Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

N athan, Alistair, and Bentley all arrived at exactly nine a.m. this morning. They’ve spent hours devising various approaches for handling the media. My face is on every news channel. I’m being branded as a fucking sex maniac, a sex offender. I need to fix this. I should have just paid the woman to disappear. I couldn’t do that though. I can’t pay hush money for something I didn’t fucking do.

I run water over my face and stare at myself in the mirror. What the fuck do I do here? I’m always so quick to find the defence, to find a way to win a case. But this one has me stumped; it’s literally her word against mine. And nine times out of ten, the judge, the jury, and the court of public opinion all believe the woman.

What about those innocent men who have been wrongly prosecuted because some chick had a vendetta?

It’s fucked. I’m fucked. I don’t know how I’m going to win this battle; however, I do know I won’t go down without a damn good fight.

The door opens and my eyes connect with Shardonnay’s through the mirror. I shouldn’t be dragging her into this mess. I should be protecting her. Giving her the kind of life most people spend their time dreaming about.

“Xavier, it’s going to be okay. We are going to get through this. You’re innocent,” she says.

“Innocent people are prosecuted all the time, babe. Innocence means nothing if I can’t prove it.”

Shardonnay comes up and squeezes between me and the counter. “We will find a way to prove your innocence.”

“I don’t deserve you.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her body into mine.

“Yes, you do. You deserve everything good in life, Xavier.” Her lips kiss the middle of my chest, and I swear I can feel the heat of her touch through my t-shirt.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, but you need to stop hiding in your bathroom. Your parents and Lucy are here, along with some weird-looking guys in suits.”

“Fuck. I was wondering how long it would take them to rally the troops.” I lean down, kissing the top of her head.

“What do you mean the troops ?” she asks.

“Christianson Industries PR and legal teams.” I sigh. “My whole life has been moulded in preparation for me to one day take over Christianson Industries. I’ve been groomed to not make waves in the public eye, to always put my best foot forward, so to speak. This is probably the worst PR nightmare to hit the company since… well, a long time.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Xavier. This isn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that really matters. Come on, we can’t hide in here forever.” I release her waist and take her hand.

We walk out to the living room and everyone’s eyes turn to mine. I stiffen. I don’t want to be dealing with this shit right now. Shardonnay gives my hand a squeeze, and I look over to her. She’s watching me. No one else. Just me. I have to fix this mess. I have to give her the best of me. And this, right now, is far from my best.

“Before any of you ask, I didn’t do it.” I point to Spencer and Aaron, my parents’ head of PR and legal—respectively.

“Never thought you did, Xavier. But we do need to do damage control nevertheless,” Spencer says.

Aaron remains quiet. I know him well. He’s cutthroat when it comes to dealing with business contracts. But this, criminal law, it’s my domain. My mum walks up to me. I’ve avoided looking at her, not because I’m worried she’d believe the accusations, but because I’m ashamed I’ve brought this mess onto the family.

Her arms wrap around my waist. “Oh, Xavier, we will fight this. That woman doesn’t know who she’s messing with.”

With my free hand, I return her hug. There’s something about a mum’s hug—nothing quite compares to it. Am I a mumma’s boy? A little bit.

Shardonnay tries to pull her hand from mine, so I tighten my grip. Right now, she’s my fucking rock, the one thing keeping me from spiralling. I need her touch more than anything.

“Thanks, Mum.”

“Right, what defence strategy have you come up with?” my dad asks when my mum steps to the side.

“I don’t have one, Dad. It’s her word against mine.” I sigh, sitting on the couch before tugging Shardonnay next to me. I should let go of her hand. I shouldn’t be leaning on her so fucking much, but I can’t seem to bring myself to do that.

“Okay, well, what paperwork do you have? Surely you have HR forms, written warnings, documentation as to why she was let go?” he says.

“I fired her because she walked into my office and started stripping her clothes off,” I grunt.

“She what?” Lucy asks. “OMG, what is wrong with people?”

Shardonnay stiffens beside me. I know what she’s thinking. She’s remembering the time she did that exact thing, bending herself over my desk and demanding I fuck her. My cock twitches in my pants at the memory—which is not something I need to be thinking about right now.

“Well, I get it. I mean, you were voted Melbourne’s hottest bachelor of the year.” Bentley laughs.

“I’m not a bachelor,” I deadpan.

“Anymore, but at the time of the article, you were,” she corrects me.

“What magazine was that printed in?” Shardonnay asks.

“Ah, Women’s Weekly… I think,” Lucy tells her.

“Huh.” Shardonnay looks at me and smirks.

“Okay, let’s deal with the paparazzi and then figure out the lawsuit.” This comes from Spencer, our PR guru.

“Right. I’ll make a statement, tell them all I’m innocent and everyone can fuck right off,” I say.

“No, you won’t. I’ve written a statement that I will deliver to the media. You will keep your mouth shut and not say a word about this. To anyone.”

“What do you plan on saying?” I ask him.

“That the claimant is a disgruntled ex-employee. The truth.”

I thought they would never leave. It took me three hours to get them all out of my apartment. I spent the next hour in the gym. I asked Shardonnay if she wanted to work out with me; she laughed and promptly declined the invite.

Sweat drips from my body. Drying my face with a towel, I go in search of Shardonnay. I finally find her out on the balcony, curled up in the lounger with her laptop on her thighs. Her head pops up when I slide the door open and walk out. Her eyes slowly travel from my chest and down my abs.

“Babe, if you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to bend you over and fuck you on this balcony.”

“Sorry.” She blushes and quickly averts her gaze.

“Don’t be.” I smirk. “What are you up to?”

“Looking up removal companies, trucks,” she says.

“Why?” I ask.

“I have a few things to move. ‘Cuz you know, if you still want me to move in with you, I’m going to need to bring all my stuff here.”

I stare at her, in shock, with the goofiest smile on my face. “Seriously? You’re moving in? Like forever?” I ask her, sitting at the end of her lounger.

“Well, forever’s a really long time, Xavier.” She laughs. “But, yes, I’ll move in.”

“Babe, forever isn’t long enough when it comes to having you.” Grabbing her laptop, I place it on the floor and scoop her up, positioning her so she’s straddling me.

“Ew, you’re all sweaty. You need to shower.” She squeals, trying to squirm out of my hold.

“You’re just full of good ideas today.” I push to my feet and carry her into my bathroom—no, our bathroom. I reach a hand into the shower stall and turn the water on, making sure it’s warm before I step inside, with Shardonnay still in my arms. Our lips fuse together; our tongues duel for dominance. Releasing her mouth, I’m breathless as I stand her on her feet. “I love you. So fucking much, Shardonnay.”

“I love you… more.” Her lips tip up at one corner.

“Not possible.” My fingers grab the bottom of the shirt she’s wearing, dragging it up her body and over her head. Throwing the wet fabric to the side, I’m greeted by her bare breasts. Cupping one in each of my palms, I massage the globes, pinching her nipples between my fingertips. “I love these.”

“I haven’t noticed.” She laughs.

My hands travel lower. Dropping to my knees, I pull her panties down her legs, holding each ankle up to help her step out of them. “You’re going to need to hold on,” I warn her as I lift her, with each leg over one of my shoulders and her pussy now level with my face. Rising up again, I push back against the wall.

“Xavier, I swear to God if you drop me…” Her warning trails off when my tongue swipes through her slit.

“Fucking honey,” I growl before diving right in and feasting on the deliciousness that is Shardonnay. Her hands grip my head, tug at my hair, while her hips grind into my face as she rides the wave of pure bliss. I continue to fuck her with my mouth until I feel her body relax. I slide her from my shoulders and place her back on her feet, holding on to her waist to keep her upright as she finds her bearings again.

“That was… we better be doing that again,” she says, smiling up at me.

“Babe, you can ride my face anyplace, anytime,” I tell her.

Shardonnay’s fingers loop into my soaked workout shorts, yanking them down. “My turn.” She grins and drops to her knees.

“You don’t need to— oh fuck! Yes, you do. Keep doing that,” I tell her as she sucks my balls into her mouth. Her hand wraps around my cock, sliding up and down my shaft. Fuck me, I see fucking stars as she continues to suck on my balls and pump my cock. Her free hand grips my ass, pulling me closer to her body. “Fuck, babe, you’re way too fucking good at this. Your mouth feels so damn good.”

My hips thrust in rhythm with her pumps while her other hand slides closer and closer to my ass; then I feel a finger poking at my hole. Fuck, she’s not going to…?

Yes, she fucking did. Her finger pushes in, just a little, and my knees buckle. Her mouth sucks harder, her palm squeezes my cock tighter, and she pumps faster as her finger slides in and out of my ass.

“Fuck, I’m coming,” I say, pulling back. Her mouth releases my balls, and I wrap my palm around her hand, aiming my cock at her face. Ropes of cum squirt onto her lips and her cheek. I fall to my knees, unable to stand any longer. “Fucking hell, I think you’re going to kill me, babe.” I smile as my finger slides through the cum on her face, and I write the letter X on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Better than okay,” she says.