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‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.’
A spike of satisfaction caught him, sharp and bright, though he made sure not to let it show. ‘Excellent. In that case, I’ll get the necessary—’
‘But I have some requirements.’ She gave him a severe look, as if she expected him to argue.
He almost wanted to, just to tease her, but now was not the time for games. ‘What requirements?’ he asked instead, without inflection.
Glory held up a finger. ‘First, I’d like the money for my sister’s first round of IVF right away, because the sooner we start, the more chances she’ll have. Secondly.’ She held up another finger. ‘I need your assurance that this is a marriage in name only. I d-don’t want to...sleep with you.’
First a stutter, then a hesitation. What was that all about? She was a virgin so it could just be discomfort with the subject of sex. Then again, hadn’t she come here intending to offer him sex? Yes, she’d been nervous in her offer, but it wasn’t as if the thought of sleeping with him hadn’t crossed her mind.
What did she think about that?
Why do you want to know? You’re not going to sleep with her after all.
Well, no, he wasn’t. Yet even though it wasn’t the time for games, Castor couldn’t help himself. The temptation to test her was too irresistible. ‘Are you sure? You didn’t seem to mind the prospect when you came here to sell your virginity to me.’
She reddened, but to her credit didn’t look away. ‘Ididn’twant to sleep with you. I was prepared to do it for Annabel’s sake, that’s all.’
He might have believed her if she hadn’t been blushing and if that protest hadn’t sounded just a touch hollow.
‘Quite the sacrificial lamb, aren’t you?’
‘Not at all,’ she said with quiet dignity. ‘I don’t mind. My sister is important to me and I want her to have some of the things she missed out on.’
That sobered him. Because if there was one thing he understood, it was the importance of one’s sister.
‘Very well.’ He dropped the teasing tone. ‘The money issue won’t be a problem, and I’m certainly not going to be demanding my marital rights from you. However, as I said, I want this to look as real as possible, and while that won’t entail actual sex, it will require more than a handshake.’
The marriage had to look real even if it wasn’t. It had to stand up to scrutiny in case anyone got suspicious of him and decided to investigate. Certainly once word got out, the press would be interested and if there had to be pictures, he wanted pictures of a couple in love. Nothing else would be convincing.
Her dark eyes narrowed. ‘What more are we talking about?’
‘Have you never watched a pair of lovers,alepou mou? Do you really not understand what’s involved?’
Irritation flashed over her face, which intrigued him. She might have been afraid before, and definitely nervous now, but it seemed as if she was comfortable enough with him to be annoyed at him.
‘I understand, Mr Xenakis.’ A small, dark flame of temper burned in her eyes. ‘I might be a virgin and rather naive, but I’m not stupid.’
He could feel another unexpected smile curving his mouth, which was unheard of. How strange. Genuine amusement was something he thought he’d lost years ago.
‘You should probably start calling me Castor,’ he reminded her gently. ‘I’m not sure many women outside a Regency novel call their husbands “mister.”’
More colour flushed her cheeks, turning them a very pretty pink. ‘No, I suppose not,’ she muttered. ‘C-Castor.’
He didn’t know why he liked the way she stuttered slightly over his name, but he did.
‘Much better,’ he murmured. ‘However, to answer your questions, I suspect you are not, in fact, stupid. And as to what more I require, obviously I’m going to need to touch you.’
The blush made her eyes seem even darker. ‘Touch me? Touch me how?’
He was being deliberately opaque and he knew it. Mainly because he’d forgotten how delightful it was to fluster a woman. It certainly didn’t happen with the women he associated with these days. Women who were as jaded as he was and who didn’t get either shocked or surprised by much. Oh, he flirted with them, but it was all rote, both his responses and theirs.
This wasn’t though. Her responses were natural and delightful, and that blush... She sparkled when she blushed. He liked it. He wanted more of it.
‘Well,’ he said, dropping his voice into a low, seductive purr. ‘I’ll probably want to hold your hand. And maybe put an arm around you, pulling you close. Then quite possibly I might put a finger under your chin and tilt your head back. Perhaps I may even kiss you. For the cameras, you understand. Just a light brush across your lips, nothing too risqué.’
The blush in her cheeks became deeper and deeper as he spoke, but she didn’t move, continuing to stare at him as if she’d never seen him before in her entire life.
