AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He laughs at that like I’m kidding, but I’m not. Ford has everything I’ve always wanted—he fits in with this world, while I’m stuck standing on the margins staring in through dirty windows and trying to figure out a way to survive in a house filled with people that either dislike me or would prefer it if I simply disappeared.
“Things are complicated,” he says and doesn’t look like he’s going to elaborate.
“We can help each other then.” I clear my throat and sit up straighter. I look him in the eye—this is what I’m really here for. “Grandfather is going to cut me off the second you and I get engaged. But I think he’s going to cut me off sooner or later anyway, including my mom.”
“You want to marry me for my money? You make me feel so dirty and used, Kat.”
I grin at him. “In a way, yeah, except it’s not for me. I want you to swear you’ll take care of my mother no matter what happens.”
He lets that sink in for a moment. It hangs between us, and I’m not sure he fully understands what it means.
Mom isn’t easy. When she’s clean and sober, it’s okay, but she’s almost never clean, and if he agrees to step in when my grandfather inevitably throws a hissy fit over this engagement, he’s going to be dealing with my mother’s bullshit for the rest of his life. It’s no small task, but I love my mother, and I’m not stupid enough to ask for anything less than his full devotion if I’m going to give myself over to him.
“I take it that means paying for rehab,” he says.
“And bailing her out of prison, keeping her name out of the news, paying her dealers when they inevitably come looking for her, and a whole host of other problems. If I could wave a magic wand and make my mother sober, you better believe I’d do it. I’d give a limb to make that happen. But at this point, I think she’s going to die high, and I’m still not going to turn my back on her.”
He watches me for a moment, lips tugged into a curious frown. Part of me expects him to run away from this—people in his world don’t do well with scandal. Addiction, drugs, real life stuff, he’s probably been shielded from all of that for his entire life, and the idea of dealing with a real addict must seem daunting and terrifying. If he stands up right now and walks away, I won’t blame him one tiny bit, and I’ll just go back to my original plan and marry a guy like Matthew Keynes.
The thought sends a piercing jolt of sorrow into my chest. I don’t want to marry Matthew. I don’t want to marry any of the men on my grandfather’s list. I want to marry a man of my choosing, even if it’s a man I don’t particularly like or even want all that much, but at least it’s my decision for my own reasons.
“I can handle that,” he says softly.
“Wait—you can? Really?”
“It’s a fair trade. I’ll take care of your mother and in exchange, you’ll be my wife and you’ll help me get what I want. It sounds like a good deal for both of us.”
“Are you sure? I mean, do you really get what you’re agreeing to?”
He laughs gently and reaches out to touch my thigh. A tingle runs down into my core and I squirm nervously, but he’s staring at me, his wine glass at his lips. “I knowexactlywhat I want, Kat, and exactly what I’m agreeing to.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say and look down at his hand. “You don’t have to—pretend.”
“Pretend what?”
“To want me. This is a business arrangement, right? We’ll work together and build a life but there doesn’t have to be—” I stare at the way his fingers brush up my thigh, getting closer and closer, until I hurriedly push him away.
“If I’m going to have you, I’m going tohave you. This deal involves children.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Children. Heirs. Me and you.”
“That means we’ll—” I take a long pull of my drink and finish it off. The thought of actually havingsexwith this man makes my cheeks turn bright pink. But of course, that’s what he wants—everyone in our world wants children to carry on the family name. That’s the bare minimum that will be expected of me.
“Yes, Kat, that means we’ll sleep together. Specifically, you’ll sleep in my bed every single night and I’ll fuck you when I wantto. I’ll taste you, Kat, and I’ll enjoy every minute of it, especially when you end up with my children in your belly. So let me ask you this, doyouunderstand what you’re getting into?”
My mouth is hanging open. He’s looking at me with utter sincerity and my head’s spinning through a thousand images right now. Me in his bed, me sleeping with him under the covers, his hands on my body, his mouth on mine, his mouth between my legs, his groans as he fills me—
And children. From him. Actual babies.
It scares the hell out of me.
It truly scares me to death.
But I have to do this. Mom needs me right now. Grandfather’s going to throw her from the family, if not this time then the next time or the time after that, and I can’t sit around and wait for it to happen.
“I understand,” I whisper.
