“Of course,” she quietly replied.
Damien gave a short shake of his head in a silent command as he glanced to his left. Sierra turned and noticed their driver turn around and head back to the front of the vehicle. Damien then opened the door and motioned for her to climb inside. Without saying anything else to her father, she stepped into the back, and waited for Damien to follow.
He joined her and pulled the door shut. As the car started to move, Sierra looked out the window, watching as her home – prison – started to fade from view.
The fear of Damien faded as pure elation filled her. For a few precious moments she forgot the man across from her and reveled in her liberation.
As she turned her head, a small smile playing on her lips, her eyes connected with the dark green depths of Damien’s. Her smile faded as her earlier anxiety rose to the surface. She may be free from her father, but could she have possibly jumped into a fire much worse than the one she’d been in?
A shudder racked her body as his eyes darkened even more, his gaze holding her captive.
∞∞∞
With reluctance, Damien pulled his gaze away from Sierra’s large, captive eyes. Everything about this woman seemed to rattle him to his very core. She was beautiful, sure, but so were a million other women in the world.
He figured it had to be the mystery surrounding her. He wanted to know the reasons she’d so willingly sacrificed herself. Who would so quickly submit to leaving into the unknown with a stranger? She was either that greedy, or that desperate.
If it was a matter of greed, he knew how to deal with that, but if it was the other… Well, he feared going there, as it brought up too many memories of his own past.
They rode in silence for several minutes as she looked out the window and he examined the set to her shoulders, the way she gazed at the passing scenery as if seeing it for the first time. When he felt the quiet had gone on for long enough, he moved to the small fridge and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water, pouring two glasses.
“Here,” he said, holding the crystal out to her. She slowly turned around and looked at his hand as if it would bite her. He found himself wanting to smile, but held back.
He had left her with the impression she was to be basically nothing more than his beck-and-call girl. He understood her hesitancy in accepting anything from him.
“It’s not poisoned. I can almost guarantee that,” he added as he took a sip from his own glass.
“I didn’t think it was,” she quickly said, as if worried she’d offended him. She reached out and took the glass, bringing it to her lips and taking a small sip as if to please him.
He wanted her to please him – in many erotic ways. His aroused body throbbed as he started picturing a few of the things he’d like to do with her in the very large and private back seat.
Luckily the car ride to Trinity’s home wasn’t long, and soon the car stopped and Damien sat back while waiting for the driver to open his door. He saw the curiosity on Sierra’s face, but he didn’t bother explaining what was going on.
His door opened and he gracefully exited the car before holding out his hand to assist Sierra. She looked startled that he was having her come with him. They were at a home, not a business and she didn’t see why he’d want her to join him.
“Where are we?” she tentatively asked.
“My friend’s home. I promised to stop in before I left. We’ll be away for at least two weeks and today is her daughter’s birthday party.”
“I can wait if you’d like…” she said as she looked at the large house before her.
“No.” He gave her no further elaboration as he took her arm, then moved quickly toward the front door.
“Damien Whitfield, you’re late,” Trinity scolded as she came running down the stairs. “I thought you were going to miss out. Cindi’s been asking for you for the past hour.”
“I’m sorry, Trin. I got held up.” His arms opened and she leapt into them. Seeing Trinity brought warmth to the cold shell around his heart, melting it quickly. She was the only person on the planet he’d drop everything for.
“You can quit pawing all over my wife at any time, now,” Drew said as he stood in the doorway with little Joshua sitting on his hip.
“If she wasn’t so dang delectable, I may be able to,” Damien taunted him. Drew rolled his eyes as he looked over and noticed Sierra standing awkwardly next to the two of them.
“Hi. I’m Trinity, Damien’s best friend, though you wouldn’t know it since the man never comes to see me anymore. The handsome man up there is my husband, Drew, and he’s holding our son, Joshua,” Trinity said as she introduced herself and her family.