Chapter 4

Tanner

My life, my livelihood is in her pretty little manicured hands.

Fuck. I hate not being in control. And she knows it, too.

As we exit the board room, I grab Elsa’s arm. I pull her into my office before she slips out of my fingers into the elevator. It’s almost fucking funny—she might hold all the control here, but I can still pull her around like she weighs nothing.

And it’s not like she comes willingly, either—I feel the way she tries to dig in those sharp little heels on her Louboutins as I drag her along.

I close the door to the nosy onlookers in the hall as I hear Elsa swear behind me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she hisses.

She’s always so fucking beautiful when she’s pissed.

“Look, I don’t like this any more than you do,” I lie.

The truth is, I can’t think of a better way to spend the next few months of my life than pretending to be engaged to this sexy creature currently throwing daggers at me from the deep oceans of her blue eyes.

“I find that impossible to believe,” she says. “The mere thought of having to spend time with you, having to act like I can stand to be in the same room—much less hemisphere—with you? Meryl Streep couldn’t pull off this level of a performance, sweetheart. You’re out of your league here.”

Goddamn, I love the way her lips curl when she’s angry. She’s also gorgeous when she’s happy, of course. When she’s in the throes of passion, even better.

And believe me, I remember bringing her to that point and beyond many times.

Her lips curl when she comes around my thick, hard cock too.

So fine. There’s no denying it. I still want her.

Never stopped wanting her actually.

I dare you to find any man in America—no, the Universe—who wouldn’t do damn near anything to bed Elsa Blakely.

Our little predicament gives me the perfect chance to do just that with her again.

If only we could get along anyway.

A big wrinkle in the plan our boards concocted is that we can’t seem to go more than a few minutes before devolving into bickering and trading barbs with each other. Not that verbal sparring with her isn’t fun, but having my company on the line takes most of the fun out of it.

“We need to figure out how this is going to work,” I say, snapping back into focus. “This isn’t going to pan out unless we’re united on this—like it or not.”

“Easy,” Elsa says. “You just have to not be the biggest jackass ever, and everything will blow over. Now, it won’t be easy for you, but...”

With her back to the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up an entire wall in my office, I’m getting quite the view of her body outlined in the sun. She’s standing with her legs slightly apart, and the space between her toned thighs is forming an arrow that seems to be pointing me, guiding me straight to her Promised Land.

Damn. I feel my mouth start to water.

“Earth to Tanner,” Elsa says, waving her arm in front of me. “Can you stop thinking whatever smutty thoughts you were thinking long enough for us to hatch a plan? My company is on the line here.”

“As is mine, angel,” I say, shaking the thoughts of Elsa in my bed and in my arms out of my head. Walking over to my desk, I say, “I’ll woo you with a few public dates to get the media stirred up, then reveal to the media that we’re getting hitched—maybe we’ll leak it to the hot blonde who writes for The Chronicle—and then we’ll take it from there.”

“Sure, and then once we break up and go back to our respective companies, you can fuck the ‘hot blonde.’”

“Lis Langley? Maybe I will,” I say, leaning against the door, still staring at her outlined form. “I’ll be single again, after all. She can help me pick up the pieces of my shattered heart.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Tanner.” Elsa laughs—beautiful but cold. “You can’t shatter something that doesn’t exist.”

“Is that really what you think?” I try not to let the hurt creep into my voice. “It’d explain why you’re so fucking blasé right now, I guess.”

“Look. We need ground rules,” Elsa says, ignoring my honest question. “We won’t be able to avoid kissing on the mouth—but if you try to lay one on my cheek, so help me god, I’ll end you. None of the old pet names, so cut that angel shit out right now. And as few public outings as possible would be ideal.”

I walk around my desk. She’s leaning against it with her arms crossed, which pushes her tits up even higher than before. It’s a hell of a view, and I’m enjoying every second of it.

There are perks to being fake married to an ex-lingerie model, after all.

I stop inches from her.

I lean in, our bodies almost touching, and say, “You used to like to be in my presence, as I recall. Couldn’t get you out of my bed some days, remember?”

“That was a naive twenty year old who fell for the cocky marketing whiz. Some of us grew up and learned from our mistakes.”

“So, you’re the wise, mature woman, and I’m the impulsive player still chasing anything with a pussy, is that it?”

“The phrase ‘truer words’ comes to mind. But, you said it, not me.”

I’m on the verge of feeling insulted.

Any other man would be insulted, but as she’s hurling insults at me, I realize she hasn’t taken a step back.

I look into her eyes, and they seem alive, on fire. Even when her back was against the wall in the conference room, and she thought she was about to get fired, she didn’t have this intense look in her eyes.

I still get to her.

A small smile escapes my lips, and I hold my ground—figuratively and literally.

“You can’t deny how good it was between us, in bed at least,” I say. “Reliving that part of us wouldn’t be the worst thing, would it?”

I take a moment to look her up and down, resting for a moment on her tits and pussy. I bring my eyes back up her body and notice that she’s watching me.

I look at her neck and see the pulsating vein there; her heart is probably beating faster.

I definitely still get to her.

Elsa places her hand on my chest, sending currents of passion rippling through my body. It takes every ounce of resolve I have not to rip her dress around her waist and plunge my cock into her right then and there.

Instead, I put a hand on my desk to steady myself.

She’s coming to me, after all.

Wouldn’t want her thinking she’s got the upper hand.

Just when I think I’ve won and I’m going to seal our deal with a fuck on my desk, she smiles her brilliant smile. She pushes me away and walks to stand in front of the window that overlooks Central Park.

Fuck.

“Amazing view, huh?” I say, coming up behind her. “I bet the view from your office isn’t nearly as nice.”

“Please,” she says, turning towards me. “My interns have a better view than this. The view from the Dirty Little Angel bathrooms kicks this view’s ass.”

“I originally had a suite of offices on the other side of the building,” I say, sitting on the edge of my desk in front of Elsa. “But I went on a few dates with the redhead handling the building’s real estate and wouldn’t you know it—a spot on this side became available.”

“So, you used some poor girl for your office view. Charming, Tanner.”

Shit. That story isn’t having the effect I thought it would.

“Tell me, do you just avoid her now?” Elsa asks. “That’s how you operate, right? Lay ‘em and leave ‘em. To the victor goes the spoils—you get twenty minutes with a hot piece of ass and a view of Central Park.”

I stand up, determined to get this conversation back on track.

“She knew it wasn’t serious,” I say. “It was a casual. A few mutually beneficial days, I’ll have you know.”

“Typical Tanner, always focusing on the short-term payoff,” Elsa says. “You can never see past your own needs and desires to accommodate anyone else, cupcake. Admit it.”

“Funny, I remember it was you who broke up with me,” I respond, reaching up to grab a blond curl and wrapping it around my finger.

“I saw no reason to delay the inevitable.”

“So, in addition to being a sexy model and a lingerie titan, you’re also a mind reader.”

Elsa leans in, her full lips inches from mine and says, “You think I’m sexy.”

As she steps back away from me, she looks smug—a little too smug for my comfort.

“You didn’t just solve world peace, angel,” I shoot back. “Yeah, I think you’re hot. Because you are. You know it. I know it. The whole world knows it. No big mystery there.”

I see Elsa glance down the fly of my slacks. Admittedly, the view waiting there for her is bigger than it was when we first walked into my office.

My dick isn’t completely hard yet, but it’s on its way.

Standing so close to her, drinking in her smell, isn’t helping the situation.

I’m a man of action. Talking is for schmucks who don’t get laid.

I grab Elsa in both arms and take a step forward so our bodies are pressed together, and she’s pressed against the window.

I’m waiting for a sign—any sign. I know all her fucking tells. I know the sharp little intake of breath and the long, deep sigh that mean she wants it.

I need something from her. Anything. All I’m waiting for is that little signal that it’s okay to proceed...when I feel her hands rest on my waist.

She breathes in sharply.

She exhales.

She’s mine.

“Here’s to a few mutually beneficial days,” I say, as I lean in to capture her lips with mine.

But instead of making out with Elsa Blakely, I find myself being pushed away. I catch myself just before I crash into my desk.

I steady myself and look up just in time to see Elsa’s tight ass walk out of my office.

“You want this pussy, it’s gotta be public, Tanner,” she calls over her shoulder. “No hanky panky behind the scenes I’m afraid.”

Instead of chasing after her like a lovesick schoolboy, I sink into my chair, my head falling into my hands.

Her perfume lingers in the room.

It’s a good thing I like the scent because I’m going to be smelling it a lot for the next few weeks. And it’s a good thing I like the feel of Elsa in my arms because that’s where she’s going to be for the next few weeks.

The day didn’t end the way I thought it would, but there’s no denying that I still get to her as much as she gets to me. Maybe more. Why else would she leave like that?

It’s only a matter of time before she gives in. And then we can have some real fun during our pretend engagement.

In the meantime, I intend to have fun teasing her.

Maybe this little arrangement our boards forced us into isn’t the worst thing after all.