She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

Chapter 269: The Mask Slips

Alex’s eyes held Vivienne’s... dark, intense, full of unspoken promises. Then they dropped to her mouth.

Her lips were parted slightly, trembling with anticipation, soft and inviting in the afternoon light.

Beautiful.

Irresistible.

Without hesitation, he closed the distance.

His hand slid to the back of her neck, fingers threading through her hair to tilt her head back.

He didn’t ask. He simply took. His mouth claimed hers with a hunger that had been building since the moment she’d stepped onto his terrace.

She gasped against his lips... a sound of surprise that melted instantly into surrender.

It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was deep, consuming. The kind of kiss that erased the world and left only sensation... heat and taste and the desperate press of bodies seeking more.

Vivienne’s fingers clawed into his shoulders, her nails scraping lightly through his shirt as she pulled him closer. She kissed him back with a ferocity that matched his own, her tongue meeting his, her body arching to fuse with him.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, she stared at him with glazed eyes. Her lips were swollen, glistening, ruined in the most beautiful way.

”God,” she breathed, her voice husky and raw. ”You’re good at that.”

Alex smiled, his thumb tracing the wet curve of her lower lip.

”You have the most delicious lips,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a rough whisper. ”I’ve been thinking about ruining them since you walked through my gate.”

A flush spread across her cheeks... genuine, uncontrolled heat.

”Flatterer,” she whispered, though her eyes danced with delight.

”Honest,” he corrected.

She laughed, a breathless, giddy sound, but tried to compose herself. She pulled back slightly, feigning a frown.

”You’re really bold, you know that?” she said, trying to sound stern. ”Suddenly kissing me like that without even asking.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, his hands settling heavy and possessive on her waist.

”Suddenly?” he repeated, amusement curling his lip. He stepped into her space, forcing her to retreat until her back hit the glass railing. ”You’ve been begging for this since you arrived. Am I wrong?”

Her breath hitched. She was trapped... the sprawling city behind her, the wall of muscle in front of her.

”You’re right,” she admitted, her voice breaking on a moan. Her hands fisted in his shirt. ”How could I resist? Such a hot young stud... looking at me like that...”

She bit her lip, her hips rolling forward instinctively. ”I’ve been losing my mind.”

Alex’s smile turned wicked. He stepped closer, pinning her against the glass.

”Does your boss know?” he whispered, his hand sliding down her spine to cup her hip.

”Does the great Vivienne Vanderbilt know that her poised, professional assistant is shaking in my arms right now?”

The question was a dirty secret whispered in the daylight.

To hear her own name spoken with such casual disdain... while he held her body like a prize he’d already won... sent a spike of adrenaline through her veins. It wasn’t just fear of discovery; it was the thrill of being reduced. Of being stripped of her titles, her empire, her control, until she was just a woman trembling against a man who didn’t give a damn about her net worth.

”God, no,” she gasped, her head falling back. ”She’d kill me if she knew.”

”Good,” Alex growled. ”Let’s give her a reason to.”

He captured her mouth again, fiercer this time. His tongue swept into her mouth, devouring her moan. His hands roamed her body with confident possession... sliding up her ribs, brushing the underside of her breast, teasing, tormenting.

Vivienne melted. The CEO, the matriarch, the woman who commanded boardrooms... she vanished. In her place was just a woman, shaking, desperate, held together only by the man pressing against her.

When he finally pulled back to breathe, burying his face in the crook of her neck, Vivienne turned in his arms. She gripped the cold railing tightly, staring out at the horizon, trying to reassemble her shattered composure.

But Alex wasn’t done.

He stepped behind her, pressing flush against her back. She felt the hard ridge of him against her ass, unmistakable and demanding.

”Alex...” she warned, but it sounded like a plea.

”Can you believe it?” he murmured against her skin, biting lightly at the sensitive cord of her neck. ”I’m holding the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

Vivienne shuddered, her eyes fluttering shut.

”You’re dangerous,” she whispered, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

”Why?”

She turned in his arms, facing him again. Her expression was serious now, the playfulness stripped away by the sheer intensity of what she just felt.

”Because you make me forget,” she said softly. ”You make me forget to be careful.”

She reached up, her fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw.

”They looked at you and saw weakness, Alex. Jennifer... my boss... they saw someone they could break.” She shook her head slowly. ”But you didn’t break. You became something else. Something stronger.”

Her thumb brushed his lip.

”I wonder if they’ll even recognize you when they see you again.”

Alex captured her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm, his eyes never leaving hers.

”They won’t,” he promised. ”But you do.”

He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, intimate murmur that sealed the pact between them.

Then Alex’s lips found her ear, his voice dropping to that low, intimate register that made her shiver.

​”Tell me more about you, Helena,” he murmured.

​The name... her false name... landed like cold water.

​Vivienne stiffened slightly, reality intruding on the haze of desire. She turned her head just enough to meet his eyes, something complicated flickering across her face.

​”What do you want to know?” she asked, her voice careful now, guarded.

​Alex’s hands gentled on her waist, his touch shifting from possessive to something softer, more disarming.

​”Everything,” he said simply. ”Who you are. What you want. Why you’re really here.”

​His mouth brushed her temple, tender where before it had been demanding.

​”Tell me the truth, Helena.”