Page 14 of Accidentally Hitched (Unintentionally Yours #1)

Callum

M y dick is rock hard when I step into the shower after work.

It’s been hard since I saw Amanda and realized what was going on.

Even after our conversation that was…heated…I kept seeing her in passing. In my building. As my new hire. Needless to say, I left work early, something I never do. But I am pretty sure this counts as a medical emergency.

I let the hot water hit me wondering how on God’s green earth I am going to do this day after day. No one, and I mean no one, has ever affected me like this woman has. I knew she was different the moment I saw her at that stupid speakeasy.

How could I not have known?

I am a detailed man. I run a tight ship. Actually, my father runs the ship still, but he has a tendency to blow holes in his own ship, and I am the one who patches those holes both before the ship sinks and before the public even notices anything.

So how did I skim over a profile half-assed enough that I didn’t realize Amanda is…

Amanda? To be fair, I didn’t just skim it.

I just skipped over the personal shit and went straight to the credentials.

Which were flawless. And her tapes? Even more so.

She is the most perfectly ideal candidate I have seen come across my desk in years.

And that’s not the only thing about her that’s perfectly ideal.

My hand wraps around my cock as I close my eyes thinking about her.

Her red hair tousled every time I saw her. Like it won’t behave. Like she has no control.

I pump my hand, base to tip and bite my lips.

Her pink lips, so full and soft. They tasted like berries, I fucking kid you not. I am not a lipstick man, and I couldn’t even tell you if she was wearing any but whatever was on her lips tasted like dessert.

And I want to eat every bite.

Then there’s her body. Don’t get me fucking started on this woman’s body. Yes, she is younger but that’s not why I find her irresistible. I honestly prefer my women to be mature. And she is. But her shape has me speechless. From the swell of her breasts to the curve of her ass.

Jesus fucking Christ that ass…

Noah is right. It doesn’t quit.

I pump my hand again, my hand sliding up and down, over the tip and back to the base. No matter how tight I grip though, it’s nothing like her pussy. Soft and warm and wet and trembling as I ground in and out of her, harder and harder, filling her up. And speaking of filling up…

“Fuck, baby girl…” I moan, widening my stance to support the weight of my shaking muscles as I imagine myself inside of her again.

I need to be inside of her again…

I’ll never forget the way she spread open for me, knees on the floor, ass in the air, her perfect pink pussy mine for the taking, dripping in anticipation.

A low groan escapes me from deep inside as I pump harder and faster. I brace my hand on the wall, my other hand working to pull the cum from my body like she did.

Though nothing will ever compare.

So, I think of her face, her lips in a perfect O, chin trembling and her back arching and her breath fogging up the glass overlooking sin city as we committed sins of our own.

The orgasm rips through me and I nearly come to my knees on the shower floor.

I run my hands through my hair and reach for the soap, wondering how the fuck I am going to survive if she says no.

And even more so if she says yes.

I walk into my office and stop.

I’ve been amping myself all morning for the possibility of seeing Amanda again, knowing full well there was a chance she wouldn’t come back into work today and I’d have to make do with an email declining my offer and asking for a divorce.

Side note– what the hell is my life right now?

But I don’t receive an email. And I don’t have time to prepare myself for running into Amanda. Because she is standing in my office right in front of me.

She’s wearing black jeans that look like they were painted on, and my mind immediately flashes back to the shower.

I swallow hard, thankful I wore slightly less tight slacks today, on purpose.

She’s also got on a red lacy top and her hair is pulled away from her heart shaped face, save for a couple locks that have sprung loose in the humidity.

My entire office smells like citrus. I swear this woman is a cocktail of different fruits and flowers and I never know what I am going to get.

“Medium americano, half an inch of cream and one pump of hazelnut.”

It takes physical effort to rip my eyes from her body and realize she is holding out a coffee cup.

Move your hand, idiot, I scold myself and take it from her.

“Thanks…” The world trails from my lips and I clear my throat, walking around her to my desk. I am not trying to be a dick. I’m trying to hide my dick. One more whiff of that perfume and I am going to be tucking it into my belt in a minute.

Amanda turns around to face me and I watch her chest rise as she takes in a deep breath. Her chin is high, and her eyes are locked on mine. “I am going to accept the proposal. The contract. The job offer…whatever.”

I take a sip of my coffee, which is spot on. Then I nod a single time. The last thing I want to do is seem overly eager. But the wave of relief paired with the feeling of my heart sling-shotting to the moon is enough to make my skin tingle.

“Good,” I manage to say.

Amanda nods too and then walks over to the door.

At first, I think she is going to leave and honestly, it’s a bit of a relief.

Ever since her scent filled the office I have made a point of breathing as little as possible.

But she doesn’t leave. Instead, she closes the door and then marches back over to my desk, sitting down in front of me eye to eye.

“If we are going to do this, we need sound ground rules.”

“Rules?”

“Yes,” she pulls out a notebook from a bag I didn’t even see sitting there. I have to admit, I am impressed. She’s really thought this through, and her professionalism is cute, even if she did make up a stipulation clause in a college ruled notebook instead of on a computer.

I place my forearms on my desk and steeple my hands in front of me. “Let’s hear it.”

Amanda clears her throat, something I have learned she does when she is nervous. I bite back a smile.

“First of all, we are not in a relationship. This is strictly for the public only, and by public I mean anyone within Hardin Records walls.”

“I assumed as much. We are married.”

Amanda gives me a look, a pinch of her brattiness rising to the surface of her expression.

God how I’d love to punish that brattiness right out of her…

“Our marriage stays within the workplace as well. Which brings me to rule two. My sister, Kate, cannot know.”

“Kate was the blonde from Vegas, right?”

“Right.”

“And what is it we don’t want her knowing exactly?”

Amanda snorts out a laugh. “All of it. Any of it. The only thing I’ve told her is that I am still texting the guy from Vegas and I only told her that because she was on a mission to find me a boyfriend.

And if you met the husband-to-be you’d quickly learn that the men Kate finds suitable are not my type. ”

I lean in a little, my forearms flexing against my weight. Amanda must notice because her cheeks flush one shade of pink and she clears her throat again.

“And what is your type?”

“That’s not important,” she nearly whispers before gathering herself and moving on. “Number three. No sex.”

I literally have to make a physical effort not to react to that one. “What about kissing?”

Her eyes flicker up to mine. “What about it?”

“If we are going to pull this off, we have to be convincing, or Dad and Avery are going to think it’s all a ruse.”

“It is.”

“But they can’t know that. Which means we are going to have to kiss. A lot. And touch. A lot. And more, too…”

Amanda and I have locked eyes and her cheeks flush as her lips part.

Fuck me. I am toying with her on purpose but at the same time, it’s wrecking me too.

“More?” she asks breathily.

“People need to believe it’s real.”

“Right,” she nods, sitting up straight again. Her attempts to pretend the air in the room isn’t five times hotter than it was two minutes ago are precious. “So, kissing for the sake of face is permitted along with other over the clothes touching. But we will not be having sex.”

She looks at me.

I look at her.

She doesn’t waver.

And I smile, sitting back. “Whatever you want.” I can work on her later. “Anything else?”

“Yes. Once the contract is fulfilled and you have what you want, we get divorced, quietly and privately. I will still work for you, and you will be my boss, and the relationship will be strictly professional.”

I study her and her expression softens a little, though it’s no less intense.

“I want this job. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And I don’t want one night in Vegas to ruin that. I am the person in the profile that you chose to hire, and I am going to prove that to you.”

“I have no doubt about that,” I say, matching her tone. “So, let's get started.”

Amanda grabs her bag and stands up. “Yes.”

We talk as I walk her to the studio where her office is. “Have you had time to listen to the demos I sent you?” I ask.

“Yes. They’re good but–”

I smile at her as we head for the elevator. “Yes. There is a but. What are your thoughts?”

“Every song feels like an extension of the last. If Lil Chaos wants to stand out, he needs something that will light a fire around his name. He needs to catch attention. Turn heads. Right now, he’s just background noise for the genre.”

Fuck me. She really, and I mean really knows what she’s doing. Where has this woman been all my life?

“I couldn’t agree with you more. I could sense his potential out the gate but right now he’s only the skeleton of what he’s going to need to be if we want to really make money off him.”

“You mean if we want to make good music,” Amanda corrects me with words that I would use myself.

I stop just inside the doorway of the studio and look at her. She looks at me. Any nervousness or awkwardness from the previous conversation is gone and we are talking music. There’s even a hint of smirk hiding in the corners of her mouth.

“Right. So, what did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Amanda bends down and pulls a couple tapes out of her bag and I stop.

“Wait. You still use cassettes for recording?”

“I like the way they sound and it’s easier.”

“It’s very old school.”

“It’s my method and no one has questioned me before.”

Goddamn .

She pops one of the tapes into a portable player and connects it to the sound system. The room immediately fills with one of the songs Lil Chaos’ team gave us.

“This is the song they want us to use as a single. But it’s only two dimensional. So, I played around with it at home.”

“You have a synth at home?”

Amanda smiles. “I have a lot of things at home…”

Focus. For the love of God, Callum, focus!

The song shifts. It’s the same at its base but everything else is completely different.

“I went with piano instead of guitar because it lines up better with the electronic sound that he is going for. The kid is crossing alt and electronic and the keyboard gives it a staccato rhythm which works much better with his sing talking.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I nod, looking at the floor as I focus.

“And the orchestral part in the middle pulls out the emotion. The song is upbeat but he’s singing about a breakup. The music pulls the listener in because it’s peppy–”

“But the lyrics grab the emotion,” I say, and she smiles again.

And I do too.

“This is…wow. Let’s keep going with this. Maybe do the same with track five as a backup single.”

“Oh, I already have plans for track five.”

Damn.

I need to get out of this room now or I’m going to be breaking one of her rules. I head for the door but then stop. “Oh Amanda? One more thing.”

She hits pause on the music and the room goes quiet.

“There’s a Hardin dinner tonight. Your presence will be required.”

“Like a family dinner? For the big wigs?” She immediately looks embarrassed at her choice of words, but I just smile.

“You’re the wife of a big wig now. That means you’re going.”

She nods and, by the look on her face, I can tell she knows what I mean. My family will be there tonight, and we are going to make an announcement.

I’m not going to lie.

I’m as nervous as she is.