AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But since she could accomplish more than one aim by providing him a little assistance, why not go for it? She’d always been…curious about Cory unbuttoned, and the guy clearly was at the end of his workaholic rope. Heck, if the way he’d made her come the other day was any indication, maybe that hot sex forecast wouldn’t be a onetime thing. Those photos and his offer had given her an in to his private inner world, and she was taking it.
And she was up for any and all sign-on bonuses.
Vicky grinned. “You need a short-term girlfriend. Well, you’re looking at her.”
Chapter Three
Cory undid the buttons of his suit jacket, unsure why Victoria’s golden-brown eyes gleamed. It was a little eerie, truth be told. He felt almost…objectified.
God, he needed sleep.
Though he’d come over for the very purpose of commandeering her into service, he’d sustained a bout of clarity since being confronted with Victoria—and her mile-long legs. He had sought a woman who would do her girlfriendly tasks with a minimum of fuss, but Victoria was an oncoming locomotive. Loud, full of steam, and liable to mow a man down if he didn’t move quickly.
She’d just had to answer the door in the skimpiest outfit he’d ever seen outside a bedroom. And of course her breasts plumped against her top just perfectly, and her caramel-blond hair curled enough to look wild, and the chain she wore showed off the silken curve of her neck.
Keep her talking. Don’t think about anything below her eyebrows. Hers or yours. “You know, despite the pictures, maybe this isn’t such a good idea. We work together, in case you’ve forgotten. The magazine’s success is paramount.”
“All that means is we already know how to accomplish things.” She shifted and the discreet diamond stud in her nose caught the light. “Besides, this is only a business deal, right? Just one more merger to broker. You’re not asking me to pretend to be your fiancée, for pity’s sake. Just your girl. I can do that.”
Just your girl. Those words shouldn’t have tightened knots in his gut, but they did just the same. “Interesting code you have. Fiancée is going too far. Girlfriend isn’t.”
She shrugged. “Call me weird all you want, but one involves planning a wedding. I would never pret
end about something like that. When I put on a man’s ring, you can bet it’s never coming off.”
The last thing he wanted to think about was her wearing a man’s ring. With effort, he gave her a mocking smile. His idea or not, coming there was a big frigging mistake and he had to rectify it. Quickly. “No rings here. But I suspect the requirements would still be out of your realm.”
“What requirements?”
Yes, what requirements? He didn’t have any, other than she be low-maintenance, capable of attending corporate functions, and a talented actress. She’d also be quiet and demure and laid-back. Victoria? Not so much.
She was just way too sexy. He needed someone to distract his parents from their matchmaking witch hunt, not distract him from his work with her tiny little dresses and her perky little ass and that smug smile he wanted to kiss right off her face.
Wait a second. Sex. That was the answer. She’d never go for that, and he could be on his way. No harm, no foul. He’d find someone else. He’d conjure them out of the ether if he had to.
“The woman I select will need to be comfortable with sexual activity with me as well. Not necessarily full intercourse,” he added as her mouth dropped open, “but enough to add veracity to the proceedings. Some level of intimacy will make things look more believable.”
She appeared to be busy trying not to swallow her tongue. “You expect your fake girlfriend to have sex with you? In return for some sort of benefits you’ve yet to reveal?”
“Actually, no.” This was what he got for working constantly. His senses felt duller than the worn-down nub of a pencil. “It would be consensual, of course. I just won’t stop looking until I find a woman open-minded enough to consider it.”
“So you’re looking for a high-class escort.” She nodded, her amber eyes dangerously bright. “I see.”
“Hardly,” he snapped, yanking at his shirt collar again. He was on the verge of broiling alive, and she’d even tugged down her jersey a little so that he couldn’t see every square inch of her luscious skin. But he could see that little winking stud in her nose, and the long line of her neck, and her delicate collarbone—
And if he didn’t get some sleep soon, he was going to make a serious mistake.
Deliberately, he stretched his arm along the back of the sofa, steeling himself for what was to come. Hadn’t he just said how important intimacy was to adding a layer of veracity to a fib?
When his fingers skimmed the ends of her silky hair, just barely brushing her shoulder blades, she startled as if he’d shoved his hand down the pants she wasn’t wearing. At least he hoped she was wearing underwear. With Victoria, nothing was certain.
“What’re you doing?” she demanded.
“Touching you,” he said lazily, though the nerves that strung tight inside him proved this was no casual exploration. “If you want to be my girlfriend, you can’t stiffen up every time I lay a hand on you. Or three fingers in this case.” He pressed his pinky against her spine and registered her shudder. “Four now.”
“Why not go for a full ten?” She tossed her hair and the honey strands fluttered over his hand like silk ribbons. Tickling him. Making him want to lean in and bury his face in them. In her.
God, he’d start by nibbling that spot between her neck and shoulder, that shadowy soft place just revealed by her top. Then he’d tug it down, inch by inch, and fill himself on the sight of her breasts, the slope of her belly, her shapely thighs, before he set about tasting every part of her.
