Page 5 of Sold to the Beret

He pushes the door closed and walks around to the driver’s side. I watch him settle in his seat and start the car, his face an unreadable mask.

He glances at my face, his gaze lingering on my lips. “Try to get some sleep, Rose. It’s a long way home.”

Home. He keeps saying that and I want to ask him what home he means—the same one where my evil stepfather resides, or a new home. I have no idea what awaits me.

I try to sleep like he advised, but the farther we get from the auction house, the harder my reality sets in. In the past few days, I’ve tried not to think about the state my mom would be in after not seeing me for days. I told myself it was useless worrying when I didn’t know my fate. Now that I’m out, I’m torn between wanting to go back home, or staying away like Jared wanted.

He probably told her some ridiculous lie that explains my disappearance. She’s too weak to fight him. Jared knows that and is taking full advantage of it.

I bite down on my lip as a familiar burning sensation flares in my chest. I recognize the emotion—it’s a feeling I’ve refused to acknowledge since my mom married Jared Fields. Rage. A vicious rage that threatens to consume me if I let it. I want to lash out at my mom for her choice, at myself for letting Jared walk all over me, and at the universe for being so unfair…but acknowledging this anger is what would hurt my mom the most. I can’t do that to her…not when she’s sick, and fighting for her life.

I should probably think about something else.Like the hot stranger sitting next to me.

I glance discreetly at Damien. Even from the side, there’s a rawness to him, a primitive edge that makes my heart skip a beat. His sharp jawline and angular cheekbones seem chiseled from granite, giving him an untamed appearance that’s both intimidating and irresistibly attractive. My gaze slides down to his full, firm lips and I feel an ache at my core, an echo of my earlier orgasm. I find myself wanting to run my finger over the soft flesh of his lips, to taste him again…

Oh, Rose…what are you thinking?

“Are you alright?” His deep voice cuts into my thoughts, like a splash of cold water on my face. I look up in time to catch a fleeting emotion in his eyes.Worry?I can’t tell because his expression quickly goes back to being blank. I nod quickly in answer.

“We’re here,” Damien says quietly, pulling into the parking garage of a tall, luxurious apartment building. He parks the car and comes around to the passenger side to open the door.

“Thank you,” I murmur, and just as I try to get out, he picks me up, his strong arms pressing me firmly against his body.

“I can walk, you know?” I say, unsure whether to be amused or annoyed.

“I know,” he answers seriously. “But you’re barely holding yourself up in those heels.”

My cheeks burn with embarrassment. He must have noticed me struggling to walk on that stage. Damien strides toward the elevator, effortlessly juggling me in his arms as he enters and pushes the button for the penthouse, scanning his card.

“Where are we?” I ask, clearing my throat nervously.

“Home.”

I want to ask why he brought me to his apartment and what he plans to do with me. I want to ask him why he has such a strange effect on me, and why I can barely think beyond the feel of his arms around me.

What is this feeling?

But I forget all my questions for a moment when the elevator doors open again and we enter the nicest apartment I’ve ever seen. We’re surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, invitingly soft furniture, and abstract art in natural, earthy tones.

“What happens next?” I ask once we’re inside and Damien sets me down.

He shrugs, his expression frustratingly unreadable. “Whatever you want, princess.”

“And if I want to go home?” I say, folding my arms over my chest.

“I can’t let you go,” he says simply.

“Why not?” I ask, angling my head to hold his gaze.

“Because you’re mine now.”

My heart skips a beat. Not at the words, but at the finality with which he said them, the unabashed possessiveness in his deep brown eyes. A chill of awareness runs down my spine, and suddenly I want to give in to this crazy attraction swirling between us.

Maybe he can make the awful memories of the past few days disappear.Just for tonight.

I step closer, spurred by a sudden surge of courage and lust. I wrap my arms around his neck, rising on my tiptoes until my lips are mere inches from him. “Kiss me then.”

His eyes flare with something dark, but it disappears quickly before I can tell what it is, quickly replaced by a mask of coolness that I’m quickly growing accustomed to.

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