It took all of my concentration to form the words and not think about what his hands were doing. I didn’t know if I liked it or hated it. My mind and my body were at war, and I was caught in the middle. As his fingers sought the other nipple, I remembered how to speak. “No. You didn’t give me permission.”
“Good girl. Now, don’t move your hands and tell me the truth. This is turning you on, isn’t it?”
“I—I don’t know ... I’m scared.”
His lips brushed my neck. Instead of fighting, I tilted my head back against his chest to give him better access.
Sighing, he moaned. “Damn, girl, you’re sexier up close than I ever imagined. Do you know how hot that answer was?” His fingers that had just painfully twisted my hard nub caressed my same breast. Suddenly, his touch was warm and electric. “You may be frightened, but it’s not of me: it’s of what you’re feeling. Your nipples are telling me you’re feeling the same thing I am. They’re saying that you like this.” With both hands on my breasts, he lowered the top of my dress, fully exposing me to the window. Thankfully, we were stories above the city. “Do you know how else I know you’re aroused?”
Forming words had become increasingly difficult. Therefore, I shook my head.
“I smell it, and darling, you smell fantastic. I bet you taste fantastic.” Nuzzling my exposed neck and shoulder, he continued, “Have you ever let a boy go down on you?”
“N-no, I’ve never...”
“There’re so many things that I can show you, so many highs. Darling, if you and I can make this agreement happen, I promise you highs like you’ve never imagined.”
“This—this isn’t right.”
“Does it feel wrong?”
I wanted to say yes, it felt wrong, but it didn’t. “My parents can’t do this to me. It isn’t fair.”
Continuing his torment of my breasts, Stewart continued, “They aren’t the first. Think of this like an old-world arranged marriage. Do you think those lords and ladies didn’t think of their daughters as a commodity, as a means to an end? Their daughters were nothing more than a way to infiltrate into a better family, a better way of life. Just like a young virgin married off to a king, consider yourself a payment to save your family’s standing. If you agree to this, they can go on fooling the upper-crust snobs.”
“B-but I don’t care about them—”
“No? What about your sister? Do you want Val to have the education she deserves? Would you like to have so much money and influence that you could tell your mother to fuck off?”
I’d never dreamt of that, never even considered it. Was that the opportunity staring me in the face? Did I want that? Wait! No, I wasn’t selling myself for them—but Val?
My internal debate came to an immediate end with another painful twist of my nipple. “Ouch.”
“I asked you if you wanted to help your sister and outclass your mother at the same time.”
“I want to help Val.” Once I spoke, the pinch morphed to a pleasant caress. “I—I don’t know about my ... Oh!” Stewart’s hips tilted forward, stalling the thoughts of my family. He pulled me against his chest and introduced my lower back to what I was sure was a huge erection.
“Victoria, I can only imagine how tight and wet you are right now. I know my cock will stretch that tight pussy in the most incredible way.”
I’d never heard anyone speak this way. As much as I wanted it to disgust me, it didn’t. Powerfully, he pulled my ass against him.
“You’re worried about my age. I like your age. I like that you aren’t a virgin, but that you have so much more to learn. I guarantee I’m not like that kid from Kinsley Preparatory: I’m a real man who knows what he’s doing. I’ll do things to you that you’ve never imagined.”
“H-how do you know what I’ve imagined? And how do you know about Wesley?” He was from Kinsley and the only boy I’d ever been with. Our first time was a blundering of sorts. Neither one of us knew what to do or how to go about it. The next time didn’t hurt as much, but being with him had never been nearly as erotic as standing here against a window with my hands being the only thing I could see, besides the gorgeous blue ocean view.
“I’ve told you: I’ve been watching you and doing my research.” With one arm above my exposed breasts and the other around my waist, he pulled my ass tighter against his erection and swayed his hips. “And like I said, I’m glad you’re not a virgin. I don’t want that responsibility. That said, other than the fact that you had one guy’s dick inside of you, I promise, when it comes to what I have planned, you’ve never experienced anything like it.”
His words and hips created a delicious rhythm rocking me against his solid chest, as well as other parts of him. Without thinking, my body moved in sync.
“Please...” I needed this to stop. The painful tension building within me caused my insides to ache. “Please, Stewart.”
His arm tightened around my waist. “Yes, Victoria, please what? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to fondle that deliciously lickable breast again and pinch that hard nipple or do you want more than that?”
“I—I want...”
“If I lift this dress, I could expose your slick thighs. You’re wet for me, aren’t you?”
“S-Stewart, you’re right, I’m not a virgin, but I’ve never felt this way. I don’t know what to do.”
His hand lowered to the hem of my dress and began to lift. “Let me see how wet you are.”
Was it a question? Was he asking me or telling me what he was going to do? I couldn’t think straight. Brushing my inner thigh, I knew he’d find what he wanted. I was wetter than I’d ever been.
His voice was low as his fingers slid over my thighs, so near, yet not touching where my body wanted him. Did I want that?
“Victoria, you’re a naughty girl. If I put my fingers inside of you, would you fuck them? If I told you to?”
“W-what are you doing to me? I—I don’t want this.” Throwing caution to the wind, I gathered what little strength I had, pushed off from the window, and spun into his chest. “Stop. You’re a pervert, and I told you I’m not a whore.”
His blue eyes were the color of the water, deep and dark. With a smirk, he lifted his finger to his lips and sucked. After making a show of it, he grinned. “Once you’re my wife I can do that whenever I want. Allowing your husband to finger fuck you isn’t being a whore. Like I said, you will be my whore.”
Righting my dress, I moved around him. The sound of his chuckle filled the otherwise quiet office as I made my way to a chair and sat. “I’m sorry Randall has made poor decisions, but that isn’t my concern. I have a job lined up. I’ll support Val. We’ll make it.”
Stewart walked to his desk, his erection visibly tenting his jeans as he sat. Lifting two manila folders, he slid both of them toward me. “Victoria Conway, this offer has not been made lightly. I’ve given it a lot of thought and consideration. I’ve even had my legal team work out the necessary legalities. In this folder—” he touched the one on my left, “is an agreement to do as we’ve discussed. It includes a nondisclosure statement regarding what happened today as well as an agreement for us to wed, next Thursday. Along with that is a contract that I’ll sign. One that will guarantee the payment of necessary funds to repay your stepfather’s current debt as well as give you access to any monies necessary to fund your sister’s education at the academy and any undergraduate and post-graduate study she chooses. I believe she’s interested in medicine.” His eyebrows rose. “Medical school can be expensive.”
I swallowed. How did he know so much? That was a lot to offer. Could I truly make her dreams come true?
Stewart continued, “And in this folder...” he touched the one on my right, “...is a nondisclosure agreement for what happened today and a check made out to you for fifty thousand dollars. I want you. I want you to be my wife; however, if you choose to walk away today, I don’t want you to be beholden to the likes of Randall and Marilyn. You deserve better than that.
This money will help you, post-graduation, and you can use as much as you’d like to help your sister, your mother, whomever. The choice is yours.”
“Fifty thousand? All I have to do is sign and I have fifty thousand dollars? The only stipulation is that I can’t tell anyone what happened here today?”
He leaned back and nodded. “Darling, your mother’s little secret shopping issue would be nothing for you if you sign the other contract. Within reason, your access to my fortune won’t be restricted. You’ll not only live in the best of the best, vacation at the most exclusive spas and suites, but you’ll have whatever you desire. Fifty thousand wouldn’t even be a limit on one of your charge cards.”
“But, why me? And what will I have to do for all of that?” My voice was gaining confidence with each question.
“Why you? Randall. But that was only the beginning. I’ve watched you; I saw how incredible you are. I waited for you to become legal. Then today, I saw that you’re everything I imagined and more: so sexual, so responsive. I could have so much fun with you. That would be what you’d need to do: let me do what I want with that sexy body.”
Goose bumps materialized. “What does that mean? Will you hurt me?”
He leaned forward. “When I twisted your nipples, did it hurt?”
I looked down and back up to his eyes. I refused to let him intimidate me with the subject of my own body. “Yes, it did.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
Blood rushed toward my cheeks. “It hurt, but then you made it feel better.”
“And?”
“I guess I liked it.”
“As Mrs. Harrington, your pleasure, as well as your pain, will work together toward my pleasure. You’ll be my wife and my whore. Ms. Madison will be responsible for getting you ready for the role of my wife. She’ll teach you how to act, respond, and how to deal with some of the issues that’ll arise. I’ll assume the responsibility of teaching you about your sexual role.”
My sexual role? What the hell? One thing at a time. “Ms. Madison?” I asked.
“You met her when you arrived.”
“Lisa?” I asked.
“Well, yes, Lisa. Interesting that she gave you her first name.”
“What if I try this and I can’t do it?”
“Look through the documents. Everything is spelled out: what will happen if I chose to terminate the contract, what will happen if you chose to terminate it, as well as other options. You should read it all carefully before you decide.”
I couldn’t believe I was actually considering this. “When do you need an answer?”
“Tomorrow morning, by seven-thirty. If you choose to sign the nondisclosure statement then you have school to attend. If you choose to fulfill the contract, we have a wedding in less than a week.”
“B-but what about my graduation?”
“You will graduate. I’m one of the biggest donors at the academy. They will not refuse my wife’s graduation.”
I stood. “I guess I need your number so that I can call you in the morning.”
“No.” He smirked.
“No?”
“You’ll be staying here tonight. During that time you can speak to Ms. Madison and ask her questions. If in the morning, you opt for leaving, Travis will drive you to class.”
“I’m not sleeping with you. I’m not agreeing to that as part of the deliberation process.”
Playfully, Stewart put his hands in the air. “My cock will not enter that tight little pussy until you ask for it. Until you beg for it.”
Jerk! “Well, then that will make our arranged marriage rather easy on my part. I have no intentions of begging for anything.”
“Really? I barely touched you today and you creamed those pretty little panties of yours. I’m confident that you’ll be begging to have my dick inside of you before we tie the knot.”
I suddenly thought of Val and her ice cream, waiting for my return. “I-I need to call Val.”
“Of course. She’ll be concerned; however, at this time, the nondisclosure is effectively in place, since both options include that clause.”
I gripped the back of the chair. How was this happening? “I have to speak to her. What can I tell her?”
Stewart grinned. “Victoria, you are truly my dream. If there is any more I can do to entice you to sign that contract, don’t be shy about a counteroffer.”
He didn’t know the truth. All his research didn’t tell him that I wasn’t a dream: I was a nightmare. I’d been told that my whole life. Pushing those thoughts away, I replied, “That doesn’t answer my question. I don’t lie to my sister.”
“Did you tell her about Wesley? Did you tell her about the job with the insurance company or the deposit you put on that small apartment?”
His intimate knowledge of my personal life was starting to piss me off. “I eventually told her about Wesley. I will tell her about the apartment and job. I didn’t want to worry her right now. She still thinks I’m going to the University of Miami.”
“So, darling, my point is that you have indeed lied to your sister.” His blonde brows lowered, and his eyes squinted. “You won’t lie to me. As you can see, I have ways of learning things.”
“I can tell her that it was a meeting about a possible opportunity and since it was elaborate, I’m staying in the city, at a fancy hotel. She’ll be excited for me.” That wasn’t a lie. She would be. My sister could take any scenario and make it optimistic. I on the other hand was unsure if it were possible to spin this whole thing to the positive. “Now, where am I to stay?”
“Ms. Madison will show you to a room, but know that once we’re married, you’ll share a room with me.”
“If we are married,” I corrected.
Another chuckle. Stewart looked down at his watch. “You have almost twelve hours to make up your mind. In less than one hour you’ve gone from it’s not happening to if. Perhaps I’ll have my begging before the night is done?”
Smug bastard. That was one challenge I didn’t mind accepting. “Not happening.” I turned toward the door. “Where do I find Lisa?”
Read more from Aleatha Romig’s novel Insidious (Tales From the Dark Side, #1). She also invites you to subscribe to her mailing list for alerts on new releases.
About Insidious (Tales From the Dark Side, #1)…
Dark desires…Deadly secrets…Devious deceptions…Nothing is exactly as it seems in INSIDIOUS, the new erotic thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author ALEATHA ROMIG!
When a powerful man is willing to risk everything for his own satisfaction, only one woman can beat him at his own game: his wife. Or so she thinks…
“Let’s start with you calling me Stewart. Formalities seem unnecessary.”
Stewart Harrington is rich, gorgeous, and one of the most powerful men in Miami. He always gets what he wants. Anything is available to him for the right price.
Even me.
Being the wife of a mogul comes with all the perks, but being Mrs. Stewart Harrington comes with a few special requirements. I’ve learned to keep a part of myself locked away as my husband watches me submit to his needs. But the more he demands of me, the more beguiled he becomes and that’s to my advantage. So I keep fulfilling his fantasies and following his rules because he doesn’t know that what he’s playing is really my game. And winning is everything, right?
INSIDIOUS is a stand-alone novel and the first Tales from the Dark Side title by ALEATHA ROMIG.
**Due to the dark and explicit nature of this book, it is recommended for mature audiences only. **
About Aleatha Romig…
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty-eight years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now,
when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
INSIDIOUS is Aleatha’s seventh novel. It is her first time to delve into the world of erotic thrillers. The Consequences Series, her first series has been categorized as psychological thriller and dark romance. With INSIDIOUS, Aleatha took the twists and turns of CONSEQUENCES and turned up the heat.
CONSEQUENCES, her first novel, was released August 2011, by Xlibris Publishing. Then in October of 2012, Ms. Romig re-released CONSEQUENCES as an indie author. TRUTH, the sequel, was released October 30, 2012, and CONVICTED, the third in the series, was released October 8, 2013. Unexpectedly, the fourth book of the Consequences series came to life with REVEALED: THE MISSING YEARS. It is the fourth full-length novel in the series. It explores the years in CONVICTED that previously were only mentioned, as well as a complete character glossary and timeline. REVEALED was released May 20, 2014.
INSIDIOUS, the first released book from TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE will be released October 21, 2014. TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE will be a series of standalone, dark, erotic thrillers guaranteed to take you on a wild, hot, and dark ride. Each novel in the series will be independent of the next. The characters from one book will never be revisited. Instead, Aleatha leaves it up to her readers to imagine how each story will end while remembering that it is the journey that is the most fun.
Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Brown and Miller Literary Associates.
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