by Siren, Tia
“Are you going to be my yoga partner?” she asks, turning her body to me. I have to resist the fucking burning urge to look at her breasts, their curves pushing against the tight tank top she’s wearing. Fuck, I just want to pin her against the wall and push those fucking yoga pants down her legs.
“Do I look like the kind of guy who does yoga?” I say, trying to act natural. I walk across the room and toward the bench close to the weight rack.
“You seemed pretty interested in it,” she continues, that fucking delicious smile on her mouth. She runs the tip of her tongue over her lips, wetting them, and my cock twitches again. “I could teach you a thing or two.”
Fuck, did she actually say that? Is she fucking talking about yoga or… something else?
“I don’t doubt it,” I say, taking one step toward her and closing the distance between us. “I love to learn.” Fuck, if I take one step more I’m going to fucking lose it. Christ, what the fuck am I saying? She’s my fucking stepmother!
“Oh, I could teach you a few starting positions…” she purrs, her voice coming at me honeyed. I can already feel the atmosphere in the room changing, as if the air around us was about to burst into flames.
“Just a few? How about all of the positions?” I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this.
“I don’t know if you could handle that.” Her smile widens as she speaks, and I let my eyes fall to her lips. Fuck, I want to kiss her.
“You’d be surprised at what I can do.” By now, my heart is like a fucking closed fist, punching at me from the inside out. I’m already struggling to get the words out. Fuck, I’m close to the breaking point; if I stay here, I don’t know what’s going to fucking happen.
Then, like fucking thunder, I hear a voice from the other side of the glass doors. “What are you talking about?” my father says, looking at us with his small beady eyes, a fucking expression of contempt on his face.
Yeah, so much for having a fucking normal family.
6
Ashley
“What are you two talking about?” Percy says, announcing his disgusting presence. I turn on my heel and look at him, the smile I had just now vanishing from my face in a fraction of a second.
“Nothing,” I merely say, shrugging. I pick up the towel I had at my feet and throw it over my shoulder, ready to leave the gym. The less time I’m around him, the better. That’s when he steps in and walks in my direction, contempt all over his face. Towering over me, he looks me straight in the eye, completely ignoring my body. Even though I found him fucking two women after we got married, he doesn’t seem to care about the way I look in the slightest. Maybe he does it on purpose, just to humiliate my family and me.
“Don’t you nothing me. You are my wife, and you’ll talk to me with respect,” he growls, and I feel my stomach turning from the inside out. How did I ever end up married to this sorry excuse for a man? Still, I face him head on, trying to hide the fear and disgust that I feel. He wants me to be afraid, to cower in his presence, and I won’t give him that. “Your father gave me that same look,” he continues, his sagging jowls trembling as he speaks. “In the end, I broke him. Don’t make me break you as well, Ashley.”
I open my mouth to respond, but my throat has gone dry. My lips are slightly parted, as if I were still trying to find the right words to say, and that’s when Parker steps between Percy and me.
“Hey, calm the fuck down,” he says, looking down at his father. Even though Percy is a tall man, Parker still has a few inches on him. “We were just talking,” he states matter-of-factly, almost as if he really believed it. We were doing everything but just talking. I mean, we were talking, but if you read between the lines there was something else going on; I was throwing him a hook, and he was swallowing it whole. If Percy hadn’t showed up when he did, I was almost sure Parker was about to do something rash. And then…then I’d own him, through and through. After that, getting him to side against his father would be easy.
“Just talking,” Percy scoffs, tugging at his tie with his fat fingers. “What could the two of you possibly be talking about?”
“She’s your wife, for fuck’s sake,” Parker says, completely ignoring his father’s question. Perhaps on purpose. “How can you talk to her like this?” he continues, raising his voice and balling his hands into fists. There’s no love lost between father and son, it seems.
“You’re right about that,” Percy growls again with a scowl on his face, as he seems to completely ignore the fact that his own son seems to despise him. “She’s my wife, and I’ll talk to her however I want. Besides,” he turns to me then, his lips curling into a vicious sneer, “you should learn your place. Your father only seemed to realize it when it was too late, and that’s why you’re here. Don’t ever forget that. And I can always crush whatever’s left of your family, Ashley. I have my foot on your father’s throat, and all I need to do is step just a little bit harder to crush him completely.”
“You’re… You’re a monster,” I manage to say, the words coming out of my mouth almost like a choked whisper. I look down at my feet, unable to look him in the eyes. Everything in him revolts me—from his eyes to his lips, from his clammy fingers to his paunch, it seems that he came into existence with the sole purpose of being a disgusting human being.
Summoning whatever courage I still have inside of me, I force myself to look him in the eyes again, refusing to submit. I’m almost surprised to see him grinning, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes; it's almost as if I had complimented him when I called him a monster. Percy knows what he is, and he loves it. Never has the word monster seemed more adequate; if this were Hell, he’d be Satan’s boss. To say that I hate his guts would be an understatement.
“You might think of me as a monster…but I’m your husband. Your father accepted it, and you will too,” Percy continues, almost as if he knows how huge of a nail he’s driving through my heart. In the end, he’s right; I’m his wife, and there’s no escape from this nightmare I’m in. Not right now, at least.
I feel my eyes start welling with tears, and I realize that if I remain in this room with him one more second, I’ll end up crying and sobbing. And I won’t allow him to see me like that. I just won’t. I might be crushed right now, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he has landed a blow. I take one last burning look at him and I rush out the door, walking down the corridor as if I were in a trance.
“What’s your fucking problem?” I can still hear Parker’s words to his father, anger coating his voice. I don’t stop to hear Percy’s response, though. Right now, all that I want to do is lock myself up in my bedroom; mercifully, Percy and I sleep in different rooms. Maybe he intended that as one more provocation, but I’m actually thankful for it. I wouldn’t be able to sleep with him by my side; I’d rather lie down on a bed of burning coals.
The moment I get to my room and close the door, the tears start coming in full force. I sit down on the bed and bury my face between my hands, a violent sob shaking my whole body.
How did I ever end up married to a man like him? What did I ever do to deserve something like this?
7
Parker
Yeah, that asshole you’ve just heard talk shit to Ashley is my father. I’m not fucking proud of it, you know? From as far back as I can remember, I have despised him. Now, to hear him talking to his own fucking wife like that… I’m fucking ashamed of being his son, and that’s exactly what I tell him.
“Do I look like I care about what you think, Parker?” he simply shoots back in that bored tone of his, as if the main attraction was already over. He got what he fucking wanted, it seems: to make Ashley feel like shit.
Without bothering to say one more word, I walk past him and out of the room. Only when I start heading down the corridor do I realize I was balling my fists. Yeah, I could have landed a fucking punch on him back there. I’m glad I didn’t though; knowing my father, that would just make it worse for Ashley. He’s a fucking h
uman wasp, that’s for sure, and he’s at his happiest when he’s using his fucking sting to inflict pain.
Anger is pulsing through me like a drug, and when I get to my senses I’m standing in front of Ashley’s bedroom door. I have no fucking idea why I came here, but it just seems right, so I rap my knuckles against the door. When there’s no answer, I simply turn the handle and walk in, my eyes adjusting to the darkness.
There’s only a dim yellow light in the room, coming from the lamp on the bedside table. Ashley is close to it, sitting on the bed with her face against her hands. I lock the door as I get in and she looks up at me; her eyes are red and swollen, and there are tears streaming down her face. And she still manages to look as beautiful as ever.
“You okay?” I ask, sitting next to her. Of course she’s not fucking okay, but what else can I say? Using the back of her hand, she wipes away the tears and takes a deep breath, running her tongue over her lips.
“I’m better,” she whispers, placing her hand over mine, “now that you’re here.” She squeezes my hand slightly and I squeeze back, looking at her. My eyes are drawn to her cleavage, and I have to make a fucking herculean effort to not stare at her tits. And, let me tell you, that’s almost fucking impossible to do.
“I’m right here,” I say, the air around us feeling electric. Fuck, this is wrong. So fucking wrong.
“You are,” she whispers again, laying her other hand on top of my knee. My heart kicks against my ribcage as I feel her touch, and boiling blood starts to flow toward my cock. If I get hard right now, it’s going to be fucking hard—don’t laugh, I’m being fucking serious—to hide it from her.
I start to feel a pull, and the moment I realize what I’m doing, I’m leaning toward her. Her lips are slightly parted, begging for me to press my mouth against hers, but I stop before I kiss her. There are just a few inches between us, and I can feel her hard breathing, her chest rising and falling at an urgent pace.
Fuck, I need to stop. I can’t do this. I fucking can’t.
Oh, fuck.
I close my eyes and crush my mouth against hers. I place one hand behind her neck and run my fingers through her hair, grabbing it. With my heart pounding like a motherfucker, I yank on her hair, forcing her to throw her head back. She gasps, the sound of it almost like a moan, and I fucking lose it.
I start kissing down her neck, and I take one hand to her waist. The warmness of her body on mine drives me utterly and completely mad, and my cock goes from twitching to being as hard as a steel rod in just a second. I don’t think I have ever wanted someone this fucking much in my entire life. And I’ve been with some women who could give top models a run for their money. But there’s just something about Ashley, something that drives me fucking insane.
I push her down to the mattress and climb on top of her, fitting my body between her legs. Holding her head, I kiss her again, my tongue opening her lips as I slide it inside her mouth. She tastes of strawberries and lust, and she’s even more fucking delicious than what I expected in my wildest dreams. And I’ve had some pretty fucking wild dreams, that’s for sure.
I feel her breasts pressed against my chest, the softness of them poking holes through my rational thought, and my cock almost rips its way out of my pants. As if it had a mind of its own, my hand falls from her waist down to her ass, and I stretch my fingers wide, cupping her ass cheeks. I squeeze them harshly, yanking at her hair again as we kiss. There’s no fucking stopping me now.
I hook my fingers on her pants waistband and I pull it down, baring her ass and feeling its naked skin under my fingertips. Before I can keep going, she suddenly grabs my wrist, curling her delicate fingers around it.
“No,” she pants, her wide eyes looking into mine. I blink, trying to decipher what she has just said. No—she said no. “I’m… I’m married, Parker… Despite everything, I can’t cheat. I just can’t do that.” I stare at her, completely dumbfounded. With her eyes swimming in sorrow, she breaks free from me and rolls to the side, sitting up on the bed.
“Ashley…” I start, but fall back into a sullen silence as I realize I have no fucking idea of what to say.
“I’m sorry,” she finally says, pursing her lips and looking down at the floor. She goes up to her feet, and turning on her heel, bolts out of the door before I can even process what the fuck just happened.
Fuck.
8
Ashley
JD Edwards has his offices on 52nd and Park Avenue so it’s really not much of a walk. In fact, I pass it off as going for a run. Except instead of making my way to the park, I went south down Park Avenue for eighteen blocks.
But now, looking at all the women walking around in pantsuits and professional attire, I’m a little embarrassed that I’m sitting in yoga pants and a tank top. Sure, I’m the client, but I can tell I’m getting stares from everyone. Sure, a lot of the stares are of admiration from the men, but it still makes me feel a bit out of place.
“Thanks for coming in today, Ms. Gordon,” JD Edwards says addressing me by my maiden name as he walks into his office and closes his door. “I trust you’re well? Did they offer you coffee? Water?”
They did and I had declined, wanting only to get inside JD’s office and hide from the hustle and bustle of the busy law firm.
I’d gotten a call from Mr. Edwards last night. Since I really don’t have much to do around the house but stare at Parker and get myself all worked up, I figured why not just come today.
“I see we’re going the casual route today?” JD says with a smile, leaning back in his chair. I can tell he’s looking at my breasts. Yes, they’re large, and the sports bra tries to give them support, but men still ogle.
“Is there a reason you asked me to come down here, Mr. Edwards?” I ask, desperately not trying to roll my eyes. I know this man is Percy’s attorney. He's probably just as bad a human being as Percy.
Mr. Edwards looks at me for one more second, and then his smile falters. He gives a deep sigh.
“Ms. Gordon, first off, I want you to know that I’ve worked with Percy Kane for many years now, even before he became CEO of Lowell and Company,” JD begins.
I nod. I knew this much. That’s quite some time ago—almost 22 years. I remember my Dad telling me as I was packing to be careful of my new husband. How Percy Kane most likely drove his own wife to die from a broken heart and somehow conned her out of her family’s company.
JD Edwards continues. “In all that time, I’ve at times questioned the ethics of Mr. Kane, but I’ve never openly allowed myself to dislike him,” he says and draws a deep breath. “Until that day a month ago when your father was forced to sell you over like a piece of furniture to him.”
I take a breath. Of course, it makes sense that JD Edwards was there. He must have been the one in charge of putting the paperwork together.
“I tried to get over it, Ms. Gordon, but I couldn’t. What happened was just wrong,” he says and looks at me, and I can see anguish in his eyes. “I’m not saying that I’m a saint, Ms. Gordon. I’ve done and been party to some things that will make you shiver. But this? This crossed a line that even I can’t accept.”
I’m silent as the elderly lawyer gets up from his chair.
“I need to ensure that I’m not violating any attorney-client confidentiality, but I’ve checked and I think that it’s safe for me to advise you in my own capacity without the knowledge of the rest of my fellow partners,” JD says as he walks around his desk and comes to where I’m sitting. “And there’s something I’ve looked into and need to tell you.”
I lean forward. Is there anything that can help Daddy?
“I’ve done some research and I believe that if you were forced to enter into a contract under duress, then that contract is nullified,” he says to me, sitting down on the chair next to me. “And that marriage of yours is based purely on a contract. There was no ceremony and I’m betting it wasn’t consummated?”
I blush at his question, but after a moment I shake
my head. Percy hasn't touched me. Once. He’s made me watch him in the process of fucking other women. But he hasn’t shown any inclination to want me. Sex to him is a weapon used to torture me.
“Then you have all the hallmarks of a nonexistent marriage, Ms. Gordon,” JD says with a smile. “I had a feeling, and that’s why I keep using your maiden name.”
I can’t help but smile. If I’m not really married to Percy…if the courts would throw out my marriage…then that means…
“Parker…” I say out loud.
“I can see what you’re thinking Ms. Gordon, and yes, Parker,” JD says and I look up hopefully and yet with a little bit of worry. Does he know how wet I just got thinking that I can most likely be with Parker without cheating on my marriage. “Unfortunately, I can only help you to a certain extent. If you’re thinking of actually fulfilling the terms of the old Lowell & Company bylaws that the prenup is based on to install Parker as the CEO, you’re going to have to go to Switzerland where the original documents are stored.”
Parker? CEO? I was thinking of sucking his cock. Not installing him as CEO. But wait a second.
Did JD Edwards just spill something inadvertently to me?
“Do you mean that it’s still possible to…” I trail off and JD nods his head.
“If Parker is over 18, the only thing preventing him from exercising that option to fulfill his role and take over from his father who had brought himself in as only an interim leader until a male heir was born is exercising the clause,” JD says.
I can’t believe it. There’s a chance for me to end all this. To be with Parker. To exact vengeance for everything that Percy—my fake husband—has put my Dad through. To be free.