My Love Protect Read online

  Risa watched me without a word. Only her swollen mouth and greedy eyes betrayed her. She’d welcome me back into her arms.

  All I had to do was take.

  And fuck me but I wanted to take until there was nothing left to give, until I couldn’t move, breathe, or think without saying her name first.

  Unable to resist smoothing two fingers down Risa’s cheek, I forced myself to turn back to the task at hand. I shifted the car into gear and pulled back onto the road.

  Six minutes behind schedule. Unavoidable but certainly not repeatable.

  Risa cursed softly. Finally, I was able to smile.

  You’re not the only one who aches, my love. But don’t worry. It’s just for a little longer.

  Besides, I didn’t want to take.

  I wanted Risa to give.

  23

  RISA

  The house was a thing of old world beauty. Damian told me it was once a gentleman’s hunting lodge, something I didn’t expect in a country known for Vlad and constant wars with the Ottoman Empire.

  Oh and yes. Dracula.

  Gated in front with a soaring iron fence, the villa had a weathered stone exterior, white-washed walls, high ceilings, heavy beams, and ten bedrooms filled with antique furniture. Vineyards surrounded the property beyond the manicured gardens. I would’ve loved splashing about in the pool if it was warmer and if we weren’t waiting out the enemy’s next move.

  “Damian?”

  “Yes, my love?”

  I was getting rather attached to that pet name even as much as it distracted me from my position.

  “Our decoys made it safely?”

  “Yes.”

  His immediate answer was progress. “Are they still here? In the country, I mean?”

  Damian shook his head but didn’t say anything more. Clearly, the subject was closed.

  Baby steps.

  I wasn’t going to push. At least for now.

  I’d made it clear to Damian I needed to know what was going on. If he was truly serious about proving himself to me, then he’d respect that.

  Wishful thinking?

  Perhaps. Or perhaps I was allowing myself to believe in Damian.

  Again, at least for now.

  My thoughts strayed to the kiss we shared in the car not even an hour before. Desire, never far since then, warmed my belly and further below. I couldn’t stop thinking about how fantastic he felt pressed against me. My wrists tingled. I wished Damian to do it to me again.

  And more.

  Our passion would’ve made my declarations that we weren’t together ring hollow, so I was glad to abandon them.

  We were definitely together in the car. I was seconds away from ripping my pants off and inviting Damian to fuck me any way he wanted.

  “Risa?”

  Focus.

  “Ah, yes?”

  Focus was easier said than done when all I kept thinking about was surely we’d find it easier to talk while lying down on a bed? Or a floor? Or maybe propped against a counter?

  Damian took my hands in his. “Would you like to contact your parents?”

  That was the right topic to douse my lust.

  I smothered guilt for not bringing up the issue earlier. Since I just spoke to them, I figured I had to the end of next week before I’d worry them with my absence. Still, the earlier I called them the better.

  “Can I?”

  “Yes.” He smiled, easing the fatigue from around his wondrous eyes. “I’ve cleared a line for you to use, but there are a few ground rules we have to cover.”

  Disappointed, but not surprised, I nodded my head. “Okay. What are they?”

  “First, you may only contact them on that phone. No other. I cannot press upon you how serious this is, Risa.”

  Worry wormed through my gut. “Damian, are my parents in danger? I mean, if someone came after me…”

  The answer was obvious.

  Oh God. How could I be so stupid? If the people after Damian tracked me down, surely they’d look to my parents? What the hell was wrong with me? How did I just think of this now?

  Damian took me in hand, soothing me before I got too wound up. “I’ve got security on them, my love. They’re safe and sound. I promise.”

  “But what if someone gets my dad at the lab or my mom at the hospital? Or the freeway?”

  He pulled me tightly against him. “My security firm won’t let that happen, Risa. I promise you. If it looks as if someone is getting close to them, then they’ll be extracted and taken to an impenetrable location.”

  “How impenetrable?”

  “World leader bunker impenetrable.”

  “Okay.” I let out a relieved breath before tipping my head back. “How come we’re not in one?”

  Damian smiled but said nothing.

  No surprise there. “Right. What are the other rules?”

  “You tell them nothing of where you really are.”

  “Okay. Where will I be then?”

  “With me.”

  That wasn’t going to be so easy to sell. “Damian, they won’t believe that.”

  “Why not? They do know you worked for me.” He paused. “At least, I assume so.”

  What was that about? “Yes, they know. They also know it was temporarily.”

  “Simple. Tell them the truth that I couldn’t live without you and brought you back.”

  “Damian, um, they don’t know anything about us. They just think I worked for you. That’s all.”

  He went silent. Damian placed two fingers beneath my chin. This beautiful man studied me like a problem that needed to be approached carefully. It was obviously not the time to be anything less than serious, but the impulse to stand up on tiptoe and ruffle his hair was hard to resist.

  Just to make him give me a slightly irritated, reproaching look.

  I loved it when Mr. Damian Black-Price got that look. He was too damned sexy. It made me want to please him, to make him smile. Just a tiny bit.

  My mouth parted and a sigh of longing left my body.

  If only things could be simple again. My Damian was here, memories fully intact, and he wanted me. I could just take him for my own, guilt-free with no one to caution otherwise.

  We could spend the hours away upstairs in a bed. Making love, sleeping just long enough to do it again…

  Shifting my stance, I could feel my panties dampen. It wouldn’t take much to get me to come. A few strokes of his fingers. Or flicks of his wet tongue.

  I was practically like a bitch in heat. That was no good. I glanced at the wall until I could look at him without imagining him naked.

  Damian’s gaze glittered. I didn’t have to wonder if he read the battle raging in my eyes. I saw the same in his.

  Later was the unspoken promise.

  But just how long was that going to take?

  24

  Damian looked away. His jaw clenched, but I understood it didn’t come from anger but rather desire.

  I suffered it too.

  The moments slid away. Our breathing smoothed out.

  He turned back to me. “I can’t say I’m pleased by the secrecy, but I see no need to change it. For now. Do you have a suggestion?”

  Damian sounded so serious, so reserved. It would be off-putting if I wasn’t such a little freak for brains and cold decorum. Just like that, Damian made me hot for him once again. And once again, now wasn’t the time.

  But my body had a hard time getting the message.

  You really are acting like a bitch in heat. Control yourself!

  I plastered a solemn look on my face, as if I wasn’t drowning in want for him.

  “Damian, your reasoning is impeccable—as always. All right, you made me a monetary offer I couldn’t refuse. The offer required me to quit my job immediately and then join you where?”

  Lust sparked in his gaze. It wasn’t just me. Damian was caught in it hard. Just like me. He placed his fingertips on my lips.

  “Spain.”

  P
leasure, always pleasure, when he touched me. “Right. Where will I be staying and how long will I be gone?”

  Damian rubbed his nose against mine once. “Is it necessary for them to know the specifics?”

  Anticipation stroked along my veins. I wished he would touch me like that again. It made everything feel so much better.

  “Yes. After New York there’s no way either of my parents are going to be okay with long distances and not being able to come up and see me.”

  Damian raised an eyebrow. “They would fly over to see you when you’re clearly working?”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying they’re not going to be okay with me going underground and not making it a point to stay in contact.”

  His hand traced along my jaw and then smoothed to the back of my neck. It was as if he couldn’t keep from touching me.

  “Then call them every few days.”

  “Once a week should be good. So where am I supposed to be staying?”

  Damian pondered the question. “Madrid. The Westin Palace Madrid.”

  “Is there anything else I need to follow?”

  Damian stroked my head, letting his nails scrape against my scalp. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. He smiled at the shiver I couldn’t suppress.

  “No, other than the obvious of not bringing up the real reason why you’re not in the States.”

  “Clearly. Now what about my job?”

  He squeezed his hand slightly before taking a step back. “I’ve already had your resignation submitted. They received it and your things have been collected.”

  “By Tracy I presume.”

  There was an archness to my tone but Damian merely shrugged. “Any other questions?”

  His shrug could mean anything, but I was pretty sure I’d gotten it right. “No.”

  “You’re not the least bit curious over how Steve Holland took it?”

  Not really, but I’d play along. I didn’t doubt Damian was testing me and I had a good idea why. Besides, who said I couldn’t indulge in a tiny bit of payback?

  You really have become petty.

  “Why? Did he ask about me? We had plans for tonight.”

  Or at least I was sure Steve’s plans involved following up with me today about another doughnut date. Just like if I was his potential client.

  It wasn’t really about me, I’m sure. Just winning me over. Account Executives can’t help themselves. It’s what we do.

  “Why do you even care?” he asked sharply, suspicion burning like hellfire in his narrowed gaze.

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t necessarily. You’re the one who brought it up.”

  Damian turned on his heel and threw out, “Follow me.”

  I’d definitely hit my target. He was pissed. Normally, Damian would’ve held my hand or picked me up because he enjoyed carrying me. Not this time. I trailed behind him, but not in rejection.

  How could I when I’d elicited such a reaction?

  Damian’s jealousy soothed the part of me that held a grudge over his behavior with Gretchen.

  He looked over his shoulder. Our gazes clashed and he did nothing to hide his frustration.

  The man was impossible. Really.

  And sexy. Incredibly sexy in just about all his emotions.

  God, this is going to be harder than I expected. The colder he gets, the more it makes me pant after him. I’m a masochist through and through.

  A masochist who’d undergone so much stress these last months that sexual relief was the only possible way to cope? I sure hoped so because otherwise…

  Damian will be able to get me to agree to anything.

  Did I really doubt that? No. I knew he could and that was the problem. I couldn’t let myself be caged by my love and lust. Not if I was going to be of any use to him.

  However, knowing and doing were two different things.

  We bypassed the library and went up to the second floor. Damian soon opened the door to a small bedroom containing a four-poster bed swathed in midnight blue brocade, a gorgeous antique desk, and ornately carved wardrobe.

  “There’s no time limit on your call, Risa. Take as long as you need. Come downstairs after you’re done and we’ll have lunch.”

  I smiled and waited for him to leave the room. The urge to run after Damian and wrap my arms around his slim waist took hold of me. I took two steps before I realized it.

  My sad, twisted love. I can’t keep away from him even when I should.

  As if he’d heard me, Damian abruptly stopped. He stood there, back to me and fists clenched at his side.

  “Not like this.”

  I barely heard him before Damian turned around and met me in two strides. I cried out as his hands snagged the hair on either side of my head. Feral, his hard mouth slashed over mine.

  It was a kiss of fire and ice—too much and not enough. I clung to Damian because he was my everything and I didn’t want to ever let him go. Heart pounding and body burning up, I forgot why I was here to begin with.

  Nothing mattered but Damian Black-Price. It never did.

  He pulled away, reluctantly if his expression told the truth. “You belong to me. Remember that. Say it.”

  I didn’t want to play coy. Not over this.

  “I belong to you.”

  “Again.”

  “I belong to you.”

  He growled low in his throat. His fingers remained tunneled in my thick hair. Damian could use it as a leash, leading me up high on my tip-toes to chase after his mouth. He could also use it to bring me down to my knees.

  The delight was never knowing which way he’d turn.

  “You belong to me too.” I hadn’t planned on saying it, but I realized how viscerally I felt it as soon as the words crossed my swollen lips.

  He needed to stake a claim on me, but so did I.

  Damian’s brows rose up a fraction. I surprised him. There was no doubt about it.

  How would he react? He needed control in all matters small and large. Would he understand my needs? Would he think his little girl was being naughty or would he hear the woman giving the command?

  The corner of his mouth told me before he did.

  “I belong to you, Risa Kelly. Always.”

  Relief swept over me until my knees shook. I reached up and clenched my fists in his shirt. Yanking Damian down while I arched on my tip-toes, I sealed our vows with a kiss. Not of lust and power, but of love.

  Pure love.

  From that moment on, I knew everything was going to turn out okay. No matter who was coming for us or what we’d have to do to keep our love, I knew it in my bones we were forever.

  “You understand me now, Damian?” I gasped tenderly. “Do you understand why I’ve needed to be this way with you?” I couldn’t stop touching him—his face, head, throat, and shoulders all felt my greedy touch.

  Damian lifted me up, urging me to twine my legs around him. His large hands cupped my bottom and squeezed hard while his lips clung to mine. Burying his face against my neck, Damian nodded.

  “I understand, Risa.”

  I hugged him as hard as I could. The sleek muscles bunched beneath. “Thank you. Thank you.” I gently kissed his cheek. “We’re in this together, Damian. Me and you. You’ve got me and I’ve got you. Just like you fought for me all those months ago and I fought for you in New York, now we’re fighting together.”

  His large body shook once as if an involuntary chill wracked through him. “Risa...”

  Patiently, I waited until it became clear he wasn’t going to say anything. “What is it?” I prompted with a whisper.

  He didn’t say a word. Damian just carefully set me down on my feet. He leaned down and then kissed my forehead. “You are the sweetest woman I’ve ever known in my life. I mean that.”

  “So are you. The sweetest man, I mean.”

  Damian’s chuckle made the sun break free from the clouds. “And a terrible liar to boot.” He reached for my face. The warmth from his hand stole into
my cheek. “Make your call, my love. Take as long as you want. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

  With that he turned around and left the room.

  As soon as the door closed, I touched my lips. Euphoria swam through me until I looked over at the phone.

  My smile fell away and a frown of worry took its place. Damian was right—I was a terrible liar.

  How was I going to pull this off?

  25

  DAMIAN

  Risa. She was going to be the end of me.

  Her innocence and faith in my honor would be the ruin of my barely-there conscience.

  She wanted to help me. Me.

  Without her saying the words, I knew what was in her mind and heart. Even after all of this, she still thought I was a normal man in the midst of an abnormal situation that had nothing to do with me.

  Risa thought I was an innocent worthy of standing by and protecting. If she knew the truth, if she really knew where I came from, who I would be if given the choice…it would break her heart.

  I turned to look back at the door, knowing she was just a few feet away. I wanted to go in and ask her why she continued to think the best of me.

  Why?

  I’d imprisoned her against her will and she still loved me.

  I’d gutted her in New York and she still wanted to love me.

  I’d killed her assassin and she still believed I was a good man.

  Hatred bubbled beneath the ever-present calm exterior. If there was a God then he’d make me pay. But there was no God when you willingly walked the path into darkness.

  There was only power and blood.

  Blood was the crux of this war. The only way it was ever going to stop was until one side hemorrhaged.

  Risa pledged her loyalty because she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand this was a war started by a man who’d finally grown tired of living in filth and wanted to make it right.

  If only for the last time.

  My father couldn’t stop this, but as his son he’d given me the path and I’d walk it. I’d walk it straight into hell.

  The light may never find me, but Risa would.

  And I’d find her.

  26

  RISA