Cyn.
The gala was hardly the intimate affair had imagined it would be. When he said he wanted to introduce me to the world, I thought it was going to be an intimate thing.. There were at least two hundred of Manhattan’s most elite social movers in attendance, and it made it hard for me not to be grateful for the dress I had chosen.
If Ace hadn't bought me the shoes and dress, I would be definitely dressed for the wrong event.
The dress was too short and too tight for my taste, especially with the almost no back, and with everyone's attention on me, but judging by the similarly bedecked Barbie dolls that were hanging on their date’s arms the look was par for the course.
Ace gave the stunning, reed slim hostess a kiss on both cheeks before putting his hand on my back and heatwaves shocked my whole system as he introduced me
“This is my wife Cyn, Cyn, this is Caroline Vance. She is the chairperson of all the House charity.”
“Nice to meet you.” i shook the other woman’s perfectly manicured hand,
“Nice to meet you too.” Caroline smiled warmly. “I didn’t think I would live to see the day when Ace would settle down. He has always preferred life in the fast lane.” She shot Ace a teasing look. “I guess you are merging into the carpool lane, huh?”
The smile on Ace’s face looked forced to me, but Caroline didn’t seem to notice. “Yes. It was time. When I met Cyn I knew I couldn’t let her get away.”
“Welcome to the club. You will enjoy it.” She gave Ace’s arm a squeeze.
Ace paused and pulled his checkbook from his pocket, and filled in an amount that made my eyes widen and handed it to her.
Caroline took the check from his hand, a broad smile on her pretty face.
“He is generous too,” she said, her comment directed at me.
I smiled back, hoping i didn’t look as confused as i felt.
“Yes, he is.” I added lightly.
I had no idea how charitable or generous Ace was, I was just here because it was my duty but I couldn't really say that out loud.
Ace chuckled darkly as Caroline fluttered off to greet the next couple that was entering the ballroom. He took my arm and led me to a cluster of tables that were designed with intimacy in mind.
They were small, so small that when i took my seat and Ace took his, our knees. brushed beneath the table and my heart sputtered at the contact of both our bodies.
“All of the food, and all the prep work that went into the food was donated,” he explained.
“The guests paid two hundred dollars for each plate. All of the proceeds will go to my charity.” he said proudly and for the first time since we stepped here, I saw him smile genuinely.
I smiled. “That is great. What is the charity for?”
A shadow passed over his face for a brief moment, his expression changing and I immediately regretted asking that. “Homeless children. It’s an issue that is close to my heart.” he said after a long pause.
I realized at that moment just how little i knew about the man sitting across from me, my husband. His background wasn’t exactly a mystery, but there hadn’t been a lot of information on his childhood either. I had found out through my careful research when I was in London that his father had been a wealthy businessman who had moved his family to New York when Ace had been a young teenager. But between that event and his meteoric rise to success in the real estate industry and beyond i hadn’t been able to find any details about his life.
He seemed to be close to his father too, but I also remember that night at my house, the day I was practically sold to him. There seemed to be trouble in paradise, and he had mentioned something about his dad forcimg him to marry me.
But now, I was curious.
About him, his life, his childhood
I looked at him. He was engaged in a conversation with the couple next to us, his speech pattern eloquent, his manner perfect. His profile was aristocratic, and he wore tuxedos as though the whole concept of formal wear had been built around his physique. He didn’t look like a man who had ever struggled for anything
At that moment, though, no amount of research into his background could have prepared me for the very disturbing effect this strange man was having on me. I could hardly taste the gourmet dinner that had been prepared for the evening. Every few minutes my knees would brush his beneath the table, or someone would come to speak to him and congratulate us on our engagement, and Ace would take my hand and look lovingly into my eyes. Or, worse still, he would draw my hand to his lips and press a tender kiss to my knuckles and send the butterflies that had taken up residence in my stomach into tailspins.
Did he feel the same way I did? Did I have the same kind of effect on him? Because when he looked at me, it did not seem staged or unreal.
When the plates were cleared, after-dinner drinks were served which I declined. My defenses were weakened already. No sense at all throwing alcohol on the burning fire of my attraction to Ace. So instead i sat still in my chair, and smiled at anyone that looked my way.
After a few minutes, Caroline, who was standing on a riser at the far end of the room cleared her throat and the hum of conversation diminished.
“I would like to thank everyone for coming this evening. Your support means a
tremendous amount. And I would like to introduce the founder and reason of their successful event tonight. Mr. Ace .”
He gave her a wry smile, stood from his seat and bent down to drop a lingering kiss on my cheek before he crossed the long expanse of the room. I couldn’t help but notice the sheer masculine grace his
movements possessed. He stepped on the stage, his magnetic presence drawing the attention of everyone in the room and holding them, spellbound, in the palm of his hand. Me included.
“Thank you all for being here.” His rich velvet voice rolled over the room. My stomach tightened. “In these economic times I know making large contributions might seem like a lot to ask. But I ask you to remember that these children have likely never had the most basic necessities, even in the best of times. They don’t have food, clothing, or even shelter. They give no thought to four-star restaurants when they would give anything for a loaf of bread. What does fashion mean to them when they don’t have a coat
to protect them from the elements?”
I felt my throat constricting as i looked into his earnest dark eyes. Something near my heart shifted, and i wished more than anything that i could make it shift back. Because lust was bad enough, new enough, scary enough, without there being emotion involved.
Ace continued, his slight accent making his speech all the more compelling. “And how can we be concerned about keeping our summer homes when they do not even have the bare minimum of shelter?”
His speech went on, his words impassioned. He cited heart-wrenching
statistics about how many of New York’s homeless were children who had fallen through the cracks in the system. The charity worked to provide those children with homes that would give them a sense of family, an education, and even occupational training. The vision was to provide them with a base they could always come back to, even after they reached legal age.
When he had finished, many of the guests were blinking back tears, and i had a feeling the emotions Ace had brought out in them would be reflected in their donations.
He made his way back to where i was standing, pausing at intervals to shake hands and direct people to the donation area.
When he came back to my side he wound his arm around my waist and my heart did a freefall into my stomach.
“That was…” I struggled to sound unaffected “…a very nice speech.
I had no idea there was so much need.”
His dark eyes were clouded. “Many people assume that the government is taking care of all of the displaced children, but that is not the case.”
“Many people are unaware of what goes on in their own backyard. I consider it my duty to educate them and to do what I can.”
I chewed my lush bottom lip, and he had the strongest urge to use his tongue to soothe away the marks my teeth had left in the tender pink flesh.
“So not all of the nice things you do are for public image?” I said smiling
He chuckled darkly. “Not all. But most.”
A pianist began to play a slow, jazzy song, and couples started to migrate to the dance floor. My body language was screaming that I didn't want him to ask me to dance.
“Cyn, I think I should have this dance with my wife.”
He was amused when i pressed my lips into a thin line, my tension palpable. What would it take to kiss those lips into soft, willing supplication?
Ace.
She was the epitome of hot, sexy woman in the skintight red dress that showcased curves so tempting they would make a priest sin, and still she maintained that untouchable aura of hers that she always threw up like a shield unless I kissed her.
She looked at the people around them, as if evaluating the situation to see if she could get away with a refusal. “All right.” She said it as though I had offered her a jail sentence.
It was a source of fascination to me that this woman, who was so obviously attracted to me in all ways, so responsive to my touch, my kiss, acted as though physical contact between us was anathema to her.
Cyn.I tried to quiet the pounding of my pulse. I looked at the couples on the dance floor, their bodies entwined as they moved in a rhythm that seemed far too…sexual to simply call it dancing.Ace trained his bright white smile on me, but this smile was different than any other he had given me before. It was almost predatory. He extended his hand.“Dance with me.”Not a question, a command. And for some reason a thrill ran through me rather than the anger that I had expected, needed. Something about him was breaching my defenses, softening me to him. He was surprising me. He wasn’t just a shallow playboy, and I had been much more comfortable with him when si had been able to just write him off as such.I accepted his offered hand, hoping he didn’t notice that my own was damp with perspiration, and allowed him to lead me onto the dance floor. Not smart. My practical inner voice was all but screaming at me not to do it, I had two left feet.Necessary, i countered, ignoring the churning
Cyn.The wedding had become sort of much anticipated society event, despite how little time had passed between the announcement and the actual ceremony or maybe because of that reason. I couldn’t help but think that the haste of the marriage was part of what made it interesting.I felt half the eyes in the historic church examining my flat stomach speculatively as i walked down the long aisle.The air was heavy with the perfume of flowers, compliments of my overzealous wedding planner, and the late afternoon sun streamed through a round stained glass window, throwing squares of blue light onto the stone floor. It was a beautiful wedding. But it was someone else's wedding. None of it was to my taste except for my simple earrings, everything else was custom made. I raised my eyes and looked at my groom, waiting for me at the head of the aisle. I had never seen him look so handsome. His tuxedo was black and well fitted, showing off broad shoulders and a tapered waist.He was in fantast
Ace.I clenched my teeth. The images that statement evoked were so erotic i nearly hauled her slippery body out of the tub so i could show her just what I could accomplish while she was naked and dripping wet.I had thought that by walking in on her bath i could remove the mystery, and in so doing remove some of her allure. But far from it. The hints of peachy skin I could see beneath the water had me hard andwanting her with a ferocity that shocked me. Her attempts to cover herself had pushed her cleavage higher above the surface of the water, and i was having trouble tearing my eyes away so that i could look at her face when she talked. I had seen plenty of naked women before, plenty of beautiful, naked women. Why should this one bespecial? She shouldn’t be. But she was.“Fine, I will wait for you in the living room.” I said walking away. CynAs soon as he left the room, i scrabbled out of the tub. I wrapped a towel around myself and cautiously peeked into my room. After I had v
Cyn.The vibrant colour of the island rushed up into my vision as the plane began to move closer to the viridian land. The trees were so dense i could hardly see the runway, and it felt as though the plane was going to crash into the thick palms and kukuis that lined the coast.“It’s so beautiful,” i said almost to myself looking at the beautiful small island from above the sky.Ace barely looked up from his laptop. He was sitting across from me in a captain’s chair that was adjacent to the small love seat i was perched on.That man looked sexy as hell, with his reading glasses on. Is there anything that could make him look bad? He looked sexy doing the most basic things. His private plane was the size of my apartment, or atleast the apartment I lived in the past five years after i signed my life away and it was lavishly furnished. I had probably looked completely gauche when I had boarded the plane back in New York, my mouth hanging open as i took in theabsolute indulgence and luxu
Cyn. My heart stuttered. Images of twined tanned and lily white limbs flashed through my mind’s eye. Ace kissing me passionately, desire overwhelming us to the point that we couldn’t make it to the bed,Ace taking me gently to the floor, settling between my thighs…I blinked, trying to stop the erotic slide show that was going on in my mind.The look in Ace’s dark eyes told me that we were experiencing a moment of identical thought, and that was enough to bring common sense and sanity back.He might be married to me, but his heart belonged to another, he had made it very clear on the very first night we met. And I was pretty positive he was talking to her on the night of the gala, right after his head had been buried deep in my thighs. “Classy.” i sounded prissy even to my own ears.“Class is sometimes overrated. Particularly in the bedroom.” he said mocking me. The fact that he was always ready with some casual, off the cuff response was infuriating. I couldn’t hope to compete wit
AceI glanced over at her. Her expression was disapproving. A little line creased her alabaster forehead, and her mouth was pursed into an ungenerous pucker.“You have a problem with this?” i asked, entertained by her show of humanity.“It doesn’t really seem fair to just fire someone if they don’t get a BlackBerry charger to you in time.”"As an employer, I have to make sure my employees are up to my standards Cyn, and as my wife you will have to learn this things because sometimes I won't be around and you willhave to deal with them."The crease between her brows deepened. “I guess I’m a walking example of the lows one has to stoop to in order to make it in the business world.”He laughed darkly. “Just treat everyone the way you treat me and you will have no trouble being ruthless.”“There’s a thought.” she added sarcastically. I watched as her expression changed from one of recalcitrance to one of wonder.The car eased around the last curve and the villa came into view.The Ano La
Ace.I couldn’t help but be impressed with Cyn’s performance over dinner. She came across as bright, confident and witty. James Preston was eating from the palm of her hand in a matter of minutes. The older man was completely taken in by her charm and intelligence. Which i knewshould please him. Instead, primal possessiveness surged through me.I moved closer to Cyn , wrapping my arm around her delicate waist and drawing her to me, smoothing my fingers along her silk covered flesh.I felt a slight tremor race through her body at the light contact.“So, Ace ,” James said, sliding nearer to his own wife, “I understand you find it old fashioned of me to have a vested interest in what will become of the resort when I retire and sell out. But I built it up from theground. This was my first great success and it has sentimental meaning to me. I want to be sure that I’m passing it on to someone who will preserve the integrity of the property.”“And I intend to. I will be keeping it privatel
Cyn. Everything he had said was true, my job was to be his wife and act like an idiot. It stung, I considered myself more, but who really cared. My own father sold me. Maybe I should just stop resisting the inevitable and do as he said.I would just ignore the fact that he has a girlfriend the woman that he was actually in love with. There would be no disaster. I could control myself. The problem was that I wasn't entirely certain i wanted to control myself.I leapt from the car the moment it came to a stop in front of the villa, needing desperately to put some distance between Ace and me so that i could clear my head.I felt rather than heard him enter the room behind me. “I will sleep on the couch,” i offered quickly. “You are a lot…bigger than I am.”He shrugged. “Suit yourself. I have some work to finish up before I head to bed. I will be in the office.”“Did the BlackBerry charger show up?” I asked trying to lighten up the mood. He chuckled, the sound spreading through me l