Page 41 of To Tango, with Desire

He shrugged. “I want a companion. I think you’d be a great fit, so the particulars aren’t important.”

“They are to me. A marriage simply based on convenience is a recipe for disaster.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re both strangers!”

“I beg to differ.” He tugged at the drawstrings of my hoodie, pulling me closer. “I know you in a way most men would only dream. I know what makes you tremble. What makes you sigh. I know the way to make your body go limp with pleasure. That’s more than most ever get in a relationship.”

I swallowed, trying my best to focus. I knew what he was doing and I wanted none of it. My body might have tingled a little and my stomach might have fluttered, but I needed to keep a clear head. I couldn’t just marry the man because I desired him.

“What you’re talking about is pure lust. That’s not a reason to marry someone.”

He let go, shrugging. “Many marriages are built on less.”

“But that’s my point!” I replied, annoyed. “I want mine to be built on more. A solid foundation, Zane. Not just some detached proposal based on desire.”

I slipped the ring off my finger and put it back in the box. I was petrified of breaking it. Or worse, losing it. It felt heavy, the pressure of this decision weighing me down.

“You wanted to get married one day, right?”

“Maybe. I dunno. If I did, it wouldn’t be a rushed marriage of convenience.”

“Things like this happen every day.”

“So? I’ve had marriage shoved down my throat since I was a teenager. Doesn’t mean I want a part in it. Just out of curiosity, what if I refuse this whole farce? What then?” I slid the ring box towards him, wanting desperately to keep a good yard’s distance from this man. I couldn’t think when he got too close.

“Know this, Amira. I’m a man who gets what he wants. And right now, that’s you.”

He leaned in, tilting my chin so I would meet his gaze.

“This is madness,” I whispered.

“I know it’s sudden. But when I marry you, it won’t be in name only. It won’t be a farce. You’ll be mine, in every way possible.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “And it’ll be more than pleasurable.”

I refused to squirm even though my body quivered at his touch. “You didn’t answer my question. What if I refuse?”

“I’m very persuasive.”

“You can’t just force—”

Zane’s laughter added fuel to the fire. “I don’t need to force a woman to my bed. There are other ways of making you mine, Amira.” He leaned across, his mouth a whisper at my ear, his lips brushing the tender lobe before trailing down my neck. “Seduction. Teasing. Intimacy. There’s power in touch. But the real art of pleasure begins in the mind.” He drew back. “Have you ever been seduced?”

I couldn’t trust myself to speak.

Zane’s grin was wolfish. “You will be. And once I’m through with you, you’ll never think of another man again. Tell me, now we’re affianced, have you slept with anyone else?”

“We’re not engaged.”

“That’s semantics.”

“I haven’t accepted your proposal.”

“You will.”

“You’re such a cocky bastard.”

“I’ve been called worse.” He pulled back, his eyes intense. “Have you slept with anyone else?”