Page 4 of Twisted Empire: King's Gambit

“You planning on inviting me in, or are we playing peekaboo?” Damien’s voice dances through the door, accompanied by a roguish wink.

That charming bastard. He knows he’s got me, even after all this time. My heart kicks up its pace, and I can’t help but smile.

That wink could melt glaciers, so I swing the door open and lean against the frame, arms crossed, trying to look unimpressed.

“You sure have a funny way of defining ‘I can’t make it tonight.’”

“I had an epiphany,” he says, cocking his head to the side. “Some things are more important than last-minute paperwork.”

His eyes lock onto mine, making the air between us feel like an electric field. “Such as?” I prompt.

He grins, unveiling his hidden hands to reveal a bouquet of stargazer lilies. “Celebrating the night before my girl’s big day.”

Holy crap, they’re beautiful. “Damien, these are amazing!” I gush, plucking the bouquet from his hands and smelling its sweet aroma.

Before I can overthink it, he’s already around me, his arm locking my waist in a tender vice grip. He’s the only one I allow this close without feeling the urge to vomit when he touches me. If that doesn’t say a lot, I don’t know what does.

“That’s not the only amazing thing in the room,” he says softly, then seals his words with a lingering kiss that sends my thoughts scattering. I let out a soft moan into his mouth and feel myself becoming a puddle.

“Wow,” I finally manage as he pulls away. “You’re laying it on thick, aren’t you?”

“If it’s making you smile, then it’s just thick enough,” he replies with a smirk. “You should know all about how I lay it on thick.”

I roll my eyes at the innuendo but a shiver shoots up my spine, because boy … do I know all about his thickness.

“Now, are you going to invite me in or not, beautiful?” he says when he sees the blush on my face.

“Oh, I suppose I can,” I say, stepping aside to let him enter and we walk inside my apartment. Luckily for me, I live alone, so I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.

It’s a good thing too, because I already have to remember so many lies.

I place the flowers on my kitchen counter and raid my cupboards for a vase before I turn back to him. “So, staying for a drink, Mr. Epiphany?”

He arches an eyebrow. “Is that a subtle way of asking me to help you with your pre-interview jitters?”

“Me? Jitters? You’re looking at Fort Knox here, buddy,” I bluff, waving a hand over myself after putting the vase down.

Damien laughs. “Fort Knox, huh? Impenetrable and full of gold?”

“More like closely guarded and hard to crack,” I counter.

His eyes soften, and he walks towards me, taking my hand in his. “Well, in that case, I’m glad you granted me access.”

Okay, he won me over. My arms find their way around his neck, pulling him in close. “Think you can handle all this security?”

“I’ve got top-level clearance,” he murmurs, leaning down for another kiss, this one flavored with the promise of what comes after uncertainty, after questions, after nervous knocks on the door.

“For the record, I’m really glad you’re here,” I confess, once we part.

“And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he replies, giving me that look that turns my insides into a butterfly cove.

Now, my jitters are replaced by something else—something that feels a lot like hope, something that makes tomorrow’s uncertainties seem conquerable.

After placing the flowers in a vase, Damien and I settle on the couch. Each nursing a glass of wine, sharing the kind of comfortable silence only possible when you’ve got nothing to prove.

Tomorrow’s looming event is a shadow in the corner of the room, but for now, in this moment, I allow myself to feel the moment with him. He didn’t have to be here, and yet he was.

“You really think I’ll do well tomorrow?” I ask, breaking the silence.

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