Hope. Not wanting to be entirely predictable, I forewent the garden the next day and opted instead for the heated pool. I had been eyeing it with longing since we had arrived, and thanks to boutiques only too willing to deliver to the island,i had a simply decadent swimsuit i was dying to try out. As i pulled the skimpy suit on, i realized that in essence i was trying to seduce Damian . Not that i hadn’t already, but i was attempting to make him fall in love with me. I frowned back at myself in the mirror. Wasn’t this backward? He was the one with the memory. Shouldn’t he be trying to make me fall in love with him? I knew i loved him but hadn’t said the words. Something had held me back, and now i pondered what it was that made me unwilling to take that jump. There was a hesitation about him that niggled at me, as though he wanted to keep a certain amount of distance between us. I didn’t want that. I wanted him to love me as i loved him. I sighed. If only i could remember. I w
Damian I entered my office, irritation replacing my earlier good mood. I stared hard at Rosie, who stood to the side. “I do not appreciate this intrusion,” i said crisply. “There was no call, no warning, no permission asked to come out here.” Rosie's face paled and her eyes widened. “This is my private living area, and as such, you do not have free rein as you do in my business settings. Are we understood?” “Yes, sir,” she said stiffly. “Now, what was so important that it didn’t warrant a phone call?” I demanded. “I have discovered that another design was stolen,” she said softly. “What?” Curses spilled from my lips, and it took a moment for me to realize I was speaking to myself, and Rose didn’t understand a word of it. I shook my head and put both hands down on my desk. “What design? Tell me everything.” Her expression hardened. “It is an older one, a design you discarded. It was the original plan for the Rio de Janeiro hotel. But still, she must have sold it to Marcelli wit
Damian I hung up the phone with a grimace and leaned back in my leather chair. I put my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling. I had to return to New York. Tony had called me with the news just moments ago, and i greeted the fact with a discomfort that was alien to me. Worse, i had had to inform my father that another of our designs had been stolen. We were understandably furious. With Hope. How would they react when they learned I had every intention of marrying her as soon as possible? I was torn between wanting Hope to go with me and wanting to keep her sheltered here on the island. Away from any chance she might remember. Away from the judgment and animosity of my family. The beginnings of a headache plagued me as I considered the selfishness of that particular thought. I knew, though, that when she remembered, and the doctors had assured me that she would, things would irrevocably change between us. I should still be furious with her, and i should be working to
Hope. Damian's jet touched down in New York in the late afternoon, and a limousine was waiting for us when we stepped off the plane. A tall, formidable looking man stood by the car, and as we drew closer, i could see a strong resemblance between him and Damian . “Tony,” Damian called out. “I did not expect you to meet us. This is a surprise.” Tony gave a half smile. “Can I not greet my brother?” Damian put an arm around my waist and drew me forward. “Tony,you remember Hope. Hope this is my younger brother Tony.” I smiled. “I’m very glad to meet you.” His gaze flickered impassively over me, and he didn’t return my smile.bSlowly mine faded as i read the unwelcoming look on his face. Instinctively, I shrank into Damian Then Tony’s gaze dropped to the hand on which i wore the ring, and he outright frowned. He stared back up at Damian, his jaw tight. “You will be courteous,” Damian said in a very low tone. Even so, I could hear the bite in his voice. “I’m pleased to see you again
Hope. I looked at him, from my seat he seemed to be deeply lost in thought. "Who is she?" I finally blurted out unable to hold myself any longer. "Who is she to you?" "Who is who?" Damian asked confused. "Naya, i could see the way she was looking at you. Is she really your father's wife?" He looked at me for a while as if contemplating what to say to me before he turned and looked at me. He tools my hands in his. "Naya is my ex girlfriend. We met in London and used to live together. But when things didn't work out I moved back home and she had a hard time moving on. She came back in the hopes of getting me back but somehow ended up with my father. So yes she is his wife." "Are you sleeping with her?" I asked the question really eating at me. He looked at me as if I was crazy immediately letting go of my hands. "No am not sleeping with her Hope, i wouldn't disrespect you like that." "Am sorry, I just wanted to know." As if on cue, we pulled up into Nordstrom’s parking
Hope. Once inside the house, Damian kept his hand at my back and told Alba and his bodyguards to go to bed. We then went into the living room to grab a bottle of vodka before he led me upstairs to his bedroom. “Are you still curious?” he asked once we were inside and he had closed the bedroom door. Uncapping the vodka, he took a swallow then placed the bottle on the table. Watching him, I did the same, took a couple sips of water, then coughed and handed it back. He chuckled and drank once more before setting the bottle on the nightstand. He dimmed the lights and stripped the bed of its comforter before turning back to me. “Are you?” “Damian” He wrapped one arm around my waist and put his forefinger to my lips. “I want you, Hope. My cock is aching to be inside your warm little pussy.” He kissed me, and I yielded, my body already reacting to his touch, wanting him. Remembering how he made me feel. How he made me cum. His fingers touched my shoulders, and I felt the dress dragged
Hope. I fidgeted and tugged at my dress as i surveyed my appearance in the mirror. Sapphires glinted from both ears, and the matching necklace lay against the skin of my neck. “You look beautiful, Hope” I turned to see Damian behind me. I sucked in my breath as i took in his appearance. The excellently tailored black suit fit him to perfection, drawing attention to his muscular build. The white shirt contrasted with his bronze skin, dark hair and golden eyes, and quite frankly, I felt like drooling. “So do you,” I finally managed. He chuckled and walked towards me. “Beautiful? Surely you can do better than that.” “Gorgeous? Devastatingly handsome? So good-looking that I’m tempted to fall on you and tear your clothes off?” I said teasingly. “I like the way you think.” “I wasn’t joking,” i muttered. “Are you ready? The car is waiting for us below.” I took a deep breath and twisted my engagement ring around my finger with the pad of my thumb. “As ready as I will ever be.” He
Damian. I paced back and forth at the foot of Hope’s bed while the hotel physician administered the sedative. She was beyond distraught, and the doctor had moved immediately to prevent further upset. As the doctor stood and backed away from the bed, he looked at me, a grim expression on his face. Fear tightened in my chest. “Is she all right? Is the baby all right?” The doctor motioned me across the room and away from where Hope now quietly lay. “Her injuries are not physical. If they were, perhaps I would be of use. Her distress is mental. If it is as you said, and she has regained her memory, it is that which has caused her immeasurable pain.” I stirred impatiently. “What can be done? She cannot be left as she is. There must be something we can do.” The sight of her pale face and her eyes, so huge with devastation, twisted my gut painfully. “You should return her to your home, to a place that is more familiar. She needs a doctor, not for her physical well being, but one who can