Page 91 of Tell Me Lies

“I guess the real question is how much do you love these dogs? Do you want them to be sent away or possibly killed?”

Emily rubbed at her temples. “What do you want? Name it, it’s yours, but you have to leave the dogs alone, and you have to agree to keep the shelter on this land.”

This made him smile.

He placed the dog inside its cage. He’d never met a dog who fit him so well.

“How about we make a deal then?” Dalton asked.

“Another deal?”

“Come to my new office.” He closed Zero’s cage, and it took him a second to walk away. That dog shouldn’t be locked in that cage.

Jude had already given him a tour of the land. They had done it a few days ago. Dalton wanted to know everything about Emily, and he’d done it secretly, pretending to be investing in the area.

When he’d first stepped into Jude’s office, he’d looked around at the seven filing cabinets. Jude had promised to leave everything for him to deal with. He’d also been told that Emily was the best one to come to for any information about the setup.

It was a short walk back to the shelter’s little office. He sat in what used to be Jude’s large desk chair, looking up at Emily. She stood on the other side of the desk, her face pale.

“Now, down to business. How would you like to have the opportunity of a lifetime?” he asked, steepling his fingers.

“Why don’t you cut the crap, Dalton? Just tell me what you want.”

This made him smile even more.

Leaning forward, he put his hands on the desk. “I’m willing to give this to you, Emily. You can have it all. The land, the dogs, and the money. I’ll make sure you have an allowance every month, and you’ll want for nothing. All of this will be yours.”

Emily frowned. “You’re willing to give me the whole shelter and to help fund it?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want in return?”

“Ah, so you understand that everyone and everything has a price.”

“I know you require a price. What do you want?”

“It’s simple.” He stood up and rounded the desk. After grabbing her left hand, he ran his thumb across that most important finger.

“Dalton? What do you want?”

“I want you to marry me.”

This made her jerk back. She tried to pull her hand away but he wouldn’t let her go.

“Marry you?” she asked. “You can’t be serious. Why would you want to marry me? You’re already getting sex out of me, why marriage?”

She was so adorable when she was confused and he loved it.

“Why not? Like you said, you’re nothing like your mother. You’re a virgin. You can consider this your wedding present. That means you are mine in every way, and with you taking my name, it will mean I own you.”

“And you’ll give me the shelter?”

“Yes. A wedding present. You can take care of the dogs, or you can do whatever the hell you want with them. Make it an investment if you’d like.”

He knew she wouldn’t do that. The Emily he knew would never sacrifice dogs for her own gain.

“All you’ve got to do is marry me. What do you say, Emily? You want to marry that bully you hate so much and become mine?”

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