by Coco Cadence
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The way his eyes narrow and his lips tip up into a devious smile tells me that this man enjoys pushing my buttons. I sip from my cup when he notices I’m looking at him smile. Goddammit. I feel caught in the act. Luckily, the steam from my coffee camouflages my red cheeks.
He rubs his hands together and clears his throat. “Okay … here we go.”
“This should be interesting …” I murmur.
“Not really, more like embarrassing.” He raises his eyebrows. “Basically, I am married to her. Legally.”
“So, she is your wife?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not fake or anything?”
“Well … the thing is, it’s kind of against my will.”
I frown, looking sideways at him, because I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “What?”
“It’s complicated.”
“That’s an understatement,” I jest.
“Hmm …”
When he doesn’t speak up again, I say, “Start at the beginning. That way I can get the complete picture.”
“Well, Marilyn is one of the oldest relations of the company.”
I snort when I hear the word old. I imagine her with wrinkles, and it makes me feel good. Yes, I’m that childish.
“She’s worked with us even before I became the CEO.”
“The company belonged to your father.”
“Yes,” he says. “And I used to work closely with her. Until I became CEO.”
“Oh …” Everything starts to click. “Instead of her.”
“Exactly. Because of her outstanding work for the company, she expected to get the job, but then I did,” he muses. “And that didn’t go down well with her. We talked a lot. Yelled a lot. There were plenty of fights in the office, and I totally understood her anger. She felt betrayed. And I didn’t want to lose a friend. Neither did she. I mean, we were basically torn apart by this position. I almost didn’t want to take it.”
Leo glances my way with the most sincere look I’ve seen in ages.
“I thought I could handle it, and these last few months were going so well, I thought she was over it already. I mean, everything was going well.”
He sighs, and I take a sip from my coffee to take it all in for a second.
He shakes his head. “Marilyn has always had this … thing for me.” He smashes his lips together. “I didn’t realize it at the time until it was too late.”
“Until you were suddenly married?” I laugh. “Sorry, that was a bad joke.”
“It’s funny because that is actually what really happened.”
“What?” I exclaim. “You must be shitting me, right?”
“I wish.” He rolls his eyes. “Seriously, if I’d known, I would have never have gone to Vegas with her.”
I lean forward. “What really happened when you were there?”
“We were celebrating a deal she’d just made for the company. Of course, I let myself get carried away. I mean, she practically begged me to party with her. I couldn’t say no, after all our arguments. I wanted us to be good again.”
“And then you got married …”
“While I was drunk, yeah.”
“But you got married.” I make a face. “I mean, you have to take accountability for it.”
“She got me drunk. On purpose.”
“What?” I gasp.
“She admitted it to me. On the phone.” He takes a deep breath. “She said she wanted to make me feel what I’d made her feel all those years. That’s when I knew it was deep.”
“Wait … what? She baited you into a marriage?”
“I feel uncomfortable that I have to admit it, but yes.”
“Holy shit,” I say.
“Tell me about it.”
Suddenly, laughter bursts from my mouth. Uncontrollable, loud, stupid laughter. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t be laughing at this. That’s bad.”
“No, it’s all right. I know, it’s pathetic.”
I gulp down some coffee to stop myself from laughing.
“I wish that was all there’s to it. I mean, I was in shock when I realized that I’d married her.”
“I can imagine. With a woman like her …” I shake my head. “Actually, I don’t want to imagine.” My body shivers from the thought.
He chuckles. “Me either, which is why I was even more horrified when I found out she did it on purpose. Even when I told her I didn’t want to get married and that it was all one huge mistake, she didn’t want to quit.”
“What? You mean she’s stringing you on, on purpose?”
“She won’t let go of me as her husband until she gets a large bonus. She says it’s only fair because I stole her job, so this is the payment.”
My jaw drops. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was, but she really believes she has a right to the company, and now that she’s found a way in, there’s no way she’s letting it go.”
“Oh, my God. Some people …” I’m at a loss for words.
“It gets worse because when my parents found out they believed it was real. They wanted to meet her. Then news started spreading about my marriage to her, next thing I know even business partners wanted to meet her. They’d heard she was behind a lot of deals for the company, which is true.”
I nod along, listening to his longwinded story.
“Except, she wasn’t at all willing to pretend to actually be my wife until everything had calmed down, so we could organize an annulment and arrange something for the family to believe. I mean, she blatantly said no to every idea I had. She just would not give up on trying to get the annulment through as quickly as possible, sucking me dry of my money.”
“Jesus,” I mutter.
“Basically, she just said screw you. She wanted me to suffer. She was waiting for a chance to see me fail, like, with my family and having to tell them it was all one big fucking joke … She wants me to make a fool out of myself.”
“But why did she show up at the hotel then?” I ask.
He frowns. “I don’t know, really. Maybe she changed her mind. Or maybe she realized what I was doing and made an attempt to sabotage it.” He looks at me with a sarcastic smile on his face. “She enjoys ruining me.”
I shake my head, unable to comprehend or understand the vicious jealousy of this woman. “I can’t believe it …You’re not in the process of divorcing her yet?”
“I am, but she isn’t. She has yet to sign the annulment. I don’t think she ever will do it, at least not willingly.”
“Well, can’t we make her do it then?”
“We?” He narrows his eyes at me, smiling like the smug bastard he is. “Hmm … you sure do want to get me out of that marriage quickly. I’d almost be inclined to say you want me for yourself.”
I shove him. “You know what I mean. I want to help.”
“Your help is much appreciated, although I don’t think it will make her sign the contract. Plus, I don’t want to bother you with any more of my shit than I already have.”
“Well, isn’t there anything we can do?”
“I’m trying. I’m speaking with my lawyer soon, and then we’ll see what can be done. But she is persistent in getting as much out of this as possible. It seems to have been her plan all along. She didn’t get the CEO position, so now that she’s married to me, who did, she’ll suck me dry.”
I frown. “What a bitch.”
“Now, now … that’s no way to act, Sam,” he muses, gazing at me from under his eyelashes. “Even though you’re right.”
“Tsk, you called her a bitch yourself. No way in hell you’re teaching me how to behave now.” I drink the last few drops of my coffee and feel rejuvenated already. God, the truth does some good.
“True. You’re always so onto me. Like a cat. Meow.” He makes raking motions with his fingernails, which makes me chuckle.
“Sorry, but when I hear stories like that, I just want to cut a bitch, if
you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean, and trust me, I’ve thought of strangling her with that fur coat she has because of the viciousness of her plans.” He winks at me. “We are like-minded, you and I. I love that feistiness in you.”
“Yeah, you say that a lot.” I smile, looking down at the tiles on the floor.
“That’s because it’s true,” he says.
I look up to see his gentlemanly smile, and it makes my heart flutter in a way it shouldn’t. Why do I feel something for a guy who kept all of this information from me? Like, he can’t be trusted, so why do I let myself feel this way?
“Why didn’t you just tell me all of this, Leo? It would’ve made things so much easier.”
“I’ve wanted to. Believe me, I thought about it every day. But I felt so … stupid for falling for her tricks. I didn’t want you to think I was a … loser.”
I sputter out my laughter when I hear that word. “Loser?”
“Yeah …” He frowns. “It’s kind of dumb. I should’ve realized she’d do this shit. And really, who the fuck gets married while drunk? And then gets fucking extorted with it? I mean, it’s like stupidity, in a nutshell.”
“I don’t think you’re stupid. You just made stupid decisions.”
“That’s the same thing,” he jokes.
“No. You’re smart, but only when it comes to business deals. Not when it comes to how to deal with ladies.”
“Are you saying I’m not a ladies’ man? That’s hurtful, Sam,” he says with a stark voice, but I can tell he’s being sarcastic, especially when he scoots closer. “If you really think that, give me a chance to show you how much of a gentleman I can be.”
I lean back. “Wow, down boy, down.”
He laughs. “You are so asking for it.”
“For what?” I ask when he leans back against the bench, his arms draped over the back, legs spread as if he’s the alpha. I kind of like the pose. It’s so … manly. Dammit.
“You know what I mean,” he says with a gruff voice that gets me all fired up.
“As if I would let that happen.”
“But you thought about it,” he says, smirking.
“Wipe that smirk off your face, Mr. King, before I do it myself.” I throw my cup into the bin next to the bench.
“Oh, so we’re back to last names now?”
“If I remember correctly, you were the one who started that,” I retort.
“I can undo it again if you want.” He leans in again. “I can undo many things.”
“With your eyes, I bet.” I laugh. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Aw, but it was just getting fun again.”
Fun, there he goes again. I knew it. All these sexual innuendos only lead to one thing, and that’s never a great relationship. I’m looking for more than just sex.
“I need more than just fun. I can get that anywhere. Heck, I’m getting that plenty of times,” I muse, just to get under his skin.
Suddenly, I realize I was having that kind of fun only an hour ago, and it’s almost past the time I was given to get back. Shit!
“Argh, I have to go,” I say.
“Wait, what? Why?” he asks. “We were having a nice conversation, and now you’re bailing on me?”
“I’m not, but I just have this … thing I need to do.”
“Does this thing involve running away from me? Because it sure as hell looks like that’s what you’re doing.”
“No, I—”
“Hey, if you’re not interested, all you had to do was say it,” he says, smiling like an idiot.
“No, that’s not what I was saying.” I check my phone and notice the time. Only a few minutes left to get home. Crap!
“Then you are interested?”
“What? No, I didn’t say that, either.”
“Then what?” He laughs. “You’re just going to leave me hanging.”
“It’s complicated, all right!”
“I know it is, and I’ll take the blame for that. So, what’s in that bag you’re holding so tightly?” He points at my lingerie.
I blush, hiding the bag behind my back. “Nothing.”
“Of course, there is,” he chuckles.
“It doesn’t concern you.” I frown. “Stop being so curious. It might kill you one day.”
He laughs. “It probably will. Or you will. Either way, I’m screwed.”
“You bet.”
“I’m trouble, I know,” he jests, eyeing me from top to bottom, making me feel all self-conscious again.
I roll my eyes. “Yes, which is why I’m not going to say yes to anything you say right now. Especially not with you trying to seduce me and all.”
“Oh, I wasn’t trying to do anything, Miss Webber …”
I sigh. “Oh, here we go again. You’re using your charms to persuade me to forgive you.”
“I thought you already had.”
“Nu-uh. It takes more than just explaining what happened to forgive you for what you did. You lying … fine piece of man ass …”
He chuckles and gets up from the bench, too. “But you want this ass as much as I want yours.”
“Not on your terms, though.”
“What are your terms then?”
“I don’t have time for this, Leo. I have to go, like … right now. So, excuse me and maybe I’ll see you later.”
Right when I’m walking away, Leo yells, “You’d better show up for work, though.”
Fucker. Even after telling me everything, admitting to me that he lied and acting like an oversexed pig, he still demands that I come work for him.
I stick up my middle finger while running away.
The saddest thing is that underneath all the hatred and loathing for his attitude, I actually still have the hots for him. It’s like chocolate fudge cake; it’s bad for you in so many ways, but you just can’t stop eating that motherfucking delicious cake.
Ever.
Chapter 8
When I get home, it’s already past the time Mr. Awesome and I had agreed upon. It might seem stupid that we’d adhere to rules this strongly, but that’s how it works in these kinds of relationships. I have to do what he says. Otherwise, it’s no fun. That’s why I know I’m going to get punished for being late now.
I only hope it won’t make my toes curl. It’s probably going to be something insanely cruel.
As I open my phone and sit down on the couch, I quickly unpack my lingerie and struggle to put it on, almost falling nose-first into Doritos salsa that I left on the table before leaving the house. It smells so good that I take another bite before opening up the app.
S: I’m back!
It doesn’t take him long to reply.
Mr. Awesome: You’re late. Punishment is due.
S: I’m sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again!
Mr. Awesome: I accept your apology, but you will still be punished. One strike for each minute. Grab a soft brush and hit that ass. Send me pictures as proof. I want it red and swollen.
S: Yes, Sir.
Sighing, I close the app. I shouldn’t be upset because hey, I love spankings, even though I have to do it myself. I’m just disappointed that I couldn’t make it in time, and … you know, please him. I’m sorry, that’s just what I like … no, wait, I’m not sorry for being who I am. I love pleasing Mr. Awesome because he gives me pleasure in return. It’s a mutual relationship of give and take, nothing to be ashamed about.
Too bad I can only share it with him on the phone and not in real life.
I grab my brush and position myself over the couch in a way that I can spank myself. It hits quite hard and firm but nice. It isn’t supposed to be nice, I’m trying to remind myself. This is for not paying attention to the time, which I’m doing right now. One strike for each minute passed, which is fifteen. It’s not hard, but by the time I’m done, my ass is sore and sizzles when I try to sit down.
S: I’ve completed the task, Sir.
Mr. Awesome: Pictures.
/> I lean back and take a few photos of my ass in the new lingerie, hoping it’s visible that I got quite a few good hits. When I look at the pictures, one of them clearly shows a red, plump ass and an exact mark of where the brush landed. It looks like it would hurt a lot, but the excitement is bigger than the pain I feel.
I send him the picture.
Mr. Awesome: Well done, Princess. Did it hurt?
S: Yes, but I quite liked it, actually.
Mr. Awesome: You know that’s not the goal.
S: Yes, Sir. I can’t help myself. This just adds to the teasing.
Mr. Awesome: All right, I will extend your punishment then.
I frown. What is he doing?
S: Why?
Mr. Awesome: Tsk, no back talking. Behave, Princess.
S: Sorry, Sir. I just don’t understand.
Mr. Awesome: I know I said we would have playtime, but I feel like your punishment should last a little longer. I don’t want you to enjoy it. I want it to be aggravating, so you learn not to do it again.
S: What do you propose then?
Mr. Awesome: I want you to go out tonight. Take a friend with you. Have a couple of drinks. You can’t return until it’s past twelve. Only then will we continue, and not a moment sooner. You want to please yourself? Not now. It will have to wait.
S: You’re leaving me hanging?
Mr. Awesome: This is playtime, and during playtime I make the rules. The rules you obey. The rules you must follow or otherwise be punished. Did you not agree to these terms?
Wow. He sure is strict today.
S: Yes, Sir.
Mr. Awesome: Then don’t question me again. Now, you will also wear the lingerie underneath your outfit when you go out. I want you to be dressed up the entire time and feel it while you walk the streets and sit down somewhere to drink. Think about the fact that these clothes mean that our playtime is still going on and that you must obey my rules. You are dressed that way for me and only for me. You will think about what I will do once you come back home, but no sooner than midnight. Yearn for it, Princess. You’ll learn to appreciate being on time.
S: Yes, Sir. I will.
