The Contract Wife & The Billionaire

Chapter Two: The First kiss

"I’m sorry for kissing you,” she said softly, tilting her head as though to read his reaction, “but I’m really not.”

All she got in return was that maddening grin.

So she pressed on.

“Would you wait for me? Please? "I’ll be done in an hour… maybe we could see where that kiss takes us?”

God help her—she was throwing herself at him like some reckless stranger, and she had no idea why.

At last, Jaden spoke. A man of few words, just as she had already noticed. It was exactly what drew her to him—the quiet power, the danger. He terrified her, yet lured her in like a moth to a flame.

And he was the flame she desperately wanted to burn in.

“Are you sure?” His voice rolled out deep and smooth.

Oh dear God, that voice.

Eliana’s breath hitched. His accent was even more intoxicating than she had imagined. Oddly out of place, too—an American-looking man speaking with the most flawless British inflection she had ever heard. He was a mystery wrapped in silk.

With a flick of her hand, she brushed a stubborn strand of red hair away, then smiled—a smile that made her golden eyes dance before she winked.

“Why don’t you stay and see?”

And with that, she turned and walked away.

Jaden stood rooted to the spot, warring with himself. His demons whispered for him to break free, to walk away, never to give another woman control over him again. That vow had held firm ever since fortune had lifted him into wealth and power.

But he couldn’t move. She was trying to steer things, yes—but the hard, unyielding erection pressed against his thigh kept him where she wanted him. For once, he wasn't bothered about a woman controlling his actions.

A slow smile curved his lips as he returned to his table. Around them, the pub had slipped back into its usual rhythm, the brief spectacle already forgotten by most. But for the two of them, the air still thrummed with a dangerous intensity.

The night was young. And before it ended, they would both regret the choices they were about to make.

Nothing binds two souls more cruelly than unprotected s*x, the kind you didn't see coming and didn't know whose soul you're connecting with.

Eliana wished she had known that truth on the night it mattered most. It might have saved her years of torment. Seven long years of looking over her shoulder, haunted by the dangerously handsome villain who still stalked her dreams.

But that night, all her body and mind wanted was him. The stranger. The man who drew desire from her like a spell.

Until then, she had prided herself on discipline, never once surrendering to careless flings or wanton cravings. But tonight was different. Tonight her restraint shattered.

He walked into her pub, and her sense of control walked out the door. Silent and imposing, he followed her into the shadowed alleys of downtown New Orleans. He never spoke, yet his presence said everything. He smelled of raw masculinity, and something else. Wealth? Power? She couldn’t name it, only feel it. Handsome didn’t cover it; the devil himself would need a makeover to match him.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” she finally said, breaking the charged silence.

He glanced down at her, his emerald-green eyes glowing in the half-dark of the alley.

Eliana had walked this way countless times, always dreading the predators that lurked in places like this. Usually luck kept them away. But tonight felt different. They weren’t being hunted. They were being avoided. And she knew why. Men like him carried an aura that frightened even devils.

And that aura was drowning her in need. Her underwear was soaked, her thighs trembling, her willpower stretched thin. It took everything not to beg him to take her right there on the cold, rat-infested pavement.

Not that she cared. Her body was alive, pulsing for him. She would have taken him on a heap of corpses if it meant feeling him inside her.

“No,” he finally replied, his thick baritone echoing off the walls.

“I see,” she teased, her voice shaky. “So, what’s your name, stranger?”

He arched a brow. For a moment, she wondered if she had offended him.

“I mean…” she laughed nervously, “I’m about to let you into my bed—and eventually into my body." The least you can do is tell me your name.”

He smiled then, pulling her close, spinning her to face him. His mouth crushed against hers in a fierce, breathtaking kiss that melted her bones. He didn’t kiss like other men who were usually sloppy, rushed, and greedy. He kissed like he wanted to brand her, like he wanted to make it last forever. And it did.

When he finally pulled away, he lingered, inhaling her scent.

“I am a man of few words,” he murmured, his voice low. “Because my actions speak louder." Come” he said, pulling her gently by the elbow. “I know a better place for us tonight.”

With those words, he led her toward Broadway street. The sweet jazz music coming from an upscale band did nothing to quell the rush of emotions she was dealing with.

It was a thrill of fear that was tangled with excitement in her chest. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, her voice trembling.

He smiled down at her. “Are you scared?”

Eliana’s mother had always taught her never to confess fear to men, especially powerful men. She believed it gave them power over her. But with this stranger, the rule felt meaningless. He already owned her fear, her body, her desire.

I must be going crazy with lust… she thought, heart pounding.

They walked in silent for a few more minutes before he suddenly stopped on cue and a sleek black SUV slid to a stop in front of them, purring like a panther. A man in a black suit stepped out, bowing deeply.

“Good evening, Mr". King,” he said, opening the back door with a gloved hand.

Eliana froze, air locking in her lungs. She turned to the stranger.

“King? As in Jaden King? Wait—you mean I’m about to hook up with the most dangerous billionaire in the city?”

Jaden didn’t flinch. He only shrugged and gestured for her to enter.

The SUV glided through downtown, toward the glittering industrial side of New Orleans. The divider shielded them from the driver’s gaze.

And in the privacy of that black leather interior, Jaden’s hand slid beneath her gown, fingers parting her thighs.

“Jaden!” she gasped as his fingers found her wet thighs.

“I want you. Now.” His voice was thick, unyielding. “I can’t hold back anymore. And from the way you’re soaking my fingers, neither can you. Let me in.”

That was all it took. She turned to him, surrendering to his masterful touch, her body arching as he claimed her. He made love to her there in the car, every stroke a sin, every kiss a revelation. It was reckless, intoxicating, almost holy in its profanity. Her orgasms came like waves, leaving her gasping, trembling, undone.

But even in her rapture, a dread whispered through her soul. This wouldn’t end as her heart secretly craved.

No. She knew, with a clarity as sharp as pain, that when it was over… he might leave her more broken than he had found her.

Ten minutes later they were tangled in more passionate love-making on the vast bed of his penthouse. It was everything Eliana desired. From the golden doors to the grand sweep of the room, and the majestic bed draped in sleek red velvet, it felt like stepping blindfolded into the heart of her fantasies.

They made love twice more that night before exhaustion finally slowed them. Supper was ordered—lavish, endless, as though the hotel’s chef had laid out every dish on his menu across the tall dining table for them to sample.

Eliana Walker was a stranger to this kind of life, but Jaden King carried himself as if born into it. Every movement, every casual gesture, reminded her that he belonged to this splendor—and it made her ache to belong too. To be swept into his world. But beneath that ache, a quiet dread gnawed at her.

He won’t keep me. Men like Jaden King never keep a woman.

And looking back now, she was not wrong.

They say the night is a veil, hiding mistakes and dark passions we bury deep… but the dawn always reveals the truth, stripping us bare.

That was the cruel result of Eliana’s reckless night of bliss with Jaden King.

She had always been a deep sleeper, and so she hadn’t heard him leave. Only the hollow awakening in her gut, the instinct that told her she had been nothing more than a fleeting muse. Inspiration for something he needed before walking into her pub and setting those emerald eyes upon her.

“Jaden?” she whispered into the empty room, still wrapped in the velvet sheets that felt as soft as newborn skin. His scent lingered on her body, his release still traced between her thighs. But that was all he left her with. That, and a silence that screamed one bitter truth.

I was never enough.

Tears stung her eyes and she fought them, but failed. Eliana Walker had walked alone all her life, never truly belonging anywhere. And now, the one time she had dared to dream of belonging to someone, he had shattered her heart to pieces.

It was Jeffrey—the butler, the gentleman from the night before—who appeared after she had forced herself into the shower, scrubbing off the ache that clung to her skin. She was fastening yesterday’s clothes when a quiet knock came at the door.

She didn’t bother responding. This wasn’t her home. She was a ghost in a stranger’s mansion, a w***e who had served her purpose.

After a pause, the door opened and Jeffrey stepped in. With practiced courtesy, he introduced himself again and laid a silver-lined one-piece dress on the bed, shimmering like it cost a fortune.

“Eliana, Master Jaden asked me to deliver this to you,” he said smoothly. “He apologizes for his sudden departure, and he wishes to express his gratitude with two million dollars, ma’am.” He finished by presenting a check, bowing low.

For a moment, Eliana could barely breathe. Rage, grief, and humiliation coiled in her chest, but she held her composure. She would not give him the satisfaction of a tantrum.

“Keep it,” she said, her voice calm, cold. “Tell him you gave it to me." Sell the dress, burn it, I don’t care. I already took everything I wanted from Jaden King—and I want nothing more. Tell him he was… averagely useful to my desires.”

Jeffrey’s face betrayed his shock, and that small victory gave her strength. Jaden might have broken countless women with this same gesture, but Eliana Walker would be the one to leave him with a bitter aftertaste he would never escape.

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