He shakes his head. "That pesky fine print again, huh? Should have read it all before you signed it." He steps forward.
I release the door, and he brushes past me, leaving that sea-breeze and pepper scent in his wake. My stupid nipples perk up, and my pussy—well, I confess, I’ve been wet since I opened the door and saw him. He prowls into the living room, which seems to shrink with him in the space. He’s drawn in all the oxygen, leaving me gasping for air. He glances around, then back at me. "Are you pregnant?"
"What?" My jaw drops.
He shuffles his feet. "We, uh… I didn’t use a condom."
I shut the door and lean against it for support. Shit, shit, shit. He’s right. And he came inside me. And I loved it and— "Oh, god." I press my knuckles to my mouth.
His jaw tightens. "I take it you aren’t on birth control?"
I shake my head. "Never needed to use it before."
His chest rises and falls, then he draws himself up to his full height. "Pack a bag. You’re moving in with me."
"Excuse me?" I gape at him.
"You heard me. Not going to repeat myself."
"You’re crazy," I burst out.
"And you might be carrying my child."
Any remaining blood drains from my features. He’s right though. I could be pregnant. Right now. With Sir’s child. I place my hand on my belly. His gaze drops there, and a nerve pops at his temple. "We’re getting married."
"What?" I gasp.
"Not for real, of course. I need a wife and an heir. And if you’re pregnant, you deliver on the second, pun intended. As for the first, you only have to pretend for the next year."
"A year?"
"Long enough for the union to be seen as legitimate by my father. Long enough for him to have signed over the company to me."
"And if I’m not pregnant?"
He blinks as if that possibility didn’t occur to him. "Well, then, I can simply pump you full of my cum until you are."
I wince. "Must you be so crude?"
"Just stating a fact." He looks around, then heads inside.
"What are you doing?"
"Since you don’t seem inclined to pack, thought I might do it for you."
He steps into the hallway, looks around, then heads in the direction of my bedroom.
“Wait, how did you know which room was mine?” I burst out.
In reply, he wrenches open the door and steps inside. I rush behind him, and when I enter the room, it’s to find him picking up my bottle of perfume from the dressing table and sniffing it. "Roses, with notes of caramel; all I had to do was follow the scent.”
"Give that back." I go to snatch it, but he holds it out of reach. "Unusual combination."
"I’m an unusual woman."
"I’ll give this back if you hold out your left hand."
"Wh-a-a-t?" I manage to keep my jaw from dropping. "I’m not doing any such thing."
"In which case…" he begins to pocket the bottle and I almost stomp my feet. This man has the power to piss me off like no one else.
"Give me back my perfume," I hiss.
"Hold out your left hand first," he growls.
I hesitate.
His glare deepens. "I could order you to do it and we both know you’ll obey me. So, can we both stop pretending you’re not going to do what I want?"
I stiffen, attempt to hold his gaze for a few seconds more, then huff. I hold up my left hand, palm outstretched. He places the bottle back on the dressing table, then slides his hand into his pocket and pulls out a ring. A ring? What the—？ I begin to pull back my hand, but he’s caught it in his. He turns my palm over and slips the ring onto my finger.
"Oh, my god!" There’s a gasp from the doorway. I turn to find Mira staring.
"It’s not what it seems." I attempt to pull back my hand, but he tugs on my arm. I fall into him.
He wraps his arm about my waist, then turns to face her. "It’s exactly what it seems.”
"Are the two of you engaged?" Mira cries.
"No, we’re not," I protest.
"Yes, we are," he says at the same time.
I scowl up at him. He looks down at me with a bland expression on his features. "The wedding will be five days."
"Five days?" I exclaim in horror.
"Five days?" Mira scoffs. "Who gets married so quickly after the engagement?"
The Bosshole does, apparently. Only, I’m not having it. I try to wriggle away, but his hold around me tightens. I’m hauled against him so I can feel every hard plane of his body dig into my side. "What are you doing?" I hiss.
"Following the plan I devised to gain control of my father’s company—which will soon be mine."
"I want nothing to do with it," I lower my voice, so Mira can’t hear the conversation.
"You’ve been pivotal in executing the plan since you became my employee. And now, you’re the plan, it seems." He looks at me strangely.
"What?"
"If you don’t agree and come home with me, I’ll withdraw the funds I deposited for your mother’s stay in the home."
"You can't do that." I swallow.
"Try me." He holds my gaze, and in his, I see the utter conviction that he’s willing to follow through with his threat.
"I hate you," I saw in a low voice.
"So do I," he agrees.
Wait, did he say he hates himself? "Wha—"
He places a finger over my mouth. "Hush now. I know how excited you are, but perhaps we should head to my place where we can talk more without disturbing your roommate?"
"Oh, no, now—" Mira shakes her head. "I’m in no hurry for you to leave. In fact, I’m finding this entire proceeding rather entertaining—" She coughs. "I mean, it’s enlightening. I mean… uh, it’s so romantic that the two of you only met and now you’re getting married. And I stopped believing in love at first sight, too."
"It was more like hate at first sight," I snarl.
"First hate, then love. All that chemistry that swirls between the two of you—" Mira fans herself with the palm of her hand. "I knew I sensed it, but I thought it was all in my head."
"It was." I nod.
"It was all true." He nods.
My eyes shoot daggers at him, and he cups my cheek. Douchebag cups my cheek and stares soulfully into my eyes. "You know what I thought the first time I saw you?"
"What?" I narrow my gaze on him.
"That you were the most striking, most beautiful, most sensuous woman I’d ever met ,and that no one else could ever compare to you."
I hear Mira sigh.
"And when you looked at me, it was the first time—the only time—in my life I felt nervous."
"You felt—nervous?" I blink.
"I knew my life would never be the same again. I knew everything as I knew it was going to change. I knew my future had arrived and that I had to find the courage to reach out and grab it. I knew if I didn’t hold onto you, I’d never forgive myself."