False Pretenses

by Tressie Lockwood

  Unfair!

  “Love?”

  “Yes, love.” He stepped closer, and the heat from his body warmed her, exciting desire. “I see something in your eyes, and I dare to believe it’s love.”

  She tugged from his touch and moved closer to his desk. Leaning on the heavy wood gave her much-needed support. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to talk about love? I mean, we haven’t been seeing each other that long.”

  He remained where he stood and folded powerful arms over an even more impressive chest. She wanted to pant with longing, but held on to her dignity.

  “Love doesn’t take weeks of getting to know a person, or even months. It’s a decision.”

  She curled one side of her lip. “A decision?”

  He grinned, and the sun shone in that room. “Yes, a decision. You make the choice to open your heart, and in an instant—love. That choice might not come until you feel at ease with the other person, but the end result is instantaneous.”

  “Funny, I never pegged you for the love-at-first-sight type.”

  Now he strode toward her, taking his time, tempting and teasing with just his presence. He held out a hand, and before she realized what she did, her palm lay in his. He drew her to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. His cock hardened, and her pussy responded, moistened and ready.

  “I loved you the first time I saw you, Alyssa.”

  Her mouth fell open. He kissed the tip of her nose.

  “What? That’s not possible. I…We…You met me when I came to the office the first time. That was months ago.”

  “Indeed.”

  “That’s not possible,” she repeated stupidly.

  “And yet, I love you.”

  She hung on to his jacket with clenched fingers. “Nathan.”

  “I love you, Alyssa.”

  “Stop saying that. Wait, no, don’t stop.” Her head spun. “Did you get Trinity to pretend she would go with you to the Cayman Islands only to manipulate me into going?”

  “No, of course not. Although it couldn’t have worked out better. I had no false pretenses, but I wondered how I would kiss her when I needed you.” He nuzzled her neck just as she’d wanted to feel moments ago. She dipped her head back and shut her eyes. The craving for so much more overwhelmed her.

  “Nathan.”

  “Say it again, my love.”

  She shivered. “This is too much to believe. Someone like you…”

  “I’m only a man. Nothing more, nothing less.” He raised his head to look into her eyes. “Can you say it?”

  “Your name?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll get you to say that soon enough when I make love to you.”

  Her knees jellied, and she clung tighter.

  “Say you love me.”

  What did she have to lose? This man, an amazing man, who was everything she wanted, loved her. He had admitted it.

  “Why did you ask me to be your mistress?”

  “I never said I didn’t make mistakes, baby.”

  She rested her forehead on his chest. “I love you, Nathan.”

  “Again,” he pleaded, and she heard the emotion choking him.

  She looked him in the eye. “I love you so much, and you’re right. It can happen in an instant. I love you.”

  Her feet left the floor when he swooped her off them and into his arms. He swung her around the room trapped in a bear hug, but she didn’t want to escape. They kissed, lips meeting and then their tongues. She tasted him, moaning and wrapping her arms around his neck. When he stopped spinning, he didn’t let her down, but pulled her legs up to encircle his hips. He walked forward until her ass touched the desk, and he sat her on it, never relinquishing her lips.

  “Mm,” he moaned, “you taste so good. I want to kiss you until I’m drunk.”

  “Don’t stop on my account.” She grinned up at him and tugged his tie until his lips met hers. He gave in to her demand.

  “Take off your shorts.”

  “Are you nuts? Not here.”

  He leaned back and ran a hand between them to cup her pussy. She whimpered in bliss.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Nathan, that’s not fair.”

  She stopped him from unbuttoning her shorts. “No way, buddy. I know you own the place, but still.” She hopped from the desk. “Tonight. My place. I’ll cook for you. Then again, on second thought, it’s not safe in my area for you.”

  He frowned. “I’m not some delicate pretty boy.”

  She laughed. “Well, you’re a pretty boy. I meant for your car. I’ve seen it. That thing would be on blocks before the night’s out.”

  Concern darkened his eyes. “Then you’ll move in with me.”

  “Whoa, whoa.” She held up her hands and took a step back. “You’re moving too fast.”

  He advanced toward her, and for some reason, she felt like prey. “If it’s unsafe for me, it’s definitely unsafe for you, Alyssa.”

  “I’m used to it.”

  He grunted. “We’ll talk about it. For now, how about you spend the night at my house and cook me dinner there?”

  She grinned. “Deal.”

  “Alyssa?”

  With her hand on the door to leave, she stopped when he called her name. “Yes?”

  “I know you’re still nervous about my position, but I intend to win you over by any means necessary.”

  A thrill of anticipation raced down her back. She knew he meant if it took his money to make her accept his status, he would use it. Now that she’d admitted to herself and him she loved him, nothing would keep her from looking past her hang-ups to be with him. Sure, independence defined her, but she was more than her net worth, and so, she realized, was he. She looked forward to learning all she could about Nathan Corde.

  “That reminds me. How did things go with Piper?”

  He frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “A work in progress. Piper is back with Emma, and the two have decided to move in together. Because of this, my dad has cut her off.”

  Alyssa’s hand flew to her mouth. “No!”

  “Yes, and my mom is in agreement with him. I think she will come around, but we have to work on Dad.”

  She returned to his side and hugged him. “There’s not much time…”

  “I know.” His jaw tensed. “I will make him see she’s too important to lose at a time like this. Meanwhile, I’ll make sure she never wants for anything.”

  Her heart warmed to him. “What’s the chance of you taking the rest of the day off?”

  A slow smile spread over his face. “The odds are excellent.”

  Prologue

  Eight months later…

  Alyssa stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She climbed out of bed and walked over to the dresser where Nathan had set aside drawers for her. Although she slept at his house more often than not, she hadn’t officially moved in, and she wouldn’t, not for a while yet. She tugged the drawer open and scrounged around for her pills. When she found them, she popped one from the case and put it on her tongue.

  “What’s that?”

  She jumped at Nathan’s voice just behind her.

  “Don’t scare me like that. It’s birth control.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t think you were on those. I assumed you meant you were not ovulating at the time.”

  “Oh, really. That’s the conclusion you came to?” She acknowledged his familiarity with the female body and eyeballed him, liking the scruff about his usually clean-shaved jaw, but that wasn’t important about now. “So why have you been happily making love to me without a condom—and for a while now?”

  He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. The innocent act didn’t fool her.

  “You’re trying to get me pregnant, you sneak.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you.” She couldn’t hold back the laugh. “Don’t you think we should talk about it before you try to knock me up?”

  “Marry me.”

  “Nathan! Aren�
��t you at least a little afraid?”

  “Of what?”

  “Of…changing your mind?”

  “No.”

  “What about me changing mine?”

  He led her back to the bed, which wasn’t a surprise. Rising each morning took one or two false starts because Nathan liked to haul her back into it for early morning sex. She complained only to cover her own desire.

  He laid her down on the bed and hovered above her. Just having him stare at her naked form brought her nipples to rigid peaks and had her pussy weeping. “I won’t let that happen, even if I have to seduce you. You’re mine, Alyssa, and I have no intention of giving you up.”

  A shiver sped down her spine when he spread her legs and thumbed her clit. “Say yes.”

  “Nathan.”

  He bent down and flicked the tip of his tongue over her bud. A delve between the folds of her heat brought her hips up off the bed. He laved her juices, making her moan and cry out his name.

  “T-That’s playing dirty.”

  He squeezed the back of one thigh and licked some more. She scratched at the sheets.

  “Say yes, my love.”

  She sat up and shoved at his shoulders before sliding away. “I want to think about it with a level head.” When she turned to climb off the bed, his hand shot out, and he dragged her to her back and dropped down on top of her. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t free herself. The protest that rose to her lips died as his tongue pushed into her mouth. At the same time, he parted her thighs and thrust his cock deep and hard into her pussy.

  “Yes, yes, Nathan. Wait, no.”

  He pulled out, and she almost screamed in protest, but he only flipped her over and drove in again. Pounding against her ass, he didn’t let up. He pinned her hands to the mattress and took her body without mercy. She arched to push her ass in the air. He never played fair, and she always gave in to his demands because they felt so good.

  When he got up from the bed and dragged her to the edge, she didn’t resist. He stood behind her and parted her swollen nether lips with one hand and guided his shaft into her with the other. One knee on the bed, he drove in repeatedly.

  A powerful orgasm took hold from her core and spread down her thighs and up across her belly. She whimpered and writhed, panting for breath. Nathan splayed a hand over her ass and crammed her sex with his dick. He held still, and soon the familiar warmth filled her. She reached beneath her hip to pinch her clit for a second, smaller orgasm and then collapsed against the bed. Nathan rolled away.

  “I—”

  He covered her lips with one finger. “Shh. When you say yes, it will be what you want and not because I satisfied you sexually.”

  Her heart burst with joy, and she hid her face in the sheets.

  Yes, Nathan. Definitely yes! To being your wife and having your children. If ever she had wondered, she knew now. Rich or poor, Nathan was her one and only. Now and forever.

  The End

  About the Author

  Tressie Lockwood has always loved books, and she enjoys writing about heroines who are overcoming the trials of life. She writes straight from her heart, reaching out to those who find it hard to be completely themselves no matter what anyone else thinks. She hopes her readers enjoy her short stories. Visit Tressie on the web at www.tressielockwood.com.