Authors: Faye Avalon
“Hell, Lissa.” The statement came out on a breathy plea. “What the fuck
are you trying to do to me?”
Since she had her mouth full, she didn’t respond. Anyway, she assumed
the question rhetorical.
She continued to work his cock until he grabbed her hair and drew her
away none too gently. As she had earlier, he shifted until their positions were
reversed. After he’d scrambled for his trouser pocket and sheathed himself, he
pushed her thighs apart and drove himself inside her.
Later, they made it to the bed again and Lissa lost count of how many
times he made her come that night. When the light started filtering through the
flimsy gauze curtains, Reed shifted onto his side and looked down at her. “What
if I threw in hot sex whenever you wanted it?”
She smiled. Although part of her wanted to drift into sleep, she also
wanted to stay awake as Reed’s hand was currently between her legs and he was
doing amazing things to her overworked pussy. Only the tip of his finger was
inside her, but he’d found her clit and was rubbing it oh so slowly in
excruciatingly tiny circles.
Her whole body ached deliciously and she marveled that he’d failed to
leave even one centimeter untended or appreciated.
“Lissa?”
“Hmm?”
“Hot sex. On tap.”
She smiled sleepily, shifting her hips a little as the sensation to her
clit intensified. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll have it written into the contract.”
That got her eyes open. “What contract?” Since his hand never stilled,
Lissa had to really focus.
“Our business arrangement. The marriage contract.”
She blinked furiously, and scrambled up onto her elbows. “I didn’t agree
to that.”
“You said, yes please.”
“I was referring to the sex. I thought you meant—” She wrapped her
fingers around his wrist and pulled his hand away from between her legs. “Stop
doing that.”
He grinned, slow and sexy. “That’s the first time I’ve heard those words
from your lips tonight.”
Well, she couldn’t deny it, but right now she needed her wits about her.
“You can’t possibly think I can agree to what you’re offering.”
“Beats me how you can’t. I’m offering to pay off your debts, back your
new business, and give you blow-the-doors-off sex in the bargain. Seeing as
we’re having sensational sex anyway, we might as well both get what we want
from this. Where’s the problem?”
Right there
, Lissa thought as her head began to
spin. Because that was what it was to him. A bargain. A contract. A business
deal. Okay, she hadn’t exactly ever expected to be swept off her feet, whisked
to the altar for her very own happy ever after, but still. Every woman wanted a
little romance, didn’t they? Expect that the man she married was in love with
her?
Except she wasn’t exactly in a position to put romance or love at the
top of her to-do list right then, either. Reed was offering her the chance to
start again. Wipe the slate clean.
She would be able to keep the house. The house that had been in her
family for over a hundred years and was her beloved aunt’s inheritance. The
house that had been Lissa’s home for most of her life. The house that had been
mortgaged to help finance Lissa’s failed business and was now in danger of
being repossessed because Lissa had been an idiot.
As she thought of the woman who had raised her after her own parents
died, Lissa knew that she had to grasp any opportunity to keep from losing the house
and along with it the risk of breaking her aunt’s heart.
She sat up and crossed her legs. “How would you see it working?”
Lazily, he stroked a finger along her thigh. “You’d sign a contract to
say you’ll agree to stay married to me for a couple of months. In return, I’ll
sign a contract to say I’ll settle your debts and assist you to start up on
your own. I’ll throw in some business advice and, of course, the hot sex.”
He grinned, but Lissa couldn’t return it. She felt a little nauseous.
“It’s bizarre.”
“What part?”
“All of it.” She clasped her hands together. “It makes me feel like a
mercenary, getting married for money.”
“Then think of it as doing me a favor. You’ll be saving me from an awful
fate, helping me escape the clutches of an undesirable woman.”
Lissa wondered if he was simply trying to lighten the gravity of the
situation, or if he really wasn’t taking this whole thing at all seriously.
Then there was the other problem to consider. Once they were married,
wouldn’t Ethan want to meet Mrs. Reed Fitzgerald at some stage?
“Could we keep it a secret? Just between you, me, and the lawyers?”
He shook his head. “Not sure that would be possible. Grapevine around
these parts is healthy and thriving.”
“You could just tell that woman. Show her the marriage certificate.
Wouldn’t that be enough?”
“Maybe.” He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter, princess? Ashamed of
people knowing you’re hooked up with me?”
“It’s not that,” she improvised. “It’s just that when we dissolve the
arrangement, or whatever you call it, I won’t have to answer loads of questions
about what happened between us that we decided to call it a day after so short
a marriage.”
As excuses went, Lissa thought that wasn’t too shabby, and her shoulders
sagged with relief when he nodded.
“Okay.
We’ll keep it quiet.”
For the first time since the conversation had begun, she felt herself
relax a little. “Thanks.”
“It’s settled then.” Reed slipped his hand between her legs again. “I’ll
make arrangements.”
“I haven’t actually said yes, yet.” Although the way the man could
excite her so quickly, it was hard to refuse him anything.
He pushed her back on the bed, levered himself above her, and dropped
his head between her legs. He used his tongue, and pushed two fingers deep
insider her. Soon she felt the orgasm build and build, finally exploding as
Reed continued to work her.
Lying breathless, she watched as he grabbed a condom. She closed her
eyes, listening to his rapid breathing as he rolled on the rubber. Her legs
were already open, but he pushed them wider, hoisted up her hips, and thrust
into her with one powerful stroke.
She screamed his name as, amazingly, she climaxed again.
Seconds later, Reed joined her.
She slipped into sleep and woke to the smell of fresh coffee and the
realization that at some stage during a rather active night, she’d agreed to
marry Reed Fitzgerald.
Chapter Seven
Lissa stared at the slim gold band encrusted with diamonds that wrapped
uneasily around the third finger of her left hand.
Reed’s friend, Jack Holland, acted as witness to their marriage, along
with a nameless clerk who’d been roped in at the last minute to attend the
short civic ceremony. In the ten days that she’d known Reed, Lissa had come to
realise that Jack was the person he trusted most. Despite her reservations,
since Jack had drawn up the contract and knew the truth of their arrangement,
she took a liking to the handsome lawyer. She didn’t feel that he judged her,
or looked down at her for having entered into a marriage that was purely a
mutual arrangement between two people for business purposes. His unspoken
support had made her feel a little better about the whole thing.
Considering its nature, the contract itself had been straightforward.
She appreciated Jack’s patience as he’d talked her through it, and while she
should maybe have had her own lawyer look over the contract, as both Reed and
Jack suggested, she didn’t want anyone else knowing what she had agreed to.
Besides which, the contract was pretty black and white and left little room for
ambiguity. She probably knew it verbatim, having gone through it carefully
several times before signing on the dotted line.
Now, sitting beside Reed as he drove along the coast to a hotel he’d
booked for their wedding night, she toyed with the gold band.
“Still wish I hadn’t given you that?”
She glanced over at Reed. “It’s far too opulent for a sham marriage.”
“Would you have preferred I’d slipped on something from a thrift shop?
Or a candy machine?”
“Don’t be funny. You know what I mean.”
“The marriage itself may be a sham, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show
my appreciation for what you’ve done for me.”
“I’m not keeping it.” Lissa slipped the ring to her knuckle and back
again. “As soon as we’re divorced you can have it back.”
He shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
“And why on earth you’ve booked a hotel for the night is beyond me.”
As he coasted along the road, Reed took one hand from the steering wheel
and placed it on his thigh. “I wanted to mark the occasion.”
“It’s too much.” Distracted by his long, adept fingers resting on his
powerful thigh, Lissa clasped her hands loosely in her lap. “And it’s
unnecessary.”
“Lissa,” he said with exaggerated patience. “We’ve had sex at my place
every night for the past week. Maybe I thought you’d like a change of scenery.”
“In the honeymoon suite at some swanky hotel?”
For which she’d treated herself—and him—to sexy black lingerie she’d
found on offer at a local store. When she purchased it she’d been feeling less
shaky about this whole deal, but as the day approached she’d gotten more and
more nervous. Twice, she’d thought about calling it off. She’d even picked up
the phone to call him on one occasion, but the letter from the nursing home had
stymied her decision and she’d bottled out.
There was no way she could pay the bill due for the next six months of
her aunt’s care, not if she wanted to keep paying the mortgage on their house.
The Victorian terraced property had been in the family for over a hundred
years. Her aunt had grown up there. Even though she couldn’t remember things
that happened yesterday, her aunt could still recall memories of her childhood
in that home. There was no way Lissa was going to take that away from her if
she could help it.
Marrying Reed was the only solution. If he cleared all her other debts,
she could afford to continue paying off the mortgage on her aunt’s house, and
if she was careful, she would also be able to cover the nursing home fees as
they came due in the future.
She hadn’t told Reed about her aunt, the mortgage, or the nursing home
bills. She didn’t want that part of her life sullied by what she was currently
doing. Besides which, the mortgage and the nursing home bills were her
responsibility.
She would need to ensure that she slipped off the ring when she visited
her aunt. If the sweetheart was enjoying one of her lucid moments, her sharp
eyes would latch onto that in an instant.
She jumped as Reed reached out and covered her clasped hands. “Try and
relax. You might find you enjoy the evening.”
“I am relaxed.” She didn’t look at him, but kept her gaze straight
ahead. “I’m just not comfortable with these grand gestures. A business
arrangement, remember?”
“No reason we can’t enjoy ourselves along the way.”
A few more miles and Reed turned up a private road. At the top of the
road, slightly elevated with what she imagined would be glorious views of the
sea, stood a huge Edwardian villa.
Edged with an array of shrubs and flowering plants, the graveled
circular driveway provided an impressive entrance to the property. Welcoming
lights twinkled along the drive and glowed inside the villa. Since she didn’t
see one unlit window, Lissa imagined it was likely full of guests.
When they pulled up outside the elegant porch, a uniformed doorman
sprung from nowhere.
“Good evening, sir. Madam.” He stepped forward, tilting his head in
deference. “May I take your keys, sir? I’ll arrange to have your vehicle parked
while you check in.”
The man dipped his head again as Reed gave him the keys and what Lissa
imagined was a healthy tip.
With his hand at the small of her back, Reed ushered her up the three
steps to the porch and through into the reception area. She’d expected it to be
larger, but it was a small square room with a desk behind which an elegant
woman sat, beaming a smile.
As the doorman had done, she welcomed them both and went through the
formalities of check-in. She took a key from the drawer beside her and another
woman stepped up beside them. “Rebecca will show you to your suite. I hope you
enjoy your stay.”
Heavy damask wallpaper lined the walls of a huge hallway where classical
marble statues of naked women and entwined couples adorned the space. The woman
motioned them into a lift, the old fashioned kind with ornate wrought iron
doors and mirrored walls.
They traveled to the second floor and stepped out into a long narrow
hallway with the same damask wallpaper and yet more amorous statues. The whole
place had a sumptuous, almost sinful feel and Lissa thought if she was going to
spend her wedding night in a hotel, it might as well be one like this with its
vaguely erotic atmosphere and heady opulence.