Jane can hear the crowd gathering downstairs. The wedding will start in five minutes.
“Oh, Mom. Is this the right thing to do?”
“First of all, Jane, this isn’t the time to ask that. Secondly, yes, this really is. You are in love with each other. That’s all that matters.”
They turn around with the bridal party in front of them. Jane’s mom leaves to go to her seat downstairs.
The live harp music starts playing in the background as the bridesmaids lead the way down the winding staircase. Jane walks behind, feeling jittery and nervous. She takes each careful step down, lifting her gown so she doesn’t trip over it. She sees her dad at the foot of the stairs, looking up at her in tears.
When she meets him there, he reaches out his arm for her to take it. He leans over and whispers to her, “You look absolutely stunning. I’m so proud of you, Jane. I couldn’t have imagined a better life for you.”
Her dad has never said such kind words before. He was usually the quiet one at home, leaving her mom to do all the talking.
“Oh Dad, thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me,” Jane says. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Janey,” he says.
They walk down the aisle, through the crowd of 500 people, mostly Brad’s friends. People are taking pictures and videos. She hears gasps in the crowd at how beautiful she looks.
Even though Jane has danced in front of audiences full of strangers, today feels so different. She’s more self-conscious, feeling like she is transforming into a woman she has yet to know.
She sees Brad up ahead, dressed in a white tuxedo with a purple tie and cummerbund. He looks so dignified, handsome, and unbelievably sexy. He takes a breath in when he sees her. It brings out his gorgeous, green eyes.
Jane wishes she could just run up the aisle to be with him, hugging and kissing him right there. Instead, she patiently takes each step forward.
She makes it to the front and holds Brad’s strong hand, warm and tender. He leans over and whispers in her ear, “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and you’re making me the luckiest man alive.”
Jane blushes, as if they are meeting for the first time.
The minister conducts the service, and gets to the place of offering the rings to each other.
“Will you, Brad, take Jane to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, ‘til death do you part?”
“Indeed, I do.” Brad smiles, putting the one-carat diamond on her ring finger.
“And do you, Jane, take Brad to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, ‘til death do you part?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” replies Jane, putting the pure gold band on Brad’s finger.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Brad lifts her veil and leans in to kiss her. He holds her close to him and gives her the deepest, longest kiss it seems they’ve ever shared. The crowd cheers and stands up clapping and whistling.
The happy couple runs down the aisle, everyone throwing lilac flower petals at them, and following them out to the reception area outside. They all start the festivities while Brad and Jane slip away to the back guest room.
“Give me a quick peek of what’s under there,” Brad says, pulling her dress up. He lays her down on the bed and pulls her panties down.
“Jane Halliwell, let’s do something really naughty before our honeymoon, okay?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she repeats.
“Can I fuck you right here and now?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Brad unzips his pants and rubs his cock around her pussy, getting her wet and turned on. He pushes himself inside of her, fucking her deep, fast, and hard. He bangs her while she thrusts her cunt against him, both grinding against each other.
They come at the same time… together. He holds himself inside her while she squeezes him with her muscles. Jane lays back, her whole body surrendering completely.
“Oh Brad, never stop fucking me,” Jane says.
“Never,” Brad promises.
They get cleaned up, change into their reception clothes, and head to the party.
Chapter 66
The next morning, Jane and Brad lay in their bed with champagne colored satin sheets, surrounded by flowers and fine wines. There is hardly any room for all the gifts everyone gave them.
Brad turns over and sees Jane lying on her belly. He eyes the outline of her back and ass, her smooth skin, and her hair resting delicately over the pillow. He gets a hard-on just looking at her. Leaning over, he kisses her spine from the base of her back up to her neck.
Good morning, Mrs. Halliwell,” he whispers into her ear. “You are the most beautiful creature alive.”
Jane moans and rolls onto her side, letting Brad spoon her from behind. He puts his arms around her belly and moves up to her tits, holding them in his hands. His cock gets harder and he presses himself between her ass cheeks, the tip of his cock right on her anus.
Jane reaches over and grabs the lube from the side table and hands it over to him. He squirts a lot on his cock and rubs her ass to make it all wet.
“Give me that beautiful cock, Brad. I want you right now,” Jane moans.
He slowly pushes himself into her ass and then pulls out. He feels her tightening and opening for him, which makes him get even harder. He goes in fully and pauses, holding her whole body against his.
“We are united, Jane. You and I will never let each other go. You are the most precious woman, and I will always take care of you.”
Jane feels his love pulsing through her and feels so relaxed and safe for the first time in her life. She relaxes her ass more to receive him, and he starts thrusting in and out.
He reaches down to play with her clit to get her excited. He comes inside her and she loses her mind with her own orgasm.
The sheets are sweaty, and they both moan with ecstasy. He cradles her in his arms and holds her like that for a good while in the same position.
“We are going to have a wonderful life together, Mrs. Halliwell. I have big plans for us,” he says.
There is a knock on the door and a voice quickly follows.
“Breakfast is ready.” They hear the footsteps walking away.
“I’ll get it, my love,” says Jane.
She wraps herself in the satin sheet and makes her way over. She opens the door to find a tray of fruit, mixed baked goods, mimosas, and a canister of coffee. She pulls the tray in and sets up the table.
“Time for breakfast, sweetie,” she announces.
He comes out with his bathrobe on and his hair disheveled. She goes up to him and runs her fingers through his hair.
“If only the rest of the world could see you as I do.”
“Well, that would be a scary thought,” he says, kissing her and grabbing her backside. “When we finish, I have a surprise for you.”
“Really?” she says.
They finish up and get showered and dressed. Then, Brad puts a blindfold on Jane and asks her to trust him.
“You know I always trust you, don’t you?” Jane says, smiling and giggling.
“Good,” he says.
They walk together down the stairs, and he takes her through the house. Jane has only been there for a week, so she hasn’t had a chance to tour the whole place. There are far too many rooms to explore.
She feels the change in temperature between rooms, and senses that they are going through a room with a pool in it, then a greenhouse. Finally, they end up in a room with hardwood floors.
“Okay, are you ready?” Brad says, untying the blindfold. “Open your eyes.”
She does and looks around. She sees the walls covered with mirrors and lined with wooden bars. A skylight shines through from the ceiling, and the floors are made from the finest pine. Jane is stunned.
“It’s your very own ballet studio, Jane. It’s all yours. You can teach c
lasses here, practice, and make all your dreams come true.”
Jane tears up and looks over at Brad. “Oh my God, sweetie. I never… you shouldn’t have… oh I don’t even know what to say.”
“Just take it in, my dear. You deserve the best. You always have. You have so much to offer the world, and your grace is the most beautiful part of you.”
Jane puts her hands on Brad’s face so he can see her tears of joy. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. You really don’t.”
“Oh, I think I do. I really do.”
“I love you, Brad. You are the best man there is.”
“I love you, Jane.”
They kiss in the middle of the room, wrapping their arms around each other with dreams for a happy future filled with the kind of love some only dream of.
Room Service
CHANCE CARTER
Chapter 1
Mona
I took a deep breath, rolled my shoulders back, and allowed myself one more look in the mirror. Yes, I looked fine – and no, I couldn’t find a single reason to linger about in the hallway of my apartment for even a minute longer. I was stalling.
I wasn’t sure why my nerves had suddenly overwhelmed me so late in the game. I’d had weeks of notice leading up to this moment, ample opportunity to work off all the nervous energy that had crept up on me in the last half-hour.
No, my stupid anxiety had to choose right this instant to reveal itself, and here I was trying to calm down minutes before I had to get out the door and show up for my first day of work at Artemis Tech.
I still couldn’t believe I’d landed the job. I had spent months looking for something and after so much rejection I decided it couldn’t hurt to apply for the position, even though I was certain they would take one look at my resume and toss it in the trash.
I was a business graduate without a single minute of secretarial experience clocked, let alone any that would qualify me to work alongside one of the biggest names in the business world right now.
Even when they had called me in for the interview, I convinced myself it had to be some kind of mistake.
I sat down opposite the woman in charge of hiring, and I guess my complete lack of confidence and hope relaxed me enough to leave a good impression. I got the offer two weeks later. Go figure.
I kept my cool long enough to accept the offer and write down a few details, but as soon as the woman from Artemis’ HR department hung up, I dropped my phone, punched the air, squealed and collapsed back into the couch, relieved that the search for gainful employment was finally over..
My roommate Katya having heard the commotion, walked in with a furrowed brow.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I got a job,” I said, still dumfounded. “I got a job!”
“Oh, shit!” she said, cocking her head and grinning. She was well aware that my savings were almost completely depleted, so the news was as much a relief to her as it was to me.
“Where’s the job?”
“Artemis Tech,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
Her eyes bugged out of her head, and I was sure I saw a flash of jealousy pass across her face. Still, she reached out to pat my shoulder.
“Well, congratulations.” she offered, and turned to go back to her bedroom.
I knew this was as much of a surprise to her as it was to me. Artemis Tech was the company everyone dreamed of working for.
Oliver Paulson had created the kind of career everyone in my graduating class could only dream of, a start-up business he launched straight out of college. And he spent every waking hour since then working his ass off to turn his baby into a world-dominating enterprise.
Now, I would be working alongside him.
My heart jolted again. I fished my phone out from between the couch cushions and dialed my mom. I wanted to share my news with someone who wouldn’t think I was gloating.
That was a month and a half ago, and I had spent a very lean six weeks doing every bit of research on the company I could manage. I learned the history of Artemis Tech back-to-front, scouring over as many profiles of Oliver as I could get my hands on and reading up desperately on advice from people who’d worked as secretaries in companies like the one I would be starting at.
I signed my contracts, guaranteeing me six months at the company, and spent most of my nights staring at the ceiling, wondering what it would be like to work near someone like Oliver Paulson. I had repeated his name so many times in my head, it almost lost its meaning. Oliver Paulson. O-li-ver Paul-son.
He was kind of hot. I had to admit that. Maybe it was because he held the future of my career in his hands, but I found myself gazing a little too long over pictures of him in the profiles. I noticed his sharp jaw and expensive suits, wondering if he had chosen his hair style because he knew how chiseled it made his cheekbones look.
He was about fifteen years older than me, but that didn’t matter. One of the reasons I’d avoided dating through college was because I found so many of my classmates to be immature and irritating. The thought of someone who worked hard, ran his own company, and was already a stone-cold success was deeply attractive to me.
I did my best to keep those kinds of thoughts from my head. I knew it would be crazy to think for even a second that someone like him would give me the time of day.
In my search for Oliver Paulson profiles, I had come across plenty of paparazzi shots of him stumbling out of nightclubs and bars with whatever hot actress or model the tabloids were obsessed with at the time. He seemed to have a knack for picking the most famous, the most beautiful, and the most stylish women in the country and making them his dates for the night.
I would have been crazy to think for a second, with all that on offer, he would take so much as a second glance at someone like me. I was there to do a job, and the chances of that woman having hired me because she thought I would make some delicious eye-candy for her boss seemed pretty damn slim. They didn’t get where they were in the business world by letting Oliver’s libido make decisions for him.
Still, a girl could dream, and indulging myself in a few steamy fantasies had done plenty to distract me from the stress of starting a new position.
I had never been one for dating. I had managed a couple of casual hookups in college but nothing serious, and the last year before graduating had been so crazy busy and stressful that dating and sex was the last things on my mind.
My crush on Oliver was nothing more than my sex drive reminding me that it existed, and that I might want to satisfy it at some point in the near future. But for now it would have to wait. My impending career was taking up most of the real estate in my head. Like exactly how I was going to use this new position to my advantage.
It was an incredible opportunity. I had to make it count. Katya had done her best to avoid the subject with me in the beginning, clearly a little bitter that she was still working at the coffee shop to make ends meet, while I had landed a cool, new position at an awesome company. But she eventually came around.
“Yeah, I’m jealous as shit,” she said. “But hey, maybe when you’re a higher-up there, you can put in a good word for me, right?”
“I’ll drop your name as often as I can,” I assured her as she’d handed me a plate to dry.
“Just order all your coffee from me so I can come by and get to know everyone.” she suggested, laughing but definitely not joking.
“I’ll do my best,” I promised, and she smiled, returning her attention to the dishes.
We had been living together for a few months now, both of us escaping from the group apartment we shared with a couple of other friends in college to a two bedroom of our own. It had taken a bit getting used to but it was getting easier and easier.
She was still fast asleep as I slipped out the door for my first day of work.
I was dressed in a skirt that was perhaps a little too tight, left over from the internship I’d done right out of high school. I had to borrow one of Katya’s bl
ouses, which was a little loose over the bust area. I’d managed to pin everything in place, but I swore as I walked out the door, the first thing I would do with my pay check was get some clothes that fit for a change.
I didn’t have money for a taxi, so I caught the train across town. The business district was pretty far from our slightly run-down end of the city, and I appreciated the time to stare out the window, zone out, and center myself in preparation for the day.
I knew I was overthinking it, that no one would expect me to sweep in there and know everything all at once, but my perfectionism was nagging at the back of my brain, reminding me I was actually going to have to learn how to do this job. I hated feeling behind on anything, but it was an inevitability, so I’d just have to suck it up.
The train arrived at my stop, and I pushed through the dozens of commuters to get off. All of them were dressed in sharp fitted clothes, at least ten of them already babbling on their phones, securing crazy-important deals I couldn’t even imagine the scope of.
I smiled. These were my people. This was me now.
I hurried down the street to the building that housed Artemis Tech, allowing myself to pause outside to appreciate the enormity of it. One day, I’d build a business that could barely be housed by a skyscraper, just like this one.
I ducked inside and held up the ID I’d been sent in the mail a few weeks earlier, and the bored-looking receptionist nodded me through. On my way to the elevator, I noticed a couple of curious glances from the other employees, who were no doubt wondering where the hell I thought I was going.
I lifted my chin and shot straight for the top floor, as I’d been directed to do in an email a few days prior. There was no one here to hold my hand. I had to take control, and I kind of enjoyed that.
The elevator dinged open, and I stepped out, inhaling deeply. The open-plan office space smelled of printing ink and lemon scented cleaning product. I strolled through to the enormous door that led to my new workspace.
Emblazoned in impressive gold letters on the door were the words Oliver Paulson, CEO. I paused for a moment and glanced around, half-expecting someone to reveal this was all a prank, and that I should leave before humiliating myself further. No one did, so I pushed the door open as my heart flipped somersaults in my chest.
Bridesmaid for Hire Page 43
