“I think so.” Aimee looked upward with stars in her eyes. “Our baby will have magical powers.”
“You’re already thinking about babies?” Ginger laughed.
“I don’t know, you guys.” Aimee sighed with a love-struck smile. “I feel pregnant.”
Haley burst into a laugh at that.
“I mean, I guess it’s possible, even after just one night.” Aimee thoughtfully tossed a raspberry into her mouth.
“What do you mean, it’s possible?” Ginger spun her head toward her. “You’re on the pill right?”
Aimee shrugged. “Who can remember to take a pill every day?”
“You don’t take birth control? What if you get knocked up?”
Aimee crossed her arms defensively. “You’re saying you take a birth control pill every single day?”
“No, but I do get a birth control shot every three months. It’s a miracle of modern medicine for the girl-on-the-go.” Ginger gestured toward Haley, who was silently sliding pancakes onto a white platter. “Fucking Haley’s on birth control and she hasn’t had sex in like a million years.”
“Oh my God.” Haley shielded her face with her hand in embarrassment, lowering her head. She caught a flicker of interest in Damian’s eyes, though he kept them focused on his newspaper, seemingly ignoring their conversation.
“Haley?” Aimee stared at her, waiting for her to give an opinion.
“Um…” Haley swallowed her chagrin and went back to moving pancakes. “I don’t know, Aims, it is sort of a risky choice.” She looked at her warmly.
“Do you really take birth control? Even though you don’t…” She trailed off.
“Yeah, I get the shot.” Haley headed to the sink to rinse the dishes, mortified that Damian was hearing their conversation.
“While we’re on the subject.” Ginger sighed, turning her aggravation in a new direction. “Honestly, Haley, you’re young and hot. Use that body before it starts to wrinkle. You didn’t even join the party last night.”
“Can we just—” Haley flashed her a pleading look and gestured toward Aimee “—get back to the issue at hand here?”
“Your body is screaming for attention.” Ginger threw her arms in the air. “It’s unhealthy to swear off sex, really.”
“Can we please drop this?” Haley’s cheeks burned with heat.
“Hey, sleeping beauty.” Neil swept into the kitchen and took Haley by the waist, planting a kiss below her ear, causing her to shudder slightly. “You must have gone to bed early last night. I didn’t see you at all. In fact, there was a bed shortage toward the end of the night, and I thought you might want to cuddle with me.”
“That is so sweet.” Aimee sighed dreamily across the kitchen.
Neil gathered her in his arms, and Haley kept her body stiff. “I can’t wait to spend some actual time with you today.”
“Yeah.” Haley wriggled out of his grasp and picked up her coffee, sipping it calmly. Neil was polite and attractive, but she’d never had very strong feelings for him. He’d pursued her for several months before she finally agreed to date him, and she ended the relationship after two years, knowing there was no real spark between them.
“I’m gonna take you to lunch today.” He lingered at her side.
“All right.” She gave in, falling back into old habits of going along with his prodding suggestions.
Damian lowered his paper to the counter. “I don’t think you should leave the compound.” She turned to catch his glare, and her breath slowed under his gaze.
“She’ll be perfectly safe, I’ll be there.” Neil narrowed his eyes at Damian. “Safer than she is with you anyway… spawn.”
Haley gasped at the hateful remark and shot Neil a look of surprise.
Damian ignored him, staring at her. “Don’t forget why you’re here.”
“She’s safe with me.” Neil moved his hand to massage her shoulder. “Trust me, Shortcake.”
Damian’s sudden surge of adrenaline flowed through Haley’s body as he struggled to keep his anger contained.
“OK.” Haley shrugged out from under Neil’s grip and took a sip of her coffee. “Well, I think maybe we should stay here.”
“Perfect.” Neil smiled, his pastel green eyes twinkling. “I’ll make you lunch then.”
“Breakfast is ready.” Ginger walked by with a stack of plates.
“Oh, I’ll help you.” Haley grabbed the platter of pancakes and hurried out the door.
* * *
“I emailed my boss at headquarters this morning.” Neil spooned eggs onto his plate. “Told him I was gonna stay here a few days before I go back to Seattle.”
“Hm.” Haley took two banana pancakes, inwardly cringing at the thought of having to reject Neil again. Always so persistent, he’d made it almost impossible to break up with him.
“I missed you, Shortcake.” His hand was on her shoulder again, giving her a deep massage.
“Haley.”
Suffocated under the firm palm, she looked across the table to Damian, who’d called her name.
“Do you have a locus device of any kind?”
“You mean like a mystic charm? For locating something?” Haley winced as Neil pinched her neck too tightly, and she caught a flash of violence in Damian’s eyes.
“Yeah.” He glared at Neil. “To help us find where the djinn are nesting.”
“Yes, a starfleightte.” She shrank away from Neil’s probing hand, and he finally let go. “The only thing is, it’s in my bedroom in Seattle, locked in a Pandora’s Box.”
“Your Pandora’s Box?”
She nodded, absorbing the realization with a trickle of enthusiasm.
“I guess she’s coming with us, then.” Adam spoke through a mouthful of eggs.
Damian hadn’t taken his eyes off her. “Is that all right?”
Caught in his steady gaze, her heartbeat quickened. “Yes.”
“What does that mean?” Neil looked frantically back and forth between them. “What’s a Pandora’s Box?”
“It’s like a lock box.” Haley took a bite, relieved.
“So they need a key to get into it?” Neil sounded frustrated.
“She’s the key.” Adam shoveled a forkful of pancakes in his mouth.
Neil’s downcast look sparked a trace of guilt, and Haley gave him an apologetic look. “It only opens for me.”
“You’re coming too, right.” Noah nudged Ginger’s elbow. “You haven’t been in Seattle for almost two months.”
Damian trained his gaze directly at Neil. “We’ll leave before lunch.”
* * *
“I’m taking the front seat.” Aimee came up behind Haley with shuffling footsteps as she approached Adam’s Escalade.
“I thought you were staying here.”
“Apparently, Stephen doesn’t care at all whether I stay or leave.” Her expression twisted into a wounded grimace. “So I’m leaving.”
“Oh no, Aims.” She squeezed her arm. “I’m sure he cares, he just has a hard time showing emotion.”
“I shouldn’t have gone to bed with him so quickly.” She shook her head.
“It’s been like fifteen years.”
“Maybe he’s tripping about the fact we’ve known each other for so long.” Aimee’s shoulders slumped.
They stopped at the passenger side of the shiny black vehicle. “What did he say?”
“OK, sure.” Aimee used a comically deep voice. “And he just shrugged, like it meant nothing to him that I decided not to go with you guys.”
Haley paused. “I think you might be reading a little too much into things.”
“If he wants me, he’ll have to chase me.” Aimee raised her chin in defiance.
“Time to go.” Adam walked by them on his way to the driver’s side, and Aimee opened the front door.
Ginger poked Haley. “Hey.” She gave her a peppy smile. “Sit in the back, Noah and I want the middle row.”
“Sure.” Haley found the middle seat already pushed
forward and climbed in behind it. Damian sat by the window in the far backseat, concentrating on his glowing electronic tablet.
Curious, she sat down by the opposite window. “Aren’t you taking your car?”
“There was enough room for all of us in this one.”
“Oh.” She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s economical, I suppose.”
Ginger leaned over the seat, handing her the white leather case for her Kindle. “Here, I got this out of your luggage.”
“Thanks, Ginge.” She flipped the case open and turned it on.
“Remember? I downloaded the sequel to Savage Temptation for you. It’s some seriously kinky stuff, trust me, you’re gonna wanna pull over and finish yourself off in a bathroom somewhere.”
With a shake of her head, Haley tapped at the screen, opening to the first page of the erotic novel.
CHAPTER NINE
Hours later, Damian remained fixated on his research in the dark car. Haley woke, shifting uncomfortably in her awkward sleeping position beside him. She slid over to the middle of the seat, keeping her back to him, and stretched her legs in front of her toward the side panel of the roomy Escalade.
Tilting her head to rest against the seat, her breath evened out, and Damian knew she was about to fall asleep. Her suddenly close presence was making it impossible for him to focus. He thought he sensed a warm, longing emotion emanating from her, but couldn’t be sure. After debating with himself for a few minutes, he decided to give in to his impulses and look into her thoughts, hoping she wouldn’t notice in her near slumbering state.
With his heart pounding heavily in his chest, he peeked into her mind, floored to find an image of himself, lying in bed with her, holding her in the dark as she drifted into sleep.
He sat, mystified by what he was seeing. She was picturing herself falling asleep in his arms. Sensing his presence, she turned in alarm, giving him a grave look, and he knew he was caught.
“I thought we said we weren’t going to do that.” Her whisper was barely audible over the sound of the tires against the road.
“I didn’t agree to that.” His heart raced at her disapproving gaze.
She frowned a moment longer before shaking her head. “I guess we’re even now.”
Studying her lips, Damian caught a shadow of a smile and felt a sudden movement in his pants.
“Not exactly. Yours was a lot tamer than mine.”
Haley avoided his gaze. “Please.” She gave a whispered plea. “Stay out of my head.”
Wheeling around, she rested against the seat again.
“All right. I’m sorry.”
Regretful and troubled he’d upset her, he desperately wanted her to accept his apology and leaned around, looking for her face in the dark. “Haley?”
She turned abruptly, and her soft lips brushed against his.
He jerked back slightly at the touch. “That was an accident.”
Haley stared back at him in the dark, her blue eyes sparkling with sultry heat.
Acting on sheer impulse, his lips were suddenly on hers, pressed against their sweet fullness, and he saw a rush of thoughts scattered through her head, all focused on why she should stop him.
He deepened his kiss, moving his hands to her face, and slipped his tongue into her mouth, feeling her negative thoughts fade away as he gently ran his tongue across hers. Haley sighed softly into his mouth, and his dick throbbed in his jeans.
Suddenly realizing the car had stopped, Damian silently pulled away from her mouth. They were at a hotel, and Adam stretched his arms in the driver’s seat.
Haley pushed the seat forward over Ginger’s legs and slipped out to the parking lot. Damian slowly followed as Adam got out of the car.
The night air was warm and still and her dazed thoughts whispered from where she stood behind the Escalade. That was a mistake. Why did you let him do that?
Adam was talking, but Damian couldn’t pay attention to the conversation. He glanced at her briefly as they walked past, finding a look of distress on her features. He’d pushed her too far, and she clearly wasn’t ready.
Haley lingered behind when they got to the front desk, looking with an appreciative eye at the rich furniture in the lobby. The young brunette working behind the desk had a big smile on her face.
“Well, you and I will share one.” Adam counted on his fingers. “Noah and Ginger, and Haley and Aimee can share, so, four rooms.”
“Nah, let’s give the girls their own rooms.” Damian turned to the brunette. “We’ll need five.”
He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed her his bankcard.
Her voice was sugar sweet as she took the card. “The rooms won’t be next to each other, do you mind?”
“That’s fine.”
“We also have a swimming pool around the corner. Do you like to swim—” she inspected the card “—Damian?” Purring his name, she swiped his card through a machine, and handed it back to him with a demure smile.
He ignored the smile and shook his head in response as he put his card away.
“No?” She got to work on her computer. “It’s a really great pool. I’ll be there after work tonight with a few friends.”
As she readied the room keys, Damian caught sight of her thoughts. She envisioned herself riding his face in bed while a blonde girl sucked on him.
“Not really my thing. Adam, you like to swim right?”
“I do.” Adam eyed the stacked brunette, already imagining himself replacing Damian in the fantasy he’d seen in her head. She looked a little slighted as she handed a stack of key cards to Damian, and he passed one of them to Adam.
“Thanks.” Adam turned back to the girl, surveying her silver nametag. “Natalie, what time is your shift over?”
Haley’s gaze instantly lowered to the floor as Damian passed her, and she followed him, walking in silence to the Escalade. He opened the back passenger door.
“Where are we?” Noah’s voice was deep and uneven, and Ginger stirred in his lap.
“Hotel.” Damian handed him two key cards. “One of those is for Aimee.”
“Oh nice, thanks, man.”
Damian went past Haley to the back hatch and opened it. He should give her one of the keys and then leave her alone for the night. Instead, he slipped the last two keys in his pocket and pulled out his luggage along with hers. She was forced to go after him as he walked back toward the entrance.
“I can bring those to your room, sir.” A helpful bellhop ran up to him, and Damian handed forward his own luggage, pulling the keys from his pocket to read the room numbers.
“This goes to room 518.” Damian handed him a few bills from his wallet. “I’ll take care of her luggage.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Haley eyed Damian as she went after him into the crowded elevator, and the bellhop turned to him with a cheerful expression.
“Which room is hers?”
“1725.”
The bellhop hit the button marked 17.
Haley tightened her arms over her chest before dropping them to fold at her waist.
“I appreciate your help, but I really can manage on my own.” She spoke politely into his mind.
He knew it was a domineering move, but if she wasn’t interested in what he had to say when they got to her room, she could turn him down. His chest tightened at the thought.
She continued, “I think the girl at the front desk has some exciting things in mind for you anyway.”
“You saw that?” Damian frowned. He detected a simmering jealousy beneath her attempt at a breezy tone, and gained a little more confidence in his endeavor. “I’m not interested in what she has in mind.”
“Really?” Haley raised her eyebrows. “I thought that was the ultimate fantasy.”
Damian didn’t want to tell her he’d long ago had that in reality, more than once, and many more than just two at a time. But just like every other casual sexual experience he’d had, he was left feeling empty.
<
br /> “You’ve seen my fantasies.”
Biting her lip, she turned her face away with a deep glow in her cheeks.
The elevator reached her floor, and they stepped into the empty hallway.
“I don’t actually do that, Damian.” Her inner voice brimmed with panic. “We’ve talked about that.”
“I know,” he said aloud in a clipped tone as he swiped the key at her door, preparing himself for her inevitable rejection. “That’s not what I’m after.”
Flashing him a miserable look, Haley swept past him into the room, slowing her pace to take in the luxurious suite while he set her suitcase on a couch in the sitting area.
“This is beautiful. Thank you.”
Damian moved in front of her, leaning against the back of a plush armchair, and she held his stare, oblivious. Fuck, this girl makes me nervous. He pushed his hands into his pockets.
After a moment of silence, Haley looked at him with an exasperated smile. “What are you doing?”
Trying to ignore his wildly pounding heartbeat, he gave a casual shrug. “I want to sleep next to you.”
Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open. She seemed to contemplate the offer for a brief moment before swallowing deeply.
“I can’t do that.” She gave her head a quick shake, struggling to take a breath. “I don’t do that. You know that.”
Damian shifted against the back of the chair. Fuck. You knew this was coming. Should have just left her alone. “You fall asleep thinking about me, but you don’t want to actually let me hold you.”
She held her arms over her waist, turning pink as she looked away. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“I know.” He took his hands out of his pockets and slid one to the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have done that. And I know you have your reasons for not wanting to get close to anyone.” Damian stood up a little straighter, uncomfortable with being so vulnerable. “I don’t want to break any of your rules.”
“You’re suggesting that we just…” Flustered, she shook her head again, hiding her face behind her hands for a moment. “It’s a gateway. It’ll only lead to other things.”
“I’m not trying to trick you into having sex with me tonight, Haley. Just sleeping.”
Paramour for the Devil Page 6
