I Didn't Know He Was My Boss: A Billionaire's Marriage of Convenience Romance

by Marian Tee

  "It wasn't a joke."

  Start reading today.

  My

  Russian Stepbrothers

  I know I'm lucky, to have three of the hottest Russian guys in town as my doting (but often overprotective) stepbrothers.

  And I know, I really do understand that I sohuldn't jeopardize what I have. What we have. A big, beautiful house. A happy family. A promising future.

  But then I see him. I look at him. And I just can't help wanting him, even knowing it's forbidden.

  Vassi.

  I love him so much. Need him. Want him.

  Even though I know one day, he'd fall for another girl, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

  IT WAS A DAY OF MANY firsts for Seri.

  Her first day in college, her first class with Vassi, and the first day since...that time.

  With Seri seated alone at the last row, it was just Seri and Vassi sharing the long console table as he slid into the vacant seat on her left. Darkness allowed him to escape detection, everyone too busy watching the video tutorial playing in front.

  If the lights had been on, it would have been different of course. All the girls would have gone crazy at the knowledge that Vassi Grachyov was with them.

  Vassi! Grachyov! In! The! Flesh!

  Seri had seen it happen too many times to count.

  She felt him move his chair closer to her, and she resisted the urge to move her seat away from him.

  D’err mo.

  She sucked at this.

  She had been the one to force him into being her boyfriend and—-

  “Still not going to look my way, solnishka moya?” The words were whispered straight into her ear, and Seri nearly fell off her chair.

  Bo zheh moy. Oh my God, but what was that?

  How was it that his mere voice was enough to turn her on now?

  This close, she could smell his aftershave, could feel his breath fanning her skin. He leaned even closer, his arm resting at the back of her chair.

  “Maybe you should think twice about this.”

  “No,” she hissed under her breath. Even without looking at him, she could feel him smirking, and she was torn between wanting to kick him under the table and—-

  An idea crystallized in her mind, and she found herself unable to let go of it.

  She could do it. She was going to do it. She really was, and it would teach him to underestimate her.

  So yes, she would do it.

  She would.

  Vassi started to move away, still smirking, and it was both irritating and sexy, the way he seemed capable of reading her every mind—-

  Seri took a deep breath and just did it.

  She touched his knee under the desk.

  Ha!

  Triumph filled her as she succeeded in making the first move, and her body trembled at the feel of his knee under her fingers. Seri glanced at Vassi, and the faint light coming from the glow of the projection allowed her to see his face, which was...bland.

  Huh?

  He raised a brow. “That’s it?”

  Her lips parted and closed.

  B’lyad.

  She really sucked at this, and color flooded her cheeks as she realized that what seemed like such an incredible achievement for her was probably child’s play for someone as experienced as Vassi. They might only be a year apart in age, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think that the difference between his level of experience and hers could be measured the same way.

  Angry and humiliated, she started to pull her hand away, but his hand suddenly covered hers.

  Her gaze jerked to his. “Let go!”

  “What’s wrong?” His lips curved. “We’re just getting started.” He picked her hand up.

  “Shut—-” But she found herself choking instead, unable to believe what Vassi had just done.

  Or made her do.

  Whatever.

  The point was, her hand was now on...his...dick.

  Her eyes flew to him in shock. Was he serious? They were in class, and they were not alone!

  And as if to answer her, Vassi slowly started to move her hand up and down his dick. His eyes still held hers captive, gleaming with cruel pleasure. Yes, he was serious. Yes, he knew they were in class, they were not alone, and wasn’t that goddamn exciting?

  Her breath hitched, and she wanted to bang her head against the table. She really sucked at this. She was supposed to be the one seducing him, blackmailing him, and yet it was the opposite.

  Vassi’s hand tightened around hers as he pushed her to move her hand faster. His dick was longer and harder, thicker, too, than she imagined, and the knowledge that she was holding it—-

  Holy Mother of Russian Miracles, she was holding Vassi’s dick—-

  She wanted to moan and whimper, she wanted to open and close her legs at the same time, the wetness soaking her panties making her ache with a strange kind of need to be filled.

  When his dick twitched in her hold, her fingers involuntarily tightened around his arousal, and she heard him hiss.

  It was the most beautiful sound—-

  The lights opened.

  “Does anyone have questions?” the professor in front asked.

  That, on the other hand, was the most awful sound she had ever heard. It was the sound of knowing they could be discovered any moment, of people realizing that she was giving her stepbrother a hand job in public—-

  Panicking, she tried tugging her hand away, but instead he only made her hand stroke him faster. He still had his arm on the back of her chair, but he was facing the professor, his posture entirely relaxed.

  Nothing in his demeanor gave him away—-

  And yet, under the table, she could feel his dick growing between her fingers, could feel it throbbing almost violently——

  Seri heard him say between clenched teeth, “Faster.”

  And somehow, she couldn’t stop herself, stroking him as fast as she could while she squeezed him hard, drawing every little lesson of seduction she could from all the hentai videos she had watched.

  In the corner of her eye, she saw Vassi stiffen in his seat, just before he started to cum.

  Oooooooh.

  She hurriedly covered her mouth with her free hand before her moan escaped her.

  B’lyad.

  That sound—-

  She squeezed her eyes shut as the sound of his pleasure played over and over in her mind.

  She had made her stepbrother, Vassi, come with her hand.

  And Holy Mother of Russia, but instead of feeling dirty, she just wanted...more.

  The bell rang, and everyone started to stand up. Vassi grabbed her wrist and before she knew what was happening, he already had her out of the classroom, and they were walking away.

  “I can’t believe you made me do that,” she hissed at him even as she struggled to keep up with his pace.

  “You shouldn’t be complaining.” He smirked down at her. “Wasn’t that the point of this entire arrangement?” He bent down and without missing a step, he bit the outer lobe of her ear, whispering, “This is how I am as a boyfriend, solnishka moya.”

  Argh!

  She tripped over her own feet, making Vassi laughingly stop as he helped Seri regain her balance. She looked up, but before she could speak, he shook his head at her. “Give it up, leech.” His tone was light, but his gaze held a warning in it. “This blackmailing thing isn’t you, and in the end...only one of us will get hurt.”

  Start reading today.

  Boys

  “Liam told me last week...”

  At the mention of the groom’s name, Silver could feel himself flushing, knowing what she was about to say.

  “Your older brother found another guy willing to take his place in the dance.” She stopped speaking, as if the next words she had to say were just too mortifying.

  So he continued it for her, his voice silky as he said, “And you learned from Liam that I refused to let the other man take my place.”

 
A tiny nod.

  “Which means you know how long I’ve wanted you.”

  A tinier nod.

  “You’re wrong.”

  Lace jerked. A moment later, she tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. Reaching behind her, he pressed the elevator’s Hold button. The hotel was Aehrenthal property, one of the many that belonged to his brother-in-law’s family. It meant his face would be familiar to security, enough for them to look the other way if he desired more than a moment of privacy with his sly little lamb.

  And she was sly, more than he gave her credit for. She had known about his feelings and she had never given him a clue.

  He had to punish her for that.

  Slowly, he traced her lips, making her stiffen even more. “You actually think I only wanted you for the past two weeks?” A humorless laugh escaped him. “You have to be fucking joking. I’ve wanted you the first time I met you. From the very first moment,” he rasped, “I’ve been this way in your presence.”

  He took her hand, pressing it to his cock, and his erection hardened even more at the way she whimpered with a mixture of shock and desire, her eyes those of a deer caught in the headlights.

  “I thought I had to take things slow with you, but you never cease to surprise me.” Her fingers started to move, but he pressed her hand closer towards his erection, almost groaning when her fingers moved in reflex, curling around his length. “I never thought you’d kiss me, never thought you’d be so bold to tell me you know I want you.”

  Before she could speak, he pressed a finger to her lips.

  She fell silent.

  “I like it.” He watched her swallow at his words. “I like it very much.” Another swallow, her cheeks the deepest shade of rose now. “But as for my reward...” His voice lowered. “I think I should teach you the proper way to do it.”

  At his words, her entire body jerked.

  “When I kiss you...” He exerted the slightest bit of pressure on her hand on his cock. “Don’t let go.”

  After a long moment, she nodded slowly, shakily.

  It was all he needed, his mouth replacing his finger on her lips. He kissed her slowly and softly at first, patiently coaxing Lace to open her mouth under his. And when she did, he took his time, nibbling on that beautiful lower lip of hers, sucking it the way he had wanted to from the very start. And when he felt her body softening against him, that was only when Silver deepened the kiss, one arm curling around her nape while another moved to curve around her bottom, using it to press her closer to his body.

  When his tongue moved inside her mouth, she whimpered, and he groaned a second later, the way her fingers involuntarily tightening around his cock driving him crazy with need.

  There was no way he could be gentle now, not even if his life depended on it. And she didn’t seem to mind, her wildly responsive ways making him badly want to start pushing his cock in and out of her tight grip.

  Only when he knew he had to let her breathe did he force himself to move away. She was staring up at him, dazed, her breathing choppy. Slowly, he reached for her hand on his cock and reluctantly pulled it away.

  Seeing the way she trembled with fear and confusion, knowing that her world would soon be turned upside down because of his own advice, Silver knew he had to give her time.

  He pressed the Hold button and the elevator started to move again.

  “Lace.” His voice was harsh with suppressed desire.

  Her eyes jerked to his.

  God, those pretty rosebud lips. His fists clenched at the effort it took not to kiss them again and make her lips even more swollen that they already were. “Don’t you fucking think it’s over between us.”

  The elevator doors opened.

  He forced himself to step out first. Time, he told himself determinedly. For her, he would do his damnedest to give her time to realize that what they had was once in a lifetime, and because it was, nothing else mattered.

  Not the fact that she was nineteen and he was twenty-five. Or that she was still in college while his work took him all over the world.

  Lace was looking at him like she was doing her best not to cry, like she thought he was just making excuses and that he was in fact abandoning her.

  With a silent curse, he reached for her, and the way she went to him so willingly nearly broke his self-control. He gave her a short hard kiss – the only thing he could trust himself to do – before pulling away. “I’ll come back for you, little lamb.”

  And then he forced himself to walk away without looking back.

  Start reading today.

  For Angelo

  His laughter was the first thing Lane noticed.

  It was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and she had been doing inventory when she heard it. At first, she had thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Surely no one could laugh with such shameless iniquity? Surely no one could be so blatantly wicked, so defiantly immoral?

  But then she had heard it again, and Lane realized that she hadn’t imagined it at all. She looked up, heart beating madly as she scanned the sea of faces across the road. It had to be one of those students coming out of Christopoulos University, which was opposite the convenience store where she worked.

  But try as she might, none of the guys she saw seemed to fit the bill. None of them seemed to be powerful or strong enough to sound like a fallen angel, laughing so beautifully even in the face of eternal damnation.

  Oh, if Nellie could hear me now, Lane thought absently as she scrutinized the men’s faces. The thought made her smile and wince at the same time. Nellie would probably threaten to hit her on the head for being so foolishly romantic.

  Moments passed, and hope started to fade. She turned away, thinking that maybe tomorrow would be better—-

  And that was when she heard it again, this time so, so close it was almost like he was right behind her—-

  Wait, what if he was right behind her?

  Lane whirled around so fast she lost her balance, and she fell flat on her butt with a tiny cry.

  A shadow fell over her world, and then she found herself staring straight into a pair of silvery gray eyes.

  Almost like a fallen angel, she thought dazedly, dropping from the sky.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was faintly accented. Italian, she guessed dizzily as she took the hand offered to her. It was warm and electrifying, and the shock of it had Lane stiffening.

  “Just static electricity,” the stranger said easily as he released her hand.

  No, Lane thought, even more dazed now. It wasn’t. But she was too much in awe to argue. On her feet, she found him even taller than he appeared initially. Slowly, her gaze met his eyes again, and this time Lane took the rest of him in. This time, it finally dawned on her just how beautiful the man before her was.

  Words like ‘handsome’ and ‘good-looking’ wouldn’t cut it.

  He was beautiful.

  It was the only way to describe him.

  It was also one thing she was not.

  She suddenly remembered how she looked. Hair twisted up in a careless bun, her old pair of eyeglasses perched on her too-small nose, her face without a touch of makeup.

  She also remembered what she had been and what she was supposed to be doing. She was in the middle of inventory for deliveries, and she was dressed for it, too, a faded apron over her shirt and jeans.

  “You’re good?”

  She nodded dumbly.

  I’m good.

  And I’m infatuated.

  Lane didn’t care if the thought made her foolish and insane.

  All she knew was that this beautiful stranger made her blood sing like no other man had ever done.

  She had the biggest crush on this fallen angel of hers, and that was that.

  She remembered Laura telling her stories about how she had fallen in love with Lane’s father. She remembered asking her mother, when she was a little older and wiser, how Laura could still cherish the memory even when her father had proven
to be anything but prince-like. And she remembered how Laura had blinked at her like she shouldn’t have asked the question at all.

  “Just because we didn’t end up together doesn’t mean we weren’t really in love. We were the ones who made mistakes, but love...” And Laura’s smile had been of undimmed hope and dreams. “Choosing to love is always the gloriously right thing to do.”

  Lane looked back at her fallen angel.

  His concerned gaze made her heart skip a beat, and his voice was like the most darkly seductive melody as he murmured, “If you’re sure you’re okay...”

  “I think I hurt my ankle,” she blurted out. God forgive me. “M-maybe you can check on me later?” She could feel a blush stealing over her cheeks at how unnaturally forward she was being. “I’m out in an hour.” Lane’s words had the stranger raising a brow, but even as her cheeks turned redder, she just couldn’t make herself take the words back.

  “I see.” The stranger’s lips curved in the sexiest little smile, and his silvery gray eyes settled on her contemplatively.

  His sudden scrutiny was unnerving, but Lane forced herself to meet his gaze. She had nothing to hide. She was just crushing on him, and now she was, well, flirting outrageously with him. Other girls did it all the time. So it wasn’t bad...right?

  “You’re...different,” the stranger murmured.

  “In a good way...right?” Lane clarified worriedly.

  His smile widened, but he didn’t say anything.

  Her heart slammed hard against her chest. Gosh, oh gosh. It was just a smile, but she felt hot all over.

  When he took a step back from her, Lane caught her breath, the pain of the increased distance surprising her.

  “I’m keeping you, aren’t I?”

  He nodded.

  Her heart sank. “You’re meeting with someone?” Please say no, please say—-

  Another nod.

  “I see.” Her heart had sped up its descent at his response, and she struggled to paste a smile on her trembling lips. Infatuation and heartbreak at first sight, Lane thought numbly. Who could’ve imagined it would happen this way?