Rush (Breathless #1)(18)

“Exactly.”

She was starting to lighten, some of the worry evaporating. There was a tinge of excitement that tugged at her as she contemplated being so close to something she’d desired ever since she’d been a teenager on the cusp of womanhood.

“Is there anything more?” he asked, staring expectantly at her.

She nodded and then drew in a deep breath. He may or may not take her next condition well. But it was something she refused to budge on.

“There’s an entire paragraph devoted to the issue of my fidelity. However, there’s nothing about you being faithful to me.”

Amusement glimmered in his eyes. “That’s important to you.”

“Hell yes,” she said with more force than she intended. “If that contract says I’m yours, then by God it’s going to say you belong to me.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “All right. I have no issue with adding that clause. Now, are we done?”

Slowly she shook her head. “There’s one other thing. And it’s pretty huge. The most important part of any agreement we strike.”

He leaned back a bit, his brows coming together as he studied her. “It sounds like a potential deal breaker for you.”

She nodded. “It is.”

“I’m listening.”

“If we do this thing…Jace can never know. The truth, I mean.”

She hastened to add on because she didn’t like the look on Gabe’s face, “It’s not what you think. I’m not ashamed of you or anything. But if Jace knew everything, he’d never accept it. You have to have given this thought, Gabe. You can’t have made this kind of proposal without thinking of what it could do not only to your friendship but your business relationship. Jace would never understand. To him I’m still his baby sister, someone he’s hugely overprotective of. Hell, he still runs a background check on anyone I date.”

“I would hope so,” Gabe growled.

“Can you imagine his reaction if he were to find out about us in the kind of relationship you’re proposing?”

“I had no intention of him knowing the private details of our affair,” Gabe said in a calm voice. “All he needs to know is that you’re working for me. I am discreet if nothing else. I have no desire for my private life to be blasted all over the media as it was when Lisa and I divorced. People can speculate all they want, but I refuse to give them irrefutable knowledge.”

“Jace won’t take speculation well,” she murmured. “And I don’t want to lie to him.”

“You’ll only lie by omission. And if we’re discreet, the only speculation will be whether we’re having an affair. Jace understands gossip. He’ll know you’re working for me, and that will fuel rumors. As long as we don’t give him reason to suspect differently, he’ll only be angry that rumors circulate at all and he’ll be very quick to put out those fires.”

“I understand. It’s just that if I’m supposed to spend all my time with you, that won’t work. I have my own apartment. I have friends…”

She trailed off, realizing she was already on the defensive before they’d even embarked on their affair. She hated that word. She wished Gabe hadn’t used it. It sounded so…sordid. Like he was married and she was his mistress on the side. As if she were his dirty secret, and she supposed in a twisted way that it was just the opposite. He was her dirty little secret.

“You have a choice to make, Mia,” he said, a harder edge to his voice. “I’m not forcing you to agree to this. But if you do, I expect compliance. We’ll work around the obstacles. I’m not saying you won’t have time for your other interests. Just that my interests will come first.”

His arrogance should so get her back up. It should annoy the hell out of her, but she found it so sexy and so irresistible that it sent butterflies winging through her belly.

“You don’t expect me to move in…?”

“No. I understand you must maintain the appearance of having your own apartment if Jace isn’t to know that we’re lovers. But you will spend a lot of time with me at the place of my choosing. Caroline can cover you with Jace, surely.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know about Caroline?”

He smiled then, his eyes gleaming with that predatory light. “There isn’t much I don’t know about you, Mia.”

She bit the inside of her cheek in consternation. She hadn’t ever imagined that Gabe had paid her much attention at all. Yes, he gave her gifts for special occasions. He’d attended both her graduations. But she hadn’t imagined that he knew any of the personal details of her life. Why would he bother? She was just the little sister of his best friend. A passing acquaintance and someone he saw in conjunction with Jace.

She was beginning to realize that Gabe had had a much keener interest in her, dating back longer than she could have imagined. She didn’t know whether to be alarmed or triumphant over that fact.

“So what is your answer?” he prompted. “Do we have an agreement? Have I allayed your fears or do you have other concerns to bring up?”

She could sense the impatience in his voice. He looked just as he did when wrapping up an important business deal. Hard. Unyielding. And uncompromising. Only he had compromised. He’d made concessions she hadn’t truly thought he’d make, and that comforted her. It made her feel like the balance of power wasn’t quite so out of her favor.