I knew what I wanted since choosing Anna for my bride. She was supposed to be the woman who bore my child. She was supposed to live at my house and not say much. She was expected to show up at social events and look pretty. She was chosen to be the face of what I represented. She had started out being all those things. Now, she was something else. She had become the woman I wanted to be with, and as I sat in my comfortable leather chair in my office sanctuary, she was all I could think about.

“Sir, you have a meeting in five,” Marissa said as she stuck her head inside the door.

“What…now?” I was in no mood for a meeting.

“Yes, sir, and the client is already here.”

Usually, I’d be more enthusiastic about meeting a new client with a proposal that would turn over more money for one of my subsidiaries. Today, I simply wanted to go home.

I grunted, grabbed the portfolio from the top of the stack, and stalked to the conference room like I was heading to an execution. I barely heard anything said in the meeting. My mind kept drifting to what waited for me at home.

It was silly. Anna had lived with me for a month now, and all I managed to do was kiss her. I still remembered the way her lips caressed mine, how soft and sweet they had felt, and the way her body had felt pressed against mine when she had fallen on me. My body had felt like it was on fire, and I couldn’t control the desires that raged in me. She had…

“Ray!” Mr. Cullen, the client, exclaimed, and I was jolted back to reality, to the boring outlook of the conference room. “What do you think?”

I stared wild-eyed at him for a few seconds, then glanced at the document he had slid over while I had zoned out. “Yes, that could work if we make sizeable investments at the initial growth phase.”

Mr. Cullen looked at me like I had gone mad. “Are we in the same meeting here?”

I looked again and saw that I had commented inappropriately. “Oh. I’m sorry. I’m a little distracted right now.” I sighed and fell back against the chair, which creaked under my weight.

“I can see that,” he agreed as he rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Okay, how about we do this another time?”

“I am so sorry, Mr. Cullen, but I have a lot going on in my head right now,” I apologized and pinched my nose.

“I bet you do,” he grinned. “I heard about the pretty redhead you married. Should be keeping you all kinds of busy, right?”

I chuckled. “Right.” His comment sent me right back to the place I was trying to avoid.

He stood when he saw I wasn’t prepared to speak again. “Well, I’ll be out of town for the rest of the week. I’ll call you when I get back and we can set up another meeting.”

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, and stood as well.

Mr. Cullen patted me on the shoulder and exited the room. It was not yet five, but being the boss had its advantages. I needed to go home and take a swim—that and a glass of whiskey would settle the noise in my head.

I left the office in a hurry and was sorely anxious by the time I got home. I snuck into my own home like a common criminal, careful not to run into Anna. I changed quickly and hurried to the pool house. When I was within a few feet of the pool, I saw her leaning against the inside wall of the pool, her arms spread on the ground at the edge while the rest of her body remained immersed in the water. It was too late for me to run.

She smiled when she saw me. “Care for a swim?”

My mind went blank again. Goddammit, if she wasn’t beautiful! Her skin seemed to sparkle, and before I could gather my thoughts, my feet touched the water. It was warm, and it grew hotter the closer I got to her. I joined her at the edge of the pool and saw her heave a sigh…maybe of contentment, because her face lit up. I couldn’t control the smile that escaped me too, and this time, when our elbows rubbed, I didn’t move my hand.

“So, you’re home early,” she began, and started floating one of her palms on the surface of the water.

“Yeah. I’d had enough,” I told her. “Plus, there’s no pool at the office.”

She laughed, and the sound wafted to my ears and shimmied under my skin before it rocketed into a cold spot inside me. It was hard not to notice the goose bumps that followed as a result. Her lips had started moving again. She was saying something, but I was distracted by the way her lips moved. My eyes lowered to the bikini she wore, and to the water droplets rolling down her chest as she splashed water playfully on herself. I swallowed as the lump in my throat got harder—almost as hard as the rising bulge in my swim shorts.

When I found her eyes again, she was staring at me and could probably see how much I wanted her. Her chest heaved, and I moved closer, cupped her face, and kissed her with an intense longing. She felt like home to me, like I had gone on a long trip and had just returned. She froze at first, and I delighted in running my tongue over the outline of her lips before parting them. She responded, offering me a wider entrance, and I sucked her lower lip, relishing the honeyed taste I’d denied myself.

My breath emerged in ragged gasps, and I grabbed the back of her head and pressed her closer to me. I felt a sense of urgency, and my heart hammered in my chest, pulsating against firm, supple breasts I had yet to see and taste. I placed my hand over one and felt her tense under my touch. Nervous excitement propelled me further, and my lips moved down her neck and kissed her chest—the area right outside her tantalizing mound. Her breath was shallow now, but I didn’t want to stop what I knew she wanted too.

I slid my hand into the water and gripped her firm ass. I moved over and pressed my body down on hers as I found her lips again. I wanted her, to feel her juice running over my cock. I wanted to taste her salty-sweet flavor and lock her in hours of passionate lovemaking until we burned out with exhaustion.

She trembled as I grabbed her waist and hoisted her onto the edge of the pool. I spread her legs and sucked in a lungful of air. I held her gaze as I used my index finger and parted the thin cotton barrier, which revealed a moist, pink, wet heaven. I couldn’t help salivating, and I lowered my head and tasted her. Her legs folded over my head when I did, and I felt her shake vigorously. This only sent me into a heated fervor, and I pressed her legs apart as I ran my tongue over her clit. She trembled, and I sucked and tugged at her growing erection before my tongue darted in and out of her tight spot.

I didn’t want to simply suck and lick her, as much as I loved her flavor. I wanted to feel my cock deep inside her. I pulled my vibrating shaft from its polyester prison and lifted her back into the pool. Her eyes had grown wild, and she looked nervous as I brought her down onto my cock. Her eyes bulged, and she whimpered. My chest burned as I gripped her hips and sank deep into her.

She locked her legs around me, and her fingernails dug into my arms. Her face contorted, and when I stroked again, her legs tightened. She looked like she was in pain more than she was enjoying the moment, and when I moved again, I saw a thin wisp of red lace through the water and rise to the surface.

She was a virgin. I stopped moving instantly, but she remained tense. I was stunned, and the water lapped around my arms as it continued with the motion I had stirred. Something was wrong with this picture. She had agreed to marry me, have my children, and carry out this contract knowing she was a virgin? What made this delicate flower surrender to a life like this? I felt sorry for her, and an automatic shame engulfed me. I felt like I had abused her and contracted her to a life that would bring her no joy.

My limp cock slid from her, and I released her as she placed trembling feet on the pool floor. It became obvious to me that this could not have been simply business for her. She had every intention of getting more, or had hopes of it, anyway. And I had violated her, first when I had given her false hope, and now that I had taken her.

I moved back and she looked at me with frightened eyes. “I’m sorry,” I croaked when my voice failed me. “I didn’t know…”

“It…wait…” she said weakly, but it wasn’t enough to deter me. I had to go.

“Sorry.”

I didn’t look back after I spoke the last word but escaped to the privacy of my master bath where I fully intended to wash away my embarrassment.

A virgin? She was a damned virgin? Why did she do this?

I couldn’t make sense of what she had done, but the longer I stood there, the more I felt like a douche. And no amount of water cascading down my back could possibly make me feel any better about it.