“I can’t believe your grandfather is forcing you to marry just to maintain control of McKay Corporation. It’s so middle ages,” she grumbled, suddenly feeling a personal stake in this.
Ryan cracked a smile and Faith sucked in a breath. Gone was the austere businessman, replaced instead by a charming, incredibly handsome man. Her heart picked up its frantic pace again.
He was a heartbreaker. He could literally break hers if she let emotions enter into this relationship. Admittedly, she was attracted to him, but what happened if she fell in love? Could her heart take a chance on caring for someone who didn’t have the capacity to care back? And what about sex?
“What about sex?” he asked.
Had she said that last sentence out loud? Oh, no—she had! “Excuse me?”
“You asked me about sex. What do you want to know about it?”
Quickly she looked for an emergency of some sort that would untangle her foot from her errant mouth. Even a small trash fire would do. Nothing. “Um, I assume we’ll be having it?”
He nodded, his wicked smile blowing away the darkness in his eyes, revealing the passion she’d always suspected lurked underneath. Only it had never been directed at her. Until now.
“Yes, Faith, we’ll have to have sex to make a baby. Starting tonight.”
A tingle began at her throat and moved steadily downward, touching every female part of her. For the first time in her life she was aware of herself as a woman and flushed with sudden heat. Her mind went into sexual overdrive, imagining the two of them twined together under satin sheets, sharing intimate whispers and caresses until…
Oh, no, this would never do. She couldn’t possibly make love with him. She needed time. Time to steel her heart against falling in love.
“That won’t work for me.”
He flashed her a devastating grin. “Kind of hard to fulfill the terms of the agreement without the sex part.”
“I could be inseminated,” she blurted, then cringed. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at the thought. So clinical. But, still—sex with Ryan McKay?
“No, we can’t. Have you forgotten? Grandfather specified that conception could occur only by natural means, unless medically indicated.”
“Right. I forgot. Anyway, I’m not ready for that to happen…tonight.”
Would she ever be ready?
“This isn’t your typical situation, Faith. There are no rules about how long we have to be together. We’re not going to date for several months and do things the traditional way.”
“I know, but—”
“It’s strictly business, with sex thrown in the mix. And sex is nothing more than biology, anyway.”
The smoky heat of his gaze traveling over her body felt as tangible as if he’d actually touched her. She was grateful for the heavy suit of wool armor she wore, effectively masking the instant hardening of her ni**les.
Her body had picked a fine time to come to sexual life. “I need some time, Ryan. I’m not accustomed to…to…”
“Not accustomed to having sex?” His eyes held a teasing gleam.
“That’s not what I meant at all.” How could she have let this subject come up?
“You have had sex before, haven’t you?”
She shot back without thinking. “Of course I have. Lots of times!”
“Faith.” He raised stern brows, daring her to lie. A pointless tactic on his part. She was never good at it anyway.
“Yes?” She contemplated her hands, clasped tightly together in her lap.
“Don’t avoid the subject. Have you had sex before?”
She couldn’t answer. It was too embarrassing.
“You’re a virgin.”
Could the day get any worse? How much more humiliation could she suffer? She nodded, mortified that he’d figured it out without her admission.
“Good God, Faith, why?”
“I was waiting.”
“For what? The next millennium?”
For what, indeed. For a man, obviously. She’d never even had a serious boyfriend. She’d tried the dating thing a few times, but failed miserably.
And now, hearing it from Ryan, she felt more than a little ridiculous.
A twenty-six-year-old virgin. About to marry a man who had probably bedded more women than she cared to know about.
“I was waiting for love. For the right man. I don’t know. I was just waiting.” She stood and walked to the window, the lights of Las Vegas mocking her. They were towering glitz and glamour, offering up every delicious sin available to anyone who wanted it. She was short, plain and undesirable, with absolutely nothing of value to offer.
He stepped behind her, his breath blowing against her neck. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s endearing. Refreshing, actually.”
“It’s pathetic.” She felt miserable, not endearing. Something so personal, so intimate, and of all the people in the world to find out about it, it had to be Ryan.
He touched her shoulders lightly, and sparks flew. A shock, a tingle and then heat.
“It’s not pathetic. Turn around and look at me.”
She couldn’t. He forced her by gently turning her shoulders. She lifted her lashes, expecting to see the ridicule in his eyes, but found only compassion. And interest.
“I think you need to consider this proposal more seriously.” He looked at his watch for the millionth time in the past hour. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
He was giving her an out. She could decline the offer and still keep her job.
But in five years she’d never let Ryan McKay down. And she wasn’t going to let a silly thing like her virginity stand in the way. Besides, wasn’t it about time she had a life? Granted, this wasn’t quite what she had in mind, but it beat sitting in her apartment reading books every night.
So he didn’t love her. So what? Did she have a better offer sitting on the table at the moment? Any prospects? Hardly. And this was her chance to gain a little experience—check that—knowing what she knew about Ryan, a lot of experience, in the sex department. She had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. As long as she remembered that this was a business deal only. As long as she remembered to guard her heart.
“There’s nothing further to consider, Mr. McKay. As you stated, this is strictly business. Let’s go back to the contract, shall we?”