The table goes silent around me. The beating of my heart is pounding in my head as all eyes are on me.
“Well, that’s no way to treat your lady,” Leon exclaims. “You need to court her properly. Woo her. Show her what she means to you. No better way to do that than with action.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” I stammer. “He does. Damian and I do lots of fun things.”
As upset as I am that Damian told them I was dating the boss, a deep need to get this right weighs on me. Damian is trusting me to help sell him as someone they want to do business with. He has his business pitch perfected, but the human element… that’s where I need to shine. And I don’t want to fail him.
Pam is eyeing us, her gaze bouncing from Damian to me. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I know it isn’t good.
“You know, it’s very important to me to know who it is I’m doing business with. I’d love to hear more about what young people consider fun these days.” she says. There is an unmistakable challenge in her eyes.
Damian rumbles from the back of his throat, low enough that only I can hear him. His warm, firm hand lands on my thigh again. Goose bumps rise, his touch pulling my attention away from what we were talking about.
“Oh, um… Damian loves hiking and spending time outdoors. He’s a real nature lover, this one.” I pat him on the shoulder, making a sound that is supposed to be a laugh but comes out just a little too manic. Damian’s fingers dig into my skin. My body seems just as conflicted as to how to respond to it as my brain. Saliva sits heavy in my mouth as I work to remember how to swallow, a surge of heat pulsing between my legs. “With the cold, it’s been harder to do, but any chance he has, he’s always like, ‘let’s go be one with nature.’”
Damian’s jaw clenches. I can feel his blood pressure rising. He isn’t looking at me, but that doesn’t make the weight of his wrath any less heavy.
“Yes, too bad we’re in the middle of winter, otherwise I would love the opportunity to see what your tours are all about,” he pivots the conversation back to Leon and Pam. He turns to me then, a dangerous tilt to his lips. The way his heavy brow dips over his eyes tells me that he is less than impressed with my improv skills.
Apparently, his are a lot better than mine. His gaze turns warm, his fingers brushing over the sensitive skin on my thigh, and the smallest of grins is playing on his lips.
He is ridiculously good-looking, even with the scowl that he so often sports. He’s all dark eyes, dark hair, and olive skin. Even his lashes are long, dark, and enviable. Everything about this moment feels designed to pull me to him. A combination of lethal attraction that makes me forget that I’m not here with my loving boyfriend.
“See, a man who understands what we’re all about. Pammie and I were talking to Walter Burke just the other day—you must know him,” Leon says, jolting my gaze away from Damian. I don’t know who this Walter Burke is, but the teeth-shattering jaw clench tells me Damian’s not a fan. He nods his assent, and Leon continues. “Anyway, he isn’t the outdoors type, self-professed, still seemed like a decent chap, I guess.” I witness the moment an idea shines behind his eyes. His whole face lights up. “Hey, why don’t you come to the cabin with us? The both of you. It’ll be a great way for us to show you what our tours are all about. A real immersive ice fishing experience. It’s just at the end of the month, two weeks from today. We don’t need to make any decisions today.”
“Oh, no. We couldn’t,” Damian says, possibly too quickly. But it doesn’t matter because Leon keeps going, waving away Damian’s trepidation.
“Sure you can! Pammie, that’s alright with you, right?” He leans in and gives Pam a peck to her cheek. “We can give them Maggie’s room. I’m sure Courtney and Stephen won’t mind her bunking with them for the weekend.”
Pam offers her husband a tight-lipped smile. She’s been eyeing Damian and me all night with a look of distrust. Damian really wants this contract though. He’s been working hard all evening to sell his services to them, and even though I’ve only known him for a week, I feel my loyalty to him growing.
Leon doesn’t seem the least bit aware of his wife’s reservations. I don’t think he would have extended the invitation if he was, but now that it’s out there, I can see it being a great opportunity for Damian to make the personal connection he needs in order to win them over. It’s a smart move. A strategic one, if he plays his cards right.
Without thinking, I open my mouth.
“We’d love to,” I say brightly. “Like I said, Damian’s a big fan of… fishing and… cabins.”
Damian’s eyes widen, and when he squeezes my knee this time, I feel his fingers down to my bones.
He opens his mouth, but before he can speak, Leon’s face lights up. “This will be great. A weekend in Maine, in a cabin by the lake. I’ll set up the excursions, the lodging, the food. You can see what it is we do for when you are doing the ads.”
“If we decide to go in that direction,” Pam adds sweetly.
“Yes, yes. Of course,” Leon agrees.
Turning Leon down now would seal our fates, and Damian knows it.
I catch his eyes, dark and ominous, as he glares at me with contempt. I’m nearly crushed by the weight of his stare. It lasts less than a second before he’s slipping a mask of polite interest on his face.
A niggling feeling starts low in my gut.
Uh-oh.I think I may have pissed off Satan.
Chapter 7
Damian
“Ofcourse.I’mlookingforward to it already.” The words physically hurt me to say as they are pulled from my mouth. “But Brielle won’t be able to make it, unfortunately,” I say, turning to her with the most loving expression I can muster when I’m feeling anything but affection right now. “That’s the weekend with your family thing, isn’t it?”
