The CEO's Contractual Wife

Chapter 26

Olivia

In the elevator, I caught him staring at my reflection in the mirrored walls.

“See something you like?” I asked, throwing his earlier words back at him.

His eyes met mine in the mirror. “Several things.”

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the heat spreading through my body. The elevator continued its descent, the silence between us electric.

“You need to understand something,” Alexander said, his voice low. “In public, you’re my girlfriend. Not my employee, not my contractual wife–to–be. My girlfriend.”

“I get it,” I replied, adjusting the necklace he’d fastened around my neck.

“I don’t think you do.” He stepped closer, his chest nearly touching my back. “This isn’t just about appearances. The entire arrangement collapses if this plan fails because you can’t maintain the facade.”

I turned to face him, finding myself trapped between his body and the elevator wall. “I can act like your girlfriend, Alexander. I’m not an idiot.”

“Alex,” he corrected. “When we’re together, you call me Alex. Girlfriends use nicknames.”

“Fine, Alex.” The shortened name felt strangely intimate on my tongue. “And what will you call me? Liv?”

Something darkened in his eyes. “Among other things.”

The elevator doors slid open before I could respond. Alexander placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me across the lobby. His touch was light but possessive, sending tingling up my spine.

“Even in front of your driver?” I whispered as we approached the building’s exit.

“Especially in front of my driver,” he murmured against my ear. “Everyone in my life must believe this is real. No exceptions.” “Okay,” I agreed, leaning slightly into his touch despite myself.

family,” he said as we stepped outside into the cool evening air. “Grandfather wants to see

flipped.

His hand slid from my back to my waist,

insisted, trying to ignore how good his

the curb, sleek and black like everything else in his life. Alex opened the door for me, his hand never

than necessary, his thigh pressing against mine. The car pulled away from the

going?” I asked, acutely

hand finding my knee. “Best steak

red fabric of my dress is fingers traced small circles on my knee, each movement sending shivers up my thigh. The heat of his

his

head, meeting his gaze

+25 BONUS

Chapter 26

Just follow my lead

along

the fabric dipped between my breasts. “Red suits you.” “I think you just like how much skin it shows,” I replied, surprising myself

continued their lazy exploration of my exposed thigh. “But can you blame me?

desired, wanted in a way Ryan had never made me

well?” He raised an eyebrow, feigning

closer, inhaling his cologne.

name felt strange on my tongue, intimate and

finding the sensitive skin where my

voice dropping to a

his eyes never leaving

car slowed, pulling up to the restaurant entrance. Alexander reluctantly withdrew his hand, but his

feeling like I was stepping onto a

lit, with crystal chandeliers casting a warm glow over white tablecloths. A maitre d‘ greeted Alexander by name and led

me through the crowded dining room. His touch was confident, proprietary,