Page 15 of Cruel Ice

“I’m hiring you,” Declan told her. “Full-time. While we are together, I will be the only client you have. So any others will need to get the news that you are off the market.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll give them that news.” She coughed. “Don’t you want to know my rates first?”

“I’ll pay you three grand a day. Meals and lodging will be provided.”

She coughed again. Or maybe choked. Declan wondered if he should lean forward and pat her on the back. He even lifted his hand to help.

“Three grand a day?That’s like…twenty-one thousand for seven days.”

Yes, it was exactly like that. “Is it not enough?”

Her eyes doubled in size. “Dude, I will do the job for twenty-five bucks an hour, plus expenses. You do not need to overpay me. Keep the cash.”

Why? “I have plenty of cash.”

Her wide-eyed stare swept the limo. “Clearly. But I am not taking advantage of you.”

Is that what she thought was happening? So very wrong. “Three grand a day. You move into my world. You stay close to me. We hunt the kidnappers together.” There was no way he was letting Marley out of his sight. Not even if he had to chain her to his side. Which was exactly what he was doing, in his way. “In case you missed it, I have money to burn.”

“Yeah, but I’m not a fire, so don’t throw money on me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you’re not going to stay a billionaire if you are so careless with your cash.”

She fascinated him. “Are you always this blunt with people?”

“No. Usually I don’t call people idiots when they try to hire me. I tell them that they are geniuses.” A huff. “Look, I’m taking the job. Iwantthe job. Finding these guys and stopping them is my goal.” Her lips pulled down. “Honestly, I’d hunt them even if you weren’t hiring me.”

Yes, he’d rather feared she would. Thus, the job offer. “You’ll need to move in with me.”

“What?”

“Move in. With me.” Was that clear enough? He thought he’d enunciated things very well. “While we are in town, you’ll stay in my hotel suite. Don’t worry, it has two bedrooms.” Unfortunately. “No one-bed situation.”

“Uh, good to know.”

“And if we travel to Chicago, my estate has ample rooms.”

“Ample, right. Check.”

“Where I go, you go. And, of course, if any reporters get too curious about what’s happening and why you’re so close, we’ll just provide the handy cover story you already created for us.”Hello, my lovely fiancée.

Her pink tongue swiped along her lower lip.

And his gaze became absolutely locked on her mouth.Oh, the places I want that sweet mouth to be.

“Can’t we just admit that fiancée stuff was BS? Tell everyone I’m a PI? I’m sure some enterprising person will pull up my job info, anyway.”

He wondered what she would taste like.

“Uh, Declan?”

His gaze slowly rose so that he could get lost in that dark stare of hers again. “You’re going to marry me.”

Her brows rose.

“That’s the cover story we are telling everyone. It will allow you to move in all of my circles. To be with me at every moment. No one will think I’m just moving a junior PI into my life. But they’d buy that I was moving my new obsession in close to me.”

Obsession.A slip of the tongue.

She bit her lower lip. Dammit. And his eyes were right back on her mouth.I want to taste her.

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