Chapter 4
Marissa was pacing nervously in the foyer waiting for Scott to pick her up for their date, calling it anything else was fooling herself and she’d never been one to avoid the truth when at all possible. She’d dressed carefully for dinner, not wanting to appear like she was trying too hard, but the truth was she wanted to look good for Scott. The attraction she’d been feeling had suddenly turned into full blown infatuation, a dangerous turn of events, but one she seemed powerless to stop.
She somehow knew that tonight was a turning point. If her attraction to Scott intensified, then she was going to have be even more careful of her feelings. As much as she’d like to be one of those people who could sleep with someone then move on the next day, it had never been that way for her. Sex to her represented a real connection and she’d promised herself long ago that she’d treat it with the respect it deserved. She’d lost a few boyfriends because of her attitude over the years, but that only proved that she was right, sex should only be a part of a committed relationship.
No matter that they were married, what she and Scott were going to have wasn’t a committed relationship and treating it like it was would only lead to a broken heart when it was over. Thinking about his kisses made her wish that she was a different kind of person. Sex with Scott would be fantastic, that much was clear from the way he’d kissed her in the mall. His hard body pressed up against hers had been intoxicating and arousing beyond anything she’d ever felt before.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she was suddenly as nervous as she’d been on her first date, but it was only Scott on the other side of the door she told herself. There certainly wasn’t any mystery where their relationship was headed, she thought, centering her thoughts again before opening the door.
When she saw Scott on the other side of the door dressed in one of the suits they’d bought together the other day, her nerves ramped up even higher and a small sigh escaped her lips. He looked unbelievably handsome in the charcoal grey suit, the purple tie she’d insisted on giving him a rakish look and accenting his green eyes. He smiled at her, making her heart pound in her chest and her knees go a little weak.
“You look wonderful,” he said, his eyes taking in every inch of her body, from her three-inch heels to the complicated hairstyle she’d worked on for hours.
Her mouth was practically watering at the sight of him, but she finally managed to say, “You don’t look half bad yourself.” Then she notice the flowers in his arms. “Are those for me?”
“Oh, I forgot. I wasn’t sure if it was still a thing to bring flowers, but these are for you,” he said, stammering over his words a bit.
“There’re really pretty,” she said, taking the bundle of bright yellow daisies from him. “I should put them in some water before we leave.”
Following her into the kitchen, he wondered if he could get away with a quick kiss, then decided that there was only one way to find out. He watched her stretch on her toes to reach a vase on a top shelf and couldn’t help but gasp out loud when her dress rode up her thighs exposing another few inches of her legs.
She must have heard him because she turned and said, “Is something wrong?” Then blushed when she realized the show she’d just given him.
“Nope, everything is just great,” he said, grinning at her.
She turned to the sink and began to fill the vase. When it was full, she set it down on the counter and began to clip the ends off the stems of the flowers. He slid up behind her and looked over her shoulder, her mouth only inches from her ear, his breath coming in little puffs that sent shivers down her spine.
“Are you cold?” he asked when she shivered.
“Nope, I’m fine,” she said, trying to adopt the same tone he’d used earlier, even though all she wanted right then was to feel his hands on her and his tongue in her mouth.
When she’d put the last blossom in the vase, she put her hands on it to pick it up, but Scott stopped her by covering her hands with his own. He turned her around until she was trapped between the counter and his hard body, their faces just inches apart. Marissa was trying to look anywhere but into Scott’s eyes knowing that if she saw what she thought she would in their green depths, she’d be lost.
“Marissa,” Scott said, pulling her chin up so he could look into her eyes which were filled with desire, then nodded his head and dipped his head to take possession of her mouth.
His body pressed against hers, he ravaged her mouth, not trace of the exploratory kiss of the day before present now. This kiss was demanding, his tongue dipping into her mouth, his teeth capturing her lip then licking the spot he’d just bitten. The world around Marissa drained away, all her senses alive and responding to Scott’s assault on them.
When he finally broke the kiss and pulled her into a hug, they were both panting, their desire throbbing through their veins. “That really wasn’t a good idea,” Marissa finally managed to say.
“I think it was an excellent idea,” he said, grinning at her.
Flustered, she left the flowers sitting by the sink and grabbed her purse. “We better go. Our reservation is in a half an hour and you know how traffic in Los Angeles can be. I can’t wait to get out of this town for a while,” she said, trying to distract herself from what she was feeling.
“You seem right at home here,” Scott said, following her out the door. “You seem to know everybody, have lots of friends.”
She looked at him shocked. “You really haven’t spent much time away from the board room, have you?”
“No, not really. Why?” he asked, holding the door while she got in the car, which was a bright red sports car.
“Those people are not my friends. They’d just as soon see me fall on my face than catch me if I tripped. It’s all a big competition, that’s why I keep my distance most of the time. Where did you get this car? Is it yours and can I drive it?”
“Wait, slow down. So, you’re not a drunken socialite?” he asked, wondering how accurate the information he’d been given was.
Marissa didn’t know what to say. It wouldn’t be long before he figured out that her stunts were just that stunts, carefully planned and executed for the maximum effect. “No, not really. Don’t get me wrong, I like to have a good time and I do enjoy shocking people, but I rarely have more than one drink,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“Then why the big act?” Scott asked, seeing yet again another side of this complicated woman sitting next to him.
“It gets my business exposure. The first time was a genuine crazy night out, but once I realized how much traffic it brought to the website, I looked for opportunities to get my picture on social media. That’s one of the reason the upper crust doesn’t like me, they think I’m too commercial.”
Scott had to admit that she’d found an excellent way to get free advertising, “Very smart, excellent marketing technique.”
“Thank you, but I trusted you with that information, please keep it to yourself,” she said, suddenly worried that she’d said too much. Her reputation as a wild child was going to come to a halt soon, but she didn’t want the truth getting out, that would bring questions she didn’t want to answer.
“So, if you don’t mind me asking, how are you planning to get that attention now? Because I hope you’re going to tone it down. Real marriage or not, I’d rather you weren’t up on stage making out with strippers,” he said, suppressing a smile as they pulled into the parking lot of the most popular restaurant in town.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find some other way,” she said, taking a deep breath in preparation for their upcoming performance, because that’s what it was: a performance.
“Well, if you need any help with that, just let me know,” he said, trying to mask the teasing tone of his voice.
“Wow, thanks. Now, are you ready for dinner?” she said, hoping she’d be able to make it through the scrutiny that was sure to begin the minute they walked in the door.
“Let’s do this,” Scott said, taking her arm.
When they walked through the door, it was as if everyone had been waiting for them to appear. The place was packed, but a path opened up to the front, and Scott, with his hand possessively on her bare back, led her forward. His hand never moved as they made their way through the restaurant to a choice table by the windows. After ordering an expensive bottle of wine, he waved the server away and took her hand in his.
“I had no idea what a commotion we were creating,” he whispered, then kissed the back of her hand, sending shivers of desire rushing through her.
“Hmm, I told you,” she said, trying to concentrate on his words.
Once the initial shock of them actually appearing together had worn off, the other diners returned to their own meals and conversations, allowing Marissa a second to catch her breath. Before long, between the wine and Scott’s presence, she forgot about the other people in the room and began to enjoy herself. From the research she’d done online, she didn’t think that Scott had many passions besides making money, but she found that he had a love of art as well as music and books.
Before she knew it, they’d been served dessert and coffee and it was time to go home. She’d been having so much fun she’d forgotten that they were supposed to be putting on a show. Scott took care of that as they were walking out of the restaurant by accidently tripping her, then saving her by wrapping his arms around her and holding her in his arms.
Nuzzling her neck, he whispered, “Sorry about that, but I just thought a little scene might cause a stir.” Then he tickled her, making her giggle.
Marissa was sure she actually heard several of the diners gasp at their behavior and couldn’t help but giggle some more. Not only would this get tongues wagging, but it would drive her father crazy. They finally untangled themselves and walked hand and hand out of the restaurant bursting into laughter when they got out the door.
“You learn fast.” Marissa laughed, then added, “But I really thought I was going down there for a minute. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Don’t worry, that move only works once. I would have warned you, but it needed to look real,” he said, smiling innocently.
“You enjoyed that. Don’t try to look innocent,” she said, getting into the car.
Once he was in the car and on the road, Scott said, “It’s not my fault that in the process of keeping you from falling you ended up in my arms.”
Marissa didn’t reply, her mind drifting back to the feeling of his strong arms supporting her when she would have fallen. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind if he tripped her every day. Scott turned on the radio and they rode in comfortable silence back to her house. When they got there, he turned to her and said, “I know this is all a game to keep people from finding out the truth, but I had a good time tonight.”
Marissa looked at him for a second, then said, “I did too.” When she reached for the handle to get out of the car, he stopped her with a quick shake of his head.
“I’m going to walk you to the door and kiss you just like this was a real date. Don’t say a word about there being no one watching, I’m doing it anyway,” he said, getting out of the car and coming around to her side.
He opened the door and offered her his hand. Once she was out of the car, he kept a tight hold on her hand as they walked up to the porch. Once they’d reached the door, Marissa reached for the doorknob, heart racing in her chest. He’d said he was going to kiss her and she knew that she wasn’t going to stop him if he tried, if fact she was hoping that he would. As crazy as this was she wanted Scott more and more each time she was with him.
Their hands were still joined, so it was easy for him to pull her to him and wrap his arms around her. “I told you I was going to kiss you,” he said right before his mouth came down on hers.
Tonight, his kiss was hungry, his hands roaming as his tongue tasted and explored her mouth. Caught up in the rush of feelings, Marissa kissed him back, darting her tongue into his mouth to timidly explore the way he had explored hers. Scott growled low in his throat and backed them up against the doorframe, his hands skimming over her hips, down her thighs and legs, then up again.
When they finally broke the kiss, sucking in deep lungfuls of air, Marissa raised her eyes to his and gasped at the raw desire in his green eyes. The pure animal look staggered her and she leaned more heavily against the house, her legs hardly able to hold her. Scott took her face in his large hands and brought his head down until his mouth was only inches from hers, but instead of kissing her, he slid his thumbs down her face to her throat, making her tip her head back.
His mouth followed the path his fingers had just taken, burning a path on her skin as he kissed his way down her neck, creating a storm of sensation so strong she had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling. His hands continued to roam over her body as he nibbled on the sensitive skin on her neck, his hot breath in her ear making her shiver.
“I’m hoping I can convince you to change your mind about the sex stipulation of our agreement,” he whispered in her ear, his hand moving to the center of her thigh and creeping up under her dress.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she managed to say, pleasure beginning to build deep inside her.
“We’re going to be married, isn’t this what married people do? One of the benefits of marriage,” he said as he gently spread her legs and slid his hand up to where her thighs met.
“This is definitely not a good idea,” she said, barely able to form the words let alone make him stop.
When she felt him slide her panties to the side, she knew that she needed to make him stop but couldn’t make herself do it. His finger was slowly parting her folds, sliding against her clit, making her moan with pleasure. Then she dug her fingers into his shoulders as her orgasm began to build. Marissa was beyond thought, focused only on what Scott was doing to her with his fingers and his mouth, the waves of pleasure rushing through her with such force that she could hardly breath.
Unable to speak, she simply hung on as Scott took possession of her mouth, his tongue plunging into her mouth as his finger bringing her crashing over the brink, her orgasm so intense only Scott’s mouth on hers could have muffled her cries of pleasure.
When her trembling finally ceased, he pulled her to him and cradled her in his arms, supporting her weight until her legs began to work again. “You’re an incredible woman, Marissa. I hope you’ll reconsider your stand on sex, we seem to be good together,” he said, lifting her head and gently kissing her before untangling himself and walking back to his car.
Marissa watched him drive away, too stunned by her reaction to him to even consider what her next move would be. Any thoughts of keeping some distance between them had all but vanished, there was no way she was going to be able to resist him, married or not. When he touched her, it was like any rational thought she had vanished in a rush of desire and passion.
It had become abundantly clear that she was going to break her no sex rule the first chance she got, and equally obvious that Scott wasn’t going to give up until she did. How she was ever going to keep a huge part of her life a secret from him, she had no idea, but for the next year their lives were going to be intertwined in ways she’d never experienced before. The intimacy was scary, sharing her life with someone she barely knew wouldn’t be easy and now her heart was involved, because if it wasn’t already, it would soon be.
She got into to bed that night with Scott in her thoughts. Just thinking about him stirred her up, thoughts of what he’d done with those wonderful hands making her wet all over again. Deciding that the sooner she got this over with the better, she settled down to sleep, but before she could fall asleep her phone chimed. Rolling over, she picked it up, heart racing to find that Scott had sent her a text message.
Sleep well, Marissa, I’ll be thinking about you and our wonderful night.
Flirting over text message had never been her strong suit, but she needed to respond, so she fired off a text of her own.
Sweet dreams, I can’t help but think of you after that goodnight.
Scott put his phone down, a huge smile on his face, then laughed out loud at himself. In the last few days, he’d become someone he didn’t even recognize, a man who flirted and seduced, who didn’t worry about making that next dollar. It was liberating to feel so free, to do as he pleased and only think of the pleasure it might bring him.
He may have set out to make Michael’s life miserable, but he wasn’t sure that he hadn’t done himself a huge favor. Given himself a chance to change his life, become a different person, a better person. His old life seemed so far away, the constant struggle of trying to be the best, to have the most seeming empty now.
Marissa had changed him in some way, woken him up to what the world might have to offer if he’d only open himself up to caring about someone or something besides himself. He’d been looking at life all wrong, thinking that if everything was perfect then the pain he carried from his childhood would go away, but the truth was he was the only one who could make the pain disappear.
He was far from ready to address all those issues, just knowing that there were issues to be dealt with was enough for now. Instead, he was going to enjoy his pursuit of Marissa, a new challenge that would be more than worth it in the end, but he also wasn’t facing the fact that his infatuation with Marissa was quickly turning into more than just that.
He probably should be worried about what would happen when this forced marriage was over, Marissa had certainly made it clear that she wasn’t in this for the long haul, but he hadn’t been raised to give up on something so easily. Marriage was an important institution, one that should be valued, it might not be that easy to walk away in the end, especially considering the way he was beginning to feel about her.
Realizing that he was getting way ahead of himself, he put the phone down on the table next to the bed, thinking about the message he’d send her in the morning. He had no idea what their next function was, but he was already looking forward to it, Marissa all dressed up was quite the sight to behold. As sleep took him, he smiled, thinking hopefully soon he’d be able to see her out of her dress.