Page 31 of Pandora's Pleasure
He hesitated to answer.
I raised my hand to remind him of the sparkling engagement ring he had recently given me.
He gave a slight shrug. “Keep it.”
A sob caught in my throat. “You used me. You paraded me in public like you’d captured a prize possession. And now I’m not needed anymore.”
“Glad you know your worth.”
“Actually, I do.”Because there’s so much about me you don’t know.
“Look, it wouldn’t matter if I’m falling for you. Or if I already have. I don’t get to choose.”
“Has your father forbidden you to see me?”
“Our families have been rivals for years. You should have seen this coming.”
“We’re a new generation, Damien. The grandchildren of rivals. What happened between our families was decades ago.”
“Hate runs deep between our dynasties, or don’t you know your history?”
“Until your family needed mine.”
“You should be flattered. You made us look good.”
“You did those things to me.” I said, my voice trembling. “In your oceanfront home.”
“You resent me. Admit it. You always have.”
My throat tightened with uncertainty.Once.
He looked startled when I failed to deny it, but I knew that any expression of affection for him now could scare him away for good.
Damien raised his hands in frustration. “Your honesty is to be admired.”
Tension made the air hard to breathe. “I need a moment.”
“Right now, my main focus is getting Pandora Aria Bardot deleted from my Wikipedia page.”
“Do you have any idea how you sound?”
He snapped his hand to his chest. “This is what you do to me. Keeping my composure around you is a fucking fulltime job.”
“What did I do wrong?”
“Tell me one thing you’ve done right.”
“I’ve done everything that was asked of me. Even agreeing to marry…”
He sighed. “Your brand of romance is addictive. If you’re into self-flagellation.”
I tried to read what was really going on, but Damien was so closed off it was impossible to get through to him. “I need you to kill the story on my father.”
He looked stunned. “That’s why you’re here?”
“Well, I wanted to see you regardless.”
I saw the doubt in his eyes. “Your father’s career in politics is over.”
