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.

stepped outside into the cool evening air. “Grandfather wants

stomach flipped. “That’s

slid from my back to my

it’s fine,” I insisted, trying to ignore how good his hand felt on my waist. “I can handle

in his life. Alex opened

his thigh pressing against mine. The car

I asked, acutely aware of his proximity.

hand finding my knee. “Best steak

is fingers traced small circles on my knee, each

Alexander asked, his voice low and

head, meeting

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Chapter 26

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higher on my thigh, fingers dancing along the edge of the slit in my

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

as charged.” His fingers continued their lazy exploration of my exposed thigh. “But can you blame me? Look at

stomach flip. I felt desired, wanted in a way Ryan had never made me feel. “You clean up pretty well yourself,” I said, running my finger along

well?” He raised an

inhaling his cologne. “Fishing for

felt strange on my tongue, intimate and forbidden. His eyes darkened at

thumb traced higher, finding the sensitive skin where my thigh met my hip. “I like hearing what you

said, my voice dropping to a

he countered, his eyes never leaving mine. “Not

thigh, possessive and warm. The car slowed, pulling

I was stepping onto a stage. The

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

dining room. His touch was confident, proprietary, as if he’d been touching me like this for years