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Damien and Sierra entered their suite and he immediately moved toward the small kitchen area, flicking on the coffee pot. It was already set up, so all he had to do was push a button to get the dark liquid brewing.
His cell phone rang as he was turning over one of the cups. He looked down, sighing before hitting a button and speaking into the small device. He paced away from her, she assumed, for privacy.
Sierra figured she had time. It looked like he was in for the evening, so she could surely convince him the best course of action was for him to stay and finish his business, and for her to head home.
“I have to go out,” Damien said, startling Sierra with the irritation in his voice.
“What? We have to talk,” she said, not even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
“A friend’s in town who I haven’t seen in a while.”
Sierra looked at him in surprise, noting a tiny bit of jealousy trying to creep inside her. It didn’t matter if he went out every night of the week so long as she wasn’t stuck in the dang hotel room.
She sent him a glare, irritated even more by the insolent way he was leaning against the counter. It seemed he really didn’t care about her opinion, like his time was the only thing of value.
She was bound and determined to get her say, even if she had to pin him down to do it.
Damien grabbed his coffee cup then moved out of the kitchen area, leaving Sierra no choice but to either stand there with her mouth gaping, or run after him. She was getting tired of chasing him.
He stepped into his large hotel bedroom and she paused in the doorway, her stomach once again tightening. It felt wrong to follow him in there, like she’d be crossing a taboo line inviting something she truly wasn’t ready to give.
“We can talk later, Sierra. I need to shower and change,” Damien said as he began removing his shirt.
Sierra was grateful his impressive back was to her, because her eyes drank in the sight of all that golden flesh, his muscles tightening with the upward movement of pulling the shirt over his head. His arms flexed, making those strange sensations start emerging in her core. She forgot how to speak, suddenly feeling paralyzed completely rooted to the spot.
His hands reached down to his pants, the sound of his zipper falling echoing in the otherwise silent room. Sierra really hoped her quickened breathing wasn’t as loud as she thought it was, because she could feel herself panting as she drank him in.
As her eyes studied his body, she suddenly realized she was now looking at his stomach, not his toned back. Her eyes quickly darted up, colliding with Damien’s.
His mouth twisted in the most seductive smile she’d ever seen a man use before, and she felt her knee’s shake. With momentous effort, she tore her gaze away from his, took a few shaky steps to his bed and plopped down on the end of it. She felt like she’d just run a marathon, the way her breathing was ragged, sweat was beading on her brow, and her stomach was churning.
Without saying anything, he moved his long, elegant fingers to the top of his hips and gripped the fabric of his trousers, then slowly started sliding the pants down, taking his underwear with him.
When she realized he had zero qualms about stripping naked in front of her, she managed to rip her gaze away, taking a sudden and fascinated interest in his bedside lamp.
“Enjoying the view, Sierra?” he asked, his voice cascading over her like a cool waterfall on a hot day. She felt her face heat with embarrassment; mortified he found her awkwardness with the situation so shocking.
She really wished she could just turn, look at him from head to toe with a dismissive glance, and come up with a great retort.
While she was still trying to think of a witty response, she heard the shower start, and she quickly looked over to the spot he’d been a moment before. She turned and saw the bathroom door open, and steam starting to softly drift through it.
She was running out of time.
If he thought she’d go away because she was embarrassed or nervous, then he had another thing coming. For the first time in her life, she wanted something badly enough to not worry about the consequences of asking for it.
So what if he was naked in there, probably using those strong fingers to rub soap across that incredibly hard chest, then slowly moving downward… Stop! she commanded as she pulled her thoughts from the shower stall.
It didn’t matter what he was doing in there. She needed to speak with him, and she was safe for the moment from having to see all that flesh, so she’d just talk to him while she at least had him trapped in one place. Damien stepped under the pulsing shower while his body reacted, knowing Sierra was just a few feet away. He nearly groaned as all the blood rushed to his lower half, and he hardened in a painful way.
With a curse, he turned the temperature dial to cold and shivered uncontrollably as he quickly washed himself, his teeth chattering.
His plans of taking Sierra to bed were destroyed when he got a call from his very distant girlfriend, begging him to have dinner with her. He hadn’t seen her in a month, was planning on ending their casual relationship, but owed Shelby the courtesy of doing so in person.
She was in the wine business, which was how they’d met. Her father owned a track of land next to his and Shelby did a lot of the sales for her father’s large business. They’d been trying to go into business with Damien, but he’d quickly decided it wasn’t to his benefit. He had, however, hit it off with Shelby and had been seeing her for a year, though neither of them were often in the same location at the same time.
Being with Sierra, he’d completely forgotten about the woman, showing him he was making the right choice in ending Shelby’s hopes of them having a future together.
He couldn’t sleep with Sierra, in good conscious, while leaving Shelby dangling. All of that meant he’d have to deal with an aroused body and a lot of frustration, for at least one more night.
Damien was confused about Sierra’s obvious embarrassment at him undressing. He’d seen pictures of men parading her around town, read articles about her one-night date status. She was known to go out with a man for one night, and then leave him high and dry in the morning.
She should’ve been a whole lot more comfortable in his bedroom, if the rumors were true. They had to be true, because the alternative meant he was dealing with an innocent woman. That couldn’t be the case it would make what he was doing too wrong.
“I spoke with my best friend earlier today. She wants me to visit with her. I’m doing nothing here, and I see no point in staying. I don’t know if you have some power play thing going on with my dad, or if you really do need an employee, but it’s obvious you don’t need me right now. I’d like to go ahead and take a flight out of here tomorrow if one’s available,” Sierra said, speaking loudly to be heard over the sound of the shower spray.
Damien ground his teeth together, irritated that she was still harping on that subject. He figured the discussion was over as he’d already said he didn’t want her to leave.
Stubborn woman.
He turned the blast of cold water off, his body sufficiently numb. Before stepping from behind the curtain he grabbed a towel and swiftly dried himself before wrapping it around his waist. At least the cold had temporarily done its job, and his body was somewhat back under control. He couldn’t guarantee how long it would stay that way. One look at her gazing at his chest again, and he’d turn solid in a heartbeat.
He stepped up to the sink, not bothering to get dressed. He could see her shoulder, as she leaned against the doorjamb, her head turned away as if looking at him would burn her eyes.
“No.” He grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth.
“What do you mean, no? I’m a grown adult. You can’t just tell me no and think that’s the end of the discussion,” she huffed, her body turning as she stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, glaring at him.
He faced her, his hand still moving the toothbrush in his mouth as he lifted his brows. Then, to really irk her, he winked. He saw the flush start in her neck as her mouth gaped open in shock at his boldness. He turned away and spit in the sink.
It was better if she was mad. Let her stomp off and throw a tantrum, because honor, or not, he was a full-blooded man, and her standing there with her breasts heaving, and her eyes on fire was working him up all over again.
What he really wanted to do was forget about his night and simply throw Sierra on his bed, which happened to be only a short distance behind her. He felt himself rising underneath his towel and cursed as he bent down and took some water in his mouth to rinse.
“Don’t you dare ignore me, Damien Whitfield. I’m trying to talk to you!”
Damien slowly turned, surprised at her tone. She was getting fully worked-up. Heck, one kiss, just one. Was that really so bad? He took a menacing step forward, feeling adrenaline rush through him. She quickly took a retreating step back.
He was in charge he was hungry he really wanted to prove how easily he could have that tone of voice of hers changing. Within minutes, he could have her begging him for more, not yelling at him from a doorway.
He stopped only inches from her, taking delight at the desire he saw in her eyes.
“Is this better, Sierra? Do you want my full attention,” he whispered, his hand stroking the bone just below her neck, running his fingers across the top of her blouse. Her nipples instantly responded to his light touch, poking through the thin material of her bra and shirt, causing him a whole lot of new pain in his groin. He barely managed to hold in the groan.
“Well, uh, this is a bit too close…” she started saying when she finally gave up and closed her lips. He brought his hand up and traced her mouth, wanting just one taste. The way she was looking at him was making him come undone. One taste would be enough… Sierra felt her heart thundering in her ears. He was going to kiss her. She could feel it. Her mind screamed for her to kick him, yell, do anything but stand there like a statue. She should be turning tail and running.
Her body was telling her something entirely different. Her feet refused to retreat any further, and her nipples were pressing painfully against the cotton of her bra. Her core, oh her core, was on fire as sensations rocketed inside.
Her eyes glanced down, taking in his masculine chest, only inches away. She found herself wanting to lean forward and trail her tongue across his dark nipple. She wondered if he’d like the sensation.
How would he feel? Was he as solid as he looked, or was he velvety with a steel undercarriage? She suddenly wanted to know the answers more than she wanted to leave. She was caving to her body’s desires.
Damien leaned down, his head getting closer, and she wanted to shout yes, please, yes, but no sound could escape her closed throat. Why fight it? It was useless. She wanted him.
Suddenly, Damien’s phone was ringing again, causing him to pause with only an inch between their lips.
Ignore it, she silently begged, wanting to reach her limp hands out and tug him the rest of the way to her.
He quickly leaned back, the moment lost. She wanted to sob in despair. Why couldn’t she have gotten just one kiss first? She wasn’t asking for much; just a simple kiss, well, and maybe also to run her hands across the smooth skin of his impressively bare chest.
Sierra watched Damien speak a few curt words into his phone before he moved to the large dresser. She didn’t turn her head when he grabbed a pair of incredibly sexy black underwear and pushed his feet inside the openings, then moved them up his muscular thighs. His hands disappeared underneath the towel for a moment, and she found herself hoping it would fall.
It didn’t.
He kept his back to her as he grabbed a pair of fitted slacks and quickly tugged them on, only releasing the towel when his sculpted ass was covered. He hadn’t been so modest when they’d first come into the room and she’d been too embarrassed to look. When she did want him to show her his full package, he refused her. She couldn’t win.
At least the view of his back was enough to keep her heart accelerated.
Damien walked over to the small closet and grabbed his surprisingly bright blue dress shirt and slipped it on, further covering up her view. She managed to turn her head away and take in a couple of deep breaths.
Sierra didn’t even know who the heck she was anymore.
“I have to leave. We’ll finish…this…later,” he said as he turned back around and faced her.
She started to regain a bit of her sanity the more clothing he put on, though she had to admit he looked just about as good dressed as undressed. When he grabbed a tie and slung it around his neck, then began working it into a knot, her stomach clenched again. Okay, he looked just as good dressed as he did naked.
Tension was practically a living entity in his suddenly very small bedroom. They weren’t going to have any decent conversation in there. She should’ve known better than that. What woman follows a man into his room to tell him she’s leaving?
In her defense, it wasn’t like they were a couple. They were a supposed employer and employee, not that she’d done anything so far to earn the title of employee.
“Did you hear what I said?” he demanded as he paused to shoot her another glare.
“What? No,” she said with hesitation.
“It’s not that difficult, Sierra. All you do is nod your pretty little head and say, yes sir,” he mocked.
Sierra’s desire fizzled at his words – the mocking, arrogant, pig. After the enduring years of abuse from her father, she was surprised she wasn’t cowering in the corner, but instead of feeling terror of standing up to Damien, she felt excitement.
She was through with being a victim.
Sierra stomped over to him, not even noticing the look of shock on his face. She poked her finger into his chest, hoping her nail was biting into his skin, marring the perfect surface.
“Don’t you ever speak to me like that again. Dogs and cats will be singing romantic ballads together before I bow down to you. I’m through letting men walk on me. You can run off to your little date. That’s just fine. But I will be waiting when you get back and we will finish this,” she said, her voice coming out in a mixture of a growling shout.
With slow movements, Damien reached his hand upward and cupped her wrist in his unyielding fingers. He took a step forward, leaving her no choice but to fall back, or else land on her butt.
He took a few more steps, making her stumble in retreat. She was thinking maybe it had been a bad idea to poke him so hard.
As he stopped, the look in his eyes melted her from the inside out. There was a look of anger in there, sure, but desire was burning out of control just beyond it.
“Yes, Sierra, we most certainly will finish this when I get back,” he whispered, his head moving down so the words were spoken against the sensitive skin of her ear.
He released her hand and she tumbled backward, landing in a heap on his bed. His stare froze her to the spot, the heat instantly rising to combustible temperatures with nothing but the look in his eyes.
One second he looked ready to pounce on top of her… then the next… he was gone.
Sierra heard the hotel room door shut, and she didn’t bother trying to move. Her body was so overheated, she was sure she’d melted his mattress.
She laid there for an incredibly long time, desire churning inside her, his scent surrounding her in the most pleasant ways. Eventually, she gained the energy to get off his bed. She figured she had a few hours to pull herself together before he came back.
She’d use the time wisely. With a groan of frustration, she went in her own bathroom and ran the bath. First step to relaxing was a nice and hot, scented bubble bath. Second, was to purge Damien from her head, her body, and her life. This game he was playing was getting too personal. It was time for game over.