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I thought I was going to be trapped with a needy gold digger, and yet I am going to be in good company with Diana.
Too bad she doesn't deserve to be trapped within this mess.
"Don't worry, you will grow to hate me when I refuse to cook or clean for you. Not to mention never having sex, no children, and I will never take orders from you. Give it six months, and you will be trying to figure out how to make my death appear to be an accident."
Ouch.
That isn't all that fair, but at the same time, she is expecting the worst and preparing herself for it. I can't hold that against her.
She has a lot more to fear in this arrangement than I do.
It's not like I have to worry about her taking advantage of me sexually or trying to kill me.
The one night we spent together doesn't change that we were strangers, and it is going to take time before any trust and respect are built between us.
She already has my respect, but it is going to be a long road before I get any of hers.
Assuming I ever do.
The bartender returns with our drinks, and I give a nod of thanks before I guide her over to a quieter area where we can be alone.
We take a seat at one of the bistro tables before I speak.
"First, I am not the person you are building up in your head. Yes, I have done bad things, and yes, I will do bad things in the future. This world that I live in, the world that you are being forced to live in, it doesn't change overnight. There is a delicate way you have to handle legalizing certain areas, none of which can happen while my father wears the crown. I can't promise you that things won't get complicated or messy. I am going to come home with blood on my hands that either belongs to me or to someone else. What I can promise is to keep you away from it, to keep you in the dark about all of this."
It isn't going to be easy, but I am not about to risk her life for anything.
The safest place for her to be is in the dark, and I will deal with whatever might be coming our way.
The very least I can do is ensure she is safe.
"Good because I have zero interest in being a part of this world at all. I want complete plausible deniability for when it inevitably all goes ass up."
"And you will have it. And should something occur where we are arrested, I will make sure it is made very clear that you are not involved. I will protect you from the law completely."
She wouldn't be of much interest to any law enforcement agency anyway.
She is too new, and they tend to want the males within the mafia and not the women.
"And second?" she presses.
"Second, we go at your pace. We are both intelligent business people. I am sure we can come to an arrangement that we can both live with. Tell me your terms."
Perhaps right now, the best thing we can do is go at this as a business partnership.
Maybe one day something more will come out of it.
Maybe the best we can hope for is to create a friendship.
Regardless, it would be easier if we both know the ground rules and respect them.
"Very well, my terms are as follows. No sex. The only sexual contact you will get from me is a kiss at the altar. Now, I know you are a man, and the likelihood of you going god knows how many years without sex is impossible, so you can bed whomever you want. I don't care, just don't get anyone pregnant and expect me to play step mommy."
"And I am assuming that term goes both ways, so you would be free to have sex with other men."
I have to fight down my jealousy that is bubbling up at the thought of another man touching her.
"Correct, and I won't come home pregnant either. Term number two, I don't take orders from you, nor will I tolerate being talked down to. This is an equal partnership, and I will not tolerate being treated like the little woman of the house. Third, we will be roommates. Separate rooms. You do your own cooking and cleaning, and I will do the same. We both come and go whenever we want, and we don't have to check in or wait up for each other. If we go a few days without seeing each other, so be it."
