He stood in the doorway facing the hall, not looking at me. "That can’t happen, Reyna." Then he was gone.
CHAPTERNINE
James
I’d never wanted to fuck someone so badly in my life. As I stood in the shower with my head under the faucet and my cum sprayed over the tile after rubbing my hard-on out, I wondered how I was going to make it an entire year without touching her. I hadn't been able to go one day without putting my hands on her. Without tasting her lips. Good Christ, she tasted good. Sweet, with a hint of something spicy. Something I wanted to spend more time discovering. But my marriage to Reyna wasn't about passion. It was about business, and I couldn't forget that.
Tomorrow, when I was settled and not waging war against myself, I'd explain it to her again calmly and hopefully, in a way that didn't hurt her feelings like I suspect I had just then. Then I had to hope that she would respect my feelings because it was clear to me that she was going to have to be the one to prevent anything from happening between us.
I'd always thought I had tremendous willpower, but it broke tonight. It had taken every bit of my strength to wrangle it back in and walk away from her. The memory of her tits poking against my chest returned. God, how I wanted to touch and suck her tits. I knew she was wet for me because the scent of her sex filled the air. I wanted more than anything to go down on her, licking and sucking her sweet pussy until she cried out. But all that would have to remain a fantasy. I couldn't afford for anything to derail my objective, which was to wrangle control of the company from, and quite possibly replace, members of the board.
After a sleepless night filled with dreams of Reyna, I woke early to set our marriage in motion. I called my lawyer, getting him out of bed and demanding a prenup that included the stipulations Reyna had agreed to, including the allowance during the marriage and the five million after the marriage. I even included a clause that prorated the amount if the marriage didn’t last but made it at least six months. My lawyer hemmed and hawed and tried to give advice, but with a terse “Just get it done, I’ll be there in a couple of hours,” I hung up.
Next on my list, I called Randall Montgomery, who owned the premier jewelry store in Las Vegas. I hadn't woken him up, but he wasn't at work and wasn't happy to get my call until I told him I needed rings ASAP. I'd already selected the bands and an engagement ring that I thought would be suitable for a fake marriage that was supposed to exude love and devotion from the website. I added on extra money to have him deliver them to me at home. He agreed to have them to me within the hour.
I was about to get into the shower when my phone rang with Amelia's ringtone.
"Happy day after Christmas, or should I say happy wedding day?" She was way too perky for morning, but she'd been that way ever since Max had come into her life.
"Good morning."
"I want to let you know that I've got all the plans together to get you two hitched today. Be here at half past twelve because the ceremony is at one. You need to stay until three or so, and then after that, you guys can go have your fake honeymoon or whatever else you're going to do."
As crazy as all this was, I was grateful that she was helping with the ceremony. If I were in charge, we’d go to one of many chapels, even though Amelia was right in that a quickie marriage from there would be suspicious.
"We'll be there."
"You did get her a ring, didn't you? "
"It's on its way. Along with a prenup, and then later, we're going to go to the clerk's office to get the license."
"Be here at twelve thirty. Don't forget."
"Why would I forget? It's my own fucking wedding."
"And when you come, try to at least pretend you're happy. You sound like a dead man walking."
I rolled my shoulders because the last thing I wanted was to behave the way I had last night. It had been rude and insensitive, and I needed to do better, or else Reyna could back out of this arrangement or decide to leave it early.
I showered, putting on slacks and a white shirt appropriate for getting married. I left the tie and coat for later.
I headed to the kitchen and brewed a carafe of coffee and looked into the fridge, trying to decide whether I should make a special breakfast for us. At the very least, I needed to be more hospitable to Reyna.
"Good morning."
I pulled my head from the refrigerator. Reyna stood in the entryway of the kitchen wearing a pair of pale green knit shorts and a white T-shirt. Her long, dark hair was tied up in a messy knot on top of her head.
I nearly swallowed my tongue. How did someone who just rolled out of bed look so fucking sexy? Maybe it was because she looked like she had just been thoroughly fucked with her rosy cheeks and messed up hair.
“Good morning." I cleared my throat because I had sounded gruff. "I was getting ready to make some breakfast. How about a vegetable omelet?"
She nodded. "It sounds delicious. But you don't have to cook for me. I know we’re fake married, pretending to be a family, but in reality, we're roommates, right?"
I nodded. The practical part of me liked her description of our situation. Roommates. But deep in my belly, there was a niggle of something that didn't sit right. "I'm making one for myself, so I might as well make one for you too."
"Well then, I won't say no to that."
"Can I get you some coffee?"