The Russian's Furious Fiancee (10 page)

She sat up straighter, not sure she liked his answer. “Why not? Is what she saying true? Did you ruin her family and take all their money just for mercenary reward?”

“Do you believe her?”

Eva watched his expression, which meant she watched his face that showed absolutely no expression. His eyes were blank, his shoulders down and he was relaxing against the back of the chair. Nothing in him revealed what he was thinking with her accusation. “Should I?”

“That’s up to you.”

“Will you tell me what happened?”

“Maybe some day.”

“But not now.” It was a statement and not a question this time. She realized that the subject was closed at this point in their relationship. Not that she would admit they had one, she reminded herself.

“Not now. No.”

Something about his comments made her decide to forgo pursuing the apparently contentious subject during dinner. She wanted to learn more, but she didn’t think he would tell her anything more about the issue. That didn’t mean she was giving up. Just that she wasn’t going to ask him about it. She was a resourceful woman though. When she wanted to know something, she would find out. Since Damon wasn’t going to tell her about the issue, she would dig until she knew what was going on. And his silence told her that this was a subject that was worth investigating.

“I’ll find out on my own then,” she said and swept her napkin onto her lap just as he’d done several moments ago.

He glared at her and shook his head. “You’ll let the matter go. I’ll have my lawyers handle the situation.”

That was a startling tidbit. “Why would your lawyers need to intercede? Was she doing something wrong?”

“Drop it, Eva,” he countered sternly.

She changed the subject, talking about a news article she read in the paper about a company he was about to take over. She knew she couldn’t use any of the information she heard from him about the subject for her own investments, but she was sincerely interested in his interpretation on how the acquisition was going.

Dinner was frustrating as well since so many people wanted to speak with Damon. Their meal was interrupted so often that she barely needed to come up with conversational topics. About an hour into the dinner, Damon growled, “We’re getting out of here,” he said and tossed several billed onto the table before grabbing her hand.

Eva barely had time to wipe her mouth and lay her napkin down on the chair before he was pulling her out of it. “Please don’t drag me behind you again,” she snapped, terrified of where he might be taking her now. “If dinner is over, then I can catch a cab to my place.”

He was having none of that and shook his head before she was even finished talking. “I’ll damn well see you home,” he snapped right back at her. “There’s no way I’m letting you leave here at this time of night alone, Eva.”

“Fine!” She wasn’t going to argue with him, but was relieved that he was at least taking her home. “Besides, I don’t understand why you’re so angry with me. It isn’t my fault so many people stopped by to talk to you. Maybe if you weren’t such a popular boy, our meal wouldn’t have been interrupted by all of your colleagues. Or wanna-be colleagues, I guess is more appropriate.” She said this under her breath though, not wanting him to think she was giving him a compliment based on his prowess as one of the top dogs in the city who had no peers.

“How do you reason that out?” he said as they stepped into the night air. It was a bit cooler than it had been when she’d walked in earlier in the evening and a chill had settled over the city. Spring was a bit unpredictable and she should have brought a sweater, knowing that it could be warm in the afternoon and cold at night.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm in the unexpected chill. “Because they weren’t my friends! Why are you mad at me?” She couldn’t even guess how he was going to blame her for their evening debacle.

He swore under his breath while he slipped his coat off his shoulders, tossing it around her. He stepped closer, barely able to hold his temper. “Because the people who were coming to my table weren’t trying to talk to me. They were trying to get a better glimpse of you in that dress!”

“Don’t be stupid,” she scoffed, trying to step back but, as usual, he held her close with his hands on her waist, his long, warm fingers eliminating any possibility of space.

His driver pulled up and Damon didn’t wait for him to come around to the back to open the door. He practically pushed Eva into the back seat, then slid in himself. “I’m not being stupid,” he countered. “I’m being damned realistic. You can’t show up in a dress like that and expect people to leave you alone!”

She pulled the edges of his coat closer around her and rolled her eyes even while she enjoyed the warmth left from his body and the masculine scent she refused to accept that she now enjoyed. “Damon, you’re not making any sense! I wore a boring dress the other night and you said I was playing a game. I wear a fitting dress tonight and you say that too many men are coming to our table. Figure out what you want and let me know!”

“Oh, I know what I want. I want you in my bed, naked and screaming out my name with all the pleasure I want to give you.”

She glanced at the driver and was relieved that the window was up between the back area and the driver so he couldn’t hear them. She shook her head and turned away, ignoring the heated images that popped into her head at the idea of being in Damon’s bed. “Don’t hold your breath.”

He was silent as he watched her, observing her profile while she tried to pretend he wasn’t sitting right next to her. “We both know it’s going to happen. So why wait for the inevitable and make ourselves miserable in the meantime?”

Her head swung back to him, angry that he wasn’t giving in and leaving her alone. “Because it isn’t inevitable. You might be the kind of man who jumps into bed with anyone, but I’m a bit more selective.”

Thankfully, her parents’ house was close to the restaurant so the limousine was pulling up outside their house relatively quickly. She jumped out of the car and turned around to say something, but he was right behind her and she almost fell into his arms. She jumped back and started up the steps, pretending to ignore him. “I can get inside the house on my own, thank you very much for a horrible evening,” she said and was about to open the door when he grabbed her arm and swung her around, right into his arms. “You’re a little firebrand when you’re sexually frustrated, aren’t you?”

He didn’t give her time to answer, which she was starting to understand was the only way he had found to shut her up. Possibly because it worked. His mouth covered hers and she didn’t resist, wanting his kiss this time and even stepping up on her toes to kiss him back. Her response was almost desperate and she was thrilled when his arms pulled her close, her own arms reaching up and wrapping around his neck while her fingers dove into his hair, gripping the soft strands and pulling his head down closer. She stood on her toes to move against him, her body shifting while she felt his body stiffen in reaction.

Damon couldn’t believe this woman. One moment she was telling him she would never be in his bed and the next she was practically wrapped around him on her parents’ doorstep. And he loved every moment of it! He wanted her with an insane need, a pressure to possess and put his stamp of ownership on her. He wanted everyone in the world to know that she was his and they needed to stay away.

His hands weren’t still this time. He was on a mission to get her to understand that they would be perfect in bed together. While her hands were up around his neck, he used the freedom to let his own hands wander down her body. In the past, he’d been a gentleman about the whole situation. At least in his mind at least. But now it was game on and he was determined to assuage this craving he had for her, to finally give in to this need to dive into her body and find the release they were both looking for.

And dammit he wanted her to admit she wanted him as well!

His hands skimmed along her side and he moved her backwards so she was pressed against the house. He loved the shivers of excitement he felt coming from her and pushed harder, wanting all of her, total acceptance of him as her lover. His hands moved down her waist, then back up, cupping her breasts through the thin, red material of her dress and finding her nipple, already hard and ready for him. This thumb flicked over the hard peak and he almost lost it when she cried out against his mouth. He was relentless, wanting all of her, wanting to take her breast in his mouth but he knew they were still on her parents’ porch, with his driver behind them.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said and pulled back, intending to drag her back to the limousine so he could get her back to his penthouse and have her alone.

Unfortunately, his words broke the spell and she pulled back and he looked down at her, seeing the wariness in her eyes. “Don’t, Eva. Don’t be scared. I’ll take care of you,” he said gently. “You won’t regret coming with me. I’ll make sure you enjoy every moment of our time together.”

Eva was stunned that she was actually considering it. Had it been less than thirty minutes since she’d told him there was no way she’d end up in his bed? And now she was back in his arms? Talk about blowing hot and cold!

She obstinately shook her head and hastily looked away. “Stay away from me,” she choked and couldn’t believe the sob that broke through, revealing how dramatically he impacted her. She fished out her key and quickly unlocked the door. When she was inside, she didn’t even bother looking back at him before closing it behind her, then rushing up the stairs so she could throw herself onto her old bed, crying out her frustration over this situation and wondering how she was going to get out of it. And how she was going to keep herself from falling into his arms and under his spell whenever he came close to her!

She barely slept that night and when dawn was finally breaking over the horizon, she gave up even trying and slipped out of bed. She pulled on a robe and stepped out onto the small balcony in her room, looking down over the gardens her father tended whenever he had time. They were lovely and well organized, exactly how she wanted her life to be. But Damon had come in and nothing was the same. She was distracted during classes, starting to question the logic she tried to teach her students because Damon had made a comment during one of their conversations. His grasp of the financial world was so complete, so amazing and she wanted to relay that information, his techniques to her students, but his mind was capable of holding so many more details than she was used to and she couldn’t quite convey his strategy to all of them. And her students weren’t getting the basic concepts now due to her inability to teach.

Not only her classes were suffering but her creative side was as well. Initially, Damon’s challenging personality had added a dimension to her story line. But now, she could barely write. It was as if the technical side of her brain was so overwhelmed with his advice that she couldn’t even give energy to the creative side. And that was a terrible thing. She’d always considered that she had the best of both worlds; being able to invest and use her logic and then stepping back and being creative with her writing. Both worlds were perfect and brought together, they made her whole.

Now, she didn’t feel complete. She felt fractured and confused. She wanted to hide out and cover her ears. She wanted to punch him while at the same time, kiss him and beg him to make love to her, to complete what he’d started so many times but, because of her stubbornness and fear, she wouldn’t let him finish.

She sighed in the cool morning air and pulled her robe more tightly around her waist. She wasn’t going to find answers out here. She needed to confront him perhaps. Maybe demand that he leave her alone. Perhaps she could get her father to pay him back the money he’d donated to the recreation center? Or maybe she could pull the funds out of her trust fund. She hadn’t been allowed to touch it until she was twenty five but she’d surpassed that milestone several months ago. She’d always vowed not to touch that money, wanting to earn her own funds and not rely on anyone else. But perhaps this was an emergency? Damon didn’t seem to be getting the message and she was losing the threads of her previously organized life because of the confusion she felt when he was around.

Two days later, Damon watched as the woman he was going to marry walked across the room towards him. He could see the wariness in her eyes and cursed himself for moving too fast. He was just used to women who were more experienced and understood the rules. But the rules were different now. Eva wouldn’t be his mistress. She would be his wife and he needed to treat her differently than the others.

Of course, he had been treating her differently, which was probably the issue. If he’d been treating her as he’d meant to, as someone who was an important asset and or a valuable employee, she might not be so afraid of him. Unfortunately, from the moment she’d pushed him away, or maybe it was from the moment he’d kissed her for the first time, he wasn’t sure which, he’d treated her differently simply because she was different. Women wanted one thing from him and he wanted one thing from them. Eva was the one who wasn’t following by the rules. Damn her! She didn’t fit.

But he couldn’t get rid of her. For some reason, he wanted her and no other woman. He’d have to figure this out, regroup and re-plan. He was excellent at strategy so he needed to step back and figure out what she wanted most, then give it to her. All relationships were based on needs, he had learned early on in his business experience. Give someone what they wanted and he could get what he wanted. Make sure everything was a win-win, to follow the old cliché.

He stood up as she approached the table and he ignored the way she tensed as he did so, holding her chair for her.

“You look lovely,” he said, honestly admiring her cream silk suit that wasn’t too tight but wasn’t a sack either. She’d compromised on a happy medium today. He wasn’t sure he liked the deviation from the figure molding red wrap dress, now that he’d seen all the choices. He liked seeing her, but he definitely didn’t like other men watching her as she crossed the room.