“You have agreat business in the making. I didn’t do much.”
“You did. Yourbusiness insight put everything into perspective, and with Conner’sdesign expertise, I feel more positive about the future of MagikDates than I have in a long time.”
Her stepsfaltered as she reached the part of the corridor where he’d kissedher wrist, right before she’d seen his fangs.
He recalled theexquisitely sensual experience, and then how he’d come close tobiting her. Again. But despite almost losing it for a few seconds,he couldn’t forget the desire he’d seen in her eyes.
She headedtowards the lift. “I don’t fully understand how the app will work,or the live chat feature Conner suggested, and goodness knows whowill be willing to work for peanuts, but I’m hopeless withcomputers, so I’ll have to employ someone.” She continued withoutstopping for air, clearly excited with the direction her businesswas going. “I know Zarya will help when she can, but she alreadydoes the books, and she’s away a lot of the time.”
“Who?”
“Zarya, myfriend. She stays with me when she’s in London.”
He couldn’tresist telling another joke. “You never told me you had abroom-mate.”
She hesitatedin front of the lift, turned, and did another one of thoseeye-rolls she was so good at. “Don’t you ever stop? That’sterrible.” She looked at him for several seconds, a hint of a smiletwitching her lips.
Her cheeksturned a delicate shade of pink.
Instead ofpressing the lift button, she made her way to the stairwell. “I… Ithink I’ll take the stairs,” she told him, her breaths raspy.
He grinned.“The maintenance guys have probably fixed the lift by now.”
“No, it’s notthat.”
“What then?” Hewinked. “Don’t you trust being stuck in a lift with me again?”
“It’s me Idon’t trust,” she blurted out.
“No bad jokesthis time, and I’ll keep my fangs to myself, I promise.”
She dartedthrough the fire door. “Shame, they kind of turned me on,” shemuttered under her breath as the door closed behind her.
Damon stoodgawping at the graffiti on the door. Not for long, though. In lessthan two seconds, he burst through the door. “What did yousay?”
She faced himand smirked. “Nothing.”
Chemistrysizzled between them. Magic swirled in the air, its aroma heady andenticingly sweet.
If her intensegaze got any hotter, she’d burn a hole right through him.
Damon steppedtowards her. “I think you did, you wicked witch,” he whispered.
Her gazeflitted between his eyes and his mouth. She swallowed. “Look,vampire, my witch senses are going off the radar here, and I’m tooold to play games.”
Yet again, shesurprised him by being so forthright. His cock twitched. He faked asad face. “No games? Pity, I could think of a game or two I’d liketo play with you.” And they didn’t involve Monopoly, or any otherboard game for that matter.
He picked upthe sound of her pulse rate accelerating.
“Whatever.” Shecoiled a strand of hair around her finger, a pale pink curl thistime. “What I mean is, there’s something going on between us. Isense it, and I think you do too.”
He didn’tanswer, trying to process her confession. She wasn’t wrong, he didsense something. His body zinged with an awareness of her. His coldheart warmed whenever she so much as looked at him. Damon lookedinto her pale grey eyes and completely lost the plot. He couldthink of nothing but her, of how much he needed her in his life. Itwas as if his life—pre-vamp and now—had meant nothing up until thismoment, and suddenly he had clarity of what he truly wanted. Money,status, power, even the women, they meant nothing without love, ascrazy as that might be. “Are you sure you haven’t put a spell onme?”
She smiledsoftly. “If I had, you’d probably be sprouting grass for hair orgrowing a donkey’s tail. I told you, I’m crap at spells, but I knowwhen something magical is going on between two people, and if youdon’t do something about it right this min—”
He crushed hislips to hers, soft lips that sent shivers of ecstasy over his skin.“Harper,” he murmured between kisses. “I didn’t dare to hope…” Hewrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “This is crazy. Wehardly know each other.”
She inchedback, her breaths uneven. “I know, but it’s a good crazy,right?”
He chuckled.“Yes, it’s a good crazy.”
Her stunningeyes burned with a desire that matched his own, but he would nottake this further. Not yet, and not in this stairwell with thestench of stale cigarette ash and, grossly, an unmistakable whiffof vomit too.
Harper brokecontact with him. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with someair. Do you want to…” She licked her lips, slowly,provocatively.
Get naked?
“… get a drinksomewhere?” she finished.
He flashed amischievous smile. “A drink? Hmm, a drink sounds perfect—forstarters.”
Her thighsjerked together, and it was all he could do not to rip her clothesoff right where they stood.
Harper headeddown the stairs, a distinct tremble to her gorgeous legs.
“Let me helpyou,” said Damon, reaching for the bag with her paperwork. “Youlook a little unsteady there, and we wouldn’t want you to tripagain.”
His mockingtone provoked a glare from her, as he’d hoped. “I can manageperfectly well, thank you.”
He smirked.
She continueddown the concrete stairs, passing the drunk guy, still asleep onone of the landings. He still held his empty vodka bottle, butthere was a pile of vomit beside him now, and down the front of hisclothes, which would explain the unpleasant whiff he caughtearlier.
“So, wherewould you like to go?” Damon asked her. “I know a great bar inMayfair—”
“No, notthere,” she interrupted. “I don’t fancy sticking out like aclownfish in a school of sturgeon again.”
He laughed.“So, now you’re telling the jokes? Not bad.”
“I know thisfabulous little place, not far from where I live,” she went on. “Idon’t know if their wine menu is up to the standard of what yousell in that fancy French restaurant of yours, but they do fabulouscocktails.” Her eyes widened. “Not that there’s anything wrong withfancy French brassieres,” she added.
Damon pressedhis lips at her wrong word choice. “No, there’s nothing wrong withfancy brassieres—I like to see a woman wearing a lacy bra asmuch as the next man, although I rather prefer to see a sexy thongmyself—but I like to think my restaurants are a
