Thank fuck, because I can barely hold myself back another minute. I strum her clit one more time and she cries out as herinner walls milk my cock. I groan as I come, pumping spurts of my seed inside her. God, I love knowing that she’ll be full of me for the rest of the day. I know I’ll be thinking about that all through my meetings.
“Don't wash me away,” I tell her on a whim, my voice rougher than intended. “I want you to feel me for the rest of the day.”
Her eyes darken. “Is that an order?”
“It's a request.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “From a husband who likes knowing his newwifeis walking around with his cum inside her.”
The blush that spreads across her cheeks is deeply satisfying.
My cock softens, and I quickly pull out and clean myself up. Maura doesn’t move, still sitting on the counter with a shy smile on her full lips.
She looks up at me with hazy eyes. She looks gorgeous like this, sex-addled and messy. Speaking of…
“Don’t worry about the mess,” I tell her. “The cleaners will be along soon.”
She laughs weakly, lying back on the counter as I stride over to the elevator and out into the real world.
11
JAMES
“Well, there’s good news and bad news,” Sharmi says as she projects her laptop display onto the conference room projector. Clips of headlines from various news outlets flash onto the screen. I cringe, seeing my personal life projected onto a screen.
At least it’s a small screen. Since I’m meeting only with a few members of my inner circle, we’re able to use one of the smallest conference rooms. Apart from Sharmi, as head of PR, and Jack, my personal lawyer, I also invited Roger Lin, one of the most powerful members of Sequel’s board, and the only one I respect on a personal level. Other than my friends, these three are the only ones I trust to keep all sensitive information about my contract marriage under wraps.
“The good news is that the vast majority of the media coverage of your wedding has been positive,” Sharmi says. “This typifies a lot of the feedback I’m seeing.”
She presses a button and shows a screenshot of a comment reading,They only had a couple of people there and it wasn't too big or fancy. That's how you know it's real. They did it for themselves.
“Your small ceremony added a sheen of authenticity to the marriage, which the public has responded to. There’s also been a lot of positive commentary about you donating the money from the photos to the Walsh Foundation,” she adds.
I grunt. The positive public comments are all well and good, but we all know that we're here to discuss the bad news, not the good news. “And the article in Toronto Tea?”
“Taken down. They folded after our lawyers got to them,” Sharmi says.
I cross my arms. “We need to figure out who Peppermint is and how they’re getting this information.”
“Not just to prevent other leaks,” Jack points out. “The contract you and Victor signed demands a heavy fee for whichever side leaked the information. Even if it was accidental, if it came from someone at Sequel, Victor could demand the money. It would make things messy—legally and personally.”
My mouth tightens into a scowl. He’s right. The money doesn’t concern me, but I doubt Maura would be happy if I countersued her father. No matter how strained their relationship, they have decades of shared experience. She’s known me for less than a month.
“Can’t you talk to Nate Walsh?” Roger suggests. “His security company has to have the names for the top PIs in the city. We can send a fleet of them after Peppermint.”
I make a note on my laptop. “Yes. I’ll contact him.”
“You’re not the only one Peppermint slandered,” Jack says. “I’ll talk to the lawyers I know who specialize in libel. There might be other victims out there with Peppermint in their crosshairs. I’ll see if there’s a suit we can jump on.”
“Good. Meanwhile, talk to every media source you have,” I tell Sharmi. “Find out if there are any rumors circulating about Peppermint or any other writers at the Toronto Tea.”
“I’ll pull every string,” she assures me. “For now, though, our team has also been able to wipe any screenshots of the article off the major messaging boards. The only people who are talking about it have to quote it from memory, and there are inconsistencies.”
“What are they saying?” Jack asks.
Sharmi’s eyes dart over to me. For the first time, I see a flash of concern on her face. “There's a lot of concern about Maura’s well-being. People are afraid that she's been forced into something that she wasn't able to consent to. They believe that you manipulated her.”
She says it quickly, like she wants to get it out before it can upset me. I quickly assure her, “The public already thinks I'm a villain. It can't get that much worse.”
“It can if they call for a boycott,” Jack points out. “The board won’t like that.”
