For some reason his eyes narrowed and it took a moment for her to realize what had caused his reaction. The instant she did, the breath stuttered in her lungs. Oh, no. No, no, no. She’d said apprentice/wife. There was only one way she could have known that term. From Jett or Pretorius. How could she have been so stupid? He continued to stare at her and she couldn’t look away, trapped within the ice and fire.
“How long have you known?” Soft. Deadly. The slicing flick of a lash.
She didn’t prevaricate, didn’t dare. “Since last Monday.”
“Who told you? How did you find out?” he demanded. The questions came fast and furious, his expression as hard and relentless as his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew?”
She eyed him warily. “Jett let it slip. She assumed I knew and I didn’t correct her assumption.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Maybe a bit of damage control was in order. “I didn’t mention it to you because I assumed it was personal and therefore none of my business. When you called me into your office today and said you had a business proposition to discuss with me, I began to suspect it had something to do with the Pretorius Program.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “I understand you used a similar program when you hired me.”
It was his turn to hesitate and he made a concerted effort to curb his temper. “Yes. It’s how you ended up on the short list for a potential wife. Apparently there was a computer glitch and the two programs were linked. It would seem you were the perfect candidate for both positions.”
She couldn’t help herself. The lies she’d set up with Jett’s help caused her to flinch.
He instantly apologized, mistaking the reason for her reaction. “I shouldn’t keep referring to our marriage as though it were a job. I’m hoping it’ll become far more than that for both of us.”
“But not real,” she couldn’t prevent herself from saying.
“I promised you I wouldn’t make any emotional demands on you and I won’t.” His words took on a tight, impatient edge. “Does that reassure you?”
No, the comment made her want to cry. She was a fool. A total idiot. She’d locked herself into this travesty of a job—because despite what he said, it was a job—in the hopes that he would fall in love with her the way she’d fallen in love with him. Not that he ever would. Lucius Devlin possessed far too much self-control to ever allow such a thing.
“So, where do we go from here?” Angie asked.
He didn’t hesitate. “Forward.”
She nodded. “Okay.” She dared to approach, to run her hand along the impressive ridge of muscles lining his arm. “I promise I’ll go through with our marriage, Lucius. I promise I won’t back out. All I’m asking is that we take this a little slower. Just a little.”
“Tomorrow the ring?”
She nodded. “And Monday we’ll take care of the marriage license. That way we’re ready should the need arise sooner than anticipated. Fair enough?”
She felt his tension drain away, the muscles beneath her hand gradually relaxing. “I can live with that.” He hesitated, then added, “You should have told me you knew about the Pretorius Program.”
“You’re right. I should have.” Time to put a quick end to the conversation before he had time to think of any more questions. She made a point of checking her watch. “It’s late. I should head home.”
“Excellent idea.” Then he surprised her by swinging her into his arms. “Welcome home.”
She couldn’t help laughing. “Lucius, seriously. I need to go.”
He shouldered his way into his bedroom. Depositing her onto the bed, he followed her down. “Trust me, my lovely Angelique, when it comes to having you in my home—and in my bed—I’m dead serious.”
And then he consumed her.
“Your assistant has a big mouth, Pretorius.”
“She’s…young. I’ll speak to her.”
“Fortunately, the person she slipped up with is Angie, who’s discretion personified. If it had been anyone else…”
“Yeah, yeah. Got that.” Pretorius hesitated. “The important question is, has the Colter woman agreed to marry you? On paper she’s perfect. More than perfect, in fact.”
“Amazingly, she has agreed,” Lucius confirmed.
“An unusual woman.”
No question about that. “One of a kind.”