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The challenge in his voice caught her attention and she raised her head, regarding him coolly. “I would never call a client a liar. Do I doubt you? Not sure. But if you tell me you think I’m beautiful, I suppose the diplomatic and appropriate thing to do would be to say thank you.”
He stood up from his desk and walked towards her. He ran his finger along her jawline and ached for her as she leaned away from the simple touch.
“I won’t lie to you, and I would like you to give me the benefit of the doubt. You are strong and fierce, but you are also beautiful, and there is no one I would trust more than you to handle this situation.”
For a fraction of a second, she rubbed her cheek along his hand and then pulled back as if he’d slapped her. It was frustrating, but it was a beginning. There would come a day he had her trained to his hand and she would give over and indulge her need for comfort and the intimate touch of her Dom and lover. Miley might think this would all be over with Frannie’s apprehension, but for Damon this was a start—and a very encouraging one.
She needed dominance desperately, but as strong as she was, she also needed comfort, affirmation, and the assurance that he had her back as much as she had his and the understanding that he would keep her safe. He knew her job was to step in front of a bullet for him, but she needed to know he would do the same for her.
Her eyes still locked with his, she said quietly, “Please stop. I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work. I’m willing to enter into a contract with you only if you understand it is a contract for the duration of the op. Once we have Frannie neutralized, one way or another, we’ll both go back to our lives—you here in Charleston, and me in Chicago. This relationship, for lack of a better word, has an expiration date. I need you to understand that.”
“I understand that for now our relationship is defined by the D/s contract I’ll have ready to go before we leave here and your job as the head of my security team. The future is always in motion, Miley, so who’s to say what will happen in the future. Perhaps you’ll find you prefer Charleston to Chicago. I know Fitz would hate to lose you. He might be amenable to having you work out of here.”
Miley groaned. “This is a fucking mistake…”
“Miley, we’ve talked about your language…”
Another groan. “Fine. This is a big mistake.”
He smiled and chuckled. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.”
Moving back to his desk, he was glad she couldn’t see the smile on his face. She might not have realized it, but she’d taken the first step toward a different life for them both. As he settled into his work, he couldn’t help but take one more quick glance in her direction. It was funny. He hadn’t even realized he missed Miley, not to mention how much, until she’d walked through his doors.
Now that she was sitting in his office diligently working—or at least trying to look as though she was—it was as if someone had flipped on a light, illuminating a darkened room. She might think she would be returning to Chicago, but she was wrong. Oh, she might go for a visit or to attend a meeting here and there, but Damon meant to ensure Miley Stuart’s new base of operations was Charleston.
* * *
“Damon, the rest of the team has touched down in Charleston. Brock is downstairs with an SUV. I’d like to get all of us in one location—preferably your house—in order to get things set up and go over the schedule.”
“Where are the others—Seth and Jimmy, right?”
She nodded. “They’re already at your house going over your security—or as Seth said, ‘your lack thereof.’”
“I’m at a good stopping point for the day. I did make sure that HR knows I’ve hired a consultant who will be working remotely and here in the office. I thought giving Seth flexibility might prove useful. Did he really hack into NASA’s servers as a kid?”
Miley laughed. “Yes. Get him to tell you the story—he tells it really well, and it’s hysterical. Actually, Pippa tells it better, but then you’d expect that from the Mermaid Comic. They surrounded his parents’ house and crashed through the doors with guns drawn.”
“What was he trying to do?”
“He wanted to see into outer space, so he thought if he hacked NASA, he could look through their telescopes. NASA was impressed, and once they figured out he wasn’t some kind of terrorist, they offered him a full-ride scholarship and a job once he graduated. Instead, he joined the military and hooked up with Fitz.”
“When you’re ready to go, I am. I had Georgina get a personal shopper to pick you up some things and they should be delivered to the house this evening. I’ve also had one of the best corsetières in the city pick out a couple of things they thought would fit. She would like to have you come for a custom fitting in the next day or two.”
“I won’t be here that long.”
“Indulge me. You will need more things than you could have packed, and as your Dom it is my privilege to ensure my sub is seen in a way that reflects her status.”
“Fine. I’m not going to argue the point with you. I’ve told you where we stand…”
“You’ve told me where you stand… for now. I was clear that it was a point that we would agree to disagree on. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
Miley closed up her laptop, slipping it into its carrying bag, but Damon managed to snag her tapestry satchel and refused to relinquish it, opening the door from his inner office to the outer one where Georgina played gatekeeper.
“We’re headed home for the day, Georgina. You can reach me there if needed.”
“Thank you, Damon. Have a lovely evening. Miley, it was nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.”
Taking Miley’s hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed it. “You will indeed. Did you get hold of Marcel?”
