Damien’s hand is still on my stomach, a weight that makes breathing uncomfortable. But I hear myself blurt out, “I didn’t go to the grocery store at all today.”
Logan’s amusement turns to confusion. “What?” Then his brow clears and he guffaws. “Not that kind of chip. Don’t you know what I’m talking about?”
It’s the first time he’s addressed me directly, and somehow it makes me even more uncomfortable than the hand on my stomach.
“Maybe she doesn’t.” Damien’s voice unexpectedly has a soothing effect on me. “Now leave the room.”
“Huh?” grunts Igor.
The Devil with the bodybuilding vibe is apparently just as stupid as he looks on TV.
“I’m going to strip her. Leave the room.”
Igor looks visibly disappointed, but Logan merely shrugs. “Sure.”
“And turn off the cameras. No one looks at her but me.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The door clicks shut, leaving me alone with Damien.Fuck. Now it’s coming.
He lets me go as soon as they’ve gone. Hurriedly, I inch backward until I’m standing against the far wall. He doesn’t make any move to try to get closer, only looking at me in an amused sort of way that does nothing to soften the danger in his eyes.
“Where are you going?” he chuckles.
I swallow. It’s true, there’s no place to go. That’s why he doesn’t move or try to restrain me. I’m trapped.
A bead of sweat forms on my forehead and travels down the side of my face. He sees it, and his mouth curves into a smile that seems almost… sympathetic.
“Will you take off your clothes, or do I have to?”
I keep my back pressed against the wall. My body is quaking, my knees have turned to jelly. He begins to walk toward me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. All thought of fight or flight has vanished. I’m panicking, and I can’t do a thing to stop it.
The first thing I feel is the warmth of his body, the faint scent of cedar-scented cologne lingering in the inch of air between us. Then his hands. They’re at the hem of my shirt, before lightly dipping behind me, stroking my lower back in a way that confuses me, half soothing, half possession.
“I’m going to remove your shirt now. It’ll go easier if you don’t try to resist.”
I couldn’t resist if I tried to. I didn’t think I’d turn to mush so easily. Danger doesn’t have that effect on me. Itshouldn’thave that effect on me. The fear strangling me at the moment is different from anything I’ve ever known.
But now, his hands are pulling the shirt slowly over my head, and I’m melting. Not from fear. Well, not only.
My face flames when his eyes take in my breasts. He probably thinks it’s because I’m exposed. It’s not.
It’s because no one’s ever looked at me the way he’s looking at me right now. Not leering, not crude. It’s something sharper. My body sparks with something I don’t understand.
So much for the fighting. The only thing that’s keeping me from arching into him is my mind, yelling at me:what the hell iswrong with you, Seraphina Connor?
It’s probably a little weird to address myself by name. But if I didn’t, no one else would, and Mama did give it to me. It’s the only thing I have left of her.
I curse at myself as I glance up at Damien. I always did have a tendency to lose myself in my thoughts. That’s what happens when no one talks to you, you end up talking to yourself.
But Damien’s thoughts seem just as far away as mine, his eyes still glued to my chest.
Or maybe his mind is just busy laughing at me. The next moment, he’s smiling, and I decide that’s what it is.
“Don’t you wear a bra?”
I don’t answer, because there’s no need to. It’s pretty self-explanatory.
