"It wasn't depressing," I said. "It was emotionally difficult." That sounded better, right?
"And it was getting sexy, I see." Grinning, he leaned in further, reading the last few lines I'd written. "Maybe I can help you remember more?"
I rolled my eyes and reached up, playfully slapping him across the cheek. "Asher, really now? We're both supposed to be working. We can't just..."
My words trailed off. We were in Landseer Tower, the corporate office building that provided a home base for Landseer Enterprises day to day affairs. They'd used a line like that in the tabloids, too, I remembered.
Landseer Tower is home to more than just the day to day affairs of Landseer Enterprises. Asher Landseer, himself, has been overseeing an affair of his own in his corporate building with the as yet unknown Jessika Fevrier.
Granted, I was Jessika Landseer now. We were married, afterall. And "as yet unknown" meant that my status in life was notably less important than anyone else they could think to highlight. Before meeting Asher, I really wasn't much of anything. A temp worker at a day job agency, useless English degree, debt as far as I could see, a tiny apartment, and not much else. To be honest, I didn't even feel much different right now. I still had my useless English degree, though my debt and tiny apartment had vanished, but what else did I have to show?
I had Asher, and I loved him, but...
Asher pulled away from me and found a chair in my office, then brought it over and sat down alongside me. "What's the matter?" he asked. "You've been distant lately. Is something wrong?"
Was something wrong? The thought made me want to laugh. Yes, something was wrong.
"It's calmed down a lot. It's been over a year, Jessika. You shouldn't worry about what other people say," he said.
"Asher, people were calling me a homewrecker. And slutty. And I'm sure there were plenty more happy phrases they used to describe it all."
"I'm not saying they didn't say those things," he said. "I'm just saying that—"
I interrupted him. I didn't care what he thought, but he was wrong. Or, I mean, I did care, but he was still wrong. "I distinctly remember the comments one woman left on one of the articles I read." I cleared my throat and took up the tone of a shocked news reader. "No matter how shitty the marriage is and how awful Beatrice treated Asher, you should never cheat! Jessika! Home wrecker!" I followed with my best attempt at speaking aloud the word "uuuggghhhh," but I didn't think I did it as much justice as the original commenter would have wanted.
Asher just grinned. He sat beside me, smiling like a huge jerk, on the verge of laughing.
"It's not funny," I whined.
"It's kind of funny," he said. "Remember when you stayed in my guest house and threw tissues on the floor. You pulled the bookmarks out of some of my books, too, and left your towel in the corner of the bathroom. Oh, I remember you mentioning you masturbated in my bathtub, too. Did I forget anything else?"
I blushed and mumbled, turning my head away from him. "So you're calling me a homewrecker, too, are you? Literally?"
He shrugged, nonchalant.
"Asher, I know you think it's funny or something, and you laugh it off, but no one's ever called me things like that before. It's not like it was just one time, either. It went on for months." I... I didn't want to talk about this, though. It wasn't even just this one thing, but everything. I had more worries now, more regrets and anxiety and maybe I was just worrying over nothing? Asher said as much, but I didn't know how to deal with it yet.
"I'll do anything to make you happy," he said, smiling softly now. "You know that, don't you? It doesn't matter what happens or what others think, I still want to be with you."
I nodded. I nodded and remembered one of the more recent attempts at bashing me. "Even if I can't give you a child?"
He blinked. I doubted he'd expected that, but the rumors were going around, and those were some of the ones that hurt the most.
"We still have plenty of time. It's not like there's a rush," he said.
"I suppose." Yes, we were still young enough, but... "The whole reason we met in the first place and continued to see each other was because I was supposed to be an egg donor and surrogate mother for Beatrice," I said as a point of fact. "We've been trying for nearly a year now, Asher, and I'm not pregnant. What if there's something wrong with me? What if...?"
"There's nothing wrong with you," he said. Scooting the chair forward, he took my hands in his. "We weren't doing anything special to make it happen, right? But we've been trying harder these past few months, working around our schedules, and doing everything we can, so it'll happen. It doesn't matter when it happens, but it'll happen."
And if it didn't? I'd read some trashy article theorizing that I'd get dumped by Asher just like he'd left Beatrice. Once we talked about bringing in an egg donor and surrogate, he'd start an affair behind my back. Once a cheater, always a cheater. That's what they said. I didn't know if I believed it or not, but the idea still hurt to think about. That people didn't understand, that they didn't care about connections and love and hope and passion. I didn't even hate Beatrice, though it was hard to like her, but even she agreed that she'd never bothered to try and love Asher.
"Tonight," Asher said, interrupting my thoughts. "We've got to start again tonight, don't we? Today's the day."
I sighed and squeezed his hands. "Tonight could be the night, but tomorrow's more likely."
"I've been waiting, though. You aren't going to make me keep waiting, are you?" he asked with a smirk.
"How long have you been waiting? A whole day? It's not as if we don't have sex, Mr. Landseer. Often, too."
"Oh? Mr. Landseer? Is that how it is now?" He snuck in close and kissed me quick. "I think we should both take a few days off, though. Just to be sure. Spend it in bed, relaxing, no stress. Stress doesn't help, so I think if we do that, it'll increase our chances."
"You want to just stay home and have sex as much as possible for four days?" I asked, eyes wide, laughing. "I think maybe that's taking ovulation cycle preparation to the extreme. Not to mention I have no idea if you can even replenish your little swimmers fast enough to make it worth it."
"Little swimmers?" Asher said, snickering. "Did you really just say that?"
"What do you want me to call it? Your sperm? Seed? Cum?"
"Can you say that last one again? Maybe a little sexier?"
"You want to cum inside of me as much as you can over the next four days and impregnate me with your seed, Asher?"
"I'll cum inside of you right here and now if you keep it up. Just toss you across the desk, hike up your skirt, pull your pantyhose down, and spank you right before I—"
Someone stood in my office doorway, mouth agape. They were probably walking by at the time, nothing doing, but upon seeing us sitting there so closely, Asher not even trying to hide what he was saying to me, well... they weren't walking past us now. I saw them out of the corner of my eye and turned to look. Asher noticed me looking and glanced their way, too.
It wasn't anyone I recognized. An ordinary woman, pretty in her own way, with her hair done up in a bun and wearing casual corporate attire. A nice skirt, a blouse, heels. Regular, like me, except for the fact that I had some rich and powerful CEO sitting next to me, telling me how he was going to fill my womb with his child.
Asher went from playful and fun to serious and stern all at once. "Did you need something?" he asked.
"N-no, sir," the woman said. "S-sorry, Mr. Landseer. Mrs. Landseer. I... I didn't mean to interrupt you."
I smiled and shook my head. "No, it's fine. We shouldn't have been so loud. I apologize."
The woman attempted to stammer out a response, but nothing she said made much sense at the moment. Instead of trying more, she waved her hand around and pointed and then she left.
"I should have closed the door," Asher said.
'I think if you had closed the door, I'd be tossed across the desk with my skirt hiked up, pantyhose pulled down, and spanked
right about now, so maybe it's best that you didn't." I grinned.
"Tonight, though, right?" he asked. His eyes glimmered with the most charming hope and excitement I'd ever seen. I loved seeing Asher get so excited. It was infectious.
"Hm..." I said, pretending to think about it. "I don't know, Asher. It might be better if we waited until tomorrow, don't you think?"
"Jessika, I can't," he said. "I mean, I don't think I can. There's the party to think of, too, and who knows when everyone will leave? It's our party, so it's not like we can just disappear, do our thing, and come back. I want to spend a little more time on it than that, anyways."
"Our party, yes," I said, nodding confirmation.
"I know it's technically in celebration of one of our foreign business agreements closing last week, but I've invited a few extra people."
"Huh?"
"I know our wedding wasn't the most engaging. It was quiet and nice, but I know that's not what you wanted. Even before I read what you wrote just now, I could have guessed. Not a lot of people actually want a quiet wedding. I understand that. So, I thought that maybe tonight could be a wedding party of sorts? I invited your mother and some of your friends. My mother and stepfather will be there, too. I know it's not the same, but I thought we could have a little gathering beforehand and—" He stopped. I must have been looking at him strangely and I belatedly realized my mouth had been open for awhile. I probably looked like that girl who had stopped to stare at us only a moment ago, though for an entirely different reason.
"You planned out a wedding party?" I asked. "We're celebrating something entirely different, but you planned it so that we could have a huge wedding party at the same time?"
"Um, kind of?" he said. "I doubt it'll be as wedding-centric as an actual wedding party. I did hire a catering service to bake a giant cake, but I'm not sure about the usual wedding party games and other events. If you want, we could do a first dance with you and your father? I asked if everyone would be willing to come early so we could do a quick vow renewal ceremony, too. It won't be legitimate and real, just us and our friends and family, but your father wanted to walk you down the aisle."
"Asher..." I nearly choked up, crying. Who was this man and how did I ever come to know him? How could I ever deserve him?
"You don't like it?" he asked; his eyes flashed with panic and pain. "I should have told you earlier. I wanted it to be somewhat of a surprise. I thought we could plan out a real wedding party and arrangement later, but everything happened and this came together, so I thought... I'm stupid, aren't I? To combine a wedding party with a corporate celebration? I'm an idiot. Jessika, I'm sorry. I really am. I wasn't thinking."
"What?" I laughed. Asher rarely acted this way. He always seemed so confident and secure in himself. "Asher, no. No, I love it. I do. I'm so happy. I can't believe you planned all of this. Is it real? Are you being serious?"
He let out a noticeable sigh of relief. "No. Well, yes. Yes, it's serious. It's real, but I do want to plan something with you, too. You've just been so distracted sometimes lately, and I was actually going to keep it a surprise until tonight, but then I saw your story, and I knew I needed to tell you now. I thought I screwed up for a second there."
I bent forward and put my hands on his cheeks, pulling him to me. Pressing my lips to his, I kissed him. We lingered like that, affectionate and loving. I cared for this man so much. I loved him with everything I was. And he loved me, too, didn't he? I never needed to worry. I never needed to doubt him or myself or anything involving the both of us.
I never needed to...
Someone standing in the doorway to my office cleared their throat. "Excuse me," he said. "Am I interrupting?"
~*~
You can find the rest of this story here: His Absolute Arrangement
Sample (Spice)
Please enjoy this sample from Hunted: An Erotic Retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a fairytale re-imagining, by Cerys du Lys
~*~
Michael pulled Danya through the woods behind his family's estate. "Come on, Danya! Hurry, hurry up."
She rolled her eyes and laughed while they rushed through the forest in the dark of night. "Where are we going?"
"It's a place. It's back here. You'll love it."
She had no doubt in her mind that he meant to seduce her. Not only was he drunk from his family's party, but whenever he looked at her he had a hard time staring at anything but her breasts. He stopped now and did just that, his head teetering on his neck as the stink of alcohol from his breath washed over her. He leered at her chest, smirking.
"This can't be it," she said. "This isn't anywhere! It's the middle of the woods."
"Danya," he said, releasing her hand and turning to face her. "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" she asked, acting coy.
"There's rumors, you know, in town? Your father always says it, too. When he's away and your sisters are busy, the days you watch his shop are always the ones he makes the most money."
"I'm good at sales?" she offered.
"Good at sales, or good at fucking in the backroom?"
She slapped him across the face, but not hard, nowhere near enough to hurt. He didn't move away from her. In fact, he moved closer, his eyes looking into hers and his lips inching towards her own. It was, perhaps, the first time he'd looked at her face all night.
"Come on," he said. "I won't tell anyone. Just give me a sample or something? Maybe I'll come by the shop one day when you're watching it and pay for your full services. What do you think?"
She sighed. So, perhaps she'd fucked one of the errand boys in the back of her father's shop. What was she supposed to do? The man needed money or he wouldn't deliver the goods her father had ordered, and her father hadn't left her anything to pay him with. Her father was like that now, ever since he'd lost a majority of his fortune because of a mishap with cargo ships a long time ago; always promising to repay people and pay his bills and this and that, but he never had the money.
And she'd given one man a blowjob when he said he needed extra incentive to purchase one of their exquisite lamps. But he tipped really well and paid at least double what it was worth. Danya pocketed some of the coin and paid their landlady discretely so she would give them a little more time before throwing them out on the street. Her father was perpetually behind on the rent.
Everything else was her own doing, though! Or, more like she didn't do anything sexual to make the money. Maybe she flirted, flaunted her body, gave some of the women tips on how to heat up their sex lives, but that was it. Mostly that was it. She couldn't remember everything now, but she didn't sleep with the customers too often. And when she did she rarely enjoyed it much. It was business, another aspect of it, and if her father couldn't keep their finances in check then she didn't want to suffer for it. This was as good a way to solidify her stability as any, right?
Michael loomed over her, pressing her against the rough bark of a tall pine tree. He put a clumsy hand on one of her breasts, squeezing it through the sheer fabric of her sundress. Pressing close to her, he rubbed his crotch against hers.
All in all, it wasn't very exciting, but what was she going to do? She was a little drunk herself, though not too much, and was stuck in the middle of the woods with him. She'd hoped he wanted to talk to her about something, maybe dreams and how his family could help hers with their troubles. Something nice, possibly romantic, or at least pleasant. Michael did have one of the richest families in Belfast, and his father was known as a considerate gentleman.
Michael, as far as this was going right now, was not as proper as that. He fondled her breast while he searched deeper and lower for something else to occupy his other hand. Right now he had a grasp on the tree behind him, but when he focused through his drunken state she had no doubts he'd find her dress and pull it up and go searching beneath her panties. His mouth latched onto her neck, sucking.
"Michael," she said, trying to sound soft and seductive. "Michael, stop for a moment
."
He stopped with his mouth, but not with his hands. "I want to fuck you so bad, Danya."
"I know, I know, but—"
He grew tired of groping her through her dress and wrenched the top of it down so he could see her bare skin. Her firm, large breasts wobbled and swayed in the open air.
"Fuck, you've got a nice pair," he said. To add to his comment, he pinched one of her nipples.
"Michael, look. I'll give you a handjob, alright? How about that?"
Before she could say more, he had his pants unbuckled and lowered past his knees. His throbbing erection bounced to attention in front of her. Drunk, she thought, but not too drunk to stay hard or want to get laid.
She knelt in front of him and cupped his balls in her hand. He glanced down at her and bent over, grabbing for one of her breasts. If she wanted to stop this she needed to go fast. And, anyways, maybe he'd talk to her afterwards about her family's issues? Maybe this was like negotiations? Not the kind she really wanted, but whatever worked, right?
She spit on her hand, foregoing ladylike etiquette, and grabbed the base of his cock. With one hand she squeezed his balls and with the other she stroked him. Slow at first, to spread her makeshift lubrication, but then she went faster. Michael groaned, barely able to stand. If it weren't for the tree at her back and his hands braced against it for balance, she thought he would have fallen as soon as she first grabbed him.
...
That smell! The smell of rutting beasts! Of animals fucking on the ground with wild abandon without a care in the world. Oh, he knew that smell. He knew it so well it hurt. It always made him... what was the word? He hardly spoke to others now, so sometimes the more difficult words eluded him. Not sick, no. Angry? Not that, either. Upset. Yes, a little. Something more, too, though.
He looked up and saw a sliver of the moon. A guttural howl escaped from his throat and echoed through the thick forest air.
His Absolute Assignment - Elise's Love Story: The Billionaire's Continuum (#1) (A Contemporary Romance Novel) Page 17