our two homes allowed me to see her yard only at certain angles, but as she started jumping up and down on her trampoline, I saw every bit of her. Her blonde hair flung around, and as much as I tried not to look, her perky young tits were bouncing as well. She bought that damn thing just to torture me, I knew it.
With my head lowered and eyes forward, I pushed my mower up and down the back yard and looked away as I approached her side of the yard. My heart raced from the combination of heat in the air and the vision of Anna bouncing next to me in her tiny white bikini. Penthouse had nothing on me at that moment—this fantasy was strong, and I started to sweat as I thought more and more about it. How easy it would be to just grab her and bring her into the house. We could have a hot, sweaty afternoon together and then go about life as normal. But I knew better than that. A young girl like Anna would get attached, she’d blab to her father, or tell her friends. No, I couldn’t give in. No matter how hard she made me or how desperately my body ached for her. I just had to avoid her as much as possible.
When I finally finished the backyard mowing and turned the mower off, Anna was no longer jumping on the trampoline. I didn’t look toward her house, though. Instead, I pushed the mower back toward the garage with a small sense of relief that she wasn’t jumping anymore.
“How do you like my trampoline?” she said as she suddenly appeared in the open gate between our houses.
“I think it’s horrible.”
“Oh, come on now. You know you want to try it out,” she said as her hand grabbed mine, and she pulled me over. “Look, I put the sprinkler on it. Won’t that feel good after all that hard work you just did?” Her hands pressed against my chest as she tried to pull my shirt up and over my head.
“No, I better get going. I’ve got to shower, and then I have new assistants coming for interviews today.”
“Hmmm, shower? I could help with that,” she teased.
“No, you are not helping with that. Come on now Anna, I need to go in.”
“Just one minute on the trampoline. Trust me; it’s impossible to be grumpy after just a minute.”
“I’m not grumpy,” I protested.
“Well… I disagree.” She giggled. “Come on. One minute.”
As Anna turned the sprinkler toward us, the cool water felt magnificent. I stood still as the water moved from one side of the trampoline to the other. I glanced at her driveway and saw that both her parents’ cars were gone. And then, I did the one thing I knew I shouldn’t have done.
“One minute,” I said firmly and jumped up onto the bouncing backyard toy.
Anna’s smile grew to twice its size as she held her arms up for me to help her onto the trampoline. Her tanned skin was wet from the sprinkler, and I had to grab her forearms to get a good enough grip to pull her up. Of course, she pressed herself against me as she made it up to the top of the stretched fabric. Her plump chest ignited my body instantly as she stayed there for a moment before pulling away.
“I’ll be your assistant,” she said seriously as she started jumping.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why? I’m great with my hands. Not too bad to look at. And I’ve got some mean typing skills.”
“No, no, no.” I laughed. “I have to get the work done, and you know damn well you’d never allow that.”
“What do you mean?” she asked as she jumped toward me and grabbed onto the waist of my shorts. Her hands slid in, and I felt her fingers next to my skin. Only inches away from my throbbing body, and she wasn’t letting go. Her fingers grabbed tightly as she and I bounced playfully.
“This, this is exactly what I mean.”
“Oh, I can be a hard worker too,” she teased as she let go of my shorts. “I’d be the best damn assistant you ever had.”
“Well, I’ve never had a personal assistant, so yeah, you probably would. But Anna, seriously, I have to hire someone who I’m going to boss around, and they will have to listen.”
“Tell me what you want me to do,” her seductive voice said. “I’ll do whatever you’d like.”
Every inch of me was throbbing at the idea of Anna doing what I’d like. Maybe it was just as much me as it was her that couldn’t be trusted. No matter what the reason, Anna wasn’t going to work for me. That was the end of it.
“Stop jumping in that damn swimsuit,” I joked.
“Stop doing this?” Anna said as she continued jumping.
“See, you can’t even listen. It would never work.” I laughed and moved toward the edge of the trampoline so I could get off.
“Jason, you know you want to tell me something else to do. Come on, try it again.”
I sat down with my feet over the edge of the trampoline and was just about to climb off. There were so many things I’d love to have Anna do, and every single one of them was dirty and deliciously perverted. “I’m going to head inside now. Enjoy your afternoon in the sun.”
“Stay,” she said as she thrust her body onto my lap and straddled me. “Stay here for a minute.”
“Anna Cook, you are killing me. Certifiably killing me right now.”
“Hmmm, it feels like you are getting a little stiff.” She laughed as her hips wiggled on top of me, and she pressed against my obviously hard member. “I think you really want me to stay right here.”
As her hand slid down and rubbed against me, she repositioned so my throbbing dick was pressed against her clit through her swimsuit. Anna hadn’t been this bold before. She’d never had me in a position like this, but then again, I’d normally avoided coming into her yard.
There were only a couple thin layers of fabric between the two of us, and I wanted to rip them off and thrust my body into hers. My hands wrapped around her ass, and I squeezed it hard as she thrust her hips in a grinding motion against me. I couldn’t help it. As much as I wanted to say no, every inch of my body throbbed for this girl, and I couldn’t walk away. I wasn’t actually screwing her, there was fabric there. We were s
eparated by my shorts and her swimsuit.
“Anna…” I started to say but couldn’t come up with any other protests.
“Jason,” she responded as her mouth moved to my earlobe. “I want you inside of me.”
“You should go find yourself a nice boy your age.”
“I want you. No one has to know. I’ll just come over for a little bit.”
Her damn sexy body was literally irresistible as I held onto her and didn’t make a move to leave at all. It had been a whole year since I’d had a naked woman, or nearly naked woman, on top of me like that. As much as my mind told me to push her away, my body wanted her. I ached for the closeness and primal delight I knew could happen if I’d just say yes to her.
“Anna, you know I can’t,” I finally muttered.
“Yes, just say yes, Jason,” she said softly into my ear. “Think about what it would feel like. Think about how tight I am and how you’d love to slide inside of me. Think about how I’d scream out in pleasure with each of your…”
Just then, a car pulled up into her driveway. We couldn’t see it, but it was close enough that I knew it was either her mother or father. I quickly lifted her off me and climbed off the wet trampoline. I hadn’t noticed just how soaking wet the two of us had gotten. “Shit, Anna, I’ve got to go.”
“Let me be your assistant? Or let this happen,” she asked one last time as she pointed between the two of us.
“Absolutely not. You can’t be my assistant. I’ve got to do this deal with your dad right now. We can talk about this when that business is all done.”
We heard the front door to her house close, and I quickly grabbed my mower and pushed it toward my garage. I had to get some space between the two of us. I needed to just make it into my house, and then my willpower would return.
“Fine, fine, I guess I’ll have to just keep teasing you into submission.” She laughed as she leaned against the fence.
I stopped and looked at her one last time as she smiled back at me. Then I pushed the mower into the garage and shut the door. Being around Anna was intoxicating. She was young, vibrant, and so full of life. Her upbeat personality could literally make anyone smile, and she’d done a great job of distracting me over the last year after my wife and I divorced.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 28
