The Devil's Game (11 page)

“I’m surprised you wanted me in the picture,” she said. “Considering….”

“I wanted visual proof that I once had you at my side.”

“Damien….”

Tom appeared at their side. “I have our table assignments,” he said, handing them cards.

Karina found herself cursing Tom yet again.

“And they want you in the back right after dinner,” he continued. “They’ll introduce you, and then you’re on.”

“Got it. Tom, will you give Karina and me a moment?” Damien asked.

“Of course, I’ll see you two at the table.”

Tom walked away and Damien led Karina somewhere less crowded.

“Is Tabitha the reason you want to go home?” he asked.

“It was part of it,” she admitted. “But it was more than that.”

“What then? Please. Tell me what I can do to make you stay.”

“I’m just not sure what I’m doing here.”

“I
want
you here.”

“Why? What does that even mean?”

He frowned. “To be honest, I’m not sure how to answer that. I just wish you wouldn’t leave yet. Weren’t we having fun before I left?” He leaned in closer. “What about the boat?”

She smiled. He was right, she had been enjoying herself until Tabitha came along with her toxic words. And if they were both having fun, what was the harm in staying another couple weeks?

She nodded.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, smiling.

“I’ll stay the last two weeks.” She saw a flash of something in his face, like she’d said something wrong, but it was gone in an instant.

“Thank you,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her into him.

She was about to kiss him when they were interrupted again—what was wrong with these people?—this time by someone who simply wanted to say hello.

“We should get to our table,” Damien said when the man finally left. “I want to eat something before I have to get up and speak.”

He took her hand as they walked to the table.

“Does this mean we’re still at a stalemate then?” he asked as they approached, and she laughed.

“I’m afraid so.”

He kissed her hand, a playful look in his eyes. Little did he know that Karina had every intention of letting him win that night. Tonight she was climbing into whatever bed Damien was in.

They sat at the table where most everyone else, including Tom, was halfway through dinner.

Damien leaned toward Karina.

“Were you actually jealous of Tabitha?” he whispered, laying the cloth napkin on his lap.

“Maybe,” she whispered back.

“Well you shouldn’t be,” he said and started cutting into the steak on his plate. “That woman couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

“Thank you. How anyone can stand to be around her I’ll never know. She’s so two-faced.”

“Everyone here is,” he said quietly with a chuckle. “You shouldn’t worry about it. What’s the phrase? Don’t get your panties in a twist?”

She leaned in even closer until their cheeks were, almost touching and whispered, “Well you don’t have to worry about that because I’m not wearing any.”

Damien stopped cutting his steak, his grip tightening around the silverware until his knuckles were almost white.

“You’re joking, right?” he whispered.

“Nope,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t have any that wouldn’t leave an obvious panty-line, so I—”

He slammed his knife and fork down, causing some of the other diners to look at him.

“Will you excuse us?” he said, standing abruptly.

He took her arm and pulled her up with him. The movements were gentle, but his grip was strong.

“Where are we going?” she asked as he led her out of the dining area.

“You win,” was all he said.

The Victor

“I win?” Karina repeated as Damien pulled her along an empty hall. “What does that—oh god! But what about your speech?”

“This won’t take long,” he said breathlessly. He opened a door marked “supplies” and shoved her into the tiny room before closing the door behind him.

His mouth was instantly on hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she fell against a shelf. He turned so that her back was on the door and he hitched the dress up to her waist where, true to her word, she had no underwear.

“God, there’s so many things I want to do to you right now,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers, the pair of them drawing heavy breaths.

“You talk too much,” she said, undoing his pants. “Shut up and fuck me already.”

“With pleasure,” he growled as he cupped her ass beneath the dress, and she gave a sharp little cry as he thrust into her.

She wrapped her arms back around him as he did it again, and this time she bit her lip. And again, and again, and Karina was in ecstasy. Damien’s breath was hot against her neck as he continued to drive into her, filling her, and it wasn’t long before she could feel the orgasm building and then her fingers pulled at the hair at his nape as the fire exploded inside her—it was all she could do not to scream out. Just as it was about to ebb, he moved faster, prolonging the climax, and with one last movement, his body went still against hers.

Karina rested her head against the wall behind her, trying to catch her breath. “I win,” she gasped out, staring at the ceiling as the last currents of electricity faded from her body.

Damien gave a chuckle, and she met his eyes.

“Yes, you do,” he said before kissing her hard and passionately. “Wait until we get home. Then I’ll show you what it really means to be the victor.”

“I can’t wait,” she said with a big grin.

“We should probably get back out there,” he said.

“You’re supposed to be giving a speech soon.”

He carefully stepped back and turned around to fix his pants while she adjusted the gown’s skirt around her, wishing she had worn underwear after all. She had a feeling she might be ruining another dress. This time was worth it though.

Damien opened the door, and after checking that the coast was clear, they both stepped out into the hall.

“Hold on,” she said and started fixing his hair, flattening the back where she had messed it up. “How do I look?” she asked when she had finished.

“Radiant,” he said with a smile.

“You know what I mean,” she said, giving him a playful push.

“Turn around,” he said and she did. She could feel him struggling to put a pin back in when someone shouted at them.

“There you two are!”

They both looked to see Tom rushing down the hall in a panic.

“They’re waiting for you!” he said. “That’s your introduction they’re giving up there right now!”

“Wish me luck,” Damien said, and he blew her a kiss as he ran off.

Tom stood there looking curiously at Damien’s disappearing figure, then to Karina.

“You guys didn’t—did you just….” He threw both hands up as he turned away. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.”

Karina felt her cheeks turning bright red but said nothing and followed Tom back out to their table. She sat down at her seat just as Damien walked out onto the stage.

She loved hearing his voice fill the room, and he did a wonderful job of looking out at the audience, at everyone but her. And then about five minutes into it, he locked eyes with her and it was obvious that he had lost his train of thought. He tried to cover it up by taking a sip from the glass of water on the podium, and she forced herself to look down so that he could finish.

“This is your doing,” Tom whispered, leaning across Damien’s empty seat so only she could hear.

Karina’s blush deepened as she remained silent, continuing to look down at her hands while a slow smile spread across her face.

After his speech, Damien insisted they head home even though there was another hour left to the event. Karina had no complaints. All she cared about was getting home and holding him to his word. Yet as they tried to make their way to the entrance, people kept stopping them to chat with Damien. As always, he was polite and gracious, though he never let go of Karina’s hand. As if he feared she would disappear into the crowd if he loosened his grip on her.

Finally they were all climbing back into the limousine. It seemed like forever until it was just her and Damien in the house, and she was positively buzzing as he secured the front door. The quickie at the museum had only whet her appetite for this man.

The security panel beeped, signaling everything was locked up for the night, and he turned to face her, the intense look in his eyes.

“You look lovely in that dress,” he said, still holding the jacket he had removed on the drive home.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“And I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

“The zipper’s right here,” she said, reaching around to her back, but he stopped her.

“Wait,” he said. “There’s too many windows. I don’t need my men accidentally seeing what I’m about to do to you.”

Her pulse quickened. “To your room then,” she whispered.

“I was beginning to think I’d never hear you say those words,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her up the stairs with him.

They walked into the room and Damien closed the door, locking it. He tossed the jacket on a nearby chair and pulled off the loosened bow tie while she kicked her heels off in the same general direction, giggling. She reached around again for the zipper of the dress.

“Allow me,” he said, and she turned her back to him.

With one palm on her bare skin, he slowly unzipped the dress with his other hand. The gown cascaded down around her to the floor, leaving her completely naked in the middle of his bedroom.

“You mean to tell me,” he said, kissing her shoulder, “that this single article of clothing was the only thing between me and your exquisite body this whole evening?”

She trembled as he kneeled down behind her, his lips leaving a hot trail down her back while his hands glided down her thighs. “That and the tux you’re still wearing,” she said, struggling to get the words out.

“I’ll take care of that eventually,” he said. “I want to torture you a while longer.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” she asked breathlessly as he stood up again, and she turned to face him.

“By taking my sweet time with you,” he said before kissing her.

As their tongues danced, Karina worked at the buttons of his shirt. Why did there have to be so many of them? Damien came to her assistance by simply ripping the last of them open, and after she helped push it off of him, he wrapped his arms around her. His chest was hot and hard against hers and it wasn’t enough. She wedged her hands between them, trying to get at his zipper, but he stopped her by picking her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist. Nice to know his muscles weren’t just for show. Keeping one arm wrapped around her, he managed to pull the covers back with one hand before dropping her onto the bed. He kicked off his shoes and socks as quickly as possible and then climbed on the bed, still wearing his pants.

“You forgot something,” she said, trying to work at his pants again when he straddled her, placing his hands on either side of her.

“I told you,” he said, kissing her neck while moving his waist down away from her reach. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

She groaned as his kisses moved down to her chest. And then she closed her eyes, running her hands through his soft hair as he sucked on one breast, then the other. His mouth didn’t stay at it for long before continuing its path south, and Karina spread her legs, knowing exactly what he planned to do.

“Oh,” she moaned as his fingers opened her up, allowing easier access for his tongue. The pleasure of it made her delirious, and she found herself pushing harder against his mouth.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, and he responded by licking and sucking even harder until—for the second time that night—she was coming for him.

To her disappointment, he stopped, cutting her orgasm short.

She propped herself up on her elbows as he slid off the end of the bed, and she watched him remove his pants with difficulty due to the erection burdening him.

“Does this mean you’re done torturing me?” she asked.

“Not quite,” he said with a grin. “Roll over.”

She did gladly, eager to see what else he had in store for her. With her cheek on the pillow, she waited until she felt his mouth on her calf. Slowly he worked his way up her legs, a kiss here, a nip there, until he reached her ass, where he sank his teeth a little harder, just enough to make her moan. His lips grazed her back up to her neck and she felt the weight of him on top of her, felt his erection against her. One of his hands slipped under her hips until his fingers found just what they were searching for as he buried his mouth into her neck.

“God you taste good,” he said into her ear and she tried twisting beneath him, unable to take it anymore. She wanted Damien in her again