I Shouldn’t Fall for You

Tessa agrees to marry billionaire womanizer Dominic Caldwell to help save her family’s business. The marriage is just for show, but the more time they spend together, the more Tessa starts to realize that Dominic is more complicated than he seems. As the tension in Dominic’s penthouse grows, will they be able to keep their distance?

Age Rating: 18+

Original Author: _gorgeousin

“You’re kidding right?” The words fly out of my mouth before I can even try to stop them. “Marry Dominic, Dominic Caldwell? Please tell me you’re joking.”

But I know my father and when it comes to money, his money, he is never joking.

Dominic Caldwell is well known for three things: being insanely rich thanks to his father, being a player, and being extremely handsome.

We are not friends but we’re not enemies either. Just because our parents are friends doesn’t mean we have to be too.

“I’m sorry honey, but the company is failing and Alister offered to help, but he had some conditions.”

“Conditions? Marrying off your daughter isn’t a condition, Daddy.” I look over towards my mother for help, any kind of help but get none. I’m the perfect mixture of my parents’ DNA.

I get my dirty blonde hair and high cheekbones from my mother and my dark blue eyes from my father.

“It’s not a permanent marriage, just temporary. Alister is worried about his son’s image and getting married would solve a lot of those problems.” My father says, my eyes darting back to him.

“So I’m just some xxxxxxx publicity stunt, and you sold my soul for how much?” I watch as my father looks over to my mother before looking back at me. “How much am I worth to you?”

“Tessa,” I hate the tone in my father’s voice. He is trying to calm me down but it’s not working, not this time. He agreed to terms he had no right to agree to without consulting me.

“How much?”

He sighs, “130 million.”

I scoff, “a hundred and thirty million, your only daughter, your only child, is worth 130 million?”

“Tessa please, honey, calm down.” My mother finally speaks up.

I turn to look at her, anger flows through me, “You sold me for 130 million dollars and you want me to calm down, do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now, both of you?”

“It’s only temporary,” I hate how calm my mother is in all of this. I thought she would at least be on my side, but I guess you never really know people do you?

I thought my parents loved me, cherished me, but they loved their company more.

“It’s only my life,” I say before turning and walking out of my father’s home office, slamming the door loudly behind me.

I make my way towards my room, hurt and upset at what just happened. I was sold like I am a piece of property like I’m not even a person. Tears fall down my face as I enter my bedroom.

This isn’t happening to me, this is just some xxxxxx up dream I’m having and any moment I will wake up and this will all be over.

Only it isn’t a dream, it’s real and it’s happening.

***

I sit at the large dining room table with my parents but I can’t even look at them. The contract is sitting in front of me, staring at me in black and white.

Dominic’s and my name sit at the top of the paper. I can hear my father’s voice talking to me but I can’t make out what he is saying. All I can do is stare at the paperwork in front of me.

My eyes scan the page, 2 months engagement, 13 months married to Dominic Caldwell.

“Did Uncle Rob look over this?” I ask, interrupting my father.

“Of course.”

Uncle Rob has been the family lawyer for longer than I have been around, my father met him in college, I trust him with my life.

I don’t respond, just reach out and grab the pen that sits above the contract, and sign it. Sign my life and soul away for two people who care more about their business than me, their own flesh and blood.

“I never want to see you two again,” I say standing up from my chair, “I hope you are happy.” I walk out of the dining room, ignoring their calls for me to come back.

I don’t care anymore, I can’t care anymore. My life isn’t my own, for the next 15 months, I belong to someone else entirely. I belong to Dominic Caldwell…

I walk down the staircase of my new home, the pads of my feet hitting against the cold marble floor as I make my way towards the kitchen.

It has been a little over a week since I signed my life and soul away for 17 months.

It hasn’t been too bad so far, I only see Dominic in passing. Alister is showing Dominic how to take over the family business so late nights and early mornings are a thing.

Sucks for him I guess. But it’s great for me, I don’t have to see his stupid face and it also means I can freely walk dressed as I please – pantless.

The time on the clock tells me it’s after 8 AM and my stomach rumbling tells me it’s time to eat. I open the fridge door, trying to find something to eat but coming up empty.

It is not that the fridge is empty, quite the opposite actually. A notepad sits on the fridge and if I ever want anything I just write it down and a few days later it is in the house.

But my problem is nothing looks good to me right now.

My fingers slide on the countertop as I walk across the kitchen, contemplating what to eat.

I open a cabinet and see fruit loops on the top shelf. Perfect. Nothing like pure sugar to wake you up in the morning.

I reach up, standing on my tiptoes, trying to grab the box from the top shelf, my fingers graze the box, and finally, my fingers wrap around it. Success.

I bring the box down off the shelf, “You should really wear pants,” a voice growls behind me scaring me causing me to jump slightly.

I turn around, the box still in my hands as I face a shirtless Dominic, showing every muscle, light chest hair, and a tattoo on his upper body, the lower half of his body hidden by the kitchen island.

I roll my eyes at him before opening the box, “first off, is this not my place too? I should be able to wear, or not wear, what I want.” I shove my hand into the box and grab a few pieces.

“Secondly, it is after 8 AM you aren’t usually here.” I shove a few loops in my mouth and chew as I tilt my head and look into his grey eyes, keeping my eyes on his face and not towards his insanely toned body.

Seriously, where does the dude find the time to go to the gym?

I get the allure that is Dominic Caldwell, he has that bad body vibe, muscles and tattoos, and a stare that if it could kill, would.

I used to think Dominic was good looking and I guess in some ways I still think that. But Dominic is a player, at least he was before our unhappy engagement happened.

He went through different women the way I go through underwear.

“Plus,” I add, “you are one to talk,” I say motioning towards his shirtless chest. How dare he even get mad at me for walking around dressed like this in what is now my home while he walks around like that.

And then an idea comes to mind. I set the box of sugary goodness down on the counter behind me and then in one quick movement, I remove my oversized tee and stand in the kitchen in my matching light pink bralette and panties.

I watch as Dominic’s gaze trails slowly down my body, his eyes growing darker as the seconds pxxx.

“Now we’re both shirtless,” I say complacently as I grab the box of cereal off the counter and walk out of the kitchen, away from Dominic’s dark gaze.

***

“. . .and then I walked away,” I say with a shrug as I pop a grape in my mouth.

xxxoon as Dominic left this morning I called my two best friends, Peyton and Noelle, and told them about what happened between Dominic and me this morning.

“He didn’t say anything? At all?” Payton asks.

“Nope, not a single thing. Just eyed me up and down.”

Noelle is cracking up, her laughter filling the earpiece on my cell phone. “You probably rendered him speechless Tess, you have a smoking hot body.”

I roll my eyes at her words. Noelle is tall and lanky, she could easily be a Victoria’s Secret model. “Yeah I agree with Noelle, you know I’m envious of that xxx,” Peyton says.

Peyton may not have much of an xxx as me but I wish for her xxxx size. “He’s just.. such an xxx. I mean who is he to tell me what I can wear in my own home? I mean it is my home for the next year.”

I had shown up at Peyton’s house after signing the contract. She called Noelle and I told both of my best friends everything. The three of us have known each other since diapers and have always been inseparable.

Did I break the contract by telling them? Yeah. But something like this isn’t something I can keep from them, they are my family.

“Come on Tessa, he’s a man, and you’re a woman, a very xxxy looking woman, he obviously feels some sort of xxxual attraction towards you. Plus he can’t have xxx, remember?” Noelle says.

“Yeah, the poor dude probably has blue balls by now.” Peyton giggles.

“He has two perfectly good working hands. I don’t see the problem.” I shrug.

I can hear the eye roll through the phone as Noelle says, “You don’t see the problem because you’ve never had xxx, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. The right xxxx can change your world, make you see stars.”

I can imagine Noelle suggestively moving her eyebrows up and down.

I huff, “okay can we stop talking about my virginity now and talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Peyton says, “how’s the wedding planning?”

I groan as I thunk my forehead on the table, “y’all are killing me here.”

Peyton and Noelle laugh at me as I groan into the table.