But first, you and I must come to an agreement. If we become the power couple I intend, your public profile and mine must be completely whitewashed. You will never, never, ever be questioned again, and I will never, ever be seen in your presence again. Let the people think you are a lowly shop girl who got one lucky night and now lives off it, since she's been living in the shadows all her life." Katie's thoughts raced. What could she do? She would be trapped on a rock without a paddle if she didn't comply, and she knew that if she did as he said, he would ensure it. He didn't look like the romantic type. What man could possibly look cute and romantic after he pulled a knife? Lust was too mild a word to describe the way he was looking at her. The way he licked his lips as he stared at her lips, it made her quiver. He wanted her to his house so he could have sex with her? Did he mean she had to sleep with him? Did he mean to rape her? "What do you mean? How could you possibly think I would agree to something so..." her mind wasn't allowing her to finish her sentence. What did she think was so terrible? He was the son of the man who was responsible for her being here, in America, in this horrible situation. She had to make him understand. "I have no illusions about you. I know who you are, and you know who I am, and I won't lie to you, I don't trust you. You are asking me to lie to everyone, and I won't lie to anyone." "A woman who knows her mind and spirit, huh? You're on to me." He smiled and he made her even more uneasy. "I'm going to make a bet with you. I think you will agree with my proposal. You want to be the mistress of the town's biggest son, the man who is currently dating your aunt and a whole host of other ladies. I want you to be mine. You may disagree with me, but I think you have no other choices than to agree." He took a step back, keeping the knife out but pointing at her. "But, before we make any deals, I've got to know who you really are, you see." "That's not going to happen. You can ask anyone in town. I don't like people speaking of me as 'poor Katie', you don't care who I am, why should I bother to remember who I am?" Her mind was racing. There had to be another way out. She couldn't just trust him. "Now you're talking. I want to hear more about you. Let's keep things as they are, and I will keep you away from everyone here, which is good for me, and maybe, I can make a deal with you." He pointed the knife at her with a look of utter confidence, as if she would agree without any argument. "I want to hear a lot more. I have so many stories to tell of how well I lived, not like you who grew up poor and never had a choice. But I hope that you know that for all those years you've been living in this town, I've never heard of you doing anything wrong. I've heard of you being a very hard worker, don't believe all the horrible stories people have made up about you. Not everyone is as good as you are." "I can understand how the people around here could see me in a negative light. I'm a bastard. I don't have a mother that I'm aware of, so I don't have that loving motherly sentiment in me. I'm sure some of the younger women in town have wanted me, but I would rather sleep with a dog than a woman. So to them, I'm the son of the man who raped their mother. I'm glad I'm going to marry. A woman should be with a man who loves her. You know it's not easy to be the son of a rapist, so let's keep the status of my mother a secret." "Let's talk, if that's what you want. I like to think of you as a kind man. If you wanted to take me away from here and marry me, I would stay with you." She was doing her best to convince him that she could be his friend, but she wasn't sure she could trust him. She had no other choice but to agree. Her life was here in this town. She could never go back to England. She had no proof that it was him, but the way he looked at her, the way he knew his way around the town, made her think there was more than one way to tie her to him. She saw him nod. He seemed to be a rational man who was well aware of what she was going through. He wanted her to know he could protect her, take care of her and be kind to her. He could help make her the woman she wanted to be. "I can see you don't trust me, but I will do my best to please you. I will become your best friend, just like you are mine. When you find me not to your liking, or when you would like to take back what you've said, you can throw me over and I will walk away. I will never come back. This is what you want, yes?" He was standing a little too close to her. She took a deep breath and slowly nodded. If she gave him a reason to think she wanted to continue their relationship, he would agree. He couldn't possibly know how much she missed her aunt, her mother, her home. She could be with him, and be around people she was sure were happy with their lives, and she wouldn't miss her family at all. * * * Travis could see that Katie had given in. He had her, but he wasn't going to let her go. He had to keep her in his grasp until they knew each other better. As he had told her, she would be his for as long as she wanted him, and he would be hers. The fact that he was no more than a year or so older than her didn't faze him at all. He could handle the fact that he would never be her stepfather, although that would be his intention. But, as he saw it, he would become her husband, and that was all that mattered to him. He was not the same man he had been a year ago. He'd grown up, and was going to give her his best. She could do whatever she wanted and never feel guilty. For her, he would throw away his past, and his father's memory. He had had enough of that father. No one should be treated like a toy, especially a woman. His mind filled with rage, because his father had treated him that way, not allowed him to have his own life. He wondered why his mother had not stepped in to protect him from his father's cruelty and rage. His mother had stepped in, only to find that he was taken by a horrible woman. But no matter how bad his father had treated him, he would always remember him with love, because in his blood, he was his son. The fact that his father had tried to get rid of him didn't even bother him. He didn't remember his father as being there for him at all. He wasn't sure what he'd do with him, but if he had been here, he would have gotten rid of him with the help of the others. His father wouldn't have been allowed to live. He wished he had a family of his own. He couldn't care less about the town, about the people he had grown up with, even the people who had been there for him when he had gotten himself into trouble. He wanted a wife and children, but he wanted it in a house of his own. His parents were dead, and they had given him a home. They didn't think much of him and couldn't stand him in the way they expected him to, so they didn't want to take him in. He had learned a lot in those early years. It was a good thing his father had taken off, else he might have died at one of his hands, just like he had killed his mother and his mother-in-law. He had killed so many, it didn't surprise him that one of them had found their way to his doorstep. She would die, because there was no way she was ever going to betray him. Once she knew what he was about, she would realize how lucky she was. He had been his father's favorite, but he hadn't given a shit about him. For the first time in a long time, he felt no hate towards him, and no hate for her, either. He had been beaten so much, he couldn't be scared of him. "Let's see how you like your husband. I want to be at least as kind to you as you were to me. I want you to enjoy being with me, I really do. I know you haven't had much fun since we met. You never really saw my side of things, the good side of me." His thoughts were racing. "I want you to enjoy life, and have fun. You have never been to a spa or a party. I want you to be comfortable." He walked over to the bed and sat down on it. He sat and looked at her with a smile