Chapter Two #3
Constantine found that he loved the sound of it very much. “Shelf life on what?” he said, though perfectly aware of her meaning.
“On the marriage, what else?” She sighed, as if he was a recalcitrant child she had been burdened with. “Once you’ve convinced the board or whoever it is that you wish to, may I have a divorce? I’ll sign a prenup, ask for nothing else ever again.”
“No,” he said, the word ringing with finality in the silence.
“No divorce. No lovers on the side. No exit in the near future. I don’t intend to marry ever again.
” He took another step toward her, craving that addictive combination of her sweat and skin.
Marriage, for him, when he thought about it in the last few years, had always been only an arrangement.
It wasn’t like he wanted or needed love.
If anything, marrying Aliyah, bending her to his will, would make it more entertaining than he’d ever hoped for it to be.
“You’re the one who taught me that fairy tales end in happily-ever-after, no? ”
“You’re mad,” she said, lips quivering, taking a step back.
“And this isn’t just about shares or optics.
This is about making me pay for whatever sins I committed against you.
” But she didn’t wait for him to agree or disagree.
As if she was scared to discover the truth behind his demand.
“You’re ruining your life with your own hands, Constantine.
” Her palms brushed her hips, her chin tilting up in defiance.
“Because I bet you anything I will not make you a good wife. You’re making a big mistake if you assume I’m the same helpless, naive idiot that fell for you once. ”
“You and I have different meaning for the word ruin, poulaki mou.” He brushed a finger over her soft, silky jaw and noted her quiver. “You also have no idea what kind of a wife would please me. As for mistaking your character, no, I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Her mouth opened, closed, her chest rising and falling.
He bit back a smile—apparently, that was the extent to which she would let her temper run.
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
His laughter came bursting out of his stomach, a rich, hearty sound that he hadn’t heard in a long while. It was a strange, liberating sensation. “You think that’s what this is about? Getting you into my bed?”
A pretty pink flush painted her cheeks. “My mistake, of course, in assuming that you lack a lover. Given the frequency with which you and your cohort of lovers grace the tabloid press.”
“Keeping tabs on me, Aliyah?”
“Before I came here to beg you for help, absolutely. I believe in being prepared. After all, I was walking into the devil’s lair to make a bargain.” She shook her head and stared back at him. As if she meant to unravel him with those eyes.
Lifting his hand, he slightly grazed her cheek with his knuckle and had the reward of hearing her breath hitch. “I remember how desperate and eager you were for me once. Maybe I cherish hopes of having you beg me for pleasure again. Maybe I’ve never had a lover quite like you ever again.”
She didn’t bat an eyelid, though more color poured into her high cheekbones.
“At the risk of remembering my foolishness, I didn’t know any better then.
I thought raging, hormonal lust was love.
That attention was affection. That I…” She shook her head, as if thoughts of the past weren’t worth her time or energy. “I know the distinction now.”
Finally, she turned away from him slowly, walking toward the window. Her back was rigid, her hands loose at her sides. The glass cast her in pale light, blurring the sharpness of her silhouette, leaving her in smudges and shadows.
He didn’t like it one bit.
Now that he had seen her, touched her, felt her scent wind around his cock like a stroke of her soft hands, he couldn’t stand the idea of anyone, or anything, taking away his chance to ruin her.
“I’m curious about this stepdaughter of yours,” he added softly.
Again, not liking the sight of her so…subdued.
“You’re willing to go to any lengths for her. Why?”
She didn’t turn around. Instead, she said, almost lightly, “I’m surprised you are even interested.”
“I like knowing what motivates people.”
“You’ll be disappointed if you search for nefarious motives, Constantine.” She laughed but there was no humor to the sound. “In fact, I guarantee you that you are going to regret this whole marriage thing. But I have no choice other than to accept.”
She turned then, gave him one long look over her shoulder and walked out.
No slammed door, no hurrying out of his presence. Just the sound of her heels tapping against marble, then the soft click of the door shutting behind her.
The expansive office felt empty and airless and cold without her. As if she had taken all the light with her.
Which was the most foolish notion he’d ever heard.
Never was he going to let her twist him inside out ever again.
She needed something from him and he needed something from her in return. It was a transaction, nothing else. With a little side of entertainment thrown in.
He lifted the internal line on his desk to alert his bodyguard to follow her back to the hotel.
She was an asset he had to protect, he reassured himself and then wondered why he needed the reassurance or the justification at all.