A Marriage Fit for a Sinner

He shifted in his seat. If she hadn’t known that he didn’t possess an ounce of humility, she’d have thought he was uneasy. ‘I don’t detest the whole echelon. Just those who think they have a right to lord it over others simply because of their pedigree. And, of course, those who think they can get around the laws that ordinary people have to live by.’

‘What about me? Surely you can’t hate me simply because our relationship didn’t work out?’

‘Was that what we had—a relationship?’ he sneered. ‘I thought it was a means for you to facilitate your father’s plans.’

‘What? You think I had something to do with my father scapegoating you?’

‘Perhaps you weren’t privy to his whole plan like your sister was. But the timing of it all was a little too convenient, don’t you think? You walked away three days before I was charged, with a flimsy excuse after an even flimsier row. What was it? Oh, yes, you didn’t want to marry a man like me?’

She surged to her feet, her insides going cold. ‘You think I staged the whole thing? Need I remind you that you were the one who initiated our first meeting? That you were the one to ask me out?’

‘An event carefully orchestrated by your father, of course. Do you know why I was at Siren that night?’

‘Will you believe me if I said no?’

‘I was supposed to meet your father and two of his investors there. Except none of them showed.’

She frowned. ‘That’s not possible. My father hates that I sing. He hates it even more that I work in a nightclub. I don’t think he even knows where Siren is.’

‘And yet he suggested it. Highly recommended it, in fact.’

The idea that her father had engineered their first meeting coated her mouth with bitterness. He’d used her strong loyalty to their family to manipulate her long before she’d taken a stand and moved out of Pennington Manor. But this further evidence showed a meticulousness that made her blood run cold.

‘Were you even a virgin back then?’ Zaccheo sliced at her.

The question brought her back to earth. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Or was it a ploy to sweeten the deal?’

‘I didn’t know you existed until you parked yourself in front of the stage that night!’

‘Maybe not. But you must’ve known who I was soon after. Isn’t that what women do these days? A quick internet search while they’re putting on their make-up to go on the first date?’

Eva couldn’t stop her guilty flush because it was exactly what she’d done. But not with the reprehensible intentions he’d implied. Zaccheo’s all-consuming interest in her had seemed too good to be true. She’d wanted to know more about the compelling man who’d zeroed in on her with such unnerving interest.

What she’d found was a long list of conquests ranging from supermodels to famous sports stars. She’d been so intimidated, she’d carefully kept her inexperience under wraps. It was that desperately embarrassing need to prove her sophistication that had led to her boldly accepting his dare to perform oral sex on him on his thirtieth birthday. She’d been so anxious, she’d bungled it even before she’d unfastened his belt. In the face of his wry amusement, she’d blurted her inexperience.

The inexperience he was now denouncing as a ploy.

‘I don’t care what you think. All I care about is that I know what I’m letting myself in for now. I know exactly the type of man you are.’ One whose ruthless ambition was all he cared about.

He regarded her for several tense seconds. ‘Then this won’t surprise you too much.’ He slid a thick burgundy folder across to her. ‘It’s a prenuptial agreement. On the first page you’ll find a list of independent lawyers who can guide you through the legalese should you require it. The terms are non-negotiable. You have twenty-four hours to read and sign it.’

She glanced from him to the folder, her mouth dropping open in shock. ‘Why would I need a prenup? I’ve agreed to your demands. Isn’t this overkill?’

‘My lawyers go spare if I don’t get everything in writing. Besides, there are a few items in there we haven’t discussed yet.’

Something in his voice made her skin prickle. Her belly quaked as she turned the first page of the thick document. The first few clauses were about general schedules and routines, making herself available for his engagements within reason, how many homes he owned and her duty to oversee the running of them, and his expectation of her availability to travel with him on his business trips should he require it.