Page 32 of Claiming Genevieve

“The office.” I walk slowly, so she can keep up, and with every step I’m more aware of the warmth of her skin against mine, her scent, the steady cadence of her breathing. I swallow hard, fighting back the rush of desire that threatens to distract me, and focus on our destination and our task.

I unlock the office door when we reach it and step inside, flicking on the light. I see Genevieve looking around, taking in the dark, masculine decor—all dark wood and leather, from the bookshelves to the desk to the chairs. She hobbles to one of the leather chairs in front of the desk and sinks down into it as I go straight to the filing cabinet, unlocking it to look for the contract.

When I find it, I sit down next to her, setting the file down onto the desk as I open it. We both lean in at the same time to read it, and I catch a whiff of her vanilla-scented shampoo, sending a jolt of heat straight down to my cock. All it takes is that one breath, one glance at the silky dark curl that falls in front of her face, and I can all butfeelthat same soft hair dragging over my thighs as her lips wrap around my?—

I run a hand down my face, forcing myself to refocus as my cock throbs to life at the thought of Genevieve’s mouth on me. I blink at the paper in front of me, rereading the contract as she does. At first it all looks the same, what she and I went over and agreed on—but then?—

She catches the addition a moment before I do, a small gasp slipping from her lips as she sees it. I read it a second later, my stomach tightening with apprehension.

The aforementioned bride and groom agree to both consummate the marriage upon their wedding night for the purpose of legality, and to take all possible steps toward the conception of a child. If the bride is not found to be with child before the date of Padraigh Gallagher’s passing, Rowan Gallagher’s claim to his inheritance, title, properties, and all else willed to him by Padraigh Gallagher will be considered null, and those shall pass to an individual named within Padraigh Gallagher’s sealed and witnessed will.

“That wasn’t in there when we signed it.” Genevieve’s voice sounds hollow. “Surely we didn’t missthat?—”

I swallow hard. “Did you read it before we signed it? At the church?”

She blinks at me. “Notatthe church, no. But we read it just before. Remember? Your father handed us the file, and then?—”

“And then he took it back.” My stomach sinks, and I sit back in my chair. “He knew I’d fight him on this. It was hard enough to stomach coming back home at all, taking over all this, and then marriage—” I glance at Genevieve. “No offense to you, lass.”

“None taken,” she says tightly, her lips pressed thinly together. “So he had a second copy.”

“He must have known that asking me to produce a child so soon would be a step too far. He was betting that we wouldn’t ask to see it again, once we’d read it when we got to the church. And it fuckin’ worked.” I run a hand through my hair, tugging at the roots. “Fucking hell.”

“So if I’m not pregnant before he passes away, you lose everything.” Genevieve stares at me. “I didn’t agree to this. I mean, I suppose technically Idid—” She looks back at her signature on the paper. “But not intentionally. I don’t suppose there’s any way to fight this?”

“Get him to change it?” I shake my head. “He’ll die on the hill that it always said that, and we’re just breaking our obligation. Cold feet, he’ll call it, and he’ll disinherit me, same as if I hadn’t come home. He’s dying anyway, aye? Might as well dig in his heels to get what he wants.”

Genevieve looks at me sharply. “There’s no love lost between you and your father, is there?” She asks it bluntly, but I can hardly be upset with her. We’re past beating around the bush, I think.

I shake my head. “It’s a longer story than I want to get into here and now, lass. But suffice it to say, no. There’s not. It’s complicated.”

She nods. “So what now? We break it off?” She presses her lips together, and she doesn’t look pleased at the thought. The moment she says it, I feel as if my heart drops out of my chest.

Every part of me protests the thought that I might lose her now, when we’re so close. My entire body tenses, aching, my cock throbbing madly as I resist the urge to lean in and kiss her here and now, wrap my hand in her hair and prove to her why she should give in regardless. I don’t want children—not now, and perhaps not ever—but some primal part of me seems to have forgotten that. I was hard a moment ago, but now at the thought of her backing out of our arrangement, I’m desperately aching, a part of my mind growling that she’smine. The end result might not be what I want, but the thought of filling her with my cum, of driving it so deeply into her that it can’t help but take root, of fucking her with the intent to make her pregnant…some deeply primal part of me has latched onto it, and my cock feels hard enough to snap.

“Have you ever wanted children?” I ask, unable to think of a way to soften the question. My mind is a fog of lust, and I feel as if I’m on the verge of losing it.

Genevieve shakes her head sharply. “No,” she says simply.

“And what will you do,milseán, if we break this off?” I look at her as I ask the question, meeting her dark gaze with mine, and I see the hesitation in her eyes.

“I—” She lets out a breath. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. If we didn’t break it off. For us both?—”

Genevieve’s eyes widen the moment the words come out of my mouth. “You’re joking,” she breathes, and I shift in my seat, feeling my cock strain uncomfortably against the front of my suit trousers. There’s nothing humorous about what I’m feeling right now, about the need that feels as if it’s going to tear me apart at the seams.

I lean closer, one elbow propped on the desk, breathing in her scent. I can feel how tense she is, poised like a deer about to spring away, and I want to reach out and capture her, grab her wrists and pin them to the arms of the chair, hold her captive as I devour her mouth. It feels hard to think through the fog of lust enveloping me, and I blink, trying to focus my thoughts before they come out of my mouth.

“I’m not joking,taibhseach,” I murmur. “You’re going to walk away from this marriage with an obscene amount of money. Enough to start your whole life over, however you please. A child doesn’t make our marriage permanent, Genevieve.”

“It doesn’t?” Her voice is tight now, breathier. The proximity, the tension, is getting to her too. I see her hands shift in her lap, her fingers knotting together, and I know I can convince her. I’ve seduced many a woman with nothing but convincing words, and there’s never been one I’ve wanted to seduce more.

“You can still walk away,” I promise her. “Think of it like surrogacy. I get an heir, and you get your freedom. You provide this for me, and I’ll provide you with everything you need to fly free as a bird.”

“Our marriage will be longer,” Genevieve points out, swallowing hard. Her voice still sounds tight, as if she’s struggling to think, too. “Nine months after I get pregnant. Considering your father’s condition, that’s longer than?—”

I can’t take it a second longer. In one swift movement, I lean in, cupping her face in the palm of one hand as I kiss her.

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