Pretend For Me

by Laurent, River

  I decided, fuck it. I intended to give this a go.

  I could bathe and wash myself, then clean up afterwards, well before he got back. It was only early evening and he once told me that he was such a workaholic he never got in before 10:00 pm.

  He would never even know I’d been here.

  We didn’t have a bath at the apartment I shared with Lorraine, as there was only a shower in my bathroom, and I would be damned if I was just going to skip out on the chance to climb into the most luxurious bathtub I’d ever seen in my life.

  The upsides of pretending to be married to a billionaire, huh?

  I ran the bath until the water was lapping and bubbling up the sides. Then I got naked and slowly melted under the surface of the warmth. As lovely heat enveloped me, I let out a little moan of pleasure. Water coursed all over my body. It was the most incredible sensation ever.

  If I were him, I would only get out of this thing to eat, sleep and use the bathroom. It was far too comfortable, far too pleasing. I would conduct all my meetings in here, surrounded by investors and partners as the steam rose around me.

  I fiddled with the controls for the jets and flicked their different settings, and the water clouded with a rush of energy, pummeling my sore muscles. My calves were aching from where I’d been in heels the whole day before. Something about being surrounded by all this luxury made me feel as though I had to indulge myself, too. I held one of my feet suspended over one of the jets.

  “Oh yesssssss….”

  Yeah, I could get used to this. And as long as I could keep my head on straight, I could survive living with Gabe. No matter how confusing I found him.

  Chapter 13

  Gabe

  Jesus, what a fucking day. I felt like I had been running around half-crazy since I’d gotten out of bed and yet, I hadn’t really achieved anything.

  Well, at least people knew about the wedding now. I had made a point of flashing my ring around as much as I could, and I had fielded a few questions on the issue, letting everyone know that yes, I was in love and yes, it had been spontaneous and yes, of course, it was real, how could you even imply that I’d do anything else? I’d reached out to the surrogacy agency again, and done my best to keep my mind off Willow and her soaked, sheer top.

  Not that it had done much good.

  My hands felt as though they were itching to touch her properly since I had laid eyes on her like that. It would have been so, so easy to just reach out and caress her, to pull her close to me, and feel her soft body against mine. The shape of her ass in those panties, juicy and tempting...she had those, oh, God curves. I had to know what they felt like. I had to know the noises she made when she came, the way her face contorted when I pleasured her...

  Yeah, I hadn’t got a lot done today because I’d been too busy thinking about the woman who was wearing my ring and waiting for me at home. There was something incredibly hot about this thought, thinking about her waiting for me in my home. My secretary had arranged to have another set of keys cut for her, but I had them in my pocket now, so I knew she would be hanging out in the apartment. The thought of her, in that soft top, chest wet with milk and nipples swollen to hardness. I could almost feel them in the palm of my hand, pressing up against my skin.

  By the time I got home, I had to admit I was looking forward to seeing her. I wanted to... I didn’t know what exactly, but I wanted to spend a little time with her. It made sense to get to know her. To make sure our chemistry actually sold to the people it mattered most to. Like Austin to start with.

  Besides, I had enjoyed the time I spent with her.

  I pushed open the door with an odd sort of lightness inside me. It was odd, knowing that there was someone else in this place. I walked in and her bedroom door was wide open. I walked up to it and found the room empty, the door to the bathroom was open to show that she wasn’t there either. I furrowed my brow. Maybe she’d gone to see Lorraine and would call me later to pick her up.

  I glanced at her bed. It was neatly made. Shaking my head at how base I had become, I left her bedroom and went into mine. Pulling off my jacket and my shirt, I tossed them on to the bed, and headed through to the bathroom.

  I froze.

  There you are, little Willow.

  I walked up to the bath. She was fast asleep. And completely naked. And even though I knew I shouldn’t have been staring, it was impossible for me to tear my gaze away. She just looked so damn good, all laid out like that, the soft curve of her body impossibly sexy beneath the bubbling water. The urge to touch her was so great I took a step back.

  “Willow,” I called my voice husky with need. My cock stirring in my pants.

  Her beautiful eyes popped open. "Oh!” she squeaked. Her hair was damp and slicked down to her head, showing off her gorgeous grey eyes, her lips were swollen and full.

  I wanted to lean down and sink my teeth into them. And that was when I realized I was also shirtless, and that she hadn’t exactly made any move to get out of the bath.

  Her arms were wrapped around herself, carefully, so she was hidden from me, but she wasn’t going anywhere. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your space," she blurted out. "I just—I saw you had a bath and I didn’t—and I wasn’t sure if I was going to..."

  "It’s fine," I murmured. This was dangerous, distinctly dangerous and yet, I didn’t want to walk away from it. Not yet, not until I knew where this might be going. Where this ended up. "You need a hand getting out of there?” I asked my voice low.

  Her eyes widened as she slowly unwrapped her arms from around her body, not taking her eyes off me once. "Yeah, I’m sure I could.”

  I could see the pink tips of her breasts from under the water. Without thinking a moment longer, I leaned down and pulled her out of the bath, scooping her up into my arms and holding her against my body. I didn’t care that she was dripping wet. In fact, it just made it all the easier to feel every contour of her sweet, delicious body. I wanted to run my hands all over her, touch her, feel her, fill her up.

  She hooked her arms around my neck and gazed up at me, lips slightly parted.

  I laid her down on the bed and laying her out on the sheets, I looked down at her wet, naked body.

  She moaned and reached for me, sliding her hand behind my head and pulling me down towards her.

  But instead of planting a kiss on her lips, I ducked down to her neck, brushing my lips almost tenderly along her soft, damp skin. She tasted lightly of something floral, something I wanted to feast on all day. This was crazy and I damn well knew it, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was indulging in the sweetness of this moment, of getting this out of our systems before it became too intense to fight any longer.

  I moved my mouth down while running my hands over her nude body. She felt so good, so delicate, so full, luxurious, almost. I adored every second of it. She moaned again and reached down to caress my hair, running her fingers over my scalp gently as I moved further and further down… to a part of her I knew I needed to taste if I intended to get her out of my head...

  Finally, I arrived between her legs. I spread them wide apart and exposed the fruit between them. I let out a soft groan when I saw her pussy, glistening and pink, waiting there for me like a gift I’d never known I needed. I slipped my hands beneath her ass and pressed my mouth against her, tasting her at last.

  Oh, Fuck… the taste of her drove me wild.

  From the very first moment I laid eyes on her when we’d met at the party, I had known, somewhere in the back of my mind, that we would end up like this. A moment when I wouldn’t be able to resist her a moment longer. When her skin would be too tempting, the perfume of her presence would grow to be too much. As I slid my tongue back and forth over her clit, caressing it slowly, I listened to her moans of pleasure.

  Everything had led to this moment.

  Her hands became claws in my hair as I sealed my lips around her clit and began to work the swollen bundle of nerves, softly, slowly, applying a light pr
essure and listening to the responses that her body gave me. I read into every muscle she tensed, every tiny noise she made, every gasp escaping her lips. I placed a hand on her belly so I could feel the rise and fall of her chest… let myself move along with it.

  I stroked her with my tongue on the inhale, letting out a soft breath over her entire pussy on the exhale. I did it until her pussy began to throb and pulse. I could feel her burning for me, her pussy getting wetter and wetter as I gave all my attention to it. Desperation to get closer still clawed at my insides, my tongue sank as deep as it could into her little hole. And fuck— did her pussy feel tight. Her hips began to undulate and I felt the blood pulsing and rushing frantically in her veins.

  God, she was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

  I loved, no—I needed her flavor. I couldn’t get enough. How had I waited so long before I’d given her, given myself, what we’d both been craving?

  She clasped my head tightly and held it in place as she pushed her hips back against my mouth, greedily, as though she could hardly wait for her climax. Even as she did, I felt her body start to spasm as she rode her orgasm.

  Her body arched and her muscles tensed so hard it was like they were going to snap. Her eyes rolled back and her soft moans turned into wild cries that filled the air around us. I watched it all.

  She grabbed my hands and pulled me back on top of her, her eyes glazed with lust. She ran her fingers over her own nipples making them even stiffer. “I know what your tongue feels like inside me now I want to feel your cock fill me up.”

  She kissed my bare chest while sliding her hands down between my legs and gripping my rock-hard cock.

  "Don’t move," I ordered hoarsely, and dove to my bedside table to pull a condom out of the drawer. Pulling off my pants, I kicked them aside and sheathed myself. I couldn’t wait another second to plunge inside her sweet body for the first time. Getting on the bed, I quickly positioned myself over her body, her pussy open and ready to take me.

  And that was when the damn doorbell rang.

  Chapter 14

  Willow

  "Shit," Gabe muttered and rolled off me. He glanced at the video screen next to the bed, attached to the intercom, and shook his head almost in disbelief when he saw who it was.

  "Not ideal?” I asked.

  He planted a kiss on my shoulder and went to do up his pants again. "You can say that again. It’s my cousin, Austin" he replied.

  “The one who gets the company if you don’t produce the heir?”

  “Yeah, that one. Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of him. It won’t take long." He shot out of the bedroom.

  I flopped back on the bed for a moment to catch my breath. My heart was pounding, my mind was racing, and I felt like I would explode just lying there.

  In what world was it that he’d gotten that good at giving head? Almost as soon as he’d lowered his mouth down on me, I was ready to come. I was so satisfied but so ready for more at the same time. So ready to feel him inside me. It felt as though I had been waiting forever for him.

  When he’d seen me this morning, had he wanted me then? Was that why he had left in such a hurry? Because he was worried, that he wouldn’t be able to resist me? The thought of this sent another shockwave of desire through my body, the very notion of being wanted that badly by this man who himself was impossible to resist.

  I listened as he invited his cousin up and buzzed him in.

  "What’s up," Gabe greeted curtly when he opened the door.

  I got to my feet and pressing my ear to the door, I shamelessly listened to the two of them.

  "What’s up?" his cousin repeated. "You tell me. I heard about your shotgun wedding. Thought I would stop by and come meet the new member of the family, given that nobody has actually met her yet..."

  Something in his cousin’s voice grated on my nerves. A kind of taunting contempt. I’d met men like him before. They came into the restaurant and treated the waitresses as if were less than the dirt on their handmade shoes.

  “The family will meet her… in time. For now, I’m keeping her all to myself.”

  “So where is she then, this mysterious woman who has swept the great Gabe off the marriage market?” he asked sarcastically.

  Okay, this was my cue to come out of hiding. It was time that smug asshole got taken down a peg or two. I looked down at Gabe’s shirt lying on the ground. Yes, I could toss that on and it would look like we’d been caught in the act? And it wouldn’t even be a lie. We had been in the act! It was perfect.

  I pulled the shirt on as quickly as I could and strolled nonchalantly out of the bedroom. I was trying to look like the epitome of confidence even though I felt anything but. I’d hoped the first time I met his family would be a little less stressful, but I would make this work. This was what he was paying me for, wasn’t it?

  "Hey, baby," I crooned. I slid up next to Gabe and slipped my hand into his before standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. I gazed up at him with what I hoped was an adoring expression in my eyes. He squeezed my hand and I turned my head in the direction of his cousin. He looked nothing like Gabe. He had the face of a spoiled rich boy.

  He gave me a hard look.

  My response was to lift my hand and let the ring on my finger catch his eye. The one Gabe had picked out for me and I loved it, even though I knew it was only a fake gesture as everything about us was.

  "Willow, this is my cousin, Austin. Austin, meet my wife, Willow."

  "First member of the family I’ve met," I said, extending a hand out to him. Austin swept his eyes over me, taking me in, and I smiled at him. Gabe’s shirt just fit over my body, enough to keep me concealed, but I knew it hinted at far more than it gave away. It told Austin he had interrupted Gabe and me while we were having sex.

  "Great to meet you," he replied.

  I could hear the insincerity and suspicion in his voice, the obvious doubt. "Same here," I replied.

  Before I could say anything else, Gabe turned to me and captured my lips. He had deliberately avoided kissing me on the mouth before today, but as soon as our lips met, I felt the fireworks exploding inside of me. When he pulled back, I know had a genuinely dazed smile on my face, enough to sell our relationship to any doubting family member.

  "Any reason you stopped by today?” Gabe asked him carefully. "Because I’m kind of busy at the moment..."

  "Yeah, I can tell," Austin muttered. "I just wanted to tell you that there’s an issue with the contracts for the Tyler-Mackenzie deal. Any chance you can come down and confirm some stuff for the guys?"

  "Right, fine," Gabe agreed. "I’ll be down tomorrow morning, first thing."

  "Fine," Austin snapped back.

  A dissatisfaction echoed in his voice that made something in me panic a little. Had he figured us out?

  "Catch you later." Gabe bid him farewell, his tone cool and unperturbed. "Thanks for letting me know about the contracts."

  With one last look at us, Austin nodded and backed away.

  Chapter 15

  Willow

  Gabe pushed the door shut behind him, and let out a long breath of relief. "Jesus, that’s the last time I let any of them in without getting some prior warning." He sighed. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spring that on you."

  "I’m not. Nothing is more convincing than letting him think he interrupted us having sex. Do you think he believed us?"

  "I think he’d like to think our marriage is sham, but there’s nothing he can do to prove the two of us aren’t madly in love.”

  I realized that I was still holding his hand and I withdrew it quickly, awkwardly. I didn’t know how to feel right now. "What just happened?" I asked quietly.

  He frowned. "With my cousin?”

  "No, the other thing. Between us," I replied.

  He winced and shook his head. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I was just... seeing you like that… I just had to have you.”

  "Why are you sorry? I’m not. I had a great time,” I murmured. I wasn�
��t sure where this version of me had come from, this seductress that wanted to come out and play with the big kids.

  "What are you saying?” he asked, and his gaze flicked down ever-so-briefly from my eyes to my lips.

  Was he thinking about the kiss we’d just shared?

  I wanted to kiss him again and again, to drink deep from the taste of him until I couldn’t remember anything that came before. "We’re going to be living together, right?” I pointed out. "And we’re going to pretend to be married and everything. So why don’t we just... lean in a little?”

  "Lean in?” His voice sounded soft.

  He seemed to be letting me set the pace here and I appreciated it. "We’re going to spend a lot of time together in this apartment we might as well have a little fun.”

  His eyes darkened suggestively. "You mean...”

  "I mean, we go back to that bedroom and finish what we started. If you’re game, I am.” I paused. “Your oral was to die for."

  "Really? That’s only because your pussy tasted of heaven," he said hoarsely.

  I moved towards him, feeling as though I was floating slightly above the ground. I wound my arms around his neck, looked him dead in the eye, and waited for him to make the next move. I was craving it. I needed him to. I wanted to feel his sweet mouth against mine once more, to feel him touch me, caress me, and bury his head between my legs like his life depended on it all over again. "Let’s go to bed," I purred, feeling like a sexy vixen.

  Finally, he dipped his head down and kissed me again, properly this time, letting his tongue slide into my mouth as his hands moved softly down my waist. "Can’t argue with that," he growled, as he scooped me up in his arms again and carried me through to the bedroom.

  I felt so dainty and helpless when he carried me like this, exactly like the heroines in my romance novels, the way I’d always dreamed my man would. I loved the possessive way he touched me. Even though he didn’t say it, his body said, mine, mine, mine. It made me feel like I was his to use and his alone.