Flash

catch bullets in his teeth.
    "It's a deal," he said. "We leave the filing in the office."

    Olivia opened her eyes and looked at the glowing numerals on the bedside clock. Two in the morning.
    She sat straight up in bed. "Good grief, Jasper, I just realized we
can't
possibly get married."
    Beside her, Jasper groaned into his pillow. He did not turn over.
    She looked at him. The city lights showed her that he was sprawled on his stomach. She could see his sleek, bare shoulders above the tide line of the sheet. His dark hair was rumpled from sleep.
    "Jasper? Did you hear me?"
    "Uh-huh."
    "Say something."
    There was a short pause before he finally mumbled more words into the pillow. "Okay. Why can't we get married?"
    She frowned. "Everyone will think I'm marrying you because of Glow."
    "You already own forty-nine percent of the company," he muttered with what sounded like weary patience.
    "Forty-nine percent is not a controlling interest. People will naturally assume that I'm marrying you in order to exert more control over the company."
    There was another brief silence, as if Jasper was trying to work through the logic of her statement.
    "By controlling me?" he finally asked on a yawn.
    "Yes. Exactly."
    "Is that why you agreed to marry me?"
    "Of course not."
    "Good." He sounded as if he was about to slide back into sleep. " 'Cause it would be kind of a bad idea."
    That gave her pause.
    "Are you implying that, as your wife, I won't be able to exert a little influence over you?" she asked very sweetly.
    "You'll be able to exert all kinds of influence over me," he mumbled. "I can't wait to be influenced by you. I fantasize about being influenced by you. I yearn to be influenced by you. My secret goal since the day we met is to be influenced by you."
    "Hmm."
    "Can I go back to sleep now?"
    "You're not taking this problem very seriously, are you?"
    "No," he admitted into the pillow. "Probably because I don't see a problem here."
    "Spoken like a real CEO."
    "Hey, that's why I get the corner office and the big—"
    "Oh, no, you don't." She pounced, leaping astride his back and seizing his shoulders. "If you say one more word about big offices, big bucks, or corner windows, I swear I will—"
    "Squeeze me a little tighter with your thighs?" he asked hopefully. "You could really exert a lot of influence if you did that."
    She dissolved into helpless giggles.
    Jasper surged up off the bed, dislodging her and sending her tumbling back onto the pillows. He leaned over her, eyes gleaming in the shadows.
    "I thought you wanted to go back to sleep."
    "For some reason," he said as he lowered his head, "I'm wide awake now."
    A last flicker of unease went through her. She braced her hands on his shoulders to hold him off for a moment while she made one last attempt to get him to see reason.
    "Jasper, we really should talk about how a marriage between us will affect the business side of things."
    "Screw the business side of things." He kissed her throat. "You know what your problem is?"
    She gasped when she felt his hand slide between her legs. "No. What is my problem?"
    "You lack a certain sense of spontaneity."
    "Is that so?" She clenched her fingers in his hair.
    "Yeah, but don't worry about it. I've got enough for both of us."
    "Yes," she whispered a moment later when he eased himself into her body. "You certainly do."

    She woke up again at three-thirty. This time she did not rouse Jasper for a discussion of their future relationship. She had the impression he was not interested in another conversation on the subject so she conducted the argument silently in her own head.
    All that stuff about not being able to marry him because people would think you're doing it to secure Glows future was garbage, wasn't it?
    Yes.
    An excuse. Not the reason you just woke up in a cold sweat again.
    True.
    What's the real issue here?
    I'm scared.
    Why? You said you didn't want another marriage of convenience. Neither does Jasper. Both of you know what a marriage based on mutual business interests looks like from the inside. Whatever else this would be, it wouldn't be the kind of relationship you had with Logan.
    So, why does Jasper want to get married?
    He told you, he likes a well-organized life. An affair seems messy and disorganized to him.
    You can't marry a man just because he thinks marriage is more tidy than an affair.
    Why not?
    It's not a good reason for marriage, that's all.
    How do you know? You've never tried it.
    I just know.
    What is a