Savage Empire: An Enemies to Lovers Dark Billionaire Romance (Broken Cross Book 1)

by Bri Blackwood

  The conversations continued until at one point, Damien excused both of us and pulled me away to where we could be alone.

  “Do you want to get a drink or anything?”

  I thought about it for a moment and said, “I think I’m going to go with water.”

  “Not Merlot?”

  I snorted. “Trying to keep a clear mind instead of drinking and turning into a lush.”

  “Damien, long time no see.”

  Damien and I turned to find a tall, tan-skinned man standing behind us. His aura was off-putting. I looked at the stranger in front of me and then back up at Damien. It was clear as day that this individual was no stranger to Damien.

  “Will. It’s good to see you.” Damien’s tone said that it was anything but.

  I knew my instincts were correct.

  “Likewise.”

  “I just wanted to come over and say hello after I saw you across the room.” His eyes turned to me and he said, “And you are?”

  I hesitated for a moment before I said, “Anais.”

  “Well. What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

  I thought about rolling my eyes at his very cliché comment, but something told me that wouldn’t go over well. Who was he?

  “I’ll let you get back to it. It was nice seeing you again.”

  “Likewise,” Damien replied.

  When Will left, I turned to Damien and asked, “Who was that?”

  “Just someone I knew a long time ago. You don’t have to worry about him.”

  Although I didn’t think that was the end of it, his voice, thick with assertiveness, was reassuring and it scared me.

  18

  Anais

  “Damien, I don’t think I’m properly dressed for an evening at Elevate.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you look like since you’re with me.”

  I rolled my eyes and threw my head back onto the headrest. I knew Elevate would be fun, I just also knew I was overdressed no matter how much Damien said I wasn’t, but I was ready for a more relaxed vibe after spending most of my evening at a function I didn’t care to be at. But had the security issue been taken care of? It irritated me because I kept thinking about it, but I didn’t want to deal with the fallout from it.

  “But—” I leaned forward to argue with him because this was a terrible idea.

  “The security issue is being handled and the majority of people that will be there tonight won’t see you.”

  I sat back because he ripped the wind from my sails when he answered my question.

  It didn’t take long for us to arrive, but we drove past the entrance. The SUV turned down an alleyway and we were escorted into the building through a door behind the building. Damien led the way as we went up to the VIP lounge where we were seated and given drinks.

  “Not too bad, huh?” Damien asked as he dipped his head to whisper in my ear.

  I shook my head. “No, this is great. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in the VIP portion of a bar or club.”

  “Well, there is always a first time for everything.”

  The way he said those words both aroused and frustrated me. Ellie’s words about becoming addicted to Damien replayed in my mind. I closed my eyes briefly, tossing her words aside because there was nothing wrong with enjoying how he made my body feel. No emotions required.

  “We’re going downstairs tonight.”

  “I uh — wasn’t expecting that.” I wasn’t opposed to it and the thought of trying something new with him down there was more than enough to get me excited. I had just thought we might get a quick drink and head home. Visions of what he might have planned flashed through my mind. If he brought up anything outside of what I was comfortable with I was walking out.

  “You should always expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to me. We’ll head down after you finish your drink.” His eyes dared me to fight him on it, but I didn’t want to.

  What I wanted to do was continue to press his buttons and I did that by drinking my drink even slower than normal.

  I could see him growing impatient while I cradled my drink, determined to draw this out as long as possible. I stood up and walked over to the balcony. I sipped from my drink and looked out at the crowd. The atmosphere in the club was electric and part of me wished I was partaking in the festivities below. The VIP area was secluded from the rest of the night life, making me feel both envied and envious.

  “Let’s head downstairs,” he said as I took another sip of my drink.

  I hadn’t heard him walk over nor had I felt his presence, so his voice caused a small tremble. “I haven’t finished my drink yet.”

  “I’ll get you another.”

  His annoyance with my stalling was obvious. I swallowed a mouthful of the liquid left in my glass, polishing it off. My attempts to stop the inevitable were over.

  It was now or never. Damien grabbed my hand and together we walked down the stairs and came face-to-face with a security guard. This time I had no problem getting in with Damien leading the way.

  Damien led me down a dark hallway and the first stop on the tour was a lounge that looked like the bar upstairs, but the vibe was different. The energy was more sensual and pure sex. Although there were couches in the large room, most people were on the dance floor grinding on one another and having a great time. The lack of clothing helped set the mood as I watched a woman in what I would call a dominatrix outfit lead a man, who was just in his boxers, around on a chain.

  I leaned forward and asked Damien, “Would you ever let me take charge like that?”

  The look he gave me told me what I needed to know, and I bit my lip as we walked past a gigantic room that seemed to go on forever.

  Bang. I jumped several inches in the air at the loud noise that came from my right. The noise came from a woman who was now leaning up against a glass door that looked out into the hallway we were walking down. Her hands and breasts were plastered against the door as her partner appeared from the shadows and started fucking her from behind.

  It was Damien’s turn to whisper in my ear. “I can tell by your reaction you wish that was you.”

  “It was also a sudden loud noise.”

  “Uh-huh.” He didn’t believe me, and I didn’t believe myself. The look of pure ecstasy on the woman’s face said it all. “Maybe you’ll be interested in some of the other themed rooms.”

  “It’s up to you since you control my pleasure.”

  “Now you’re starting to get it.” The look he gave me when he said those words had me ready to confess every secret I had as long as it led to him giving me that look and so much more. We continued down the hall, passing a few play areas including one that was safari themed and another that had a nautical theme. When we passed a room that was dressed in different variations of red lights, almost painting the picture of flames being on the walls, I noticed Damien visibly stiffen, but before I could ask, he was pulling me toward a door.

  “Here we are,” Damien said. We walked inside and he closed the door behind us. The room he picked was much more like what I deemed to be his personality. He chose a dimly lit room, whose light was coming from a fake fireplace. The king-size bed in the middle of the room was the only other thing that I could see. “Strip. Down to your bra and panties.”

  Normally I had no problem arguing with him, but the darkness of his tone sent a shiver down my spine that I tried to hide. I didn’t want him to know the effect that he was having on me out of fear that he might use it against me. “You’re going to have to unzip me.”

  I turned around and pulled up my hair giving him plenty of room to maneuver. He placed his hands on my thighs and they drifted up my sides, where he briefly touched my breasts before moving his hands toward my back. He slowly unzipped my dress and when it was about halfway down, I let my hair down, allowing it to swing loosely down my back. His quick intake of breath told me he enjoyed that image. I dragged the green sleeves off my shoulders, allowing the dress to gather at my
waist.

  I wore a black lacy bra and panties under my dress. It had been a splurge purchase about four months ago and I finally wore it tonight, to give me some more confidence. It somewhat worked, or maybe it was the drink I had. He was enjoying what I was wearing although it wasn’t for him.

  I rolled my eyes before I stopped moving an idea formed in my mind. Damien loved being several steps ahead, but I wondered if I could get the upper hand here. I slowly unzipped the dress and made a bit of a show of getting the tight dress off of my body by bending down, letting him see all of my cleavage as I dragged the dress over my waist and down my legs.

  “You think this act is cute?” His voice came out a little hoarse, so I knew my “act” had done what I intended it to do. “You’re not in control here. I am.”

  “There is one thing I am in control of. We haven’t talked about any boundaries and I want to clarify that I’m not doing anything that I’m not comfortable with. If it pisses you off, so be it.”

  His eyes narrowed and then a smirk appeared on his lips. “I was waiting to see if you would say something. You always have a choice.” With those words, he backed me up against the wall and I loved the sensation of the cool wall against my warm back.

  “What do you want?”

  His question startled me for a split second. I answered honestly. “You. I want you.”

  “Undress me.”

  Feeling bold, I didn’t hesitate to reach for his pants, wanting to take his cock out. I took my time unbuttoning his shirt and once all of the buttons were done, I peeled the shirt off, removing it from the hard muscles on his shoulders and down his arms before I threw it on the floor. I bit my lip as I undid his pants' button, unzipped his fly, and unbuckled his belt and watched his pants fall down, leaving a pool of cloth at his feet. He quickly removed them along with his shoes and socks. I couldn’t help but stare at his perfect form before our eyes met. The desire that flashed in his eyes made me even more wet as I looked at his hard abs and the black boxer briefs that he had on. I felt as if his bulge was teasing me, and I couldn’t wait for him to fuck me. No emotions, just pleasure.

  “I shouldn’t want this,” Damien murmured as he lifted my head with both hands and kissed me. My senses went on overload as his desperation seeped through. The kiss became more wicked and his hands left my face and made their way down my neck and to my breasts. He was the first to break the kiss and launched an attack of kissing and sucking on my neck. I expected him to work his magic there, but he switched it up on me when he pulled back and bent down, wrapping his hands around my legs, and pulling them around his waist. I wasn’t expecting the motion and I squealed in response. When I looked at Damien, I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

  He carried me across the room and gently tossed me on the bed. “You know, it’s been a while since I heard you say anything, Spitfire. Let’s turn this up a notch.”

  He peeled my bra straps down my shoulders and my tits sprang free from their enclosure. I heard him groan under his breath, trying to keep a lid on his yearning for me. Looked like all of this was turning things up a notch for him instead of me. That was until his lips landed on my breasts. When his mouth met my nipples I moaned, mentally acknowledging that he had turned the tables. He worshipped my breasts as if they were everything he needed to survive and slowly his hand made its way down my body. When he touched my pussy, I was ready to drag his cock inside me. He pulled back and looked down at me, his eyes moving between where his fingers lay and my eyes.

  “Who made you this wet?”

  Forming words wasn’t on my agenda so I didn’t make a peep, even fighting back the moan that was dancing in my throat.

  “Anais.” His voice was low and full of warning. “I’ll move my hand.”

  “No! Fuck! I’m wet because of you.”

  “Good answer.” With that, his finger slipped between my folds and I let out the moan that I had been fighting for what seemed like forever. How was I already revving up to come this quickly?

  His fingers moved in and out of me with a finesse that none of the men I had been with previously had. When he added another finger, it didn’t take long for me to soar above the imaginary clouds that had formed in my mind. I rode out my orgasm on his fingers and when he removed his fingers my orgasm was cruising back down in altitude. I thought he would give me a breather, but he wasn’t done yet.

  “Get on your knees. Put your fingers on that cunt while I get ready.”

  My body moved on reflex and I found myself on all fours on the soft king-size bed. I felt empowered as my fingers rubbed my clit and I could feel his eyes zeroed in on the motions that my hand was doing as I pleasured myself. I heard the ripping of the condom wrapper.

  “You don’t know how much I love this ass,” Damien murmured as I heard him get closer to me.

  Not being able to see him heightened my other senses and I almost buckled when I felt his dick teasing my entrance. I loved when he ran his cock up and down my seam, because I never knew when he would enter me. He did it repeatedly and I wondered if he was waiting on me to beg. He wasn’t.

  He entered me and I whimpered, feeling relieved that he finally satiated my need to have him inside of me. Him entering me from behind was a novel experience and the sensations that Damien set off in my body as he fucked me took me to another planet. His pace quickened and it didn’t take long for the first smack to land on my ass. The sting from the hit sent another load of pleasure through my body and got me closer to my second orgasm. When he did it two more times, I could feel myself about to take the deep dive once again.

  With a few longer strokes, I cried out, reaching the tipping point. Damien didn’t let up the pace until he succumbed to his own orgasm after I had. He collapsed on my back, removing himself from me. Damien got up to head to the bathroom, leaving me alone in the room. Although I knew I could feel safe in this place, my gut told me that danger wasn’t too far away.

  19

  Anais

  I looked down an aisle and didn’t see what I wanted, so I moved on to the next. I made an impulsive trip to a drug store near my office after work to grab a couple of things before heading back to Damien’s. I saw the aisle that was full of nail care items and hurried to pick out a new nail polish color. Smiling when I found the one, I plucked the container off the rack and placed it in the basket I was holding. The deep brown that I found was a perfect color for winter.

  I headed toward the front and got in a small line that had gathered near the cash registers. I zoned out for a moment, wondering what I was going to do for the rest of the night.

  “Thank you. Have a good evening.”

  My head shot up not just because I was next in line but because of the voice I just heard. Why was it familiar? I looked to my left and noticed a man with a black hoodie and baseball cap walking away.

  That was when it dawned on me. The scratchy voice was similar to the man who shoulder-checked me outside of my apartment before this deal with Damien began. I hurried to the register and tossed my things on the counter with a tight smile. I hoped that the sales associate in front of me would have no issues ringing up my purchases because I needed to find this guy.

  Thankfully, the clerk had me out within a couple of minutes.

  I knew better than to confront him by myself because I didn’t know what type of danger that posed, but I wanted to get a good look at him. There was no way I was going to believe that it was just a coincidence that he walked into the same drug store as me. I rushed toward the front door and the cold air hit me like a slap in the face. After looking up and down the street several times, I couldn’t find him. The person that was following me was still out there and I couldn’t do anything about it. I snatched my phone from out of my bag and called the first person who came to mind.

  “Anais.”

  Just him saying my name helped warm me against the cold that was caused by the chill of the wind and the fear in my soul. “Are you at your place?”

  “I�
��m a few minutes away. Why?”

  “I think I’m being followed. Can you stay on the phone with me until I get to your place?” The confident mask I usually wore around Damien was cracked.

  “Where are you?” His no-nonsense tone soothed me a bit and I hated to admit it.

  “Two blocks away from your house.”

  “You’ll get there first because of traffic. When you arrive, lock the doors until I get there. I’ll stay on the line until you do.”

  I sighed. What could we talk about? “Tell me a funny story.” I looked over my shoulder but found nothing out of the ordinary.

  He didn’t miss a beat. “One memory that I have from childhood is that I was in the living room finishing my homework with my mom helping me. I couldn’t have been more than six at the time. With three boys under the age of seven in her house, she knew that something was up when things were a bit too quiet. She found my twin brothers playing in her makeup when they were around two or three. I remember the horrified scream she let out.”

  I snorted. “I’m sure she wasn’t too thrilled to have to clean them up.” I felt some relief wash over me when I spotted Damien’s house in the distance.

  “Nope, but I couldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t happy that they were getting in trouble.”

  The small amount of glee in his voice made me smile as I walked up the stairs to Damien’s place, almost forgetting the reason that I called him.

  I could feel myself waking up even though my body was telling me it wasn’t time to do so yet because I was still exhausted. After talking with Damien and discussing my potentially using Rob to go to and from work I came up to my room and went to bed early.

  A low beeping noise was playing, but I couldn’t tell if it was something in my dream or in real life. It took another second for me to become fully awake and to sit up in bed. I heard the door creak and I turned and found that Damien was in my room. I scrambled to get out of the covers and when I looked at him, he put a finger to his lips, letting me know that I should be quiet. I reached over and pulled a hoodie on over my tank top and sweatpants.