“Anything?” Her eyes widened.
“Anything,” I clarified.
“I’ve heard the Trials aren’t easy,” she said softly.
“That’s an understatement. They're going to try to push both of us to quit early. They’re going to humiliate you, treat you like no woman deserves to be treated, and they’re going to push my moral compass beyond what I may be able to handle.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “We don’t quit. No matter what.”
I leaned back in my chair and took in the woman before me. Such determination. Such fire. And for the first time since choosing her, I actually believed she may be the right one. She seemed to have the fight and spunk in her needed for us to beat the Elders at this twisted game.
“I hope you mean that,” I said. “I want this just as badly as you. My family’s empire is at stake. My heritage, my future. I need this to all go smoothly.”
“What’s your family empire?”
“We own Radcliffe Jewelers and Imports. If I make it until the end, I not only become a member of the Order of the Silver Ghost, but I take control over the business.”
She whistled. “Man, you must be one wealthy motherfucker.” She laughed as she looked around the room. “I’m in your world now. I’m blind here, so you’re going to have to be my eyes.”
I nodded, appreciating that she realized this fact. “I plan to. My friend, Montgomery Kingston, who just recently went through and completed his Initiation, said the only way we’re going to succeed is if we trust each other and work together as a team.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” she snapped.
“And I don’t work as a team. Solo is my usual choice.”
She huffed and pushed back in her chair and crossed her arms against her chest. “I guess we are going to have to change.”
“Or figure out how to modify.” I nodded as I picked up the contract and walked it over to her. “Ready to sign?”
She took the pen from my hand, scanned the contract and signed her name, although it took her a minute to do so as if figuring out her signature was a hard thing to do. I was pretty sure she wasn’t used to signing contracts.
“Done,” she said, handing me the pen. “Partner.”
5
Abilene
There was no time written on the invitation we’d received a little after noon several days later, but as soon as the sun set, Beau shut the lid on his laptop. After barely saying a word throughout the day, he finally looked my way and declared, “It’s time. Get ready. Strip down.”
Real warm guy, this one.
It was like some switch had flipped in him. He was nothing like the dominant, flirtatious man who’d demanded my attention in the bar that night so long ago now. I still remembered how he’d approached me on the dance floor, put his hands on my body and danced in a way that promised he knew exactly what to do with me before he whispered in my ear that he’d like to take me home.
I mean, I guess it wasn’t exactly true that he was nothing like the guy I’d met that night. He was still as dominant as fuck.
He just wasn’t interested in me anymore.
Did it hurt my pride? A little, sure. But I wasn’t here because of hurt pride. No, I was here for a much more important reason.
And it was time to get my head in the game.
I needed to get the full measure of the man that Beau Radcliffe was. And then decide how best to work him to get exactly what I wanted.
I would be in control of this situation start to finish.
Life had fucked me from the day daddy dearest split and then my mother decided the bastard meant more to her than her own fucking life—or me, a defenseless little six-year-old kid.
I was just a little too gangly and anxiety-ridden, which erupted in behavior problems, to be adoption material after she offed herself.
So I bounced from group home to foster home back to group home—from one shit situation to another.
But my sad-sack story days were over.
I was here now. Everything was about to change. Because I was going to fucking change it. I narrowed my eyes at Beau as I pulled my leggings and underwear off, kicking them to the side. Since there was nothing else to do all day, I’d spent an extensive amount of time in the shower shaving and lotioning myself until my skin glowed. I looked fabulous naked.
Beau didn’t even glance in my direction. Bastard.
I frowned but then shrugged and turned around and bent over leisurely to pick my leggings off the floor, ass out and extended. I didn’t glance back to see if that caught his attention. I had three months here. I could play the long game.
Plus, flirting with him now was really just a means of distraction as much as anything else. Yes, I was always on alert, trying to pick up any and every detail I could about him, but I was also nervous about tonight. If a little flirting could take my mind off what was coming, well, all the better.