Damien

By the time I got back home, my head was pounding.

I stepped out of the shower, dragging a towel across my hair, only to find Juliette standing in the middle of the bedroom. I met her eyes for only a second before darting my gaze somewhere else. I couldn't bear the way she was staring at me; like she was seeing a complete stranger.

Maybe she was.

I clenched my jaw, silently heading for the large wardrobe in the room. I yanked a plain T-shirt off a hanger, pulling on a pair of jeans. Normal clothes for a night that was anything but. I didn’t notice her moving until I caught her reflection in the wardrobe door mirror. She was slipping out of her dress, letting it pool silently at her feet. Every inch of her bare skin caught the low light, and for a second, my mind went blank.

I gripped one of the partitions in the wardrobe, my fingers digging into the wood. God, she was beautiful. Her body... was exquisite. She still wrecked me, even without trying. Our eyes locked in the mirror. She was moving towards me, her steps slow and deliberate in a way that had me hackles rising. I'd known there was no way she would agree to a divorce so easily, but that was far as I could predict her reaction.

I knew I was only encouraging by holding her gaze in the mirror, giving her my attention, but I couldn’t stop looking even if I wanted to. And we both knew it. She stopped a few feet behind me and I finally turned to meet her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered, her voice barely carrying across the space between us.

I released an irritated huff of air. I'd forgotten how stubborn she could be. A part of me had hoped she would gladly take the offer I was giving her. Giving us. Our marriage had become a shadow of what it used to be and I still wasn't sure how we'd gotten here. We both knew things were different now from the day we'd both said our vows to each other, so I didn't understand what exactly she's hoping to achieve with all her questioning.

I grinded my jaws. "The sooner you sign the papers and put us both out of our misery, the better." I said to her.

She had no idea how long I've thought about it, wanting to make sure I made the right decision. The words of the managerial team came flooding back; unattached men commanded more influence. A successful public image needed the right partner... or none at all.

'she’s dead weight. You're wasting potential. You can't rise above your rivals like this.' I told myself I was doing the right thing. Letting her go would do the company good, which was something she'd always wanted. But standing here, watching her bare and vulnerable and still mine, I wasn’t so sure anymore. She reached out, running a single finger down my forearm. I flinched like she burned me.

"I've already made my decision." I whispered.

"Maybe I can convince you," she whispered back, stepping even closer.

"Don’t, bother" I muttered under my breath, but I didn’t move away. She slid her hand down my body, slow and torturous. I kept my gaze on hers as she loosened the towel I'd wrapped around my waist, letting it fall to the ground. I let out a low curse under my breath when she wrapped her hand around my cock. I shouldn't be allowing this, we were getting a divorce soon. But I'll be damned if I didn't groan before leaning into her hand.

I fisted the clothes in my hands, refusing to move my feet off the ground as she stroked my cock, increasing her pace with each passing second. If I so much as touched her... she rolled her thumb around the head of my cock, cupping my balls with her other hand. I couldn't contain it any other longer. I barely had time to warn her before I came.

As I came down from my cloud nine, I held her gaze feeling bitter about the situation. It didn't matter what she did, we still had to divorce. The success of the company might just be laying on it. And yet the thought of some other guy seeing this side of her, enjoying her touch. Hurt flashed across her eyes at the obviously glaring look I was giving her.

"Mission failed." I remarked, my voice sharper than I'd intended. "Still not convinced."

At the tearful look in her eyes, I turned and headed for the bathroom, slamming the door harder than necessary behind me. I scrubbed myself clean under the scalding water, but it didn’t wash the guilt off. I still remained a selfish bastard. When I came back out, she was already wrapped in her robe, curled up at the far edge of the bed, staring at the wall.

She didn’t turn look at me.

She stepped into the bathroom as I got dressed, needing to clear my head. I grabbed my keys and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me. I stepped into the first bar I laid my eyes on; some dingy place with barely functioning lights. I sat at the counter, downed two shots, and was halfway through a third when a woman slid onto the stool beside me.

Tall. Blond. Wearing a dress two sizes too small. She leaned in, her hand brushing my thigh, her voice a purr in my ear. "You look like you could use some company." I should have pushed her away immediately, but I hesitated for a second. It was a second too long. We heard it then; the sharp, unmistakable crack of a camera shutter. I stiffened instantly, my gaze immediately snapping toward the noise.

Paparazzi.

Of course.

Juliette.

Juliette would see it.

Because it would hit the internet sooner or later. I wondered if she would listen to me if I tried to explain. The sick part was...

I didn’t know if I even deserved to explain anymore or what I was going to explain to the person I gave a divorce paper.