No Second Time: The Billionaire Craves Me Forever

"Trust me, if Judith is pregnant, it's clearly not for me," Axel spoke calmly to his contract wife, who was only his secretary a week ago.

Calmly seated across from him at his penthouse dining table, Alethea couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.

"Did you just chuckle at my words?" he asked, furrowing his brows in disbelief.

Alethea's eyes sparkled with mirth. "I didn't mean to chuckle, sir. It's just... you claiming not to have impregnated Judith after getting intimate sounds utterly absurd to me. As a single mother, I wouldn't support an irresponsible father."

Axel's eyes widened in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up. "You're a single mother?"

Alethea's eyes bulged. "Y...yes, I am, sir," she stuttered upon realising she had unknowingly disclosed a part of her that only a handful of people knew about.

"And you didn't think of telling me that before the whole country now thinks of you as my wife!?" Axel spat, his voice rising slightly.

"I...I..."

"You know what!?" He cut her off. "Just continue to keep a low profile in that aspect. I have much bigger problems than dealing with your child."

"And as for Judith, no way she's pregnant for me. I used protection, and she's clearly a setup by Juliana," he concluded.

With his stance clear, Alethea nodded in understanding, and she was willing to help him replenish his image as his contract wife.

~

Within weeks, it became known to the public that Judith wasn't actually pregnant, through the help of Alethea's live video reveal, which went viral.

Axel's reputation was finally replenished, but one thing he knew was that his old aunt, Juliana, wouldn't back off so soon.

~

A month later, in a private meeting room in Paris, Axel and Alethea sat across from one of his business partners, awaiting her contract approval terms.

"You'll have to... have sex with me tonight before I get the papers signed, Mr. Jones," Gabrielle Vonch declared shamelessly in a steady and uncompromising tone.

"What!? That's not going to happen!" Alethea snapped, her outburst catching both Axel and Gabrielle off guard.

Axel's eyes narrowed slightly to scrutinize her face, and he couldn't help but wonder about the main reason behind her objection.

"Oops... your wife doesn't seem to be the understanding type," Gabrielle remarked, leaning back in her chair with gleaming eyes. "I'll leave you both to make a decision. These are the keys to your lodge and mine," she added, sliding two cards across the table.

"Mine is right beside yours. You only have tonight to seal the contract deal," she concluded, and with this, she stood up and left them.

"I need you in the room," Axel instructed coldly to Alethea the moment it was just the two of them left. With this, he also stood up, and Alethea gently followed behind him.

As soon as they entered their hotel room, he roughly removed his necktie, followed by his black blazer with a hint of frustration. Left in his incompletely buttoned white shirt, he turned to face Alethea, who had been standing right behind him in silence.

"Just tell me one thing, Alethea, why did you respond before I could? You know how important this contract is!" he snapped, his eyes locked onto her face as they stood a few metres apart. "And why would you care if I sleep with Gabrielle?" he continued.

Alethea found herself lost in thought, searching for the right answers to his complicated questions. "Why would she care? She was only his wife by contract."

Before she could gather her thoughts, Axel's impatient voice suddenly cut through. "Stop wasting my precious time, Alethea," he snapped.

Taking a deep breath, Alethea managed to respond calmly with the right excuse. "I was just being watchful as your media wife. It's my job to ensure what happened with Judith doesn't repeat itself."

Axel raised an eyebrow, his expression tinged with sarcasm. "Oh, I see," he drawled, and suddenly bridged the gap between them without warning. His arms sliding to her waist, he pulled her against his rigid body.

The sudden pull caught Alethea by surprise, and her pulse raced at how close they stood. "What are you up to, sir?" she breathed in a voice barely above a whisper.

Axek realized she had gone back to addressing him formally, and a sly smirk spread across his lips. She always did that whenever her emotions were unsettled.

"Were you truly just doing your job as my contractual wife? Or... was it something more? Maybe jealousy?" he said, whispering to her face.

Alethea's eyelashes fluttered wildly in astonishment as she struggled to justify his words. "Following the contract rules, I can't be jealous, sir," she managed to say while regaining her composure.

Axel's brows furrowed slightly before he cleared his throat. "Okay, if so, I believe you aren't jealous... tentatively," he muttered, then released his grasp on her waist before stepping back.

For a moment, their eyes only locked in silence. Then, his voice broke the brief stillness. "You know what? About rule number three, it's null and void as I speak," he ridiculously stated aloud.

Alethea's mouth hung open, her eyes blinking wildly in astonishment. "Are you trying to flirt with me, sir?" she asked in a voice audible and clear.

Axel's eyes flickered with surprise, his expression revealing a hint of embarrassment at being so transparent.

"Well... yes... it's flirting, if that's what you want to call it," he replied with a shameless grin now on his face. "Mind you, the opportunity only lasts till we're out of here."

Alethea blinked erratically at the level of his audacity. "I'm not one of those ladies who can't resist you," she snapped, her words striking him like a thunderbolt.

"You can go to Gabrielle and secure the deal, sir. Our marriage is only a business arrangement after all."

Her dismissal only seemed to fuel Axel's desire. Intrigued, he decided to make a move on her and see how different she could really be from other women, as she claimed.

With a crafty smirk spreading across his face, he briskly closed the distance between them and grabbed her waist a second time. Pulling her close against his rigid body, he could feel her nipples press softly against his chest through the thin fabric of her clothing.

"W...what are you doing, sir?" Alethea stuttered, her mind racing with implications.

"Trying to see if you can truly resist me, wifey. Remember your role, and stop using 'sir,'" he whispered into her left ear, his hot breath sending sparks down her spine.

Before she could push him off, he suddenly lifted her off the ground by her hips. Roughly, he pinned her tightly against the nearest wall and swiftly crashed his lips onto her plump pink ones.

With his strong arms tightly pinning her hands above her head and his body mass holding her still, he kissed her softly and calmly like he owned her.

Feeling completely caged in, Alethea's world narrowed to the sensation of his moving lips on hers, and she was suddenly transported back to the very first night, which was also the last night she'd ever been in bed with a man.

Her eyes drifting shut, she got lost in the memories of how she had voluntarily slept with a stranger at a nightclub.

But then, her thoughts were suddenly cut short by the sensation of Axel's fingers slipping into her gown. Before she could stop him, he suddenly moved so fast, and two of his fingers slid into her panties, shoving deep into her cunt.