Page 66 of Black Velvet

I frown at her. "Yes."

A suppressed giggle escapes her.

"Oh, but I am," she says. "She must be quite a girl if she managed to send you here, to me."

"She didn't send me!" I protest. "She doesn't even know that I'm here."

I cough slightly, averting my eyes. "And she probably wouldn't care."

I recoil when I feel my mother's hand on mine, a caress so familiar, yet so foreign. My first impulse is to pull away from her, but I don't. Instead I place my other hand on hers, squeezing, holding on to her, so fucking desperate for comfort.

"Why don't you tell me about her?" my mother says, her voice soft and patient. "I want to know about this girl who has the power to put a stop to my restless boy's stubbornness."

I respond to her request with an exasperated sigh, but a moment later, the words start pouring out of me like a flowing river. It's the first time I have ever given voice to my contemplations about Elene.

And it feels fucking good.

Chapter 39

Damon

“Don't let her get away that easily.”

My mother's last piece of advice resembles a threat, but she has a point.

I need to know. Even if it's true that Elene no longer wants to see me, she should tell me so face-to-face. I need to fucking hear her say it. I need her to confirm all those conclusions I've been making in her absence, purely based on the fact that I haven't heard from her since I was banned from The Velvet Rooms.

My heart is pounding in my chest, way too fast for me to act casual. I hate that. How am I supposed to face her when I'm trembling like a leaf? I don't want to appear weak in front of her.

I already feel enough like an idiot for sitting here, in my car, outside the club, like an outcast or a common criminal. My eyes are glued to the entrance. The doorman has taken his position, and he’s currently browsing languidly on his phone as he waits for the first guests to arrive.

I might be too late already. The club doesn't open for another half-hour, but I'm sure that most of the staff shows up earlier. If she's working tonight, she might be inside already, getting ready to be felt up by other clients, by men who weren't stupid enough to land on the blacklist by getting involved in a fraud lawsuit.

My insides churn at the thought of it. Images of when I first saw her keep popping up in front of my eyes. The way that guy — that fucking Bartlet — fondled her leg, the way she reacted to it, disliking his grabby hands on her, but letting him proceed nonetheless because it was part of her job.

I shake my head violently, trying to erase the disturbing thoughts out of my head.

She might have gone back to working as a devil since I last saw her. She might have flirted with other men, been touched by other men.She might have fucked other men.

And I couldn't even blame her. I knew who she was when this started. You can never have a whore all to yourself, that's not part of their job description.

She's not a whore, though. She's so much more. She's the epitome of beauty, of elegance; she's purity, she's brilliance.

She's Elene.My Elene. And she’s the most beautiful in her rawest form.

Fuck. How am I supposed to take it, if she really sends me away? What am I supposed to do if she just rolls her eyes at me?

“Oh, God, no,”she would say. “Another idiot who didn't get it. Another fool who fell for me, when I was just doing my job.”

What if I'm not just putting those words in her mouth? What if they are true?

Do I really need to hear her say that?

Just as I'm about to turn the key to start the engine of my car, I catch a figure out of the corner of my eye. A woman, walking toward the entrance of The Velvet Rooms.

A woman with a familiar face.

Chapter 40

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