by Kay, Cherry
David’s own goals hadn’t been as hard to achieve. He came from wealth and a long line of successful businessmen. His father made sure he got into the finest schools and after college, he was practically handed the perfect high paying job. After his father passed away, he was left a fortune, which he then invested into a lucrative business. He had easily created a good life for himself. But with success always comes the threat of those who want to take it from you.
Andrea’s face popped into his head. She couldn’t have been more opposite than him. Their lives were so different. From what his research of her revealed, she had been raised by a single mother who worked two jobs to put food on the table and a roof above their heads. David’s mother never lifted a finger in her life. Still to this day, his mother was living a perfect life while being catered to by maids and cooks. He had also learned that Andrea had worked hard to keep her business afloat. She didn’t have the funds to back her fashion company or take it to the next level. Unlike him, she didn’t have capital. He admired her passion and drive. It was a quality that couldn’t be taught.
Pushing thoughts of his contracted wife aside, David dove back into his work, distracting himself with numbers and figures. This was the life he knew, all work and no play. This was what he needed to focus on to get through the next year or so, but even as he turned the pages in front of him, he couldn’t get the image of Andrea’s enchanting body out of his mind. Her skin was like a rich chocolate, sweet and smooth on his warm tongue. Her hazel eyes had a hunger in them that made him want to do anything within his power to feed her appetite. As he thought of her smile, he considered it was the only honest thing in his life.
This was not going to happen, he thought suddenly. He shook her image out of his head and began working again. But what would one day without work hurt? his mind argued. He jumped up from his desk and left the paperwork unfinished for another time. His footsteps were quiet as he made his way to the kitchen. It had been years since he had cooked anything in a kitchen. Even growing up, his parents had staff to cook for them. In college, he made meals with his roommates sometimes. As an adult, he had staff just as his parents had, someone to cook and clean and another to take care of the outside grounds. On the weekends, the staff was off unless he needed them for an occasional party or business meeting at his house.
David fumbled through the cabinets and drawers looking for supplies. Does she like pancakes, eggs, bacon? he wondered, as he scoured his own kitchen. He had no idea what his own wife liked for breakfast. On a whim, he decided to just make any breakfast item he saw. Turning on the stove, he threw a couple pans on top and took his chance at a gourmet meal to suit the woman upstairs.
Doing something he’d never done before, he began cooking for a woman, one that he feared he might actually care about. He knew caring about his wife was absurd, yet he cracked an egg into the pan and tried his best to fry it just right, fearing he might disappoint the sleeping beauty on the next floor.
*
Panic struck Andrea as she jumped out of her bed from the loud piercing alarm ringing through the halls of the mansion. She grabbed her robe and ran out of her room and down the stairs. The smell of smoke hit her as she reached the first floor. As she ran into the kitchen, she found the source of the smoke. David was in front of the stove attempting to fan the smoke away from the fire alarms. After a minute of blowing the smoke out of the kitchen and through the open French doors that led to the outdoor patio, the alarms stopped and silence filled the air.
Andrea looked over the burnt food in the kitchen. The pans were charred and unrecognizable food littered the counters. She turned to David. He stood with his hands in the air like a cute and pitiful puppy that had just chewed up a slipper.
“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed.”
“Well, you surprised me alright.” She laughed.
David stood still for a moment, before finally joining in and laughing with her.
“You don’t cook much do you?” she asked as she poked a blackened pancake.
“No, never, but I wanted to, for you.” His blue eyes looked around the room instead avoiding her eyes.
“I guess we need to go out for breakfast.” Andrea touched his hand. “But I appreciate you trying.”
David blushed for a second before gaining his full composure again.
“Let’s get dressed and go out to eat.” He smiled at her, the blue of his eyes like a blue sky during a rainstorm; they were pretty with a hint of danger ahead.
“We should clean up this mess first.” Andrea turned to the dirty counters and stove.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have someone get to it.”
“David!” She threw a towel at him. “We’re perfectly capable of cleaning this up. If you make a mess, it’s your responsibility to clean it up.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He began wiping spilt pancake mix up from the floor.
A half an hour later, the kitchen was clean but the smell of smoke still haunted the halls.
Andrea had thrown on a casual dress that she had made from a sweet pink material. She slipped a pair of sandals on and quickly curled her brown shoulder length hair in twirls. After a little makeup and a spray of her favorite perfume, she was on her way down the hall to meet David.
If she hadn’t known better, she might have mistaken this for a real date. At least, that’s what it felt like when she primped herself in front of the mirror. She wanted to look good for him. She hoped to impress her new husband. But, this was a business arrangement, not a marriage made from love. This man had plans that didn’t include a happily ever after between the two of them. Yet, as she saw him watch her come down the stairs, she thought she might have seen something more in his eyes. Maybe a flash of a chance, a shade of hope in his eyes, but just as quickly as it came, the look disappeared and he turned to open the door.
“The limo is waiting for us.”
“That limo is dangerous.” Andrea joked. “It causes people to make wild and risky decisions.” She winked at him as she climbed into the backseat.
“Then maybe I should always drive you in it.” He sat down far away from her as though last night hadn’t happened.
They were back to being strangers who barely talked, with only the occasional small sexual innuendos here and there. It was odd. Andrea wanted to reach for him, but she fought the urge, telling herself she needed to focus on the contract and ignore his gorgeous blue eyes and firm hard abs.
The car ride was silent as they pulled up to the restaurant and stopped, Andrea looked at David for some sign of emotion, but she received none. He was the hardest man to read. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind.
“After you.” David motioned for her to exit the limo.
Andrea stepped out of the car and looked up at the sky. The clouds were dark and threatening a rainstorm. She ignored the clouds and headed into the restaurant with David close behind her.
“Hello, Mr. Lewis.” A pretty young blonde host greeted them. “How many this morning?”
“Just two.”
“Follow me.” The blonde woman led them to a table nearby. “Have a nice breakfast.”
Andrea watched closely as the woman touched David’s shoulder before leaving their table.
“Friend of yours?” she asked David, a streak of jealousy shooting through her, surprising her in the process.
“I come here a lot.” He lifted the menu up so that she could no longer see his face.
“Perhaps if you want people to believe you’re married, you might want to wear your wedding ring.” Andrea lifted her own menu up to cover the view of his bare finger from her view.
She wasn’t sure why it bothered her at all, he wasn’t her real husband. The ring didn’t mean anything but for some reason it mattered to her.
“You’re right,” he said as he lowered his menu. “I’ll wear the ring.”
“It’s your marriage. I mean you’ve created this. If wearing a ring is not part of your illus
ion, just ignore me. If having flings with blondes is in the cards, that’s your gamble.”
“Are you jealous?” David asked.
“No. No, you don’t owe me any commitments.” She hid behind the menu and from his view.
“You are jealous.” He pulled her menu down to see her face. His smile was the first thing she saw when she looked across at him. “Look at you, my little wife. You are jealous; I like it.”
Andrea raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to protest but the waiter walked up and took their drink order. David ordered a coffee and water and she ordered a sweet tea. She had almost gotten past the whole jealousy ordeal without embarrassing herself more when David spoke up.
“I’ll wear my ring and there’ll be no flings.” His voice was deep and raspy, warming her body inside.
“If that is what you want.” Andrea looked into his eyes and studied the shades that swam with them.
“It’s what is best for appearances. People would start to question this marriage.”
Of course, for appearances sake, she thought bitterly. It shouldn’t have bothered her but it did. She was confused why she cared, but she was not in denial that it had mattered to her.
“David!” Two men approached the table. They were both in their late thirties and dressed as nicely as David.
“Tom, Ken. It’s been a while.” David shook their hands firmly.
“Yeah, it has.” Tom looked down at Andrea, waiting for an introduction.
“Guys, this is my wife, Andrea,” David said as he introduced her.
“Your wife? Wow! I had no idea you got married.” Tom shook Andrea’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Ken told her.
“We’re actually newlyweds. We've only been married two weeks,” Andrea told the men.
“Well, congrats,” Tom told them.
“David, how is everything? I heard about that trouble you had.” Ken looked at David.
“It’s fine, anyway, you guys have a good day.” David began to say goodbye to the men.
“Really? Well, I heard it was messy and tangled up in…”
David quickly cut Ken off unexpectedly saying, “We have a busy morning, but get a hold of me soon. You have my number. We can go golfing like old times.”
“Yeah, sure,” Ken said.
“See you guys later,” David said to his friends.
Andrea watched the men walk away from the table and out of the restaurant.
“What was that about?” she asked David. “What trouble was he talking about?”
“Nothing. He’s just an old acquaintance.” David shrugged the conversation off.
Andrea let it go, mainly because it wasn’t her business. David had many things about him she didn’t know about. She had just met him and he didn’t owe her any explanation, but something about the way he stopped his friend from talking bothered her. With her jealousy already shocking her, she pushed her suspicions aside. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into her and why she was losing track of what exactly she had with David, which was simply a contract. That’s what she was, a contracted bride, the sooner she got back on track, the better.
Chapter Five
“So did that breakfast make up for my failed attempt at feeding you earlier?” David finally decided to ask when they were getting close to home.
“Yes, it was delicious,” Andrea said while looking out the window.
She hadn’t looked at him much during breakfast or at all during the limo ride. He hoped he hadn’t upset her or that she hadn’t heard too much from Tom and Ken. Something about her changed though, and he wasn’t sure why he was bothered by her distance.
This was what he needed, since he was having his own problem distancing himself from her and his feelings for her. He tried to look out of his own window but he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. Her long neck looked perfect and her toned legs were shining in the sunlight from the window. He wanted to reach for her and bury his hand between her legs once more. His hands yearned to caress her breast and run his fingers down her smooth thighs.
The car stopped and he pulled his eyes from her. Shaking his head, he told himself to pull it together and focus. He may be married to this woman, but she was not his. She was as free as any other single women, and after the three years, she would be gone.
“I have some work to do,” he told her after they stepped out of the limo and walked towards the front door. “I’m heading up to my study. Thank you for joining me at breakfast.”
“Oh, okay. Well, thank you for inviting me.” Andrea smiled at him and he fought the urge to taste her full lips.
“You’re welcome.” He opened the door and disappeared as quickly as he could to his study and away from his wife.
He was getting caught up in her good looks; he reasoned that that was it. She was extremely beautiful and he had been caught in her striking appearance. No feelings; only sexual desires. David sat down in his leather office chair and stared at the paperwork on his desk. This was the life he knew, his work was his comfort zone. He began working and pushed his thoughts of Andrea from his mind.
A soft knock on his door interrupted his attempt at work.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you,” Andrea said as she peeked her head into his study.
“No, you aren’t interrupting at all. Come on in.” He lied; she was interrupting his attempt to ignore her.
She stepped into his office, her pink dress a perfect shade of lovely as she looked around his office.
“Why don’t you have photographs in your house?” she asked him. “I haven’t seen any.”
“I’ve never really thought about it.” He told her. He supposed that he never had anything worth framing. There weren’t many memories he cherished.
“Maybe if we have a baby, you’ll put a picture up.” Andrea looked at him.
“If?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Well, we have to get pregnant first.” She ran her finger along his mahogany desk as she got closer to him.
“Maybe we should start working on that.” He watched as she walked inches away from him and stopped between his parted legs.
“When would you like to start?” Her eyes locked onto his, saying more than her words could ever say.
David reached for her waist and pulled her close to him. She straddled him in his chair and took his face in her hands. Their lips met, soft but powerful, and he tasted every word she had not spoken. His hands were in a frenzy as he rushed to feel every inch of her under his palms. Her breast were warm and fit perfectly in his grip. He massaged and caressed them as he continued to kiss her passionately. Andrea unbuttoned his pants and held him in her hand. Her soft hands were like fine silk around his erection.
Pulling her dress up and her panties aside, David rubbed between her slit with his fingers and felt her slick sweetness. He inserted one finger and pushed it in and out of her as she stroked him simultaneously. Feeling her ready to take him fully, he removed his finger. Andrea rubbed him across her opening before taking him inside of her.
The gasp that came from her lips was remarkable. David threw his head back and looked at the ceiling as she rode him slowly and delightfully. Grinding into him harder and deeper, Andrea took all of him. He brought his head back down and looked at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and being inside of her was magical. It was as though she could enchant him with her powers of seduction; he was under some spell since he’d met her. Her body was a potion, the taste enough to seduce him for life.
“You are beautiful,” he found himself whispering in her ear. “My beautiful wife.”
She stopped moving her hips for a moment, her hazel eyes haunted by his words, but when he feared she might be scared by his words, she began to move again, empowered by his words. Her hips dug into him, enrapturing him even more. He leaned forward as she pressed into him, uniting his lips with her smooth neck. Kissing and licking her long neck, he felt himself on the edge of his climax. She thrust onto him o
ne last time before he lost himself inside of her. Andrea followed with her own orgasm, and as she shook in his arms he knew the terrifying truth, he had more with his wife than just a contract.
*
It had been a month since Andrea married David. The first two weeks they had barely seen each other, but the weeks after that couldn’t have been more opposite. They’d been having sex non-stop, in every room of the house, in the limo, even outside in the pool. David wanted to have a baby right away and Andrea was happy to try. It was more than just sex too, they were having dinner together every night and David had come home from work during the day a few times to surprise her with roses. Something was happening between them.
Andrea finally had an opportunity to invite her friend Nikki to the house.
“This is where you live?” Nikki walked through the living room and into the extra-large kitchen.
“Yep.” Andrea could still hardly believe it herself. It was like living in paradise.
“Seriously? This is ridiculous.” Nikki ran her hand over the granite counter and walked over to the French doors that led to the patio. “Is that a pool?”
“And a hot tub.” Andrea smiled.
“Who is your husband?” Nikki asked sarcastically.
“That would be me.” David came in from behind them unexpectedly.
Andrea turned to see him shirtless, wearing only his work pants and shoes. He looked incredible with his chiseled chest and rock hard abs.