“Oh, Georgie, you know Pen has always been a clumsy cow,” Bea said, her eyes not leaving Damon. “How do you know Penny?”
The humiliation didn’t seem to end today. She hadn’t wanted Damon to see her like this, to see how everyone viewed her. He would very likely rethink her place as his partner.
She expected him to help haul her to her feet, but he simply gripped her hand, leaned down, and picked her up in one strong move. He cradled her body to his chest. She clutched her purse, not wanting to drop it.
His eyes found hers, a startling heat in them. “Are you all right?”
She managed to nod. She’d never been held like this, up against a man, his strength bolstering hers. Being held by Damon made her feel petite, feminine.
Damon turned to Bea, cuddling Penny close. His voice was arctic cold as he replied. “I know your cousin because I’m her lover. I’m taking her to the washroom so I can make sure she isn’t hurt. When I return, I expect you to be pleasant and polite or we shall have a problem, you and I.”
Even Bea, known for being the Queen Bitch of the World, backed off.
Damon turned to Peter, who shrank back. “Seriously, Penelope? You almost married that?”
“We didn’t actually set a date.” There was a breathless quality to her voice. What the hell was happening?
“You couldn’t have handled her, little boy. Go home.” Damon walked off, carrying her toward the posh-looking set of washrooms.
Everyone was still watching her, wondering very likely if she’d paid an escort because there was simply no way they fit together.
“I’m fine, Mr. Knight.”
“Damon, darling. You call your lover by his Christian name. Unless we’re playing, and then you may call me Sir or Master. I would prefer Master. I won’t have time to earn the title with you, but it’s for the best.” He didn’t hesitate, simply moved toward where he wanted to go, and the crowds parted for him.
The way he said “lover” practically made her shiver.
He kicked in the door to the loo, though it was more a grand suite of rooms complete with six women standing in front of a mirror doing their makeup. “Out.”
“Damon, this is the women’s room.” Even as she spoke, the women were rushing to get out. One huffed and began to say something about rudeness. The look in Damon’s eyes had her fleeing like the devil was on her heels.
He set her on the counter top, her legs dangling, before he turned the lock on the door with a decisive click. He placed her purse on the settee opposite them. “Stay there.”
“Damon, you can’t just take over the loo.”
He walked back to the stalls, checking each to make sure they were alone. “I just did. As for selecting the women’s room, well, you’ve never seen a men’s room. Trust me. I made the right choice. Smells so much better in here. Do you want to explain to me why you were allowing that woman to humiliate you?”
“She’s my cousin.”
“That means she gets to behave like a horrible bitch around you? Thank god I don’t have any family.” He got to one knee and gently pulled her shoe off. The minute his big hand encased her skin in warmth, she shivered the tiniest bit. Harry had just done the same thing, but his hands hadn’t made her want to soften and curl up against him.
She had to be stronger than that. “What was I supposed to do, Mr…Damon? If I had said something back to her, I would have caused a bigger scene.”
He studied her ankle, turning her foot in his palm, and then lightly running his hands up her leg to her knee.
Thank god, she’d shaved. And why did having a hand on her leg seem to make her core heat and melt?
“Sometimes it’s all right to cause a scene. Life isn’t a series of polite encounters. She wasn’t playing nice, so why should you?”
He didn’t understand. He couldn’t possibly. She turned her mind to a more immediate question. “How did you find me?”
His hand moved to her other foot, as careful with this one as the first. “I tagged your mobile. I then did a complete analysis of you, your family, and your friends. According to your sister’s social media postings, there was a wedding today. Your raging-bitch cousin sent some of her friends e-mails detailing how much fun she was going to have with you and that they should watch to see how you embarrass yourself at this particular event. She thinks she’s going to Thailand for her honeymoon.”
He had the evilest smile on his face as he said the last bit. It made him look like a very gorgeous, ridiculously sexy devil.
It also frightened her a bit. “What do you mean she ‘thinks’ she is?”
And it was gone, replaced with what she was coming to think of as his “male model” smile. “Nothing at all. I wish her the best. So, we shall start your training today.”
“What? You said we would wait until Monday.”
“I said you had until Monday to say yes. You said yes yesterday. There’s no need to wait. I came to collect you.”
“Collect me? Am I going somewhere?”
“Oh, I’ve already moved you into my place.”
“You did what?” The question came out in a slightly panicked screech.
He sighed a little, his eyes hooded as though he expected a fight and wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. “I had a team go through your place, pack up your things, and move them to my club in Chelsea. The rest of the house is being moved to storage, and I already found you an estate agent.”
She shook her head. He was upending her life and he’d managed to do it all in a manner of hours. “You can’t just move me. And I already have an estate agent.”
“No, you had a front for the Ukrainian mob.”
“I did?”
“Yes, darling. You really need to let the tech boys do their job. I have them run searches on everyone in my life. By the way, your florist is dealing prescription drugs out of the back of her store. You buy a bouquet from her every Monday. Scotland Yard is raiding her tomorrow. The good news is, we have a very nice one in Kensington station. I’ll take you there on the way back home.”
He was missing the point. They hadn’t made this deal. “You can’t just walk in and move me.”
“I did. Actually it was rather difficult to figure which clothes were yours and which were your mum’s.”
“I already packed up Mum’s things.”
“Oh, well. Not a problem then. I was going to buy you new ones anyway. I’m going to kiss you now, Penelope.”
“What?”
“You seem to have an enormously hard time understanding me today. We’re going to have to work on our communication skills.” He moved right between her legs, spreading her knees and making a place for himself there. One minute she was utterly gobsmacked by the chaos he’d brought into her life in a couple of hours’ time, and the next, she couldn’t manage to breathe. He invaded her space, looming over her. Despite the fact that she was sitting on the counter, he still looked down at her. His hands slid her skirt up, making her gasp a little. “You said yes. That means you’re mine, Penelope. You’re my partner and my submissive. I take care of what’s mine.”
She swallowed, forcing herself to look into those stormy eyes of his. He was so close she could smell the scent of his aftershave, feel the heat his big body gave off. “For the mission.”
“I don’t know about that,” he returned, his voice deepening. “If this goes well, I get to go back out in the field. It’s always good to have a cover. Men are less threatening when they have a woman with them. If you like fieldwork, there’s no reason you can’t come with me. Especially if you’re properly trained. Tell me how much your siblings know.”
She shook her head before finally realizing what he was asking. His fingers worked their way into her hair, smoothing it back, forcing her to keep eye contact with him. “Oh, about work, you mean. Everyone in my family thinks I work for Reeding Corporation in their publishing arm. They think I translate books.”