Merry Fake Bride (Sins of the Season #2)

Chapter 1

KAIRO

She’s beautiful.

Purple, pink, and blue lights spin around above her head, casting a rainbow of colors across her dark hair while the white flashes, woven in time to the thumping beat of the music.

They highlight the sparkles across her halter-neck shroud.

It’s not the glitter or the color that draws me in, though, nor is it the alluring sweeps of her body or the amazing curvature of her ass perched on the stool by the bar.

It’s her smile.

She’s clearly a few drinks deep into whatever she’s celebrating, but each time she catches the attention of the bartender to request another drink, this stunning, bright smile stretches across her luscious red lips and it makes my heart jump slightly every single time I glimpse her.

A dazzling smile is rare in a city like this and yet she smiles like the stars above have drifted down from the sky to settle in her eyes, making them twinkle with delight as she requests another drink.

That’s her fourth, not that I’m counting. We’re about even.

I spotted her while on my second drink, and it’s taken two more ice-cold Bourbons to draw up the courage to talk to her.

Nerves with a woman isn’t something I’m familiar with, but as I slide off my stool and move down the bar to the other end where she sits, my heart begins to race like it understands something I don’t.

I put the fluttering in my chest down to the stress of the day and plaster a warm smile on my lips as I stop a few feet away from her and point to the empty stool on her right.

“Is this seat taken?”

She spins in her seat, flinching slightly at the sound of my voice despite the din from the speakers, and her gorgeous, sparkling eyes widen.

In this light, with the loud music causing the lights above to pulse with color and brightness, her eyes look like a golden galaxy with an array of colors swirling around her irises.

“Huh?” she squeaks at me, and despite the dark blanket that covers the bar in between the bursts of light, I catch a pink blush creeping over the apples of her cheeks.

“This seat,” I repeat. “Is it taken?”

“Oh! No, not at all.” She adjusts herself on her stool and her bright, dazzling smile hits me with the force of a soft punch. “No one’s sitting there.”

“May I?”

Surprise flickers faintly across her features and she nods. “Sure.”

I slide onto the stool and raise one hand to half-mast, signaling the bartender.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the woman’s eyes flit down my body and her mouth briefly falls open.

The heat of her gaze traveling across my body sends a rush of warmth up and down my arms, further warming my already heated skin.

In a bar like this where people are packed like sardines on the dancefloor, jumping and bouncing to music so loud it makes my back teeth vibrate, there’s no expectation of privacy.

Yet sitting here next to this woman who caught my eye suddenly makes me feel like we’re the only two people in this entire building.

Until the bartender finally notices me and hurries closer while draping a towel over his shoulder.

“Another?” he asks while leaning across the bar toward me. “Bourbon, right?”

Impressive that he remembers that even with me switching seats, although maybe it’s a sign I’ve been drinking too much tonight. “Yes, please. And whatever the lady is having.”

She tears her gaze away from my waist and looks up at me with those large, golden eyes.

The oval shape of her face melts into a heart when she smiles nervously and the apples of her cheeks swell under her eyes.

Each breath causes her ample chest to rise and the sparkles on her top to move like rippling waves.

“You don’t have to do that,” she says, her voice soft, and yet it might as well have been right next to my ear given how in tune to her I am.

“It’s my pleasure. As a thank you.”

“For the seat?” Her dark brows briefly knit together, then a soft laugh rushes past her lips. “Damn.”

“No. Not the seat.”

“Then what?”

“You made my day brighter.”

“I don’t even know you.”

There’s a laziness to her words born from the alcohol humming in her veins and the warm, alluring vibe of this entire place.

The music changes, and the lights turn to a red that deepens all the shadows around her body.

My tongue curls in on itself as I admire her, then I nod as both our fresh drinks are placed in front of us.

She immediately draws her glass into herself and places her fingertips on the rim to cover it.

Despite her drunken state, she’s still aware of her surroundings.

“No, you don’t know me.” My agreement comes with a smile. “But I was having a kind of shitty day and then I saw you across the bar, and it reminded me that even when I’m feeling at my lowest, there’s beauty to be found if I look in the right places.”

Her eyes widen and even with the darker lights, I can tell she’s blushing furiously.

Her hand tightens around her glass, then she quickly buries her smile in her drink.

I follow suit and sip my own drink.

The bourbon slides down a lot smoother after four drinks, and the stress of my day finally starts to melt away.

Until my phone buzzes against my thigh.

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” she asks while I pull out my phone and glance at it.

Thirteen missed calls.

I’m in the process of locking the screen when yet another call comes through, so I silence it and place it face down on the bar.

“If you have to ask, then I think I need to do a better job.”

Our eyes meet and my heart skips a beat once again.

“Oh, it’s not that.”

She laughs, and it’s a light, warm sound that resonates through me.

“I’m not typically flirted with until people’s drinks are in the double digits.”

“I doubt that.” There’s no way a woman as beautiful as this isn’t fawned over twenty-four, seven.

“So, what’s so terrible about your day that a glimpse at me is what makes you feel better?”

She gazes at me over the top of her glass, deftly changing the subject, so I go with it.

“Let’s just say that—”

The buzzing from my phone increases, so I flip it over as a thrum of rapid-fire text messages come through followed by another call.

“Avoiding someone?” she asks as I set my phone back face down.

“The cause of my bad day. Let’s just say the burden of responsibility is weighing me down today.”

“What kind of responsibility?”

Ignoring my phone, I give her my full attention while I drink slowly.

“Have you ever had to live in the smothering presence of someone who isn’t even around anymore?”

She nods her head. “Sort of.”

“That’s my life, and I’m here to try and pretend that’s not the case. Only, it’s not working.”

She suddenly reaches across the bar and snatches up my phone, then slides it into a pocket of her handbag that rests on her lap. “Then you need to pretend better. You can start by telling me your name.”

“My name is—”

“Ah!” She cuts me off with a smirk. “Pretend, remember? Be someone different.”

“Alright, my name is Steve.”

She immediately bursts out laughing. “You can choose any name that you want and you pick Steve?”

“What’s wrong with Steve?”

Her laughter is infectious, and I can’t keep the smile off my own face.

“It’s so basic and regular. Not very fantasy, is it?”

“Alright, what’s your name?”

Her eyes lock onto mine. “Adeline.”

Damn. That’s much better than mine. “Touche. What do you do for a living, Adeline?”

Her head tilts as she drains her glass and sets it down. “I’m a hot shot lawyer who spends her day stamping out all the rich assholes who think they can get away with everything by throwing money at a problem. But I’m a lawyer who can’t be bought, so I remain their problem until I fix them.”

There’s an edge to her voice suggesting that her reality is slipping into her fantasy because her smile fades briefly.

It returns a moment later.

“What about you? I have to warn you, if you’re a rich asshole, then I’m about to be a very big problem for you.”

She has no idea how close she is to the truth.

“I’m rich but not an asshole. I’m an exotic animal veterinarian.”

“Called Steve.” She can barely contain her laughter. “It’s so nice to meet you, Steve.”

“I feel like you’re mocking me,” I reply, unable to keep the smile on my face from growing. “I’m a respectable vet with a respectable name, thank you very much.”

“Oh, I have no doubt.” Her laughter dissolves into giggles while she tries to speak. “So, what vet emergency is blowing up your phone?”

“Well as it happens, I’m in the market for a hot-shot lawyer because I came across this rich asshole who had more animals than sense in his luxurious penthouse, and of course I had to set them all free.

Then we had a dramatic chase across New York city until I put those animals on a ship heading back to their home country, and now he’s trying to sue me. ”

She laughs again, angling her body toward me. “So not only are you a vet, Steve, but you rescued a whole host of animals?”

“Mmhmm.” I drain my glass, watching her over the rim as she gently rolls her eyes.

“I have to warn you, I’m expensive.”

“I can afford it,” I say softly, lowering my glass.

“Can you, though?” Her head tilts to the side, and the waves of her hair drift past her shoulder. “I’m the best in the city.”

“Then you’re who I need to hire, Adeline. Think of the animals.”

“Oh.” Her voice drops low like a purr. “The animals. Of course. What kind of lawyer would I be if I turned away from you like that?”

“Plus…” Leaning close, I place my hand very lightly on her forearm.

A flinch moves through her. “We can send a gigantic fuck you to the rich assholes who think they can get away with paying away their problems. Pretty good for your reputation.”

“Are you trying to entice me into pro-bono work, sir?” She places one hand on her chest and gasps softly. “How is a girl supposed to earn a living?”

“Well, perhaps we can work out some other form of payment?”

It starts as a joke and two minutes later, I have her up against the wall in the short corridor leading to the bathroom.

Pretending to be someone else has me throwing all caution to the wind, and it’s refreshing.

There’s no parental stress, no work stress.

Nothing exists but the beautiful, curvaceous woman in my arms.

She’s a whole head shorter than me, so I’m curling over her to kiss her while she threads her fingers through my hair and tugs.

“My car is—”

“Can’t wait,” she gasps, silencing my idea and fisting her hand into the front of my shirt.

She drags me into the bathroom, and all thought of taking whatever this is to my car vanishes from my mind.

Luckily, the bathroom is empty as we crash inside and slam the door closed.

The lights are as dark in here as they are out in the club, so making it to the opposite wall takes some careful feeling around the sink.

She gasps when I shove her up against the wall and close my mouth over hers, kissing her as desperately as my heart thumps in my chest.

Her bag slips from her grasp and hits the floor somewhere at our feet.

I’m too hot.

My clothes are clinging to my body like a second skin, and it’s too much, but at the same time, every time Adeline pulls me closer to her, the tightening of the fabric adds to the thrill of her wanting me as much as I want her.

I kiss her until we’re both breathless, slide my hands under her sparkling top, and caress her curves until she’s trembling against me.

My cock swells in my pants within seconds of her looping her hands around my neck and pulling me harder against her.

“You want me to work for you for free?” she gasps against my lips. “Make it worth my while.”

Her tongue drags across my lower lip, and then she turns away from me until she’s facing the wall with her thick ass pressing back against my aching cock.

It’s enough to make my thighs tremble.

Burying my face into her neck near her hairline, our hands work together to lift her skirt far enough that the hot, bare skin of her upper thighs and lower back warms my fingers.

Her legs spread, and she thrusts her hips back against me with a breathless moan, then she tilts her head to the side and peers at me over her shoulder.

“I’ll make you wanna work for free for the rest of your life,” I gasp, lightly sucking her earlobe into my mouth as I shove my jeans down past my hips and free my cock.

Pulling her panties to the side, my fingers are instantly soaked as I slide them through her pussy.

She’s as wet as I am hard and the whining, needy moan that escapes her throat is all the permission I need.

I didn’t realize my world was spinning off-axis until everything clicked into place the second I thrust into her from behind.

She loops one arm back around my neck and slides her fingers into my hair.

Her other hand braces against the wall while I keep one arm around her waist and the other on her hip as we align with one another.

In this moment, nothing else matters other than the tightness of her pussy and the sweet scent of her fruity perfume rising from her neck.

I start thrusting immediately, unable to stop myself and eager to bury myself inside her over and over again.

She tries to speak, but her words are lost in the frantic gasps and wordless whimpers that I fuck out of her mouth.

Her fingers arch against the wall, her hips move back against me, and she tugs on my hair with every thrust.

It’s messy and the smothering heat building between us is almost unbearable, but I’m addicted.

Her skin is soft and hot, her curves melt under my hands, her pussy grips my cock on every thrust, and just as I sink into the enticing rhythm of fucking her, she suddenly gasps out loud and starts trembling in my arms.

I’m still thrusting when it hits me that she came already, and the tightening of her walls around my cock in a rapid rhythm is what pulls my orgasm out of me like a punch.

It’s so sudden and so intense that I barely have time to register it.

I’m spilling inside her, panting into her hair, and struggling to keep us both upright through an intense orgasm that hit me far sooner than I’d like.

I want to enjoy her and savor her, but pleasure beats us to it.

Adeline slides off my cock and out from under my arm, then in a flash, she’s fixing her clothes and barely looking at me.

I sink briefly down onto the lid of the closed toilet, but as I find my words to ask her who she really is, she silences my mind with a single soft kiss.

“Wait—”

“Goodbye, Steve.”

Then she’s gone in a flash, and I’m left with my phone resting on my thigh and her perfume lingering in the air like she was nothing more than a dream.

Was it something I did?