Damn it, Devil Delancy was doing what he always did.  Mercilessly wrestling control from his competition and taking it for himself.  Since she was his opponent this time and the deal on the table was for her life, she wasn’t real thrilled when he smirked confidently at her.  The bastard knew he’d stunned her with his honesty.  And while she’d doubted him last night… and this morning… and maybe even when she’d arrived here tonight...she recognized now that for whatever reason, Devil had chosen not to become intimate with any of his lady friends in the last year. 

He didn’t outright lie.  Ever.

It was like he could read the panic in her eyes.  Hell, he probably could.  Devil was quite adept at cutting through the bullshit and getting to the heart of the matter.  Only, today, the heart in question was hers, and she refused to casually hand it over into his care. Nuh uh. 

He might not lie, but he could be as manipulative as Satan himself.

The problem was, though, that she could see he wanted her.  Maybe she was a novelty… the one woman who didn’t make it a habit to fall at his feet and worship him.  That had to be it.  She was a challenge to him – a complicated puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. 

Too freaking bad.

She wasn’t interested in being his diversion. The only reason she was even agreeing to this crazy plan was Nana.  The sweet, old woman deserved to die in peace, free from the worry that her insufferable grandson would never find lasting love.  If she could help ease his grandmother’s suffering, then she was duty bound to assist him in this crazy plan he had.

But that was it. 

She was going to be a wife for hire, not his personal sex kitten.  Her libido whined at that thought, but she steadfastly ignored the cries.  A girl had her standards, after all.

“Molly?” Devil smiled faintly.  “You wanted to talk about the terms of our marriage, didn’t you?” he reminded her dryly.

“Damn right,” she grumbled under her breath, straightening her shoulders as she pulled her notebook closer.  “I guess the first thing we need to discuss is the length of this so-called marriage.”

“Oh, it won’t be a so-called marriage, Molly,” Devil corrected evenly.  “It’s going to be an actual marriage.  So real that anyone who looks our way will envy how happy and devoted to each other we are.  Otherwise, all this is pointless.  We’ll never be able to pass muster with Nana.”

He had a point.  Nana was nothing if not a woman that possessed a keen insight into those around her, especially those she truly loved.  She was crafty like that.  Since Nana was able to spot a lie at ten paces, Molly knew she’d need to be at the top of her game to keep the elderly lady fooled.  The problem was that acting like she was in love with Devil would feel all too natural.  She was falling in love with the infuriating jerk.  Why such a horrible, ridiculous, unnatural thing was happening, she couldn’t say.  But, facts were facts, and she was falling under his spell faster than she’d ever believed possible.  Already she could feel her heart fluttering and panties dampening under the weight of his gaze.  That had to stop.  She needed to get control of both her hormones AND her heart.  “Fine,” Molly murmured.  “I’ll be the very model of modern day wife… for a pre-defined time period,” she added pointedly.

“What’s your ideal time frame, Ramsey?” he asked, last-naming her as he would any adversary in a business deal.

“Three months,” Molly answered firmly.  She didn’t want to extend her misery any longer than necessary.  They’d get married, make Nana happy, and develop irreconcilable differences.  It happened all the time.  No harm, no foul.  Just a horrible mistake that two people made, regretted and rectified in short order.  They could pull that off, couldn’t they?

“No.”

“Huh?” Molly grunted, jerking her head up from the pad she held in her lap.

“I said no.  Three months?  Are you kidding?  I spoke to Nana this morning.  She said that her doctors are saying she could have a year left with the proper medication, care and rest.  I propose eighteen months.  If Nana should live longer, I want the time period opened up to renegotiation.”

While she was overjoyed to hear that the doctors had offered Nana more time, she couldn’t believe his suggestion. She wasn’t sure how she was going to survive a month with him, let alone a year.  He was asking for a year and a half?  Married to the Devil?  No freaking way.  “You’re insane,” she said with a shake of her head.  “You want me to sign over a year and a half of my life to you?  No way!”

“You’d rather put Nana through the drama of a divorce during her last days?  Something like that could send her to an early grave, Molly.  You do realize what that kind of disappointment would do to her recovery, don’t you?” Devil asked, twisting the metaphorical knife in Molly’s chest.

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Molly struggled to find a rational argument with what he said.  “Damn it!” she cursed, slapping her hand against the pad on which she’d made notes.  “Devil, that isn’t fair!”

“No, but it is true, isn’t it?” he countered, raising a dark eyebrow as he stared steadily at her, not backing down a single inch.

Oh, he’d brought his A-game, Molly silently acknowledged.  He knew just what her weaknesses were and wasn’t afraid to exploit them.  “Twelve months,” Molly ground out.  “And if Nana, God forbid, doesn’t make it that long, we reassess thirty days after she passes.”

“And if she’s still with us at the twelve month anniversary?  You’ll extend?” Devil asked, his eyes boring into hers.

“We reassess again.  I’ll agree to remain married to you until thirty days after Nana’s passing,” Molly bargained, despising the cold, clinical way they were addressing the situation.  It all seemed so harsh.  But it was necessary, she reminded herself sternly.  When you made a deal with the Devil, a girl had to make sure she covered all the bases.

Devil nodded slightly. “Accepted.”

Glancing at him, she could tell by the set of his face that he wasn’t entirely pleased with her conditions, but he was wise enough not to push his luck.  Making a note on her legal pad, she swallowed. 

“We should talk about your compensation next,” Devil stated calmly while Molly’s face was averted.  “How much do you want, Molly?  And how do you want it?  Hard cash?  Real estate?  Maybe a funky little art gallery in Five Points?”

“What?” Molly mumbled absently as she continued scribbling about the proposed time frame of their marriage.  She was used to tuning Devil out of her thoughts when she was working on a task.  If what he had to say was truly important, he’d repeat himself until she was really listening.

“Name your price, Mols, and don’t devalue yourself.  That would piss me off,” Devil warned, watching her face carefully as the meaning behind his words sank into her.