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This novel is entirely a work of fiction; the names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
PSA, while this book features elements of kink and BDSM, it is NOT a how-to manual. This is a work of erotic fiction, and everything written here should be treated as such. Always do your research and ALWAYS practice in a SAFE, SANE, and CONSENSUAL manner.
All brand names and products used in this book and its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks, and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and text are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
All characters are fictional and consenting adults.
You will find the following content elements in this story:
· Told in third person, and Multiple POV
· Talk of Loss and Cancer
· An Arranged Marriage
· Italian is Spoken with the English Translation Included
· Profanity and lots of it
· Explicit Consent
· Sexual Scenes with BDSM, Kink, Shibari, Multiple Orgasms, Praise, Cum Sharing, Period Sex, DP, and more.
· Scenes involving – MF/MMF/MM
· Guaranteed HEA (They get one, but not in this book)
If you find any of the above offensive, or not your cuppa, then this story isn’t for you. Otherwise, read on my kinky, open minded, sex fantasy loving people!
Chapter One
The bane of her existence held equal rank as her obsession. From the moment Penny met Xander Ward, she couldn’t escape him. Stuck to her side like he’d glued himself there.
It’s what bodyguards did. Enormous, muscular, and intimidating, Xander’s in a league of his own. He also is sexy AF, too.
She wished the heat from his gaze meant more than her imagination wanted her to see.
Her plan for seduction is outrageous, but desperate times call for desperate measures, formulating it when her father informed her he’d arranged a marriage for her.
Now she counted each grain of sand slipping through her internal hourglass, knowing each passing moment, her chance to have what she wanted was lessening.
Alexandre Ricci is his name. Sounded pretentious. Penny’s father wanted the union to strengthen their position, telling her it must be this way when she tried to argue. He landed his next bombshell, planning to step down after her union became official, handing the leadership to her. Her father believed marrying one of the five families’ sons would keep the Fergusson’s in charge. No pressure and no choice for Penny. She’s his heir.
In two weeks, they’d make the announcement on her birthday. Her fucking birthday.
And four weeks after? The wedding date’s already chosen, and she’d be married in less than two months; something inside her snapped.
Penny refused to enter this archaic arrangement without doing something wild for herself.
She’d crushed on guys throughout high school and college, but no one gave her a figurative punch-in-the-gut. The all-consuming kind she read about whenever she escaped into the books she loved.
Then she entered her second last year of university, and her father informed her she’d now have full-time security, and Xander became her shadow.
His presence alone shut down all chances of someone asking her out, not because he oozed touch her and die vibes - which he did. But he also gave her the punch-in-the-gut desire no one else did. And now she’s about to turn twenty-five without ever….
It’s not like she saved it for marriage…she just didn’t have the opportunity, and now she’s almost out of time.
Hence the plan.
Her. Xander. New York. And about seventy-two hours to convince him to give her memories to last a lifetime.
No big deal.
Super big deal.
Amidst the preparations she wanted no part of, Penny convinced her father to let her take this trip. She must’ve caught him at the right moment, busy and distracted-the usual. Confident, her father said yes just to get her out of his office.
Now she rushed to pack her bags in case he changed his mind.
Phase one of her plans is to get Xander to come with her to New York. Since the man followed her everywhere, she figured it’d be easy.
The clincher? Phase two. A night of debauchery. One where she hoped to check many firsts off her list.
In her haste to pack, Penny bypassed Freya on a mission to grab another outfit. She marched to her bed, where her open and full suitcase lay.
Ugh. What’s wrong with her? She didn’t need fifteen outfits for three days. Heck, she planned to buy what she needed for her grand seduction. Not like she’d pack something like that in her present company.
“You know it is my job.” Came the soft reprimand from behind her.
She ignored Freya, grabbing her black Gucci slacks. The ones which emphasized her legs and the curve of her ass. Her imagination was the equivalent of a devil on her shoulder, swearing Xander’s eyes drifted to her backside like he knew precisely which pants she picked.
Freya sighed, and Penny hoped she remained oblivious to the tension or at least maintained the decorum to not say anything. She got neither.
“Penelope, you’ve got things under control, so I will go. Good day.”
The moment Freya closed the door, Penny’s bedroom shrank in size. It took Xander a couple of strides to be in front of her.
Penny’s pulse quickened.
“Ms. Fergusson….”
Is he for real?
Penny ignored him and shoved a cotton t-shirt into the case.
“Penelope, at least listen to reason.”
Xander knew how much she hated when he tried to remain impersonal with her. She gave him a long-perfected side-eye and kept stuffing her overstuffed case.
“Princess,” Xander growled.
Not actual royalty, but he called her princess not long after he took over her security detail. It did wicked things to her girlie bits. And when he growled it? The sound went straight to her core. Did she have a voice kink?
Not. The. Time.
“You’re my bodyguard. I’m traveling to New York. Therefore, you’re coming with me.”
“The threats against you are real, and I wish you’d take them seriously. It’s too dangerous.”
Penny sighed, facing him with her hands on her hips. A sad attempt at her own intimidation.
“Months have gone by since there’s been one.”
That’s not quite true.
Xander took another step towards her. His frustration with her casual dismissal of the danger she was in etched his face. “Whoever wants to harm you is biding their time, waiting for the right moment.”
No matter how convincing Xander’s argument might be, she’s not budging. “I booked the St. Regis, and the jet’s ready to go.”
“Guess you’ve got it all figured out.”
Penny knew Xander hated not having control. She even worried he might get pissed at Taylor for helping her, but he laughed it off and assured her he’d handle anything Xander threw at him, be it a fist or a verbal lashing.
Penny fiddled with a shirt, observing Xander from beneath her lashes. His jaw clenched, and Penny pushed a little more. “Besides, my father gave his permission.”
“Your father chooses the oddest things to indulge you in.”
Oh, now he wanted to piss her off. “I am an adult capable of making my own decisions.”
She spun and faced him. Xander stood close enough that her breasts brushed against him. Mistake. Unable to prevent the gasp from slipping past her lips.
For the first time, she caught the desire darkening his gaze. Yet it did nothing to lessen the iciness of her words.
“My father has dictated decisions I should make for my entire life.” The unspoken elephant in the room sizzled beneath the surface between them.
Xander at least looked chastised, but it didn’t stop him from arguing his point further.
Stubborn man.
“There’s more to this than some last-minute shopping trip before they announce your wedding.”
Penny sucked in a breath. The bitterness in his tone didn’t change the fact Xander knew more about this Alexandre than she did.
It’s times like these she missed her mother the most. She’d never allow this arrangement to occur, not like this. Penny never thought her father cruel, but he’d become distant and much colder over the past couple of years. But she didn’t want to dwell on her father right now.
Determined to ease the tension between them, Penny said, “Well, besides needing a specific outfit for my twenty-fifth birthday extravaganza. I told my father it’d be a perfect opportunity to get to know the man who keeps me safe daily. For educational purposes, of course.”
Her ridiculous statement held the desired effect when she heard his reluctant chuckle.
“If that’s what you told him, I’m surprised your father didn’t lock you in this room and fire my ass.” Xander sighed. “Look, whatever you said worked. Despite all my protests, he wants you to go. Still-”
Penny raised her hand and stopped the speech she’d memorized long ago. She stepped around him and returned to her packing.
“Nice attempt to change the subject. It still doesn’t alter how you have information about the man I’m expected to marry, yet you won’t tell me a thing about him.”
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