Pregnant and rejected by the ruthless CEO

Chapter Four

Sophia

The soft glow of the Riverside streetlamp filtered through cheap curtains as Sophia lay on her new bed, one hand resting on her barely-there bump. The silence of her modest apartment pressed in, but her mind refused to rest.

Two years earlier, in her previous life, she had stepped into Marcus Blackwood’s world and let him consume her completely.

The memory pulled her under like a riptide.

Eighteen months ago

Sophia’s heels clicked sharply against the marble floor as she entered Marcus Blackwood’s private office at 11:47 p.m.

The rest of Blackwood Tower had gone dark hours ago, but the CEO’s lights still burned bright. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows with suit jacket discarded and his white shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing his powerful forearms.

“You’re late, Bennett,” Marcus said without turning around, his deep voice low and commanding.

“I had to finish the crisis statement for the merger leak,” Sophia replied, clutching her tablet. “The press is circling like sharks, but I have drafted three versions ready for your approval.”

Marcus finally turned. His steel-gray eyes raked over her tailored black dress, lingering on the curve of her hips and the way her blouse hugged her chest. A slow, predatory smile tugged at his lips.

“Put the tablet down.”

Sophia’s breath caught, but she obeyed, setting it on the edge of his massive desk. “Mr. Blackwood, the board needs this by …”

“Marcus,” he corrected, stalking toward her like a hunter. “When we’re alone like this, you call me Marcus.”

He stopped inches away, towering over her. The air between them crackled with tension. Sophia tilted her head up to meet his gaze, refusing to back down even as heat pooled low in her belly.

“You summoned me at midnight for a PR emergency,” she said, her voice holding steady despite her racing pulse. “Or was that just an excuse?”

Marcus’s large hand came up, his fingers tracing her jawline with surprising gentleness before gripping her chin firmly. “Smart girl. You know exactly why I called you here.”

He kissed her then, hard, demanding, and claiming. Sophia gasped into his mouth, her hands fisting in his shirt as weeks of stolen glances and charged meetings finally exploded. She kissed him back with equal hunger, nipping at his lower lip.

Marcus growled, lifting her effortlessly onto the desk and scattering the contents of the rest to the floor. He shoved her dress up her thighs, his fingers digging into her soft flesh.

“Tell me to stop,” he rasped against her neck, his teeth grazing her skin softly, “and I will.”

Sophia arched into him, her fingers threading through his dark hair. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He chuckled darkly, the sound vibrating against her throat. With one swift motion, he ripped her lace panties aside. His fingers found her already wet and ready.

Sophia moaned loudly as he stroked her, sliding in a finger without warning.

“Always so wet for me,” Marcus murmured, pumping his fingers in a ruthless rhythm. “My perfect little secret.”

Sophia’s head fell back, her lips parted in pleasure. “Marcus… please…”

“Please what?” He added a second finger, curling them just right while his thumb circled her most sensitive spot. “Use your words, Sophia. Beg like the good girl you are.”

“I need you inside me,” she gasped, rocking her hip desperately against his hand. “Now. Please.”

Marcus pulled his fingers out, making her whimper at the loss. He freed himself from his trousers, and stoked his hard and thick d**k, and then thrust into her in one powerful stroke.

Sophia cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders as he filled her completely.

“f**k,” he groaned, stilling for a moment to savor her tightness. “So perfect. You're like a perfect fit for me.”

He didn’t hold back. He took her hard and fast right there on his executive desk, with the city lights glittering behind them like silent witnesses.

Each deep thrust pushed her closer to the edge. Marcus’s hand covered her mouth as she came hard, muffling her screams while he still pumped into her, chasing his own release. He came within a deep groan, spilling deep inside her with a guttural growl.

They stayed locked together, breathing heavily. Marcus pressed his forehead to hers, a rare moment of tenderness slipping through his armor.

“This stays between us,” he whispered, voice rough. “No one can know.”

Sophia nodded, still trembling around him. “I know the rules.”

He kissed her again, slower this time, almost possessively. “Good girl.”

Back in the present

Sophia blinked away tears as the flashback faded. She curled onto her side in the Riverside apartment, hand still on her belly where their child grew.

“That night was the beginning,” she whispered into the darkness. “The night I fell for a man who would never love me back.”

She closed her eyes as the stolen nights, the power plays, the raw passion that had blinded her to the cold truth of who Marcus Blackwood really was flashed through her memory.

But tonight, in her new life as Sophia Vale, she vowed the past would stay exactly where it belonged: behind her.