Page 5 of Damien’s Mate

He’d already removed the condom and was flushing it. Lila ran her fingers through her tumbled hair just as Rostov pounded on their door.

“I’m coming, Anton,” she said, sounding completely unfazed, while Damien zipped up and pulled his weapon. “Just let me finish putting on my lipstick.”

She pulled a lipstick out of her shiny red clutch bag and began applying it. Damien met her eyes in the mirror and raised his weapon slightly, in a question.

Were they going to be shooting their way out?

She shook her head. Then she finished her lipstick and blotted it, but she didn’t move to go. For a moment they just looked at each other, and something nameless passed between them.

Then Lila motioned for Damien to get behind the door. She mouthed, ‘Sorry,’ then straightened her shoulders, opened the door and walked out.

Sorry for what?

Lila made sure she pulled the lavatory door almost all the way closed behind her, so Anton wouldn’t know Damien had been in there with her. Anton wasn’t paying attention—he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her further down the hall.

He was rougher than he needed to be, but then, Anton was always rougher than he needed to be. Hopefully, after tonight she’d never have to see him again.

Although, shifting and clawing him from neck to balls so she could watch his innards spill out would be a nice bonus. Too bad she probably wouldn’t get to do it.

He glanced up and down the hall to make sure no one was watching, and then hissed, “Did you get it?”

“Of course I did. I told you I would.” She opened her purse and showed him the security keycard that would get her into the private part of the house, when the time came.

Damien’s keycard. Sorry, Damien, she said again in her mind. But this was too important for her to let sentiment get in her way.

She just hoped he didn’t get in too much trouble when they found out the card had been used in a burglary.

“Do I want to know what you did to get that?” Anton growled.

She patted his arm, using all the breathing and body control techniques her father had taught her to appear absolutely calm. “Nothing you wouldn’t want me to do.”

That was a huge lie. Anton would kill her if he knew what had just happened. Maybe not now, while he still needed her, but definitely later.

He just gave a curt nod and said, “Be ready. We are only ten minutes from meeting. Now come back to ballroom.”

Lila followed him, but she could feel Damien’s eyes still on her, his touch on her skin.

She’d not only done way more for that keycard than Anton would approve of, she’d done way more than she’d planned on doing. She’d planned to attract the interest of a security guard, have a drink with him, flirt, maybe jack him off if he was really hard to deal with.

But the moment Damien touched her… she didn’t know what had happened. That rattled her—her father had trained her too well for her to lose control when she was on a mission.

Or ever.

But Damien—she’d never felt anything like that.

And for the first time ever, she felt like she’d betrayed someone who didn’t deserve it.

Chapter 3

Damien stood in the lavatory, the conversation he’d just heard reverberating in his head.

Did you get it?

Of course. I told you I would.

She’d been using him.

Yeah, yeah, not exactly a shocker. He’d already known she was using him—he’d just thought it was for sex.