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I nod, grateful for his words, but I know there’s conflict in his eyes when he says them. Honestly, deep down, the allure of the money hangs heavily on me, too.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Come here,” he says, holding out his arms and I crawl into them and bury my face in the crook of his neck.
Jake purrs against my head as he strokes my back with a gentle touch. “We’ll figure this out together,” he mutters against my hair as his fingertips trace soothing patterns on my back. “You don’t have to decide right now. Take some time to think about it.”
“Think about it,” I repeat. “Do you think I should take it?”
“We could double-cross them. Give them five days, but not your heat. In your heat, they’ll get you pregnant, and... and I’m not having that.”
“Double-cross them?” Tears stream down my face as I bury my head in Jake’s chest and think about the offer. “That won’t end well.”
He shakes his head and smiles. “It’s fucking genius.”
“Not if they claim me.”
“We’ll have that put into contract.”
“A contract!”
“Yes. Five million dollars. Fifty percent upfront, no biting, and the last payment at the end of the five days.”
“But they want my heat, Jake. That’s the deal.”
“Then I have a better idea. We’ll tell them it started. That your temperature is peaking.” Jake hums, low and gravelly. “They’ll transfer half of the money and we’ll disappear with two and a half million.” A slow smile lifts on his face. “They get nothing. It’s perfect.”
I am thinking about it, and after everything that happened to me, I hate that I’m thinking about it. Hate that I’m even considering it for a single moment.
Hating it more because it’s the only thing I’ve considered since I heard it. “I can’t do that. They’ll hunt me and…” I shake my head as I stare at the floor. “I can’t. The deal is on or off.”
“Why?” His tone is deeper than normal.
“Because I enjoy living here. I have friends here,” I say. He places the pad of his thumb on my cheek and wipes away my tears.
Jake knows how I feel as his arms tighten around me, his touch a soothing balm that eases my racing thoughts. “I know. Me too,” he whispers. “But if you don’t accept it, we’ll live like this forever. With only enough money to make prototypes.”
I look up at him. His eyes meet mine.
He sighs. “But if you took it...” He starts and then stops again, waiting for my reaction. “If you did... we could grow the business. We could move away from here and start again where nobody knows us. Have a family...”
“A family.” Growing up with five sisters, family is so important to me. But not yet.
“I know the Professor’s proposition is unconventional and morally ambiguous, but you have to admit, the idea of five million dollars is very appealing.”
“It is a fortune,” I admit.
“I asked to be there,” Jake says, then glances away quickly so I don’t catch the glint in his eye.
I shake myself out of his embrace, push off his lap before I stand and stare at him for a moment. “Before talking to me about it? You already asked to be there? Did you make a deal with the Professor?”
“Ella,” he hisses.
“No Jake. You refused to fuck me because of this. You said you never wanted me to make a mistake and I couldn’t take it back. But did you agree to not touch me you want me to accept?”
Blood boils in my veins. The truth sinks in as his eyes widen in surprise.
Jake stumbles backward, his face draining of color. “Ella, I...” he stammers. “I thought if I could secure our future, it would be worth it.”
