Page 27 of Bound By Longing

It doesn’t matter that he saved my life. That fact shouldn’t make my stomach flutter. Damien is not prince charming material. I can’t forget that no matter how weak my knees feel from the memory of him saving me from Lev’s house.

I eventually get out of the bath. I stayed in there for as long as I could, but my fingers and toes have gotten pruney. My eyes land on the door. I know the moment I open it, I’ll be thrust back into Damien’s world. But I can’t hide forever.

I wrap a towel around me. My clothes are in a heap by the floor, and I reach down to grab them when the door opens. A woman steps inside and picks up my clothes.

“I heard you drain the bath,” she says. It’s Collete. “I’ll take these for you.” She leaves the bathroom with my clothes.

“Uh …” I hurry after her. “Collete? My clothes?”

She stares down at them in her hands and wrinkles her nose. “You don’t need these any longer. I’ll get you some new clothes.” She walks away, and I’m left standing there, chilled, dripping wet, in nothing but my towel.

“This is a sight I could get used to.” Damien.

I whirl around and come face-to-face with him. “I’m sorry?”

His eyes rake down my body, and I’m suddenly super aware of how naked I am underneath this towel. No man has ever seen this much of me before. “You’re a beautiful woman, Mila.”

“Collete took my clothes,” I say lamely.

“I can see that. I told her to.”

“Why?”

“You needed new clothes.” He leans against the wall, somehow looking casual and put together simultaneously. His relaxed posture only makes him more handsome. “Your old ones were filthy.”

“I’m sorry.”

He frowns. For most people, it’s an ugly expression, but for Damien, it somehow makes him look more handsome. “Why are you apologizing?”

“You just said my clothes are filthy. It just seemed the right thing to say.”

“You don’t need to apologize for something that isn’t your fault. I know what you’ve been through.”

My heart almost leaps out of my chest. “You do?”

“You were kidnapped. No one expects you to look together when you’ve been kidnapped. I just thought you’d like some new clothes.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I’m touched by his gesture. Then I remind myself—don’t feel touched at all by Damien. “But why do you have women’s clothes? You’re not married.”

The smile he gives me is self-indulgent, and it sends a flutter straight to my stomach. “You don’t need to be married to have people over. I’ve had a lot of women over. Sometimes, they leave clothes behind.”

“And you keep them? Why?”

“For moments like this.”

I step away from him, but there are not many places for me to go. It’s either around him or back into the bathroom. “Do you usually plan on having women over without clothes?”

I know the moment I ask it I shouldn’t have. Damien smiles in a way that makes me blush. “I do usually like having women over without their clothes on.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I stutter.

“You’re cute when you blush. Makes you look even more innocent.”

I feel my face grow even hotter.

Collete comes back with a fresh pair of clothes, saving me from having to stand before Damien in nothing but a towel. I thank her and hurry back into the bathroom. Even after I shut the door, I can still feel Damien’s eyes on me.

It’s unsettling.

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