by Cynthia Dane
“Unfortunately for you, she is. You can see the license if you wish. Judge Hernandez officiated everything.”
“I said she’s not your wife.”
“You can say it as often as you want.”
“Why have you done this?” The man wanted to fly into another blinding rage. His eyes spoke such things to his son. “Do you want to mock me? Do you want to lose everything your forefathers have built for us? Do you wish to spit on this company? Do you?”
Damon took in a deep breath for strength. “Don’t worry, Dad. You certainly taught me a few things.” Like how to throw a right hook. Damon’s cheek would sting for a while. “I have the most ironclad prenuptial agreement in this fucking country.”
“I will not have her in my house.”
“I doubt she wants to be there anyway.” Even if they had shared a couple of good times in the family penthouse. “I closed on a new residence for us.” Damon gestured to the papers on his desk. “Wedding present for my wife. My belongings have already been removed from the penthouse.”
“Why, you…” Russell’s clenched fists were ready to swing again. “You planned this. You planned all of it.”
“There are many things I have planned, Father.”
“My own son.” Maniacal laughter echoed in the office. “My own fucking son! You know what? You deserve your mother. You two deserve each other. Two useless Johnsons. Because you’re no Monroe now, son. You’re a useless Johnson.”
Sounded like a bad dick joke to Damon. “Unfortunately for you, even if you did disown me during one of your rages, there are two things stacked against you.”
“What the hell is that?”
“Well, for one, I own a fair portion of this company in my own right. You made sure of that when I turned twenty-five. What did you say? That you were securing my legacy after I proved competent enough to handle it?”
Russell opened his mouth.
“And for two, I am your only heir.” Damon did not bring up his deceased brother. My father beat my mother so hard while she was pregnant that he killed his own son. Such knowledge made Damon more conscious of his father’s actions toward him. “You’ve hounded two things over and over in my life, Father. Or don’t you remember? Always do what’s best for the company and for the family. What better way to take care of both by continuing our lineage?”
“I knew it.” Russell was halfway to shoving his own fist down his throat. “The bitch is pregnant.”
Damon pulled a paper from the stack of real estate contracts on his desk. “Would you like to see the doctor’s report? My wife is six weeks along.” Darn. Guess her birth control failed. “We’re not making a formal announcement until we’re in the clear, however. I’m sure you understand.”
Russell snatched the paper from his son’s hand and sneered over the contents. “I hope you’re happy, Damon.”
“Oh, I am. I’ve never been so happy in my life.” It was the truth. The pregnancy may be fake in order to bolster Damon’s long-term plan, but he was still the happiest he had ever been. Besides, what is untrue now may be true later. He had to hide the cheeky grin that would only anger his father more. “I have found my soulmate. Our company is doing better than ever. You’re going to be a grandfather. What is there to be upset about?”
Damon knew. By now with his own experiences, and hearing the harrowing tales coming from his mother and wife’s mouths, Damon knew what his father’s problem was. He was losing control. Control. The most important aspect in coloring a man’s mind and soiling his heart. Damon knew better than anyone. There was a reason why the man himself was so deep into the world of BDSM. I even told Alice that I needed to exert more control in my life. Was it a result of the universe he was born into? Or was it because his father had stolen so much control over the years?
Now Damon would steal it back. It was beyond time to take a stand.
“My wife will not be idle, either,” Damon promised. “She’s going to be working by my side for as long as she can.” He forced a smile. “Depends on how many children we have. As you always said, our line is weak. Alice is committed to helping me expand our empire.”
Russell could only sputter in disbelief.
“So let’s get something straight, Father.” Damon rearranged the real estate papers in their folder. As of today Alice and I proudly own our own penthouse. Plenty of bedrooms to expand whatever empire they birthed. “This is my life. I have no need for you to pick a wife for me. I daresay you never quite understood my tastes, anyway.” Ouch. That went right into his father’s stomach. “You have two choices. You can accept Alice into our family and treat her with the respect a woman of her new standing commands. She is my wife and the mother of your future grandchildren. At least be cordial to her.”
“Or?”
“Or you could continue to be an incorrigible man and estrange yourself from everything you’ve built.” Time to lie through his teeth. “I would greatly prefer for you to be cordial. After all, you are my father, and I still have some respect for you. I would like my children to have all of their grandparents available to them. Speaking of which,” it shouldn’t have been so easy to sound like a chipper salesman, “Alice’s parents will be coming down to visit this weekend. You should stop by our new residence and meet them. We’re all family now.”
“I’d rather burn your balls off.”
“If that’s how it’s going to be, you can leave.”
Damon did not believe for a single second that he had gotten through to his father, but at least he had a clean conscience now.
Possibly another bruised cheek, too, if his father could muster the strength to punch him again.
“You listen to me, Damon,” Russell hissed, his eyes once again whirling. “This is not going to end happy for you. This woman is going to be the end of you. The end of us!”
“I can’t tell if you don’t give her enough credit or too much credit.”
“I give her nothing, because that’s what she deserves. I see her for what she is, Damon. She may have seduced your mind and heart, but she will never have our legacy. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Is that a threat?” Damon realized he needed to start recording his conversations with his father.
“It’s a promise, son. I’ll destroy her before she has the chance to destroy us.”
“Something else you want to tell me about what’s going on?” Damon had expected pushback, but not quite like this. Then again, this was the man who solved his issues with women by lighting them on fire.
Russell backed away, but he did not relent his vengeful gaze. “Pray to God for her soul, if you love her so much.”
“God isn’t here, Father.” Damon couldn’t help but tear a page from his darling wife’s book of comebacks. “But I am.”
“You’re no prince, Damon.” Russell sauntered toward the door, showing himself out. “You’re not fit to be king at all.”
When Damon was finally alone again, he released the mountains of breath he contained within his chest. He allowed his face to hurt. He let his eyes cloud over with bad memories and the wish to have his wife with him.
“No one is allowed in here, do you understand?” Damon grumbled into the intercom on his desk. “Nobody but my wife, Ms. Clayborn, or my realtor.”
“Yes, Mr. Monroe.”
He slumped into his chair. The peace of his office was constantly shattered by the drumming in his head and the thrumming in his chest.
Damon clung to images of his wife. No, she wasn’t just his wife. Alice was, as he described to his father, his soulmate. She was the woman he knew was destined to be his the moment they met. I needed her. I wanted her. I had her. That was his approach to many matters of love in his life, but Alice… Alice was different. She lit fires in his heart that he didn’t know were dormant. Even when she wasn’t around to light the fires, his heart smoldered at her memory.
He wanted her now. Damon wanted Alice to walk through those doors and come to him, in her heels or on
her knees. It didn’t matter. She could be his sweet wife, his obedient sub, or his ruthless business partner. Damon desired all sides of her. He wanted to whisper about corporate espionage while rubbing her thighs and getting her wet for him.
Sex. That’s what he wanted. When did Damon Monroe not want to fuck his wife? Since they met, she was the only woman he was capable of thinking of!
He didn’t only wish that it would stay that way for the rest of their lives. He knew it. Alice was it. She was the one, no matter what his father insisted.
That was what made it dangerous, though. She was so precious to him that anyone could clearly see how to easily get to him. Russell for sure already knew.
Nobody will come between me and my family. It was what Damon always craved the most. The stability of a family, even with the quirks that came with them.
Anything was better than what he grew up with. The burning of his cheek made that clear.
Chapter 1
“Wow.” Alice entered the large, brightly lit room, her stiletto heels clacking on the marble flooring. With such sparse furnishings, every step sounded like thunder bringing down the walls and making the simple chandeliers swing above her head. “Holy shit. This is all mine?”
Ms. Sarah Clayborn lowered her iPad and looked between Alice and the view of the CBD from her new office windows. “Yes, Mrs. Monroe. This is your office.”
Alice turned to the assistant on loan from her husband. My husband. Mrs. Monroe. She was still reeling from how quickly everything transpired. From screaming at Monroe to get out of her hospital room to ending up in front of a judge saying vows and signing papers. How long had it been, anyway? What month is it? Still August, but the summer had completely ran away from Alice.
“Mr. Monroe says he apologies for the current state of your office, but hopes that you can make it your own. He suggests hiring a contractor to partition the rear and the front. It actually used to be set up like that, but the last occupant had the partition removed.”
Alice ran her hands over the svelte black executive desk, waiting for her to set up her things. She currently carried a brand new MacBook in her briefcase. It would have to do until she picked out a desktop unit to keep here in her office.
Everything had happened so quickly, after all.
She sat in the leather chair behind the desk. Oh, my. If she really were pregnant, this would be the best chair in the world. There’s a reason I asked for the same exact one my husband has. Talk about a sudden power trip. Alice could fire someone right now and nobody would question her.
Her exact place in the company was still in limbo, and legally… it would be for some time. There had been no discussion beforehand about what she would be doing, other than helping her husband with his business dealings while forging some of her own connections. Alice took a deep breath. She had no idea what the fuck she was doing. She was still getting used to being married!
Every time she thought of her new role in Monroe’s life, she shyly smiled. Usually in the crook of her arm or the back of her hand, but today she let her blush show proudly in front of Ms. Clayborn. Monroe said I would have my very own assistant soon. For now, I get her. Even better? Dee was standing outside the door, staring down every asshole who dared to come up and try to get a look at the new missus.
“If I may, Mrs. Monroe.” Ms. Clayborn stood in front of the desk. Shit, I really need to find someone to decorate this place for me. “I’ve taken the liberty to arrange your schedule for this next week for you.” She laid the iPad on the desk and presented Alice with a color-coded spreadsheet. “Your first appointment is tomorrow. Lunch with Petrov And Nabokov Holdings. Mr. Monroe has requested you go in his stead.”
Alice sat up straight in her chair. As if she could pretend to look so official as she went over this schedule full of people and companies she had never heard of. “My first deal, and he’s making me do it by myself?”
Ms. Clayborn confirmed. She was not paid to give opinions. “You have today and tomorrow morning free. Is there anything you would like me to arrange on short notice?”
“Don’t suppose you could get me an interior designer to help me put this room together?”
“Right away, Mrs. Monroe.”
“Wow, I am so not used to that.”
For the first time, she thought she saw the hint of a smile on Ms. Clayborn’s face.
“Were you shocked?” Alice asked, folding her hands in front of the iPad. “When you found out that Damon and I were getting married.” Ms. Clayborn had arranged everything neither Alice nor Monroe could. Her brother, the other assistant? Completely cut off. Last Alice heard, he was being kept close to her husband. There were a lot of suspicions about Mr. Nigel Clayborn.
“I wouldn’t say I was shocked. Suppose I was mildly surprised.”
“Really…”
“Don’t know if you’ve noticed, ma’am, but I’m not one for theatrics.”
No, Alice supposed not. If Ms. Clayborn was for anything, it was tepid discussions about lunch and arranging flights to cities around the world.
“I will make some calls and see if I can get someone respectable to meet with you later this afternoon. I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
Before Alice could give her thanks, the intercom on her desk lit up with an array of yellow and red lights.
“Mrs. Monroe?” It was Alisha, the receptionist out in the main office. “Mr. Monroe has requested your presence in his office as soon as you are available.”
Alice hovered over the intercom, wondering what button to push. Ms. Clayborn reached over and held down a big black button and motioned for Alice to speak. “Oh, thanks…” she muttered. To Alisha, “Tell Mr. Monroe that I will be there within a few minutes. Please.”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Alice flung herself back in her chair. “I haven’t done any real work yet and I’m already exhausted.”
Ms. Clayborn stood back as well. “I suggest not keeping your husband waiting. His schedule is packed today.” Now that was a smile on her face! “He had to take a couple of days off, you know.”
“Yes. To marry me.” Alice stood, leaving her briefcase by her chair. “All right. You make those calls for me, and I’ll see what my husband wants.” Alice had a feeling he would want to meet with her in private.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Alice stepped into the main office again. A large, sprawling, industrial mess of modern commerce. Desks faced each other, full of twenty and thirty-something go-getters swapping phone calls and doing research on behalf of Damon Monroe – and Alice Monroe as of this morning.
They all stole looks at her as she walked across the room to her husband’s office. Alice stopped by the receptionist’s desk in the middle of the foray to say hello again. If nothing else, none of these people will be able to say that I am anything but nice and cordial. They didn’t have to like her. She would give them something to respect, however.
She was acutely aware of Dee shadowing her a few paces away. When Alice reached her husband’s office door, she turned and nodded in a silent agreement that Dee would stay outside with Monroe’s equally alert bodyguard.
The first thing Alice thought when she walked into the office was that she was right to have Ms. Clayborn call an interior decorator. Monroe’s office was so fluidly designed and so him in taste and expense that it made Alice’s office look like a monastery.
The second thing she thought was that her husband was the sexiest man alive.
He stood in front of his desk, back to her. Monroe rearranged something. It wasn’t until Alice was only a few feet away that she saw a photo of her in her white Dior cocktail dress at the downtown courthouse. Alice halted her steps and took in his intoxicating scent. Oh, wait. That was herself she was smelling. As of the morning after their wedding, she was stealing his cologne for herself. I figure I have that right.
“That better be my amazing wife,” Monroe mumbled. He glanced over his shoulder and broadened his smile. �
��Oh, good. Now I don’t have to call security.”
Alice went straight into his embrace. How could she ever deny that gravity always pulling her toward him? “Go ahead and call them. They can’t help you when I’m ar…” Alice’s fingers went to his reddened cheek. “What happened?” It looked like he had been slapped!
Monroe winced, but did not falter in her hold. “Nothing, precious. Nothing to concern yourself with, anyway.” He pulled her hand down and softly kissed it. “Best not to touch, though. It’s a bit sore.”
Alice had no idea why he asked for her, but she had a gut feeling. That feeling proved correct when he kissed her so hard that she almost fell backward. Luckily, his grip around her torso was too strong to let that happen.
“I missed you already,” he muttered on her lips between kisses. When he wasn’t speaking, he was pounding her with his tongue. Alice forgot what she was even doing five minutes ago. Interior designer? For what? Ms. Clayborn who? “Why did I give you an office on the other side of the fucking building? I’m an idiot.”
“Because you knew you would never get any work done if I was too close.” Alice pulled on his tie, wishing they had enough time for him to wrap it around her wrists and make her get on her knees. Is there enough time? I’m getting damn good at the whole fellatio thing. I could have him done in fewer than five minutes. Oh, my, was she flushing?
He grabbed her ass with both hands. “You’re my business muse. I hope you know that.”
Alice rubbed her nose against his fuzzy cheek. The one not marred by some unknown splotch. “I can’t wait to get started.”
“Me neither.” The sordid look in his amber eyes did not convey the idea that they were thinking about the same thing. “I want to get started tonight.”
“Ah…” Something tumbled in Alice’s stomach. Nerves, probably.
“I’ll honor your request for tomorrow night, if that’s still fine with you.”
Alice swallowed. “Of course. Can we change the subject, though?”