by Holly Jaymes
“I don’t think you’re a lying cheat,” Jolene called after him.
I went back to my office to grab the latest information I had on the approval of CP860 and then went back to Nate’s.
“Hallie?” Clair called me over to her as I walked by her desk. “Really, honey, Nate would never cheat. He may have dated a lot of women, but he never cheated. It’s not in his nature to do that.”
Of all the things she said, that was the one that stopped me. I was judging Nate the same way everyone else was - based on his reputation. But in our short fake marriage, I’d learned there was more to him. He loved his family, as evidenced by his weekly dinners at his mom’s house. He cared deeply about treating suffering caused by chronic illness, to the point that he’d forfeited millions if not billions of dollars by not patenting one of his drug formulas. He donated millions more worth of drugs to populations that didn’t have access to medications or had difficulty affording them.
And, if I was honest with myself, he was right in that he’d never done anything to suggest he was a liar. I still struggled with the image of him kissing Allison, but Clair and Jolene were right in that Allison clearly wanted him. Replaying the scene in my mind, he had been annoyed at Allison, not me. She’d been upset that he rebuffed her, and said to me that I couldn’t blame her for trying to seduce him. Trying but not succeeding. All the stuff I’d said to her face. Shit, I was the bad guy in this.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “It’s just not easy seeing a woman like that make a pass at my man.”
“No doubt. So, you gonna go talk to him? He’s clearly upset that you don’t believe him,” Clair asked.
“Yes.”
She smiled, “I’ll hold all calls and visitors while you two make up.” She waggled her brows. Did she really think I was going to have sex with Nate in his office? Actually, that sounded fun, but no. I’d make up with him, but this fake marriage would have to continue without any benefits.
However, Clair couldn’t know that, so I gave her a naughty smile, “Thank you.”
I walked into his office, shut the door, and clicked the lock so that Clair would think I was about to make up with my husband, which I sort of was.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I stood in the middle of his office.
He stared at me from behind his desk, “What about?”
Was he really going to still be pissy? I pressed on, “For not believing you. For hurting your feelings.”
His hard expression softened slightly. He stood, “I’m sorry too.”
“About what?” Two could play this game.
“About not realizing how far Allison was going to push things. She should have never gotten that close to me.” He went to his minifridge and pulled out two bottles of water.
“So, you knew she wanted to seduce you?” I accepted the one he handed me and then sat at the table where we often worked together.
He sat across from me, “I remember thinking she looked like she was prowling. I thought I’d just rebuke her and she’d give up. She got me off-kilter when she guessed that we had a fake marriage.”
My brows shot up, “She did?”
“She also called you a gold digger,” he rolled his eyes and took a drink of his water, and then gave me a pointed look. “I didn’t want to kiss her, Hallie. I didn’t like it. I’m sorry it happened.”
He seemed sincere, but what the hell did I know?
Nate continued, “I’m also sorry I underestimated her. I wouldn’t have thought she’d start spreading rumors.”
“It wasn’t really a rumor, though.”
He stiffened, “I didn’t kiss her.”
“No, but she embellished it.”
He leaned forward, “She lied, Hallie.” He blew out a breath, “I can put up with being called a womanizer, but I won’t be called a liar or a cheat. Not by Allison and not by you or may staff.”
That was sincere, even as it was inaccurate. I pointed out, “You are a liar. I’m a liar too. This marriage is a lie.”
“Fine. But I don’t cheat.” It was clear that his character and his honor were important to him.
“Your staff doesn’t think you’re a liar or a cheat.”
“What do you think?”
I inhaled a breath knowing a lot was riding on my answer, “I believe you.”
“Thank fuck,” he said with a long exhale. He sat back and looked at me. Most of the tension left his face. “I’m sorry it happened and made you look like a cheated on wife. I understand that her accusations didn’t just hurt me but hurt you too, and for that I’m sorry.”
I nodded. While I knew I needed to be smarter around him, I did believe him, and was ready to move past this issue, “Listen, we need to stay in here for enough time that Clair thinks we’re having make-up sex.”
He grinned, “That would be all day, honey.”
I laughed, “Yes, well, perhaps we can keep it to thirty minutes.”
He frowned, “Except for that first time on the table in the kitchen, I took much longer than thirty minutes.”
The memory of all the ways he’d touched me the other night warmed my body, but we needed to put the kibosh on any more of that.
“Listen, Nate, as much as I enjoyed the other night, I’m thinking we shouldn’t do that again.”
He nodded in agreement, and disappointment and, if I was honest, a little bit of hurt pinched my heart. It would have been nice if he’d tried to fight me on it.
“I enjoyed it too, but considering I’m your boss and this unusual situation I’ve put us in, you’re probably right.”
“I agreed to it.”
“Even so. More than anything, I value the work you do for me Hallie, as well as your friendship, and even your ass-kickings when I need them. I don’t want to fuck all that up.”
I smiled, enjoying the feeling of being appreciated, “Thank you. Speaking of which, here is the report you asked for. Also, are you sure you want the charter to Chicago?”
He took the report, “Thank you, and yes to the charter. Then we can arrive and leave whenever we want.”
After that, our fake marriage and working relationship went much smoother. The only challenge was dealing with sexual frustration. My mind constantly reminded me of the potential conflict and complications sleeping with him brought. But having had the pleasure of Nate’s touch, being around him and not being able to enjoy his body was like being around chocolate and not being able to eat it. It was torture.
Mid-week we were on a charter plane to Chicago where Nate had two days of presentations. The good news was that we didn’t run into Allison or any other former conquests of Nate’s. There were a few remnants of the rumors Allison had started, but there was also gossip about how I’d put her in her place. Overall, the presentations went well, and it didn't appear that Nate’s reputation or rumors about him hurt him.
The bad news was that acting like his wife, but not getting the benefits, was starting to take a toll. On the first night, we were in Chicago, we were at a restaurant with dancing, and he asked me to dance.
Wanting to be a good wife, and yes, wanting to feel his arms around me, I agreed even though I knew it was a bad idea and I didn’t know how to dance.
“I hope you’re as good at leading in dancing as you are in all other areas of your life because I suck at dancing,” I said as he took me in his arms.
“Just move with music, Hallie.”
Easy for him to say. He pulled me close, and every cell in my body heated and started to vibrate with need. I think I might have moaned.
His lips brushed against my ear, sending sensations straight to my pussy. That time I did moan.
“I figured this was the only way I’d be able to hold you close,” he whispered, “I miss your body, Hallie.”
I gasped at his words. They rolled through me like a caress. I groaned, “Nate.”
“I’m not trying to seduce you, and I’ll keep my promise not to touch you, but I had to hold you. You smell divine.
”
I couldn’t speak. I didn’t trust myself not to tell him to take me up to the suite and fuck my brains out. I pulled him closer, inhaled his scent, and let the feel of his hard body torment me.
True to his word, when the dance was done, and we were back in the suite, he kissed my forehead and then went to take a shower. I went to bed in the bedroom but found it difficult to sleep with sexual energy still vibrating in my body.
I carried that energy through the next day’s presentations and onto the private charter plane taking us home.
“You okay, Hallie?” Nate asked me as I squirmed on the couch. He sat at the table, working on his laptop. How was he able to do that? Had he taken care of his sexual needs himself? Maybe I should have done that, and then I wouldn’t feel like every cell in my body was about to spontaneously combust.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, looking out the window of the plane.
“Worried about your parents?” He closed his laptop and came to sit next to me. “We’ll get back early enough that you can take the day and check on them.”
I shook my head and felt a little tinge of guilt that I hadn’t thought much about my parents on this trip. The fact that he’d remembered how important my parents were made this desperate need for his touch even worse.
“Hey,” he pushed my hair back over my ear, “what’s going on?”
I was too embarrassed to tell him, “Remember when we danced the other night?”
“Of course,” he nodded.
“Was that hard for you?”
His brows knitted, “To dance with you? No. I enjoyed it. Very much.”
“What I meant was, did you find it difficult to only dance?”
He inhaled a breath and shifted away from me in his seat, “Do you mean not being able to finish the dance naked and horizontal?”
I nodded.
“Hell, yes, that was difficult. Why do you think I took a shower when we got back to the suite?
I was dying to know if it was a cold shower or if he’d touched himself. The image of him stroking his dick sent another hot flame through my blood.
He stared at me for a moment, “Was it hard for you?”
I swallowed, “Yes.”
His lips twitched with amusement, “Is it still hard? Is that why you can’t sit still?”
I laughed with embarrassment, “Yes. But look at you. Mister Calm-Cool-Collected working on your computer.”
“That’s a distraction from this,” he took my hand and placed it over his surprisingly hard dick. “It’s been like that constantly.”
“Since our dance?” I asked.
“Since I met you.”
A woman could go her whole life not hearing a man say he was nearly always hard from arousal because of her. I loved how Nate was always so open with his sexual feelings. I looked up into his sexy dark eyes, wanting to see my effect on him because while I should have removed my hand, I rubbed it over his cock instead.
He hissed out a breath, “Do you know what you’re doing?”
I nodded. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was also sure I shouldn’t be doing it, but I couldn’t deny myself any longer. I had to have him. I squeezed his length loving how he groaned.
“What did you do in the shower?” I asked.
“I imagined you.”
“What was I doing?” I wanted to undo his pants and stroke his hard bare cock.
His cheeks reddened. It was the first time he seemed embarrassed about sex, “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious. Was I sucking your dick?”
His cock jumped in his pants at my words.
“No,” he shifted on the couch, giving me better access to his dick.
“Were you fucking me?”
He groaned, “No.”
I quirked a brow as I tried to think of what else he could imagine, “Was I fucking you?”
“Ah, Hallie,” his head dropped back, and his eyes closed, as he let himself enjoy my hand sliding over his cock.
“Was I fucking you?” I asked again.
He shook his head, “No.”
I gripped his dick and squeezed. He sucked in a breath, and his head jerked up.
“What did you imagine,” punctuating each of my words with a slow stroking squeeze.
He drew his finger along my collarbone and then lower between my breasts, “I was fucking your tits.”
My pussy contracted tight at the erotic image his words implanted in my head, “Is that even possible?”
“With gloriously large tits like yours? Yes,” his fingers flicked over my sensitive nipples.
I had to close my eyes for a moment as pleasure snaked through my body, “And it worked?”
He laughed, “Imagining you in any position works, just like in reality.”
I sat there for a moment, my hand stroking his dick, his fingers inside my shirt, lightly pinching and playing with my nipples. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this, and yet, how could I possibly stop?
“Hallie?”
I swallowed hard, “Yes?”
“If we’re not going to follow this to the logical conclusion, we need to stop now. Because in about two seconds, I’m going to initiate you into the mile high club.”
“I want to join the club, Nate.”
The flight to Washington, D.C. from Chicago wasn’t that long, but Nate had enough time to show me exactly how he could fuck my tits, as well as give me two spectacular orgasms. As we got ready to land, now dressed and presentable, the saying how can something be so wrong when it feels so right went round and round in my head.
Book 2: Chapter 13—What Is This Feeling?
Chapter Thirteen: What Is This Feeling?
Nate
There was a shift in our relationship after our sensual flight home from Chicago. For one, Hallie didn’t seem mad at me anymore about the Allison fiasco, and two, pretending to be married became much easier. And more erotic. Hallie became a student of sex, asking me to show her all the different ways I knew of to bring pleasure. When I’d exhausted my own experience, she took to the Internet to learn new ways and ended up teaching me a few things.
In the past, with women, sexual exploration was done more because the regular ways had become boring. But with Hallie, every way we had sex, including the missionary position, was exciting. The exploration aspect was done out of fun and adventure. We learned what each of us found most erotic.
With her, I’d discovered nuances in sex. Sometimes it was slow and seductive, other times it was a hard, frenetic fuck, and other times it was a fun romp. Once she tried something called edging with me, and my head nearly exploded. She coaxed me to the edge of orgasm and then would back off. Over and over, she did that until I was writhing and begging for her to let me come. She’d bound my wrists, which was the only reason I hadn’t jacked myself off. My dick was so fucking hard and sensitive that her touch nearly became torture. But then finally, she took me to the edge and didn’t stop, blasting me into the stratosphere. The orgasm was incredibly hard and intense.
On the work front, all was going fantastic there too. Our presentations were creating a buzz about the IPO, and I was feeling really good that we’d have a successful launch on the day we went public. Because she was such an integral role in the IPO’s success, I decided that I needed to make sure Hallie and I were in New York together for the official opening at the Stock Exchange. Perhaps we could ring the opening bell.
The next week, we flew to California and did two sets of presentations, one in Los Angeles and another in San Francisco. The bonus to that visit was that we were able to meet several celebrities who’d been helped or had family that had been helped by medications Sloane Labs made and were willing to make statements for us.
By the end of that week, Hallie and I had pretend married life and real work life down pat. This scheme was working after all. The official offering was in a few weeks, and then we’d be able to end our fake marriage. That thought was bittersweet, though. I liked having
Hallie around. Not just in my bed, but also, in my pool, my kitchen, my living room, my car…and I didn’t just mean for sex, although, now that I thought about it, we had sex in all those locations. I also enjoyed talking with her. She played a mean game of Backgammon. Her brownies were to die for - chewy and chocolatey. Much better than my mother’s, although I’d never say that to anyone but Hallie.
The truth was, although our marriage was fake, I didn’t feel awkward or fake when I was with her. When we were in public, holding her hand or putting an arm around her felt natural, not like a show. I didn’t have to consciously think what would a husband do when we were at work or traveling for the IPO. How we behaved in the privacy of my home was the same as when we were in public, minus the naked parts. A part of me worried about how natural being with her had become. More specifically, I was concerned about my attachment to her because when this IPO was done, I could end our fake marriage, but I wasn’t certain I would be ready to end spending time with her. Maybe being her boss and only her boss wouldn’t be enough. But I pushed all my concerns away. Right now, all I needed to worry about was the IPO and maintaining the illusion of a stable, happy, married life.
On Friday, I was in my office going over the lab’s latest research on multiple sclerosis, when my cell phone rang. The number was Gabe’s, and I was glad for the call because I wanted to catch up on what as going on at Hallie’s house.
“Hey Gabe, what’s up?”
“Were you going to tell us?”
“Tell you what?” I stood up from my desk and went to the couch to relax. Talking with Gabe would be a nice break from research and reports.
“About your wife?”
Oh shit. “What do you mean?” So much for relaxing.
“I called your office the other day when you didn’t pick up your cell phone, and I was told you were out with your wife. Since when are you married, Nate?”
“I’m not.” Not really anyway.
“Then why is your secretary saying you are?”
I blew out a breath and sagged back on the couch. There was really no bullshitting out of this one, “It’s for the IPO.”