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Chapter Fourteen

Damyr

Ishut my office door behind me with a snap. Fucking Aleksey, questioning me in front of everyone like that. Who did he think he was?

I was seething. Rage boiling under my skin. Shoulders tense. Fists clenched. Back—

Cool hands framed my face, startling me out of my spiralling anger.

“Damyr?”

Serene green eyes filled my vision, and my anger faded away with the soothing motion of his thumbs across my cheeks. My chest heaved for a few more breaths, but that too, dissipated under Benjamin’s touch.

I watched him for a moment, caught in his green gaze and I felt all those harsh, angry edges of mine soften. He had no idea of the power he had over me, with just his touch. The world could be burning around us, and I’d be completely, utterly oblivious.

I blinked and stepped away, breaking our connection.

A flush crept up the side of his neck, the same shade as his jumper, and he looked away from me. I missed his eyes on me, but perhaps it was for the best. With everything going on with my mysterious benefactor, adding a mate to the list didn’t seem to be the right thing to do, right now. Soon though. I’d have to, otherwise I ran the risk of my body starting to shut down, but if Benjamin was averse to my world, would I have the strength to let him go?

“I need to go out this evening and I would like for you to join me,” I said.

Benjamin looked up at me with a confused expression. “You want to take me out of the house? Where I might run away or be seen by someone I know?”

I knew the risks, but I had to believe that the strength of our bond would keep him near me. The fact of the matter was that I just didn’t want to leave the house without him. I still had the meeting with the Council to attend and I could leave him at the bar with Acheron for company. On second thoughts, Acheron would probably get them into some trouble. Maybe I should leave him with Aleksey.

“We aren’t going far, and besides, if you run away, I’ll just hunt you down and recapture you.”

He glowered at me, and I had to suppress the urge to smile. The scowl looked so odd on his pretty face that it was almost comical. “You’re an asshole.”

“I know,” I said, heading towards the kitchen. I had to walk away just to breathe something other than the scent of him. He was covered in my body wash, no doubt Vlad thinking it a huge joke to leave Benjamin’s behind, so he’d have no choice but to use mine. He smelled too good, too tempting, and the fact that I could smell an undertone of cum as well… There was only so much restraint I could muster. When Benjamin had walked into my office, it took everything in me not to launch myself across the room and take him right there on my goddamn floor.

“So,” Benjamin said as he sat at the island. “What is it you’re doing tonight?”

I plated some of the fresh fruit that my chef, Roy, left in the fridge for Benjamin. “I’m going to meet with some people for a conversation.”

“That’s a cute name for a shoot out.”

“It’s not a shoot out, Benjamin. It’s a business meeting.”

“Where?” he asked as he wrapped his lips around a strawberry.

I had a hard time recalling the name of the hotel as I watched his teeth sink into the flesh of the strawberry. “The Julian.”

“Ooh, fancy. I’ve never been there. Is it true they serve everything on solid gold plates?”

“That’s ridiculous.” The Julian was the fanciest hotel in the city, and it probably cost more than the average persons monthly salary to stay for one night, but there weren’t that many gold plates. It was also the only building that the Three Families owned together, and it was managed by someone we’d vetted together. It was our neutral ground, and everyone was on even footing there.

“Is the hotel a secret location for nefarious doings?” He waggled his eyebrows as he ate another strawberry.

“No, Benjamin. It’s just a hotel.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Sounds like something you’d say if you wanted to keep it secret.”

“Eat your fruit. There’s plenty in the fridge if you want something else.”

“Who are you meeting?”

“The Council,” I answered.