Fake Wife Needed (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  The sun was down by the time they reached the pub across the city and parked in the back. Neither said a word as they drove, and his hand was permanently attached to her thigh. The clock read seven o’clock, and he’d texted Jeremy earlier to meet them at the pub around 7:30, unless plans changed. He parked and shut the lights off, the only sound their breathing. Rustling from the passenger seat made him turn to look, but Mia was moving to his lap and clamping her lips on his in a possessive manner that rivaled his own.

  His hands moved to cup her ass in her jeans and pulled back in shock to feel bare skin. “You little minx,” he muttered. She’d shed her jeans so fast he hadn’t noticed.

  She laughed while her hands went to work on his jeans. He fumbled to lean the seat back as far as he could, giving them more room. Their touch turned desperate in their need to feel that intense connection again, and she pulled him free of his jeans, hovered over him, and rubbed her wet lips up and down his length. That was one thing he would never tire of—how wet she was for him and only for him. When she sank onto him, they sucked in a collective breath, clinging to each other as she rode him slowly at first, then faster as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, seeking her soul. Her inner muscles tightened around his shaft, and he grabbed her hips to hold her steady so he could finish them off together in several mad thrusts that had her screaming and him staring cross-eyed at the roof of the car, still in disbelief at how amazing it felt to be with Mia.

  She collapsed in a quivering mess against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. “We should celebrate everything that way,” she mused.

  He nodded slowly and reluctantly lifted her enough so he could slide out. “First time in a car.”

  “Really?” she asked and sat up, a funny grin on her face. “I actually get to claim a first with you?”

  “There have been several,” he informed her. “I just never announced them before. Damn, I don’t have anything in here to clean up with.”

  She reached over to her seat and pulled her panties from her jeans, ran them along herself first and then dabbed up the rest of the mess before tossing them in the backseat. “Looks like I’m going commando tonight.”

  “And how the fuck do you expect me to concentrate when I know you’re wearing nothing under those tight ass jeans?” he scowled as she crawled back across the seats. He gave her a solid slap on her ass, and she squealed with laughter as he gave her another one for good measure.

  “Just save it all for tonight when we get home.”

  “We already haven’t slept the past two nights,” he pointed out, fixing his jeans. “What the hell could a third hurt? But we do have an errand to take care of in the morning, and my sister Stephanie is in town.”

  “She’s a photographer, right? Man, I can’t wait to meet her. I’m sure she’s got some awesome stories.”

  Max nodded. “You two will get along well, I think, but if she’s staying with us, it’ll be awkward if she has to sleep on the couch because you’re in the guest room…” He grunted. Why was it so hard to ask her if she would mind sharing his bedroom?

  Mia found his hand and kissed his palm. “Are you asking me to move into your bedroom?”

  “I know it’s not what we agreed on, but it’d only be while she’s here.”

  “Why not permanently?”

  “You want to? Really?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised?” she asked. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but these past two weeks have been incredible for both of us, and to be completely and utterly honest, I like you Max. Quite a bit right now, so why not? I’m supposed to be your wife anyway, remember?”

  No woman had told him she liked him in years. Max swallowed hard, trying to find a way to explain to her what those words meant, but all he could do was lean over and kiss her tenderly on the lips. He ran his hands through her hair, ready for round two, when someone knocked on his window. They jumped and Mia hunkered down in her seat until Jeremy’s voice yelled to them through the window.

  “If you two steam up that car any more, someone’s gonna call the fire department!”

  Mia laughed and gave Max one final peck on the cheek before happily hopping out. “I got my license!” she told Jeremy, who hugged her as Max stepped out of the driver’s side.

  “Great! That’s really exciting, Mia. Drinks on Maxie boy?”

  Mia snorted a laugh and Max glared at his friend, swinging an arm around his shoulders and wrestling him down to give him a noogie. “I think the first round’s on you, my friend.”

  “Aw, man, not the hair! I might have a date later!”

  “A date, huh? What crazy man agreed to go out with you?”

  With Mia between them, her hands tucked in each of their elbows, they walked around to the main doors of the building and managed to get inside and find a booth near the windows. “A man I have been after for weeks, actually.”

  “And who is it?” Mia asked excitedly.

  Jeremy’s cheeks reddened and he avoided their glances. “Harry.”

  “Harry,” Mia repeated, her eyes widening. “Harry from the front desk, Harry?”

  “Yes, he’s a pretty classy guy. Said he would meet me here for a drink—and maybe something else later on,” Jeremy added with a wink.

  “You’re going to date the guy who works in my building?” Max stepped out of the booth, rolling his eyes. “Right, I’m getting drinks. Who wants what?”

  “That’s all you’re going to say to him?” Mia scolded as she laughed.

  “You know what it means? It means Jeremy is going to move into my building! As if I don’t see the man enough already,” he teased and gave his friend a good-natured shove. “Drinks going, order now or hold your tongues.”

  Jeremy ordered a beer, Mia her usual martini now that she knew she liked them, and Max promised to come back with a bottle of something special since it was her night. The whole way over to the bar, all he could think of was the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything under those jeans. All he had to do was slip his hand inside them and she would be there for the taking, melting at his touch. A few hours more, and he would have her beneath him in his bed again, tangled in the sheets, wondering how much further this would go with a woman he never expected to feel so much for.

  Keith shot back another glass of whiskey, ready to pour a third when the doorbell rang. Alice was supposed to be coming over to spend the night—again—but it wasn’t her on the front step. Carl pushed passed him and inside, babbling about something or other that Keith was too drunk to fully understand.

  “What are you doing here, man? Get the fuck out.”

  Alice might not be the same as his pure as snow Mia, but she’d given him plenty of ideas of what he would make his woman do the minute he got her back under his control.

  “I found Mia,” Carl said louder and held up his cell phone.

  Keith ran a shaky hand over his face to try and sober up as he took the phone and stared at the picture of Mia—his Mia—sitting in a booth with two men. He swiped his finger on the screen to find another of her leaning into the man she sat by, the one with the scar running down his face. There was another and another. The whiskey wore off as his rage increased tenfold. Then he saw the picture of the man putting his arm around Mia and kissing her on the cheek. She was laughing—laughing! His hand was on her thigh, and in the next picture, they were basically making out in the booth! Keith squeezed the phone so hard, Carl reached out to take it from him, but he turned away.

  “Are there more?” Keith snarled.

  “A few. But, Keith, she’s wearing a ring, a wedding band, and so is the guy.”

  “Ring?” he asked and glared at the picture, trying to see her hand. He swiped over one more time, and there, on her finger, was a ring. The man wore one too, just as Carl had said. The way he held her, rested his cheek on her head, how she smiled so brightly in the picture it lit up her eyes… Keith chucked the cell across the room. Carl cursed and dove after it, but it only hit the couch. “T
hat bitch! Why the fuck would she do this to me? Why!?”

  “I don’t know, but I think you’re out of luck,” Carl informed him. “If she’s married, you can’t get her back.”

  “The fuck I can’t,” Keith snapped. “People get divorced all the time, and how did she get married so fast—cheating,” he whispered as disbelief settled over his shoulders and he sank onto the couch. “She cheated on me this whole time. She was with that fucking ugly man over me!” He launched the coffee table across the room as he bolted upright and charged into the kitchen.

  “Keith, you have to let her go. There’s nothing else you can do now.”

  “Says you.” Keith snatched the bottle of whiskey off the kitchen table and took a swig from it. “Who’s the guy she’s with?”

  “Haven’t gotten a chance to find out yet, but I heard her call him Max.”

  “Max… she never mentioned him before.” That man had his Mia, the woman who was meant to be his. If she was married, then that meant… no, he wouldn’t let himself believe it. If he touched her, if she let him touch her and ruin her purity… the bottle in his hand shattered from squeezing it so hard and whiskey mixed with some blood splashed to the floor with the broken glass. “Find out who he is.”

  Carl shook his head and waved over his shoulder. “You’re on your own. If she married someone, she clearly doesn’t want you and I’m not going to get my ass arrested, not for you.”

  “I’ll triple what I paid you before,” Keith said.

  Carl stopped, hanging his head, and turned back around slowly. “Then I’m out,” he said. “I find out who he is and I’m gone. This is your problem, and I don’t want any part of whatever you do next.”

  “Deal. The money will be wired to you tomorrow,” Keith assured him. It was the last of his savings, but he had to have Mia back. She was his and that man… he was ruining her every day he stayed with her. He couldn’t have that. “Now, get the fuck out. Alice will be here soon.”

  “Alice? Man, why don’t you just stick with her and forget about Mia—”

  Keith lunged across the room, grabbed Carl by his shirt front, and slammed him into the wall. The man’s head smacked back hard and he groaned. “Alice is not Mia! That woman, she is the one I’m meant to be with. She’s mine, you got that? No fucking scarred up cunt is going to take her away from me. She lost her way, that’s all, and I’m going to get her back.” He let Carl slide to his feet and decked the guy for good measure. He sank to the floor and crawled out of the kitchen, clutching his bleeding nose.

  Keith wiped the blood from his knuckles on his jeans and paced angrily around his house until Alice arrived. She walked right in as per usual now and spotted him standing in the kitchen, holding a crop in one hand and a collar and leash in the other. Without saying a word, she stripped out of her clothes, tossed them aside, and walked to him naked. If only Mia was so eager to please him, nothing would have ever gone wrong.

  No matter. He would show her what she was missing. He would remind her of all he’d done for her in her moments of weakness. That Max was no husband for her. One day soon, she would be back in his arms, and she would be begging him for more instead of Alice.

  11

  Mia wanted to peek out from under the blindfold and lifted her face, but Max’s hand covered her whole face as he chuckled and she tried to shove it away. “Oh, come on, at least give me a hint!”

  “Can’t. It’ll ruin the surprise and I quite enjoy surprising you.”

  She huffed and crossed her arms over his chest. “This isn’t fair.”

  “No, what you did to my cock wasn’t fair,” he growled, and she licked her lips just thinking of how much she’d made him squirm. “You know the saying ‘payback is a bitch,’ right?”

  “I’m not sure you can top that.”

  “Did you just challenge me?” he questioned.

  The hunger in his words burned in her, and she tilted her head. “Maybe.”

  “If my sister wasn’t in town for a few days, I’d have you screaming until you were hoarse,” he informed her, and there was a bump as the car turned and he finally came to a stop. Mia wished they had stayed home longer, though. She wanted to see exactly what he could do to make her come like that. Max had stopped moving slowly with her now and had learned she was up to experimenting. Not that she knew that about herself at first, either, but exploring new ways to drive each other insane was turning into a habit she never wanted to break. “We’re here.”

  She yanked off the blindfold before he could stop her and stared around the car lot. “Where are we?”

  “Where do you think?” He climbed out and called for her to hurry up.

  “Wait, am I… am I getting a car?” she squealed as she stepped out and hurried over to him.

  “No. I’m that much of an asshole to tease you by driving you to a car lot,” he said flatly then lifted her into his arms and kissed her. “Yes, you’re getting a car.” The second she was back on her feet, she bounced on her heels until he motioned for her to go check them out.

  Mia darted from one row to the next, her hands shaking as she debated what she wanted. Should she even accept such a gift from him? Her feet slowed, and she shoved her hands in her butt pockets, wondering if she was using him.

  “I see that look on your face. Stop it, right now,” he scolded.

  “What look?”

  “The look that you get when I try to spoil you. You need a car, Mia. My wife needs her own car,” he insisted. “I’m not saying you have to buy the most expensive thing on the lot, but get what you want. Make yourself happy.”

  “You’re sure this isn’t too much?”

  “Not even close,” he said and gave her ass a quick slap to get her moving again. “Now, go. I’m going to track Tim down. He sold me my Challenger.”

  She thought it over another moment until he spanked her again and she took off for a row of new Chevys down the lot. There weren’t many other people around, the chilly October weather enough to deter other shoppers, and that was fine by her. It gave her a chance to peruse the vehicles until she finally came to a stop in front of a burnt orange one that called to her. That was a car she could see herself in.

  When Max and Tim tracked her down, she was grinning widely. “This one?” Max asked, uncertain.

  “What’s wrong with it?” she asked, glancing at her choice.

  “Out of all the cars on this lot, you really want this one?”

  Mia nodded. “It’s a me car, don’t you think?” She ran her hand over the hood of the Chevy Cruze hatchback, loving the color and the shape of it.

  “It definitely has a big rear, like someone else I know,” he grumbled.

  The man Mia assumed was Tim covered a laugh with a cough before holding out his hand. “Tim, pleasure to meet you Mrs. Ward, and she is right, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this car.”

  “What did you expect me to pick out? A Jaguar?”

  “I don’t know. Something a bit flashier, I guess. You’re being too practical.”

  “Maybe I want something practical,” she murmured and turned her back on him. The plan was to leave at the end of four years, but her heart sank and she tapped her fingers on the top of the car. Could she even bring herself to do that? Just leave him behind as if they didn’t share these crazy emotions that tied them together? Never before had she felt so connected to anyone, let alone a man. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Give us a moment,” Max said, and Mia heard footsteps retreating as he turned her gently around to face him. “I’m going to ask you what’s wrong, and before we do the ten-minute argument of you claiming it’s nothing, just cut to the damn chase and tell me.”

  She shrugged one shoulder and opened her mouth to say exactly that, but he placed his fingers over her lips as he always did. He saw right through her, knew what she was going to say even before she said it. There was no way she could leave this man.

  “I came into this marriage,” she said after he removed his fi
ngers, “as a way to escape. You know that.”

  “Right, and in four years, we’ll go our separate ways.” His voice was rough when he said it, and the sudden stiffening of his shoulders said that was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “Well, what if I don’t want to leave after four years?”

  Max glanced from her to the car and back again. “You were going to pick a practical car so when you had to leave in four years, you had something worthwhile to take. I get it, completely understandable.”

  “Now who’s avoiding the question?” she chided.

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  His words caught her off guard, and her eyes widened as her mind hurried to catch up. “You… you don’t? But we just met and we’re still figuring out who we are together. What if, after a year, you can’t stand me?”

  He laughed loudly and leaned down to kiss her. “I won’t lie, you drive me insane some days, but I haven’t laughed this much in a long time. I haven’t smiled in forever either, and I can’t even try to imagine sharing my bed with another woman. Can we worry about the here and now first and get to the four years when we get there?”

  She kissed him back before pulling away and staring at the car in question, reeling with what he’d told her. He wanted to be with her, thought about it as much as she did, apparently. How had she managed to find the one man in the whole damn city who actually cared for her, a man she liked in return? Where had he been two years ago when she was trapped in a world of fear and regret?

  “If we’re living in the moment,” she said and sauntered over a few more rows. “How about this one?”

  He nodded in approval at the black and white striped Camaro. “Much better.”

  “Then I’ll take this one.” She was getting a car, her own car. “I’m pretty sure you gave me enough of an allowance to make payments.”

  Max’s eyes narrowed before he barked a laugh. “Payments, that’s a good one.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”