spoke

estate agent, "Give her a proper tour. Tell her some of the family history befor

is stepbrother, then at me, then back

said to me. "Don't go past the gates. Elena, c

reason. This was the chance I had been looking forward to, a private period with Damon for all my que

ious he didn't want this. He always wore that polite express

Just moved through the long hallways like he had grown up mapp

y only opened for holidays and the kind of traditional gatherings Margaret insisted on controlling down to the last napk

ission. How could a man this handsome and innocent be accused

ght words to start our conversati

begin a conver

f you in the dark, put your cock in my mouth, and

u

t. And my palms sta

Softer light. More privacy. The kind of hallway where a

red my

ice as light as I could manage. "It must be your first night h

, almost amused look crossed his face

o run like a military operation. The family house is actual in Dallas." He kept walking, already steering the subject away, pointing at a row of old portraits on

a little more d

in the room o

ing and turned

he said

st tig

ething wrong

red a

it almost hurt. Confusio

r the arrangement of furniture. No tension or even a flick

d. I could hear my o

ut, with my voice even smal

heard something in the middle of th

pression s

in that wing. Maintenance swapped a few

er that gave

y heart was climbing

he room? Or... did you

ing me now with a quiet kind of at

xed on me now. Those eyes. The way he w

asking about th

stomach twist. It was... Complet

was supposed to look uncomfortable. Or guilty. Or at least throw me one secret glance that said *we

kin again, colder and heavier tha

t wasn't

lept with someone else -A cleaner who happened to be using the bed

I had sl

I was so desperate for someone to actually touch me

mn

e perf

im right now if I leaned close enough. The same dark, sharp co

y moving toward the next set of door

s when

en his tattoos. There was a faint bruise. Finger-shaped. Clear against his s

ped so fast I f

ut in an obviously

ped imm

ck. I needed to know for certain so I tiptoed, closing the small space betwe

pt my face carefully neutral, like I was only adjusting something or brushing lint from hi

ness, my e

lso bruises from two more fingers so I c

fec

k I must have left when I was clutchin

caught in

at the end of the c

, twisting my ankle under m

I could stop it. The room t

arm sh

his hands steadying me, my body fully in

hirt. That same cologne filled my n

lly wa

I looked up at the perso