Nailed - Opal Carew Page 0,30
a listening device. They activated it before the party. They heard everything within range of my phone the whole time. I didn’t know anything about it.”
“You didn’t know about the recording?”
“Not until someone e-mailed it to me. At first I thought maybe you had … but as I listened to it, I realized you would never … I was just as much a victim as you were.”
She glared at him. “A recording like that would only serve to up your reputation. But for me it was humiliating.”
His eyes filled with sympathy and he stepped toward her, but she dodged sideways.
“No matter what the truth is about the recording, you still led me on so you could get into my pants.”
“No. It’s true I first asked you out on a bet, but everything that happened after that was because I really liked you.”
She crossed her arms. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. I thought we were here to talk business.”
“Of course.” He gestured toward the couch and she went and sat down again.
He picked up his briefcase, which was sitting beside the couch, and opened it, then brought out a folder and set it on the coffee table. He opened it and handed her a sheaf of papers held together with a paper clip.
“This agreement details what we’ve already discussed. The part about the deal with Rapture is written in there, too.”
She nodded, relieved he’d done that.
“What about control of the company?” Her stomach tightened, worried he would insist on control.
“It’s your idea and your company so you should maintain full control.”
Her gaze darted to his. “Really?”
“Of course.”
She smiled, surprised at his generosity.
“But since I’ll be the sole investor, there is something I ask in return.”
She kept her expression calm. She was quite sure she knew what he wanted in return.
“Turn to the last page of the agreement,” he said.
He’d put sexual terms in the contract? She flipped to the last page and skimmed the neatly laid out paragraphs. Then froze two-thirds down the page. Her eyes widened.
“You want me to marry you?”
Chapter Nine
“Don’t look so shocked. It’s a marriage of convenience.”
“What’s convenient about it?” River demanded.
He shrugged. “It just makes things easier. I want regular sex. As I said, sex with you is the best I’ve ever had, so why not?”
“What about love?”
“Overrated. Look, I’m a busy guy. Wooing women, dating, all the games … it’s time-consuming. Having a regular partner will just make it easier. For both of us.”
She assumed he worried about things like propriety and social expectations, so screwing around with a lot of women might not be how he wanted people to see him. Being married, with a wife by his side at social functions … that’s probably how he wanted to portray himself.
“Remember, you’re starting a new business. That means lots of hours. There’ll be no time to meet guys. Plus, if you’re my wife, you don’t have to worry about being profitable right away. All your needs will be covered.”
“Because I’ll be living with you.” She was numb. The whole idea was insane.
“Marriage doesn’t have to be about love. It can be a practical arrangement that benefits both parties.”
“Oh, stop,” she said dryly. “You’re sweeping me off my feet.”
He smiled. “Would you like flowers and candlelight? And me on bended knee?”
“Of course not.” Because that would be a lie just like in college. At least now he was being honest. “You can’t seriously think—”
“But I do. I know how much you want this deal. And you already know how great we are together physically. This is a great arrangement for you because you have full security. As the contract says, as long as we’re married, you fully control the company, so you can do whatever you want with it. And you don’t have to worry about money, so you can just concentrate on following your dream.”
Her jaw was clenched so tight her throat hurt. She wanted this opportunity. More than anything.
But to marry Kane to get it?
The irony was, after those two short days with him in college, she was sure she’d been falling in love with him.
The fact that he wanted to help her with her company showed her that he really did want to make up for what happened. The fact he still cared—or even remembered—after all this time meant he really must have felt guilty. And maybe it was true that he’d had nothing to do with the recording.
But that didn’t mean she should marry him.
He’d said she was the best sex