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‘None so far that are good enough. Name another.’
He paused for a fraction of a second. Then laid down his final card.
‘Marry me.’
CHAPTER SIX
GENIEFELTHEReyes blink in comical slow motion.
Once. Twice. Then twice more. ‘What?’ The word gushed like a chain-smoking screen siren’s whisper. Equally comical. She just couldn’t seem to make her voice work properly.
‘Marry me. Be my wife. Join me in full parenting of our child.’
She blinked again, her nostrils fluttering with emotions too illogical to name. And because she feared she couldn’t contain them one second longer, she expelled them in a firm, ‘No.’
The billionaire venture capitalist who’d dated some of the world’s most beautiful women obviously wasn’t used to being denied.
Seve’s eyed widened. Not as comically as hers had, she imagined. But still, there was distinct surprise, then a tensing. As if a sucker punch to his gut had winded him.
Not that he let it show for long. ‘Why not?’
Why not?
There was no need to beat about the bush. Hell, she wanted to lay it all out there in the hope that this unnerving sensation would dissipate by exposure. ‘Because I don’t like the way your proposal makes my insides feel.’
Something wicked and dangerous gleamed in his eyes. ‘Describe it. In detail.’
‘Unnerved. Elated. Then deflated. I think the common term is roller-coaster emotions. And they are a sign of weakness. For the sake of this child, I can’t be weak.’ There. That was plain and stark enough.
His eyes glinted even more, pure relish entering the dark depths. ‘Or it’s a sign that you simply need time to let it settle, to get used to the idea.’
‘Why? It’ll change nothing.’
He shrugged. ‘It’ll give you time for clearer thinking. Roller coasters don’t go on for ever. When they end, it’s the abiding feeling that remains that is the most important. You’re describing feelings based here...’ he trailed his fingers between her breasts, then below over her swollen stomach ‘...rather than here.’ Now his fingers caressed her temple.
Her skin reacted predictably. Chasing the chemical sensation his touch triggered. Then further plummeting her emotions when he dropped his hand.
It wasn’t productive or wise to keep chasing that reaction.
And yet...she couldn’t think of a counterargument, especially not when his sensual lips were moving again, forming words she needed to concentrate on.
‘But should you require a little of the roller-coaster effect, we can have that too.’
‘But that’s...illogical. I just said it was counterproductive.’
‘Not everything needs to be experienced in those terms,pequeña. A second helping of ice cream is sinful, but you do it anyway.’
‘Just so we’re clear, is ice cream a euphemism for sex?’ she blurted, then continued to hold his gaze, even as her face flamed.
‘I don’t need to hide behind euphemisms. Marry me. Agree to joint custody and live in Cardosia. Have sex with me if that’s the roller coaster you want to jump on. We both know you enjoy sex with me. And when that inevitably wanes, we’ll devote ourselves to our child’s upbringing.’
The purest strain of wicked temptation shivered through her before she pushed it firmly away. ‘No. This wasn’t part of my plan. I don’t need a man to be the best parent I can be for my child. Nor do I need sex.’
His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed into formidable slits. Genie expected him to breathe fire next, as anatomically impossible as that was. But then he’d shown her that there was far more to human interaction than just words and actions. There were...feelings. Indescribable sensations. Yearning as powerful and palpable as loneliness.
‘Plans change,’ he said eventually. ‘You didn’t plan on selling your algorithm to me and yet you did because I presented the best outcome you needed.’
‘You’re not comparing an algorithm to a child, are you?’
