Pretend Married (A Billionaire Love Story) (2 page)

“
N
o
….” I whispered back, turning my head to gaze up at him. The intensity of Edward’s stare sent fireworks shooting straight into my tight spandex shorts. God damnit! His steel-gray eyes did that to me every single time….

“I didn’t think so Julia…….because that would be so disappointing….”

Edward was using his super-sexy low voice now. He knew I could never resist that growl.

Before I knew it, his sensual full lips were devouring my own. His kiss was strong and demanding as if he were still trying to win our argument without using any words. Truth be told his oral expertise could convince me of just about anything.

He enveloped me in his passionate embrace and guided me backwards into my chair before kicking the door to his private office shut and locking it behind him. Good idea! Better safe than sorry; just because it was Saturday didn’t mean the building was empty!

He sauntered back to me with his usual smug seductive smile and stared down in deliberation as if he were pondering which piece of my clothing he wanted to remove first. After a moment or two he dropped to his knees and ran his hands slowly up my legs and across my tummy. Then he deftly slid his sly fingers in under my stretchy sports bra top. He rubbed and caressed my breasts while his hot moist tongue teased my navel. I relaxed back in the chair, raising my arms above my head as he peeled the elastic top off and threw it onto his desk. Then I kicked off my running shoes and slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt before flinging it across the room. His physique was so muscular and commanding. I craved him like no other man I’d ever met. I ran my hands over his prominent abs, anticipating the way his huge cock would fill me.

“Fuck Julia! You don’t know what your body does to me!”

He skimmed his perfect rock-hard chest across my tits as he kissed me slowly, first on the mouth, then trailing down my neck and lingering on my collarbone. I couldn’t resist running my fingers through his thick black mane as his tongue swirled around my nipples and gently sucked and pulled them into his lips. The length of his ready cock pressed against my thigh and my breathing quickened. My willing legs fell open as he grinded his hips further into me.

The heat of the moment was interrupted by our sudden realization that my chair was becoming mobile; we were beginning to roll across the office floor! I wrapped my arms around Edward’s neck and anchored my legs tightly around his waist as he scooped me up and carried me over to the sofa next to his desk.

“I thought you’d probably prefer the couch after what happened the last time we had sex on my desk.”

“I appreciate that. I don’t need any more staples in my ass thank you very much!”

Edward placed me onto the soft leather couch cushions and then took a moment to stand back and survey my body from head to toe. He looked down at me and smiled like the naughty little boy that he was, as I lay there topless with my legs spread wide open for him.

“Why Ms. Jones…… are you aware that you’re still wearing those tight little running shorts?”

“Well yes I am Mr. Armani. What are you gonna do about that?”

“What would you like me to do about it Ms. Jones?”

“You can do anything you want Mr. Armani. You
are
the boss……..”

“Those little shorts look mighty fine on your sweet ass but I’m afraid they’ve got to go!”

Edward had them off of me with one swift but forceful tug. Then he dove face first into my eager pussy and tortured me with his talented tongue until I begged for his cock.

“Edward……please! Oh my God! Please!”

He mischievously looked up at me from between my thighs.

“Ms. Jones? Do you need something? Tell me what you want?”

“I need you to fuck me now! I want to feel your hot cock inside me please!”

“Whose cock?”

“Your cock…..Mr. Armani!”

Edward straddled my body as I unzipped his pants and unleashed his mighty dick. It was quite the superb specimen and I couldn’t wait to feel it slide between my legs and into my aching slit.

As he slid out of his trousers he snatched an extra-large condom out of a desk drawer. I helped him roll it on over his massive organ and then opened my legs wider in preparation of his impressive girth.

Edward entered me slowly and tentatively; giving me time to adjust to his size. He gradually filled me entirely and increased the depth of his thrusts. He fucked me slowly and deliberately, teasing my clit with the heft of his balls. He knew exactly how to work me over; driving me closer to the edge with each stroke.

“Oh fuck Julia! Oh god you feel so fucking good!”

My back arched involuntarily and my pussy tightened around his cock in ecstasy. I grabbed his ass with both hands and sunk my nails in as his hips plunged deeper and faster.

“Oh Edward I’m coming! Don’t stop…….fuck me Edward!”

He obediently kept fucking me until all the strength went out of my body. I could feel the engorged head of his dick release his wad as he came into me and I imagined how great it would feel without a barrier.

“Oh my god Julia!”

He gave one final forceful stab before coming to rest on top of me.

We lay there on the office couch in sweaty silence for a few minutes and my mind began to wander. Every time I had sex with Edward I asked myself the same thing: Why
am
I doing this? I knew there was no future with this man. He was just having a little fun. He was definitely a maestro in the sack……no doubt about that. He also had the best cock ever! Sometimes I really wished he didn’t because it clouded my judgment BIG TIME! I really didn’t know why I had to have this argument with myself again; What was so wrong about mixing business with a little pleasure? Alright…..a lot of pleasure! What was the harm in having a little playtime with the boss?

I stroked Edward’s wavy damp hair as he lay with his head on my chest. So things weren’t exactly perfect between us in the relationship department! I also had a secret motivation that was almost as satisfying as our hot physical attraction: I was determined to help Edward realize the real power of his money by showing him the enormous difference he could make in the world. If I could manage to do that, then I would be making a difference through him.

Working side by side with Edward enabled me to steer him toward meaningful selfless endeavors. I knew he didn’t really give a shit about the new children’s hospital. His only interest in it had been to selfishly make himself look good. If I could just get him to see the importance of being an effective steward of the Armani family fortune and feel how truly gratifying it is to help others then I could make the world a better place! He had the potential to do so much good for so many people. I was the only one who saw that in him. I believed in him. I suspected his grandfather secretly did too. But I could see it was going to be up to me to safeguard his inheritance
and
his grandfather’s legacy. Maybe the selfish bastard didn’t care about such things but I sure did!

J
ulia was being uncharacteristically
quiet and staring up at the ceiling lights. I had just fucked the life out this woman and it appeared her mind was already elsewhere. Knowing her, it was probably back on work and money.

“You seem like you’re off in some deep thought Julia. What are you thinking about?”

“Ummmm…..lunch. I was thinking about getting something to eat. I’m pretty hungry.”

It was obvious this girl wasn’t thinking about food at all. Her naked body was tense and she was grinding her teeth like she usually did when she was focused on business. I decided to play along with her little fib.

“You’re hungry?! My foot-long Italian sausage wasn’t enough for you babe?”

“Ha Ha Edward. You are just
full
of sophisticated humor aren’t you?”

“Lighten up a little! We can’t all have one-track money-obsessed minds like you… Thankfully.”

“Money-obsessed?! For your information if it wasn’t for your childish……”

I knew that would get her. But I cut her off in mid-sentence by planting a long hard, unyielding kiss squarely on her mouth. A kiss that politely said, “Shut the fuck up darling!”

“Julia let’s drop the subject for now. Get yourself cleaned up and dressed and then we can go grab some lunch. Meet you in front of the restrooms in thirty minutes!”

A
s we walked
down Montgomery Street in the direction of North Beach, Julia was obviously disappointed in the fact that we weren’t taking the company limo.

“I just thought it would be fun to take the car Edward. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m always walking or taking public transit. It would be nice to ride in style for a change.”

“Ride in style? Why be so pretentious? The weather is too beautiful to ride in a car. Plus it’s only a twenty-minute walk to the restaurant.”

Julia’s exaggerated sigh told me it had just dawned on her where I was taking her for lunch.

“Did you say a twenty-minute walk? Let’s see……where oh where could we be going AGAIN? I wonder…….North Beach..… San Francisco’s Italian neighborhood……hmmmmm it’s a mystery alright. What’s the name of that restaurant you like over there again? It’s on the tip of my tongue…...oh yeah……..is it by any chance…….ARMANI’S?!”

I was starting to wonder if Julia’s middle initial “S” stood for sarcastic instead of the name Sharie.

“Of course we’re going to Armani’s. Can you think of any better place to eat in this entire city?”

“I’m not saying any place else is
better
than your family’s restaurant but there are many
other
wonderful places to eat in San Francisco besides that one you know.”

“Nobody’s gonna give us better service than my cousin Anthony though!”

“I guess you’re probably right about that. Plus you can’t beat a free meal!”

“Julia do you really think I give a shit if it’s free or not? What a ridiculous thing to say! Who cares? You can’t put a monetary value on fucking fantastic food like that anyway!”

“Oh really? Well that’s news to me! In fact I think most restaurants put such a high price on their food that plenty of people who live in this city can’t even afford to eat it!”

We turned onto Columbus Avenue as we passed the iconic Transamerica Pyramid building and headed into the heart of North Beach. Julia was still carrying on and rattling off grim statistics about homeless people, hungry people, and sick people. I decided to tune her out and simply enjoy the old-world charm of the vibrant neighborhood streets.

It was one of my favorite city strolls, especially where the avenue ran by Washington Square. Sometimes I’d just stretch out on one of the park benches and soak in the local color: Bohemian artists selling paintings, kids flying kites, dogs chasing Frisbees, and old men chewing on cigars, arguing in Italian over their bocce ball game. But today I had to walk more swiftly in order to keep up with Julia’s hurried pace.

The heavenly aromas of fresh bread and cappuccino wafting out of DeFalco’s Bakery instantly caught my attention. Meanwhile an enchanting old woman sitting on the steps of the majestic Cathedral next door squeezed music out of a small accordion for two girls skipping rope on the sidewalk. It was almost like going back in time and it truly overloaded my senses in much the same way that Italy always did.

But Julia seemed oblivious to the romance of it all. She was completely uninspired. I was tempted to buy her a colorful bouquet of flowers from a street vendor but I figured they’d be wasted on her. Why bother? She’d probably just say it was a waste of money! I wondered how I could get her to appreciate the simpler things in life.

As we neared the restaurant I was compelled to stop and drink in the most rewarding sight of all: Beautiful San Francisco Bay shining in the afternoon sun at the bottom of the hill.

“There it is! I never grow tired of seeing it! Isn’t it spectacular Julia? What a fabulous city we live in!”

“Yep that’s the bay alright. It’s pretty hard to avoid it since it pretty much surrounds the whole city!”

“One of these days I hope I can get you to open up your eyes and
really
see it!”

It was hard to decide what was more pleasurable at the moment: Our awesome vista or the intoxicating whiff of garlic that filled my nostrils as we entered Armani’s Ristorante Italiano. Cousin Anthony welcomed us at the door with one of his big bear hugs and offered to seat us in a private dining room. But it was such a beautiful day, I told him we’d make ourselves comfortable out on the shaded patio instead. I chose a quiet table for us in the corner under a large olive tree.

In less than a minute Anthony appeared at our side with a basket of warm bread and a bottle of my favorite Armani Napa Merlot. He uncorked the wine and poured it into two stemmed glasses for Julia and me.

“It’s a bit early for wine isn’t it Edward?”

My cousin and I both looked at Julia like she was from another planet. Then we looked at each other and laughed.

“It’s
never
too early for wine!” We shouted in unison.

“You might as well drink hers Tony!”

We raised our glasses and toasted “Salute” while Julia was busy texting on her phone.

“So what can I have Mario prepare for you today Eddie?”

“I’ll have my usual linguine and clams. What would you like Julia? You can have anything you like. Mario will make you whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be on the menu.”

“I know. I’ve eaten here before, remember? Quite a few times in fact. Maybe just some zucchini soup and a small house salad, please Anthony.”

Anthony frowned at Julia’s bland lunch selection before scurrying off to the kitchen with our order.

“Is that all you want Julia? I thought you said you were hungry?”

Julia was looking down at her phone again.

“I am. But if you recall, you interrupted my morning jog with your “emergency”. I can’t pig out on heavy Italian food if I don’t exercise.”

“But I made it up to you! Didn’t we get plenty of exercise back at the office? I thought I gave you quite a work-out……..”

Julia smiled coyly and her dark bronzed cheekbones blushed as I grabbed her thigh under the table. Fuck! Everything about this woman was so smokin’ hot! But the way she was completely unaware of her own beauty was absolutely maddening. Last week while we attended a fundraiser, three separate people came up to us and asked me if I would introduce them to my date….. Kerry Washington! Julia later suggested to me that either they were in dire need of eyeglasses or they were just plain nitwits. I disagreed wholeheartedly; their power of observation was spot on.

I poured myself another glass of rich velvety Merlot, took a bite of bread and relaxed back in my chair. A light breeze was blowing up from the bay, tinkling the wind chimes on the patio and gently ruffling Julia’s hair around her face. Just as I was thinking how life couldn’t get any better, I was suddenly proven wrong: Julia had finally stopped yapping on her phone. She dropped it into her purse and looked across the table at me.

“Holy shit! What d’ya know?! I finally get to look into those beautiful eyes of yours now! Did I ever tell you how much I hate competing with your damn phone? What could possibly be so important to distract you from this perfect day?”

“So important? Are you kidding me? Could you
be
any more frustrating? Or dense? Honestly! Or are you forgetting a little matter regarding your compromising photos with a nurse? Hello? The very reason you called me to come down here today in the first place?”

“Oh are you still working on that? I thought you finished that back at the office, before we…..you know…….fucked our brains out?”

“No I wasn’t done. But typical man…...thinks I finished just because he did.”

“Well I don’t like to brag but let’s just say I’ve never
ever
left a woman with…….unfinished business.”

“Yeah, that sounds like you………you NEVER brag. That’s a good one!”

“I’ll make you a deal: I’ll stop bragging as soon as you come up with a reason why I should be humble okay? Because I haven’t thought of any yet!”

“Okay sure. Earth to Edward! Let’s get back to reality now shall we? The important thing is that I just arranged to pay off the photographer to keep the damaging photos out of print. He is signing a confidentiality agreement as we speak. It’s a ridiculous sum of money but it’s worth it. So it looks like a catastrophe has been averted once again! With a little luck, your grandfather won’t have to hear about any of this. Do you think you can stay out of trouble for a few weeks?”

Our food arrived just in time to distract Julia from noticing that I hadn’t answered her question.

“Oh wow! This looks incredible Anthony! Just perfect!”

I slurped up some saucy noodles and took another sip of my delicious wine.

“Oh my god! This tastes fantastic! My compliments to Mario as always! He’s a fuckin’ genius!”

“And is the lady’s satisfactory as well?” Anthony asked Julia.

“Yes thank you Anthony,” she replied. “Very good.”

“Well okay then. I’ll leave you two alone. Enjoy! Buon appetito!”

“Thanks cousin!”

Julia and I both dug into our fabulous food with gusto and she started to relax a little.

“You sure you don’t want any wine Julia? It’s superb!”

“I’m sure Edward. Thank you though.”

“So what do you have planned for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I’m going down to Fisherman’s Wharf around four. My brother Michael is playing a gig at a new little jazz supper club down there. I told him I’d help him and the other guys set up.”

“A new supper club on the wharf? Is it Louie’s Pier 55 by any chance?”

“Yeah how d’ya know that?”

“Lucky guess. It just happens to be across the street from that huge gourmet food grocer that moved into the brick Cannery Building last week. The Greco Grocer is a very large new account of ours. Chef Armani gourmet products and Armani Napa wines will be featured throughout the store.”

“Greco Grocer……I think I remember seeing that name recently on a portfolio in your office.”

“They’re a giant global company. Coincidentally they started out in Palermo, which is where my grandfather opened his first restaurant. Isn’t it amazing that they both ended up expanding and eventually uniting here in the states so many years later?”

“That is pretty amazing. Speaking of amazing, you should come down and check out my brother’s band. Michael is the drummer.”

“I love listening to live jazz. Maybe I’ll….”

At that moment my phone played my grandfather’s ringtone: “ Moon River” was his favorite song. It was the hospital calling.

“Excuse me Julia, I have to take this.”

It was my grandfather’s private nurse. She informed me that he had passed away within the past hour while napping. I thanked her and hung up. I felt numb inside.

“Is everything okay Edward? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“My grandfather’s gone. He just passed away in his sleep a little bit ago.”

Julia reached across the table and sympathetically took my hand in hers. Her expression was one of true sadness and I could tell she sincerely ached for me.

“Edward I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”

“I appreciate that Julia. I honestly don’t know what I would do without you. Since you mentioned it, there is something you could do for me actually. Cancel that deal with the photographer. He’s not getting a penny now. The photos don’t matter anymore…….”

Julia looked at me in complete disbelief with her mouth open for at least a solid minute before speaking:

“On second thought Edward, I think I changed my mind about that wine. I could definitely use some after all. Anthony! We need another bottle of Merlot over here please!”