A Deal with Demakis(11)
“Money,” she said, satisfaction pouring through her at the surprise in his eyes. She smiled for the first time in more than a month. Her heart thundering inside her chest, she closed the door and leaned back against it. “You have oodles of it and I have none.”
The dark browns of his eyes flared with something akin to admiration. Lexi frowned. She had meant to anger him, needle him, at least. She had uttered the first thing that had come to her mind. Instead, the edge of his contempt, which had been a tangible thing until now, was blunted.
“Quite the little opportunist, aren’t you?” he said, gazing at her with intense interest.
There was no rancor in his words. Struggling to keep her confusion out of her face, she smiled with as much fake confidence as she could muster. “I have to protect my interests, don’t I? You’re asking me to put my life here on hold and place my trust in someone like you.”
He laughed. “Someone like me?”
“Yes, by your own admission, you don’t have a conscience when it comes to what you want. What if things don’t go your way, what if something happens that you don’t like? You’ll blame me...”
“Like what?”
“Like Tyler regaining his memory and deciding he didn’t want to be with Venetia anymore.”
A feral light gleamed in his gaze. “That would not do.”
“I have no older brother to rescue me, no family to watch out for my welfare,” she said, swallowing the painful truth. “For all I know, you and your sister could do untold harm to me, so I’m being prepared.”
“Believe me, Ms. Nelson. Family is highly overrated. You grew up in foster care—doesn’t that tell you something?”
The vehemence in his tone gave her pause. She had wondered a million times why her parents might have given her up, wondered in the lowest times if there was anyone who thought of her, who wondered about her, too. Except for excruciating sadness and uncertainty, it had brought her nothing. “But you’re here, aren’t you? Taking every step to ensure Tyler remembers your sister, setting her world to rights. Making sure no one deprives her of her happily ever after.”
“What if I don’t agree to your condition?” He moved in that economic way of his and locked her in place against the door. His scent teased her nostrils, his size, the quiet hum of power packed into his large body, directed toward her making her tremble from head to toe. He had neatly sidestepped her question. “What if, instead, I alert your boss about your colorful teenage years?”
It took everything within her to stay unmoving, to meet his gaze when all she wanted was to skittle away from him. Don’t betray your fear, she reminded herself, even though she had no idea if it was his threatening words or his nearness that was causing it. “You will ruin me and it will be pointless, but it won’t go like that. Are you that heartless that you would wreck a perfect stranger’s life because she won’t suit your plans?”
“Yes, I will,” he whispered, moving even closer. His palm landed on the door, near her face, his breath feathering over her. The heat of his body coated her with an awareness she didn’t want. Every inch of her froze, and she struggled to pull air into her lungs. “Make no mistake about me. To ensure my sister’s happiness, I will do anything that is required of me, and not feel a moment’s regret about it.”
Her stomach tight, she forced herself to speak. She had no doubt that he was speaking the truth. “But it doesn’t really serve your purpose, does it? Ruining me won’t set your sister’s world right. You need me, and you don’t like it.” His mouth tightened an infinitesimal amount and she knew she had it right. “That’s why you collected all that information. Because you needed at least an illusion that you have the upper hand in the situation, to make sure you’re the one with control.”