The Breaking Season: An Arranged Marriage Romance Read online

  English grinned. “Have fun.”

  I shook my head, and Lark squeezed my hand.

  “No, really,” she said as Whitley and English linked arms ahead of us, “have fun. It’s good to see you two getting along. To see you happy again.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” I said.

  “I would,” Lark said and then traipsed off after the girls.

  Huh. Happy again. Had it been so long since I was happy that I didn’t even remember what it felt like? Was this new thing with Camden… happiness?

  I didn’t know. But I was prepared to find out.

  15

  Camden

  “Yes, we already discussed that,” I said gruffly into the phone. “Of course I would be willing to look at the details one more time.”

  I rolled my eyes and stared out the open villa door. This was taking all fucking day, and it was only my ninth call. There were still three more scheduled. I was going to have to move some shit around. My irritation level was off the charts. I didn’t even understand why I had so many calls the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Normally, most other businesses were shut down that week. It was usually my down week.

  This had to be my father’s meddling. He always pulled this kind of shit. It wasn’t enough that I was precisely the heir he wanted for the company or that I worked my ass off. Somehow, I was still a failure in his eyes. And when he thought I was slacking, like by taking a fucking needed vacation with my wife, he piled shit into my schedule.

  “Yes, I’m free to meet face-to-face after the New Year,” I told the man on the other end of the line.

  I half-listened to what he was saying. My eyes were still locked on the waves crashing against the surf nearby. And then my wife trod up the beach, carrying her sandals in one hand. Her long, tan legs were visible in her too-short shorts. An inch of her stomach showed beneath the little blue crop top. Her hair was piled high on her head. She glowed as if the hours at the spa had been exactly what she needed. My cock twitched at her approach. I was definitely going to have to reschedule the next call.

  Katherine attempted to get the sand off of her feet as she dropped her sandals at the door. She strode right up to me with a coy smile on her face.

  “How’s your meeting?”

  I muted the phone. The guy was still rambling. “A huge fucking bore.”

  “Are you going to be free soon?” Her eyes were wide and inviting.

  “I’m going to cancel my next call.”

  She nodded and took a step away. I reached out and wrapped my fingers around her wrist. She looked back at me in surprise.

  “Stay,” I told her.

  “You’re on your call,” she reminded me.

  “So?” The word was short and abrupt, powerful. I knew the effect it had on her.

  She swallowed and walked back toward me. I pulled her into my lap, and she sank down onto my ever-growing erection. Her eyes widened again, and then she shifted, rubbing her ass against my cock through the thin linen shorts. I pressed her down harder.

  Fuck, I wanted to fuck her.

  If it were only that easy with Katherine. I couldn’t give her everything she wanted. Not when our relationship hung in the balance. I needed her to want to keep coming back.

  “You’re hard,” she murmured, suggestively shifting again.

  My hand slid across her hip bone and down between her legs. I pressed against the front of her shorts, spreading her legs apart with my knees. She gasped lightly.

  The man on the other end of the phone tried to get my attention, but it was already lost.

  I clicked to unmute the call. With my other hand, I massaged Katherine. “Yes, I’m still here. Absolutely. Why don’t you go through the full review of the plans again? If I have questions, I’ll chime in.”

  The man began what I was sure would be a long rant about something we had already discussed. I put him back on mute.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this while on a call,” she muttered.

  “This seems to be a much better way to spend my time.”

  “I don’t know that your business associates would agree.”

  I sucked her earlobe into my mouth and gently bit down on it. “I think they might agree… if they knew.”

  She laughed softly, and the sound went straight to my balls.

  “I want you on your knees,” I told her.

  She stiffened a bit and then looked back at me. “Oh?”

  “On your knees.” My voice dipped down. A command. No longer a request.

  Then Katherine Van Pelt slid off of my lap and dropped to her knees before me. It was a fucking beautiful sight. Her following my orders. Her patiently kneeling before me. No fire in her eyes, just… curiosity. Oh, yes, I fucking liked this.

  I stood from the chair so that I was towering over her. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and fucking licked her lips. Goddamn, she would be the death of me.

  Without prompting, she unbuttoned my shorts, sliding them down my legs. Then she took my boxers and pulled them over my cock. It jutted toward her, hard and ready.

  With my clothing discarded, I took a seat back in the chair and gestured her forward. There was that fire. There and gone in a split second. If I hadn’t been watching for it, I never would have seen her anger boil to the surface by one simple gesture. But I was in charge here. Whether she admitted it or not, she wanted that.

  She ran her red-lacquered nails along my thighs before taking my cock in one hand. My head dipped back at the pressure, but I still held the phone to my ear, barely listening to a word he was saying. Not while Katherine stroked my cock, lingering at the tip before going back down to my balls.

  She drew in closer until her breasts were pinned between my knees. Her gaze came up to mine just once. Not asking permission, but seeing whether or not I’d have to tell her what to do.

  I arched an eyebrow that said, Suck it.

  And she did.

  Katherine lowered her mouth onto my cock. Her tongue flicked out, laving across the tip. Then she sank down, getting nearly the entire length of my cock in her mouth. She hesitated for a breath and then seemed to put her gag reflex aside before pushing further until she had all of me in her mouth.

  My hand laced into her hair and held her head there for a second longer. Taking me all in was impressive, and fuck, she felt incredible.

  The guy on the line was asking my opinion of something. I unmuted the conversation as my wife began to move up the length of my cock and then back down.

  I watched her suck me off as I answered, “Sure. That sounds good.”

  The man said something else that I had to concentrate to hear as Katherine swirled her tongue around my dick.

  “Yes, run me through the numbers one more time.”

  Fuck, her mouth. Her fucking mouth.

  I put him on mute again and leaned back in the chair. I wanted more. I wanted harder. I wanted faster. She was taking her time. Getting me riled up. Jesus Christ, I was going to have to fuck her face.

  “Katherine,” I said, running a hand down her spine. “That feels so fucking good.”

  She hummed in approval.

  “Going to fuck you now. Stop me if it’s too much.”

  Her grip tightened on my thigh as my hand slid back into her hair. I held it like a rope, tight enough to hurt, and she stilled completely. Then I thrust up into her mouth. I was using her mouth as my fuck toy in the dirtiest possible way. She had no way to escape, but she didn’t protest or try to stop me. She just held on as I drove deep into the back of her throat, imagining sinking into her pussy.

  I was getting close. Really fucking close. Her mouth was so hot and so wet. I wasn’t going to be able to hang on. I gave no warning as I emptied myself into her mouth, holding her down around my cock. A grunt exploded from me as I finished.

  She gagged once, but when I released her, she pulled back, looked me in the eyes, and swallowed. Tears glistened in her beautiful eyes, and I leaned forward to
brush them away with my thumb.

  “Good girl,” I breathed gently.

  A smile cracked her features at the compliment, and a flush suffused her body.

  I unmuted the conversation. “Hey, that all sounds good, Brad. Send over the final numbers for consideration. Thanks for the call.”

  Then I hung up unceremoniously.

  I discarded my phone on the desk and pulled her to her feet. I replaced my boxers, stepping out of the shorts entirely. I pressed a kiss to her lips. Her eyes drifted to my boxers, and a little pout settled on those perfect lips.

  Something in me darkened. “Are you pouting?”

  “I…” she began and then saw my expression. “No.”

  “You don’t want me to wear these?” I asked. She could hear the note of disapproval in my voice.

  “I…” She fell silent after that. As if she didn’t know what was the right answer.

  “Tell me,” I commanded.

  “I wanted you to fuck me.”

  “And so, now, you’re pouting because I’m not?”

  She bit her lip and then shook her head.

  “You did good,” I told her. She brightened. “And now, you’re being bad.”

  “Camden, I didn’t mean…”

  “Oh, I know,” I told her.

  Then I bent her over at the waist, laying her across the desk. She whimpered a little in protest, but she didn’t actually try to stop me. Her legs already shook in anticipation.

  I reached around her body and unbuttoned her shorts. Then I dragged them down her legs along with her underwear. She stepped out of them, and then I nudged her legs further apart.

  “Do you think that you’ve earned the right for me to fuck you?”

  She froze like a lamb anticipating the slaughter. I could see from where I stood that her pussy gleamed. She was so fucking turned on that I could barely touch her and she’d come for me right here and now.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “That’s right. And is pouting about it tolerated?”

  “No,” she said again.

  “No,” I agreed and then slapped her ass with my open palm.

  She yelped softly at the first touch. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and a quiver ran through her.

  I spanked her again. She was silent this time, but I wanted her whimpers and moans and cries. I wanted them all.

  “How many do you think that you deserve for pouting?”

  A flush ran up her back. Anger mixed with desire. But she didn’t answer me.

  “Katherine,” I commanded.

  “Ten?” she said more a question than a statement.

  “Twenty,” he corrected.

  She whimpered softly and I grinned. There it was.

  I started over, alternating the spanks from her bottom to thighs and back. Her ass was high and rosy. Her whimpers turned into cries and then into moans. Her pussy was so wet, I could have slid right into her. And I fucking wanted to. By the end, she was so near to begging for me. I could have pushed further, given her a few more spanks just to hear her beg for me to stop… for more… for me inside of her. I was here to push her, but not too far. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.

  “Twenty,” she whispered as I finished her punishment.

  “Good,” I finally said, rubbing her red ass gently. “That’s good. I think you understand now.”

  “I do,” she said hoarsely.

  “Think I should finish this for you?” I asked as one of my fingers touched her swollen clit.

  “Yes.” The word was a moan.

  My other hand slid up her back, pressing her chest harder into the desk. Then I slipped two fingers into her wet pussy.

  “Oh god,” she groaned at the first feel of me penetrating her.

  “Not God,” I corrected. “Just me. Say my name as I make you come, Katherine.”

  “Camden,” she whispered.

  I pumped in and out of her, hard and merciless. My fingers wet with her desire. Her body trying to hold me inside of her.

  Fuck, I wanted my cock in her. I wanted it so fucking bad that I was already hard again. It would take no effort to wrench off my boxers and plunge deep into her. It took every ounce of my self-restraint to hold back. I would give her this, and we would get to fucking when she was ready.

  She was close. I could feel it. Her back flushed with pleasure. Her breathing more of a pant. Her pussy tight with need. I wanted her to come so hard that she blacked out. She was almost there.

  “Oh fuck,” she cried out as I finished her off. “Camden. Fuck, yes, Camden.”

  Her pussy tightened all around my fingers and then pulsed in the aftermath. A pulse I could feel all the way to my balls. The way she’d said my name nearly made me come a second time. She was more compliant. She wanted this. Even if she still had that vibrant anger at her core. But the pleasure… fuck, the pleasure was unlike anything else. We both knew it.

  I finally released her, drawing her up from the desk. Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed. If I hadn’t been holding her, she would have.

  I kept an arm tight around her waist and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You should always say my name when you come.”

  She smiled. Her eyes were still glazed over from the force of her orgasm.

  “I’m not going to be able to sit down the rest of the day.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “And whose fault is that?”

  She bit her lip invitingly. “Mine.”

  “That’s right.”

  “When will you fuck me?” she asked baldly. No trace of the woman who had screamed at me on our anniversary.

  Right now, was what I wanted to say. I wanted to throw her on that bed and fuck her all day and night long. But instead, I said, “When you’ve earned it.”

  “For my birthday?” she asked.

  It wasn’t so much a plea as a request. We’d get there.

  “If you’re lucky,” I told her.

  She smiled devilishly, and I saw the scheming girl underneath it all. “Oh, I will be.”

  And fuck, I wanted to believe her.

  16

  Katherine

  By the time my birthday arrived, my ass finally stopped hurting. I’d had a fun time explaining to my friends why I didn’t want to sit down. But fuck, it had been worth it. Every smack on my ass had been like a fire I’d never be able to douse. When I sat and it still stung, the residual pains heated me through again. I wanted more. His fingers had done the job, but they weren’t enough. And I was damn well going to get the rest of him tonight.

  He’d said maybe. But a maybe on his lips meant yes.

  He was not a man of maybes.

  I still didn’t know where we stood, but that was part of the point of the truce. No discussions of the past and no fighting. It was much easier to be physical with him when we weren’t ripping into each other. But there were buried issues. Things we’d have to discuss. I didn’t really want to think about it. Not yet. Not when things were actually going well for once. I could pretend we had no issues for a little bit longer.

  At least through my birthday party tonight.

  It felt strange, getting dressed for the event and knowing I wasn’t going to be wearing heels. They were a staple of my closet, but not at a beach party. Bare feet and sun-kissed skin and wind-tossed hair were the requirements for my birthday this year. And cake, of course.

  “Will there be cake?” I expectantly asked Lark as we took the path down to the beach.

  “God, you are impatient. Can’t you wait and see?”

  I gave her my best look of disbelief. “Do you know me at all?”

  “Right. Surprises aren’t your thing.”

  “I don’t mind a really good surprise, but I’m a planner. The details are important.”

  “Let me handle the details for a change,” Lark said. “Also, I have English on it, too. If I can manage the mayoral reelection campaign and English can run an entire PR firm, I think we can handle one birthday party.”<
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  “Maybe,” I conceded.

  Lark laughed and looped our arms together. “You’re going to love it.” She looked over at me shrewdly. “How are things with you and Camden? Will he be your midnight kiss this year?”

  I shrugged, nonchalant. “We’re good. It’s fake, of course. But good so far with the truce.”

  “Why does it have to be fake?”

  “Because it is. If we never discuss our issues, they don’t just go away. We’re just ignoring them right now.”

  “So that you can have sex?” Lark asked with a grin.

  “No… actually, we haven’t had sex… yet.”

  “What?” Lark asked in confusion. “Then what about…” She gestured behind me.

  Okay, so maybe I hadn’t been so great about hiding why I couldn’t sit down.

  “We’ve been… intimate,” I amended. “But, yeah, no sex.”

  “That blows. Well, let’s hope he gets his shit together for your birthday. You deserve to get laid.”

  I grinned ferally. “Let’s hope.”

  “Aw, look, you want to sleep with him. That seems like an improvement since last fall. And the fact that you even want to be anywhere near him is a huge improvement since when you got married. Maybe it will only keep getting better from here.”

  I thought that was a bit optimistic. Camden and I were not a straight line. We didn’t start at one point and end at another with a happily ever after. We were the road less taken. We meandered, found our way back to each other, and diverted again. I wished that things could stay like this forever.

  But eventually, we would have to leave paradise behind and return to the real world.

  I was not certain where the road would take us from there.

  Lark and I stopped at the edge of the beach where the resort had set up their first New Year’s Eve bash. Since it was also my birthday, we were commandeering it for my party. A two-in-one, as most of my birthdays had always been. Only my daddy had ever made it so that my birthday was its own separate event. No black, gold, and silver events, and only I had been allowed to wear a tiara. But those days were long over.