Boardroom Bride

“To what?” I feel like shaking him at this point to get him to spill it already, whatever ‘it’ is.

“Make a sex tape and leak it.”

Not what I was expecting to hear. It’s a little unnerving that a roomful of old white guys came up with an idea as creepy as that.

“But it’ll never happen,” Tanner says. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Why?”

“They seem to think it’ll get the last of the media to buy into our romance.”

“Every article I’ve read lately practically fawns all over us as the new it couple,” I say, grabbing a piece of broccoli with my chopsticks. “Except for Lis.”

“That’s who,” Tanner says. “They think that this is the only way to convince her that this is real.”

“Well...” I think back to my interview with Lis and how I couldn’t help watching her walk out of the room.

I squirm a little in my chair, unsure if the sudden wetness I feel in my pussy is a reaction to the thought of Lis Langley or of making a sex tape with Tanner.

“I mean, what were they thinking? Putting ourselves—putting you—on display like that? That’s crossing the line.”

“It’s not the worst idea.”

“I’m this close to just scraping the...whole...thing,” Tanner says. “Did you just say that it wouldn’t be the worst idea?”

I love the confused look on his face. He truly doesn’t know how to respond right now. So I just sit back and revel in his discomfort.

He leans forward in his chair, inches from my face.

“You do realize what that means, right? You and I. On tape. For all the world to see.”

I nod and lean forward to meet his lips. His confusion makes him pause for a second, but then there’s that glorious moment when his mouth opens for mine, and our tongues start doing a seductive dance.

When I break the kiss after several wonderful moments, I say, “Why the hell not?”

“Why? Oh, I can think of a few reasons,” Tanner says. “Starting with the ones I’ve already laid out.”

“No, seriously. Let’s do it.” I walk over to the bar and grab a bottle of tequila and two glasses. “We’ve got alcohol, I’ve got a camera, we like fucking each other. So, why the fuck not?”

Tanner looks frozen. For all I know, his mind is racing a mile a minute, but from my vantage point, he looks like a statue in a museum.

The longer he says nothing, the more exposed I feel. I just proposed a pretty bold suggestion after all.

But instead of speaking, Tanner Sharpe, my long-ago boyfriend, one-time business rival, and current fake lover, walks over to me and takes my face in his hands.

Just before we kiss—what is probably the most panty-soaking kiss I’ve ever experienced—he says, “Let’s fucking do this.”

Chapter 20

Tanner

I pour the clear liquid into our shot glasses and sprinkle the salt on our hands. We clink them together and steady ourselves for the potent liquid.

So far, tequila is the most effective method we have to prepare for our porn debut.

And, as a bonus, any residual anger or annoyance from earlier has been successfully washed down and adequately numbed.

It’s making me feel better about this decision. And I can tell it’s having the same effect on Elsa.