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The word fell froe even before Stefan processed Clio’s outrageous proposition The very thought of tying himself to a woman, any woman, filled his veins with ice

And to someone like Clio, whoht

Rubbing his hand over his jaw, he looked up at her

Desperation and so else danced beneath the steady look she cast hiers as she settled thehtly she was holding on

Her hair was beginning to fall away froht knot at the back of her head Still dressed in the black sleeveless dress that somehow leached all the color from her face, he knew she had come to him directly from the party

Had soth to come to him

He shoved away the protectiveness that rose like a storm within him, to be discerned later

It had been a while since a woman had surprised him with her words or actions

The fact that it was Clio, a woman he had written off as a lost cause, intensified the surprise

“As te myself with a woman romantically, bella Even for a pretense Even for a few ood to the woman who occupies that role in my life, Clio”

Her chin tilted down, but there was deteraze “It’s just a pretense, Stefan I won’t ask anything of you”

“No”

“Then you get nothing froaze flashed with deter no to, I’m a board member on his company

“Of course, I have been nothing but a figurehead all these years but at least it’s unrestricted access To his company’s finances, his bank accounts, even his offshore investments”

“Anything shady ever caught your interest?”

She shook her head “I’ve never had reason to doubt him”

“The minute the media links my name with you even in a whisper, Jackson will shut you out You’ll be of no use to me Our antipathy is mutual”