and up, and the fact that I can’t—the fact that I need to stay quiet and still—only increases the fever that is burning through me.
All too soon—or possibly hours later—rationality returns tome. My heart is pounding against my rib cage. I feel as though I have sprinted a mile. And when I lick my lips, I taste blood.
I rub my mouth, but it’s not mine, and it takes me a second to realize that I bit down on Damien’s lower lip. “Are you okay?”
“Baby, you can bite me anytime.”
“Oh my God,” I say. “Oh my God.” And then, “You didn’t tell me it did that.”
He pulls his hand out of his pocket to reveal the remote control for the plug. “A man has to keep a few surprises.”
I sigh contentedly, then slide off him. I curl up next to him on the love seat, discreetly adjusting my clothes. “Wow,” I say. “That was kind of kinky.”
His grin is as playful as my words. “And is kinky good?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Kinky is very good.”
His arm is around me, his hand resting on my hip. After a moment, his lips brush over my ear, and I shiver from the butterfly-soft touch, then immediately laugh when I hear his words—“Your ass is vibrating.”
I lift my brows. “Is that a euphemism for what you just did to me, Mr. Stark?”
“Complaining?”
“Hell, no,” I say.
“Good. But no, it’s not a euphemism. It’s your phone.”
Shit
. I realize that he’s right. I’d charged it in the room, then left everything except it and my passport in the hotel. Damien has my passport tucked into the interior pocket of his jacket, but I have my phone in my back pocket, right under Damien’s hand. He plucks it out and hands it to me, but when I answer it, there’s no one there.
“Must have kicked over to voice mail,” I say with a frown. As I wait for the little icon to show a waiting message, I look back at the call information, but I don’t recognize the number. Since thevoice mail still isn’t pinging, I assume it was a wrong number and slide the phone back into my pocket. “That reminds me,” I tell Damien. “You got a call earlier. Right before I went to see Maynard. I thought it might be one of the German attorneys, so I answered it, but there was no one there. Did they call back?”
He shakes his head. “Probably not important,” he adds, even as he pulls out his phone and begins to scroll through his call information. I see the instant his face changes. It is subtle and quick, and if I didn’t know his features in such exquisite detail I might not have even noticed. And when he meets my eyes again, there’s no hint that he was surprised or disturbed.
I wrap my arms around myself, fighting an unexpected chill. Once again, Damien is locking his secrets away.
“Who was it?” I say, keeping my voice light but resolute. “Does it have anything to do with the trial or with those pictures?”
“No.” The word is both too fast and too firm. And there is a distance in his voice that bothers me. I tell myself it is only the distortion from this thrumming club, but I don’t believe it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, which is really the stupidest question in the world, since if he did want to, he wouldn’t be speaking in monosyllables.
“I don’t.” He must see something in my face, though, because a moment later he sighs, then lightly strokes my cheek. “I promise you. It’s nothing.”
A shudder runs through me, desire, yes, but it’s mixed with something else. Something darker. I had thought that after everything we’d been through there would be no more secrets. But now there are the photos. And this call. And I realize that I was foolish to have even entertained the possibility that Damien’s walls had truly come tumbling down. Damien Stark has many layers, and while I am enjoying the process of slowly revealingthe deliciousness at the center of the man, I cannot deny the frustration that goes along with the territory.
Damien squeezes my hand.
All too soon—or possibly hours later—rationality returns tome. My heart is pounding against my rib cage. I feel as though I have sprinted a mile. And when I lick my lips, I taste blood.
I rub my mouth, but it’s not mine, and it takes me a second to realize that I bit down on Damien’s lower lip. “Are you okay?”
“Baby, you can bite me anytime.”
“Oh my God,” I say. “Oh my God.” And then, “You didn’t tell me it did that.”
He pulls his hand out of his pocket to reveal the remote control for the plug. “A man has to keep a few surprises.”
I sigh contentedly, then slide off him. I curl up next to him on the love seat, discreetly adjusting my clothes. “Wow,” I say. “That was kind of kinky.”
His grin is as playful as my words. “And is kinky good?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Kinky is very good.”
His arm is around me, his hand resting on my hip. After a moment, his lips brush over my ear, and I shiver from the butterfly-soft touch, then immediately laugh when I hear his words—“Your ass is vibrating.”
I lift my brows. “Is that a euphemism for what you just did to me, Mr. Stark?”
“Complaining?”
“Hell, no,” I say.
“Good. But no, it’s not a euphemism. It’s your phone.”
Shit
. I realize that he’s right. I’d charged it in the room, then left everything except it and my passport in the hotel. Damien has my passport tucked into the interior pocket of his jacket, but I have my phone in my back pocket, right under Damien’s hand. He plucks it out and hands it to me, but when I answer it, there’s no one there.
“Must have kicked over to voice mail,” I say with a frown. As I wait for the little icon to show a waiting message, I look back at the call information, but I don’t recognize the number. Since thevoice mail still isn’t pinging, I assume it was a wrong number and slide the phone back into my pocket. “That reminds me,” I tell Damien. “You got a call earlier. Right before I went to see Maynard. I thought it might be one of the German attorneys, so I answered it, but there was no one there. Did they call back?”
He shakes his head. “Probably not important,” he adds, even as he pulls out his phone and begins to scroll through his call information. I see the instant his face changes. It is subtle and quick, and if I didn’t know his features in such exquisite detail I might not have even noticed. And when he meets my eyes again, there’s no hint that he was surprised or disturbed.
I wrap my arms around myself, fighting an unexpected chill. Once again, Damien is locking his secrets away.
“Who was it?” I say, keeping my voice light but resolute. “Does it have anything to do with the trial or with those pictures?”
“No.” The word is both too fast and too firm. And there is a distance in his voice that bothers me. I tell myself it is only the distortion from this thrumming club, but I don’t believe it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, which is really the stupidest question in the world, since if he did want to, he wouldn’t be speaking in monosyllables.
“I don’t.” He must see something in my face, though, because a moment later he sighs, then lightly strokes my cheek. “I promise you. It’s nothing.”
A shudder runs through me, desire, yes, but it’s mixed with something else. Something darker. I had thought that after everything we’d been through there would be no more secrets. But now there are the photos. And this call. And I realize that I was foolish to have even entertained the possibility that Damien’s walls had truly come tumbling down. Damien Stark has many layers, and while I am enjoying the process of slowly revealingthe deliciousness at the center of the man, I cannot deny the frustration that goes along with the territory.
Damien squeezes my hand.
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