Page 34 of Damian’s Conquest

“No, no, nothing.”

“If you’re not into light bondage, I’ll oblige with anything else.” He brought his hand to her breast and squeezed the heavy globe. “I enjoyed biting you here last night.”

She shivered at the recollection of the sensual bite on her breasts. “Is that what you’re into? Biting your sex partners?”

“Partners? Plural?” He laughed softly. “Chérie, I’m a one-woman man.”

His confession warmed her heart while her conscience reared its ugly head. She should tell him the truth now. Tell him why she’d gone to his office in the first place, and then confess that things had changed, that she didn’t believe that he was involved in a satanic cult. But there was still the bottle and the vial she’d found just outside the club. She couldn’t just ignore evidence.

And how would he take her confession anyway? Would he feel betrayed? Would he leave her never to speak to her again? Fuck! What had she gotten herself into? She wasn’t good at subterfuge. She liked Damian, hell, like didn’t exactly describe it. She was crazy about him, even though she knew virtually nothing about him. But whenever she was in his arms, she felt whole, she felt like a real woman, she felt desired and adored. And she’d never felt like that before. But what if it all collapsed the moment she told him the truth, told him that she was looking into allegations of a satanic cult operating in the Mezzanine?

Damn it! She had to tell him. She couldn’t just lie in bed with him, snuggling as if they were a couple in love, when she knew that it was all built on deception. Maybe it was better if she fessed up now, before she developed even more serious feelings for him. She had to come clean, or all this meant nothing. She couldn’t live a lie. Not when she wanted something real, something lasting with Damian.

“Damian, I need to tell you something…”

“What is it?”

Suddenly a cell phone rang.

“Hold that thought. I’ve gotta get that,” Damian said and got out of bed. He rummaged through his pants on the floor and pulled out his cell phone. “Patrick? What’s up?”

Naomi watched him as he listened intently. His facial expression turned to one of concern.

“Fuck! Is she sure?” There was a brief pause, then he said, “Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

He disconnected the call and reached for his boxer briefs. “Sorry, Naomi, I’ve gotta leave.”

She sat up. “What’s going on?”

“One of our bartenders has disappeared.”

“What do you mean by disappeared?”

Damian continued dressing. “Mick was supposed to work the Halloween party, but he didn’t show up, and he didn’t call in sick either. And just now his girlfriend showed up at the club and told Patrick that she hasn’t heard from him in over two days. I’ve gotta speak to her.”

Naomi jumped out of bed. “I’m coming with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

But Naomi was already getting dressed. She didn’t want to stay here and wait for him. It would only make her more anxious, because she knew she had to tell him the truth about what she was doing at the Mezzanine, and sitting around with that kind of burden weighing her down would do her no good.

“I can help,” she insisted. “Please. I can’t sleep right now anyway.”

Damian sighed. “All right. We’ll go in my car.”

Relieved, she finished dressing, and grabbed her handbag. Together they left her flat, and Damian ushered her to his Porsche, which he’d parked a block away.

When they drove off, Damian put his hand on her thigh. “I’m sorry about this interruption. Trust me, I would much rather be back in bed with you.” He slid his hand to the inside of her thigh, and the intimate contact made her hot.

“Me too,” she confessed, which made it even more urgent that she tell him the truth. But she had to wait until after he’d dealt with the disappearance of his bartender. “Has your bartender’s girlfriend reported him missing to the police yet?”

Damian shook his head. “We’d rather handle this ourselves.”

She furrowed her forehead. “What do you mean? The police are much better suited for finding a missing person.”

“This is different. Anybody associated with Scanguards gets special treatment. We look after our own.”

She shivered. Wasn’t that what the mafia said about their people? “How is Scanguards involved in this?”