Helen, one of the servers, brings the water we ordered with Jim following closely behind with our food.
“The Mrs. has sent instructions,” Jim says. “You are to eat it immediately before it goes cold.”
Marian and I laugh and send back compliments on the food.
“Lilly Love,” I say when we’re alone again. “What made you choose that name?”
She goes still and then looks up and smiles. “I love the name Lilly, and the word love suits a wedding planning outfit, don’t you think?”
“It does,” I say enthusiastically.
I note that her spirits go down a notch after that. I can’t figure out what I said or did. “Is something wrong?” I finally ask her.
She looks up in surprise. “No, nothing at all. I’m just enjoying this delicious food.”
“I’ve brought clothes for a week with me.” I stare at her to gauge her reaction.
Her face lights up. Genuine happiness that I’m moving into her house for the week. Relief floods me. I’m excited to live in the same house as Marian, but I need her to want it too.
“I’m glad,” she says. “We can go home after we’re done with next door.”
“You don’t have to,” I tell her feeling guilty at the hell I gave her the day she left me alone in her house. “You don’t need to babysit me. I know you have work to do.”
She laughs softly. “Babysitting is not what I had in mind.”
Heat whips through me. My cock rouses itself like a sleeping giant and the need courses through me. “Do you know what that does to me?”
“What?” she asks, batting her eyelashes.
“We’re going home now,” I growl. “As soon as I’m decent enough to stand up and go and pay the bill.”
She smiles sweetly. “I’ll go and pay it.”
She stands up and sashays toward the counter, her curvy ass straining against her skirt. I remember how it feels like to cup it in my hands and almost groan out loud.
I imagine taking her from behind when she’s on all fours, and my erection grows even larger. Marian returns to the table carrying two more bottles of water.
“I thought you might need this,” she says as she hands me the bottle.
“You’ll pay for this,” I tell her and take a swig of the water.
She adopts an innocent, puzzled look. “What have I done?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a tease?” I ask her.
She sticks her tongue out. “No. Now let’s get out of here. We must take your luggage home,” she says, her voice husky and suggestive.
My shirt is untucked, and I hope that my cock will behave itself and stay hidden. It helps that Marian walks ahead of me, and when we’re safely in the car, I gesture at the swell of my pants. “See what your teasing has done?”
“Mmm,” she says and places a hand over my pants. I groan as she cups my cock.
I take her hand and gently move it away. “If you do that, I won’t make it home.”
She giggles but keeps her hand away.
I drive straight to Pine Place, and we’re home in record time. We both get out of the car at the same time and sprint to the front door as if we’re going to douse a fire.
I rest my hand on the curve of Marian’s ass as she unlocks the door. I follow her in, shut the door behind me, and pull her into my arms. I slip a hand under her jaw and kiss her hungrily. Everything fades away except the raw need to consume her. I trail open-mouthed kisses on her neck, down to her cleavage, and then cup her breasts over her blouse.
“Declan.” My name falls from her lips like a moan.
“Marian,” I say.
She tilts her head back as I pop open the buttons of her blouse. She shrugs it off, and it slides to the floor. Greedily, I dip my head between her breasts and then draw back to nibble on one nipple over the material of her lacy bra.
Her moans become loud and uninhibited.
“Please, Declan,” she says in her throaty voice.
I know what she needs. I reach behind her and unclasp her bra. My breath catches as her breasts spring free.
“Do you know how much I love your body?” I ask her as I hold her breasts as though weighing them. I lower my head to suck the left nipple while thumbing the right one.
Marian moans and runs her hands through my hair. I love the way her nipple feels like a hard but sensitive pebble in my mouth.
“Declan, I want you now,” Marian says, her voice fierce.
That sobers me up for a moment. “Here?” I ask her. We haven’t made it past the foyer.
“Please,” she says, panting as she speaks. She reaches behind her, unzips her skirt, and when it falls, she steps out of it. I kiss her hard as I grip the hem of her panties and pull them down.
“Your pants,” Marian says. She unzips me, and I do the rest, pushing down my pants and boxer briefs. Her hand wraps around my cock, and I let out a deep-throated grunt at the contact. I dip my hand between her legs, and it’s immediately soaked.
Marian lifts a leg and wraps it around my waist. “Fuck me, Declan,” she whispers into my ear.
I gently remove her hand from my cock and turn her around. I lift her palms above her head and graze my hands over her arms, down her shoulders to her hips.
“Exquisite,” I murmur, admiring her hourglass figure.
I gently tug at her hips until she’s angled just right. I grip my steel-hard cock and slide it along the sodden entrance of her pussy. I tease her for a few seconds until she begs me to take her.
I push the head of my cock in, grip her hips, and impale her with one hard thrust. Marian screams.
“Are you okay, babe?” I ask her.
“Yes. More,” she says.
Her words spur me on, and I drive into her hard. Marian rocks her hips in time to my thrusts. I reach around her with one hand to tease her nipples.
“Oh, God. Yes,” Marian says over and over again. “I’m going to come.”
She starts to crumble, clutching at the wall as her pussy clenches around me. I can barely hold on, and when I’m sure that Marian is coming, I let go, and my seed shoots into her pussy.
I wrap my hands around her waist, and she straightens her back and leans against my chest. Marian giggles and I laugh along without knowing what she’s laughing at.
“I’ve never done anything this crazy,” she says.
I look around us, realizing that we had sex in the foyer. “Every time I walk in, I’ll picture you pinned against the wall.”
We both laugh at the image my words paint. I stroke her belly and her breasts softly. “Let’s go to the bathroom,” I tell her.
“Good idea.”
I carry our clothes and follow her up the stairs, enjoying the view of her ass. I love her confidence in her body. Another woman would have been self-conscious to walk buck naked up a flight of stairs. Not Marian. She walks as though she’s on the runway strutting her stuff.
She pauses at the landing. “Did you enjoy the show?” she says over her shoulder.
“I still am,” I throw back, and she laughs.
In the bathroom, we draw the bath as we chat easily as if we’ve been doing this for years. I’ve never been as carefree and comfortable with any other woman. Too bad it can never be anything but a marriage of convenience for us.
“You’re very quiet,” she says, peering at me through the steam.
“I’m thinking about you and wondering where you’ve been all my life.”
She frowns. “Don’t make this into something it’s not, Declan. You’re confusing lust for something else. We’re good at scratching each other’s itches. That’s all.”
Her words hurt a little even though I know she’s right. I lift her foot, place it on my chest, and proceed to massage it. “I’m being honest when I say that. I’m attracted to you in ways that I’ve never been. That doesn’t mean that I’m turning this into something it’s not. Loosen up, Marian. We can have fun while doing it.”
She’s s
ilent as she contemplates my words. “Okay, we can have fun just so long as we remember that at the end of this, we both walk away.”
My chest squeezes. I’ve known Marian for a short time, but the thought of walking away from her is unimaginable.
Chapter 15
Marian
I must be dreaming. I close my eyes tightly, determined to enjoy it to the very end. The strong, firm hands that know their way around a female body caress my breasts. I’m lying on the side facing the wall, and my dream lover is spooning me, with his cock pressing against my ass.
Soft moans fall from my mouth as sharp pleasure floods my body. He rolls a nipple between his fingers. I throw my head back and feel his breath on my neck.
“You smell so sweet.”
My eyes pop open. At the realization that the hands that are on me are real, I smile, still half asleep. Declan. Secure in the knowledge that the dream will not end abruptly, I press my ass against his cock.
He groans and murmurs more sweet words. His cock slips between my legs, and holding it, he nudges it into my slick folds. Arousal juices gush out as he rocks his cock against my folds.
“I want you, Declan,” I say, unable to hold back. I’m more than ready for him. My body aches for him with an intensity that rises with every second.
I feel his thick, steel-hard cock pushing against my folds, and slowly they give way, and he enters me, inch by inch. I move back against him as he fills me up completely. He places his hands on my waist, holding me in place as he rocks, first at an almost frustratingly slow speed, then increasing it at my urging.
Whimpers fill the room as I feel myself tethering on the edge.
“Declan,” I call his name over and over again, overwhelmed by the heights of passion that he pushes me to.
My orgasm tears through me so powerfully that I have to grip the headboard with one hand to keep it in place. Declan’s orgasm syncs with mine, and as waves of pleasure roll through me, he grunts, and hot liquid gushes into me.
We drift off to sleep, and the next time I wake up, it’s to the sound of my alarm blaring.
“I’ll get it,” Declan says.
I smile at the soreness between my legs. Declan throws a hand around my waist and pulls me close. I turn around and snuggle in his wide, hard chest. He makes me feel safe and loved. An illusion, I know, but I’ll take it for now.
Another softer alarm rents the air, and Declan grabs my phone and hands it to me. I read the message on the screen.
“You’re now ovulating,” Declan reads, and my face heats up.
It’s six a.m., and I’m glad that he can’t see my face. I should have turned off the notifications when I downloaded the fertility tracking app. How embarrassing.
“What’s that?” Declan says.
I explain it to him in as few words as I can manage.
“Oh,” he says when I finish talking. The change is subtle, but I feel it. He becomes restless. “This baby maker had better get up,” he says and gently pushes me off his chest.
“You’re not a baby maker,” I say, but my words lack conviction.
“Yes, I am,” Declan says, his voice hard. “Follow your advice. Don’t make this into more than what it is.”
Ouch.
“I’ll go make us some coffee,” Declan says, and after slipping on a pair of boxer briefs and a T-shirt, he leaves the room.
As I make the bed and slip on a nightshirt, I think back to my reaction when Declan threw my words back at me. I can’t understand why his words felt like a sword stab to my chest when they are the truth. I can’t afford to let myself develop feelings for Declan.
I make myself remember how it was in the beginning.
After Leonard and I hooked up against my mother’s wishes, he showered me with love and attention. I blossomed like a flower and became addicted to him. I’d never fallen in love with anyone before Leonard, and I poured all my emotions into it. Life stopped existing beyond Leonard. I lost contact with my friends, and I saw Mom less and less.
Within six months, Leonard and I were married. My family and friends wore miserable faces throughout the ceremony. They’d seen the unhealthy relationship between us, and my mom had tried to dissuade me from marriage several times.
It didn’t take long before Leonard’s real colors began to emerge. I started to come out of the bubble we had created for ourselves by reaching out to my friends. Leonard started criticizing them. No one was good enough. I stopped meeting up with them to keep peace at home. Then Leonard started drinking, and that’s when his nastiness and controlling tendencies emerged completely.
His choice of weapon was words, and he knew the sharpest, most hurtful words to use. With every unprovoked attack, my self-esteem plummeted. I forgot who I was without Leonard. I gave him power over me. By that time, I was working in the only wedding outfit store in town. I was happiest during the day. In the evenings, it felt like going to prison. I waited tensely to see what sort of mood he would be in. If he were happy, I’d relax, and the evening would be fun. The Leonard I knew at the beginning would be back, and hope would fill my chest.
Until the next time when he came home reeking of alcohol and a mean sneer on his face. Waiting for anything that would make him explode.
No, thank you. I know the patterns of relationships. I’ve been burned once, and it was enough. It doesn’t matter how charming Declan is. You never knew what lurked underneath a person once you opened your heart to them.
The sweet scent of frying bacon wafts up the stairs as I make my way to the kitchen. I giggle at the sight of Declan in a white apron over his boxer briefs.
“The naked chef,” I say as I slide onto a barstool. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got.”
He shot me a playful look as he poured the coffee into mugs. “I’ve got more than bacon and toast.”
“I bet you do,” I say and slide my gaze over his body. I’m glad that the earlier tension between us has dissipated, and we’ve gone back to our easy flirtatious relationship.
He serves us breakfast on the island, and we eat in companionable silence.
“Busy day today?” Declan asks.
“The usual,” I tell him and then remember Mom’s wedding that I’m supposed to plan and groan. “I just remembered I have to have a preliminary meeting with Mom.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’re looking forward to it,” Declan says.
“Not even close,” I say and make a face that makes him laugh. “Can you imagine planning your own mother’s wedding? You may have noticed, but my mom is not exactly conventional.”
He chuckles. “She’s awesome. But if it bothers you so much, you should give it to one of your colleagues. Sort of like the way a doctor wouldn’t treat their mother, or an attorney would not represent his parents in court.”
I look at him as if he'd handed me the secret to aging. “You’re a genius. I’ll give it to Eric. They’ll get along superbly.” I feel as if a weight has been lifted off me.
I take a long appreciative sip of my coffee. “Hey, we never made it to your new shop.”
Declan’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “For a very good reason.”
My face heats up, which is silly because I’ve never been the type of woman to be embarrassed by her sexuality.
“So, I was thinking. Can I come by today? Maybe in the evening, after hours?”
“Perfect. The crew working on the remodeling will be gone for the day, and I can show you everything,” Declan says.
We wash up and go back upstairs to get ready for the day. We part ways in the hallway. Declan goes to the guest room while I go to my room. I sing as I shower, feeling inordinately pleased with my life.
I take extra care when dressing and applying makeup. I love loud red lipstick, and yes, I know a lot of people think it’s over the top, but it cheers me up. There’s something about looking good that puts a bounce in a person’s step.
Declan is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, and he whistles wh
en I emerge.
“How tempting it is,” he says, caressing me with his gaze.
I laugh softly as I take in his appearance. I used to be attracted to slim, compact guys, but now I see the appeal in big guys. I ogle Declan’s shirt and the way it stretches across his massive chest and let out a sigh.
“Let’s go; I don’t want to be responsible for your lateness,” Declan says.
When we reach my car, Declan pulls me into his arms and kisses me full on the mouth without care that my neighbors could be watching us.
“I’ll see you later,” he says and steps back.
A few minutes later, I’m headed my usual way to work, except that today it feels different. I search for the word, and after a few seconds of discarding words popping into my head, I find it. Happy. I feel happy.
After parking my car, my first stop is, of course, the shop. I find Maggie in her usual spot behind her desk, in the back office.
“Hello there,” she says and looks at me as if she’s seeing me for the first time.
“Hi yourself,” I tell her and sit down. I know what is coming, so I’d rather get it over and done with.
“So,” she says looking me over. “You’re married?”
I grin. “I am.”
“I suppose it makes sense that a wedding planner would want as little fuss on her wedding day,” Maggie says.
Relief flows through me. “Yes, that’s exactly right.”
“There’s only one piece of the puzzle that doesn’t make sense,” she continues as she narrows her eyes. “None of us have seen or met him the five years that we’ve worked for you.”
I’m taken aback by her forthrightness, though why that should surprise me, I have no idea. Maggie has always been to the point. One of the many reasons why I love her.
I inhale deeply. “Okay. This is what happened.” The whole story tumbles out except for the last part. I feed her the same story I’ve given to everyone else. I tell her that Declan and I want to try and make it work.
I’ve said it so much that I’m beginning to believe it. We chat for a few more minutes before I leave for upstairs. It’s too early for anyone to be in the office yet, and I brew my coffee and enjoy the minutes of solitude before voices fill the office and phones start ringing.
One Hot Fake: An Accidental Fake Marriage Romance Page 9
