Two . . .
One . . .
“Lorenzo?” She says it so quietly I almost don’t hear her. “I’ll marry you.”
As I suspected, the moment I walked out of the room, she followed me, and I’m happy to be right.
This is exactly where I want her. Not broken. Not hysterical. Not begging. Just resigned to her new future.
But I’m fully aware she’s not finished with me yet. Here it comes . . .
“With conditions.”
My lips twitch. “Conditions?”
She nods once, chin trembling even as she tries to hold it high. “No intimacy. You won’t touch me. You won’t try to own me. And you won’t—”
I laugh.
It’s not polite, nor is it light. It’s also clearly not amused.
Instead, my laugh comes out like a man who’s spent years sharpening the edges of a blade and just cut himself open with it.Clearly there is something very wrong with me.
Unhinged would be a good word to use.
I am unhinged.
And I love it.
This feeling.
Her hatred.
It’s all the aphrodisiac I need.
Her eyes flash. “What is so funny?”
I drag my thumb across the corner of my mouth, trying to tame the grin. “Little Bird . . . you’re adorable. You think you’re negotiating.”
Her shoulders stiffen. “If you want me, those are the terms.”
“If?” I echo, stepping closer. “That’s cute too.”
She swallows, throat bobbing. “You said you wanted me. I’m giving you parameters.”
“Parameters.” The word rolls off my tongue like a joke. Only the punchline will come later, when she least expects it.
I let the silence stretch, savoring the panic building behind her wide eyes.
Finally, I shrug, casual as sin. “Fine.”
She blinks. “Fine?”
“Fine,” I repeat, smirking. “I’ll agree to your little list.”
The relief that floods her face nearly makes me laugh again. She’s still so sweet and innocent. Her relief is comical.It’s also delusional.
But what she doesn’t realize is that none of her conditions matter. Not a single one. The moment she said yes? The moment her parents sold her future for a bailout, her rules would never matter.
