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talie

“I don’t know. I think I should tell him you’re here?—”

“Kal, I’m here to surprise him.” I smiled sweetly as my heart raced. “You don’t want to ruin it, do you?”

I was at the employee entrance of Damian’s club, and I had to admit Kal took his head of security job seriously. There was a code on the door, making it impossible for me to enter unless he allowed it.

He stared at me warily, running a hand through his black hair. His eyes traveled down my skintight club dress before quickly meeting my gaze again. “Last time, he didn’t seem too pleased you were here.”

I giggled. “A lot has changed since then. I promise he’ll be excited to see me.”

He pressed his lips together, indecision swimming in his eyes. As Damian’s wife, he didn’t want to disrespect me, but he also didn’t want to get in trouble. A tinge of guilt sliced through me, though it wasn’t enough to leave.

“The show already started,” he informed me. “He doesn’t have his phone on him, so you won’t be able to see him until after.”

“I don’t mind waiting.”

My stomach churned with excitement and nerves.

The first night coming here popped into my head, causing heat to rush down my spine.

Until Damian revealed himself on stage, the show had been amazing.

Watching the show would definitely be a good way to spend the night.

It would be interesting to see how long it took my husband to realize I was here.

We’d barely spoken since he showed up at Char’s apartment at four in the morning to interrogate me. His jealousy had sent a whirlwind of emotions through me. I couldn’t deny the satisfaction when I realized my husband cared enough to know what I’d been doing when sneaking behind his back.

I had no intention of sleeping with anyone, but my stubbornness had refused to let me admit that to him. Let him go crazy. Who knew Damian Valentin was an over-the-top possessive asshole?

The question was—did he care for me or was he doing this because I wore his ring?

Since he thought he could follow me and demand to know every aspect of my life, I decided to do the same, which was why I was at his club on a Thursday night. According to Char’s friends, they only did one or two shows on weekdays, and they were far tamer than the shows on the weekends.

“Fuck, fine,” Kal muttered, stepping out of the doorway to let me pass. “But if I get yelled at for this, I’m not letting you in again.”

I patted him on the shoulder as I walked past him. “It’ll be fine.”

“If you go into the main area, you have to cover your face,” he reminded me. “The door is labeled and there’s a basket of masks next to it.”

“Thanks, Kal.”

The muffled music from the show filtered through the wide hallway.

I lingered in front of Damian’s office before checking out the rooms where the doors were open.

One was a large office with two desks, and from the pictures on the walls, it was where Ash and Rhyett worked.

Did they have a stake in this club too, or was Damian the sole owner?

“What a surprise. It’s lovely to see you again, Natalia.”

I whirled around to see a man standing only a few feet away. My amusement at sneaking into Damian’s club faded when I recognized his slicked back hair and beady eyes. He was the person who’d interrupted me and Damian in the dining room the day I found his romance book collection.

“Percy,” he introduced himself, his eyes lingering on my short dress for far too long. “I wasn’t aware Damian told you about the club.”

“He is my husband.” I forced a polite smile, covering my shock that this man wasn’t part of our parents’ companies, but connected to Damian’s.

“Yes, but he must trust you.” His leering grin had me backing up a step when he advanced closer. “I know his father has no idea about this business. It’s an important secret.”

The smugness in his voice had ice flowing through my veins. There was nothing about him I liked. Usually, my husband was a good judge of people, making me curious why he was working with Percy. “I don’t talk shop with my husband. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to miss the rest of the show.”

I scurried away, looking back to make sure he wasn’t following.

He hadn’t moved a muscle, but his heated stare had me cringing in disgust. I spotted the basket of masks and plucked one out, grumbling under my breath.

I had planned to snoop around longer, but I’d rather be anywhere but in the presence of this man right now.

After putting the mask over my face, I pulled open the door, slipping inside the main club space. The loud music made it impossible to hear anything else as I stepped into the dark room. Strobe lights lit up the men on the stage dancing, and women already joined them.

The atmosphere was as electric as the first time I was in here.

I smiled as I searched for an open seat.

It was nearly full, but as I slowly walked in the aisles, I saw an empty area.

When I fell onto the plush cushions of the couch, I realized why.

While I could still view the stage, it was far away, and the placement of the lights made it more difficult to see.

I settled on the comfortable cushion, scanning the stage for my husband. Three of the dancers had women on chairs and were rolling their hips on top of them while other guys were on the edge of the stage, dancing in unison. When they turned, I spotted Damian by the large tattoo on his back.

The relief trickling through me had absolutely no business being there.

The fact that he was dancing alone on stage unknotted my stomach no matter how much I tried to tell myself I didn’t care.

Ever since coming back, I’d made it perfectly fucking clear that Damian had just as much of a right to do whatever he wanted.

If he wanted to dance with women at his club, I wasn’t going to stop him.

Yet…seeing him dance alone made me happier than I’d ever admit out loud.

My eyes were glued to him as he moved. All the men on stage could dance, but Damian?

Just like when we were younger, he held my complete attention.

It was so easy to see how dancing was his escape—something he enjoyed more than anything.

I understood why he didn’t want me anywhere near the club he built.

If I wrecked this, it would destroy him.

I had no interest in ruining this for him. Taking his money was one thing, but this would be far different. This was something he loved, and even with our past, I would never do anything to jeopardize that.

The music smoothly transitioned to another song, and I made a mental note to find out who the DJ was. Whoever was playing this show knew what they were doing. My leg bounced to the beat as I watched Damian.

He was mouthwatering enough to look at when he was in a suit—but seeing him on stage with slacks and no shirt on?

His muscles flexed with every move he made.

I shifted on the cushion, cursing myself for being unable to look away.

A new tightness tugged in my stomach, and it wasn’t nerves.

This entire show was hot as hell even if it was far tamer than the first night I was here.

Soon, the song ended, and half the men left the stage, disappearing in the dark.

I straightened up when I lost sight of Damian.

I licked my lips, knowing Kal would rat me out in a heartbeat if my husband went backstage.

Shaking my head, I focused back on the show.

Even if my husband did know I was here, it would take him forever to find me.

This couch was in the last row, and the closest other patrons were three rows in front of me.

Since the lights didn’t hit here, it was so dark no one would know I was here unless they were right next to me.

He didn’t return to the stage for the next song, and while I was still enjoying myself, it wasn’t the same.

My eyes kept darting around, but there wasn’t much I could see in the dark.

Dancers led more women up to the stage, and I recognized Ash even with his mask on.

He was dancing before he picked a woman up, and when her legs wrapped around his waist, he slowly took her to the floor.

She was laying on her back, and he climbed over her, spreading her legs before rolling his hips against her.

“Enjoying the show?”

His warm breath hit my cheek, his familiar voice making my heart skip.

I looked over my shoulder, seeing his masked face as he stayed bent over the back of the couch.

It was too dark to see his eyes, but there was no doubt it was my husband.

He straightened up before rounding the couch and plopping down beside me.

“Damian—”

I let out a cry when his arm banded around me before he pulled me onto his lap. My face flushed as I glanced around, but there was no one watching. All eyes were on the stage. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his lips right near my ear.

“Why are you in my club, Natalia?” he asked, suspicion thick in his voice.

“What does it look like?” I snarked, making sure my voice was loud enough to be heard over the music. “I wanted to enjoy the show.”

“We don’t ever sell these seats,” he informed me. “The view isn’t worth what our patrons pay for.”

I wiggled in his hold as he kept an arm around me. “Aren’t you supposed to be on stage?”

“Yes. Until my security guy told me how my cheery, smiling wife convinced him that she was here to surprise me. Trying to get my employees in trouble?”

“Trouble for what?” I questioned with false sweetness. “We’re legally married, husband . What’s yours is mine—meaning I own this club too. I can come whenever I want.”

His arm tightened around my waist. “Why are you here?”

“I was bored…” I trailed off, pretending to think about my next words. “Do you enjoy when I pop up unannounced, Damian?”