AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled. ‘Bravo, ma cherie.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means you’re not as afraid of this thing between us as I thought.’
‘Or it could be that that I can’t resist fattening my bank account with easy money.’
Damion waved away his driver and opened the door himself. Once they were in the car, he stashed the box on the seat across from them, reached across and pulled her body into his.
‘If you’re trying to put me off by making me think you’re mercenary, don’t forget I know what you did with the million dollars. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably what you intend to do with the commission money, and why you’ve liquidated most of your assets.’
Her stunned gasp earned a smug smile.
‘You’ve just confirmed it. What is it, exactly?’ he asked.
She licked her lips. ‘It’s a fund for victims of natural and man-made disasters,’ she murmured.
For several seconds he said nothing. Then he curved his fingers around her nape and yanked her against his body. His kiss was every bit as devastating as it had been last night, every bit as mind-melting. When he cupped her breast, the sensation was so powerful, so intensely arousing, she wanted to crawl into his lap and demand more. Instead she forced herself to pull back.
Darkened eyes stared at her from a face carved with arousal before they dropped to linger on her lips.
‘What was that?’ she asked through lips that tingled wildly.
‘A kiss. One of many that will form part of my artillery.’
She squeezed her eyes shut as her breath shuddered out. Even when he grasped her hand and trailed a path of kisses over it, she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. The weakening in her belly told her she’d need all of her reserves to fight what Damion seemed bent on doing to her.
‘Can we just go, please? I don’t want to be late.’
‘Certainement. Give me the address.’
She read it out to him and he passed it to the driver. For the hour-long drive to the crisis centre where she was meeting her client, Damion kept hold of her hand. Every time she tried to pull it back, he tightened his grip. In the end, she allowed him to keep it.
Returning the jade figurine that had been in her client’s family for countless generations brought a lump to Reiko’s throat that remained there long after she’d left the very grateful client behind.
She felt Damion’s heavy gaze on her before he spoke. ‘You’ve just proved my point.’
‘What point?’
‘That you don’t do this for the money.’
She shrugged. ‘I gave her my word that I’d find and return what was taken from her. She trusted me. I wasn’t about to let her down.’
‘Who do you trust, Reiko?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘If you trusted enough to share, you wouldn’t be carrying that rock of pain inside you.’
She inhaled sharply, the depth of the pain that lanced through her stealing her breath. ‘How dare you?’
‘You’re keeping me at bay because you’re afraid to trust your instinct.’
‘You threatened Trevor and me with jail unless you got your way. Five years ago you walked away from me without a backward glance. You think I ought to just drop everything and trust you?’
‘I’ve kept my end of the bargain—I’ve left Ashton alone. As of this morning, the balance of his debt is zero.’
Surprise shot through her. ‘You … Why would you do that?’
