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Chapter Three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Damon would’ve been completely intimidating if not for the incongruity of all that hair pulled into a knot at the back of his head. Someone so polished, so sophisticated, so rigid in his appearance wearing a…man bun.
A corded expanse of tanned neck contrasted with his light blue shirt. His broad shoulders blocked her view of the room, but Wendy didn't care. Her stare was riveted to his body. He was powerfully built, his arm tanned and flecked with black hair below the turned back pearl-studded cuff.
Wendy seemed to be floating on a cloud, her mouth turning dry as her gaze slid lower. She was fascinated by the flex of his strong thighs beneath the tight denim as he released her hand as stepped back a bit.
"Is something wrong?" Damon asked, watching her closely.
The question brought her back to reality and she grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah... Oh nothing is wrong" she said hurriedly and smiled at him. "It's just that you look so different... Not different in a bad way of course... I mean, you look really.... Sexy"
Damon looked surprised at her forwardness, but then he smiled and said, "Thanks.. I think you look amazing too... You always have"
"Please have a seat" Deborah said as she took Wendy's bags from her. "I will put these in your room. Make yourself comfortable"
Gladly, Wendy thought. She was so tired, but immediately she sat down her phone rang. She groaned when she saw that it was her dad. She couldn't ignore him forever, so it was better to get this over with.
"Hi dad," she said trying to sound cheerful.
"I have been calling for hours. Why haven't you been picking your calls?" her father asked angrily.
"I'm fine, dad. How are you too?" she
replied sarcastically.
"Don't take that tone with me young lady" Fred Morgan said, sounding more angry, if that was even possible.
"I'm sorry, dad" Wendy replied, "But I just got to Debbie's place and I didn't want to have this conversation where anyone could listen and frankly, I'm not sure I want to have it now... Or ever for that matter"
"Well, you are gonna" her father replied. "Now listen to me, young lady. I don't know what has come over you, but you will do as I say. I have done everything possible to ensure that you have a comfortable life... And this is how you pay me? By defying me?"
Wendy ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She was so tired and she wanted to rest so bad. She definitely wasn't in the mood to have this conversation. "I know Dad," she said. "And I'm grateful for everything you have done for me. But maybe it's okay to let me make some decisions for myself. I'm tired of having everything planned out for me. You have always been there in every aspect of my life, the schools I attended, my job and now you even have a suitor ready for me. I don't want that anymore Dad, and I'm done with it. I love that you care so much about me, but I can't keep living like that and i sure as hell can't marry Jordan... I don't love him... I barely know the guy. No one does this arranged marriage crap anymore"
Her father snorted, like what she had just said was pointless."There are more important things in marriage than love. That can come later. You mother and I had an arranged marriage, and it worked out well for us. I don't see why it's going to be different for you. You haven't even given it a chance. Look, I'm not going to have this talk with you again. Just know that if you refuse to come back, I'm cutting you off... Don't bother running back to me when all your plans go to hell.. And trust me, they will."
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You are cutting me off? Fine, Dad" Wendy said. "I think it's better that way. Maybe I don't need your money and now I have one more thing motivating me to do better for myself"She hung up immediately, a little scared that if she stayed on the phone, he would talk her out of this and make her go back home."Family issues?" Damon asked as she dropped the phone on her lap and buried her face in her hands. She looked up and nodded slowly."Yeah" Wendy replied. "I just had to leave, you know. It wasn't my intention to piss him off, but this is something I feel like i have to do. All my life I have always done things the way he wanted me to... Every single thing. And now he wants me to marry some doctor guy i barely know. He said something about securing my future... Whatever that means. I thought about it a lot and I just can't do it. I can't keep living like that... I want more. I want to make decisions on my own... G
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The vultures were circling.Wendy stood back, wineglass in hand, and surveyed the crowded ballroom. The fund-raiser was supposed to be more pleasure than business, but business was uppermost on the minds of her competition.Across the room, Damon Paige stood in a large group of people. He looked relaxed, seemingly in his element, an easy smile making his extraordinarily handsome face even more gorgeous.It should be a crime for a man to be that good-looking. Tall, rugged, he looked every inch the kind of man who’d be at home in the athletic wear his company designed and sold. There was an aura of confidence and power around him, and above all, Wendy loved a man who was sure of himself.Given the long, searching glances they’d exchanged over the last few weeks since she came to live with Deborah, she’d be a fool not to entertain the idea of seeing where things could lead...If he wasn’t a prospective client.
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Frank owned Creative Edge Promotions, and according to Evan, not only had Frank lured away a few of Standard gate's top clients in recent months, he’d also launched a PR campaign against Standard Gate. Evan said that Frank was ruthless, and he’d do anything to win.“Well, yes,” Wendy murmured. “His ad execs are busy working Damon over.”“Any reason you aren’t?” Evan asked her.She laid her hand on his forearm. She knew how important this account was to Evan—to everyone at Standard Gate Communications. It was important to her too. She wanted to prove herself, both to Evan, and more importantly to herself.“I need you to trust me, Evan. I know Damon Paige and i have studied him extensively. He knows I’m interested. He’ll come to me eventually. I’m sure of it.”She said.&ldquo
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Wendy grinned at him. "Enjoying the evening?” she asked.“I think you know I’m not.” he replied.She raised one eyebrow and stared at him over the rim of her glass. “Do I?”Damon snagged a flute from a passing waiter and turned his attention fully on her. It was all she could do not to gasp under his heated scrutiny. It was as if he undressed her right then and there in front of a roomful of people. Her blood simmered and pooled low in her belly. He had beautiful eyes, and they were currently devouring her, delving beneath the modest evening gown she’d chosen. He made it seem like she wore the most scanty, revealing dress imaginable. She felt nude and vulnerable under his searing gaze. And somehow she had a feeling that he knew the kind of thoughts she was having about him...and that he was thinking it too. Why was he looking at her like that if he wasn'
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It would make her life easier to be able to hide her thoughts from this man. Then she wouldn’t concern herself over whether he was giving her a shot because he thought she deserved it or whether he was thinking only of the powerful sexual pull between them and how best to capitalize on it.Wow, Wendy. Lump him in with all the other jerks you’ve known, why don’t you? Nothing like being tried and convicted based on your gender, she thought.Okay maybe that was wrong to judge him like that, but what about Debbie? What if something happened and her friendship with Debbie was ruined. She didn't want to hurt someone who had always been good to her.“Relax. You’re thinking way too much,” Damon murmured close to her ear. "You were the one who said you wanted to do this professionally""And I am doing this professionally" she replied.
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His fixation with her couldn’t be readily explained. It wasn’t as though he lived as a monk. He had sex. He never lacked for partners. Sex was good. And all this while when she hadn't been in his life, he had been seeing women.But he knew that sex with Wendy would never be just good. It would be lush and delicious. The kind of experience a man would sell his soul for.She was indeed a beautiful woman. Tall, but not too tall. She would fit perfectly against him, her head tucked just underneath his chin. The girl he had once known had become a woman... A beautiful woman. She often wore her long red hair up in a loose style that told him she didn’t pay a lot of attention to whether every strand was in place. It kinda reminded him of her ponytail back in high school.He wanted to take that damn clip out, toss it in the garbage and watch as her silken mass spilled down her back. Or better yet, let it spill over him while the
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She preferred the glitz-and-glamour facade of the jewelry world over the sweaty, athletic image of his company. It was just as well she wasn’t bright enough to have done any research. If she had, she would have known that Damon's company’s earnings far exceeded those of their family's jewelry business. And it had only taken him a few years to accomplish it.His mother wouldn’t believe it but Damon was grateful to Sam for being a selfish pinhead. Sam wanted Grace becausese Damon had her. Thanks to that deep need for one-upmanship, Damon had narrowly escaped a huge mistake. But it didn’t mean he wanted to spend quality time with his spoiled, self-indulgent cousin. He’d agreed, however, and now he needed a date.With a shake of his head, he began scrolling through the contacts on his phone. He had narrowed his options to three women, when the solution came to him.It was brilliant, really. He w
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“You can’t have it both ways, Grace. Either I was serious about you or you were an accessory,” he drawled.“Which is it?” She flushed angrily. “I only meant that you haven’t dated any woman more than once since I broke things off with you.”He made an exaggerated expression of surprise. “You flatter me. I had no idea you were so interested in who I date. I would have thought my brother kept you too occupied to monitor my love life.”“Bring your date, Damon. But you know and I know she isn’t me. She’ll never be me. Don’t think you’ll take anything away from my wedding day.” Grace hissed.With that she stalked out of his office, leaving Damon to shake his head. He really ought to call his cousin and thank him profusely. He had dodged a bullet.He sank into his chair and opened his day planner. Maggie kept meticulous records of all appointments for just such rare occasions that
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THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Seven
"Oh, Damon" Wendy said, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too. I never stopped. I always will"Damon smiled and wiped a tear that had fallen with his finger. "Don't cry, honey" he said, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. And it makes what I'm going to say next so much easier"Wendy laughed and wiped her cheek with her palm. "Oh.... There's more?" she asked.He nodded. "Hell yeah" he replied, then his hand moved to stomach and he cupped it. "You remember when I found out about the baby and I asked you to move in with me?" he asked."Yes" she replied softly."At first I didn't like that you said no, it pissed me off in fact, but I realized that it was a crappy thing to say. We are having a baby, Red. You, me and that tiny human growing inside of you. And we love each other, so if we are going to do this, I want us to do it right, so...... "
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Six
“You are so beautiful,” Damon drawled, then gave a small cough. “Red, i have missed you so damn much, so much that I stayed up at night thinking about you. It was never just about sex for me".Wendy smiled up at him, tracing lines on his chest with the tip of her finger. "I have missed you too. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Damon. I didn't mean to push you away like that. I cared but I was just so worried about what people thought so much, that I didn't know I was torturing myself, and hurting you too, but now.... With the baby, I don't care so much anymore. My priorities has changed all of a sudden"He laughed—and it sounded so good. To see him relaxed, smiling, was like glimpsing somehow a different man, and all she knew was that she wanted more of this. He ran his hand over her warm, naked body and she squirmed with pleasure, couldn’t believe she was lying naked in his arms in the middle of the day and feeling only beautiful.
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“Don’t hold onto those thoughts, Red, just let them go.” And she tried, really tried to just relax as his hand cupped her bottom and lifted her enough to slip off the shorts and knickers in one. But the movement erased what had been achieved, embarrassment flooding in as her flesh was exposed, her knees lifting instinctively and her hand moving down in a futile attempt to cover herself. Wanting to hide her body from his gaze. It had been a while since they'd been this way together.“Don’t fight,” he ordered, but he was soothing her with his words. “Don’t think about that anything else, just think about this.” His hand hovered over her stomach until she caught her breath.She wanted the contact again and he was very gently tracing tiny endless circles around the little hill of her abdomen as his lips dusted her cheeks. Oh, how much she'd missed him. He was kissing away the salty tears that were spilling from her eyes with his other hand around
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The sun blocked out as he hovered over her, her eyes still closed as she blissfully attuned to the feel of his lips lightly on hers until it wasn’t enough. He was waiting for her bidding, she instinctively knew that. She could smell the bitter orange and bergamot undertones of his cologne, his breath mingling with hers, and after seconds that seemed to drag for ever she gave him her consent with her mouth, pressed her own lips into his. The greeting was acknowledged by the reward of his cool tongue parting her lips, slipping inside, and that delicious taste of him, the intimate feel of his mouth inside hers, his tongue languorously capturing hers, playing a slow teasing game, long strokes that made her want more, countered by a tiny feather-light stroke on the tip of her tongue and then a gentle sucking as he dragged her deeper into him. And it was the most erotic of kisses yet the most frustrating, because still nowhere else did he touch her. Only their mouths were touching only the
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Three
She turned abruptly away, terrified he’d read the naked lust in her eyes. She took a long drink from her water bottle then, blowing her fringe skywards and trying to keep her voice normal, determined not to make a fool of herself again, to be absolutely sure she wasn’t misreading things, she said, “You should try meditating if you want to be relaxed.”“It wouldn’t work,” Damon dismissed.“It won’t if that’s your attitude...” She could feel the atmosphere sizzling between them, knew that if she said what was on her mind then she’d be crossing a line, playing the most dangerous of dangerous games. “Try it,” she breathed, her eyes daring him to join her. “Why don’t you lie back and try it now?”“Now?” Damon checked, a dangerous warning glint in his eyes, which she heeded, but it only excited her more.“Now,” Wendy affirmed. “Just lie back.”“Then what?” Damon's impatient voice demanded instruction as,
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Two
Absolutely the last person she was expecting to see at this hour as she thought she wouldn't be back from work so early. He was dressed in his inevitable dark suit, but there was a slightly more relaxed stance to him. He held a brown paper bag in one hand and he didn’t look in his usual rush—his usually perfectly knotted tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone. But his dark eyes were shielded with sunglasses making his closed expression even more unreadable if that were possible.“You’ve done a lot of work. I can see.” he said.“It’s getting there.” She nodded. “And if I keep going at full speed, I could still be done with this by early next week.”He didn’t say a word, he didn’t have to. Just a tiny questioning lift of his eyebrow from behind his dark glasses was enough for Wendy.“I am allowed to take a break,” Wendy retorted.“I didn’t say anything!” he said, but she could see
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy One
His mouth brushed her cheek, sweeping along her cheekbone till she could feel his breath warm on the shell of her ear then moving back, back to her waiting lips, slowly, deliberately until only a whisper separated them, till his mouth was so close to hers that she was giddy with expectation, filled with want —deep, burning want, a want that suffused her, a want she had never, even in their most intimate moments, experienced, and he hadn’t even kissed her. Her breath was coming in short, unyielding gasps, his chest so close to hers that if she breathed any deeper their bodies would touch.It was the pregnancy, she thought. Everything seemed to be heightened.She was torn between want and dread, her body longing to arch towards his, her nipples stretching like buds to the sun, his hand still on the wall behind her head, and all she wanted was his touch.As if in answer, his mouth found hers, the weight of his body pushing her do
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Damon smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel better, your plan worked out fine"Wendy smiled back and withdrew her hand slowly from his, missing the feeling instantly, "I should go now" she said, trying to unlock her car. "Did you bring your car""Yes, but I will follow you home"Wendy grinned at got into her car, and she could see him through the mirror as she drove home. "---------------“Home!” she said, when they were at her place and both got out of their cars.He didn't leave then, but followed her up.“Should you be climbing the stairs everyday? Now that you are... You know.”She laughed."I'm not paralyzed Damon" she said, "Besides, it's good exercise"They were at her front door now. “I know what I said before, but thank you for coming, Damon. It’s been, er...pleasant. I mean... Having
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"You really have to ask? Damon, for the past weeks all we have done is fight. We simply can't stand each other. We can't agree about a single thing, and now you think all that is just going to magically go away because we are having a baby together? Even you have to admit that that's ridiculous ""I honestly don't think it is. I think we can work through things and find a way to make it work""Well I don't" Wendy replied, rolling her eyes, "And you can't just come in here and expect me turn my life around just because you said so. Have you ever considered the fact that I might have my own plan? No you don't. You think that all of your idea is gold and I'm just supposed to agree with whatever you say"Damon didn't want to fight or argue with her, especially not in this room, so he took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm sorry I didn't ask you first. I just wanted to be helpful not piss you off" he said. "What are your plans?"
