I couldn’t believe how stunning Haley looked in that dress. I felt my shaft stirring under my suit, and I wanted nothing more than to push her down on the bed and take her right then, dress bunched up past her thighs.

But we had appearances to keep up.

Once she was dressed, we made our way downstairs, and I’d never been more proud to step into a limousine with her. Doing things like this with Haley felt strangely natural, as if we’d been doing them for years already and never stopped.

It was a short drive to the venue. As we pulled up, I saw that my mother had stepped outside to welcome us.

“Is that her?” Haley asked, suddenly a little tense. She was watching our limo approach with a hawkish smile.

“That’s her.”

“How did she know we were here?” she hissed.

“I let her know we were close,” I explained with a comforting smile, holding Haley’s hand and stroking the top of it with my thumb. “Just stick close to me and act natural. She already loves you, you’ll be fine.”

“Right, okay. Wait, really?”

I didn’t have time to answer. The limo had come to a stop, and the driver opened the door for us to step out.

“Chase, darling,” Mom greeted me with a kiss on each cheek.

“Evening, Mom,” I chuckled back as she glided to Haley, giving her an appraisive once-over before smiling and doing the same to her.

“Nice to meet you again, Mrs. Hawthorne,” Haley said in the most charming yet inoffensive voice she could muster. She was going to be a natural.

“Oh, that was a lifetime ago, I’m practically meeting a new woman. And my son’s wife, no less,” she added, beaming at her. “I’m so glad your busy schedules were able to let this happen, dear.”

Mom’s passive-aggressiveness could sting like a dagger when it needed to.

“Thank you for hosting this, I never thought we would be able to have a full reception like this. Everything was so rushed, and then we got caught up in these renovations we’re overseeing, and...” Haley smartly added.

“Think nothing of it,” Mom dismissed with an icy smile that told me she was just accepting that excuse for the time being. “Let’s not keep the guests waiting, though--come, come.”

Mom led us inside the building to the dining room, which was so decked out in decorations that it looked like a royal couple was getting married. The room practically glowed golden, with marble floors and lavish chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Large tables sprawled throughout the room with golden tablecloths, and the smell of the food in the air made my stomach growl. Bouquets of flowers I recognized from southern France adorned the tables, and the scent was strong enough that the whole room had just the faintest undertone of them.

It was exquisite.

Mom had a certain unmatched skill in organizing these kinds of things in record time.

I glanced over at Haley to see that her jaw had dropped, and I gently reached over to close it. She blinked and looked over at me with wide, shining eyes and a growing smile.

While Mom was a few steps ahead of us, I leaned in to whisper, “Pretend it’s really for us and not the family.”

“I’m way ahead of you.”

The next few moments were a rush that I was adept at handling, but I couldn’t speak for Haley. Mom swept us from table to table, where I introduced my new wife to every relative under the sun. Haley played her part perfectly, giving charming smiles to some, hugs with others, and even kisses on the hand to some of my more old-fashioned relatives.

My height tended to run in my family, so it didn’t help Haley’s nerves that she was dwarfed by nearly everyone in the room, but I stuck close to her side, never letting her leave my arm. Each time we got close to the next person we were supposed to meet, I would whisper a quick summary of them.

“Great-uncle Marty. Semi-retired, runs a luxury hotel he calls a bed and breakfast in eastern Italy.”

I could feel Haley’s tension, but she navigated things like an expert.

Next came the business partners. Some of them were closer to my age, but most were middle-aged, paunchy, and imposing.

“Ah, so this is who the famous Chase Hawthorne finally landed!”

“Pleasure to meet you, you have a fine man on your hands.”

“Simmons, was it? Your father was a fine man, all the best to your future together.”

The greetings bombarded her in quick succession, and I could tell that I needed to get Haley somewhere she could take a breather and have a glass of sparkling water. She was waving nervously to the tenth business contact of mine she’d met this evening when I flagged down Mom.

“I think I’d like to get a drink for the two of us--will the pleasantries survive a quick break?”

“Oh, of course, dear, I’ll let you two go, you’ve endured enough punishment to satisfy me,” she granted me with a knowing smile that I shot back.

“It’s a pleasure, really,” Haley insisted with the brightest smile she could muster, but Mom waved her off.

“You can relax, darling, you’ve been sufficiently hazed. Go enjoy some of the drinks.”

As I led Haley away, she breathed a sigh of relief, and I took a couple glasses from one of the servers that was making the rounds and handed one to her.

“To surviving,” I proposed, clinking my glass to hers, and she laughed softly before we drank.

“Is this what the whole night is going to be like?” she asked.

“Something like that, but don’t worry, it will be easier to keep your head down once we get some food. Trust me, most people are here to put me through the wringer, not you.”

She nodded, and after a little small talk, we took our seats to enjoy some of the finest food Mom could conjure up on short notice--which was very fine indeed.

By the time the filet mignon was being served, I was engrossed in chatting with Haley about who was who all around us. In fact, I was so engrossed that I hadn’t noticed the seat across from us was empty, until its owner came to have a seat in it.

As she approached, my face went still, and my jaw clenched instinctively.

Her smile was like poison, and she knew it.

It was Olivia, my ex.

“Such a surprise to see you like this, Chase,” she purred as she took a seat and crossed her legs, perching her chin on her hands and peering at me with lidded eyes. “Look at you, a married man.”

“More than a surprise to see you here too, Olivia,” I replied in a tone that restrained my anger. Mom caught my eye from a few chairs down, and I arched an eyebrow at her.

“Oh, Chase,” she called, “I thought Olivia and her family might like to join in too. It’s been ages since you’ve seen each other.”

“Much too long,” Olivia added with a sickly smile. Her eyes darted to a bewildered Haley. “Hello, darling, I’m Olivia Wilder, Chase’s ex. I’m sure he hasn’t mentioned me.”

Haley stared like a deer in the headlights, and Olivia smirked back at me.

“She’s quite the charmer, isn’t she?”

“What are you doing here, Olivia?”

“Just saying hello and congratulations,” she lied. “I never knew you were one for such a sudden commitment.”

I glared daggers at her as I dug into my steak and ate, but she wasn’t about to be deterred so easily. She leaned in with a sweet smile and spoke in a lower tone.

“Being a married man looks oddly good on you, you know. When this little farce of yours is over-” She wagged a finger between me and Haley. “-you should give me a call. Believe it or not, you’ve been on my mind a lot lately. The good parts of our time together keeps me warm on those long, lonely business trips.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I replied tersely, and Haley took a long drink of her red wine. Olivia and I had a brief but very fierce relationship. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t sincere at the time, and the sex was good, but there was nothing about our personalities that meshed, once we got through that, and it ended in an ugly breakup that was all the messier because of how powerful her family was.

I also got the impression Mom wanted us together, which I suspect was why she invited her here.

“Really?” she purred. “A sudden marriage that makes a big buyout oh-so-much easier with a college sweetheart you were already horny for? No word of it to your family? Carrying on business as usual without a honeymoon? You really think anyone is fooled by any of that? I can smell a marriage of convenience from a mile away, Chase darling.”

“All I hear is a jealous ex throwing a tantrum,” I retorted casually before taking a vicious bite of steak. Her mouth curved into a smile.

“Oh, me? Never. It’s a smart move with benefits. You know how much I like that kind of decisiveness in a man.” I felt her foot touch my leg under the table meaningfully, and I drew my leg back, hardening my gaze.

Haley was blushing and hadn’t said anything so far. This was a blow below the belt. If she tried to snap back, it would be easy for Olivia to draw her into an ugly scene that would humiliate her in front of everyone.

I took the chance to step up.

“Haley, it’s too noisy in here,” I told her, smiling down at her and making sure my eyes were obviously roving up and down her body, drinking her in. “Why don’t we take a break somewhere more private? I don’t like being so close to you without getting a chance to talk.”

She gave a shy smile and nodded, and I helped her up and turned my back on Olivia without a second glance.

I could feel the daggers of her glare in my back.

“Oh my God, what was that? That is your ex? Jesus,” Haley gasped as we stepped into the hallway, and I led her briskly by the arm. I’d been here once before, and I knew a place where we could have some privacy. We headed upstairs, and I opened the door to a small private dining area that was empty. “She’s tall and blonde and statuesque and oh my God that perfume, I-”

“Shut up,” I ordered her, slamming the door behind us and silencing her with a deep, fierce kiss.

She gasped into it as I backed her up and pinned her to the wall, invading her mouth with my tongue.

“What are you—” she tried to say when the kiss finally broke, but I was not giving her any wiggle room. My hands groped her breasts through the luxurious dress, and I pushed my cock to her stomach to let her feel how hard she was making me.

“I don’t think she’s jealous enough yet,” I growled into her ear. “And I’ve wanted to fuck you raw in this dress since I first saw you put it on.”

“Wait, wait,” she stopped me, putting her hands on my arms and looking at me seriously. I froze, glowering down at her, listening. “I...I feel like I’m intruding on a lot of personal history I don’t have a part of. I know this is just a business deal, what we have, I don’t want you to ruin something else just because of me.”

“But you admit it bothers you,” I pointed out with a cocky smile, and she blushed. “It bothers me, too. And I want to make tonight about you. And right now, I want this.” I grabbed her breasts and squeezed, pressing into her harder. “Do you?”

She was breathing quickly, but she drew one long breath and nodded, eyes quivering up at me.

I stuck my fingers in my mouth and drew them out wet, then hiked her dress up past her waist and slid them under her panties.

I watched her eyes roll up as I started rubbing her with my fingers. At first, it was just to get her wet, but when I realized just how much tension I was helping relieve, I started rubbing more and more, massaging her clit until I started to feel her pussy get wet on its own.

“Oh…” she started to moan, over and over, and it was almost hypnotic to me. “Oh, don’t stop, please…”

I listened to her, groping her breast with one hand and fingering her with the other. Eventually, I slid my fingers deep into her pussy and started stroking harder. Her hips bucked, and I knew she was ready for me when her mouth fell open.

I let my cock out of my pants and picked her up before spearing her with my cock in one fluid motion.

She started to scream, but I pressed my lips to her and swallowed the yelp of delight.

I wasn’t taking my time. I wanted hot, fierce, and passionate sex, and we were going to have it. I started bucking into her immediately, her helpless body pinned against the wall, panties halfway to her knees, thighs tight around my cock as I held her up.

Our tongues danced with each other as my cock throbbed, bulging crown penetrating deep into her and getting her wetter by the second.

“All I’ve been able to think about tonight is you,” I groaned into her ear, letting out a hot breath into it with each and every thrust. “I don’t care about any of these people. All I want is to get some private time with you so I can pump more of my come deep inside you. I want you to have my baby inside you.”

She gave a helpless, desperate whimper in reply, and she clenched her pussy tight around my cock, making a shudder of pleasure run up my body.

“I want to relieve some of that tension, baby,” I promised her. “And I want everyone down there to know that you’re my girl, and I just fucked my wife senseless.”

Those words seemed to touch on something sensitive, because I felt her whole body start to tense up in anticipation. I grabbed her by the hips and pounded into her wildly, hard and strong with each thrust, going deeper and getting closer and closer to the edge each time.

She grabbed my head and pressed a kiss to my lips as she spilled over the edge, and when she came, she bit my lip so hard I thought it would bleed. She was still sighing in delight when I felt my own release surge through me, and my bucking lost its precision. I thrust wantonly, throwing all caution to the wind, not caring how much noise I made, and soon, I exploded into her.

All the pent-up energy inside me spilled into her pussy, and she moved her hips to milk every drop of it from me. Our eyes were open, and we were staring into each other’s gaze as our fluids mingled.

When it was over, we grinned at each other stupidly.

“You’re cute when you blush,” I pointed out. “And you do it a lot.”

“Shut up,” she giggled, turning her head and blushing more fiercely.

“Everyone’s going to know when we go back downstairs,” I added, peppering her neck with kisses. “Is it weird that I like that?”

“Only if it’s weird that I do too,” she breathed back, shuddering as a final burst of my seed shot into her.

I pulled out and got us cleaned up a little before we made ourselves decent. Even so, Haley was glowing. I watched her smooth her dress out, cheeks still pink, and I felt myself smiling.

All the little things about her, from her habits to the way we could joke with each other to just the sound of her voice. It was all starting to seem so sweetly familiar. Something about the sight of her in that dress right after I’d fucked her to show all the guests whose wife she was lit something dangerous in me.

They were feelings. Real feelings.

I realized that in an instant, and it hit me like a white-hot cannonball.

“What?” Haley asked when she noticed me staring.

“Nothing,” I lied, lacing her arm through mine and nodding to the door. “I was just thinking in case it wasn’t already clear, I’m not going to be with anyone else while our contract lasts.”

That seemed to take her by surprise, and her eyelashes fluttered. “Oh, you don’t have to do that just because of your ex, I mean—”

“No, this isn’t about her,” I promised, touching her chin and stroking it. “I don’t want the mother of my child to be distracted with all that kind of nonsense. No complications. Just you.”

She paused, but after a few moments, she bit her lip and smiled. “Deal,” she agreed.

I wondered whether she knew that it was all because I didn’t want anyone else. She was good at keeping up appearances, but was any of it genuine on her part? I couldn’t tell her what I wanted to. Not yet, anyway.

I pushed the door open and led her downstairs, leaving far too much unsaid between us.

“Let’s get a little more food to survive the rest of the night,” I offered. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”