Suddenly, she didn’t want that, not even a little bit. She’d interrupted his day earlier to voice her desire to go home, and he was going to dang well give it to her. She couldn’t play games with him, she knew that, but she could at least get some peace.

She’d obtain freedom from her father, and distance from Damien. It was a win-win.

He said nothing further as she drove the last couple of miles to the hotel. He also didn’t do any work on the computer as his gaze was boring into her the entire drive, her head stiffly facing forward, her eyes on the road.

As tense as she was, she was pretty sure her body would be sore the next day. It was better strength training than three hours in the gym.

When she approached the valet and waited for them to take her keys, she finally looked over at the tense expression on Damien’s face. His profile was to her, thankfully, allowing her to see the perfection of his sculpted chin, the slightly arrogant straight line of his nose, and the fullness of his lips – lips that looked entirely too inviting.

She found herself wondering what they would feel like to kiss. His lips were perfection as were all his features, but his beautifully sculpted lips were full and she could imagine how soft they’d be against her own – how his mouth would open to her and explore her tongue. What else could he do with that tongue…? She quickly snapped out of her short lived revelry, reminding herself how egotistical he was.

She could see why he commanded large crowds of people, how he always got his way. He was easily the most arrogant man she’d ever met, and that was saying a lot, considering she’d grown up with a dictator father.

Where her father inspired fear, though, Damien inspired… almost unnamable emotions. Fear was there, sure, but not fear of him hurting her, more like a fear of him transforming her. She tried telling herself she didn’t want to enter into an affair with him, and she had no illusions about it being nothing more than an affair, but each time she spoke the words in her own head, her body rejected them.

She’d yet to feel what most women her age experience. She’d yet to have a man sink deep inside her, making her body come undone.

For years she’d listened to her sister speak of the different men who panted at her doorstep. Sandy had told her, in explicit detail, what it felt like to have a man worship her body. Sierra had been repulsed at first by her sister’s casual attitude about sex, but for the last few years, that repulsion had turned into slight jealousy.

Sierra just wanted to feel anything other than insecurity, fear or anxiety. She wanted to experience deep, all-consuming passion.

She glanced at the hotel employee as he opened her door, her thoughts interrupted. She may want to feel desire, but she’d never act on it. She was too well trained to ever let herself go like that.

Almost desolately, she thanked the man taking the keys, and silently followed Damien inside the luxurious lobby of their hotel.

When they entered the elevator, some of her earlier irritation returned, and she resolved to finish their show-down. She was bound and determined to get back to the States and spend quality time with her best friend.

She wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Chapter Eleven

Damien and Sierra entered their suite and he immediately moved toward the small kitchen area, flicking on the coffee pot. It was already set up, so all he had to do was push a button to get the dark liquid brewing.

His cell phone rang as he was turning over one of the cups. He looked down, sighing before hitting a button and speaking into the small device. He paced away from her, she assumed, for privacy.

Sierra figured she had time. It looked like he was in for the evening, so she could surely convince him the best course of action was for him to stay and finish his business, and for her to head home.

“I have to go out,” Damien said, startling Sierra with the irritation in his voice.

“What? We have to talk,” she said, not even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

“A friend’s in town who I haven’t seen in a while.”

Sierra looked at him in surprise, noting a tiny bit of jealousy trying to creep inside her. It didn’t matter if he went out every night of the week so long as she wasn’t stuck in the dang hotel room.

She sent him a glare, irritated even more by the insolent way he was leaning against the counter. It seemed he really didn’t care about her opinion, like his time was the only thing of value.

She was bound and determined to get her say, even if she had to pin him down to do it.

Damien grabbed his coffee cup then moved out of the kitchen area, leaving Sierra no choice but to either stand there with her mouth gaping, or run after him. She was getting tired of chasing him.

He stepped into his large hotel bedroom and she paused in the doorway, her stomach once again tightening. It felt wrong to follow him in there, like she’d be crossing a taboo line – inviting something she truly wasn’t ready to give.

“We can talk later, Sierra. I need to shower and change,” Damien said as he began removing his shirt.

Sierra was grateful his impressive back was to her, because her eyes drank in the sight of all that golden flesh, his muscles tightening with the upward movement of pulling the shirt over his head. His arms flexed, making those strange sensations start emerging in her core. She forgot how to speak, suddenly feeling paralyzed – completely rooted to the spot.

His hands reached down to his pants, the sound of his zipper falling echoing in the otherwise silent room. Sierra really hoped her quickened breathing wasn’t as loud as she thought it was, because she could feel herself panting as she drank him in.

As her eyes studied his body, she suddenly realized she was now looking at his stomach, not his toned back. Her eyes quickly darted up, colliding with Damien’s.

His mouth twisted in the most seductive smile she’d ever seen a man use before, and she felt her knee’s shake. With momentous effort, she tore her gaze away from his, took a few shaky steps to his bed and plopped down on the end of it. She felt like she’d just run a marathon, the way her breathing was ragged, sweat was beading on her brow, and her stomach was churning.

Without saying anything, he moved his long, elegant fingers to the top of his hips and gripped the fabric of his trousers, then slowly started sliding the pants down, taking his underwear with him.

When she realized he had zero qualms about stripping naked in front of her, she managed to rip her gaze away, taking a sudden and fascinated interest in his bedside lamp.

“Enjoying the view, Sierra?” he asked, his voice cascading over her like a cool waterfall on a hot day. She felt her face heat with embarrassment; mortified he found her awkwardness with the situation so shocking.

She really wished she could just turn, look at him from head to toe with a dismissive glance, and come up with a great retort.

While she was still trying to think of a witty response, she heard the shower start, and she quickly looked over to the spot he’d been a moment before. She turned and saw the bathroom door open, and steam starting to softly drift through it.

She was running out of time.

If he thought she’d go away because she was embarrassed or nervous, then he had another thing coming. For the first time in her life, she wanted something badly enough to not worry about the consequences of asking for it.

So what if he was naked in there, probably using those strong fingers to rub soap across that incredibly hard chest, then slowly moving downward… Stop! she commanded as she pulled her thoughts from the shower stall.

It didn’t matter what he was doing in there. She needed to speak with him, and she was safe for the moment from having to see all that flesh, so she’d just talk to him while she at least had him trapped in one place.

∞∞∞

Damien stepped under the pulsing shower while his body reacted, knowing Sierra was just a few feet away. He nearly groaned as all the blood rushed to his lower half, and he hardened in a painful way.

With a curse, he turned the temperature dial to cold and shivered uncontrollably as he quickly washed himself, his teeth chattering.

His plans of taking Sierra to bed were destroyed when he got a call from his very distant girlfriend, begging him to have dinner with her. He hadn’t seen her in a month, was planning on ending their casual relationship, but owed Shelby the courtesy of doing so in person.

She was in the wine business, which was how they’d met. Her father owned a track of land next to his and Shelby did a lot of the sales for her father’s large business. They’d been trying to go into business with Damien, but he’d quickly decided it wasn’t to his benefit. He had, however, hit it off with Shelby and had been seeing her for a year, though neither of them were often in the same location at the same time.

Being with Sierra, he’d completely forgotten about the woman, showing him he was making the right choice in ending Shelby’s hopes of them having a future together.

He couldn’t sleep with Sierra, in good conscious, while leaving Shelby dangling. All of that meant he’d have to deal with an aroused body and a lot of frustration, for at least one more night.

Damien was confused about Sierra’s obvious embarrassment at him undressing. He’d seen pictures of men parading her around town, read articles about her one-night date status. She was known to go out with a man for one night, and then leave him high and dry in the morning.

She should’ve been a whole lot more comfortable in his bedroom, if the rumors were true. They had to be true, because the alternative meant he was dealing with an innocent woman. That couldn’t be the case – it would make what he was doing too wrong.

“I spoke with my best friend earlier today. She wants me to visit with her. I’m doing nothing here, and I see no point in staying. I don’t know if you have some power play thing going on with my dad, or if you really do need an employee, but it’s obvious you don’t need me right now. I’d like to go ahead and take a flight out of here tomorrow if one’s available,” Sierra said, speaking loudly to be heard over the sound of the shower spray.

Damien ground his teeth together, irritated that she was still harping on that subject. He figured the discussion was over as he’d already said he didn’t want her to leave.

Stubborn woman.

He turned the blast of cold water off, his body sufficiently numb. Before stepping from behind the curtain he grabbed a towel and swiftly dried himself before wrapping it around his waist. At least the cold had temporarily done its job, and his body was somewhat back under control. He couldn’t guarantee how long it would stay that way. One look at her gazing at his chest again, and he’d turn solid in a heartbeat.

He stepped up to the sink, not bothering to get dressed. He could see her shoulder, as she leaned against the doorjamb, her head turned away as if looking at him would burn her eyes.

“No.” He grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth.

“What do you mean, no? I’m a grown adult. You can’t just tell me no and think that’s the end of the discussion,” she huffed, her body turning as she stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, glaring at him.

He faced her, his hand still moving the toothbrush in his mouth as he lifted his brows. Then, to really irk her, he winked. He saw the flush start in her neck as her mouth gaped open in shock at his boldness. He turned away and spit in the sink.