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She set off before he could reply. Although he caught up with her easily, he refrained from speaking, for which Rebel was grateful. But cranking up her earphones to near maximum didn’t stop her mind from reeling at the full assault Draco seemed to have mounted. It was obvious he was setting the scene for their fake relationship to achieve maximum publicity in minimum time, but she would’ve welcomed a little more time to get used to the idea before being hit over the head with it.
Sadly, the pummelling came at an even more frantic pace the moment she returned from her morning training. She’d barely stepped out of the shower when her doorbell rang. The courier delivered a five-page document that detailed Draco’s schedule for the next fortnight and boxes to tick as to her preferred sources of entertainment. Her mouth dropped open when she read the extensive list and the final bullet point that told her the courier would return in an hour to retrieve the answered document.
Irritated, she started to tick random boxes, but by the next page a cheeky smile twitched at her lips. Crossing out several lines of questions, she scrawled one answer across the page. Then proceeded to do the same on the following pages.
She answered the courier’s knock with a smile, which turned into a scowl when she spotted a sleek estate car pulling up behind the courier’s van.
The six outfits and matching accessories the stylist delivered fitted perfectly, and the quirky but stylish edge to the designs made them ones she would’ve picked out for herself, had she come across them in a boutique. With the only exception that the delivered items had featured a designer way out of her price tag.
Deciding going with the flow was better than raising unnecessary hell, she was stepping out of a sleeveless white jumpsuit when her phone buzzed.
She sprawled across her bed to get it. ‘Hello?’
‘I hope your intention isn’t for the next three months to be a tedium of modifications to our agreement.’
Rebel tried to ignore the tingling along her spine that Draco’s deep voice elicited. ‘Umm, I don’t do well with cryptic. What did I do wrong now?’
‘Crossing out questions about your personal interests and giving one inappropriate answer isn’t acceptable.’
‘Oh, right. You don’t like pole dancing?’ she quipped, tongue firmly in her cheek.
‘Or bungee jumping. Or eating blindfolded in a blacked-out room. Skydiving—with my clothes on—might be a consideration if we had the time. We don’t.’
Rebel rolled over and contemplated her black polka-dot ceiling. ‘Are you sure you’ve got the balls for skydiving? Not everyone does.’
‘Is that a dare?’ he growled.
‘Maybe. I’ll answer the rest of your boring questionnaire if you agree to skydive with me once the championships are over. If you have the stones, that is.’
‘I don’t need my stones to skydive. They’re for a specific purpose.’
Rebel was thankful she was on the phone when her face flamed at his words.
‘Yeah, whatever. Do you accept?’
‘No, Arabella. I don’t accept your invitation. Not everything in life needs to be attacked with adrenaline-fuelled ferocity. And I prefer to see how you fare in the coming week before I make plans for months down the road.’
The bite in his voice erased any trace of mirth left in her. Rising, she shifted to the edge of her bed and stared at the delicate tissue paper and couture boxes strewn on her bed and floor. Suddenly, the sight of the expensive clothes produced a whiff of unease inside her. Try as she might, she couldn’t dismiss the insane idea that Draco Angelis was somehow marking her with an indelible stamp of possession.
‘Have I rendered you speechless for once?’ he drawled.
Rousing herself, she answered, ‘I answered the first page of your document. I think that should get us through this first week, don’t you?’
‘You ticked only one activity that interests you for every posed question.’
‘So I like nightclubs. What’s wrong with that?’
A faint growl rumbled down the line. The muscles in her stomach quivered as an image of a rousing dragon flashed through her mind. ‘We will discuss it further tonight. I’ll be there at seven-thirty. Make sure you’re ready.’
He hung up before she could reply. Which was just as well since the answer on the tip of her tongue would no doubt have released the fire-breathing monster on her.
Rebel chose to wear the white jumpsuit simply because her afternoon training session overran and it was the only item of clothing that didn’t need careful ironing. Slipping her feet into black and gold heels, she accessorised with a long gold necklace and chunky bangles, then caught her hair up in a loose knot before completing the look with gold chandelier earrings and a white clutch.
