“I said nine, not eight-thirty, Wyatt!” I called out from the vanity the moment I heard my bedroom door slam shut. Since tonight was my birthday, Blair and Vivienne were throwing me a costume party in Blair’s home. Even if it was ten doors down, Wyatt had insisted on picking me up.

My eyes scanned my outfit and my heavily contoured makeup, seemingly pleased with the outcome. Steadily taking my pearl earring studs off, I replaced them with large silver hooker hoops, impeccably complimenting my risqué outfit.

Blair had no clue what Wyatt and I had been up to as of late. However, I intended to break the news to her this evening. Hopefully, she wouldn’t shrill and throw a tantrum. One couldn’t really guess how she’d react. Blair was…well, Blair. She was a sweet terror, and I loved her dearly, but I was not going to deny that the woman could be frightening.

Wyatt had been a true gentleman, giving in to whatever I wanted. He wasn’t aggressive and would immediately withdraw if I wished him to, which was quite often. After Jared’s severe action of cutting me out of his life, coming home to an empty house didn’t help my disheartened mood. Wyatt saved me from my darkened thoughts, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for his flirty, charismatic company. He and I weren’t necessarily dating. We simply were enjoying each other’s company for the time being. Where this relationship would lead us, we would see. It was too early to tell. We had tons of fun and I admitted his light-hearted personality added to his appeal. He audaciously offered himself as my distraction, and I was somewhat obliged to sample him. The man hadn’t disappointed.

Grasping my favorite perfume bottle, I spritzed on my wrists, behind my ears, and another one targeting my legs. Wyatt fixated on long toned legs, so I wanted my stems to be as enticing as possible. Giving myself a quick once-over, I decided I was set to go.

Leaving the vanity area, I strode towards the bedroom with a naughty smile teasing my lips. “Wyatt?”

I was a step away from entering the threshold of my bedroom when I halted right at the doorframe. Jared’s tall commanding presence dominated the bedroom. He glowered at the nightstand. My eyes flickered towards the table where Wyatt’s cuff links and Rolex watch were scattered on the mirrored surface.

My breathing hitched, my pulse quickened, and all of a sudden, I felt the magnitude of seeing him in the flesh. My heart ached at the sight of him. It had been a month, and his effect on me hadn’t dwindled. It couldn’t be denied; I missed him dearly. There wasn’t a day I hadn’t thought of him and prayed he was well.

“Jared.” His name escaping my lips sounded like more of a caress than a greeting.

At the sound of his name, the man cocked his head, directing those chilling blue eyes, disgustedly flickering them at my present garish ensemble.

Tonight, when I decided to dress as a naughty cop, I also thought it’d be a fun idea to tease Wyatt by embodying Lexi Anne once again since he had liked this look on me that one time. However, I realized my mistake after witnessing the horrified look on Jared’s stony face.

He savagely flashed his eyes, sharpened daggers piercing through me, straight into my soul. I suffered his revulsion. It penetrated me, puncturing my frayed confidence, dissolving what little happiness I had left in me.

Without some sort of acknowledgment, Jared callously began to say, “I’m here to inform you that your presence is needed in six weeks’ time. We’re renewing contracts to our Japanese contractors, and since you and I have the majority of shares, they need reassurances directly from you, assuring them you have no intentions of voting me off as the company’s CEO.”

His eerie attitude made me nervous. But more importantly, the concern of the company’s present affairs troubled me deeply. “Of course, I’ll do what needs to be done. Where will it be?”

“It’ll be in Tokyo. We’ll leave on a Thursday and fly back Monday. Is a month and a half enough time to figure out your school by then?”

“I’m sure I can figure something out,” I conceded. Questions lingered, but I was too preoccupied with Jared’s standoffish presence to voice anything. Why was one of the company’s main suppliers needing verbal assurances? Most of our principal circuit components came from Japanese manufacturers. Had it gotten so bad that they were losing confidence in Jared’s vision? Even after father’s death, the company stocks and shares remained steady. The sales never declined. They’d been progressively climbing as expected. So, this revelation was quite a shock for me.

“Is everything okay? Is David Berg causing all of this?” I couldn’t find another reason for it. He was the only man who openly undermined my father. I was sure his opposition had transferred to the man in charge.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Shoving both hands in his pockets, he threw me one last frosty look before stating, “I’ll have Audrey get in touch with you with the details. Have a great birthday, Gisele.”

No, my mind reeled. Staggered by his abruptness, I couldn’t simply let him leave like this.

Without dithering, I urgently bolted towards the door, bravely blocking his exit. The cold man wasn’t amused.

Penetrating me with emotionless icy blue eyes, Jared’s unyielding demeanor didn’t thaw an ounce. “Save your childish mind games for your other men. Move out of my way, Gisele.”

“I can’t let you leave like this. Let me explain.” I was taking a step, reaching out to him, when he hastily took a step back, revolted at the thought of my touch. I immediately withdrew my hand, clutching it against my chest as if it burned from his blatant rejection. No matter how I painted it, none of them portrayed me in a good light. I doubted he’d ever forgive me for tricking him. Bracing myself from his fiery razor-like eyes cutting deep into me, I mustered enough courage to speak. “I didn’t see the harm in it. I want you to know I did it with good intentions.”

“Good to know,” he bitingly remarked. “Will you move out of my way now?”

“You’re still angry…”

His nostrils flared, temper rising. He was beyond livid. I swore I could almost detect steam coming out of his ears. Angry as he was, I still wasn’t going to budge until he and I sorted this out. Somehow, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he thought ill of me…It was rather stupid really, but I simply couldn’t let him pass.

“Move!” His eyes sparked fire, prepared to throttle me out of the way.

“No.” I defiantly shook my head, unwilling to yield to his infuriated command. “Talk to me. Then you can pass.”

He took a step until his nose almost touched mine. Tumultuous eyes held me captive. They pinned me on the spot. “Talk about what, Gisele?” he bellowed in my face, unbridled rage roaring through him. “How you mocked and laughed behind my back? Was I some passing entertainment for you and your friends? You conniving bitch! All this bloody time, you’ve played me for a fool! You speak of honesty when you’ve lied to me this entire time! How fucking dare you! I’m not going to forgive you for this. You’ve gone above and beyond to humiliate me. You bloody disgust me!”

I didn’t realize I was crying until a drop fell onto my cleavage. Each insult struck me in the gut. Oh, I had thought he’d lash out, but not to this extent…not to the point where he’d actually declare his disgust for me.

“I’m sorry. I truly am.” It was pathetic to apologize, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“I don’t want your bloody sorry! Spare me the tears. We both know you’re a bloody good actress,” he condescendingly stated, glaring at me. “I hope it was worth it, Gisele. It sure as fuck wasn’t for me.” He hadn’t moved from my face. However, he wasn’t screaming anymore.

Still, his words effectively cut through me. It stung all the same. “I didn’t do it to mock or laugh at you. I would never treat you like that…never,” I shakily whispered before dejectedly dropping my gaze, feeling beyond ashamed of my past actions.

“Why the fuck did you do it, then, huh?”

“I was a virgin, and I didn’t want to lose it with just any man. I wanted it to be you…” My eyes never lifted as I spoke. Maybe I was too ashamed to look him in the eye while repugnance stared back at me. Whatever it was, I felt safer looking away from him. “I needed it to be you. Judge me all you like, but I did because I’ve been crazy about you for so long…I did it because I loved you.”

“Loved me?” He barked out a dark laugh.

His mocking laughter was unexpected. I had just bared my heart to him. It had taken every ounce of me to profess the truth, and his response was to laugh? Was it really that unbelievable, or was it truly that hilarious even he couldn’t muster any other response but to deem it as an awful joke?

Raising my eyes to meet his, I couldn’t believe he actually found it amusing.

But amusement was the last thing etched in his darkened orbs. “Oh, Gisele, don’t you dare insult my intelligence!”

My throat ached. The need to run and bolt out the door was more tempting by the second. I had thought the worst thing was confessing my feelings to him. No, it was the mocking laughter that killed me inside. “I’m sorry. I hope someday you can forgive me, Jared.” Heaving shakily, I stepped away from the door, ready to hide from him, but he yanked my arm and roughly shoved me against the wall.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he grated, irked at my brusqueness.

Unshed tears rimmed my eyes. But this time, I didn’t hide from his loathing eyes. I matched him squarely, showing a little pride even though his words had diminished most of it. I stood proud, bearing my hurt with dignity. “You’ve shown no regard for my feelings. If you find it hilarious, laugh all you want, but don’t do it in my presence. So, I’m leaving. I have a party to attend. It is, after all, my birthday. Thank you for the tears and belittling me. I’ll never forget it.”

His eyes flickered back and forth, searching, probing something on my face before his face began to soften. Although, he hadn’t let go of me. “I came here with good intentions. I’m to drop your present off and inform you on the Japan deal, but when you came out—”

I brazenly placed a finger on his lips, halting him from finishing his sentence. His words wounded me, and to suffer another barrage of them would surely put me on a crying spree all night. My friends took great effort in throwing me a party. I couldn’t miss it because I’d be too depressed to even walk out the door. “You’ve said enough, Jared. I don’t want to hear any more. I can’t take any more. I apologize for ruining your night, but please, let me go.”

Our eyes clashed. The pressure in his hand hadn’t lessened, but I still tried to yank it away from his grip, again to no avail.

“Jared,” I hissed when another effort failed to free me from his hold. My struggle merely brought him closer to me. His body caged me in. He surrounded me to the point where if I dared move, I’d inevitably brush his face, and I couldn’t afford to be mocked again tonight. So, I endured him while wordlessly wishing he’d come to his senses and leave me to my own devices. Being this close to him brought so many memories. He smelled the same—aftershave with musky notes of sandalwood, a trace of bergamot, and a hint of citrus. My body instantly went into sensory overload. I was brought back to a time when he and I would cuddle and laugh, to the time when adoration held me in those beautiful eyes. Nostalgia gripped me. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but somehow, my lips brushed against his. And instead of rejecting me, Jared thrust me harder against the wall before his mouth collided with mine, kissing me no holds barred.

I made a stifled cry, involuntarily parting my legs as he roughly ground his hardness against my aroused loins.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he declared in between frenzied kisses, annihilating me whole.

Those words were a balm to my heart. All the insults he had hurled at me earlier were long forgotten after hearing him say how much he had missed me.

Basking in ultimate euphoria, my hands impulsively headed straight to his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping until they landed on the floor. Boxer briefs came next. His monstrous fat cock sprung free, poking me in my stomach. Deepening our kiss, I clutched onto him as my leg latched on his hip, desperate for him. Guiding his enormous pole into my heat, my fingers nudged the thong aside so the head was situated on my clit. We both moaned the second his hips propelled forward, ramming his cock farther, grazing my hot button. His arm slid underneath my leg, lifting it higher over his shoulder, parting my legs wider for better access. Potent lust soared through my body as I begged for release. My hand gripped the back of his head as our tongues battled, our sexes engaged uncontrollably. I was over the moon, moaning and groaning until his dick slipped into my entrance, making me scream cold murder. The unendurable pain seized me blind. I couldn’t breathe. All I could feel was the excruciating pinpricks stabbing and throbbing in my pussy.

My eyes frantically dropped below. His length was hardly inside and I could barely handle it—just like the first time.

“Jared, it hurts,” I griped, shivering as he continued kissing me, whispering assurances that he wouldn’t go any farther.

“Keep kissing me. It’ll feel better soon. I promise I won’t go any deeper than this.”

I made a reluctant nod, unsure about the subsiding pain resurfacing again once he continued stretching me. “Be gentle, even for a short while…”

He answered with his lips. Though his momentum slowed down, he didn’t pressure my constricted canal to take all of him. Minutes passed, and my body began to relax, quite accepting, accommodating his gentle prodding. I understood what he meant with experienced women. He didn’t have to deal with nuisances such as this. Gentle wasn’t a word to be associated with Jared when it came to sex. It was no wonder he wasn’t predominantly enticed getting physical with me. Sure, he found me attractive, but the idea of an inexperienced woman with unsophisticated skills in seduction left an unpalatable impression.

Although, right this instant, those qualms were abated, solely focusing on the mounting hunger his concise plunges did to me. Body yielding, it became tuned in to his desires, his wishes. It welcomed him slowly, inch by inch, my essence fluidly coating my passage, guiding him deeper as he consciously sought more of my depths.

“May I?” he grunted out, neck muscles gravely straining from withholding himself from limitless carnal exploration.

A sheen of sweat coated his forehead. I tenderly caressed it as our lips brushed softly, leisurely. Heavily gasping, I felt wholly entwined with him. Right here, with him intensely burrowed deep within my body, within the depths of my heart, I was his and he was mine. The past and the future were no longer relevant; only the present mattered.

Gray orbs bored into ardent blues, passionately seeking him, willingly ready to surrender it all to him—the man I loved, the man I vowed as mine, my husband. “I can handle you now…there’s no need to suppress your appetite. Take as much as you want to satisfy yourself. My body belongs to you.”

A guttural beastly sound rumbled in his chest as his hand held me firmly, primed to plunder and pillage until a sudden loud knock occurred, stilling us both.

“Gi?” Wyatt’s voice came through the door. “Are you ready, beautiful?”

While my eyes veered towards the door, fearing Wyatt might barge in any second, Jared appeared unperturbed. However, his eyes remained glued to my face, scrutinizing every flicker of emotion running through me.

Timidly licking my lips, I nervously cleared my throat before struggling to sound jovially collected. “I need more time. Wait for me downstairs. I should be ready soon.”

Jared’s cock expanded inside me, inadvertently making me groan in earnest.

“Don’t take additional effort in making yourself look extra hot, or I won’t be able to promise to behave myself tonight,” he chuckled before hollering he’d meet me downstairs once I was primed and ready.

There should’ve been a little guilt dismissing Wyatt, but none came. Jared had been silent all this time; however, I didn’t have the courage meet his eyes. Words would cheapen the moment after Wyatt’s intrusion, so I thought it best to simply kiss him again. And when Jared responded in the same desperate, fevered urgency, I became lost in his passion. His tongue plundered into my mouth, fraught with yearning and unbridled need. He felt like a man about to unleash his wrath upon me and my willing body.

His mouth locked on me savagely as his hand wrapped around my neck while he tilted my chin to meet his feral tongue lashings, devouring my swollen lips, giving me no room to breathe, think, or feel anything but him. He dominated my senses, usurping every thought, rhyme, and reason, masterfully vanishing them as he commanded me to worship him, to be enslaved only to him and him alone. My world became his to rule. His needs became my law, my purpose.

Exerting sheer strength, he callously drove his cock into me, impaling the monstrous size into my tightness. The severity of his force as he executed it into my core, surging into my gut, took the air out of my lungs. Fervid lust seized him as he fiercely thrust in and out of my hole, surrendering to baser instincts, mating and breeding like animals. Blinded by the need to possess my body, a sob barely left my lips when he tipped my body, angling it acutely so my upper back was heavily propped against the wall while my nether region was widely exposed for more of his savage exploitation.

“Jared, fuck, slow down!” A shiver ran through me as I gasped for air. The look on him told me he was about to pillage my pussy for all that it was worth.

He stilled for a second as he gazed down on me. The crazed look in his eyes hadn’t melted away; it had merely become pronounced as he took me in and saw the apprehension in my eyes. “How often does he fuck you?”

Wyatt? He was asking about Wyatt…or Jack?

“You mean Wyatt?” I fretfully asked. His feral face merely darkened at the mention of my lover. “I haven’t…yet.”

An animalistic growl wrenched out of his throat. “Don’t lie to me. The security footage caught his head in between your legs before you led him here to this blasted bedroom! Don’t play me for an idiot. Your cunt easily gives in when horny.” A rough hand captured my chin, and enraged blue eyes pinned me, potent fury lurking in their depths. “How many times have you shared this tight body, Gisele?”

So, the cameras were working, after all. I had thought for a moment they weren’t functioning properly. He had caught on quickly, and based on his reaction, he was beyond pissed. He was perfectly fine continuing his trysts with Rose, but when it came to me and my body, Jared felt inclined to demand answers. He countlessly rejected me, so again, why should it matter?

I had meant to voice out the question lingering in my mind, too, but the severe expression on his face halted me from spouting it off. “Tonight—I had planned to give him my body tonight…after the party.”

“How will you achieve that if your cunt is leaking with my nut after I’m done with you?” he viciously spat at me. “Will you not care if he tastes you with my cream dripping out of your used cunt?”

Aghast, I was left to wonder why he was being so crude and brutal. Had it not been him proposing such notions before? Had it not been him encouraging me to date other men? At first, I was truly against it, but Wyatt already knew me. There was no need for false pretenses. Wyatt knew I was in love with Jared. So, when he broached the subject of “helping to distract me” with his skilled expertise, it was difficult to turn him down. Desperate as I was to forget about Jared even for a short time, I caved in to what brokenhearted women did to alleviate their ache—another man’s touch.

But seemingly, the man who caused my despair saw it otherwise. “I’m not going to. I won’t go through with it anymore.”

He remained unconvinced. His cock pulsated inside of me before he ruthlessly shoved his hip, making the tip go painfully past the opening of my cervix as he wrathfully gazed down on me like some darkened knight meaning to cause destruction. Nostrils flaring, he gritted his teeth, merciless as ever. “You swore this body belongs to me, yet you freely give it away to any man licking your cunt. Is that the kind of woman you are, sweet wife?”

His dark, unforgiving demeanor made me tremble and aroused me simultaneously. There was no mistaking it; he was jealous. So, he lashed out, punishing me the best way he knew how, the perfect tactic he conquered seamlessly—by letting his cock exact revenge on my body. This was why he came here today. Not because it was my birthday, but this…branding me as his, marking his territory.

Jared had no need for such measures. “I love no other man but you,” I bravely stated again, hoping my words would get through his stubborn head. “No more guys, I promise. From now on, I’m exclusively yours.”

He unabashedly scowled at me. “Oh, how sweetly you lie to me.”

Without any warning, Jared lifted my body with my back still leaning against the wall while his cock gave limitless access to my depths. My arms clung onto his neck as I gazed upon my dark knight, ready for him to conquer me. Grip secured on my hips, he thrust roughly, penetrating farther than before, reaching the deepest recesses of my womb. I felt his monstrous girth expanding my insides, my body straining, shifting to accommodate his demanding size.

“You’re a fucking beast. You’re splitting me open,” I wailed, momentum picking up speed, relentlessly punishing me with his manhood as he ceaselessly slammed into my swollen walls.

“I’m coming inside you,” he harshly grunted out, fucking in and out my pussy as he hammered me into the wall.

Fuck, that was the hottest thing I’d ever heard him say to me.

My reply was lost on me as our lips met, kissing feverishly, effectively muffling our grunts and moans as we came apart together. We clung onto each other as he gradually lowered my body, but his cock stayed lodged, throbbing in my thighs.

Cupping my face, he chastely kissed my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose before brushing a soft one on my swollen lips. “Happy birthday, wife,” he murmured with a smile. “Your gift is on your side table. Open it first thing tomorrow.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything—this…” I made an emphasis by constricting my vaginal muscles, choking his girth as he groaned in pure ecstasy. “This is all I’ve ever wanted. You—just you…It’s all I’ll ever crave, and it’s all I’ll ever need.”

“You’re quite easy to please. I love that about you.”

His half-mast length began to grow again. I didn’t stop him when he lifted my leg as he devoured my lips, aiming for another round. His lovemaking wasn’t as rough, but the intensity persisted. We were bewitched, clinging, kissing, mad for each other. I had given him my all, countering his movements just as passionately. Lacking words, Jared showed my body just how greatly he wanted me. I clung on to that hope, believing there may be a future for us someday.

After loading his semen into my womb for the second time, I peered at him with a half-lidded gaze, drunk off his passion. “When do I get to see you again?”

He tenderly caressed my cheek before dipping his head close to my ear, licking my lobe. “You’ll see me when we leave for Tokyo.”

He was serious, too. Headquarters was fifteen minutes away. Surely, he could spare time to drop by to say hello, or was that too much for him? “Why so long?” I cautiously probed.

His tongue hadn’t strayed from my ear when he panted out his answer. “Because each time I see you, this is all I want to do.” His cock remained glued in my passage, seemingly at home enveloped in my wet warmth.

“I don’t mind it. I encourage you to indulge as much as you desire.” I grinned, sated in post-coital bliss.

“Don’t tempt me for a third round. You have a party to attend.” He groaned, madly grinning as he playful bit my ear. “I’ll take the side exit so I don’t have to run into your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

As he brought his face close to mine, something flashed in his eyes, meticulously analyzing me.

Ignoring his probing eyes, I bit my lip as I coquettishly pressed my breasts against his chest, making sure my nipples brushed against his torso before bringing my lips close to his ear. “Are you sure you don’t want to continue this…” I murmured seductively, dangling my bait, hoping to lure him to indulge in the pleasure of my body soon.

“We can’t. You know I can’t,” he replied with a strangled voice, battling his inner demons.

Damn him. Did he come here to punish me and leave me wanting? What was I to do for the next six weeks until I saw him again, play the fiddle? At night, when I was all alone in such a massive house, that was when I got restless. Surely, he could afford a few days to come back to me.

“Yet that didn’t stop you from ravaging me and coming inside me twice.”

“Stop me next time…”

“I would never. I want you too much.” Chasing him had been a thrill, but it was becoming exhausting. My heart questioned my sanity, wondering when this whole tedious obsession would grind to a stopping halt. But tonight…I temporarily captured him, surely that meant something significant, right? And if it were the case, fighting and waiting for him to come to his senses maybe would be worth it in the end. It had to be worth it, or it would all be for naught. I had to believe. It was all I had left. “Someday, Jared…Someday, you’re going to be mine.”

That made him grin wide. “Oh, yeah?” he quipped back, kissing me thoroughly, unreservedly. “In a few years, maybe…I’ll be strong enough to stay. Maybe I’ll deserve you then, but for the time being, I’m staying away from you.”

“We shall see,” I murmured, feeling quite out of my depth, but it was too late to stop now. “You know how I love a good challenge.”

“You are shameless.” He spanked my ass.

“I love you. There’s no shame in that.” I kissed him for the last time. “Go, before I decide to keep you forever.” He was, in some ways, a challenge. Did I have the wherewithal to tame someone like him?

Dancing blue eyes thoughtfully gazed down on me tenderly.

My heart swelled, and I couldn’t look away.

“Don’t be too naughty. Happy birthday, kitten.”