Page 49 of The Monster and the Masochist

This seemed to work. Theo could tease me all she wanted, but I knew how she felt about me. She may think fake marrying me was ridiculous, but I knew she would hate the idea of me fake marrying someone else even more.

There was a long pause where all I could hear was the water running in the background, and I tried as hard as I could not to imagine her standing outside the shower in nothing but a towel, waiting for the water to heat up.

“Ask me properly, and I’ll consider it,” she finally said. Her voice was soft and firm, and there wasn’t a trace of teasing in her tone now.

She was serious. She wanted me to propose to her.

My face grew several degrees hotter, and I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or humiliation. But I needed this, so I swallowed my pride and gave her what she wanted.

“Fine,” I grumbled.

“Hurry up, princess, before I run out of hot water over here.”

“Ugh. You’re the worst.”

“Mmm. Yeah. I’m so horrible you want to marry my ass. Now say it, or I’m hanging up.”

I let out a frustrated huff and then blurted it out as quickly as I could.

“TheodoraFairviewWillYouPleaseFakeMarryMe?”

She let out an amused chuckle, and it rolled through the phone directly to my core.

“I suppose that’ll have to do for now. Though next time I see you, I might make you get down on one knee,” she rumbled, and I scowled.

“Is that a yes?” I gritted out, and she laughed.

“It’s a maybe… I’m going to need more information before I agree to legally bind myself to you for life, Cassandra.”

“It won’t be for life! It’s just until the case is over, then we can get it annulled or whatever.”

Another long pause.

“Even still. I think we need to talk more before we rush into something like this. Let me shower, then I’ll swing by your place so we can discuss what exactly this arrangement entails.”

“What?” My voice was doing that high-pitched squeaky thing again. “There’s no need to come all the way over here! I can just email you or something.”

Theo just laughed again.

“See you soon, princess.”

The rest of my protests were met with a dead line.

She fucking hung up on me!

I screeched in frustration and literally threw my phone across the room, crossing my arms petulantly over my chest.

She was impossible!

After allowing myself a moment to pout, I got up and busied myself with tidying up a few things, since apparently I was having yet another uninvited guest.

I ignored the slickness that seemed to have gathered between my thighs during that awkward, yet weirdly sexually charged conversation.

What was I doing!?

Making poor choices. That was what I was doing.

But, as I cleaned up my empty wine glass and put my laptop away, I realized that, as much as this was probably the stupidest, most ridiculous thing I’d ever done, it was a great way to keep tabs on Theo, at least for the immediate future.