Chapter 24

Damian

Edgar drops us off at what had been Amelia and Jackson's house. It was mostly sitting in a state of construction, but the study at the back of the house still is in exactly the same position it had always been in.

"It's coming along well," Amelia murmurs, pretending to give a shit about the upgrades in order to turn it into a professional working restaurant.

"For Gabby's first big project, she's doing a good job," I say with a smirk.

Amelia catches my eye before continuing on her tour.

"Do you think Jackie's okay?" she asks suddenly as she runs her fingers across the steel bench top in the new kitchen.

"With Eleanor? As in, the grandmother that dotes on her every second of every day? Yes. She is spoiled there way more than she is with us, so I'm sure she's living the dream." I slide in front of her as she goes to keep walking, circling her wrist. "As I like to think I will be in a few minutes."

"Do you want to be spoiled by Eleanor?" she says dryly.

"I want to be spoiled by you, and that starts with you taking your clothes off and lying on a luxurious leather sofa in the study." I tilt her face up to mine. "Or would you rather over the desk? Or against the bookshelves?"

She smirks. "It's your reward. You can choose."

It's this voice she does that gets me going every time. She softens it to a level of sultry I hope she never loses. I reach up and tug her ponytail out, letting her hair dance around her shoulders.

"How about a combination of all of them?" I murmur. "We'll see what we can do with a couple of hours."

The determined look in her eyes that I love so much is back as she strolls past me to the study, and I follow in anticipation.

We've had sex since Jackie's arrival, slow and gentle to let her body get used to it again, but I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's back to how she was before the bed rest, the worry that she'd lose the baby, all of it. Jackie is here and safe, and now all I care about is making Amelia feel good.

I shut the door heavily and lock it behind me, my eyes trained on Amelia. It means I get to watch the shiver run up her spine. "Still as nice as you remember?" I murmur.

She runs her fingers teasingly over the back of the leather sofa and hums. "Maybe this sofa should replace your ugly one."

I smirk. "You love my sofa. But we could move this one to your office." I move to stand in front of her, looking at the sofa. "It would be a shame to waste it."

She steps forward and runs her fingers up my tie before reaching the knot. She tugs me forward until my lips land on hers. I lean back and smirk. She's not getting the upper hand. Not here. Not now.

"Nuh-uh," I breathe. "You don't get to make the rules here."

She settles back on her heels and bites her lip as she waits for instructions.

I look down over her outfit; tight black skirt, blue button-up shirt easy for access—for Jackie, not me, but I'll take the advantage.

I realize as I appraise her that she's wearing stockings under her skirt, and she watches me as I slide my hand up her thigh to find the tops of them attached to a garter belt. "Jesus Christ," I mumble.

I bring my gaze back to her face as she regards me coolly. "I still don't get to make the rules?" she practically purrs. "I'm not sure you have the brain capacity."

I have to admit, I didn't hear a word she said. It all ran over me in a heady mix of sex and lust. I reach for her, and her lips are on mine in a second, her tongue darting into my mouth and drawing a long groan from my throat. She is absolutely making all the rules, but I don't care. I spin her around until her spine is flat against the bookshelves, making her gasp in my mouth.

I drag my hands up her thighs to lift her skirt up around her waist while trying to keep those sounds coming out of her throat. I keep my thigh between her legs until I can have something more substantial to use.

She takes over again, sliding one hand into my hair and pulling me roughly down onto her neck and collarbone as I unbutton her shirt with shaky fingers.

"You'll probably taste milk," she gasps as I hook my fingers into her bra cup and tug it over her breast as it spills out to meet me.

"I don't care," I growl. "Jacklyn can share today."

She moans loudly as I run my tongue over her sensitive nipple, replacing my thigh with the fingers of my spare hand. She's dripping wet, soaking my fingers instantly as I have to physically brace myself against the thought of sinking into her. We've had a long six months of denial and making use of hands and mouths, but we're here now, and there's nothing that is going to stop me from bringing the both of us the best possible pleasure I can offer.

"You're so wet," I pant. "You're eager for this, aren't you, doll?"

"Yes," she screams as my thumb circles her clit. She arches her chest into my mouth, and I don't stop until she goes slack against the bookshelves, her breathing heavy and my name sounding like prayers and curses all in the same breath.

When she opens her eyes and looks at me, I need to take a second to breathe out the wave of lust as it travels through me. She looks deadly and like pure desire. Her lips are red and parted, her eyes hooded and lusty, and her hair is wild and loose around her shoulders.

I'm so fucking lucky.

My pants are unbuttoned and unzipped before I can really think about it, and she's gripping my aching erection in her fist, which is doing nothing for my self-control. She positions me against her soaking wet hole when I suddenly pause.

"You're on birth control now, aren't you?"

She smirks. "Definitely."

I enter her slowly but forcefully, sliding until I've filled her completely, as she gasps in pleasure.

"Oh fuck," I hum. She's so warm. So tight. All mine.

Amelia tilts my head up with a hand in the back of my hair. "Fuck me now," she purrs.

I brace one hand on the bookshelf, hook her leg over my hip to get a better angle and draw her face to mine. "Anything for you, my love."

I finish up yet another evening at The Secretary while Gabby is at The Fisherman for an event, and I relax into the chaos that comes with making sure everyone has the evening they came for. My new ma?tre d' smiles nervously at me as I wander through the restaurant, making sure everyone is happy. Sometimes, I wish for half a second that I'd never promoted Gabby, and she was still here being my annoying sidekick.

"Yes, Ryan?" I ask, biting my tongue.

"There's a woman here to see you. I didn't know what the… er… protocol was."

I raise one eyebrow. "Protocol?"

He squirms. "I just know you… you know… have a girlfriend."

I choose to bite my tongue. "I thought you meant my girlfriend was here. Who is it?"

Ryan shrugs weakly. "She just said she needed to speak to you in private. Then she winked at me and gave me a one-hundred-dollar tip."

I frown in confusion and head to where Ryan has directed the woman. A scowl automatically forms on my face when I spot Rachel.

"He thinks I'm cheating on my girlfriend with you," I say with a screwed-up nose as I sit down across from her. "What are you doing here? Haven't you messed my life up enough?"

"I thought there was more damage that could be done," she says easily, taking a sip of her wine.

A waiter comes up, but I shake my head at him. "She won't be staying."

Rachel chuckles. "I just thought I'd see my ex-husband, see how you're doing, and you're kicking me out?"

"Yes." I lean back in my seat. "The whole thing was a sham from the beginning, wasn't it? You never cared about anything other than getting your next story. You thought you'd go through me to get to Victor but realized I was useless. You were probably as surprised as I was that it ended up in marriage."

Rachel purses her lips. "I cared for you, Damian. That was never a lie. I wanted to make—"

"I don't even believe that." I regard her with a wariness I should have had from the beginning. It's like my eyes are suddenly opened. "I can tell you now, having been loved by Amelia, that you didn't love me. Mainly—probably the biggest point in her favor, actually—because she's not in leagues with my mother and the man who is trying to undercut my business."

Rachel sighs. "I wasn't in—"

"Oh! Sorry, yes. You were in leagues with whoever would give you the most money, yes. That was my mistake. It just happened to be my mother."

She exhales a laugh and takes another sip of wine. "I'm printing a story." She catches my eye. "You won't like it. Thought I'd prepare you. I've sent the same thing to your girlfriend."

I set my jaw. "She has a name. Is this story containing the truth at all?"

"I'll let you decide." She slides her phone over the table. I glance at it before focusing on it with a frown. It's mostly about Victor and the atrocious way he treated his employees, his family, his daughter. It mentions Jackson and his inability to handle the work, the car accident. It talks about me and my reputation, and it mentions Amelia and the way she is running MVM, how she handled the pregnancy, the lawsuits, everything.

I glance up at Rachel and narrow my eyes. "You said I wouldn't like it."

She leans back in her chair and studies me. "You've changed, Damian. A few years ago, you would have done anything to stop me from running this story. It looks favorably on Amelia as someone better than you."

"She is better than me. She runs an entire company while also being a mother to a baby. I'm here when she needs me, and I take the load off her shoulders whenever I can, but she's far more capable of doing any of this shit by herself than anyone else I know. Victor, Jackson, me. You'd better stop underestimating her, or it'll come back to bite you in the—"

I let a slow smile spread across my face. "Which is exactly why you've written it so that Amelia is looked upon favorably. You saw what she did to Douglas Bright."

"I saw what she did to you. She bought out all your inheritance and fired you with absolutely zero warning."

I wince. "Tell me about it." I stand up and give her a smile. "She has power, Rachel. Lots of it. Oodles of it."

"She's a Garrett."

"No," I whisper softly. "She's Amelia."

Rachel sighs. "Watch yourself, Damian. The second you slip up, I'll be watching. I'm suddenly Amelia Garrett's biggest fan."

I chuckle and walk away.

You and me both.