The Russian's Furious Fiancee Page 0,29
he referred to her desire to avoid intimacy with him as ‘tiresome’ it raised her hackles more than a normal insult might have. It was like a slap in the face and her chin went up defiantly. “Resistance? You think I’m just resisting to be arbitrary? What a conceited ass you are! And just for the record, I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth!”
“Are you sure about that?” he demanded, equally angry and determined.
She was hurt by his assumption that she was so free with her affections. She’d never slept with another man and he definitely wasn’t going to be the first! “Absolutely! You act as if me falling into bed with you is a foregone conclusion and that’s just insulting! It isn’t going to happen and I’ll be sure and keep some distance between the two of us if that’s what you think.”
He was glaring down at her angry, beautiful features, furious with himself for letting this argument get so out of hand but unable to reign in his temper to slow things down. “I don’t just think it, I’m sure of it. And if you weren’t acting so childishly stubborn, you’d admit it as well!” He was in a towering rage, unable to believe that this slip of a woman could rile him so completely. He was normally in control, always the clear headed person in the room but this woman just got under his skin and infuriated him.
She poked him in the chest, firing right back at him. “Don’t bring up that outlandish marriage proposal again. I refuse to just go along with lifetime plans where I wasn’t consulted!”
He grabbed her finger in his fist and pulled her closer, using his body as a weapon which worked well. “Is that what this is about? The fact that you weren’t consulted about getting married?”
“Yes!” It wasn’t the only issue, but it was a good enough cover to hide her terror over sleeping with Damon. She couldn’t control him, he never bowed down to her wishes, he was arrogant and conceited and he did things to her that were shameful and frightening. There was no way she would admit that though. Even her admission would give him too much power over her and she’d never win any of their battles.
“Then let’s switch it around. You have two weeks to decide if we’re getting married,” he growled. “If you’re so sure that we’re not getting married, then just try and stay out of my bed. Once that’s done, you accept that we’re getting married. Deal?”
Her mind worked furiously and tried to find all the loopholes. “Are you saying that you’ll give up this outrageous idea of getting married if I don’t fall into bed with you?”
He laughed and shook his head. “That wasn’t what I was proposing, but if that’s the deal you’d like to make, we’re on.”
She thought about it for a millisecond, but the triumph and confidence on his face gave her pause. He was up to something, she just didn’t know what it was. Besides, she was having enough trouble staying out of his arms and avoiding his kiss. She didn’t know his agenda, but getting her into bed could not be one of his goals. He was too driven, too ambitious and goal oriented. “No!”
“I accept your terms. Let’s eat dinner.”
With that, he grabbed her hand and dragged her across the room to where the hostess stood, looking confused but quickly gathering up menus. Everyone in this industry knew never to leave Damon Kelopatros waiting if they wanted to survive in the business.
Eva fumed, livid with both him as well as herself for letting this challenge go too far. Now he would be in full on get-Eva-in-bed mode. She could barely read the menu, so petrified of what was going to happen between the two of them.
It took her several minutes to regain control of her temper and her fear. She was extremely grateful that the wine steward arrived just as they were seated to discuss the wine options with Damon, giving her time to catch her breath and gain some perspective.
As the wine steward walked away, Damon glared across the table at her and she searched frantically for something to say. A different subject was definitely needed. Her mind latched onto the opera and the woman she’d met in the ladies’ room. Or more specifically, the woman who accosted her versus the other way around.
“I met one of your