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“Well, that Joe situation was mighty awkward,” Camilla said. “Isn’t he your drinking buddy or something?”
“He’s my lawyer.”
She snickered. “Awesome. There’s no way I’m missing that dinner. Can you say drama? Speaking of drama, who’s the chick? Another Instagram queen?” She held both hands to form air quotes. “Maybe a model? Or a socialite?”
“None of your damn business.”
“I’ll find out soon enough, so you might as well tell me.”
Camilla would hound him like a dog hunting a bone. To avoid the incessant questions that he knew would come, he spat it out. “Abigail Aldridge.”
Her smile dropped. “I’m sorry, did you say Aldridge?”
“Yes.”
“Like another Aldridge from out of state and not your mortal enemy, Aldridge?”
Damian’s only response was a raised brow and a mocking smile. Camilla exhibited no surprise or censure. She simply folded arms across her chest and studied him in silence. “You devil. What the hell are you up to?”
“I don’t know yet.” He really didn’t. He constantly wavered between turning his new bed partner into a pawn and letting her loose without damaging her precious heart. Each time his hatred for the Aldridge family surfaced, he wanted to devour Abby without mercy and send her back to the clan of snakes in tears, and with her pride in shreds. But he had spent time with her, gazing down at her in the throes of passion, and all he wanted to do was protect her.
“I would lecture you about being careful but then you’d just flip things around and lecture me on my job. So, I’m going to keep my mouth shut for now.”
“Speaking of your job …”
“Don’t even.” Camilla got up and collected the remainder of the empty dishes.
Damian was left sitting alone. He let out a long, tired sigh. His mother and Joe, his cousin, and her senseless vocation … and then there was Abby. He was starting to miss the good old days when all he had to focus on was cutting throats in the business world, and littering boardrooms with figurative dead bodies. He’d done it all without feeling a thing, with his only goal being to avenge his father. He’d been unfeeling and cold-blooded for years. So, what were all of these new feelings, and where were they coming from? He could only think of one answer—Abby.
***
“Once again, I’ve ended up in your bed. This must be some kind of record for you.”
Damian had his hands folded behind his head, staring at the white ceiling above his bed. “Countless women have ended up in my bed.”
Abby propped herself up on one elbow. “Not your bed. You take women to hotels, that’s what you told me.”
“You believe everything I tell you? What if I lied simply to get between your legs?”
She fell silent, staring at him, in deep consideration. “I suppose that’s possible. But I don’t see you lying about something like that.”
“Because you know me so well?”
“I know enough to know that you wouldn’t lie about that.”
He gave her a side glance, while admiring her bare breasts and long tresses that spilled across the pillow, a few strands brushing his arm and chest. Even that was enough to have his dick twitching excitedly. He muttered a curse, hating himself for being so weak when it came to Abby. He wanted so badly to hate her, to be able to use her without remorse, but he couldn’t. “Well, don’t get too excited about being in my home. You might very well be uninvited by next week.”
“Oh, next week? I get that much time? You must be in love with me, Amante.” She paused, her brows raised and her lips in an adorable pout. He found her thinking face too cute and was again irritated with himself. “That is how you say lover, isn’t it?”
Keeping his smile away was futile. It started with a twitch of his lips, then a slow curve that blossomed into a full-blown grin. It happened all the time with her, no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
“By god, he’s smiling. He’s human after all, ladies and gentlemen.”
He snagged her wrist and pulled her across his chest. “Has anyone ever told you that talk way too much in the morning? It’s annoying.”
“Then kick me out of your bed …,” she said.
His eyes dropped to her mouth. Those pink lips had slid over his dick just last night. The memory gave him the boner of the century. He couldn’t believe that after more than one night with Abby, he wasn’t bored. He craved more. “Not just yet.” Bunching her hair in his fist, he forced her closer to demand a kiss. As always, she melted into him with one of those breathy little moans that he loved to hear. By the time he released her, his body was on fire, eager for the satisfaction that only she could give. His erection pressed into her stomach but she pulled away.
