CHAPTER TWELVE
Kitty
I’d decided to go shopping. Because shit, there was a deep ache in my pussy that needed to be walked off. That’s right, my lover had done me a heavy last night, and god, it was amazing. The breathless pounding, the intense pump left me shaking, screaming out with pleasure. Even now, I could feel a slight trickle between my legs, last of his male cream dripping out. So yeah, the session had left me sore, and a walk past the stores on the Strip would just the thing.
Yawning, I got up and stretched, luxuriating in the sunlight. There’s a thing in Nevada called one hundred over one hundred, and that means one hundred days of the year, we have temps over a hundred. Today was definitely one of those days, the desert literally baking, and to be safe, I grabbed a frappucino in the way, sipping on a frozen drink while trying to keep cool.
The stores were fantastic, utterly luxurious, the window displays gilded with gold. Shit, this was so different from when I was on my own. Back then, Forever21 and H&M were my only options, if I was lucky. It depended on whether or not their plus-size shipment had come in, otherwise I was stuck with a whole lot of nothing.
And taking a deep breath, I slipped into a designer store. Ahhh, that felt nice! Expensive places blast the A/C so that it’s like a polar wind, and a welcome arctic breeze hit my face and shoulders, making me shiver appreciatively. But I’d forgotten about the help. Because immediately a whip-thin saleslady cornered me, face shiny and tight from too much plastic surgery. I could almost feel the disdain rolling off her in waves because in my t-shirt and cut-offs, I looked more college girl than wife of a hotel magnate. But hey, customer service is trained to be nice to everyone right?
Evidently not. Shooting me an evil stare, the woman literally clacked her red fingernails together, hissing.
“Can I help you?” she said icily. “Can I help you find something other than our free AC?”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. True, I looked a little messy with my hair sticking sweatily to my neck, but that was no way to treat a customer. I could be the Sultana of Oman for crying out loud, there was no reason to be mean.
But I figured the heat had gotten to everyone, so nodding politely, I stepped up to a rack of clothes. Each one was perfectly hung, the hangers exactly two inches apart.
“No thank you, just looking,” I murmured, taking in the selection. Hmm, these were cute, pink dresses with a ruffly hem at the bottom. Gray likes me in feminine stuff, so he’d appreciate seeing me in this.
“Actually,” I turned back to the saleslady quickly. “I was wondering if you could help me find this in a bigger size? I’m not really a four or six.”
The woman stared at me pointedly.
“We don’t carry your size,” she said icily. “Nothing in this store is going to fit you,” she said, waving her hand about.
I goggled at her again. Was I hearing this right? Was this woman being absolutely, completely rude? This was so off the charts that it had to be make-believe.
“I’m sorry,” I said firmly. “I’m just asking for a bigger size. Maybe a sixteen or eighteen? If you could check in back, I’d be so grateful.”
But the woman shot me another freezing look.
“Like I said,” she hissed. “We don’t do clothes for big girls. Girls like you don’t belong in this store.”
And the blood drained from my body, leaving me weak yet frozen in place. Could this really be happening? It was like I was back in high school being taunted by the cool clique, the girls with the perfect straight blonde hair and ski lift nose. Once again, I was Fatty Katty, the pudgy girl with sweaty hands and coke-bottle glasses. My face flushed hotly and I was about to turn and leave, ashamed, when suddenly I realized there was no reason to take this treatment.
“Here,” I said, fumbling in my purse. “Here, let me give you my card so that you know where to charge my purchases.”
My husband’s black AmEx card glinted ominously under the light. And sure enough, there was Gray’s name right there on the front. GRAYSON CHANNING, in block caps, with absolutely no doubt who it could be. He’s a king here on the strip, everyone knows who owns the Milano.
Of course, the woman’s attitude flipped from night to day.
“Oh, and you are …?” she said, gushing and fawning. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you knew Mr. Channing.”
I looked pointedly at her.
“I’m his wife,” I said, enunciating slowly. “We’re married, and I’d like to shop here please. What was your name again?”
The woman mumbled something, stammering over her words while looking at the ground, so I leaned in closer.
“Claire, you said? Great, Claire. I’d like to get this dress in a fourteen, if you don’t mind,” I said speaking slowly. “I’d appreciate it very much.”
The woman scuttled off, my card gripped in her hand, but I wilted once she was gone. That had been so painful. I should have felt powerful and triumphant, showing her up the way I did, but the thing is I just felt sad. These catty games aren’t me, and tiredness and exhaustion overwhelmed my frame then.
So while yeah, I bought a pink dress and wore it out of the store, that was the end of my shopping expedition. I had no more energy to walk the strip, Gray’s card or no. I didn’t want to be a queen, I just wanted to be with him.
But opening the front door slowly, clearly my days were numbered because Gray was on the phone with someone, discussing our divorce. I heard him grunt the words, “fake,” “wife,” and “marriage,” and my heart plummeted all the way to my toes. Oh god, it really was over, the sinking feeling in my stomach seemingly bottomless. Tears pricked my eyes, a lump forming in my throat.
But I couldn’t face him just now. I couldn’t, it’d be too painful. So tiptoeing, I let myself in quietly, hoping to slip upstairs without making a sound, but no such luck. Gray hung up with a clack, and whirled to fix me that piercing blue stare.
“Just give me a minute to go upstairs,” I mumbled, head down. “I know you’re busy.”
Gray didn’t need me. He had his hotel now, and I was just an accessory, something to toss away once the deal was done. I made to scurry away, and vowed to start packing my bags. Why the hell did I buy this dress? It was just one more thing I had no place to wear in my old life.
But the alpha male had words for me.
“Where were you?” he ground out.
I mumbled something incoherent, head down.
“Where were you, kitty cat?” he asked again, deceptively cool. “And why are you wearing that dress? Did you have a date?”
I swung startled brown eyes to look at him before looking down at my purchase. It did look date-like, I admit, the pink material flirty and feminine.
“I didn’t have a date, I just went shopping,” I said slowly. “Why?”
He looked at me speculatively, eyes dangerous.
“You’ve been missing for two hours.”
“I know, but I took myself shopping on the strip.”
“Why didn’t you call my driver?” he interjected smoothly. “You know you can always take a car.”
What was this, twenty questions? Annoyance stirred in my soul, and I straightened my shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.
“I decided to walk, that’s all. Get some fresh air, maybe stroll a little.”
A black eyebrow raised.
“On a day like this?” Gray asked smoothly, blue eyes inscrutable. “It’s fucking a hundred degrees honey, why would anyone walk? Fuck it baby, if you were meeting some other guy, just tell me now. I can take it.”
I gaped at him, dumbstruck.
“Gray, I absolutely wasn’t meeting anyone. Absolutely not. We’re married remember? And if I was, would I be this sweaty? Look, this dress is wilting, I was out walking in the sun.”
This was ridiculous, and I hated the charade. I hated having to defend myself, to tell him where I’d been when I was one hundred percent innocent. Besides, it wasn’t part of the bargain. We weren’t married, not really, so the billionaire needed to butt out.
“Where I was isn’t your business, anyways,” I sniffed, turning away. “I go where I want to, you’re not my boss, Grayson Channing.”
But that set him off because before I even took one step, the big man was on me, that face a mask of anger, blue eyes blazing.
“Don’t you ever talk to me like that,” he rasped hoarsely, dark streaks marking those perfect cheekbones. “Don’t you ever talk like that.”
I shivered at his nearness, breasts quivering, almost touching his chest. But the thing is I had nothing to live for anymore, so I threw everything to the wind.
“We’re not really married,” I retorted sassily. “So you can stop now. We’re gonna be divorced soon anyways, so why keep up the charade? Why keep going the way we have?”
And suddenly I was face down over the big man’s knee, gasping, the air gone out of my lungs.
“Gray!” I cried out, but it was too late. That pink dress was flipped over my waist, matching pink panties pulled down my ass cheeks and a big hand flew down with a loud smack.
“Ahhhh!” I cried out, arching my back. “Ahhhh!”
But the man was so furious, he didn’t even hesitate. Another smack came, and then another, so many that they rained on me, my ass burning as my pussy wept. Because oh god, he’d pushed my panties aside, and between each smack, the alpha pinched my clit, making me shudder.
“Ohhh!” I cried out again, writhing uncontrollably. God, my breasts were smashed against his legs and I was gonna come so hard, even as he humiliated me. “Unnnh!”
And it happened then. Everything rolled so fast that I couldn’t control it, the heady sensations in my puss, the stinging in my butt. And of course, the excitement, always the excitement of being with Grayson Channing. Even though I hated him in my mind, my body’s still his and everything fell apart. Spasms wracked my cunt in a typhoon, each hit on my butt enhancing the flames, each pinch of my clit shoving me over the cliff.
“Unnnh, unnnh!” I cried out, almost screaming now. And then, I did it. I dug my own grave.
“Gray, I love you!” I shrieked in the middle of a particularly violent spasm, juices gushing. “Oh god, Gray!”
Oh no, what had I done? Why did I blurt out my innermost secret? Why did I lose it, now, so close to the end? All I had to do was wait for the divorce papers, the hotel was already his. So why did I have to give this man control over me? He didn’t need it. He didn’t need me anymore, I was just leftover goods.
But evidently, Gray loved the words because he fucked his fingers into me then.
“Ahhh!” I cried out, pussy clamping around the hard digits, savoring the feel of him inside. “Unnnh oh god!”
“Yeah, that’s right baby girl,” he ground out hoarsely. “Let me hear you say it again. Tell me how much you love me,” he said, voice rough.
And I had to do as he commanded. I belong to this man, and no matter how humiliating things got, no matter how terrible the situation was, I could no longer deny the truth.
“I love you Daddy!” I screamed again as another shower of sparks crackled through my cunt. “I love you unnnh!”
And with that, it was all over. Because the secret’s out, everything’s out, and there’s no way to go back. Oh god, oh god, what have I done?
But as the sensations rolled, as I collapsed, exhausted and trembling against that hard male body, Gray did something strange. He hauled me into his lap, cuddling me against that hard chest and murmured into my ear.
“Daddy loves you too, baby girl,” he ground out in a low voice, that huge hard snake pressing in my stomach. Oh god, he was going to put it in me, and my pussy wanted it desperately, juicing once more. But I couldn’t take it. I’d already lost every vestige of self-respect and I couldn’t take more of the same, I couldn’t keep going on with this farce.
So with all my strength, I pushed against his chest, resisting.
“I can’t do this anymore, Gray. Not again,” I cried out pitifully, heart breaking. “Please don’t say that. Please don’t.”
But the big man wasn’t deterred. He pulled me nearer, curvy form so close to him that we were almost one.
“Don’t say what?” he rumbled soothingly. “That I love you? That you love me? That we belong together?”
“Yes exactly!” I cried out, sitting up again, my voice breaking. “This is a fake marriage, remember? And I can’t … I can’t … I can’t do it anymore, I’m sorry,” I whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry.”
But the billionaire stroked my head like I really was a kitten, whispering soothingly against my hair even as that rock hard member nudged my behind.
“The thing is baby girl, that I really do love you,” he ground out in my ear. “And if you’ll have me, I’d like to stay married. For real this time, no more bullshit.”
My heart started pounding in my chest, so fast and violent I was sure he could hear it. But I didn’t raise my head, not trusting myself. I was too fragile, overcome with hope.
“What do you mean?” came my tiny voice. “What do you mean?”
The alpha chuckled deeply.
“What I mean is that we should stay married,” he rumbled. “What do you think of that, baby girl? For real this time, Mrs. Channing?”
This time I raised wide brown eyes to him.
“But you’ve already paid me,” I said woodenly. “I took the money the first day.”
He shook his head slowly, a smile quirking the edge of his lips.
“That cash is nothing,” he rumbled. “And I wouldn’t expect less from a smart girl. What I’m saying, sweetheart, is that I’ve fallen in love with you the real way. And I want to make it legit between us, not just on paper.”
I glanced at him sideways, lips trembling.
“But why?” I asked, voice low. “You already have everything, why would you need me, someone with nothing to offer?”
He stared at me once hard, eyes going dark.
“Because I practically tore this place apart when you went missing. For two hours, I was a fucking bull in a china shop, going crazy looking for you. Me,” he growled roughly. “The guy who has everything went nuts over one tiny female. Can you believe it?”
“And baby,” he continued, grabbing my hand. “Why do you say you have nothing to offer? You have these tits, this sweet pussy, and most of all, that big, beautiful brain and sweet, sparkling personality. Why do you say you have nothing?”
I took a deep breath, letting myself relax as rightness flooded over me then, a warm, golden heat, soothing my soul. Because if Gray had said it was only about my body, the way I cream at the slightest touch of his dick, how I worship that hot pole, I would have walked.
But evidently, the billionaire loves me for real. He loves me for who I am. He loves me for my ups and downs, my conversation, in addition to the way the physical crackles between us. He loves the way we always have things to say to each other, the words never growing dull, the repartee lively and vivid. And best of all, I adore him too. Gray’s my dream come true, a dark alpha who came out of nowhere to make me a deal. A sordid one for sure, but one that I took with open eyes.
So I took a deep breath.
“Are you sure, Mr. Channing? I have to know because if you change your mind,” I choked. “I might die.”
The big man swooped down, claiming my lips with his.
“Change my mind? Why would I do that? You’re everything to me, Kitty Jones, everything. After I went fucking insane looking for you, I realized what was wrong. I have everything I want in life, and that includes you. You, pretty girl, mean the world to me and I can’t wait to make everything right. Forever, honey, for the next oh, fifty years or so.”
And feelings welled up in my chest, so powerful, so emotional, that I couldn’t speak for a moment. Instead, I turned my eyes to Gray and merely kissed him, imbuing the touch with everything I felt.
“Yes, Mr. Channing,” I murmured. “Yes. Forever.”
So despite our crazy start, things have worked out well. More than well, absolutely spectacular because our relationship is out of this world. Maybe it began as a transaction, and there was money paid for my body, but somehow, it’s evolved into so much more. Our souls are entwined, hands clasped, and gazing into those deep blue eyes, I can feel how right it is.
Because who says fake marriages can’t work? Our fake marriage morphed into something real, I went from pretend fiancée to wedded and bedded bride within a month flat. And with Grayson Channing by my side, life’s only gonna be full of more adventure, more excitement, as well as the comfort and security of being with a true alpha. Because I’m Daddy’s kitten … and I purr only for him.