Page 48 of Ivory Ashes

“You want to be my assistant and my wife?”

She flips the end of her golden braid over her shoulder. “I earned that position on my own and I’m good at it. I don’t want to give up everything in my life just to play house with you.”

“You can be on the board of directors. No wife of mine is going to work as a?—”

“Then get another wife,” she snaps.

I’m up and around the desk before I know it. Viviana’s gaze doesn’t waver, even as her throat bobs nervously and I crowd into her, pressing her back against the closed door. “You know, I could if I wanted,” I breathe in her face. “It would be easy to replace you.”

Technically speaking, I already have a fiancée on deck.

“If you wanted to,” she admits with a nod. Her tongue sweeps across her lower lip slowly. I’m not even sure she knows what she’s doing. If she does, she’s too good at it. “But you don’t want to replace me.”

No. No, I don’t.

But why the fuck not?

“Why should I care who takes my last name? It’s not like I’ll get any of the benefits out of you.” I scrape my eyes down her curves to highlight exactly which benefits I’m talking about.

“Is that all marriage is to you? Sex?”

“Not this marriage. No, this marriage is business. And I can make this same arrangement with any woman I choose.”

“How charming.”

“It’s just a fact,” I tell her. “I could have any woman I wanted, but I’m vowing to give your son a father and an inheritance while also taking care of you. You won’t get another offer like this.”

She works her jaw back and forth as she thinks. Finally, she narrows her eyes. “I don’t want to be on the board of directors. You’re going to scare them all to death so they just agree with you anyway. I want to keep my job.”

So fucking stubborn.

I could refuse and promote her anyway. It’s not as if she’d really be able to refuse. But the idea of her sitting directly outside my office every day isn’t completely unappealing.

Because I’ll be able to keep an eye on her, of course. It’s logical. Undeniable.

“You have a deal.”

I hold out my hand and Viviana takes it.

Her fingers are warm and soft. Before I can stop myself, I tighten my hold and pull her close.

She slams against my chest with a yelp and I bend her back, my lips against the shell of her ear.

“Just don’t fall in love with me, Viviana.”

“No danger of that.” She shoves against my chest and scrambles away. Her face is flushed and her hands are shaking. “So, what now?”

I smirk. “We get married.”

18

MIKHAIL

“Now?” Viviana looks from me to the priest and back again. “You want to get married right now?”

“I don’t see the need to wait.”

Anatoly and Raoul are standing in the back corner of the sitting room. The two of them wrangled a priest and got City Hall to fast-track a marriage certificate in the last twelve hours. Their job is done here, but Anatoly will never forgive me if I don’t let him stand in the room as my best man.

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