Chapter 5

MARLON

Julianne choked on her drink and lightly pounded her chest as she broke into a fit of coughing and laughter. I reached out to help the young woman - I didn't want her to die, after all - and when she had significantly recovered, Julianne leaned back in her seat, laughing.

"You bastard, where did that come from?"

I just shrugged and said smoothly, with a serious tone:

"I've always loved you. I've been hiding these feelings out of respect for your brother, but... it's stronger than me."

"Stop, for the love of God, stop."

Julianne was still laughing, clutching her stomach, while I stared at her, trying in vain not to laugh too. She wiped away her tears and, still smiling, said, "Does this have anything to do with that idiotic deal you made with your father?"

I didn't need to ask how she knew about that. I remembered the meeting I had with my father, Thomas Whitaker, one of the most respected multi-millionaire CEOs in our industry. Like a father concerned about his offspring's future, he had called me into his office and said that if I didn't get my act together, stop my playboy lifestyle, and ground myself, I would never run his company.

And even though I had a natural talent for running the business, he wanted me to marry a woman and start a family.

Hah!

It would have been a joke worthy of a Nobel Prize if he hadn't shown me, with absolute deadpan seriousness, a copy of his new will. It made it crystal clear that I wouldn't inherit a single dime unless I was a married man. Me, Marlon Whitaker, a lover of women - who loved myself so much and loved them too - tied down to just one? It was a crime! Blasphemy.

Dramatic? No. Maybe a little. But of course, I wasn't going to just sit back and accept that absurdity. I had to take control of the situation and turn it to my advantage, which was why we were here.

Now it all depended on whether Julianne would accept, which is why I decided to be honest.

"It has everything to do with the deal. You know very well I've been eyeing the presidency for a long time, a position I would excel in."

Julianne just nodded. She wouldn't deny it; competence was something she admired. The blonde brought her tattooed hand to her chin and, analyzing me, asked:

"And why would I agree to marry you? I have my own life, my own desires. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking at your ugly face."

"I know, I know. But look, marrying me will have its perks," I said.

I noticed a spark of curiosity light up in Brad's sister's eyes. I decided to cast the bait, leaning in as I spoke seductively.

"Look at it this way. First, your parents will stop nagging you to find a husband." I saw her shudder almost imperceptibly; just the mention of that sentence made her cringe. The feeling was mutual. "Second, we can discreetly do whatever we want with whoever we want. I won't bother you or ask questions. We'll just have to show up at whichever events you want as the couple of the year, pretend we are deeply in love, and as a bonus, your secret will be safe."

Julianne went pale when she realized I knew about her secret, the one she had been so careful to keep strictly under wraps. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Are you planning to use that as a bargaining chip, Whitaker?" she asked dryly, and even though there were plenty of witnesses in the club, I had no doubt Julianne would kill me right there without hesitation.

I held up my hands in a gesture of peace and spoke sincerely.

"I would never stoop so low."

Julianne seemed to relax, but the suspicion was still there. Taking another sip of her drink, she continued smoothly.

"There's a flaw in your nearly perfect plan, Whitaker." Julianne leaned across the table, and mere inches from my face, she whispered, "Kids."

"I know naturally they would want proof of our love, sweetheart." I touched her soft cheek and, giving her a wink that had previously dropped countless pairs of panties, I continued, ignoring Julianne's mocking laugh. "But after a year or two passes, whatever you prefer, we can simply say it wasn't meant to be. That the love burning in our veins has turned to ashes, and that we hope to find it with someone else. Our family will surely understand."

Julianne looked out at the dance floor as she digested my proposal. Her eyes seemed to lock onto something for a brief second before she turned back to me.

"And what are you going to say to Brad? You know damn well he's going to castrate you."

I shifted uncomfortably, not at all happy about touching on that subject. I was far too fond of my penis to even think about the possibility of losing it; it gave me an indescribable feeling.

"I'll handle Brad."

Julianne smiled and looked back at the dance floor, dragging out the moment and setting my nerves on edge. To calm my urge to grab those slender shoulders and shake my friend's little sister to make her answer me, I took a very generous shot of my drink, which burned all the way down.

"And if we were to get married, when would it be?" she asked curiously.

"Tonight, if you want. I already have a chapel and an Elvis minister on standby. Afterward, we'll just throw a party for the family and apologize, saying our love took over and we just couldn't wait to tie the knot. So, what do you think?"

"Hmm, not tonight," she murmured, gazing at the dance floor. "Only after I have some fun with one of those two."

I followed her line of sight, filled with such intense desire, and that was when I saw her - the sight that made my throat go dry and my palms sweat. An angel among sinners.

A beautiful brunette with black hair and a white dress was dancing to the sensual music, grinding seductively to every beat. She moved to the rhythm, hypnotizing me. I realized I wasn't the only one who noticed her; several men had stopped just to watch her dance. The angel in the middle of the dance floor suddenly looked at me, as if she could feel my attention amidst the crowd. I watched, fully aroused, as the dirty girl slid her hands up her glorious legs, over her stomach, and up to her generous breasts, giving me a vivid, fucking clear mental image of what it would be like if it were my hands touching her.

My dick, hard as a rock, made me shift uncomfortably. I tried in vain to adjust myself in my pants. But what really drove me insane, delivering a killing blow, was when that angel raised her index finger and beckoned me over to her.

I immediately grabbed the rest of the liquid in my glass and threw it back. I looked at Julianne, whose eyebrows were raised in morbid amusement.

"I thought you weren't into brunettes."

Setting the glass down on the glass table, I gave a wicked smile and murmured:

"There's a first time for everything, love."

Determined, I walked purposefully toward the angel. A smile formed on my lips, and with an intimidating glare, I scared off some loser who was trying to approach my angel. The idiot wisely did a 180 when he saw me and walked away with his tail between his legs.

Possessively, I placed my hands on her waist, noticing how perfectly they fit there. With a quick tug, I pulled her flush against me, making the growing erection in my pants very obvious. I leaned in just enough to whisper huskily in her ear:

"What is an angel doing among all these sinners?"

The brunette turned to look at me, a mischievous smile on her lips. Her dark eyes narrowed as she slid her hands up my chest and wrapped them around my neck. Rising onto her tiptoes, she captured my lips in a kiss. Caught completely off guard, I felt her bite my lower lip, drawing a groan from me. I squeezed her ass, desperate to feel her, wondering what she tasted like.

The angel pulled back, her eyes still closed, and said softly:

"Your room or mine?"

And fuck, I was definitely screwed.