Chapter 41
Marcus Pov
Marcus heard the sound of something crashing upstairs.
Like glass breaking, it was loud.
He turned immediately. Ended his phone call mid-sentence and ran toward the stairs.
When he reached the hallway, he saw it.
Elara. She was standing in her doorway. Completely naked.
Holy mother of fuck.
This girl was sexy.
He’d seen parts of her before. The fire exit. Her dress hiked up. Skin exposed in flashes. But they’d never been fully naked. Never like this.
Now he was seeing everything.
Her curves. God, her curves. The way her waist dipped in and her hips flared out. Smooth skin everywhere. Legs that went on forever. Toned. Perfect.
And her breasts. Jesus Christ, especially her breasts. Full and round, directly on her chest, they were literally standing. Her nipples were hard from the cold air or maybe from something else. He couldn’t tell. Didn’t care.
He’d give anything right now to walk over there. Grab her. Press her against that doorframe and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.
Imagine having her on his bed. Spread out beneath him. Him kissing down her body. Taking his time. Eating her out while he fingered her simultaneously. Hearing her moan his name. Watching her fall apart.
Marcus swallowed hard like something stuck in his throat that wouldn’t go down.
Focus. Say something Marcus, you dummy say anything.
“Eavesdropping is rude, El.” He finally managed to say.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said quickly. Defensive. “I was just…”
Of course. Of course Elara would deny it. She always just wants to argue.
Did she know how cute she sounded right now? Trying to defend herself while standing there completely naked like it was a normal Tuesday?
He kind of wished all of this wasn’t a contract. Wished he could just walk over and pull her into his arms. Give her a warm hug. Something real instead of this performance they were both putting on.
But then again, he was supposed to be the nonchalant billionaire. Cold, unaffected and in control.
14:43 Mon, May 11
Chapter 11
So it was fine. This was fine.
Elara bent down to pick up her towel.
Marcus kind of wished she hadn’t. Kind of wished she’d just stayed standing there so he could keep looking. Or better yet, kind of wished he could walk up behind her while she was bent over like that and just slide inside her. Take her from behind right there in the hallway and fuck her.
Fuck.
Marcus, stop this. What’s wrong with you? This is lust, this is wrong.
This is Elara. Your assistant. The woman you signed a contract with. Stop thinking about her like this.
He forced himself to speak. To dismiss the thoughts before they consumed him completely.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Good. Get dressed and come down for dinner.”
Then he turned and left before he could do something stupid. Like stay. Like touch her. Like ruin everything they’d carefully constructed.
Elara took almost another thirty minutes or more to come downstairs.
When she finally appeared in the dining room, Marcus nearly dropped his wine glass.
A cream coloured sundress. Long and flowy.
Sundress was his weak point, no one really knows except Dante, there’s something women in sundress does to his body down below.
But Elara must do this on purpose. Must oil her chest and breasts before coming down because they were practically glowing. The V-neck dipped low. Her nipples visible through the fabric. Hard. Pointing directly at him like it was calling him to come.
He gestured to the chair across from him. Didn’t trust his voice to stay steady if he actually spoke.
She sat down. Smoothed her dress. Smiled politely like she hadn’t just walked in looking like every fantasy he’d ever had.
The chef brought out their food. Fish. Vegetables. Wine already poured.
Marcus picked up his fork and tried to focus on eating. On the conversation. On literally anything except the way Elara’s lips wrapped around her fork. The way she licked a drop of sauce from the corner of her mouth. The way her chest rose and fell with each breath.
“We’re here for five days,” he said. Trying to sound normal. Professional.
“Five days?”
“Yes. The wedding is tomorrow.”
Chapter 41
They talked about the schedule. The plans. The photographer.
But Marcus wasn’t really listening to his own words. He was watching her. The way the candlelight caught in her eyes. The way she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The way she smiled when she thought he wasn’t looking.
She asked if he was nervous about tomorrow.
No. He wasn’t nervous about the wedding. That was just paperwork. Legal documents that secured his inheritance and kept Penelope from taking everything his grandfather had built.
But was he nervous about what came after? About living with her for two years while pretending this didn’t affect him? About keeping his hands to himself when every instinct he had was screaming at him to touch her, turn her around and fuck her.
Yeah. Maybe a little.
“No,” he lied. “Are you?”
“No.”
The chef cleared their plates. Brought dessert. Chocolate mousse that Elara ate slowly. Too slowly. Each spoonful deliberate. Her tongue catching the chocolate from her lips.
Marcus drained his wine glass. Poured another. Tried not to watch her mouth.
By the time they finished, it was almost ten.
“I’m going to bed,” Elara said. Standing up. The dress shifting around her legs.
“Goodnight, El.
“Goodnight.”
She walked away. Up the stairs. Down the hallway to her room.
Marcus sat alone at the table. Staring at the empty chair across from him. At the wine glass she’d left untouched. This babe still didn’t drink her wine, he’d have to find out what was wrong when they got back to new york.
The candlelight was still flickering even though dinner was over.
He was so screwed.
Two years of this. Two years of living with her. Touching her in public. Kissing her for the cameras. All while pretending it didn’t mean anything. All while keeping the contract clean and professional.
“He’d thought he could handle it. He thought he was disciplined and controlled enough.
But that was before he’d seen her naked in that hallway. Before she’d walked into dinner in that dress. Before the charity gala itself where they kissed passionately. Before he’d spent an hour watching her eat and smile and exist in his space like she belonged there.
Marcus finished his wine. Stood up. His dick was up, he put his hand in his trousers to straighten it and
Mor
ay
Chapter 41
walked to his own bedroom on the opposite side of the house.
He needed distance and space. Needed to remember why he was doing this.
The company, inheritance, defeatingPenelope.
Not because he wanted Elara. Not because seeing her made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years. Not because he liked the idea of her being his wife for real instead of just on paper.
Just business. That’s all this was.
He repeated it to himself as he got ready for bed.
Just business.
Nothing more.
AD
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