He stares at me, his jaw tight and his eyes blazing that green fury at me. There’s definitely anger there, but it’s more than just fury.

Hunger.

There’s a fire in that look, and I shiver, knowing something that I’ve never known before: I kindled that fire.

Me.

He knows I tricked him, or at least wasn’t exactly forthcoming in who I was. There’s no pretending that I didn’t know who he was. I mean, of course I did — I was in his office, at his party, in his company headquarters.

My body tightens, my core trembling at the memory of not ten minutes ago — his tongue sliding through my pussy, tasting me and making me shiver and shake like nothing ever has before. I remember the way his big, thick cock felt, pulsing hot and hard on my skin and gliding over my clit.

The way his hands felt on my skin, and the feel of his cum pumping over me.

I can still feel him under my dress — sticky, warm, and wet on my skin. It’s a reminder — a dirty, wicked, sinful reminder of what we’ve just done. But he looks so mad. I think about what he said, how I was his now, and marked and all that, and how he’d be taking me as his own later.

But my heart begins to sink in as I watch his eyes narrow as they dart from me, to Bill, back to me again. No, I tricked him, and a man like Damian Castle doesn’t go for being tricked.

“Your daughter,” he growls, his eyes stopping on me, his look fierce.

“Well, stepdaughter,” Bill chuckles. “Married her mom a few years back. Anyways, I wanted you to meet, since she’s going to be around here for the next month.”

Damien’s brow raises. “Pardon?”

“Yeah, I’d planned for her to intern with Regent Trust over the summer, and since Regent is now part of Castle Capital, well, I guess she’ll be interning here! You know, before she leaves.”

“Leaves?”

Bill nods, slugging back his drink. “Yeah, well you know, she’s headed off to school soon.”

My stomach sinks, and I watch Damien’s jaw twitch.

“Is she now?”

Bill chuckles. “Yep, that she is. Going to study business and make me proud.”

I watch as Damien — the man whose touch and whose filthy, captivating words I can’t get out of my head — nods, still looking right at me.

“So you’re in college.”

“I—”

I want to answer. I want so badly to explain, but Bill beats me to it, and it sounds so much worse coming from him.

“Well, she will be.”

Damien’s jaw twitches again, and this time his eyes dart quickly to Bill.

“What did you just say?” he snaps.

“I said she will be in college. Next month, when she goes in for freshman orientation.”

Damien’s eyes snap back to mine, and this time, they’re full of fire. I want so badly to just jump into his arms and kiss him, and tell him I’m sorry for holding back on what is really actually a pretty big piece of information. He obviously knew I was young, but I’m suddenly thinking he may have just left it at “get out of my office” if he knew I was eighteen young, and less than half his age. And I swear, Bill standing here or not, I’m about to do just that, when suddenly, we’re swarmed by guys in business suits grinning from ear to ear. Guys from Bill’s company and some from Damien’s, all holding drinks and wanting to congratulate the two of them on the merger.

Bill happily obliges of course, taking drinks that are passed his way, but I watch as Damien gives me one last fierce look before he pulls away and ducks into the crowd.

My heart sinks again. The pain of losing that perfect moment in his office sears into me as I turn and make my way through the crowd. Tears sting my eyes a I think of how perfect it felt being in his arms and kissing his lips. And knowing that I’ve messed that up by not being truthful is like a knife to the gut.

I know I should have told him. Being the stepdaughter of the man whose company he’s merging with is one thing. Being inexperienced is one thing. But if he’d known that lack of experience was because I was eighteen, I doubt he’d have had another word to say to me. A man like Damien Castle probably dates models, and actresses, and celebrities — women who know what they’re doing and aren’t going to fumble around like some stupid inexperienced virgin.

I wipe at my eyes. Now that it’s over, I feel like even more of an idiot for going up there tonight to his office and trying to act so much older and more experienced than I actually am. Some of the guys from the bar earlier call out to me, but I’m ignoring them, trying my hardest not to cry as I push through the doors that lead from the main space of Castle Capital into the smaller reception area by the elevators.

I fire off a quick text to Bill letting him know I’m taking a taxi home, even if I’m sure he’s too drunk by now to see it or care. I jam the button for the elevator and squeeze my eyes shut, feeling that horrible sinking feeling creep through me. I think about the man that felt so right earlier, and knowing that I’ve messed that up and that he’ll probably never even talk to me again has the tears about to finally break free.

There’s a hand on my arm, and even as I gasp in shock, my body knows who it is before I even turn.

Damien.

His touch is just pure electricity — a jolting, electrifying spark that instantly has me wanting to throw myself into his arms and kiss him until my lips are bruised and sore.

“I’m—” I shake my head, biting my lip. “I’m so sorry, I just—”

“Do not for one second think I’m done with you, angel,” he growls, his eyes flashing heat and fire at me. I shiver, swallowing thickly as he turns and pulls me towards a private elevator.

“But first, I’d like some answers. And I’d like them now.”