His gaze fell to her chest, rising and falling in time with her rapid breathing, before sweeping up to meet hers in blatant challenge.
"The thought had crossed my mind."
She folded her arms, but not before he glimpsed the telltale peak of her nipples.
She loved their sparring as much as he did.
Defiant, she met his gaze dead-on. "It would only complicate things."
"Are you sure? It could also make this marriage mighty interesting."
A vein pulsed in her neck and he resisted the urge to reach out and touch it.
She shook her head. "Why add confusion to an already difficult situation?"
He chuckled. "Your wooing technique needs a little work."
He tapped his temple, pretending to ponder. "Let's see. I'd be shackling myself to you in a sexlessdifficult situation."
He snapped his fingers. "Hell yeah, sounds like something I'd do."
Her eyes narrowed, sparking defiance. "I don't like being mocked."
"And I don't like being played for a fool." He stepped forward, enjoying having the upper hand when she backtracked a tad. "As a win-win business proposal, I can see the mutual benefits in this. But we're adults. We're attracted to one another. There's no reason why we shouldn't indulge in a little bedroom recreation while the marriage lasts."
To her credit, she eyeballed him, but he noted the nervous tics: the fingers plucking at her dress's sash, the clenched jaw, the crimson staining her ears.
He decided to up the ante. "Of course, I might like it out of the bedroom too. Is that still viable in ouragreement?"
She blushed but didn't look away, and his admiration notched higher.
“Let me get this straight. According to your terms, we marry, we have sex, and we both gain from the arrangement business-wise."
She made it sound like an unappealing transaction.
He admired her bravado but couldn't shake the feeling she wasn't telling him everything.
"That's it. Take it or leave it," he said flatly.
He could see an emotional battle warring in her expressive eyes. She'd do anything to save her family business, including propose a dubitable marriage to a guy she hardly knew, a guy whom she'd booted out of her apartment last night with a resounding 'when hell freezes over' in response to his takeover bid.
She had to be desperate to do this, so pushing his luck by insisting on sex? Underhanded. Not that she'd agree to it, but he enjoyed pushing her buttons.
"No sex." Her fiery green-eyed gaze radiated enough heat to burn him to the core and he couldn't help but fantasise how sensational those sparks would translate in the bedroom. "That's a deal breaker.”
"You're in no position to make or break this deal," he pointed out, ramming home his advantage.
She needed him to agree and, while he could see the logic of such an arrangement, he never capitulated easily.
"Fine, I'll take it," she said through gritted teeth, her expression mutinous.
"Good." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his smugness registering as she glowered. "Though let's make one thing clear. There's no place in this marriage for emotion. Women are notorious for falling in love and complicating matters."
She laughed, a harsh sound devoid of amusement. "Me, fall in love with you?"
She made it sound as likely as him orchestrating a jailbreak.
She patted his chest and he gritted his teeth. He hated being patronised. "Don't worry, there's no chance of that happening. I'm under no illusions what this marriage is, convenient and mutually beneficial for our businesses. That's it."
