Page 28 of Claim

She stepped off the platform, undressed, and put on her day clothes. Then after I took the gown and draped it onto the sewing mannequin, we both took a seat on a nearby settee.

“Start talking,” Eva ordered.

“Don’t freak.”

“You expect me not to worry after that kind of warning?” She gave me a side-eye.

“I met him at a club.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m going to assume it wasn’t a nightclub.”

“I met him at Violent Delights.”

I waited for a reaction, but she remained quiet. Though worry lit her eyes, and she wrung her hands together.

“I… I like him. He’s different. When I’m with him, I feel things I’ve never felt with anyone else.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“He told me he won’t see me again.”

“Why?”

“He said he’s not good for me. He doesn’t want to hurt me.”

“Maybe you should listen to him.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve gone there so many times, and I have never wanted to do anything with anyone. Then I met him. How am I not supposed to feel that again?”

“I’ve never seen you react to anyone like this. Who is he?” Eva cocked her head to the side and studied me. “Is he someone I’d know?”

I hesitated for a second and then answered, “His name is Damon Pierce.”

“You can’t be serious.” She grabbed my hand, clutching it in hers. “I can’t believe Lucian allowed this.”

“I’m an adult, Eva. I make my own decisions. I don’t need Lucian’s permission to sleep with someone.”

“You don’t understand. There are rumors about Pierce and his involvement in the death of his ex. I don’t want you mixed up with someone like him.”

The weight of resignation settled on my shoulders. It looked as if Damon Pierce and I weren’t meant to be.

“He already warned me away. So you don’t have to worry.”

“By telling you upfront that he’s dangerous, he saved you from all the heartache and pain other women endure before they learn the lessons of being with men who will only hurt them in the end.”

The shadows entered Eva’s eyes again.

“What if I never feel like I did the other night with anyone else again?”

“You will, I promise. And it may be ten times better.”

* * *

“Twice in one week. What a delightful surprise,” I heard from behind me as I made my way through the employee hallways to the public playroom in Violent Delights.

Tate carried a case of drinking glasses in the same direction.

“How are you?” I asked, smiling at him.

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