Page 20 of Filthy Twisted Devil

“Take the compliment, Eden,” Luke mutters. “And quit the cam job. If it gets out, you're no used to me as a fake girlfriend. Both because it'll be bad for my reputation and because your brothers will break my bones into a zillion pieces.”

I hate to admit it, but he's right. If my brothers looked back at the site, they’d just come back to Toronto again.

“Fine. I’ll suspend it for now, and if I get the job, I’ll delete the account for good.”

Luke scribbles it down on the napkin.

1. Cam work ends.

Seeing the words in black and white hammers home the reality that I'm about to start pretending that Luke Windsor is my boyfriend.

“We have to touch each other,” I blurt out. “Not now, I mean, but in front of people.”

“Obviously,” Luke says. “Otherwise, no one will believe us. So, uh, how far exactly are you comfortable going?”

My face heats. I’m a virgin, but I’m not completely inexperienced. Still, it’s uncomfortable to say this stuff out loud. “We can hold hands.”

Luke fails to hold back a smile. “If you want anyone to believe us, we're going to need to go a little further than that.”

“Okay, well, how far do you want to go?” I shoot back.

He leans closer to me. “If you were really my girlfriend, I'd touch you in public. Your back, your hair, the small of your back. Maybe sometimes I’d put my hand on your thigh. Is that okay with you?”

I know I’m blushing, and I hate it. “That’s all fine.”

“How about kissing you on the cheek?” When I nod, he adds, “Any other places I’m cleared to kiss?”

If this conversation goes on any longer, my face is going to be a giant tomato. “We don’t need to go into every tiny detail. I’m sure at some point, we’ll have to kiss in front of people. Just do what feels right within reason, okay?”

Luke holds up his hands. “Fine. I’m just giving you the option to set some hard limits if you want to.”

“Okay. Good. What about you? A…touching limits?”

“No.” He laughs bitterly. “I'm sure you read that article, too. I don't have that many limits.”

“No, Luke. I don't care how kinky you are or aren't. None of that gives anyone the right to touch you in a way you don't like.”

He fiddles with his glass. “Well, you're one of the only people who thinks that way.”

My stomach turns. “Seriously? People are touching you? What⁠—”

“It's nothing,” he says quickly. “Just the occasional ass grab. It's not a big deal.”

“Yes, it is! Seriously, Luke, if you need me to kick anyone’s ass, I’ll do it. I’m stronger than I look. Three brothers, remember?”

That brings a small smile to his face. “As much as I'd like to see that, it's not something you need to worry about.” He scribbles the second rule on the napkin.

2. Public physical contact is permitted.

Thinking about other women touching Luke without asking reminds me that he was essentially forced into a fake relationship with me by bad luck and chance. I mean, sure, him bidding on my virginity was a major part of it, but he still didn’t expect these would be the consequences.

“If we’re not going to have an end date, we should have an immediate exit clause,” I say. “When one person says we stop, we stop. No matter what.”

Luke nods and writes it down.

3. When one person says stop, the other honors it.

“We’re not telling anyone this is fake, right?” he asks.