Page 75 of The Vow

The first sip prickled my tongue. “I think you’re supposed to give the donation to one of the men in green.”

An army of emerald-green-suited men was dispersed through the room. In one arm, they carried a locked donation box for guests to slip contributions into, and in the other, a camera to memorialize and publicize the effort. The photos on the slideshow were taken as each donor placed their contribution into the box, an instantaneous celebrity for their charity.

It was a clever idea, I had to give them that. Everyone wanted their name and photo to be on the screen—for everyone to know they’d done their part. Unfortunate that those funds were used for evil rather than good.

“Yes,” Damon acknowledged but said nothing more and made no move as one of the men in green passed close by.

“Or does Belmont want it hand-delivered?”

My confidence cracked when I received not even a wordless response to my question, Damon’s attention drawn intently on his scan of the crowd. He was preoccupied. Unsettled. And though he tried to hide it, he couldn’t.

My brows knotted, and I stepped in front of him, placing my hand to his chest.Thatgot his attention.

“What’s wrong? You’re hiding something from me.”

Damon looked at me, letting down his veneer for a second to see the tumult of desire in his gaze, brewing ever stronger. Grabbing my wrist, he forced my palm to the side of his face, and I tensed when his lips pressed to the pad of my thumb. Myskin burned like there wasn’t a layer of velvet between his mouth and me.

“I’m trying to determine if Shazad is here,” he murmured, injecting cold fear into the heat flowing through my veins.

I inched closer and held my champagne glass higher in front of my mouth. The volume in the room was loud, but I knew better than to take any chances.

“Why would he be here?” I asked, not daring to mention his name again.

It would be too risky for Shazad to show up here. And for what? It wasn’t like they were going to do business in public. The only reason could be for Damon…but why? To watch him pay Belmont to join their operation?

It didn’t make sense.This didn’t make sense.

Damon’s eyes did another sweep around the room, and unease rolled through me as Damon set his hardly-drunk glass of champagne on a passing tray.

“What aren’t you telling me?” My eyes narrowed, my heart pounding its way into my throat. “There’s something you haven’t told me. Again.”

His gaze was bright when it caught mine. “Come with me.”

Taking my hand, we dipped into the crowd once more.

My heart pounded all the way in my throat.Had he seen Shazad, too?I tried to see around him—to spot Belmont and whatever else that had set Damon in motion, but I couldn’t.Was he afraid Belmont might try something again? Afraid the beating wasn’t enough? Afraid Belmont might do something to me?

The pound became a roar when he took my glass from my fingers and added it to the collection on the corner of one of the bars, and then swiveled our course toward the corner of the room.

At first, I thought he was going to lead us back into the hallway,but just before we reached the door, he veered to the left behind the large stack of cases belonging to the DJ, providing a barrier between us and the rest of the event.

He picked the tallest one to stop in front of, and in a blink, I found myself wedged between it and the hard wall of my husband.

“What are you doing?” I struggled against him, though not with much effort. Two weeks, and I missed the heat of him as it flowed through my veins.

Taking my hand that was still in his possession, he peeled the glove off my arm, his gaze lingering a split second longer when he saw his rings on my finger.

Wrenching free, I latched my fingers into his lapel and tugged; if we weren’t flushed before, we were now. Chest to toes, the only part of me not touching my husband was my lips, and judging by the look in his eyes, it was an anomaly he was eager to rectify.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Let’s see, wife. What haven’t I told you?” he growled. “I haven’t told you you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. That I’ve thought about you day and night for the last fifteen years?—”

I inhaled sharply, the breath anchoring to the lining of my chest.No, this wasn’t what I meant—what I wanted.

“Damon—” I protested, but his gravelly voice interrupted me.

“I haven’t told you that I will never stop fighting for you. That there is nothing I wouldn’t do to redeem myself in your eyes?—”

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