CHAPTER 7

　　IN THE LION'S DEN

TIARA

If there was ever a time to get freaking out of my mind, then this was definitely it.

I didn’t even feel it when my mouth literally dropped open and my hand simply clutched on to the contract I had already taken out of my purse. I would not give him the chance. Suddenly, I threw the piece of paper that seemed so useless in his face.

“So, this is it, huh? A deprivation of liberty contract? Of slavery?” I burst out in a gasp.

“If you want to call it that, then I have nothing against it. So be it!”

?I was already shooting flames out of my nostrils like an angry dragon. I almost wanted to laugh at the comparison, but I kept my posture.?

There was that faint smile curling his face again as he turned away, resting one arm on the back of the chair overly intimately, and bent his head again. I literally wanted to strangle him. “But actually, it is a contract marriage, love. I thought your father told you about it.”?

As soon as he said that, he circled the desk again and came so close to me I felt the room had become too small for both of us.?

Oh, my Lord! This had been nerve-wracking. And fucking sexy. The warmth of his body beamed into the tight space between us. My shoulder was almost brushing his thigh, and suddenly I wanted it to be more than that. My imagination had simply taken a turn for the worse.?

He, in one move, pushed aside all the items on his desk and climbed me on thirstily, spreading my legs, nestling into my wet spot, already pulsing with longing. It was an image I could hardly get out of my mind. But it was just that, a fantasy.

But I did everything humanly possible to come back to reality.?

“Actually, he told me” I mumbled a few words, shifting my position again so I would stop touching him. “But why?” I continued, puzzled.?

“I would just like a wife, that’s all. No hidden matters”?

I was stunned.

“That’s not a reason. I mean, are you prepared to accept such a marriage knowing that my father is a loser in business? Who’s guaranteeing that the company he set up will make capital for both of you?”?

He pressed his lips together, a gesture all too luscious not to be intentional.?

But that didn’t stop me from staring at them and even nervously licking mine. This man was driving me insane.?

But when I realized what I was doing, I immediately stopped and raised my eyes to his. They were wide and as if inviting me to fantasize more. The bastard knew what was going through my mind but remained calm with his evil smile.?

“Your father...” he began in a low, almost whispered tone. “His debt is not unpayable, you know. I think his company is still worth something. We can still sign some contracts and attract some investors.”

Almost without realizing it, he reached across the desk and grabbed the contract out of my hands. In doing so, he dabbed my palm and not only was my blood pumping throughout my body, but I also heard myself gasping for air.

Intentional and controlling. That was him. Finally, he placed the contract on the table and turned to face me. His gaze slid to my hair, a messy black curl cascade that he so obviously loved to stare at. Maintaining that predatory look, he reached out and tucked a rebellious lock of hair behind my ear.?

I flinched, but didn’t move. I let him continue. But he stopped.?

Maybe at that point I should have stood up, said a piece of my mind, and left. Instead, I took that defeating stance as if I wanted whatever he was doing to continue.?

“So, you’re taking me and my father’s company? You seem like a very determined man in what you want for yourself for the future,” I said with half a mouth swallowing with difficulty. The way he made me feel around him was unacceptable to me.?

“As far as I can see, you’re a woman who knows what she wants out of life. Money to save a company from bankruptcy and in doing so help the one who gave your life. Not to mention you paint terribly, so in this field you should reinvent yourself!”?

I was boiling inside. I didn’t know where to react at first. To the fact that he was exploiting my vulnerability about my mother, or that he thought I was a cheap painter. I didn’t stop to think about it. It was clear which came harder.

“I advise you not to bring up my mother, it doesn’t suit you” I winced with what seemed more like a threat. He didn’t let himself be any less.?

“Unfortunately, you’re not really in a position to threaten me, love. But look, just to show you I’m kind, I’ll pay for you to take professional painting classes. It would be a shame for a talent like yours to go to waste.”

“Are you fucking mocking me?” I snapped furiously, rising to my feet. In my haste, I bumped right into his hard chest. My senses immediately jolted and thousands of tingles ran through my body.?

But my position only gave him more closeness, so he became even bolder, the bastard. He was still playing with my hair lock, which he twirled on his index finger, and with each pass, he was touching my cheek. I could barely keep my upright posture.?

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked boldly because the atmosphere was already getting heated and I couldn’t handle it anymore.?

“I want to see if we’re sexually compatible,” he replied nonchalantly, letting his hand free over my shoulder. If I said I felt nothing, I’d be lying. Not that they made me of stone. This idiot was making me feel things I hadn’t felt in months. And worse, I fucking liked it.?

“This is a very audacious thing to say. I didn’t even say I wanted to marry you.”

My knees were shaking violently, and although I desperately wanted to find my stability and sit down, I didn’t want to show him the slightest of my vulnerability.?

“It’s interesting what you say, but I would go even further and ask you why you would agree to marry me, knowing you wouldn’t want me sexually. I mean, it would be an ordeal for you. For me, on the other hand...” he said, using a deeper tone of voice.?

He used the pause in his speech to move away from me, walking over to the window. I breathed a sigh of relief, although an inexplicable chill surrounded me, as if I missed the warmth of his body.?

How could I feel that way when all I should have felt was repulsion towards a man who wanted to hold me by force on the grounds of a contract? And on top of that, he had the nerve to insinuate that he wouldn’t miss sex if I refused to do my duties as a wife.?

?I frowned at his statement, but he still didn’t miss a moment to attack and then tease me. “But I don’t think we’re going to have that kind of trouble in this area.”

I hated his confidence. He was so sure I was going to be his. With each line, he confused my feelings even more.

“I still wonder why you want an arranged marriage with someone like me. I mean, you can have any woman you wish,” I told him confidently in my voice even though I really didn’t want to give myself away, as I felt flattered that a man like Vincent Baker could want a woman like myself.

He simply shrugged.?

“I don’t need love or any emotional commitment,” he said. “But a wife, as stipulated in that contract you are holding, would be perfectly suited to my personal needs. But also, there are benefits for you, love, and for people dear to you. Haven’t you read the contract before you came ranting in my office?”?

“Fuck you!” I snapped in his face as I almost got a mad urge to slap him. “You think you know so much about me, Baker? Well, think again!”

“I don’t need to think that I know you have a bad habit of leaving your projects unfinished or not reading an important document before taking action. In other words, you’re impulsive. I don’t need to think that even though you don’t want this marriage, the need for money has pushed you over the edge. So, you’d better put your stupid ego aside and sign the damn contract before I change my mind, and both you and your family end up eating out of the dumpsters!”?