Wife Unwanted (Corrupt Vows #2)

Chapter 1

Carey

THE PARTY WAS a bore, and to make things worse, it was being thrown in my honor. Everyone was here for me and I didn't even know half of them. But that's the problem with office parties, isn't it? They're thrown not to celebrate the event, but to give the networkers a chance to hand out business cards to people who don't want them. Even the exclusivity didn't lessen the office nature of it all. You could put law nerds into ballgowns but that doesn't make them socialites.

"Carey!" Someone slapped my back. "So how does it feel to make partner?" my brother Ty said as he came around to face me. He was dangling a glass of champagne and took a sip before saying, "And why don't you look happy about it?"

I thrust my hand in my pocket and straightened my posture. "Who says I am not happy?"

Ty chuckled and stood beside me, his eyes darting around the room. "The birthday boy rarely dances alone. You made partner! If you aren't co-mingling with your mind-numbingly boring colleagues, you should be fucking some paralegal in the coatroom, at least."

We were at the edge of the gold and white ballroom, away from most of the crowd. I had chosen this spot because I had had enough of people I know and didn't know acting like the most sickening sycophants in my presence. "And lose the partnership as soon as I make it?"

Tyler shrugged. "I doubt your fellow partners would have the balls to fire you, knowing Dad's reaction." Dad. If there was someone I didn't want to think of today, it was him. Ever since he got into his head that I could be more than just a defense lawyer, he has been interested in my career, more than I care to admit.

"Can we not talk about him right now?"

"Sure. As long as you—Is that who I think it is?" Tyler's gaze wandered to a spot behind me. Without knowing who he's looking at, I knew it was a woman.

"Found tonight's one-night stand?" I said.

Tyler nudged me. "Did you invite her?"

Curious, I turned to see what caught his attention and immediately got tongue-tied. Standing by the makeshift bar, nursing a cocktail was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Thalia MacNeal has always been pretty, but she had grown into a strikingly gorgeous woman. The little black dress she wore hugged luscious curves and teased a body made of sin and pleasure.

"Holy fuck."

"I had no idea little Thalia had a glow up," Tyler said. "Did you invite her?"

I shook my head, my gaze still on her. She looked up from her phone and we locked eyes. Hers widened while mine no doubt flashed with latent desire. A visceral rush to possess her came over me. One word flashed in my mind: mine. An old feeling that was now resurfacing.

The other men in the room had taken notice of her, and some looked like they were angling to make their move. Not if I get to her first. Without thinking, as if I am drawn to her like a moth to a flame, I made a beeline towards her. I could hear Tyler chuckling, but his voice and every other became background noise. I was aware of nothing else except her.

She was even more ravishing up close. She had grown out her hair into bouncy curls that fell to her shoulders and framed her delicate face. Her light brown skin seemed to glow under the warm light. Her eyes were the most captivating feature on her. They always have been, but now? I could get lost staring into her big black pools all day.

Time seemed to slow down with each step I took. When I finally reached her, she straightened her back and stared right back at me.

"Fancy seeing you here." I immediately wanted to kick myself. I couldn't think of anything clever to say. All of my quips seemed to have flown out of my head.

"Congratulations."

Her voice sounded breathless. I was mesmerized by her pillowy mouth and felt my groin tighten as a fire from the dark, erotic recesses within my body rose. Be cool, I told myself.

"Thank you. It's been a long time since I've seen you. Last I heard, you were in… LA?"

"San Diego. College."

"How was it'?"

"I got a degree."

"Congratulations."

"Three years ago."

"Oh. Right." I felt like a buffoon. Of courses, Thalia and I are only a year apart from each other. "Belated congratulations? What brings you back to these old parts?"

She shrugged. "Work. I recently got hired on the floor above yours. We got invitations to this thing, and I wasn't going to come until I heard you work here. Partner? Impressive."

It was not as impressive an achievement when your father greased the pockets of most of the partners. Acquiring my father's company as a client probably accelerated it. "Thank you for coming. It's great not having only family and suck ups around."

She smirked. “Carey Hawthorne doesn't think I am a suck up? Talk about character development. You called me one of the worst, I recall.”

I cringed with embarrassment. I hadn't just called her that. Growing up, I gave her many terrible names. Some of which I would rather forget. "Can you forgive the foolish and na?ve younger me? Now that I have encountered actual suck ups, I have to admit you were never one."

Thalia cocked her eyebrows and looked like she was about to say something, but then shook her head. She picked up her purse that was lying on the bar and turned as though to leave. Surprised by this change in mood, I grabbed her arm to stop her. When she turned to face me, her playful demeanor was gone.

"Going already?"

She cast her gaze down. In shame? Embarrassment? Revulsion? I couldn't tell. "I can't do this." Was she saying it to me or to herself?

"You can't leave now. You're the only refreshing thing at this dull party."

She looked up. Her eyes were glassy. With tears? Something wasn't making sense, but I didn't care enough to find out. All I knew was she had to stay. Stay in my company for that much longer. Quickly I turn to her forgotten drink. The glass is empty. I haven't had one myself.

"Want a refill?" She made a gesture that looked like a nod. I took it as one and quickly ordered one for her and a whisky for me. I handed her the drink and swallowed a sigh of relief when she took it. The room was full of people who would be eager to take me away from her any moment soon if we hung around. I took hold of her hand and gestured to the terrace. "Want some fresh air?"

She looked unsure, but she nodded. "Why not?"

I weaved through the room with her hand in mine while avoiding making eye contact with anyone who might want to talk to me. Tyler smirked as we passed him, but I ignored him. The terrace was empty, as I hoped it would be. The cool summer air was an upgrade to the oppressive body heat of the party. Thalia strolled to the ledge and turned to face me. With the backdrop of the city behind her, she looked like a temptress villain from a comic book. Catwoman. And yet, there was an innocence about her that the sexy dress she wore could not mask. It was a heady combination. My groin tightened further as I thought of all the ways I was going to fuck her tonight. It might be the beginning, but something told me we were going to end up in each other's arms. Call it fate, call it desire. All I knew was I had to have her.

"You're very beautiful."

She scoffed. "You don't have to lie to me Carey, I know you don't see me like that."

"If you're talking about what I said to you when we were teenagers, you have to remember we were kids."

"So you never thought I was a bog witch?"

"That insult, which I apologize for, was because you dressed like one. You no longer do, by the way."

Her response was curt. "Thanks."

"I'm going about it the wrong way. I shouldn't have called you a bog witch because you never were one. It's just that… I was dick back in the day."

She takes a sip of her drink and glances at the city behind her. "You were. Are you saying you have changed?"

I close the space between us. "Some people say I haven't, but I wouldn't believe them if I were you."

"And why do I have a feeling they are telling the truth?"

"That's because I am dick to people I hate nowadays. Not to everyone else."

"And you didn't hate me then? I would have sworn that you did."

Did I hate her? The Thalia I used to know was certainly different to the goddess that stands before me now. She was quiet, jumpy and sometimes a little too easy to intimidate. Because of how close we were in age and because her father was the family chauffeur, Thalia and I went to school together. Her father would drop me off at the prep school and then drop her at public school further down the block. Thalia and I spent a lot of time together as a result, and my behavior towards her then could not be called kind. But hate? “I didn’t hate you.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You literally said it to my face. Remember when I told you it was my ninth birthday, and you told me I shouldn’t have one next year?”

“Fuck. Are you saying I blew my chance to be with you when I was ten?" I made a tentative step forward. "I was a spoiled little brat, how can I make it up to you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you flirting with me?”

“What did you think I was doing?”

She shifted her weight on her feet. Her demeanor changed again from casual to guarded, then as though catching herself back to casual again. Something about it should have raised some alarm bell, but I was too horny to notice. Now that we were alone, the desire I felt for her only ratcheted up. I was drawn to her and without realizing it; I was moving closer and closer to her until there was little distance between us. At some point, she must have noticed that we were no longer standing a few feet apart. “Carey,” she whispered.

I couldn’t help it. My mouth went to hers and captured her lips with mine. They were as soft as I imagined. Plump and sweet. I wanted more. After coaxing her mouth with my tongue, we both groaned when she finally relented and let me in. I pulled her into my arms and heard my drink sloshing out of its glass. Or was it her drink?

The kiss was nothing I’ve ever felt before. It was like tasting a drug you’ve always resisted because deep down you know how addictive it is. Her mouth moved against mine as she kissed me back. Our tongues clashed and danced as we drank each other. I pressed her body against mine, and she moaned when she felt my probing erection.

“I want you,” I said when we came up for air. “Carey, no.” She pushed me back and stood aside, putting some distance between us.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I just had to taste.”

She placed her hand on her lips and cleared her throat. “We’ve only just met.”

“We’ve known each other for years.”

“But you’ve never known the real me.” She chugged down the rest of her drink. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry Carey, I shouldn’t have come here. Your f—”

I placed my drink on the ledge and drew her into my arms again. “What are you afraid of? You can’t tell me you don’t feel anything for me when you’ve just kissed me like that. Let's leave this place.”

She withdrew and looked down. “I don’t think I can.”

Just as I am about to ask her why, the door to the terrace opened and a colleague of mine pops out. Ben, a lawyer who joined the firm same time as I did. “There you are. The senior partners are looking for you.” I almost told Ben to fuck off, but this promotion was something I’ve always wanted and I couldn’t simply just ignore them.

“Wait for me?” I said to her.

She nodded.

I went inside hoping that when I came back, she will be there waiting. But when I was finally free of the old men and who wanted to glad-hand me, there’s no one on the terrace. There was no sign of her anywhere at the party. She was gone.