by Marian Tee
Jane blinked, but Christian calmly returned her gaze.
“I think I need another cup of coffee,” Jane said faintly, “and this time, black will do.”
“Coming right up.” But when Christian returned to the table, he had presented her with another macchiato, and it was decaf.
Jane gave him a dour look. “Really? What am I? Five?”
“Too much truth serum will kill you,” was the placid reply.
She gave the coffee a sip.
Mm.
Not as bad as most decafs, she acknowledged reluctantly.
“Good, isn’t it?”
Jane shrugged. Bad behavior was never to be reinforced with positive words. Christian Ravenhearst had to learn early on that she did not do decaf. “Anyway...we were talking about—-” She suddenly couldn’t say it.
“My fake wife?”
She nodded.
“It’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve become inundated—-”
Jane coughed.
He paused.
“Can I just say you have the most awesome vocabulary?”
“Noted, ma’am, and thank you,” he drawled.
“Carry on, sir,” she drawled back.
His lips twitched, but he continued, “I’ve recently become inundated with invitations, and the majority of them translate to social obligations that the board of my corporation would rather I didn’t ignore. These invitations were a result of one of my recent products enjoying breakthrough success.”
“Okaaaay...then?”
“Have you heard about H?”
Jane’s eyes widened. “The game?”
He nodded.
“What about it?” Then she paused. “Oh.” Then her eyes widened. “Oh my God – you made H?” And then she frowned. “But I thought this other corporation—-”
“A dummy corporation,” he revealed, “put up for the sole purpose of acting as my spokesperson. It’s an open secret, however, which is why there are instances when it’s my presence that’s specifically required.”
His lips compressed. “And that’s where the problem comes into the picture. I dislike attending any kind of public event. I have a rather hard time controlling my temper when I’m confronted with individuals I find contemptible.”
She thought about Merry. “That’s an understatement.”
He acknowledged the words with a rather arrogant nod. “The board worries that I will end up alienating more people than our company can afford to.” And then he looked at her.
“I still don’t get what you need a wife for,” Jane confessed. “Can’t you just hire a P.R. guy—-”
“I have done that on numerous occasions, but I always end up firing them.”
Temper, Jane thought again.
“I eventually realized that the conventional setup wouldn’t work for me. Moreover, I need someone who I won’t merely tolerate.”
The weight of his azure stare made Jane straighten involuntarily, anxiety prickling under her skin.
“It has to be someone I also trust to speak her mind to me.”
And he believed I was that person, Jane wondered numbly.
Jane Cooper, a woman who could be trusted to speak her mind?
As if sensing her uncertainty, Christian murmured, “When I marry you—-”
She shook her head. “IF I marry you—-”
“When I convince you that marrying me is a matter of ‘when,’ you will be my perfect foil.”
She shook her head more profusely. “No, I won’t.”
“Yes, pet.” Christian’s words took on an unshakable resolve. “You will. You are good with people.”
“No.” Jane was beginning to feel guilty. “Are you sure you have the right woman?” Had she somehow misled Christian about who she was? Was it because she had asked him to make out with her?
“Please, pet. I’m not the type to make such mistakes—-” His voice lowered. “Especially not when it comes to you.”
Listening to his voice, feeling his words, had Jane feeling like she was in a trance, and she found herself halfway to believing him.
“When I meet new people, most of the time I either feel a lack of empathy or contempt. But you were different.” One corner of Christian’s lips went up as he murmured, “You had this feel about you I rarely sense in other people, a way of looking at the world.”
Jane slowly closed her eyes, feeling like she was being serenaded even though her mind told her she was being silly.
“A way of looking at yourself...”
“And whatever it was, it made me pay attention, and that rarely happens.”
Her eyes opened, and her breathing became uneven when she found Christian gazing at her intensely.
“Trust me, pet. You’re good with people.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. His words painted a picture of herself that Jane didn’t recognize, but oh – was it bad that she wanted it to be true?
“You’ll be perfect in keeping everyone off my back, but you’ll also be able to keep me in line if necessary.”
“When,” Jane couldn’t resist pointing out sweetly. “Now’s the time you should use ‘when.’”
She thought she had scored with that, but then he smirked. “You’re already doing it now.”
Huh?
“Keeping me in line.”
Jane started in her seat. He was right! She mulled it over, and Jane realized something.
And she started to laugh.
“What is it?” Christian’s British accent became pronounced in his puzzlement.
“Since I’m the one keeping you in line—-” Jane’s laughter threatened to bubble past her lips once more, but she managed to keep it down, saying, “Doesn’t that make me your master and you my pet?”
Christian’s handsome face became stoic.
Don’t look smug, Jane told herself. Don’t look smug.
But then she heard Christian mutter under his breath, “Bloody hell.”
She couldn’t keep it in any longer.
Jane didn’t just laugh. She practically doubled over, gasping and clutching her stomach, laughing until there were tears in her eyes. Straightening, she told herself to take the upper road, but then she saw his jaw clenching, and Jane couldn’t help crowing, “Hashtag Am I Right!”
And that set her off again.
After a few moments, she heard him say, “Alright, that’s enough.” His voice was serious but gentle. “Time for serious talk, pet.” His hands clasped her waist—-
Jane gasped when she suddenly found herself lifted off her seat.
He deposited her on the island, right between his arms, her legs dangling off the edge.
“I’m serious, Jane. I want to marry you.”
She bit her lip. “I just think marriage seems excessive—-”
He shook his head. “There’s something you must understand. My life is my work. My passion. It’s the invisible third party in all my previous relationships—-” He stopped. “You seem surprised. Did you think I haven’t had any ex-girlfriends?”
“Umm—-”
He raised a brow. “You never thought about me in the past two weeks?”
“I did.” Jane couldn’t quite meet his eyes this time. “But only...in...a...”
Be yourself.
She heard herself say, “Sex-doll-sort-of-way?”
Silence.
Shit. Should she have pretended just a bit about that maybe? Unable to handle his silence, she slowly turned towards his direction, peeking at his face—-
“I am wounded,” he said gravely.
Oh thank God, he hadn’t been turned off!
“D-don’t be.” Her voice wobbled a little, the way her feelings seesawed from fear to relief making Jane feel a little dizzy. “You were like Don Juan de Marco in my dreams. Like, the best.” But she ended on a strained note, with all their talk about sex making her remember things she didn’t and shouldn’t remember—-
The feel of his mouth on hers, his tongue penetrating her—-
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The feel of his breath against her skin——
The feel of his finger shoving inside her pussy—-
A whimper tried to crawl out of her throat, but Jane managed to keep it down.
“Jane.”
Oh God.
That crisp, sexy purr.
It was like having her own James Bond—-
He suddenly stood up, and this time she did whimper, and when he leaned forward, she couldn’t help leaning back, balancing herself as her palms landed against the tabletop.
“What can I do to convince you?” Christian asked. “What do you want?”
“I d-don’t know—-”
His head started to move towards her.
“I c-can’t think—-”
Jane tried to lean back as far as she could—-
She fell on her elbows, and she gasped when she realized she was practically laid out on the island like she was attempting to turn her body into his feast—-
And then she caught the look in his eyes, one that told her he was thinking the exact same thing.
A tiny moan escaped her, and Jane felt his hands curve around her calves.
One firm yank, and she slid back down, more of her legs dangling while her pussy stopped right at the edge of the counter. His hands slowly moved up on her legs, parting her thighs, and oh God—-
Oh God.
She could feel his breath against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, and her entire body trembled. His fingers skimmed the edges of her underwear, and she could feel her brain cells dying one by one—-
Christian was tugging her panties down.
—-until only her ability to feel was functioning.
The panties went down one foot, falling to God knew where, and then she felt it—-
His tongue licking her folds, already moist with her cream, a lazy, thorough stroke that made sure every millimeter from top to bottom bore his mark.
She screamed.
His fingers moved towards her folds, parting them, wider and wider until all of her core was beautifully exposed.
His tongue thrust in, and she screamed again.
A rhythm was set, his tongue pushing in and out, and she could no longer stop screaming. Somewhere along the way, her legs locked over his shoulders, her fingers drove through his silver blond hair with a tight grip—-
Christian’s tongue moved even faster, and her eyes rolled back, the last of her inhibitions falling away. She found herself clutching his head hard, thrusting her hips helplessly against his mouth.
“Christian.”
His mouth moved up, capturing her swollen clit between his teeth just as two fingers thrust inside her.
It was too much, and she came, moaning his name over and over.
When Jane hazily resurfaced, she was in his arms, and Christian was walking out of the kitchen. Forcing herself to raise her head, she mumbled, “Where are you taking me?”
“My bedroom,” Christian murmured, “so I can coerce you into marrying me.”
Her fist weakly pounded against his shoulder. “Not funny.”
“Then may I coerce you tomorrow?”
Jane’s teeth sank into one rock-hard shoulder in sleepy chastisement.
“One week.” Christian’s tone was even.
“Oh, Christian.” She didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or just let him sweep her away like a storm, the way he was basically promising to. “Marriage is a serious undertaking,” she whispered. “It’s not something you just enter into—-”
“You say that, and yet...” Christian stilled in the middle of his living room. “Why do I get the feeling you’re merely saying these things because you’re supposed to and not because it’s what you truly believe in?”
It took some time for his words to penetrate Jane’s mind, but when they did—-
“You caught me.” Jane shook the cobwebs off her mind. “And yes, you’re right. I always did think marriage is just a piece of paper.”
“Then that should bode well for us, don’t you think?”
She bit her lip, and his eyes narrowed. “Let me.”
“Wha—-”
His teeth replaced hers, sinking into her lower lip to create the most delicious mix of pleasure and agony.
Oh. So that was what he meant.
He released her lip, and she tried not to cry out and beg him to do it again.
His gaze claimed her, and he stated quietly, “One week.”
Jane took a deep breath. “One week.”
And then he took a deep breath, which confused her.
“Are you a virgin?”
This confused her even more, but she answered hesitantly, “Yes?”
“I thought so.” His voice was harsh.
“Virgins aren’t your thing?”
“It’s more of...self-denial isn’t in my nature.”
“I still don’t understand—-”
“I won’t fuck you until we’re married. But when we do marry—-”
If, she thought weakly.
Christian shifted her in his arms, causing Jane to straighten and her legs to automatically lock more tightly around his waist. Their eyes met, and he bit out, “You need to choose whether you want to share my bed or not.”
“A-and if I don’t?” she couldn’t help asking. “Will you have sex with other women?”
“Undoubtedly.”
“Can I have sex with other men?
“That is entirely up to you.”
Okaaaaaay.
“But if I have sex with you?”
“Then we only fuck each other, as many times as we want, wherever we want.”
Chapter Five
Shareholders Meeting
AMC Executive Conference Hall
Struggling to make sense of the statistical data projected on the white screen, Jane had to squint and frown several times until her vision finally cleared and the figures stopped looking like hieroglyphics.
She did a rapid scan and slouched down in relief. Oh thank God. Last quarter’s numbers were up, which meant there wasn’t any need to tiptoe around pissed-off management. More importantly, it meant she could nurse her sexual hangover.
A grimace started to contort her face, and this made Jane’s head pound even more painfully. Dear God. If someone had told her it was possible to feel hung over due to one too many orgasms in a single night, she would have died laughing.
And then cry, Jane thought glumly, because apparently the joke had been on her.
Not that she was actually complaining, of course. Christian Ravenhearst had been fantastic. There was no other word for it. Or maybe there were, Jane pondered absently.
Insatiable would do, too.
And also – did all English guys have iron self-control like Christian?
Not once had he made her touch him or help him come, even though the expression on his handsome face had become increasingly strained. Once, she had asked him awkwardly if perhaps she could do the same thing for him, but Christian had only shaken his head, telling her curtly that if he allowed himself to come in her presence, he might not control himself at all.
He would fuck her, and he probably wouldn't be able to stop until both of them couldn’t walk.
“...and that’s it,” the head of AMC’s finance department finished. Closing remarks were given and people started rising from their seats. Shareholders started shaking hands with each other, and a buzz of conversation soon filled the conference hall while Jane and other select employees invited to witness the meeting filed out. Most of them were in finance, and of course the anchors were there, too. As always, Jane was the only one from P.R., once again filling in for her boss Vince.
Just as she reached for the door, she heard someone say from behind, “A moment please, Ms. Cooper.”
She froze. That couldn’t possibly be—-
But then she saw that everyone – both shareholders and employees of AMC – had fallen silent as they turned to look at her, and Jane’s heart sank.
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nbsp; She slowly did a 180-degree turn, and her worst fears were confirmed.
It was the CEO who had addressed her.
Jane felt like she was on her way to the chopping block as she headed towards AMC’s CEO. This was all Christian’s doing, she thought. If she got fired because of whatever Christian had said or made the CEO think, she would kill him.
When she reached the CEO, she reluctantly raised her head to meet his gaze. “Good morning, sir.”
Jared Westland looked at her thoughtfully. His height and build were as imposing as Christian’s, but whereas Christian’s looks were more of an angel’s, Jared’s were dark and roguish, with his chestnut brown hair, near-black eyes, and deeply tanned skin.
“Christian...”
She held her breath.
“...asked me to put a good word in with you.”
Oh. What a manipulative SOB that man was. She said without thinking, “It’s not—-”
Jared Westland arched one eyebrow. “Will the threat of firing you do the trick?”
“I am going to marry him right this moment, sir.”
A low laugh escaped the CEO, and Jane tried not to fidget. Was that good or bad?
“He told me you were funny,” Jared mused. “Anyway, I’ll see you later.” He dismissed her with a nod before walking away.
Her mouth opened and closed. What did the CEO mean later?
On her way out, she caught sight of Merry glaring at her and quickly ducked her head, acting like she hadn’t seen anything. She heard footsteps behind her, and Jane made a dash for it, knowing that Merry’s hectic morning schedule wouldn’t allow the news anchor to follow Jane all the way to the P.R. department.
Shit, shit, shit.
This was Christian’s fault.
He had made her stand out, and now people who knew she wasn’t supposed to stand out were mad at her for stealing their Disney moment. When she made it to her cubicle, she threw herself in her old but comfortable chair, her heart thudding against her chest.
It was like she had just escaped from the jaws of death – no, from the Jaws itself. Remembering Merry’s murderous glare made her shudder, and Jane began to understand what Jaike meant when she told Jane about the people at the press launch looking like sharks.
Taking her phone out, she started texting Christian—-
What did you tell the boss of my boss’ boss?