Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Oh my God,it’s so hot.” I try to fan my face with the stupid foam finger Julian bought me when we arrived at the baseball stadium, but with the humidity, all I’m doing is fanning more hot air into my face.

When we first arrived, I was starving, so I focused on eating my hot dog—which was surprisingly delicious—and drinking my beer. Now that I’m full, the sun glaring down on us is what has my attention.

“We probably should’ve gone to a night game,” Julian mentions, glancing around. “Follow me.”

He stands and takes my hand in his, and I willingly go with him, hoping we’re leaving.

I seriously don’t know what he was thinking, suggesting a baseball game as a corporate event. Maybe if he wants to punish the employees, this is the way to go.

Instead of heading toward the Exit sign, Julian ascends the stairs until we’re under an overhang, and then he walks us halfway across the stadium to a fully shaded area that’s up against the wall. It’s a bit hard to see from up here, but at least I’m not melting.

“There’s, like, nobody here,” I point out once we’re seated and watching the game. “How do they even bring in any money?”

Julian chuckles. “They play a hundred sixty-two games. People watch them on TV, and the broadcasting rights make them money. Plus, the sponsorships and merch.”

“A hundred sixty-two games?” I gasp. “Those poor guys.”

I can barely sit through one game. I can’t imagine having to play damn near two hundred.

“It’s just because you don’t understand the game,” Julian says.

He goes into explaining the positions and who the players are. He knows so much about sports, and despite my not giving a crap about the sport or what’s going on, it’s cute to listen to how excited he gets when he tells me how he met the team once and got several of their autographs.

Instead of paying attention to the boring game, I find myself watching my husband. Holy shit, I’m married. It’s still crazy to believe that we went from being fake engaged to getting married.

But I meant what I told him. I don’t regret it. Every day, I fall harder for Julian. His work ethic, his patience. He’s such a good man. He’s easy to talk to and sweet. And then there’s the chemistry between us.

The harder I fall, the more I want him. The past week, I’ve been so damn horny that I have to wonder how I went so long without having sex on the regular. But maybe it’s because even though I preferred the random hookups without any strings attached, getting to know Julian is a lot of why I want him the way I do.

And it’s not just the sex. As we sit here and he talks about something he loves, I realize I could listen to him for hours. I don’t care about baseball in the slightest, but I love listening to Julian talk.

He says something and glances at me with a smile, and I find myself smiling back. That’s what he does to me—makes me forget that anybody but us exists. The entire world around us could be burning to the ground, and my focus would only be on him.

He leans down and presses his lips to mine in what is supposed to be a quick kiss. Only I’m craving more, so when he goes to pull back, I slide my tongue into his mouth, not wanting the kiss to end. He tastes like the perfect mixture of sweet and bitter from having just taken a sip of his beer, and I suck on his tongue, wanting more.

We kiss for several minutes, our tongues stroking and teasing one another. And when kissing him isn’t enough to satisfy my need for him, I climb into his lap, deepening our connection.

I’m wearing a floral sundress that’s tight on the top and flares loosely on the bottom with a pair of lace panties underneath, so when I settle into Julian’s lap, there’s only a thin piece of material stopping me from completely feeling his hard length.

I grind against his pelvis, and our kiss becomes desperate, our tongues moving frantically against each other. I’m on top of him, kissing him, but it’s not enough. I always want more. Crave more.

“I want you,” I murmur against his mouth.

We must be on the same page because as I shift back slightly, prepared to pull his cock out, he quickly undoes the button and zipper, exposing one of my favorite parts of him.

He’s hard and ready, and I waste no time, shoving my panties to the side and lifting so I can lower myself onto him. I’m wet, but not foreplay wet, so he feels bigger as my pussy stretches to accommodate every inch of him.

“Fuck yeah, baby. Ride my cock,” he says as his hand twists in my hair and he brings my face back to his.

His lips part mine, and his tongue sinks inside, his skilled mouth devouring mine as I ride him, slow yet deep.

When my climax rockets through me, turning my legs into jelly, Julian breaks our kiss and takes over, driving into me from the bottom with quick, erratic thrusts that stop when he finds his own release.

With my face nuzzled into his neck, I’m working on catching my breath when the sound of people clapping remind me that we’re at a baseball game.

Oh shit. We’re at a baseball game, and my husband’s cock is inside of me.

“You okay?” he asks with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” I squeak. “Just wondering how I’m going to get up without your cum dripping down the inside of my thighs.”

“You trying to get fucked again?” he growls like the caveman he is.

“Julian, focus.”

“I have napkins in my pocket.” He lifts and sets me on the chair next to him in one fluid motion, somehow tucking himself back into his pants, and then pulls out a bunch of napkins.

I try to wipe myself the best I can without looking like a perve.

I know. I know. We just fucked in public. That ship has sailed.

But in my defense, when his dick is involved, I can’t think clearly. It’s like I have dick brain.

I giggle at my joke, and he glances at me like I’ve lost my shit.

“You ready?” he asks.

“Yep.”

We stop at the restroom so we can clean up a little better and then head out. On our way to the car, a weird feeling comes over me, like someone is watching us, but when I look around, I don’t see anyone, so I chalk it up to my brain being foggy from just having had some amazing sex.

Only the next morning, when we walk into the office, I realize I wasn’t wrong. Someone was watching us. And they got a whole lot more than just us walking to the car.

“Both of you,in my office now,” Dad says, his tone reminding me of when I was a teenager and did something that disappointed him.

Julian presses his hand to my back in a comforting gesture, and we follow my dad into his office.

He closes the door behind us, and when we turn around, the fury in his eyes has me taking a hesitant step backward. It’s been years since I’ve been on the other end of my dad’s wrath. And even though I’m a grown woman, I find myself slinking closer to Julian for comfort.

“What the hell were you doing at a baseball game in Houston?” Dad demands, referring to the baseball game we went to.

What? That’s what he’s asking about?

“Julian wanted to do the corporate event there, so he dragged me to watch a game.” I roll my eyes playfully despite the current tension in the room. “It’s safe to say, we won’t be doing it at?—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Dad barks, making me jump back.

I stumble slightly, but Julian catches me before I land on my ass.

“This is what I’m talking about.” Dad walks over to his desk, clicks his mouse a few times, and then swivels his computer monitor around.

It takes me a second to comprehend what we’re looking at, for my brain to catch up with what it’s seeing. But once I do, I gasp in shock and embarrassment.

There’s no way …

It can’t be …

My mind must be playing tricks on me …

I blink several times, but the video is still there in color—me riding Julian at the baseball game. You can’t see anything, thanks to my dress being fanned out around us, but between us kissing and my body moving up and down, it’s obvious what’s happening.

Without waiting for the video to finish, my dad hits a button on his computer that blacks out the screen.

“Where did you get that?” Julian says calmly while I freak the hell out because, holy shit, we’re on video, having sex!

“It’s all over the internet,” Dad says. “I have PR working to do damage control, but there’s only so much they can do. This is not the image I was talking about when we discussed the future of Kingston. It’s bad enough two of my employees are in the video, but for it to be my daughter and the COO? The calls have already started coming in from our business associates.”

His gaze meets mine. “And to find out you got married behind my back in Vegas from a tabloid …” His features morph from angry to hurt, and my heart sinks. “It’s like you’re a teenager all over again, acting reckless and making dumb decisions without thinking. You’re not a child anymore, Anastasia. And, Julian …” He shakes his head. “I expected better than this from you.”

“Samuel,” Julian says at the same time I say, “Dad, listen …”

“I’ve heard enough,” he says, those three words eliciting memories from when I was younger.

Every time I messed up and tried to explain. When I disappointed him and he’d give me a lecture without letting me speak my side. Memory after memory flits through my head until it becomes too much, and I snap.

“No, you haven’t heard anything from me,” I choke out. “You saw the video, and you read the tabloids, but you didn’t hear from me or Julian. You always do this!” I cry. “I mess up, and you don’t listen to me. But you mess up, and I’m supposed to listen, right? You spent years after Mom’s death begging me to listen to you! Now, please, listen to me!”

Dad stares at me in shock for several moments before he nods and takes a seat. “Okay, talk.”

“Thank you,” I breathe.

Taking Julian’s hand in mine, I walk us over to the visitor chairs across from my dad and sit.

“I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, made many poor decisions, but being with Julian isn’t one of them,” I begin. “I know we messed up, and I’ll do whatever you need to make it right, and I know Julian will, too, because he loves you and cares about this company.

“But instead of judging, try to remember what it’s like to be young and in love. We didn’t set out to hurt anyone, especially this company. I know I’m your employee, but I’m also your daughter. And for the first time in my life, I’m in love.” I glance at Julian, who smiles softly at me. “Please, stop thinking like a business owner for one second and think like a dad,” I say, looking back at my dad.

He stares at Julian and me for several seconds, and I have no clue what he’s going to do or say, but then he sighs and says, “You’re both going to release an apology statement that our PR team draws up. It helps that you’re married, so we can spin it to say that it wasn’t simply a hookup. In the future, I expect you both to keep your personal lives private. Understood?”

Dad raises a brow, and we both nod.

“And as for the secret marriage, I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t hurt to learn I wasn’t in the know, but I guess I deserve that after everything that’s happened.”

“No,” I tell him, shaking my head. “I promise, it wasn’t like that.”

Dad nods. “All right, well, there’s a lot to do, so go ahead and get to work, and PR will be in touch soon.”

And just like that, we’ve been dismissed.

“And, Anastasia?”

“Yeah?” I say, stopping in my tracks by the door.

“I’m proud of you. Regardless of the mistakes you make, I’m still proud of everything you’ve accomplished, and I know your mother would be too.”

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