The Ashfield’s Contract Marriage

Chapter Four

Present day……

Everything moved pretty quickly. Her secretary contacted him to get his means of identification, then a few hours later, She called him and told him to free up his day on Wednesday as that was their wedding day. She already had everything figured out, he just needed a witness.

He called up his friend, Mark. He arrived at his place ten minutes after the initial phone call. As soon as Daniel opened the door, Mark pushed him aside and walked in. Then said

“What the hell do you mean by you’re getting married?”

Daniel rolled his eyes

“It’s nice to see you too buddy”

“I saw you last week man, you didn’t even have a girlfriend”

“Says who?”

“Wouldn’t you have told me if you had one?”

Going with the story Sydney told him of how they supposedly met, he said casually

“We’ve been together for two years, long distance cause she was in Italy. She got back recently and we decided to just get married”

Mark looked at him skeptically. “So, you’re telling me that you’ve had a girlfriend for two years and no one knew about her?”

He shrugged “I’m a private person”

Mark stared at him for a few seconds then said

“Let’s pretend for a minute that I believe this story you’re trying to sell to me, can you explain the rush to get married?”

He handed mark a beer he pulled out of the fridge. “When you know someone is your soulmate, why wait? It’s okay to make a few reckless decisions in your youth”

“And that’s exactly why I don’t buy this shady love story. That last sentence is too out of character for me to believe you”

“Seriously dude, I know you’re not into this, but I need you to stand in as a witness for me tomorrow. I can’t ask anyone from my family because they wouldn’t believe me.”

Mark looked at him, contemplating for a few seconds, then said

“I’ll do it because you’re my best man, but that’s also the reason why I’m going to be very skeptical of whoever this girl is until she proves herself to me. What if she’s just a gold digger?”

Daniel gave a short laugh. “ trust me, If anything, I’m the one digging gold”

********

She sent a car to get him. The first time this happened; the night of their date, he had found it amusing when she offered to send him a car. When the car pulled up in front of his apartment, he thought: “she must really be rich.” But now that he knew exactly how rich she was, it was mind blowing. He wasn’t that surprised when a limousine pulled up to pick him up this time. Yes, he appreciated the beauty and was excited to be in one, but not surprised . Plus, he was too nervous about the wedding anyway.

The chauffeur opened the door for him and he stepped into the awesomely lit, insanely beautiful car. He was thrown aback when he saw Sydney sitting with her legs crossed, gently swirling her glass of champagne. She gave him a small smile

“ hey, darling. Are you surprised to see me?”

He pulled himself together and got into the car “I didn’t think we would be arriving in the same vehicle.”

“Why not? It’s our wedding. We don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression. We are in love after all.”

He rolled his eyes. “In love, yes”

She laughed delightedly. The first real laugh he had seen from her. She looked magnificent, especially in that dress. It was a short white strapless dress that made her look so feminine and fragile. He had never seen her in anything like that before. Her makeup was soft as usual, but her eyes stood out more and they were beautiful. She oozed s*x appeal and his body was getting a bit too excited. He had to remind himself that this was all for show.

She put her hand on his thigh soft and whispered. “You look very hot in that tux”

He gently removed her hand and place it on the chair. She was making this a little too difficult. “Are you drunk?”

She giggled. “Just a little bit. I can’t go through with this sober. This has to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Me too.”

“Do you want a drink?” She asked, extending her glass to him

“One of us should remain sober”

“I’m not that drunk. And my secretary is going to take care of everything, just loosen up a bit, hmm?”

“If both of us turn up drunk to the courthouse, I don’t think they’ll let us get married.”

She pouted and it took everything in him not to lean over and place his lips on hers.

“I’m not drunk, just a little bit tipsy, but I guess you’re right, husband”

He smiled nervously. That word was nerve racking.

“Should we hold hands for moral support?” She said, taking his hand without really waiting for a reply.

Daniel just concentrated on the feel of her hand in his. It felt soft and warm, comforting.

The wedding was over quickly. Being tipsy made her clingy so his buddy mark eased up on the death glare he was giving her and maybe even began to believe that they were really in love.

“You didn’t tell me your wife was rich” Mark whispered while giving him a hug

Daniel rolled his eyes, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

“ must have skipped my mind”

They bid farewell to their witnesses; Mark and her secretary, then got into their ride

“That wasn’t that bad” she said

“Thanks to the alcohol in your system.”

She pored herself another drink.

“I need a top up, I’m beginning to sober up”

“So,” he began, eyeing her glass skeptically “what’s the next step?”

“We’re going home, it’s our wedding night. We should look like we can’t wait to rip each other’s clothes off.”

“I need my laptop and other things for work”

“I’ll make sure you get them before you have to leave for work tomorrow. I’ll ask the movers to prioritize that”

“Movers? You work fast”

She smiled “of course, babe, I like to get things done”

Daniel didn’t miss the small terms of endearment she had been using on him, but he ignored them. He poured himself a glass of champagne, the wedding was over after all.

Her house turned out to be in a more remote part of town, just beside a lake. He didn’t even know this place existed, but that made sense, the houses here were definitely reserved for people outside of his pay grade.

The house was a two story beauty with a beautiful garden, which he was sure she didn’t maintain herself. There was no way she had the time.

“Welcome home” she said as she got out of the car. He could see that she wasn’t quite stable on her feet so he placed his hand on her back to support her. “Such a gentleman “ she giggled.

She led him inside the house. Even though It looked magnificent, he noted that the furniture was dark and lighting dim. He liked a bright space. Knowing the answer to his question already, he asked

“Are we gonna compromise on the furnishings of the house?”

She looked at him like he was crazy “of course not. It’s my house”

He nodded “noted”

“You can do whatever you want with your room though, I don’t really care”

He gave a short, sarcastic laugh “you’re so kind”

She giggled again, and for a second, he forgot what they were talking about

“No I’m not” she said “I sent everyone home today, it’s just me and you”

“That sounds dangerous” he muttered under his breath

Either she didn’t hear him or she decided to ignore him

“The chef made an early dinner, should we eat now?”

“Sure”

Dinner was delicious, they conversation flowed and so did the wine. He asked her about her family, since they were a big part of the contract

“Was getting married a condition for inheritance?”

He didn’t really expect her to answer, but she did. He blamed it on the alcohol

“Yes. It was either a random stranger or they make a choice for me. So I picked the former. I’m not giving them the satisfaction of micro managing my love life”

He nodded “i understand that”

“My parents are a depressing topic of conversation. We just got married, we should be celebrating!”

He chuckled

“You make it sound so real”

She looked directly at him with those captivating eyes “it can be real for today at least”

He was drunk and wasn’t thinking straight. He wanted to be in control of his words and actions but he was loosing those to both her and the wine. The next words that came out of his mouth surprised him

“When you look at me like that, it makes me want to kiss you”

“Then do it” she said

He rolled his eyes “ that’s ridiculous. The contract clearly states that I can’t do that”

“How about this” she said, standing up slowly and walking towards him. “Just for tonight, We say f**k the contract and follow our natural human instincts to devour each other” she sat on his thighs, straddling him. She took his hand and placed it on her thigh, guiding it upwards, lifting her dress. She leaned towards him and ran her tongue along his earlobe, sending shivers down his spine. “I know you want to” she whispered in his ear.

Daniel was trying really hard to hold on to the last semblance of self control he still had. “We shouldn’t cross the line” he said in a tight voice

“That’s a little hurtful” she said kissing his neck lightly “I’m throwing myself at you and you’re not even reacting. And I thought I was hot”

“Oh, you are” He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pressed his lips to hers. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. It was desperate. He had wanted to do this from the first time he looked up from his laptop and she was standing there. His left hand which she had placed on her thigh, squeezed, and she let out a sexy moan.

She could feel his erection and it excited her. She grinded her hips into him and it was his turn to moan and it almost drove her crazy. She needed her hands all over him immediately. She pulled back from the kiss and pulled his shirt out of his dress pants. He had ditched the suit and the tie before dinner. Her clumsy hands went to his buttons, but even that simple task was proving difficult.

“Relax” he whispered

“If only I could” she replied, tearing the buttons off his shirt and placing her hands on his chiseled chest “even better than I imagined”

He smiled “you’ve been thinking about me”

She leaned closer “More than I would like to admit” she said, crashing her lips against his again. Her nails dug into his chest, the mixture of pain and pleasure was almost unbearable.

She reached for his belt, but he placed his hand on hers. “Sydney, If we go further, I won’t be able to stop”

“Mmmmm, she purred “music to my ears”

She sounded so sexy, he almost ignored the tiny voice of reason in his head.

He trailed kisses down her neck, to her chest. She writhed in pleasure. All he had to do was go a little lower and……

“We’re drunk” he said, burying his face in her cleavage. “You might regret it tomorrow”

“I won’t” she insisted, using her hand to urge him to continue

He lifted his head, and looked at her

“How about this? We sleep it off tonight. If by tomorrow you still want this, then we go all the way”

“But why wait?”she slid down a little and brushed her tongue across one of his nipples

“f**k, you’re not making this easy” he said, curling his hand into her hair. She giggled. His reactions to her made her feel powerful. His resolve faltered for a few seconds and he let her cup his erection and rub it gently. But he knew he had to stop her. He grabbed her hand and tangled his fingers through hers. “If you’re still up for it tomorrow, I’m all yours, I promise”

She pouted “can you at least cuddle up with me?”

He smiled and gave her a kiss on the lips “I would love to”