Page 29 of Pleasure Payback

I reached up and freed my hair from its loose knot and spiked my fingers through it.

His gaze dropped to my breasts and his Adam’s apple bobbed before he refocused on my face. ‘Neve—’

With a jerk, I stepped away from him and from temptation, denying every lustful urge that rammed at me, and headed for the bar.

‘I’m getting myself a drink. Want one, Mr Mortimer?’ I threw over my shoulder.

He shook his head. ‘No. I don’t want a drink.’

‘Then whatdoyou want?’

‘For starters, I really want you to cut theMr Mortimershit,’ he said.

Memories of groaning his given name as he rammed his cock deep inside me, of screaming it as the best orgasm I’d ever had rippled through me, charged through my brain. I wasn’t ashamed to admit it was part of the reason I was reticent about calling him by his first name.

I surfaced from that lustful reverie to find his gaze drifting to my legs.

‘For starters?Sounds like you have a list.’

He shook his head as he strolled towards me. ‘Not a list. Just one more item up for discussion.’

‘What is it?’

‘What did you mean when you said I stabbed you in the back?’

Shock and fury propelled me around, my drink forgotten, everything inside me stilled into immobility by his sheer audacity. ‘Are you serious?’

His brow pleated. ‘It’s a damning accusation. Of course I’m serious.’

I forced myself to relax.Control.I had to maintain control. ‘Which part of what happened two years ago do you need reminding of? It’s obviously not the sex because you seem to have perfect recall on that score. So it must be the fact that after screwing me in my hotel room, you had no qualms about leaving my bed to screw me over.’

His intense hazel eyes had the audacity to widen before he frowned. ‘I was in Boston for one night. The only person I met up with besides you was Malcolm Cahill.’

‘Ah, so you do remember. Give the man a prize.’

Shadows darkened his features. ‘Neve—’

The slow burn of anger ramped up. ‘Don’t you dare say my name that way. Don’t you dare make out as if what you did was excusable or that I’m blowing it out of proportion.’

He stepped towards me, stopped and shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘To do that I’d have to know what you’re talking about. I’m not sure exactly why you think I screwed you over. The Mortimer Group was in partnership with Cahill’s hotel group. I met up with Cahill to discuss an affiliation deal with a small outfit called Cephei Hotels.’

‘Yes,’ I said fiercely. ‘An outfit owned by me. As you damn well know.’

He tensed. ‘What?’

‘God, please don’t pretend you didn’t know that. That’s beneath you. How long did you even consider my proposal before you dismissed it out of hand and almost bankrupted me in the process?’ I asked, years of bitterness making my voice hoarse.

He was still staring at me as if I were an apparition. ‘Cephei Hotels wasyou?’

‘Cut the shit, Damian. I heard your side of the phone call when Malcolm called me to break the news, less than an hour after you left my bed, I might add. What was it you said to him? Something along the lines of small fry like me having no business playing with the big boys?’

His tension increased. ‘Those were Cahill’s words, not mine.’

‘But you had quite a bit to add, didn’t you, as you and your buddy pulled the rug from under me?’

A muscle ticced in his jaw. ‘He’s not my buddy. Cahill is a shark but he was a necessary alliance for what I was trying to achieve in Boston.’

‘What about my alliance? He was all set to sign with me. Then you got involved and he went with Crown Resorts. I’m bigger than they are.’

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