by Bella Grant
“Raphael, what if some of those reporters are following us!” She reached her hand out to the window as though to call back her panties.
He pushed her arm back down to her side. “No one’s following us. And even if they were, I don’t care.”
“You would ruin your reputation over a pair of underwear?” She looked close to appalled.
“I wouldn’t ruin anything.” He assured her. “Do you think I don’t have staff on hand to take care of such frivolous stories when they pop up?”
Looking only slightly appeased, she relaxed her shoulders. “They can probably erase anything from the news.”
Cupping her chin in his hand, he raised it, sweeping his lips over hers. “They could never erase you, and I wouldn’t allow them. I’m partially glad the papers will splatter your name and photo all over their columns tomorrow. Then everyone will know you are taken, that you belong to me.”
Her breath hitched, but she didn’t flinch. “For the week,” she reminded him in a soft voice.
“Perhaps.” He grinned. The woman had no idea how easily her emotions could be read in her eyes. She tested him with the idea of them only lasting the week, but he knew she wanted more time. Even if she hadn’t admitted it to herself yet, he knew. “You are tense. Why?”
“I don’t know. A lot’s going on at the moment.” She gave him a shy smile. “I’m half naked in your car, you just tossed my best pair of panties out the window, and I’m going to be having dinner with your friend—who is a dominant—and his submissive. After spending the day trying—and failing—to piece back together my business.” She let out a long breath.
Gathering her in his arms, he pulled her up to his lap. He kissed her forehead and her nose and captured her mouth in a long, deep kiss. Their tongues melded, their breaths becoming one rhythm. When he pulled back, he smiled at the smeared lipstick on her lips and the disgruntled heat of her eyes. “I know how to relax you,” he promised.
He held her tightly against his chest and shoved her thighs open, turning her to face the front of the car. His arm wrapped around her belly, anchoring her to his body. When his fingers found her slit, it was already wet and wanting. He toyed with her clit, using two fingers to roll and tweak it. “How does this feel, Victoria?”
“Good… so… good.” She rested her head on his shoulder, giving him full reign of her body. The hand holding her to him reached up and pulled on her nipple, and he delighted in her whimper.
“Just let your body feel my fingers playing with your clit, fucking your pussy.” His fingers slid lower, away from her clit until they curved into her aching passage. She lifted her hips off of his lap, reaching toward his hand.
“No.” He pulled out and slapped her clit hard two times. “Don’t move. Just feel,” he growled into her ear. She responded with a curt nod of her head. He began to fuck her with his fingers, feeling her hands dig into his thighs as she did her best not to move again.
Tenderly, he rolled her nipple between his fingers while his other hand pleasured her. He could hear the quickness of her breath, feel the tension in her thighs, and knew she was close. The muscles of her stomach clenched, trembling with the growing pressure in her body.
“Raphael, I have to come, please, please.” Her words were released with heavy breaths in quick spurts. Her chest heaved beneath his hands, her head rolled to the side.
“Look down… watch my fingers fuck you. Watch your pussy being played with,” he murmured into her ear. She obeyed with no hesitation, making his own arousal peak even higher. “Do you see them? Do you see them going in and out of your wet pussy?”
“Yes. I see!” Her fingers dug into his thighs and her thighs began to shake.
“Come for me, Victoria, come loud. I want to hear your release. Don’t you dare bite down on your lip. Fucking come for me now.” He thrust his fingers deeper, harder, and faster, decreasing then increasing the pressure on her breasts.
Her muscles contracted around his fingers, and the waves of clenching and unclenching were underscored by her scream of relief. She begged him not to stop, thanked him, and let out a guttural growl as her juices ran fluid over his fingers and she collapsed back against him, gulping the air of the limousine.
Slowly, he removed his fingers from her, bringing them to her lips. Dutifully, she licked them clean, her head resting on his shoulder. He helped scoot her to sit beside him and redressed her, smoothing out the dress as best he could. She would be a bit wrinkled but no worse for wear.
Once he finished putting her back together, he wrapped his arm around her and crushed her to his chest. “A bit more relaxed now?” he asked in a hushed tone. Her breathing had evened out, and she remained silent.
“Yes. Maybe too much.” She chuckled and wiggled closer to him, her head bumping his chin with her movements. “What about you? You look… uh… tense.” Her hand lay on his cock, his steel-hard cock pushing against his trousers with more force than ever.
“Ah, Victoria, if you don’t move your hand, I’m going to embarrass us both by coming in my pants.” He pushed her hand away.
She laughed. “How would that embarrass me?” She tilted her head to look up at him.
He gave her a slow wink. “You should never waste a drop of my cum. If it’s not in your cunt, on your tits, or in your mouth, you have not done your job as my wife—so of course you would be embarrassed.”
She gasped at the crudeness of his words, and he reveled in the deep blush that crept over her cheeks. “But I’m not your wife.”
“Not yet.” He tapped the tip of her nose with his fingertip. “Ah, we are here!” he announced.
VICTORIA
When they pulled into the long drive of Stanley’s home, Victoria looked out the window at the expanse of the house. “I thought we were going out. I got all dressed up.”
“We are out.” He smiled. “Stanley messaged me. He’d rather keep it low-key tonight since the photographers have been tipped off to the restaurant we planned to go to. He’s ordered dinner in.” Just as he finished explaining, his door opened and they slid out of the car. “Stay here.”
She watched with some annoyance at being left behind as he nodded to his driver and waited for his security team to get into whatever positions they were taking. Weren’t they at his friend’s home? What sort of threat could there be?
Finally, he held out his hand to her and helped her out of the car. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and did her best to smooth down her skirt. Their travel games had wrinkled the soft chiffon. Giving up, she followed him up the stairs to the front door. Just as they reached the top step of the entranceway, the elegantly carved wooden door swung open, and Stanley bounded out with a wide grin and open arms. “You made it! I was afraid those wolves had hunted you down and eaten your beautiful woman.”
Raphael raised an eyebrow at his friend and tucked Victoria’s hand under his arm. “It was just a few photographers. The two of you are so melodramatic.” She laughed, pulling her arm free and walking ahead of him into the house. She noticed the wary glance he gave Stanley as he followed her inside. Standing in the massive foyer, she looked up to admire the painted, rounded ceiling. She’d never been to Rome, but she had an idea the cathedrals looked very similar to the painting she saw above her.
“Don’t be too impressed, Victoria. Stanley’s younger sister decorated the entire home from top to bottom. Anything that looks remotely sophisticated was purchased at her discretion. Anything that resembles a college boy’s frat house is the handiwork of Stanley.”
Stanley feigned a wounded look. “I’m not that out of touch. Besides, all of the artwork in the house is mine.” He shut the front door. “I had planned on going out this evening, so I gave my staff the night off. Dinner just arrived… I hope you don’t mind Thai. Cindy ordered. It’s one of her favorites.”
Raphael’s expression suggested to Victoria that he found Stanley’s cheerful tone when he spoke Cindy’s name entertaining.
“I love Tha
i,” Victoria said with a warm smile. It had been ages since she’d last indulged in one of her favorite foods.
“You look absolutely gorgeous.” Cindy breezed into the foyer, carrying an open bottle of beer which she delivered to Stanley. Her hair had been brushed into a thick ponytail at the back of her neck, and her casual blouse and skirt gave her a comfortable, at-home look. Giving him a small curtsy, she handed him the beer and waited for him to kiss her forehead before turning to Victoria.
The sweet gesture touched Victoria as she watched it unfold. Realizing Cindy was staring back at her, waiting for her to say something, she stumbled through a response. “Thank you. I seem a bit overdressed.” Victoria blushed as she noticed Stanley wore jeans and a button-down shirt, looking as casual as Cindy. Raphael was accustomed to being in a suit when others were not, but Victoria felt uncomfortable.
“Last-minute change of venue.” Cindy waved a hand through the air. “With Stanley’s permission, I’ll take you up to my room and you can borrow something of mine if you’d like.”
“That’s fine with me.” Stanley looked to Raphael.
“Thank you, Cindy, but I think Victoria will be just fine in her dress.”
Victoria shot Raphael an annoyed look. “I wouldn’t mind changing into some jeans,” she whispered once at his side.
“I would.” He linked his fingers through hers. “Now, where’s that food?”
“Oh, it’s all set up in the kitchen. I have it all ready,” Cindy’s voice chimed as she jogged ahead of them to the kitchen.
“Raphael, are you afraid I’ll ruin her clothes?” Victoria mumbled as he led her behind Stanley toward the kitchen.
“No. I gave my answer, no more questions.” His fingers tightened around hers, an indication to let the subject drop. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from arguing with him. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him in front of his friends, but she would discuss the matter with him on the ride home.
Once they had their plates brimming with food, they sat at the kitchen table. “I wanted to set up the dining room, but Stanley wouldn’t let me.” Cindy blushed under the direct stare of Stanley.
“You worked a twelve-hour shift at the hospital. I didn’t want you going to the trouble.” He poured a small glass of wine and placed it in front of her, placing a warm kiss on her cheek.
“You’re a doctor?” Victoria asked, accepting a glass of wine from Stanley with a nod of thanks.
Cindy laughed. “No! I’m an ER nurse… Well, I’m also an OR nurse. I go where they tell me.” She waved a hand in the air.
“Twelve hours on your feet. You must be exhausted.” Victoria looked at Stanley. “I feel guilty letting you host. We should have gone back to the hotel.”
“Nonsense, this is fun. I don’t get too winded until around nine. Then I’ll probably fall asleep in my plate.” Cindy sipped her wine. The green of her eyes shined when she caught Stanley staring at her with approving eyes.
“Then it’s an early bedtime for you tonight.” He grinned.
Victoria watched their exchanges, the natural conversations and mannerisms. There were small subtleties that let on to their dynamic, but otherwise, they appeared to be a normal couple enjoying dinner with another normal couple, except she wasn’t wearing any panties. She wondered if Cindy was wearing any.
“Rafe told me about the trouble you’re having at work, and I have to say it sounds as though someone may be sabotaging your company.” Stanley wiped some sweet and sour sauce from his mouth.
“I thought the same thing, but I don’t know who would want to do that. I’ve been in business for years and have an impeccable reputation. Of course, there are competitors, in any industry there are, but we’ve never been a cut-throat group.” Victoria put her fork down, having stuffed herself soundly with the delicious meal.
“It is odd that all of your accounts started dropping like that. I agree with Stanley. I think I’ll have some of my men look into it,” Raphael decided.
“You don’t need to do that.” She placed a hand on his forearm. “I’m sure business will pick up again.”
“What is it your company does again?” Cindy asked.
“Event planning,” Victoria said with a hollow feeling in her stomach. “We were booked for months out, but now, our calendar has cleared. The last client we had hanging on, a hotel heiress’s wedding, dropped yesterday. No explanation, just a ‘we decided to go a different way.’ It took three different proposals to land that account, and now poof, gone.” Victoria shook her head with confusion. It still made no sense to her.
“Hotel heiress… Are you talking about Tamara Johnson?” Cindy’s chair scraped against the marble flooring as she scooted her chair back.
“Yeah, that’s her.” Victoria watched her as she walked through the kitchen to grab her phone from a charger on the counter.
“Cindy—“
“Hold on, Stanley.” She waved a hand in the air while tapping on her phone. “I know. I know… No phones at the table.” She didn’t seem to mind that she was breaking that rule when she brought it back with her to the table. “Tamara is my cousin. She mentioned having to get a new wedding planner, but I don’t remember why. I’m texting her to find out what happened.” The smile she gave Victoria dropped when she noticed Stanley’s raised eyebrow. “Oh.”
“Mmhm.” He nodded. “What should you have done in that situation?” he asked in an even tone.
Victoria looked to Raphael, feeling like they should leave the room, but he placed his hand on her knee and shook his head. He seemed to want her to watch this interaction.
“I guess I should have told you what I wanted to do and let you decide if it was okay,” Cindy answered softly, her eyes not meeting Stanley’s.
“That’s right.” He reached over and took the phone from her hand when it beeped and read the screen for her. “Your cousin says…” His face blanched, and he looked up at Raphael with a pleading look.
“What did she say?” Raphael laughed. Stanley handed the phone to Raphael, who took it with a wide grin. His smile also dropped when he read the screen.
“What does it say?” Victoria reached for the phone, but Raphael held it away from her.
“It says ‘Heard she stole the groom of the last wedding she was planning. Word is she broke up their engagement.’“ He read the text and handed the phone back to Cindy.
“That’s not what happened!” Victoria’s heart began to pound in her chest. “That’s not at all what happened, I swear it.” She looked to Cindy. “I would never do something like that.”
Cindy reached over and patted Victoria’s hand, giving her a comforting smile. “I believe that. I don’t think Raphael would do something like that either, if everything Stanley has told me about him is true.”
“Victoria, obviously someone is trying to destroy your business.” Raphael turned to her. “Are you sure you don’t have a competitor who would try to ruin your business? Your company was high in the rankings for events in the higher social circles, which has to be a very competitive niche.”
Victoria began to think through the other event planners she’d had to go up against at the last few accounts. She, along with two others, were usually the last three to be chosen from, but she knew the planners from the other companies and there was no animosity between them. Hell, the three of them often got together for lunch. “There are only two other companies I really go toe-to-toe with for accounts, but those women are more my friends than my competition. And even if they were trying to gain my accounts, they wouldn’t stoop so low. They just wouldn’t.”
“What about your ex-boyfriend? You said you broke up with him shortly before coming to my country.”
“No. He broke up with me. It’s not him. How would destroying my company help him in any way?”
“Any chance one of your employees would want to do this? Maybe to take over your accounts and start their own business?” Cindy offered in a soft voice.
“Lilly
has been with me from the beginning. We had just started talking about her buying into the company. She’d be my partner. Jessie’s only been with us a short while, but she’s nowhere near ready to be on her own.”
Raphael took a deep breath. “I’m going to have my security team look into this. I don’t like it.”
“What about Carmen?” Stanley laid his hand over the back of Cindy’s chair.
“No. She was as relieved as I was to end our betrothal. The woman nearly beamed with joy when my father announced we weren’t going to be married.” Raphael drummed his fingers on the table.
“Would you like me to text my cousin back and let her know it’s not true?” Cindy held the phone in the air.
“I doubt it would do any good, and it might look more unprofessional than anything else.” Victoria sighed, shoving her plate away from her. Her appetite had abandoned her.
“I’m going to lunch with her next weekend. I’ll try to bring up the subject casually and let her know it’s not the truth.” Cindy took her phone back to the counter and hooked it up to her charger.
Victoria watched Stanley’s look of approval over Cindy’s behavior and wondered if Raphael ever looked at her in such a way. She tried to put her worries about her business to the side and enjoy the meal, but it overshadowed the entire evening.
“Stanley told me you and Raphael may be getting married?” Cindy asked Victoria once the men had left them alone in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Victoria couldn’t stop herself from thinking briefly of how archaic the situation was, the men leaving to smoke their cigars while the women cleaned up. However much her mind told her to revolt against it, to comment on the sexist way the men were behaving, her body relaxed, and her soul settled into the moment. Cindy didn’t seem to have any trouble with it.
