Page 20 of Beautiful Enemy

But he doesn’t need to know that.

“And if you don’t?”

“I don’t get paid. But when you make money, I make money.”

Something nudges at my thigh, and I look down to see Barney inserting himself between us, tail wagging.

“Ten percent,” Harrison replies as I bend down to scratch the dog’s head.

“Twenty. And I’m moving to alternative accommodations.”

“Fifteen, you stay, plus I get three requests of my choosing.”

The evenness of his voice has my jaw dropping. This man acts as if he always gets his way.

“What kind of requests?”

“Any requests,” he says impatiently. “If I want you to clean the pool using your thong as a filter, you will.”

My hands fist at my sides. “You’re a pig. Clean your own damn pool.”

Harrison turns away. “Then there’s no deal.”

The dismissal is swift and brutal.

I don’t understand his endgame. One more mystery about the already-confusing man before me.

But I know that what he wants is to put me in a corner.

“These requests don’t involve other people,” I say at last, and his head cocks.

“Only you.”

The way he says those two words makes me shiver.

“Eighteen, plus favors,” I counter.

His blue gaze is intense enough I feel my ribs crack.

We shake, and electricity runs up my arm at his touch.

He pulls away first. “I’ll have my solicitor send a new copy of the contract. I expect your signature by the end of the day. Along with my jacket.”

My head snaps up to meet his mocking expression. “You knew you’d get it back. That’s why you gave it to me.”

“It’s Brioni.” He says it as if it’s an answer.

“You’re unbelievable. Controlling, demanding, manipulative… No wonder your fiancée left you.”

His fist clenches around the leash in his hand, and when he speaks, his voice is dangerously low and quiet. “Be careful what you say when you still want things from me.”

A knock on the door is followed by the housekeeper’s immediate entrance.

“Ah,perdón!” she gushes when she sees us. “I see you and Señor King are getting more acquainted.” She’s either oblivious to the tension or ignores it. “I thought señorita would like to know her suitcase is in her room.”

My heart leaps. “The airline found it?”

“No,” Harrison intervenes. “The contents were spilled when we retrieved them, but I trust everything is there.”

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