Page 5 of His Surprise Fiancée

“Why is that?” he asked refilling her glass of wine.

“Because if I were truly engaged and the man happened to be the personification of a Greek god brought to life, I would be quite uncomfortable with a sexy tall woman being that close to him day in and day out, five days a week.”

“You wouldn’t trust your lover not to betray you?” he questioned letting his fingers trace the line of her neck.

“I would never get engaged to or marry someone I didn’t trust but why tempt fate with a woman who tans easily, can wear nearly anything without fear, and quite obviously doesn’t discriminate with whom she shares her time? I would want to know that when I was home with the children, and he was away on business the only things on his mind would be business and a desperate need to get back home to me.”

Stefano felt her words turn him on and he wanted to reach out, caress her fully as his lips covered hers, his tongue melding and twining with hers, until their bodies twined together intimately. There was something so sensual, yet so fresh and innocent about her that made him want to step up his ploy and have their wedding sooner rather than later.

“You want children?” he asked trying to avoid the biggest thought of bed and her.

“Yes at least two, growing up as an only child is lonely. I want two, close in age, so they can be there for each other, but I will never allow them to behave like…”

“Like Demetrius and Kyra?” he guessed when she stopped.

“I believe Demetrius encouraged me simply to irritate Kyra.”

“He might have, but mostly it was because he loved the attention. He didn’t deserve it then and he certainly won’t discover it now, will he?” Stefano questioned lifting a brow at her making her sigh as he spied a few business associates across the room eyeing them. He lifted her hand into his kissing her palm as he watched her eyes.

“No, I outgrew him long ago.”

“When?”

“I knew it wasn’t anything more than infatuation when I spent six months in Paris and felt the same way about two or three men I met there.”

“Please tell me you didn’t slip into their beds wearing nothing to wait for them,” he said quietly, his words even as his free hand gripped the wineglass tightly where it sat on the table praying his people hadn’t been wrong or slow in stopping her from giving into passion.

“No, I didn’t sleep with them. I blamed you for that,” she added making his brow lift again.

“Why is that?”

“Because a simple reminder of how you treated me that night was enough to keep me from doing something rash, my mother would love to know that you were the best birth control possible. She worried that being in the city and especially spending semesters in London and Paris would change who I was, make me worldly in the wrong way.”

“But it didn’t?” he asked unable to stop from touching her as he lifted her chin to look at him fully, releasing the wineglass as he kept hold of her hand.

“No, the thought of someone saying any of what you did to me that night made me firm in my decision regarding sex and my future,” she admitted as his fingers caressed her cheek.

“What decision?”

“To stay a virgin until I married,” she said, and he let out a low groan of relief, barely audible to her ears as his lips covered hers with a slow, tantalizing kiss.

“What was that for?” she questioned when his mouth lifted from hers.

“We’re being watched by two of the highest associates at the bank holding the company’s investments,” he answered as he sighed pulling back when he knew he couldn’t resist from pushing if he let it linger any further. “Don’t change Hailey; don’t ever let a man treat you as Demetrius did.”

“I wouldn’t dare Stefano. If someone comes into my life like him, I hear you that night and despise myself all over again. Part of me thanks you for it, but mostly, I hate you and I don’t think that will ever change.” She was not about to let him play with her any more than she would let his brother play with her emotions.

“We shall see,” he mused giving her a soft kiss as the waiter neared them. “I only do what is necessary to save you from yourself, from mistakes that will haunt you.”

“So instead of Demetrius haunting me I have you inside my head at all times—is that truly a fair tradeoff?” she asked lifting a brow at him.

“We shall see,” he said again, and she knew he would never admit that he was wrong that night that what he’d said had truly been cruel and unnecessary rather than simply harsh. Then again, what did it matter? She wasn’t with him, truly with him. It was just a pretense to keep Demetrius from her and her from making another huge mistake.

Chapter 3

“H

ailey, Mr. Jordan wants to see you again,” Elizabeth stated, poking her head around the door of her office. “Anything you want to tell me here, such as should we be prepared to have massive firings, or has Jacob been avoiding you for another reason, such as a massive rock sitting there on your hand…”

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