||||||||I stared at my reflection in the mirror.Love bites peppered from my jaw to my breasts like rose petals, my core still throbbed from the passion last night and my legs felt like Jell-O.But my eyes... They were a storm.A mix of irritation, confusion and frustration.Now I knew why women were the way they were with Xander.The man knew how to worship every inch of a woman's body.He had taken his sweet time, kissing and licking his way down from my mouth to my neck, over my collarbone, across my breasts, down my stomach, and finally settling between my thighs.I shook my head.I needed to get those thoughts out of my mind."You okay?" Xander's voice was deep and sleepy, and it sent shivers down my spine.He was naked, and magnificent - god-like."Yeah," I replied, not taking my eyes off the mirror."You don't sound like it," Xander said, his voice closer now. He dipped his head to place a kiss on my exposed shoulder. I suppressed a moan when he licked off the water droplets d
||||||||"Damn, man!" Peter would not shut up. "I have never seen Xander King so jealous or so out of it before!" He told our friend George Thompson.I scowled at him but said nothing. I was not jealous.I was acting.It was just how men were supposed to act when their females were being hounded by assholes.George chuckled. "Oh well, we all knew the day was coming.""Yeah!" Dane appeared out of nowhere, one of the hostesses in his arm. "We are just surprised it took this long!"I glared at him but he did not have the decency to look away or look guilty.The man was married with three kids, fourth one on the way. And yet, he was here, at George's bachelor party, with his hand on a hostess's waist. His wife, Riley, was nothing special. But she did not deserve this.I was, by no means, a one-woman man. But I had accepted it and I had embraced it, which was exactly why I was not interested in marriage in the first place. I was no cheat - I did not vow to be there forever and then put my
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||I flinched when I heard something being broken inside that stupid CEO's office.I sighed as I contemplated if I wanted to walk in on their row right now.The PR team had fucked up some promo and my Neanderthalic boss, who had absolutely no control over his temper, was throwing a fit.I did not want to be a part of that shitshow.The intercom crackled to life.So much for that wish."Sterling, in my office."I wetted my lip as I got up, the Satan's voice making my hair stand up on ends."Yes, Mr. King."Ugh, why did rich assholes have to have such fancy names as well?He was more of a Mr. Dixon than a Mr. King.I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and walked to the oak double doors, pushing it open.I hissed at the battered laptop which lay right in front of my feet.My brother, at college, was struggling to get his seven-year-old hand-me-down laptop fixed and here, my boss had just flung a brand new MacBook across the office. Again."Ever hea
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||"Who do you work for, Henry?" I punched at the headrest of the driver's seat."Your grandfather, Mr. King." Henry replied, making my eye twitch. It was something I had subconsciously picked up from my PA, and it refused to go away."All of you, every single one of you, are plotting against me!" I growled as I pushed the door open, stepping out into the afternoon sun."Plotting your downfall?" Sterling asked as she looked over from the other side of the car. "Not really. But plotting your murder? Maybe."I sighed and gave her a sarcastic smile. "I will be sure to leave a note on who to doubt in the case of my untimely demise."Sterling returned the smile with equal sass and turned to the stairs leading to the mansion.My eyes lingered on those scandalizing ass as she climbed up the stairs, swinging her hips with not a care in the world.Sterling was different. She didn't dress up or tried to kiss up to me.I remembered a time when she was terri
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||"Tell me if you want more, Riv!" Wilma, the housekeeper grinned at me as she placed the tea and chocolate chip cookies in front of me. I had to force myself to act like an adult and not bounce up and down right there on the couch because well, the King's baker was a world class baker and it showed in his food. I gave her a grin. "When have I ever shied away from these cookies, Wilm?"Her laughter filled the room as she walked back into the kitchen.I picked one up, letting the warmth spread through me.I munched on my cookie, making sure I sounded obnoxious enough to grate on Edward's nerves. “You married, Edward?” I asked. I really wanted to know who the unlucky woman - or man - was. “Blissfully married with four children.” I had to double take at the fact that he had actually replied. Usually he treated me like the gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. “Must be nice.” I said. “You wouldn't know.” He replied. Duh, I am not married yet.
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||I stood at the reception, just staring at nothing for a good two minutes, thinking about what my stupid grandfather had come up with to make sure that I settled down.He went too low, even for him, with this."Do you have a reservation?" A pear-faced woman with eyes so wide apart that she looked like a fish, asked me as she approached me.I raised a brow at her. "Do I?" I asked her instead.Her fish eyes blinked rapidly. "Under what name, sir?""Maybe you should find out." I smirked, watching the confusion in her face.If Sterling was here, she would have given me a disapproving look and made some smartass comment about how not everyone knew who I was.I shook my head to clear my thoughts.Well, Sterling was NOT here. And she should not be here because I was here to have lunch with my girlfriend.Girlfriend.Why the hell was I thinking about my average-looking... okay, maybe above average-looking PA when I was here to wine and dine my supermod
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||I was exhausted.Xander did not come back to the office. That irresponsible brat!What did he do instead? He paraded his latest relationship in front of all the patrons of one of King's most prominent and busy restaurant - the woman who happened to be the sister of his last relationship!The media was having a field day with it. And the PR team and I had to work overtime to try to put out a raging fire. And we had gotten nowhere yet.It was ten now.I had to cancel on our date plans.Dave had sounded disappointed but he was as supportive as ever, saying we would pick it up tomorrow night. What did I ever do to deserve him?But his understanding and consideration did not stop the angry tears that trickled down my face.I knew he was going to propose today.I just knew it.I knew he might have planned some grand gesture.And all of it had gone to waste.It was all my fault.I sat at my desk, my eyes aching and my mind racing. I did nothing but s
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||I wanted to take my car and Xander made no objections so we filed into my black SUV and head out to pick the lawyer, Mr. Carlson from his home. It was almost ten-thirty when a very annoyed and exhausted Mr. Carlson filed in. "Well, why didn't you guys wait till one in the morning to call?" He asked drily as he got into the backseat of my car. "It was not like we had a choice, Carlson." Xander's tone was so cold that the lawyer instantly shut up and tried to look busy on his phone. I felt horrible for doing that to him on a Friday night but I had to. My baby was scared out of his wits and in a police station. I needed him out. We had three hours of ride to go."Do you want me to drive?" Xander asked out of nowhere fifteen minutes into the drive. We were just getting out of the traffic and into the highway."What?" I turned to look at him, my eyes feeling like even moving them to the side was the most difficult feat on the planet."You've
||||||||"Damn, man!" Peter would not shut up. "I have never seen Xander King so jealous or so out of it before!" He told our friend George Thompson.I scowled at him but said nothing. I was not jealous.I was acting.It was just how men were supposed to act when their females were being hounded by assholes.George chuckled. "Oh well, we all knew the day was coming.""Yeah!" Dane appeared out of nowhere, one of the hostesses in his arm. "We are just surprised it took this long!"I glared at him but he did not have the decency to look away or look guilty.The man was married with three kids, fourth one on the way. And yet, he was here, at George's bachelor party, with his hand on a hostess's waist. His wife, Riley, was nothing special. But she did not deserve this.I was, by no means, a one-woman man. But I had accepted it and I had embraced it, which was exactly why I was not interested in marriage in the first place. I was no cheat - I did not vow to be there forever and then put my
||||||||I stared at my reflection in the mirror.Love bites peppered from my jaw to my breasts like rose petals, my core still throbbed from the passion last night and my legs felt like Jell-O.But my eyes... They were a storm.A mix of irritation, confusion and frustration.Now I knew why women were the way they were with Xander.The man knew how to worship every inch of a woman's body.He had taken his sweet time, kissing and licking his way down from my mouth to my neck, over my collarbone, across my breasts, down my stomach, and finally settling between my thighs.I shook my head.I needed to get those thoughts out of my mind."You okay?" Xander's voice was deep and sleepy, and it sent shivers down my spine.He was naked, and magnificent - god-like."Yeah," I replied, not taking my eyes off the mirror."You don't sound like it," Xander said, his voice closer now. He dipped his head to place a kiss on my exposed shoulder. I suppressed a moan when he licked off the water droplets d
|||||||||||"Now, get on your knees, on the floor." My wife-to-be, much to the satisfaction of my male ego, seemed to be in too much of a daze as she stared at my cock, that she did not really comprehend what I had told her to do.I stepped closer, the tip of my thumb brushing against her cheek. "I said, get on your knees, River."Her pupils dilated as she finally snapped out of her trance.She blinked, then swallowed hard."On...on the floor?" Her voice was a squeak.I nodded, the corners of my lips curling up into a smirk. "Yes, on the floor, wifey."Her eyes narrowed at the pet name, but she complied nevertheless, sliding off the bed and dropping to her knees.Her skirt hiked up slightly, exposing those creamy thighs.My cock throbbed in response.I stepped closer to her, my hand tangling in her hair, undoing her bun, and pulling her face closer to my groin."Good girl," I murmured, feeling the heat from her rapid breathing on my skin.Her lips parted slightly, and she licked her
||||||||||"What kind of personal assistant does not have her phone on her?" Was Edward's question as soon as he sighted us. He stood up from where he was leaning against his suitcase, in the hallway that led to Xander's - and I could say for the time being, my - apartment.What was he doing here? Was he moving in tonight?Dammit, why had I not taken that call? We would not have been ambushed like this if it wasn't for my stupidity. I felt grateful to Xander for handling things quite meticulously today morning itself. If Edward had walked in and found all of my things including my toothbrush in the guestroom then he would have immediately informed Mathewson, and that would be the end of our great contract marriage facade. "What are you doing here?" Xander asked the question for me."Well, your grandfather is not happy with the allegations thrown against you, Mr. King, so he has asked me to move in at the latest and help with the wedding preparation." He sounded indignant as if some
|||||||||||"So this bitch thinks that she can just yap all she wants and we won't do nothing?"Mr. Carlson looked over at me helplessly while I just shrugged at him, standing next to a seething Xander.I had forgotten for a second how furious Xander could get. And how fast he would act on his temper."Well, she is not taking names." Mr. Carlson shrugged. "So if we make a statement or take any action against her, the public would only think that there is some truth about what she is saying.""You think I care what the public thinks?" Xander's voice was low, and I could feel his body tense up behind me. "It's what Grandpa thinks that matters to me.""You should care what the public thinks, Mr. King." I was here as his personal assistant, not his fiancé. "You are running for the position of the Chairman. It's a huge responsibility and the board will not be willing to even consider you for the position if you act so recklessly."Xander glared at me. "I am not running for Miss Congenialit
|||||||||"It's a cozy place." I looked around the new place.Skylar nodded, his eyes still narrowed at me. "I am an idiot."I snorted as I looked over at him. "Despite what your scores and IQ said, I knew you would agree to it some day."He scoffed and then sat down on the couch. "I am talking about how I did not realize that there was something going on between the two of you from the way your 'asshole' 'evil' 'piece of shit' Boss came all the way in the middle of the night to bail me out and get me a new place to stay! No asshole boss does that!"I glared at my brother as Xander stepped out of the kitchen after having talked to the butler and housekeeper who were a couple and staying with Skylar to look after him."She did a great job hiding me under her thumb, didn't she?" Xander winked as he sat down on the armchair opposite Skylar.Skylar's eyes narrowed, and he leaned in closer. "I have never heard one good thing about you from anywhere else as well. And she herself gossips abo
|||||||||The fitting lasted three whole hours.I did not get to choose my dress.Xander was being an obsessed monkey.He hovered over every decision, every stitch, every detail of the wedding planning like a hawk. It was infuriating, but I couldn't deny that he was being... nice. He was acting like a real groom-to-be."You know the groom is not supposed to see the bride in her dress before the wedding right?" The attendant had asked Xander but she had been chased away by him with a deathly glare."It's a fucking custom, not a law." He had snapped.And that was that."We will have the final alterations done in two weeks." Another attendant had told us.I sighed as I finally got to sit down.I picked up my glass of sparkling water and took a sip. "I can't believe we are getting married in three weeks." I dropped my voice. "Fake. But still married."Xander's eyes snapped to mine. "It's not fake. Not for the next two years it isn't."I gave him a flat look. He was taking it too seriously
||||||||||||I started awake, my eyes wide with shock.What kind of erotic dream was that?I tried to sit up and my every muscle and bone hurt.I looked down and realized I was naked, and I was in Xander's bedroom.Naked in his bed with him nowhere in sight.I glanced around the dark room. The memory of his fingers inside me, his mouth on my neck, his cock sliding into me...it was all too real and they all came back to haunt me. "Fuck!" I swore, clutching my temples. "So early in the morning? Not that I mind." I jumped when I heard Xander as he walked in, clad in a pair of grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips, showing off those perfect washboard abs that ended in a V. My cheeks reddened at the sight because it just amplified the memory of the events of last night. I scanned the room, looking for my clothes."Where are my clothes?" I whispered, trying to hide my embarrassment.Xander smirked, his eyes sweeping over my naked body. I quickly covered myself with the duvet."In
||||||||||||||I carried her inside and deposited her on the dining table.Her eyes widened in shock as I pushed her legs apart, tearing her skirt in the process. "Xandy!""Too late, baby!" I laughed as I ripped the rest of her skirt and exposed her turquoise lace panties. "Now it's time for punishment."Her eyes were wide with shock, but she didn't fight as I pushed her legs wider apart and slipped my hand under her panties."You can't do this," she murmured, her voice trembling slightly as I felt her slick heat."Oh, but I can," I said, stroking her gently. "And I will."Her breath hitched as my fingers delved into her wetness. She was soaked and ready.I pulled my fingers out, making a show of licking her wetness off my lips, silently telling just how wet she was for me."You taste good," I murmured, my eyes hooded as I took in her flushed face, the way her chest was heaving with every breath she took."Take off all your clothes." It was a demand, an order.River's eyes widened. "H