"If there is still something troubling your mind..." His voice softened just enough to sound almost dangerously patient. "Tell me, Miss Fortunata."
"In all honesty... I possess zero desire to establish any variant of a relationship with a man," Phoebe disclosed, the raw trauma of her past tightening its grip on her defenses.
"If that is your baseline, then by all means, maintain it," Raymond countered smoothly. "You have no desire, but I hold the desire to have you."
Phoebe's eyebrows knitted tightly. She could feel the atmospheric pressure shifting into something far more dangerous. "Define your parameters. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"I am dysfunctional when it comes to negotiation. I already coded the data that I love you. If you refuse to initiate a relationship with me... I will simply alter the variables so you are forced to initiate it."
