He licked his lips, and I glanced up to find him staring at me, the smug, heated look on his face telling me he knewexactlywhere my thoughts had gone.
“Don’t ever bring up money,” I said to break the tension. “And never ask anyone what they do for work. Most of my parents’ friends and the people who float through their circle still view ‘work’ as what the peasants do for them while they sit fat and happy in their castles.”
He sent me one last lingering look before shifting his attention back to his food. “Keep going.”
I spent the next hour telling him everything I knew about the unwritten rules of the world I’d grown up in, wondering if I was making a huge mistake, praying the information wouldn’t somehow lead to the damnation of more innocent people.
Theo absorbed it all like a sponge, and from the way his eyes sharpened, watching me with intent, I had no doubt he’d filed away every single word I’d said. Which only drove home how fucked I really was. Because my hatred didn’t blind me to the fact that Theo was intelligent, determined, and a fast learner. Hell, he was already handling his silverware like he’d eaten this way for years, and his voice had lost all hints of a country accent, morphing into something smoother and deeper. It left me even more convinced that he had ulterior motives. That I was about to lead a wolf into a pasture full of... well, not sheep, but maybe slower, dumber wolves.
“We need to start small,” he said at the end of my crash-course finishing school. “A family dinner or a more intimate gathering, where I can meet your parents without too many eyes on us. That way, we’re already familiar with each other going into larger parties, and it will make our relationship seem more legit to everyone else if they already know me.”
I opened my mouth to tell him no, because the thought of bringing him straight into my parents’ small inner circle felt like too much, too soon, not to mention that it would be a monumental betrayal of their trust. But one sharp look from Theo had me choking back the word, remembering his earlier declaration that I was in no position to deny him. Maybe I could play into whatever sliver of empathy he might have instead.
“I’m scared to do that,” I admitted. “I don’t know you, and so far, all you’ve done is antagonize, threaten, and blackmail me. What assurance do I have that you won’t do something to hurt my family?”
“None.”
I waited for more, but he just sat there, watching me. Okay then, empathy was not in the room with us. No need to panic. No need to freak out over the fact that I now owed this soulless motherfucker three million dollars and was completely at his mercy—of which, he obviously had none. Absolutelynoneed to start spiraling and—
Theo sighed, clocking my mounting anxiety. “Why would I harm them? There’s no benefit to me.”
I gaped at him. “Is that supposed to be reassuring?”
He lifted his glass and drained the last of his wine. “Take it however you like. But I’ll have to meet them eventually, and if this plan is going to work, it makes the most sense to do it my way.”
I hated that he was right. That it wassmartto do it his way. Part of me wanted to argue, if only to buy myself time to find an alternative, but it was pointless.
“Fine,” I said. “But you should know that you can only push me so far. My family isn’t without defenses. If it ever feels like a massive scandal is preferable to this arrangement, I’ll tell my parents everything, consequences be damned.”
His teeth flashed in the candlelight. “Is that a threat?”
I shook my head. “Just a statement of fact.”
“And you don’t think I have ways of retaliating?” he drawled, draping his arm over the back of the booth again. He both sounded and looked relaxed, but I could tell I was pushing him farther than I probably should. Too bad. It had to be done. He needed to understand that I wasn’t some helpless little plaything.
“I’m sure you’re more than capable of retaliating,” I said. “But if you want to do it ‘your way,’ we need ground rules.”
“Fine. Rule number one: no fucking.”
Heat swept over my cheeks, my earlier promise to keep my anger in check completely forgotten. Thenerveof this man. I opened my mouth to tell him the only person he’d be fucking was himself, but he held up a hand to forestall me.
“Don’t,” he said. “I can’t stand to hear a woman beg, and you should know that no matter how hard you do, I won’t change my mind. We need to keep some professional boundaries between us.”
I choked on my tongue. I was going tomurderhim.
“Number two,” he said. “You have to be nice to me in front of other people.”
“And how do you expect me to do that when every word out of your mouth is a provocation?”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” His gaze bored into mine. “Especially given the alternative.”
My flush deepened. Great, so we were already back to threats.
“No telling people who I really am,” he said. “No warning people away from me. And don’t even hint that I might be anything other than your adoring boyfriend.”
“Adoring,” I bit out.
He nodded as he looked me over, his expression shifting into something raw, possessive, like he already knew every curve and valley hidden beneath my dress and couldn’t wait to get me out of it. Leaning forward, he lifted a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing over my jaw, pausing to angle my chin up so he could stare deeply into my eyes.
