Page 12 of Outcast’s Vow

“Yep, I wouldn’t dare want anyone to think we don’t get along.”

Once they pass, Baptiste leans toward me.

“What I’m saying is that I am a logical man. It’s how I live my life. It’s how I made my fortune.”

“Pure logic, then?” I ask. “Just like a statue? No humanity?”

“I do what works. My standing here, with you, successful in my goal today, should be evidence enough.”

I draw in a slow breath, tasting salt as waves crash behind us.

“So, what happens next, between you and me? What happens now that I’m dealing with an unemotional robot?”

“You know what happens next, woman.”

“Tell me.”

“You and I are now one, as per the rules of the Castaways.”

My cheeks burn. I can’t deny Baptiste’s cold and confident baritone thrills a deep part of me. He’s not taking any of my bullshit.

“Then what shall we call this?” I question. “This ethereal arrangement that could never, and would never, become love?”

His gaze slowly drifts down to my mouth. To my lips. And then back up at me. His gaze lingers longer than it should. There’s a twinkle of something under the mask.

It seems he’s not as unaffected by me as he claims.

“It’s a marriage of convenience,” Baptiste mutters. “That is all.”

I glare back.

“That’s all?”

The corner of Baptiste’s mouth lifts tauntingly.

“You’re handling defeat poorly,” he says.

That makes me see red.

“Don’t evade,” I snap back. “In this so-called marriage of convenience, can I still do what I want? Can I continue my studies? Or are you just like the other controlling men here?”

And then, surprisingly, Baptiste catches my elbow and steers me even closer to the drinks table, taking us into shadow. He whispers into my ear.

“I am nothing like these men.”

There’s anger in the hiss, and something else. Pain?

“Then prove it.”

“You want it to be more than a marriage of convenience?” he asks me, his voice still no louder than a growl.

“I refuse to allow myself to be teased by you,” I reply. “Answer my question. Can I still go to college?”

“Is college all you care about, Sylvie?”

“Can I continue my studies, Baptiste?”

He takes a breath.