Emma was still looking around when she heard him shut the door behind them. She stood with her back to the fire and kept her eyes focused.
Jack set his palms on the edge of his desk for a moment. He did not sit. Then, with utter determination in his eyes, he turned to face her.
“We’re about to set some rules, lass,” he announced, his voice low and even. “For as long as ye’re mine.”
“Rules?” she echoed. “Yers?”
“Aye, and ye will adhere to them.”
“Is this a joke?”
“I daenae joke.”
Emma swallowed, inhaling the scent of ink. “This is nowhere near what we discu?—”
“Number one,” he started, raising his hand in a bid to keep her quiet. “Ye’re nae to ask about me past. I’ll tell ye what ye need to ken, but that’s it.”
“Ye said I could ask ye about anything.”
“Anything but that.”
“So thisisa joke.” She stepped forward, her arms folded. “Of course I am going to ask about yer past. Ye have a reputation, for the love of God.”
“Ye can ask me about anything but that.”
“Jack—”
“I mean it.”
Emma reared back, her arms still folded.
Jack continued anyway. “Number two. When we marry, ye’ll care for me daughter, but ye’ll stay away from me. Number three?—”
“Is that how it is now?”
“Emma.”
“Ye, setting rules? I specifically asked ye?—”
“Ye didnae think anything would be off limits now, did ye?”
A tense silence settled between them, but she kept her eyes narrowed. “Ye think ye’re the only one who can play this game?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are ye talking about?”
She lifted her chin. Heat rose under her skin, but her voice stayed level. “Well, if we’re setting rules, then I have a few of me own.”
His eyebrow rose. “Do ye now?”
“Aye,” she said.
“Emma—”
“First!” Her voice was louder than she had intended, but it kept him quiet. “Ye willnae scare me like that again.”
“When have I ever scared ye?”
“Second!” Emma continued, ignoring his question. It was clear he was trying to bait her, but she wouldn’t fall for it. “We’re nae married. By the end of these five nights, ye need to have earned me trust. That is the only way we will wed.”
