“What’s the catch? There’s always a catch. What do I have to do?” Her fingers grip the edges of the paper so tightly her knuckles turn white.
“You move in with me. Immediately. Tonight, if possible. Your things can be brought over tomorrow.” Cory shakes her head. A humorless laugh tumbles past her plush lips.
“Why? Why me? You don’t need a charity case, Dom. You could have any woman in the city. Why me?”
“It’s simple. You have a problem. I have the solution.” I shrug, keeping my expression cool, even though she’s the one I’m putting all my cards on the table for.
“A solution that’s going to cost you millions?” Cory questioning me is obvious. Cory questioning herself that shewouldn’t be worth this much sits like a dead weight in my stomach.
“A drop in the bucket compared to what I could lose,” I reply, straightening to my full heigh and walking over to spin her around. This requires direct eye contact. I brace my hands on the marble counter on either side of her and settle between her thighs. I’m essentially trapping her, though I’m keeping my hands to myself. “There’s forty billion dollars sitting on the table. The board members at Sterling Capital won’t put up the money for an investment I’m going after. They think I’m a wild card, unpredictable, untamed, and not the image they want. They want me to settle down, so they feel safe. It doesn’t matter that I pulled my dad out of the world of bankruptcy. After I worked myself to the bone for years and years, I let off steam, a little too much, and now it’s catching up to me. A marriage of convenience will work in both of our favors. It gives them an illusion of stability, and it provides you with a clean slate.”
“First of all, how did you find out I’m in debt up to my eyeballs? Nobody knows, Dom. Not Alex, not Jett, not Seraphina, not Romy, not Mischa, not Genny, and definitely not my mom.” Cory stares at me, her gaze searching my face for any sign of a joke. She doesn’t find one. Her expression hardens, and a spark of fire meets my eyes.
“Money can buy you anything, sweetheart. Including a private detective who can make the three-letter government agencies look like amateurs.” It’s the truth. Miller has a military background that rivals no other. He got out, started his own company that involves detective work and other shit we’ve never gotten into.
“This is blackmail, Dom. You’re leveraging my mother’s health and my financial ruin to buy yourself a wife.” I let my gaze drop, slowly, deliberately, dragging my eyes from her face down the column of her throat, over the swells of her breasts down tothe curve of her waist and thighs, before bringing my eyes back to hers.
“You call it blackmail.” I drop my voice, a slow smirk spreading across my face. “I call it protecting my assets. Emphasis onassets.”Cory lets out a snort of laughter, the sudden sound breaking the heaviness in the room.
“You’re an insufferable bastard, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told. Time and time again.” She taps her nail against the contract, looking at it with a mix of trepidation and resolve.
“Say I’m crazy enough to consider this. When does this need to be signed by?”
“Tonight. The board meets Monday morning. I want to make an announcement of sorts by tomorrow afternoon.” I also don’t want to give her too much time to overthink this.
“And how exactly are we going to swing people into buying this?” She gestures with her finger between the two of us. “We’ve barely spoken in public. People know I don’t work in your orbit, and they aren’t stupid. They’re going to see a sudden marriage and smell a rat.”
“That’s easy.” I lean in a fraction closer, enough so she can feel the heat radiating off me, close enough that her eyes flicker to my lips. “We’ll dabble in a fake relationship. A couple of weeks of dinners, charity galas, and the likes. Then we’ll play it off as a whirlwind romance, a passion so intense we couldn’t contain it. A simple Justice of the Peace wedding, and we’ll live happily ever after.” Cory’s chest rises and falls, unsure of the portrait I’m painting, I’m sure.
“And you think people will believe we just, I don’t know, fell in love?” I reach out, my thumb catching her chin, tilting her face up. My thumb brushes across her lower lip, reminding her of the kiss that was so hot, it nearly consumed us.
“Look me in the eye and tell me it’s a stretch.” My voice is thick. I’m barely able to keep myself in check. “There’s no denying our chemistry, Cory. Everyone in the room sees it when we’re together. It works in our favor. We won’t even have to fake how this feels.” The contract lies beside us. I let my hand drop, pick up the pen, hold it out for her, and say, “What do you say, Cory. Will you be my wife?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
corinne
The heavy paper of the non-disclosure agreement as well as the marriage of convenience contract feels unnaturally thick between my fingertips. High-quality bond paper, the kind of stationery that screams old money, corporate power, and binding authority.
A lot like the man in front of me.
And while the documents may seem perfect and neat, beautifully formatted, it also feels like I’m signing my death to my independence. I stare at the blank line at the bottom of the page.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I whisper, my hand hovering to sign. The expensive Montblanc pen feels heavy. “I’m sure I could start on OnlyFans to make money, but this seems faster. Besides, I don’t see any other choice to keep my mom where she is, and the nursing home will only take half payments for so long.” Dom stays quiet while I prattle on. It doesn’t make his presence any less demanding. The ticking in his jaw tells me he doesn’t like the idea at all. Same, so much same.
“This is faster,” Dom agrees. His deep voice is smooth, lacking any judgment. His posture is relaxed, but his eyes are intensely focused on me. “And far more lucrative. I promise youthis, Cory, your mother will be taken care of forever. You have my word, and you have this contract.”
“Fine.” With a sharp, decisive exhale, I press the tip of the pen to the paper and scribble my signature.Corinne Pierson.I draw a swoop at thenat the end with a definite stroke, flip to the next document, and do the exact same thing there. It’s done. My freedom for my mother’s peace of mind, well, and to be debt free. Why does it feel like I’m trading one kind of stress for a different kind of stress? Before I can fully process the weight of what I just signed, Dom leans across the small space separating us.
“To seal the deal,” he mutters. His hand reaches out, and long, thick fingers cup the nape of my neck, gentle yet with an undeniable presence of possession. He tilts my face up and kisses me. It’s not gentle or reassuring, it’s searing, a deliberate claim, and I’m his willing victim. His lips are warm, demanding, and taste of dark coffee and expensive ambition. He wedges in closer, his other hand going to my lower back, pulling me in until I feel the solid heat of his chest. The parting of my lips with a slow deliberateness sends a sudden spike of heat straight between my legs. I press closer, trying to find the release that’s building inside of me. I forget about the contract, my mother’s medical bills, and the sheer absurdity in my life. There’s only this heated moment, the need to feel Dom like this, minus our clothing. The outside world doesn’t exist. God, do I want more. I want so much more, and when Dom breaks our kiss and his thumb brushes over my tingling lower lip, a whimper escapes.
I blink, forcing my brain to reboot. The haze of Dom’s kiss slowly evaporates and is replaced by the reality of the situation and sheer volume of logistics we have to work out and have yet to actually discuss.
“Okay. First of all…” I clear my throat, putting my hand between us and pointing my finger in his direction. “We have logistics to work out.”
“Tell me the problem you’re conjuring up in that pretty head of yours, and I’ll handle it.” He looks thoroughly unfazed.
