Oh.
She could only think of one thing to say. “Ouch.”
His face remained inscrutable. “And now that you are aware of this, do you still want to stay at my place?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
“I see.” His gaze turned contemplative.
“Did you…expect me to say no?”
“Yes.”
She lifted her chin. “Well, sorry, but I don’t give up so easily.”
His lips twitched. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“And what you don’t want to give up on is – me?”
“Umm…” Now this was embarrassing. She didn’t meet his gaze as she said, “Yes.”
“And are you willing to do anything to prove this, my Lane?”
Uh oh. What had his sadistic mind conjured this time?
She said warily, “Yes.”
“Alright then, let’s see you prove it.”
Here we go, she thought.
“First is that if you do stay with me, you must promise to obey my every command.”
She choked out, “Every command?”
Instead of answering her, Angelo reached for his phone in his pocket and made a few swipes on the screen before handing it to her.
Lane blinked when she realized what she was staring at. “A lease contract?”
His lips twitched. “Not exactly.”
Wondering what he found so amusing, she adjusted the glasses on her nose and squinted.
The first few lines were the usual, but then—
Oh.
“Is this a joke?” she blurted out.
“No.” He gestured to the phone. “Go on, read it. This contract is nothing like what you’ve probably seen in movies or read in books. It’s pretty straightforward, nothing kinky. It’s merely a way to protect us both as well as give you the assurance that nothing I command you to do will ever be harmful.”
“I see.” But she was starting to feel bothered about something else. “Do you have all your partners sign this?”
“No.” Angelo’s smile was humorless as he thought about the women who had signed the contract, which was practically everyone who had spent more than a few nights in his bed, and the one woman in his life who had not even known the contract existed.
The one woman, he thought sardonically, who had shared his life for the longest time without knowing the truth about him.
He glanced back at Lane, who was already signing the contract electronically. When she handed his phone back to him, he commented lightly, “You didn’t take much time thinking about this, tesoro.”
“I didn’t have to.”
“You are certain?”
She nodded.
“Are you ready to hear about the second condition?”
“How many conditions are there?” It was a lame attempt at joking, but Angelo laughed anyway, and her heart tripped over itself when she heard the sound of his laughter.
It reminded Lane of that first day, reminded her why he was so special to her.
Angelo Valencia was her fallen angel.
Just like Laura was.
When she thought about it that way, there was really no need to worry about anything.
This, whatever it was between them, deserved a chance.
“Tesoro?”
She blinked. “Sorry, I was just, umm, preparing myself for your next condition.”
“Just one last,” he said solemnly, “and I’m all yours.”
She turned red. “Angelo!” Gosh. How did he always know what to say to make her blush?
Angelo was asking one of the staff for an extra straw, and she frowned. Did he want some of her milkshake but didn’t want to take a sip using her straw? She hadn’t thought he was the fussy type.
Angelo faced her again when he had his extra straw in hand. “Our second condition,” he told her as he reached for her milkshake, placing it between them.
He put his straw in. “Shall we share?”
“Oh.” She was bemused. “That’s the second condition?”
“Partly,” Angelo murmured, his smile revealing nothing.
Okaaaay.
She nervously took hold of her straw and almost choked on her milkshake when Angelo did the same, which brought his face inordinately close—
Too close actually, she thought, and she sipped on her straw so fast that her brain froze.
She immediately pulled back with a groan, her eyes squeezing shut at the pain.
“Brain freeze?” Angelo murmured sympathetically.
“Yes.” Gosh, her brain. She opened her eyes when the pain finally receded, saying awkwardly, “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing. You looked very cute while in pain,” Angelo said charmingly.
“Umm…” If it had been anyone else, she would have probably thought she was dealing with a psycho. But since this was her sadistic future lover, she could only smile weakly at him.