by Ella Miles
My hands grab her face as I deepen the kiss. Her kisses say so much that I know she would never tell me with her words. They say, You were right. They say, I’m sorry. They say, Thank you.
She pulls away, realizing what she just did, as she wipes her mouth on the back of her hand. She doesn’t say anything. She just stands there, looking at me.
“I’ll go get a Band-Aid,” I say, keeping my promise not to talk about having sex with her again.
I walk quickly to the bathroom, and after searching for a couple of minutes, I come back with a Band-Aid in hand.
“Found one,” I say as I return to her in the kitchen.
She hasn’t moved an inch since I left. She’s clearly lost in her own thoughts when I walk back over to her.
I open the Band-Aid and then take her hand in mine. I place the Band-Aid on her finger.
I lean my head down to kiss her finger again because I can’t pass up that opportunity when she grabs my face and kisses me hard again with a force I wasn’t expecting.
I stutter backward as I wrap her in my arms and kiss her back.
“I hate you,” she says, breaking from the kiss.
“I know.” I pull her bottom lip into my mouth, needing this more than she knows.
“And you hate me.”
I nod.
“Good. Just so we understand that this changes nothing.”
I grin. She’s very, very wrong about that. This changes everything. If the first time was a mistake and the second time was a bigger mistake, then the third time is a choice. It means that, despite how mad she is at me, she wants this more.
She grabs my shirt, ripping it open, just like I did to her earlier. Her eyes devour my hard body.
“Damn it,” she says.
“What?”
“Why does your body have to be so hot? I’ve spent a week with you, and I haven’t seen you work out once. You shouldn’t be this good-looking.”
I give her my sexiest grin before I kiss her neck. I grab the hem of her shirt and lift it over her head.
I take a step back to really look at her body. “Talk about hot bodies.”
She blushes, and I love it.
“You’ve been a naughty girl,” I say, grabbing her hips and pulling her back toward me.
“Yeah? How?” She moans against my lips as her soft lips kiss me again.
I grab the sweatpants that she changed into and push them down her body. I turn her around and slap her hard on the ass. “You forced me to pretend to date a woman who isn’t you.”
I slap her again, and she yelps.
She turns her face toward me as she bites her lip. “Does that mean that I have to be punished?”
My eyes deepen with that thought. “Yes.”
She bites her lip harder but I realize it’s not because I turn her on. It’s because she is stifling a laugh.
“You think it’s funny that I want to punish you?”
She turns around and swallows as she takes a step away. “Yes.”
We both make our move at the same time. She runs, and I chase after her.
She doesn’t make it far before I grab her body, pulling her back to me. She grabs the cheese and begins throwing it at me, trying to get me to let her go. I grab her hand and eat the cheese out of it to get her to stop. I suck each of her fingers into my mouth, and she melts.
I should punish her. Make her pay for hurting me. But that would mean not having sex with her. And that would punish me.
Instead, I reach around her back and undo her bra, watching as her plump breasts show themselves to me again. She grabs her panties and pushes them down, and then she’s naked, standing in the kitchen.
I groan at the sight of her. Her body is glorious. Her skin is smooth, her boobs are delicious, and her smooth stomach leads down to the tightest pussy.
Her entire body distracts me with thoughts of what I can do with her. Fuck her on the counter, in the living room, or in a bed. Claim her mouth, her pussy, her ass. I want it all.
I look into her eyes though, and I see something there that I didn’t see before. Fear.
“Why?” I ask, wanting to know why she pushed me into Lily.
She sucks in a breath as I slowly undo my pants and remove them along with my boxers and shirt.
“Because I was scared.”
I grab her and lift her onto the counter, needing her here and now. I need to look into her eyes when she comes. I need to understand everything about her.
My cock hardens as I kiss her. I push against her and then stop, resting my hands on her thighs.
She grabs my face, trying to pull me to her again.
“I need to go get a condom,” I say, hating myself for not having a ready stash on hand.
“No, you don’t.”
My eyes light up at the thought of fucking her without a condom.
I grab on to her and start kissing her again as I push my cock at her entrance. She swats me away.
“What?” I ask.
She looks in the direction of her sweatpants. I grin as I reach down and pick them up off the floor. I dig through the pockets and find a condom, holding it up to her lips.
“Now, tell me, why do you have a condom in your sweatpants? You weren’t planning on seducing me when I got home, were you?”
She bites her lip. “No.”
I rip the condom open, roll it onto my cock, and then thrust inside her.
“Liar.”
Her nails dig roughly into my back as I thrust. I just can’t figure out if she is pulling me closer or pushing me away as I fuck her.
She wants this, but she won’t ever admit it to herself, let alone me.
I kiss down her neck. I kiss every inch of her breasts, all while fucking her with everything I have.
She moans and groans as she fights with herself, trying to decide if she should hold back or tell me how she really feels.
I’m not going to let her have a choice. I need the truth. Now.
I fuck her faster, pulling more groans from her strong body.
“Why are you afraid?” I ask without having to mention what specifically I’m talking about. We both know I’m talking about Lily.
I grab her hips, pushing harder into her slick opening.
Her eyes shoot wide, looking at me with terror. She doesn’t want to tell me. Or maybe she doesn’t want to admit the truth to herself, but I need to know.
“What are you so scared of?”
I push harder, holding on to her, not letting her go until I get an answer. I watch her breathing quicken. Her heart is racing, and her whole body is so alive that I know one flick of my tongue over her nipple would be enough to make her come. But I won’t let her, not until she answers me.
She fiercely looks back at me, trying to come on her own without my help. Her hand goes to her breast, ready to get herself off.
I grab her wrist, stopping her before she has the chance. She glares at me, but it’s just a mask for the fear.
“What are you afraid of?”
“You,” she says.
She moves her hips forward to rub her clit against me. It’s enough. I feel her pussy clenching against my cock. She growls deep in her throat as her orgasm rolls through her body.
I let go and fuck her hard until my own orgasm pulses through my body. She wants it to be a distraction. She wants me to forget her answer, but there is no way I can forget it.
We both come down, breathing quickly as we stare into each other’s eyes.
“Why are you afraid of me?”
“Because you’ve hurt me so many times before. But those times would be nothing if I let myself fall in love with you. You would break my heart.”
I open my mouth, but she kisses me, keeping any words from leaving my mouth.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You would break my heart. Now that you are with Lily, it can’t happen.”
The smoke detector starts blaring loudly. Victoria jumps off the counter and races over to where
the chicken is burning on the stovetop while I fan the smoke away from the smoke detector.
She thinks I would hurt her. She’s right. I’ve made too many mistakes in the past when it comes to Victoria to be given a second chance. One big mistake comes to mind. When she finds out about it, she will never forgive me. But there would be nothing to forgive if she never found out.
We could start over. This could be our fresh start. It will be complicated with the whole Lily situation, but I’ve never wanted a woman more than I want Victoria.
“So, I lied. I can’t cook,” Victoria says, dumping the pan into the sink.
I grin before softly kissing her on the lips. “You are an amazing woman with plenty of skills, but no, cooking isn’t one of them. Good thing I can cook.”
She smiles, oblivious to my plan. She’s already mine, and she doesn’t even know it yet. I won’t ever hurt her again. I just have to find a way to prove it.
11
Victoria
I step out of the bathroom after a long night of sex with Carter. Sex in the kitchen. Sex in the living room. Sex in the bedroom. Followed by sleeping hard in his arms. It was a night I would love to repeat over and over again till the end of time.
I can’t though. Today, it has to stop.
I walk into the kitchen to make coffee and a piece of toast, but I quickly change my plans when I see Carter standing in the kitchen with a large grin on his face. I just need to get out of here as fast as possible and grab breakfast on the way.
I walk around the island to grab my briefcase before heading out, but Carter blocks my way.
“Really? This is your genius plan—block my path out of here so that I have to talk to you?”
He smirks and pulls out the barstool at the counter. “My plan is to feed you a real breakfast while I convince you that this can work.”
I glance over at the plate. The smells hit my nostrils all at once. Pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I’ve never eaten so much food for breakfast at one time. But he went all out.
I sigh as I take a seat and begin to dig into the food that Carter prepared for me.
“How is it?”
“Delicious,” I say, annoyed that he can cook so well. It’s just pancakes, I remind myself. But they are the best pancakes I’ve ever had.
“Good.”
I shovel another bite into my mouth. “So, your plan is to cook delicious food for me so that I’ll forget about everything else and do everything you want?”
He shrugs.
“It’s working,” I say with a sigh.
He grins as he takes his fork and tries to get a bite off my plate. I stab his hand with my fork.
“Ow.”
“This is mine.”
He laughs and leans back. “Fine. But you’re mine.”
I almost choke on the food in my mouth. I swallow quickly and take a drink of coffee to wash down the rest.
“I’m not your anything, Carter. I’m your coworker; that’s it.”
“A coworker who has had sex with me how many times now?” he says with his grin that makes me want to do anything for him.
“We can’t keep doing this.”
“Why not?” He folds his arms across his chest.
“Because of Lily.”
“You do realize that what Lily and I have is fake. It’s not real. We are just acting to save her career, which was your idea.”
“I know. But we can’t because, if we got caught together, it would ruin Lily’s career.”
“We won’t get caught. Trust me.”
I don’t answer. I just keep eating my pancakes.
“What are your other problems with us?”
I push the pancake around with my fork, trying to avoid talking about this.
“I know you like me. The sex is amazing. We could be incredible together. Just give us a shot.”
“As I told you before, I don’t trust you not to hurt me. We haven’t even gone on a real date. All we’ve done is have sex or fight. You can’t build a relationship on that.”
He grins, leaning on the counter over my food. “Go out with me tonight.”
I shake my head. “We can’t. If we got caught—”
“If anyone saw us together, we would just play it off as two consultants on Lily’s team, discussing our plan over dinner, nothing more.”
I search his eyes, trying to find the asshole that I know is in there somewhere.
“Give me one chance. Go out with me on one date. If you still think us being together is a bad idea, then I’ll leave you alone. But, if you enjoy yourself, then we can talk about a plan for us to continue dating. Do we have a deal?”
I try to think about what the cons are to agreeing to such a deal. But I can’t, not when he’s smiling at me with such hope. I want to go out with him. I want to go out on a date with this fun man. I want to go out with the man who could change my whole world.
“Okay. Just one date.”
“You shouldn’t walk in with me,” I hiss to Carter as we walk into the building where Lily’s office is.
“Why not?” Carter says, grabbing my hand.
I pull my hand out of his. “Because we can’t look like a couple.”
He laughs. “You think anyone is paying attention to us? They are all wrapped up in their own lives; they won’t notice two people they don’t even know.”
A young woman comes up to Carter. “Oh my God! Are you Carter Woods? I saw you with Lily on TV last night. I had no idea the two of you were a couple. And that story you told about how you fell in love? It was beautiful.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed our story,” Carter says, darting his worried gaze toward me.
“I’m Jillian, I’m one of the paralegals for Lily,” the woman says, holding out her hand to Carter.
Carter shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Jillian.”
“Lily is already in her office, but if you are looking for a place to be alone, there is a restroom on the top floor that nobody ever uses.” She winks at him.
Carter smiles. “Thanks for the tip.”
I start walking to Lily’s office, and Carter jogs after me seconds later.
“Hold up, Victoria.”
I slow because I know he will make a bigger scene if I don’t walk with him.
“We can’t do this. A random stranger from Lily’s office noticed you, and we are barely even inside the building. We will get caught if we go on a date.”
Carter stops in front of me. “You promised. One date. I will take you to the most hidden restaurant I can find. No one will know. Okay?”
I nod, hoping that something will happen between now and then that will not let me go on that date. Because I know, if I go, he’s going to be charming and wonderful and perfect. He’s going to buy me flowers and hold my hand. He’s going to tell me all the lovely reasons he likes me. He’s going to give me his jacket when I get cold and then turn into an animal who kisses me and then fucks me in the cab on the way home. And, after a date like that, I’m going to fall. Completely and fully in love with him because I’ve wanted him since we were kids. I’ve wanted nothing more than to make him fall desperately in love with me, but he was always with someone else.
I can’t let myself fall in love with him. Because, as much as I want to think that he has changed, I know he hasn’t. One day, he will flip the switch again and turn back into the monster I know he has hidden deep inside.
We walk upstairs to Lily’s office. I knock before entering. I walk in with Carter close behind.
Then, Lily attacks Carter.
Lily’s arms wrap around his neck as she launches at him. And then she presses her lips against his and kisses him. Not a chaste kiss. Not a thank you so much for saving my butt yesterday kiss. A real I want you right here, and I don’t care who is watching kiss.
My mouth falls open at the sight, but I quickly recover. I twirl my hair around my finger, trying to distract myself. I try to force my eyes away from the two of them kissing. But, even if I co
uld manage to somehow tear my eyes away, I could never stop seeing the two of them together over and over in my head.
I knew that sleeping with Carter was going to result in agony. And I was right. I can tell by the look on Carter’s face that he is just as shocked as I am about the kiss, that this isn’t what he wants. But it doesn’t matter. This is our life now. He has to pretend to date Lily. That’s the job. And it’s going to be the worst pain I’ve ever felt, watching him with another woman. It doesn’t matter that it’s pretend to Carter. It’s clearly not pretend to Lily.
Carter slowly pushes her back from his lips, and he stares at her with wide eyes. He wipes his lips. “Um…it’s good to see you, too,” Carter says, backing up toward the door like he wants to run.
I want him to run, too. Forget about this stupid job and just run. I’ll chase after him. It can be just like when we were kids, and he chased me all over the playground. Except, this time, when I catch him, he won’t push me down. He’ll fuck me.
Lily’s face lights up. “It’s a very, very good day, Carter. The best day in fact.”
Carter rubs the back of his neck. “And why is it the best day?”
“Because I have the most amazing boyfriend ever.”
“I’m not your—”
A knock on the door stops Carter from speaking.
“Yes?” Lily asks.
“I have a DVD from last night for you,” says a small, petite woman when she pokes her head inside.
“Thank you,” Lily says, holding her hand out to take the DVD.
Before she begins to walk out of the room, the woman eyes Carter like he’s the most delicious man she’s ever seen. Lily walks over and takes his arm. She takes the arm of my man. I tightly grip my hands together to keep from attacking Lily and claiming Carter as my own. But it’s clear that Lily is just as jealous, except she’s jealous of a woman who wasn’t doing anything other than looking.
When the woman leaves, Lily walks over to the door and closes it. She glares at Carter, still ignoring that I’m even in the room.
“You can’t talk like that! There are plenty of people in this office who would head straight to the first reporter if given the chance. If we are going to do this, we have to make it believable. I get in trouble when I don’t.” She drapes her arm around Carter again. “Plus, I think, after you see this”—she holds up the DVD—“you are going to remember just how good we are together, and we won’t have to pretend anymore.”
