The Temporary Wife: Chapter 54

I glance at my pocket watch and smile at the photo of Valentina inside it. My father once told me he’d hand it down to me if I ever got married, and that I should put a picture of my wife in it then. I didn’t think I could ever bear to replace the old, faded photo of my mother, but I understand it now.

I get why my dad told me to put a photo of my wife in this pocket watch. It gives me perspective and reminds me what I’m doing this all for. It reminds me that every second not spent efficiently is a second I could’ve spent with her — which is why I’m even more annoyed to be sitting here.

“The price you offered is fair, I have to say,” Jessica tells me.

I snap my watch closed and sigh. “Then why did you insist on meeting with me instead of just accepting our offer?”

She glances at my ring every few minutes, her expression unreadable. I know she wants to ask if it’s a wedding ring, but surprisingly, she hasn’t. It annoys me to look at her, but even more so, it annoys me that Valentina told me to attend this meeting at all.

I know why my wife did this. She’s trying to show me that she truly is giving our marriage a chance and that she’s choosing to trust me despite her insecurities. She’s trying to prove that she won’t let our private life interfere with our business goals, but that’s not what I want.

I want her to lose her cool over me, the way I do with every single man that comes near her. I want her to act jealous and irrational, because she can’t control herself when it comes to me. Every once in a while, I want her to act as crazy as I do. I need to know that she loves me the same, that I drive her insane.

“Do you truly not know why I asked you to meet with me in person?”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “No, and to be honest, I don’t care either. I genuinely couldn’t care less if you decline our offer. It wasn’t my decision to acquire Metric, anyway. I’m literally only here because I was told to.”

I just want to go home already. I’ve sat through half an hour of this shit, and I want to see my wife. At first, I was certain she’d show up, that she wouldn’t let me sit through a dinner with my fucking ex, but she hasn’t. Every second that she isn’t here adds to the frustration I feel.

I’m still uneasy around Valentina, scared that she’ll change her mind, or that she doesn’t really feel the way I do. It annoys me that she can so easily separate work and our private life, when I absolutely can’t. I’d let my whole fucking company collapse if it made her happy, but she won’t even pass up one acquisition, going as far as to send me out for dinner with my goddamn ex.

“What do you mean?” Jessica asks. “If it wasn’t your decision, whose was it?”

“Mine.”

I sit up, a smile slowly spreading across my face as my heart starts to race. Valentina’s eyes meet mine, and the hint of insecurity I see in them puts me at ease. It’s toxic, and it’s crazy, and I fucking know it, but I don’t care.

I rise to my feet and drag a chair to the small, crowded table Jessica and I are seated at, suddenly grateful that the space is so limited. She’ll have to sit right next to me, my leg against hers.

“I’m Valentina,” she says. “Windsor Finance’s Chief Operating Officer, and the person in charge of our expansion plans.”

The two women shake hands, and Jessica looks visibly unnerved when Valentina sits down next to me. I place my hand on her thigh and lean in, my lips brushing over her ear. “Good girl,” I whisper. “You deserve a reward for showing up here.”

My wife turns her face, and her nose brushes against mine. “You’re not mad?” she whispers.

“Quite the contrary.”

I smile at her as she hands Jessica a document outlining our offer. “I apologize for showing up so late,” she says, her tone perfectly professional. “Luca asked me to join, but I had a meeting that ran late, and I didn’t think I’d be able to make it.”

When she’s like this, I can’t resist her. It makes me want to mess with her and break that icy control of hers. She’s so fucking sexy when she’s negotiating a deal. She has no idea how many meetings I’ve had to sit through with my cock throbbing, my mind filled with fantasies of her.

Jessica stares at my wife as she outlines the terms of our offer, her gaze dropping to my wedding ring occasionally. I’m glad Valentina showed up, but she should’ve introduced herself as Valentina Windsor. Perhaps it isn’t a reward she deserves, but rather, punishment instead.

“Our offer would not result in a change in—” My hand slides up her thigh and underneath her skirt, and her voice falters as I angle my body toward her to make my movements less suspicious. “In… in management.”

Her cheeks flush as I stare at her, pretending to be engrossed in what she’s saying while I push aside her underwear.

“Joining Windsor Finance would give Metric access to additional funding and research that is—” I drag a finger over her pussy, finding her getting wetter by the second. “That is… proprietary to our firm.” I thought that perhaps she’d throw me a warning look, but instead, she spreads her legs for me, giving me better access.

I slip two fingers into her, and her pussy swallows them. There’s something about this woman that just drives me fucking insane. I don’t think my cock has ever been this hard before. Nothing brings me more joy than teasing an orgasm out of her when she’s trying her best to hold on to that control she loves so much.

“So you propose a partnership of sorts?” Jessica asks, her eyes moving between the two of us. The discomfort on her face makes me wonder if she knows what’s going on underneath the table, or whether she’s just uncomfortable because of how close I’m sitting to Valentina. It isn’t in the least professional, and she knows it. There’s no mistaking here — it’s obvious that Valentina and I aren’t mere colleagues.

“Exactly,” Valentina says. She smiles brightly as she grabs my wine glass, leaving a lipstick mark on it as she drinks some of it.

I swipe my thumb over her clit harshly, and she bites down on her lip for a moment. Initially, I just wanted to tease her, but now I want to make her come, right here, at this table.

My eyes drop to my glass as I increase the pressure against her clit, teasing her harder, rougher. With my free hand, I turn my glass until the mark she left is facing me, and then I pick it up, taking a sip of wine, my lips against the lipstick stain she left. I think I may actually be obsessed with my wife.

Jessica grits her teeth, and Valentina squirms, unable to sit still as I take her right to the edge. My fingers are soaking wet, and her pussy is perfectly slippery. It’d be so easy to slip my cock right into her, and I want nothing more. How quickly can I get her home? If I leave her hanging, will she cut this meeting short?

I lean into her and brush my lips over her ear as I touch her harder, pushing my fingers in deeper. “I want you to come for me,” I whisper.

Her breathing is uneven, and when I pull away, she’s looking at me with flushed cheeks and such intense need in her eyes that I could fucking come just at the sight of her.

“Luca,” she whispers as she shakes her head, my name a plea on her lips. I chuckle, my heart overflowing with love for her. I’m crazy about her.

I thread my hand through her hair and pull her face toward mine roughly. My lips come crashing down against hers, and she moans into my mouth as I make her come, her pussy clamping down on my fingers. I really fucking love this woman, with all my heart. I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.

She tears her lips off mine and drops her forehead against my shoulder, her body trembling slightly as I pull my fingers away, pure fucking satisfaction flowing through me.

“I apologize,” I tell Jessica, who looks at us with an expression that can only be described as jealousy and torment. “My wife isn’t feeling too well, it seems. I’d better take her home.”

“Wife?” she repeats, her gaze filling with regret and defeat.

I wrap my arm around Valentina, who can’t bring herself to lift her face. She’s too fucking cute, and I have no doubt that she’ll make me pay for this the second we get home. I just couldn’t help myself. “Yeah,” I murmur. “My wife.”

Valentina looks into my eyes, clearly flustered, and I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re the one who made me come here,” I tell her, unable to wipe the smile off my face. “Now that you’ve… come… too and outlined the offer, we can finally wrap this up and go home, right?”

Her eyes flash, but I see the way she tries to suppress a smile as she turns toward Jessica. “I truly apologize,” Valentina says. “My husband is right. I’m feeling somewhat out of it tonight. Please contact me directly if you’d like to further discuss our offer, and we’ll reschedule.”

Finally. I can’t wait to get her to bed and lay to rest any insecurities she may still have. One by one, I’ll make them vanish, until she’s certain that she’s it for me.