Some Like It Charming - By Megan Bryce Page 0,46
any man would get married if he had to give half his fortune to do it.” She cocked her head. “Or any woman, for that matter.”
“Maybe not. But it worked for my grandfather, and it worked for my father. They had long, happy marriages. Because they were sure of the women they married. Because their women were sure of them.”
“I could maybe see where they were going with this, but all it’s done is freaked you out. Not only do you have to give half your money to your wife, you have to give all your pecker as well. Any man would balk at that.”
He stared at her, relaxing his grip on her wrists in surprise.
She said, “Just don’t do it.”
“Don’t do what? Give all my pecker or half my shares?” He snorted, trying to keep his face in line.
“Just choose one. Sign a pre-nup.” She rolled her eyes to the heavens and mumbled, “For the love of God, sign a pre-nup. Forever love is just luck. Your grandfather and father got lucky.”
“Now who’s got issues?”
“Oh, it’s you. All you.”
Mackenzie thrust one hip up, rolling him over onto his back and climbing on top of him. She trapped his wrists in her hands and leaned forward, her weight pinning him to the bed, her breasts bouncing and grabbing his attention.
He grinned at her and she said, “You can just give your future wife a nice severance package in case of divorce and keep your company. And then give her all your pecker.”
He barked out a laugh. “Please stop saying that. It puts a picture in my head I’m afraid I won’t ever get out.”
“I’m just saying that if I was your wife I would be more concerned about love and fidelity than a couple million dollars.”
His eyebrows rose. “A couple million dollars?”
Mackenzie narrowed her eyes. “A couple hundred million dollars?”
“Hmm.”
She shrugged her shoulders and Ethan didn’t bother keeping his eyes on her face.
She said, “I don’t think a wife is worth fifty million dollars. Any wife.”
He looked back up into her eyes. “Now you’re just fishing.”
She laughed, leaning back and taking her weight off his wrists. “Don’t tell me. It’ll just make me want to break out the snake oil.”
He sat up, wrapping his arms around her and whispering a number into her ear.
She choked. “That’s just disgusting. Why would any one person need that much money?”
“You getting the itch to relieve me of some of it?”
Ethan laughed at her guilty look, squeezing her. “I don’t believe you. I already tried to give you part of O’Connor Capital and you turned me flat. That’s not the action of a gold digger.”
She looked at him through lidded eyes. “Maybe I’m just waiting for half.”
He didn’t feel even a blip of fear when she brought up marrying him this time. “You’d have to marry me for real to get it. I don’t think you’re willing to pay that price.”
She ran her hand down his arm slowly, fluttering her eyelashes at him. “My information about your net worth has changed recently. It’s making me doubt how much I detest you.”
He grinned. “You can lie all you want to yourself but I know you don’t detest me. No matter how much you try and make yourself.”
She stopped the fluttering and said matter-of-factly, “You’re too beautiful not to detest.”
“I find that a strange reaction to beauty.”
“And all that money. Blech.”
He laughed. “What if I gave it all away? Would that help?”
She groaned. “And then you would just be altruistic. There’s no hope for you, I’m afraid.”
He nuzzled her neck. “No hope? None at all?”
Mackenzie breathed in, sliding her body down to sit on his lap. She sounded only a little reluctant when she said, “Maybe a little.”
“Let’s move this to my bed. I only brought one condom.” He nibbled her ear. “It was short-sighted of me.”
She muttered, “I got the Depo shot,” and Ethan pulled back.
“Oh, did you? So you were just playing hard to get this whole time.”
“No. I was playing I don’t want to sleep with Ethan Howell O’Connor. And then I was playing I don’t want to sleep with Ethan Howell O’Connor but I might need a back-up plan.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I didn’t know such a game existed. I could use a few more women playing it.”
“You say that, but you didn’t like me playing it.”
He rolled backwards, dragging her down on top of him. He ran a hand down her hair and said, “I loved you playing it. I