Chapter Twenty-One

Present

I have to get out of here.

Gianna is here.

A burning kind of pain spreads through me. The sting of betrayal is so startling, that it almost makes me stop. But I have to get out of here.

One look at Gianna's stunning face was all it took to drag me back to that awful moment two years ago when I stumbled upon them sharing an intimate dinner.

I had made a complete fool out of myself for Damian two years ago.

I used to wonder if it was all worth it in the end. After the pain and suffering of that day in New York, I got what I wanted. Damian.

A rush of images floods my mind. Damian chasing me, me unleashing all the anger and hurt I’d been holding inside on him then him kissing me… All hot and fierce and so intense as he kissed, no… as he devoured me ruthlessly as if he couldn’t get enough.

I was so blind that I believed every word that came out of his mouth. I trusted him so fully when he explained about Gianna. And I was so happy, so in love, so desperate to have him, so, so, pathetically love-starved that I didn’t question him.

He never gave me a single chance to ever doubt him from that day on and I was sated with that. I was all he saw. Or at least that’s what he made me believe.

But today, the last bit of my trust in him shattered when I saw them together.

The scars I thought had faded suddenly pulsed with life, the stitches on the old wound coming undone.

I am utterly shaken up inside, struggling to maintain control as I run. So desperate to escape it all that I barely draw in a few shallow breaths.

As I turn a corner, a sliver of dim light beckons from an ajar door. Without hesitation, I slip into the room and turn to push the door close, eager to be alone. But just as the door starts closing, it meets a forceful hand blocking its path.

My head flies up and I freeze. Night eyes lock onto mine, intense and dangerous. Damian. The shock of his presence reverberates through me, and I gasp, caught off guard.

He did it again. Just like two years ago, he left her to chase after me. But this time, it doesn’t give me any satisfaction. Because the hurt I felt out there, the disappointment in realizing that I come second to his dear Gianna has hardened my heart. I know now that my feelings don’t matter to him at all or he wouldn’t have allowed her to be close to him. He humiliated me again.

“Let go.” I jerk the door, trying to close it but his steel-like grip doesn’t give. Instead, his fingers take hold of my wrist that was still latched on the door. “If you think you can drag me out there—” Easily he twists my fingers off the door and pushes me back into the small room and steps inside, kicking the door shut behind us.

It takes a second to register that we are in a coat closet and another to find that Damian has backed me against the wall.

My heart takes a quivering dive into my stomach as I stare at the cold sting of his eyes. “What are you doing here?” I lash out.

He grabs my chin and lifts it. “You’re upset,” he says grimly.

I jerk my face away from his touch. “Does it matter?”

It doesn’t. His silence is answer enough. As if he read my thought, his jaw tenses.

“ You wanted to come here, angel.” He reminds me.

“Yes, but I didn’t, not once ask for you to bring your little side piece here and parade her around!”

He frowns. “Who are you talking about?”

The audacity of this man. I can’t believe him. “Cut the performance, okay? You are well aware of why I am so upset! You saw me watching you with your whore!”

In a blink, he is jerking me to his chest, his grip around my nape strong. “Gianna? She is not my anything and you know it.”

“Do I?” I smile at him coldly. Breaking free from his clutches, I say, “Get out of my way. I’ve had enough of your bullshit and I am tired.” I sidestep him to go to the door but he seizes my elbow and spins me around to face him again.

Narrowing his eyes, he studies me. “You never used to be so rude before, angel.”

“Learned from the best, darling.” I mock him, giving myself a small pat on the shoulder for shocking him. It’s clear he is stunned, judging by the raised brows.

See? This is what happens when you play with others’ feelings. They retaliate. How does it feel, husband? Watching your docile wife be defiant? I taunt him through my eyes.

Then he shocks me when his mouth curves into a smile. And there it is. That flutter in my chest followed by a bittersweet ache whenever I see him smiling. Even after what he’s done to me, his smile still has the power to take my breath away. I shake myself out of the thoughts.

“What?” I snap.

He shrugs a shoulder, the movement so casual it almost makes him seem human. But I know better. He’s not human. He’s the devil incarnate.

“I’m enjoying this new side of yours. It’s… cute.”

A hot flush stains my cheeks. “It’s not cute! And this isn’t new. I was always like this.”

“I beg to differ.” He reaches out to touch my heated cheek with his cool fingertips.

“You don’t know me, Damian,” Or you wouldn’t have hurt me tonight like you did. “And I certainly don’t know you or anything about you. We were strangers before and we are strangers now.”

“Not in our bed,” he says smoothly.

“But that ship has sailed too!”

“Is that a challenge, angel?” He takes a step forward.

“I’m not your angel!”

“Come here, and I’ll show you.” Though the words were a command, he didn’t wait for me to obey. His strong hands found my waist, pulling me firmly against him. He then buries his face in the sensitive nook of my neck, “that you are my sweet,” he kisses my neck, “innocent but eager,” another kiss, “angel.”

I grow still when I feel his hardness against my lower belly. I push at his chest. “I refuse to be your plaything!” I keep pushing until he releases me. “If you are so desperate to get laid, you might want to go back to Gianna because this innocent but eager angel has had enough—” His mouth claims mine with the kind of kiss that can only be defined as punishment. And all hell breaks loose inside me. Only Damian can do this to me. Punishing me and yet managing to ignite a fire in me.

In the chaos of my emotions, my senses go crazy. The surprise, the intense fury, this deep-seated disgust, and my lust for this man all crashing into each other. I bring my hands up to push him away but he covers and flattens them against his hard chest while his tongue sensually slides against mine, making me quiver.

His heart is slamming hard against my palm. It means I’m not the only one affected here…

This is wrong! Don’t let him do this to you!

Common sense kicks in, and I squirm and wriggle against him to break free. I fight him, my fingernails digging in his chest. He groans deep in his throat and I find myself fighting harder while kissing him back now.

With a growl, I bite his lower lip hard. Arousal dampens my panties when he lets out a masculine growl and deepens the kiss some more. I don’t know who’s winning and who’s losing. My bites weren’t supposed to turn him on more!

Damian and I never fought in bed. Sex was always about him dominating me and me submitting to him because I loved it just like that. But now… this sparring has ignited something new. Something that is untamable.

My head tilts backward as he leaves my hands to draw me tightly against him. The action arches my back and I shiver when my pebbled nipples crush into the solid wall of his chest.

A sudden knock shatters the moment. We break apart abruptly and I fall heavily against the wall behind me. I stare dizzily up at Damian, breasts heaving, body shaking, and lips most probably swollen.

“Don’t… do that again!” I manage to spit out between breaths.

His nostrils flair and the predatory look in his black eyes sharpens as he drags me back against him to do just that when there’s another knock. This time followed by Hal’s voice.

“Leave.” He snaps, silencing him. Then glares down at me before lowering his head. I cover his lips with my palm.

“Don’t manipulate me into forgetting what happened by kissing me!”

He removes my hand from his mouth with a frown. “Gianna is not and has never been my lover. When are you going to believe it, woman?”

“Then what was she doing out there with you? Clinging to you like a snake to a tree!”

He dares to laugh. Damian. Laughed. Before I can get over that, he breaks the moment by speaking. “We didn’t cross paths in years. She came over to say hello. That’s all.”

I scoff and he grips my upper arms. “I’m your husband, River. Yours . It’s your finger I put a ring on. You share my bed and yet you are obsessed with her because I had dinner with her years ago.”

Yes , I am obsessed. Because I saw you smiling at her your precious smile. It still hurts to think that you could easily give it to her when it was me who craved it. Who deserved it. Who lived and dreamed for it.

I lower my eyes. But he is having none of it. With fingers under my chin, he lifts my gaze back to him. “You need to get over it, angel. This is not healthy.”

I stiffen. “You are blind if you can’t see the naked desire in her eyes for you!”

“And what do you see in my eyes, angel?” Never missing a beat, he continues, “Can you see the same in my eyes for her?”

No, I admit to myself with a little shudder. Because that would’ve simply killed me.

“Well, that’s a relief,” He drawls reading my expression. “You still have little faith in me.”

“The jury is still out on that.”

He sighs. “What do you want me to do, River? Be rude to her?”

“No. But you know how I feel about her, the least you can do is maintain distance to respect your wife.” Then I smile ruefully. “But then, you never truly saw me as your wife.”

He doesn’t answer immediately and it hurts. When my eyes start burning, I move toward the door again. This time I’m successful in opening it. But only for a muscular arm to reach over my head to slam it shut.

I stand there, cheeks hot, body trembling from head to toe—in anger or anxiousness I don’t know. His domineering closeness as he stands behind me isn’t helping either.

“You think I want to ruin your father.” He speaks blankly. I stiffen. “You think I had ulterior motives to marry you.” With a hand beneath my breasts, he pulls me back to his chest. “And you’re not wrong.” I jerk but he tightens his grip. My head gets tilted when he buries his face in my hair. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you are my wife. And I intend to keep it that way.”

“For how long?” I grit my teeth.

“For however long I wish.”

“Why?” I whisper in dismay.

“Because I want you. Only you. And I know you want me just as much.”

“That doesn’t mean I will jump into bed with you, Damian.”

“You are not leaving anytime soon. Your friend’s well-being is in your hands. So while you’re with me, why don’t you allow yourself to have me?”

I shiver. Damian lets out a satisfied grunt and lowers his head to the side of my neck. Another shiver courses through me as his lips brush against the sensitive skin, and goosebumps erupt all over.

“You’re trembling.”

“Because I hate you.”

A gasp escapes my lips when his teeth graze my skin. I dig my nails in his steel arm that’s still snugly placed under my breasts with every intention to push him away but I end up holding on for dear life.

This is not right! “Get away from me!” I try to wrench his arm off me but I’m no match to Damian’s strength. He dares to laugh then bites the shell of my ear. I screw my eyes shut because that little action evokes intense throbbing between my legs.

With his free hand, he clasps my fingers that were clawing at his skin and lifts it to his mouth. I bite my lower lip when he brushes soft kisses over my fingers. I must’ve whimpered because he turns me swiftly to face him.

His eyes burn with naked lust and triumph. “Remember the day you begged to come to this gala? You said, ‘Treat me like your wife . ’” Then he stuns me by lowering his head and placing a soft kiss against my cheek.

“This is me treating you like a wife .” He begins to lean down to kiss me on the mouth but I tilt my head back. “If we’re revisiting that day, let’s not sidestep the part where you said, ‘I have an insatiable sexual appetite, and you were always available.’ Or did that slip your mind?”

“I remember my words. I don’t need a reminder.”

“So you meant them?” My voice is so low I’m not sure he heard it. But then his expression changes.

“Things haven’t changed,” he says, abruptly stepping back. “What I said was true. I’m a busy man and you were always available. I come to you when I need you.”

“Then what was all that talk about wanting only me?”

He sighs. “I wasn’t lying. Why do you think I fly back and forth so frequently?” Because he wants me. Just me. But only for sex.

Damian knows that he is my weakness and he doesn’t hesitate in the least to exploit it.

I have to learn to make my weakness my strength. Like him, I have to learn to seduce and manipulate to get my way. I can’t resist him. But he can’t resist me either. And we both know that.

“You’re mine, always will be. Get used to it.”

I won’t. And I’ll do just about anything. Anything to get away from his clutches. That includes sleeping with him if need be.

“All right.”

He was checking his watch, but my words made him immediately look up at me. “All right?”

“You’re right. We want each other. There’s no point in delaying the inevitable.”

He narrows his eyes. “Why the change of heart?”

“Perhaps it was your impressive kissing skills that did the trick,” I taunt.

He arches his eyebrows, not believing me in the slightest but indulges me. “All right, angel.” He covers the distance between us and curls his arm around my waist, pulling me to his chest. “Let’s go home so I can make you my wife again.”