‘A boss banters with his employees,’ he said bluntly. ‘We work out together. We compete. But we’re not friends. I pay them to protect me.’
Her breathing went choppy again. The man was very fixated on protection.
‘There’s no one else?’ she asked. His parents were gone but what about his brother?
His lips curled into a mirthless smile. ‘Why do you look so appalled? It’s a deliberate choice.’
‘I don’t believe you don’t like people. I don’t believe you’re not social—’
‘I like seeing peoplesometimes. I like sleeping with beautiful womensometimes. None of them are friends and none are permanent fixtures in my life. None ever will be.’
‘So everyone has a use-by date?’ She was shocked. ‘Where does that leave your child?’
‘With you.’
She sucked in a breath. Was he really that cold? ‘If you’re really not interested in either of us, and have little desire to have any real involvement in our child’s life, why insist I stay here now?’
‘Because we need to ensure your safety. We need to ensure you have the best healthcare for the remainder of your pregnancy. For the birth. We need to prepare the property in London—’
‘With what—a panic room?’
‘That will be the least of the alterations.’
Seriously?‘And in this grand plan to keep me safe in every way possible, am I to be all alone all day?’
His jaw tensed. ‘Would you like to invite one of these amazing friends to stay for a while?’ He looked like it was the worst thing imaginable.
Oh, hell, no.Firstly she needed to get her wayward hormones under control. Secondly, she didn’t want anyone to see how non-existent her relationship with him was. She was pregnant by a virtual stranger who didn’t want to be involved with the baby in the long term.
‘What if I meet someone else?’ she asked tartly. ‘What if there’s another man who wants to be more of a father than you’re willing to be?’
‘If it ever arises, we’ll deal with that situation,’ he said stiffly.
‘You don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone else?’ She was really hurt by that.
‘I thought you said you had no intention of marrying again,’ he said shortly. ‘Was that a lie?’
‘No. I’m definitely not getting married again. Especially not to you.’
CHAPTER SIX
EDOARDO GROWLED, FRUSTRATEDby her repeated rejections of his proposal. Not that he could blame her. He’d made a total mess of it—the words had slid out before he’d had a chance to prepare her properly. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking—it had been flippant as hell, but she’d just looked so damned luscious, and it had been his sex-drive talking. But, as they’d both agreed, that fire would fade.
Mentioning his wealth to convince her had been a worse move, but he’d thought he might get her to understand by telling her a fraction about Dante. Apparently not. So much for being a master of negotiation—of strategizing difficult deals and getting the win. He’d never failed more spectacularly than he had with Phoebe just now. He just couldn’t think clearly. He didn’t want to talk about family or friends or anythingpersonal. All he wanted was to haul her close and kiss her until she said nothing butyes—repeatedly.
‘We should get a paternity test.’ She added insult to injury. ‘You’ll want to be absolutely certain the baby is yours before you commit yourself to something you really don’t want. Let’s not discuss the future until you’re sure.’
‘I’m already sure and so are you,’ he growled. Delaying this was pointless when they both knew the truth already. ‘Stop trying to slow things down, that’s not how things work with us.’
He was driven by an imperative, primal need to keep her close. For now he needed to know she wassafeand that meant not letting her out of his sight. His world had tunnelled down to only that one thing. He would do almost anything to ensure her safety. And, yes, he’d swerved dangerously close to keeping her passport. But that would be abduction and he knew how destructive that was.
Which was why he needed to start over—askher to stay. It was shocking to feel such an inhuman impulse to keep her with him whether she wanted it or not. But he wasn’t willing to compromise on them getting married. The more she resisted, the more he was convinced. Aside from social rights and legal privileges, marriage would project a unified exterior. He didn’t want her vulnerable and she was extremely so. Clearly she had no family to turn to. No money either—she needed her job for a reason. She was almost flat broke with mortgage payments eating most of her monthly pay. Having a few friends was not good enough. Her vulnerability would only increase once people knew about her association with him.
He would arrange it so if anything happened to him they would be cared for. Once married, there would be no question about her priority. Eventually he’d install them in a fortified home in London where there’d be the best security systems, bodyguards, secure schooling—nother flat. He just needed time to arrange all that. And he couldn’t arrange anything when he felt overwhelmed by this unrelenting need to know she was safenow.
‘It doesn’t need to be that big of a deal for uspersonally,’ he pushed, increasingly desperate to recover his form. ‘But marriage will show the world that you have my protection.’
‘I don’t need your protection.’
