Chapter 3

Mia

Why is it that I’m always stuck being one of the last ones out of the office?

All around me, my co-workers packed up for the day. I, on the other hand, still had to put the finishing touches on the contracts Hudson had dumped in my lap.

The ones he insisted get finished by close of business tomorrow. He didn’t care I had a whole heap of paperwork to review. A heap he was fully aware of, given the fact it all came from him. I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes.

“Bye, Mia. See you tomorrow.”

I looked up from my computer screen to wave goodbye to Clive, the guy who occupied the cubicle next to mine. I silently cursed him for being able to go home already.

I stared longingly at the elevator Clive stepped into. Two men in dark suits at the reception desk caught my attention. I’d never seen either one of them before.

Great. It’s probably just more work for me to do. I nearly groaned out loud.

The receptionist motioned toward Hudson’s office, and the men headed in that direction. Hudson frosted the glass walls of his office. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that. Something serious must be going on.

As interesting as that was, I had to get back to work if I was ever going to get to the long bubble bath I’d planned for tonight. I popped the buds of my earphones in and got busy with nailing down the nitty gritty details of the contracts Hudson needed from me.

When I was finally done, the men in the suits still hadn’t emerged from Hudson’s office. Everyone else had cleared out. I was the only one left in the open plan office we’d aptly named “The Fishbowl.”

I hit the print button with more force than was required at the realization I was again the very last one left. I collected the paperwork from the print tray and pushed off the printer to deliver the contracts to Hudson’s desk.

I rapped my knuckles lightly on his door. I wasn’t looking forward to interrupting a second meeting of his in as many days, but I didn’t have much of a choice. He’d been insistent about the importance of these contracts, and I wasn’t going to take the chance of leaving it on Jenny’s desk.

“Yeah?” Hudson’s smooth voice called from inside his office.

I sucked in a deep breath and forced a bright smile on my face as I stepped inside.

Hudson’s eyes met mine. His cool, icy blue irises radiated power and intensity. They captured me in a way that had my breath catching in my lungs. I’d been working for him for three years, and so far, I’d managed to suppress the physical effects he had on me successfully. But he’d never looked at me quite like this.

Of course, suppressing any effects had become much easier once I learned what a complete asshole he was, but every now and then, my sex-starved body sat up and took notice. Just like it did now.

He was a striking man, after all, and I was merely human.

Short, inky black hair framed a beautiful face. His bone structure would make even the most successful male model jealous. A blade of a nose and full lips. Those piercing eyes seemed to see straight into your soul. Dark, arrogantly slashed eyebrows. He was beyond hot. He was downright gorgeous.

Even though I’d never seen him in anything less than a three-piece suit, the way in which the luxurious material stretched over his broad shoulders and hung off of his tall frame betrayed what was sure to be an incredibly ripped body under all those clothes. Rumor had it he spent at least two hours a day working out.

Every woman he’d ever met would’ve had a physical reaction to his savage beauty. I was no exception. My cheeks flushed.

A slow, sexy smirk spread on his face. I’d never seen that before, either. It was a good thing he didn’t break it out too often. It would’ve been a devastating effect on the female species. My lady parts clenched of their own accord.

“Ah, here’s my wife now,” he crooned, rising gracefully from the couch in the sitting area of his office when I entered.

What the hell? I ignored the comment and ordered my body to get a grip on itself. He was probably in the middle of telling a joke or something. That was the only explanation that came to mind, even if I’d never heard him joke in my life.

I set the contracts down carefully on his desk, ensuring they made a neat pile just the way he liked it. “I apologize for the interruption. Here are those contracts you needed.”

“Thank you. And you’re never interrupting.” His voice was low and far closer to my ear than it had ever been before. I hadn’t even noticed that he’d moved. He stood so close to me I could feel the heat of his body radiating against my back.

His scent permeated my senses. He smelled sinfully good. Unmistakably masculine. A woodsy scent with seductively spicy undertones.

Against my wishes, my heartbeat quickened. I reminded my body that he was an ass, and even if he wasn’t, he was completely unattainable. He was so far out of my league, we weren’t even playing the same sport. He was also my boss. I turned to leave, finding myself standing dangerously close to his chest.

His sure fingers gently encircled my wrist and pulled me against his rock-hard frame. A strong arm wrapped around my waist.

Oh, my. A shiver ran up my spine. I’d never been more confused in my life. What the hell was he doing?

He lowered his head to mine and pressed his lips to my forehead in a quick kiss. It would probably seem familiar to any onlooker, even though I’d never so much as touched the man. Three years and my fingertips had never even brushed his.

Yet, there I was, wrapped in his firm embrace, being kissed in a manner that implied intimacy between us. It was completely beyond comprehension.

Hudson placed his palm on my lower back and guided me to the couch. We settled in, and he pulled me close to him, draping an arm casually over my shoulders. His fingers sought out a lock of my loose hair, and he played with it absentmindedly like he’d done it a thousand times before.

I pinched my leg. Whatever alternate universe I stepped into when I’d crossed the threshold to his office didn’t disappear.

“Mrs. Blake, it’s nice to meet you.” One of the suits extended a hand to me, and I shook it numbly.

Mrs. Blake? My mind whirled. Then I spotted the tag hanging around his neck, partially obscured by his jacket. Suddenly, the events of the past minute or so made perfect sense, and the world came into sharp focus.

“United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” the tag read.

“Nice to meet you too,” I muttered, wondering what the hell Hudson was getting me into.

He grinned down at me with an adorable soppy expression on his face, as if we were sharing a private moment he’d been waiting all his life for. His voice was low and commanding when he spoke again. “Future Mrs. Blake. We got engaged a few weeks ago, but I don’t intend to wait more than a few more to finally make an honest woman out of my Mia.”

His Mia? The statement completely floored me. I bristled. I didn’t belong to anyone but myself. I certainly didn’t belong to him. Not even in this wacky version of reality. I didn’t know if it was shock, fear, or his amazing cologne, but I couldn’t bring myself to make a sound.

“I must admit, Mr. Blake. This relationship comes as quite a surprise. We saw no trace of it in our preliminary investigations.”

Hudson sighed and ran a hand through his hair like he was pained about something. “There wouldn’t have been. We’ve had to keep it a secret because Mia is a manager here. She’s more than earned her position, of course, but we didn’t want people to assume the worst about her.”

“What changed?” the second suit rasped. “Why now? The timing seems rather suspicious, wouldn’t you agree?”

Hudson’s expression turned into one of quiet contemplation. “I suppose it does, but I would argue the point is moot. I wasn’t made aware of any investigation or the fact you would be coming to talk to me today, and yet, here my fiancée is. There would’ve been no time to somehow orchestrate this, would there? I haven’t even looked at my mobile phone since you arrived.”

“I suppose so.” The first suit rose from the couch. “We will look into this, Mr. Blake. We’ll call you in for an evaluation if we find any indiscretions. Thank you for your time.”

The second suit followed the first, nodded from the doorway, and disappeared through it.

I sat in stunned silence, barely aware of Hudson extricating himself from me like I’d burned him before crossing the room to his desk.

“What the hell was that?” I asked quietly.

“I would think it was relatively self-explanatory.” Hudson rummaged through the paperwork I’d set down earlier. “Where’s the confidentiality addendum to this one?”

He held up one of the contracts, impatient eyes burning into mine. All vestiges of emotion completely absent from the hard planes of his face.

It was enough to snap me right out of the haze of confusion clouding my mind. I snapped at him, annoyed at the implication I didn’t know how to do my job and furious that he’d just made me complicit in a lie to the U.S. government.

“It’s bundled in after the remuneration addendum that starts on page sixteen. And we need to talk about this, Hudson. It’s not exactly ‘self-explanatory,’ beyond the fact that you just told a blatant lie to the federal government.”

“What is there to talk about? It’s a done deal.” He turned that intense gaze on me. There was no indication he was playing some cruel joke on me.

“What’s a done...?” my voice trailed off with incredulity. “Like hell it’s a done deal. Fat chance I’m marrying you, asshole.” It slipped out before I could stop it. My usually submissive demeanor around him had disappeared instantaneously at his assertion.

“You’ve just told the United States government that you are. I’d say we’re way past ‘fat chance’ and well into ‘done deal’ territory.” He flashed me a cocky grin. “No?”

“No, absolutely not,” I insisted. “Besides, I didn’t tell them anything.”

“You didn’t deny anything, either, which makes you complicit in the lie. Come on, Mia. You know that.” His eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise, his expression remained impassive.

“I didn’t agree to marry you, damnit. No matter what bullshit arguments you try to make. We have to talk about this.”

He gathered his things and turned to leave. I grabbed his arm. A bicep of steel flexed under my fingers. He pulled away from me and motioned to the door. “Fine, if you insist. We’ll go get some coffee and negotiate the terms of our arrangement.”

“I’m not having coffee with you, and we have no arrangement,” I sputtered, my feet rooted firmly in place.

“You want to talk. I want coffee. It seems to me the most obvious solution is to talk over coffee.” A frown line marred the space between his eyebrows. “Surely, you have to see that? Perhaps I should’ve given more careful consideration to choosing a wife if you don’t.”

I gaped at him like he’d grown a second head. The arrogance of this guy was un-fucking-believable. “I’m not having coffee with you.”