Mag-log inThe anxiety didn't completely disappear, but it loosened its grip slightly."Thank you," Aria said quietly. "I needed to hear that.""Anytime. Now...." Emma glanced toward Damien's office where he was on a call. "Get back to work before he sees you stressing and decides to drag you into his office for 'reassurance.'" Her air quotes made it clear what she thought that reassurance would involve.Aria laughed despite herself. "I'm working. I promise."***By Wednesday evening, Aria had worked herself into a state of near-panic about the dinner.She sat on Damien's sofa, her laptop open in front of her, surrounded by printed articles about Richard Blackwood."What are you doing?" Damien's voice came from behind her.She jumped, nearly knocking over her water glass. "Research. I'm researching your grandfather. And....." She gestured at the mess around her. ".....making sure I don't embarrass you."Damien rounded the sofa, took in the chaos, and his expression shifted from amused to concern
ARIA'S POV - Tuesday Morning, 8:34 AMAria woke to the scent of fresh coffee. For a moment, she just lay there, wrapped in his expensive sheets, her body pleasantly sore from last night's lovemaking, and allowed herself to feel completely content.Then reality crashed back in.Two weeks.In two weeks, she'd be meeting Richard Blackwood. Damien's grandfather. The man whose opinion mattered more than anyone else's.Her stomach clenched with anxiety."Stop thinking so loudly," Damien's voice came from the doorway. "I can practically hear your anxiety from the kitchen."She turned to find him leaning against the doorframe, already dressed for work in charcoal slacks and a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. He held two mugs of coffee, looking impossibly handsome and far too awake for this early."How do you know I'm anxious?""Because you get this little wrinkle right here...." He crossed to the bed, set down the mugs, and pressed his finger between her eyebrows. "....when yo
"I know. I can see that. But I'm worried about what Victoria might do. She has resources. Connections. And she's vindictive as hell when she doesn't get what she wants." Julian turned to Damien. "You need to protect her. Really protect her. Because Victoria won't play fair.""I know." Damien's hand tightened on Aria's shoulder. "I've already increased security. Marcus has instructions to keep an eye on Victoria's movements. And Aria's never alone....she's either with me or in secure locations.""Good. Because I've heard rumors.....nothing concrete, but whispers that Victoria is planning something. Something big. To either discredit Aria or....." He stopped, his jaw tightening."Or what?" Aria asked."Or hurt her. Make her disappear from your life one way or another." Julian's eyes were deadly serious. "I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to prepare you. Victoria Ashford is dangerous when she's desperate. And right now, she's very desperate."Damien's expression had gone cold, murd
ARIA'S POV - 6:47 PMAria stood in front of Damien's full-length mirror, smoothing down the deep emerald dress she'd chosen for tonight.The dress was one he'd bought for her last week...silk that clung to her curves, with a modest neckline but a back that dipped dangerously low. Elegant but with an edge. Exactly what he'd asked for when he'd said "wear something beautiful."She'd spent the past two hours in his room, exactly as he'd instructed. A long bath to soothe her aching muscles. Rest on his impossibly comfortable bed. Time to decompress from the intensity of the day.The vibrator sat on his nightstand now, cleaned and put away, but her body still remembered its presence. Still felt the phantom sensation of being filled, controlled, claimed.Her phone buzzed.I'm five minutes away. You look beautiful. Don't ask me how I know—I had the doorman send me a photo.She looked up, found the small camera in the corner of the bedroom, and rolled her eyes even as she smiled.Of course yo
She hollowed her cheeks, sucked harder, took him as deep as she could.He came with a groan, his release spilling down her throat, and she swallowed it all, the taste of him coating her tongue.When he finally released her hair, she pulled back, gasping, her jaw aching."Stand up," he commanded.She did, and he immediately pulled her onto his lap, his mouth finding hers in a bruising kiss."So perfect," he murmured against her lips. "So fucking perfect for me. Taking everything I give you without complaint. Letting me use you however I want."His hand slid under her skirt, found her absolutely soaking."Did that turn you on? Having my cock in your mouth while I was on a call? Knowing that if you made one wrong sound, everyone would know what you were doing?""Yes," she gasped. "God, yes.""Then you deserve a reward." He pressed the button on the remote.The vibrator buzzed to life.....high, intense, overwhelming.His fingers plunged inside her alongside it, curling to find her G-spot
The afternoon was absolute torture.Aria sat at her desk, the vibrator humming on low inside her....a constant, maddening presence that made concentration impossible. Every time she shifted in her chair, every time she crossed her legs, every time she simply existed, she felt it.Felt the reminder that Damien controlled her pleasure. That he could make her come with the press of a button. That her body belonged to him in ways that went far beyond the physical.She'd managed to respond to exactly three emails in the past hour. Three. Her inbox had forty-seven unread messages, and she couldn't focus on any of them because all her attention was centered on the sensation between her thighs and the man watching her from his office.At 1:47, the vibration intensified.Not enough to make her come, but enough to make her gasp, her hands gripping the edge of her desk.She looked up, found Damien on a call, his expression professionally neutral except for his eyes. Those dark, knowing eyes that
The foyer alone was larger than Aria's entire apartment. Marble floors polished to a mirror shine. A sweeping staircase that curved upward. Art on the walls that she recognized originals, worth millions. The faint scent of expensive cologne and fresh flowers.This was a different world. A world of
Aria's apartment was a small studio in the cheaper part of town where sirens were a nightly lullaby and the neighbors' arguments bled through thin walls.But it was hers, and more importantly, it housed everything she needed for her various identities.Three computer monitors sat on a desk cobbled
Three Weeks Earlier...The fluorescent lights of St. Mary's Hospital flickered overhead, casting sickly shadows across the worn linoleum floor. Aria Chen sat in the waiting room, her leg bouncing with nervous energy as she watched the second hand on the wall clock tick forward with agonizing slowne
The kitchen was supposed to be empty.Aria's hands trembled as she reached for the flour on the top shelf of the storage pantry, her mind racing through the list of tasks Mrs. Chen had assigned her that evening. The rest of the staff had retired to their quarters an hour ago. The massive Blackwood







