“Point One,” he began. “Even if you refuse the job offer, I still don’t want you seeing Moretti.”
“That isn’t your decision and you know it.” She held up her hand before he could argue. “Stop it, Lucius. You cannot dictate my personal relationships and that’s final.”
“Yet,” he corrected, “that changes the minute I put my ring on your finger.”
“Just remember that goes both ways,” she shot right back.
The minute he absorbed the comment, he stiffened. “I wouldn’t cheat on you.”
She didn’t respond, simply fixed him with an unflinching gaze.
“Son of a bitch,” he said softly. “Are you talking about my affair with Lisa?”
No way was she touching that one. “Not at all. I’m talking about a crucial deal breaker to the job currently under discussion.”
He simply shook his head. “Somehow I think we’re talking about Lisa. Just in case, let’s address it so there aren’t any lingering questions.” His expression remained empty, still giving nothing away, making it impossible to get a read on him. “Lisa and I had an affair. After it ran its course she turned to my best friend, Geoff. When that relationship didn’t work out, when it ended badly, as well, she dropped by my apartment. She claimed her affair with Geoff had been a terrible mistake. I compounded that mistake by giving her a shoulder to cry on. As I’m sure you can guess, one thing led to another. It wasn’t planned. It was one night and only one night. In retrospect, it wasn’t one of my smarter decisions. In fact, it was damn stupid.”
“I wasn’t asking.” Didn’t even want to hear. She got that Lisa was irresistible to men. That she had something that Angie couldn’t possess if she lived to be a hundred. That she was the type of woman Lucius wanted, a type Angie would never be. Could never be. And it brought home the brutal fact that he would never love her. She fought to keep her voice level, when all she wanted was to weep. “To be honest, I’d rather not know.”
“If we’re putting our cards on the table, you deserve to know. Now you do.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Any cards you’d care to throw on the pile?”
Oh, God. She struggled to conceal her alarm behind a calm facade. “Not right now, thanks.”
“That suggests there are cards.”
“We all have cards. Right now, mine remain facedown.”
“Fair enough.” He gestured to the sitting area. “Are you interested in continuing our negotiation, or should we walk away from the table and resume our former business relationship?”
That wasn’t possible, not after their latest kiss. He had to suspect as much. But if she continued with their negotiation it would be with eyes wide open, aware he’d never feel for her what she felt for him. If she couldn’t accept that, better she walk away. Now. There existed an outside possibility they could return their working relationship to status quo. Well, almost status quo. This second kiss would make it far more difficult to find their way back to familiar ground. That didn’t change her options. Retreat…or gamble everything. Not that there was any real question.
She summoned a cool smile. “I’d like to hear the rest of your offer and see if we can’t come to terms. I think we’ve resolved your first point. Shall we simply agree to a fidelity clause?”
He approached again, invading her personal space, watching her helpless reaction to his proximity. “That would be acceptable.”
“What’s your next point?” she asked, fighting for equanimity.
He took a long swallow of his drink before setting it aside. Hunger glimmered in the depths of his inky gaze, a clear warning of what his next point would be before he even opened his mouth. “Point Two. Sex.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” she asked wryly.
“I don’t know, since it’s surprising the hell out of me.” He tugged at one of the loose curls dangling along her neck. “I assume we’re also in agreement there? If it makes you feel any better, I’ll even agree not to expect anything more from you than a purely physical relationship. Will that satisfy you?”
No! “Yes. That would satisfy me.” She wanted to weep at how neatly she’d been boxed in, or rather, out of a personal relationship with Lucius, though she didn’t have a single doubt he was delighted by the arrangement. Sex without strings. The perfect fantasy. She stepped away from him, forcing him to release the lock of hair he’d twined around his finger. She resumed her seat in the sitting area, anything to give herself some space from the strength of his personality. She needed to think straight if she were to win any concessions in this devil’s bargain. “Assuming the trial period goes well, we’ll marry?” she asked.