All I had to do was say a few words to get Damien’s attention and let him see the diamond studded pendant around my neck—if he actually recognized it.
Up until now, I’d believed that strong women didn’t bow before their men. They ruled alongside them. I’d been startled by Madeline’s confession—she was a dominatrix, a woman who liked to master men.
I could see myself becoming obsessed with all that erotic pleasure…coming hard like all those women in Madeline’s collection of evidence she’d pulled out for me. I shuddered while recalling each one…their expressions of lust and a wanton sexuality that I’d only fantasized about.
Damien sensed my presence.
He’d frozen mid-sip as he looked my way, his jaw slack, his eyes ablaze.
I saw a blur of movement to my right and a strong hand grabbed my arm.
“And we’re walking. We’re walking.” Theo led me out of the anteroom.
He gestured to one of the men from my father’s security team who was present in the foyer, as though to say, I have her.
“Excuse me,” I said, annoyed.
“Look over there,” he answered, unperturbed by my resistance. “Smile for the camera.”
Instinctively, I brightened for the lens pointing our way. “I need to speak with my fiancé.”
“He’ll call you.”
I tried to pull away. “Where are we going?”
Theo manhandled me through the crowd and guided me out through the front door of the hotel. He’d lost his mind. No one had ever dared to touch me like this.
“Where are we going?” I snapped.
With a quick motion to the valet, Theo demanded his car be brought round. He seemed to change his mind as the man bent to search for the keys, seemingly taking too long.
“Fuck it.” Theo reached in and grabbed them himself and threw down his valet ticket. “Tell me where my Tesla is.”
“I’m staying,” I said, feeling bad for the valet who looked panicked at breaking protocol.
A button was pushed on Theo’s fob, causing an alarm to ping his car’s location nearby. “This way.”
“I’m quite capable of getting home myself.”
“Not sure I believe you.” He cast a glance my way and caught sight of my pendant. “Who have you been talking to?”
My free hand snapped to the necklace. Had it elicited his reaction?
Theo was acting like I’d just revealed a bombshell, so he had to know its meaning, too. He opened the front passenger door of a sporty Tesla and nudged me inside.
“Okay, okay,” I said as I settled into the comfortable cream seat.
His eyes focused on something from the direction we’d come.
Following his line of sight through the windshield, blinking into the dusky night, I saw Damien standing not that far away. He had his hands shoved inside his pockets, his glare locked on us, an expression of fury on his face that was pure Godman.
“Shit,” muttered Theo, as Damien stalked toward us.
Damien sidled up to Theo and stood chest to chest with him.
“I have no idea,” said Theo. “I’m handling it.”
Were they talking in code about where I’d gotten this pendant?
“I’ve got this,” said Damien. “Pandora, come with me.”
I froze, seeing the stern looks exchanged between the two men.
With a deepening frown, Theo leaned down to look at me and gestured for me to get out of the car. “He’s taking you home.”
I raised my chin in defiance.
“He’ll drag you out, Pandora,” Theo warned. “And not in a fun way.”
“I’m going back inside,” I declared.
Damien clenched his jaw. “No, you’re not.”
My heart did a flip-flop.
What the hell was happening?
Damien nudged Theo out of the way and reached in for me. “Come.”
I ignored his hand.
Surprisingly, Damien looked calm. “This is what an order looks like. Obey.”
Swallowing my doubt, I relented and let him take my hand to assist me out of the car. He led me towards a limo parked close by.
“I can make my own way,” I told him.
“In all honesty, I’m questioning your judgment on any decision right now.” Damien glanced back at Theo. “Tell her parents she’s with me.”
“Will do,” said Theo.
Damien opened the rear door of the limo. “In.”
He was too quick for the chauffeur, who appeared flustered that he’d failed to open the door for us.
“I’ve got it, Jacob,” Damien reassured him. “Home. Right away, please.”
Was he taking me to Foxhall Crescent? It was a place I’d never seen, but I’d heard it was his private home. Climbing into the back passenger seat, I noticed the privacy glass was already up.
“Are you dropping me off first?”
“When we’re seen together—” Damien climbed in beside me. “At least try to look happy about it.”
“I’ve been taught to show no reaction to anything either way,” I chided. “Hiding my emotions is what I do best.”
“You give resting bitch face a run for its money,” he muttered. “I know that.”
“I would have been very happy to be taken home by Theo.”
“Thank goodness it was him who approached you first, you naive brat.”
I bristled at his tone. “What are you talking about?”
He turned to face me, glaring, deep chestnut eyes burning an entirely new universe into mine.
A sigh found its way through my trembling lips. I wasn’t going to relent, wasn’t going to let him bully me.
I realized he was staring at the necklace.
“Explain,” he said quietly.
My hand snapped to the diamond key. “This?”
He gave a nod.
“I’m wearing it because I’m worthy.”
He looked unconvinced, those muscles along his jaw tensing with suppressed rage. “Have you any idea what that necklace means?”
“Go on, then. Tell me, Damien Godman.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m going around in circles with you. I always do.”
“My feelings exactly. You always need to have the last word.”
Madeline was right about the necklace. It had sent Damien over the edge. I’d never seen him behave like this toward me.
I felt our passion alighting like a dancing flame, the air crackling with electricity that sparked between us. He had loosened his tie, and his eyelids had become heavy the way they’d done back in his loft when his fingers had grazed my sex.
I tapped the chain. “Clearly you can’t handle me wearing this.”
He gave me a predatory look. “I’m going to show you what it means.”
“I think I’d like that.”
“Silence, Pandora. This is where you watch and learn. Think you can do that?” He tugged his tie off. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to bind your wrists.”
“No, you’re not.”
“That necklace tells me I can. Now turn the fuck around.”
I hesitated, but then turned my back on him to give him better access to my wrists.