Her Contract Marriage To The Billionaire Alpha

Reminder

Xavier POV

My mouth went dry when I saw Alyssa in that dress. Just looking at her in that had caused a rather startling reaction, and it had taken everything inside of me, every little willpower that I had, not to grab her and take her into the dressing room to ravish her. The way it had accentuated her curves, highlighted her porcelain complexion, and brought out the color of her eyes...my wolf had all but leaped to the surface, wanting to mark and mate her then and there. The thought of any other male seeing her in that dress had caused a massive spurt of jealousy and a wave of possessiveness to come over me. No other male was going to eye my mate if I could help it. She was mine. Now and forever, even if she didn't know it yet. Every minute I spent with her, I grew to like her more and more. There was no subterfuge in her, no manipulation, no conniving. She was simply who she was. I liked that. She didn't play games.

As she tripped outside, my wolf reflexes took over, and I managed to catch her on the way to the limousine. She blinked up at me, a look of shock on her face, while my body vibrated, feeling the mate bond in all its glory. I gritted my teeth.

"Careful, you could seriously hurt yourself" I growled, gently placing her back on the ground properly.

"Thank you" she whispered, looking slightly embarrassed as I nodded, opening the door to the limousine before my driver could and gesturing for her to climb inside.

I sat opposite her. She glanced at me uncertainly. She had every reason to feel awkward at the moment. She was under the impression that ours was only a contract marriage, with no knowledge of the mate bond and how everything worked in a pack, but she would learn in time. For now, though, it will be kept secret as we get to know each other. With that in mind, I directed the driver to take us to a jewelry store next. An expensive one and one that was well known to be visited by high society, causing Alyssa to look at me questioningly.

"We haven't gotten you a ring yet," I said, raising a brow and preempting what she was about to ask, "and as my wife, it's expected that you have one. I want you to choose what you like" I added, as she bit her lip and began to look as though she was about to argue with me.

"But Xavier, if this is a contract marriage, then shouldn't we just get something cheap" she began to protest, and I let out a growl.

"My wife will not have something cheap on her hand. Think of it as a gift if you must, but we're getting a proper ring", I snapped.

She looked taken aback by the anger in my tone. I softened my voice, "We'll get matching ones if that makes you feel better," I advised as a compromise, and saw her eyes light up slightly in response.

She was so easily pleased, I mused, glancing out the window, unlike many other women who tended to fling themselves at me in hopes of taming the infamous bachelor or becoming my wife due to the wealth I possessed. They all expected expensive trinkets or gifts for nothing. It was rather refreshing being with somebody like my mate.

The limousine stopped in front of the store and I helped Alyssa out. As we stepped inside, the sales agent hurried towards us, looking confused as he glanced from me to her. No doubt Alyssa's attire, which was extremely casual, was a little baffling when compared to my designer suit. I glanced at him. "My wife and I need matching wedding rings". My tone is dark.

He blinks, before slowly nodding. "Do you know what kind you would like?" he asks, turning to Alyssa, who glances up at me.

"I will go with your choice," I told her as she eyed me, "I only ask that you don't get silver."

"No silver," she repeated obediently, "got it. Do you have white gold with um?" She glances at me and then back at the man, a look of determination on her face. "Emeralds?"

"Emeralds?" I was surprised by her choice, as was the sales agent, "not large diamonds?"

She slowly shakes her head. "Emeralds have always been my favorite stone" she bites her lip, "and I've always preferred white gold to yellow and pink."

I looked at the man. "You heard her, what have you got in white gold with emeralds?"

He rushes to go and get several, coming back to hand them to Alyssa, who eyes them as I stand there patiently. She puts the large ostentatious rings aside immediately, causing the sales agent to look disappointed. Her eye is drawn to one that has several small emeralds intermixed with small diamonds across it in a simple design or band. It's simple and elegant, not the type a woman would normally choose as an engagement or wedding ring, but as she puts it on her finger, it fits perfectly. She shows it to me and I can't help but look at the joy on her face and the wide smile. She's exhibiting pure happiness. Nothing would make me take that off her face. I glance at the sales agent who is continuing to paw through the rings.

"We'll take this one."

Alyssa's face lit up. The sales agent looks unimpressed. "We have some with much larger stones, more deserving of..."

"No, this one" my voice is slightly more authoritative and matter-of-fact.

If this was what Alyssa wanted, I was determined to make sure she got it.

The sales agent slumps his shoulders but nods.

"What do you have in men's rings?" I asked, glancing at the various displays and curling my lip.

He fetches some and brings several over for me to peruse. "Alyssa, what do you think?"

She looks shocked and then proceeds to carefully look them over. I don't care about the ring, but I know how important it can be to some women and figure that it might be to her. She pulls one out of the pile, and somehow I'm not surprised to find it's another simplistic one, a large man's band with a simple green emerald in the middle. It's not the most expensive ring in the pile, but I take the ring and slide it on, admiring it and seeing the resemblance between my ring and hers.

She looks nervous. I gave a crooked grin. "This one is perfect, we'll take this one too," I said, turning to the sales agent, who looked nothing but resigned now, knowing he was not about to make an expensive sale.

"Yes sir. If you come to the counter, then we'll get this all sorted" he said, beginning to put the rings away again.

I followed him to the counter and paid. It was a modest sum by any means. I added several thousand as a tip and watched the sales agent light up.

"Thank you sir" he stammered, looking up at me gratefully "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. If you ever need anything else..." he trails off, his tone filled with enthusiasm.

"I appreciate you making the effort to listen to my wife," I told him as he nodded, "I will remember that in the future," I told him, and then turned to Alyssa, who was waiting for me.

"What should we do now?" she asked.

"Have lunch" I said persuasively.

She blinked. "Lunch?"

I looked at her askance. "It's the day after our wedding, is it not? Why would I not want to go out with you and spend time with you? In effect, this would be a normal couple's honeymoon," I added.

Besides that, this was a lot more fun than work. It's not as though work wouldn't survive without me or the pack for a few measly hours.

"But I thought..." her voice trailed off, and she nibbled on her lower lip.

I took her hand, leading her out of the shop. "You thought what?" I asked, turning and regarding her.

She bit her lip, "I thought because it was a contract marriage that you would be going back to work and that...."

"Alyssa, you make it sound as though I'm some sort of callous bastard," I said, narrowing my eyes "I have every intention of going back to work, but I thought it would be nice to spend a day or so getting to know my wife. Is that so horrible?" I asked her.

"It's just that, not even Theodore" she swallowed hard, "he wasn't even going to take time off for our honeymoon. He told me we had to postpone it because his work was more important", she finished in a whisper, gesturing helplessly and looking a little bit ashamed.

Bastard. Who could be that callous towards their wife? I wasn't a perfect man by any means, but even I wouldn't put work as a priority over something like this. The fact she was comparing me to Theodore rankled, though I tried not to show it. I knew that in time she would forget all about him. Eventually, she would only see me as the mate bond grew stronger and her feelings towards me grew. I tilted my head and studied her, one hand reaching to stroke the nape of her neck, watching her as she gave a slight tremble and swallowed hard. I gave her a sinister grin, inspiration striking me and saw apprehension appear on her face.

"You keep comparing me to Thedore" I growled "I think you might need a little reminder that I'm not him" and as her lips parted slightly, I bent and took them, kissing her with all the possessiveness I felt, one hand going to the back of her neck to grip her hair and keep her still, my tongue beginning to caress her own, as I listened to the sounds of her soft moans in satisfaction.

She tasted so sweet. Her lips were so soft as they pressed against mine and her mouth so wet. She offered no resistance as I kissed her and even began to reciprocate. My wolf practically purred as we locked lips, and my other hand lightly rested on her waist. Heat flooded through me. I could feel my body responding again and wanted to growl in frustration. She was oblivious to my growing frustration as she gripped me by the shoulder, her eyes closing in bliss. I reluctantly peeled back, taking in her disoriented gaze, her disheveled hair, her swollen puffy lips, and the glaze in her eyes with a swell of satisfaction. She looked as though I had knocked the air out of her, her breathing still shallow as she stared at me, a hand going to her open mouth in shock.

"A reminder" I said silkily, "that I am nothing like my stepbrother, and you would do well to remember that" I smirked.

She looked dumbfounded as I opened the door to the limousine and motioned for her to get in. As she settled in and leaned back against the seat, I could see the beginnings of a gleam enter her eyes.