14. Terms and conditions

Graham's question made my heart skip several beats, and a rush of heat burned my cheeks.

Then my mind unhelpfully supplied a searing image of me naked, writhing, and crying out underneath him as he f*cked me into next week.

God, it would be so good. I’m certain it would.

But instead, I said airily, “You're not exactly my type."

"Really?" His gaze turned amused.

"Really," I replied, trying my best not to look flustered

“Oh? So, what is your type, exactly?”

He seemed to be mocking me. It was in his tone, his smirk, his body language.

I glared at him. “Maybe you should leave.”

“Shit,” his amusement vanished. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I had been ready to give him a piece of my mind, but his apology disarmed me.

I bit down on my lower lip. “I want to ask you something else.”

“Please go ahead.”

"Well, I... I kind of have a pressing monetary need that I need to sort out. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to access, say, 100k from the-”

"You have it." He interrupted. "You'll get it alongside your clothing, housing, and feeding allowance."

I sat up immediately. "I'll have allowances aside from the twenty million bucks?"

"Of course," he replied. "Monthly."

His answer was firm, and he maintained eye contact as he spoke.

Christ!

If I’m dreaming, please, Lord, don’t wake me up.

"Truthfully, I'd give you anything you ask for to get this going." He added.

“What if I wanted like 2kg of gold yearly?” I asked jokingly.

“Then you have it.” Again, no uncertainty in his voice.

I turned completely dumbfounded at this point.

“What else? Ask me anything,” he said softly, gazing into my eyes.

His voice was hypnotic. His eyes were very green and mesmerizing. Everything about this man seemed designed to draw a woman in close.

His face and body laid the trap, but it’s his eyes that were the real snare.

"Catalina." He said my name so quietly, it was barely a whisper; a tender, intimate whisper, the way a lover would say it close to my ear as he pushed inside me and-

Catalina!

Get a grip of yourself.

“Say yes,” Graham murmured, his voice so soft that he almost sounded as though he were pleading.

I closed my eyes, drew a deep breath, then exhaled.

When I opened them, the word was already on the tip of my tongue. I almost said it. Then I hesitated and shook my head.

“I-I don’t know…” my voice faltered.

I needed the money badly. It would solve so many of my problems right now.

But would it be worth two years of marriage to a man like Graham Scazard?

Two years is seven hundred and thirty days. Which is really a long time to stay married to a stranger I had a one-night stand with.

Graham began speaking in a low, soothing voice, interrupting my thoughts.

“I understand this is strange. If I were in your shoes, I’d be skeptical too. But my offer is real. I'm not looking for love. I want someone I can get along with while it lasts. Before the night we met, I had gone through the rigorous process of speaking to several women with the aim of asking them to marry me. But I never did like any of their personalities. It was torture to sit and listen to them talk. Usually, I detest small talk."

“You hate small talk?, I had no idea. I just knew you were an impatient ma.” I said.

He glanced up at me.

I muttered, “Sorry,” and chewed on the inside of my lip.

After a moment, he nodded. “You’re correct. I’m impatient.”

Surprised that he acknowledged that wholeheartedly, I started to feel like a jerk for pointing out his faults.

“I mean, nobody’s perfect,” I murmured.

“Almost nobody. But you…are the closest to perfection I've met.”

On the outside, I was perfectly still. But on the inside, I was vibrating with an emotion I couldn't put a name to because I’d never experienced it before.

I waited for him to continue, with my heart and p¥ssy throbbing.

“You are kind; you're caring to a fault. You’re strong, a dedicated lover. But... you seem lonely.”

At the last word, our eyes locked.

I fought the sudden and unwelcome urge to cry.

He let me sit with my thoughts for a moment before continuing. “I like that you're very smart and fun to be with. You can be bold too if you don’t allow yourself to shrink. And that is why I want you as a Wife. You can hold your own around my family. Also, I don’t want to be with someone I can't have good conversations with. I’m not the type to sleep out or spend a large chunk of my time outside. I’m always home most of the time, and I don’t want that to change by marrying someone I can’t put up with. I think we'd get along, Catalina. So, please, marry me.”

“Yes,” I blurted out. "Yes, I'll marry you."

And just like that, I agreed to marry Graham Scazard.