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“I left it at home,” I answered quickly, my cheeks flushing. “I forgot to put it back on after getting ready.”

The truth was that the ring was buried somewhere in my suitcase. I always had it with me but hadn’t put it on my finger in years.

My father let out a crude laugh. “Forgot? You never were one for diamonds, Natalia. But your ring should never leave your finger.”

I straightened up. “I love diamonds, Dad. Damian actually gave me the most beautiful gift this morning that I can’t wait to wear on our next night out.”

Damian’s head snapped toward me, suspicion in his gaze as he stayed quiet.

“What did he give you?” Char asked, trying to hide her amused smile. She knew I was doing this to mess with Damian.

“A necklace,” I answered, turning to give Damian a kiss on his cheek. “It’s gorgeous and sparkles from every angle. He wanted to show me how happy he is that I’m home.”

I almost couldn’t get the sentence out with a straight face.

I didn’t give a shit about jewelry, but my father seemed appeased by my joy at the imaginary gift.

Plus, Damian had to now give me a necklace because I was sure it would come up again in the shallow conversations I had with my dad.

Jewelry was a safe topic to have with women.

Maybe I could sell it to start saving up my own money.

Damian suddenly put his fingers under my chin, turning my face before pressing his lips to mine. I stilled, every instinct screaming to push him away. But I couldn’t do it here. The kiss was quick, and he pulled away a second later.

“I’ll give you much more than a necklace now that you’re home,” he murmured, his eyes staying locked on mine. “Spoiling you is one of my favorite pastimes.”

He didn’t make it sound dirty, but it was, even if no one else at the table caught it. I shifted in my seat, breaking his stare to take a sip of my water. Damian pulled out his phone, texting while the server brought the food my dad and Christian had ordered.

When the conversation turned back to the yacht party, I tuned them all out. They wouldn’t ask my opinion, anyway. Char looked at me in apology before standing up.

“I have plans with a friend,” she said as she picked up her purse. “But I’ll see you for dinner on Sunday, Talie?”

Before I left, we always had dinner once a week together, no matter what. Before I could answer, Damian cut in.

“Of course, she’ll be there,” he said with a warm smile. “I’m sure you’re happy she’s home too.”

I gritted my teeth, annoyed he was speaking for me.

The amusement in his eyes when he glanced at me proved exactly why he did it.

Char gave our father a hug before walking away.

I needed to get my phone back from Damian so I could call her later.

She still felt guilty I came back for her birthday and Damian found me.

The men started talking about business, and my eyes glazed over in boredom as I sipped my drink.

After a few minutes, I scooted my chair closer to Damian’s, letting my palm fall on his lap.

He went utterly still as his father kept talking.

I swallowed my grin, enjoying his moment of shock.

The tablecloth hid what I was doing, and I purposefully pressed down harder until his hand caught my wrist, forcing my arm away from him.

“As nice as this was, we need to go,” he said, getting to his feet, pulling me with him. “Talie needs to unpack.”

“We’ll see you two next week,” Christian said, dismissing me with nothing more than a nod. “Your mother will be expecting you both for dinner Wednesday night.”

“We’ll be there,” Damian promised.

Dread clung to me as I said goodbye to my father. I hadn’t even been here a day, and my plans were already getting dictated for me.

Damian’s hand landed on my back again as he led me out of the restaurant toward the elevators. He pressed the button while I blew out a long breath.

“Happy?” I ground out, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. “You got me back here like you wanted.”

“You were expected to come home in two months,” he responded. “Does sixty days make that much of a difference?”

I didn’t answer him, moving forward when the elevator doors opened.

I didn’t know what I was going to do in two months when my father thought I was going to come home.

Though I was sure he would have found me.

The resources he and Christian had were huge.

A runaway daughter was something my father wouldn’t tolerate.

My mother had been the only reason he didn’t drag me back five years ago. My excuses wouldn’t work anymore.

No one else came into the elevator with us, and once the door closed, Damian turned to face me. I frowned when a gleam of mischief hit his eye.

“What?” I snapped.

He reached beside him, hitting the emergency stop, making the elevator jerk to an abrupt halt.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, licking my lips nervously.

“We need to talk,” he replied, striding forward until he had me trapped against the wall.

“Damian,” I hissed. “There are cameras, and security is going to wonder why the elevator stopped. Your father will be pissed if you cause a scene to make your family look bad.”

“You’ve been gone so long, you don’t even know who owns this hotel,” he said, cocking his head. “Rhyett’s family does, and he’s here this weekend. We have five minutes before the cameras turn back on.”

My heart thudded as I stared at him. I didn’t fear him. He might be an asshole and a liar, but he would never physically hurt me. Though, I had no idea what he had to talk about that was so important to stop the damn elevator.

“So, I got you a necklace?” he asked in a low voice.

I grinned wickedly, swallowing my nerves. “Yes. A large and expensive one.”

His arm flew up, catching my wrists in his hold.

I gasped in surprise when he pulled them above my head, keeping them pinned with one hand while his other went to my throat.

His grip tightened until I couldn’t take a full breath, and then he kicked my legs apart as much as my dress allowed before wedging his knee between my thighs, making the fabric ride up until I was nearly exposed.

He leaned closer until his lips nearly brushed mine.

“I like my gifts to be more personal. Especially for my wife.” He squeezed my throat more until I was gasping for air, while at the same time his knee brushed my bare pussy.

“This necklace is just for you, baby. And I’ll give it to you whenever you want. ”

“Damian,” I choked out, unsure whether I was protesting or wanting him to keep going. Because fuck me, even if I could barely breathe, pleasure was tearing through my lower stomach when his knee continued to rub against me.

“This necklace comes with something else,” he murmured, pressing against my clit to make his intention clear. “But only if you ask nicely. Much better than diamonds, don’t you think?”

I glared at him the best I could as he continued to move his knee. This smug asshole. Getting naked in front of him might have backfired. He hadn’t been lying when he said he’d tease right back.

“Does it feel good?” he questioned, slightly loosening his grip on my throat. “Tell me to keep going.”

“It doesn’t feel good enough to ask you for anything,” I breathed out, my voice coming out shaky.

He grinned before leaning down to brush his lips against my throat. “Then I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

With those words, he released me, stepping back before hitting the emergency button again.

The elevator started moving, and I hastily tugged my dress back down, ignoring how my pussy was throbbing to be touched again.

Damian leaned against the opposite wall, not hiding the fact that his dick was straining against his slacks.

I messed with my hair, trying to act unbothered when the doors slid open and three people stepped inside. I glanced at the panel, seeing we still had ten more floors to go until we hit the ground level.

I needed to get myself in check before we got back to the apartment because if Damian kept doing shit like that, I was going to end up sleeping with him.

Which could never fucking happen. I had every intention of keeping this marriage strictly business. No matter how much he got under my skin in all the right ways.