6. Chapter 6 #2
I rolled my eyes, deeply annoyed at how disgustingly easy this old man was.
Men were so fucking predictable it was pathetic.
I had both father and son sitting at this table, completely undone and lowkey hard off a woman who had just dragged their family name through the dirt.
Damini was sitting across from me, vibrating with territorial rage while his daddy was sitting right beside him silently wishing he was thirty years younger.
Disgusting, but secretly entertaining.
The Chairman sat back, casually adjusting his papers. "Are there any further questions regarding the merger terms?"
I smoothly pushed my chair back, stepping up into my full, imposing height and running two slow fingers down the front of my tailored trousers.
I didn't wait for a formal dismissal. I turned on my heel, ready to leave these pathetic men to stew in their own heat.
Unfortunately, the very second my red bottoms hit the floor, the aggressive scrape of a chair echoed behind me.
Damini barked a question at my back, but I didn't stop. I kept my stride, cutting through the double doors of the conference room.
"Don't care," I threw over my shoulder. "I'll see you at the announcement."
The heavy thud of his big footsteps slammed against the marble corridor behind me.
"Adanna!" he roared.
"What, Damini?" I didn't slow down.
I didn't make it that far before he caught up to me.
His hand clamped around my shoulder, spinning me around so hard my hair whipped across my face.
Damini shoved me back into the cold wall.
He slammed both palms against the stone on either side of my head, trapping me in the dark shadow of his tall frame.
His chest was heaving, big time. His braids hung loose around his face, and his pupils were so dilated they swallowed his brown irises whole.
I leaned my head back against the marble, looking up at him as if he was a minor inconvenience standing in my light.
"Get your fucking hands out of my space," I said. "Before I give you a matching scar on the other side of your face."
"You really think you just owned that room, don't you?
" he spat. He stepped in closer, wedging his thigh right between my legs, crowding me until the heat rolling off his body felt like a damn furnace.
"You sit up there disrespecting my mother, insulting my father, act like you're some untouchable god—"
"I am untouchable to you," I cut in, my gaze dropping to his mouth, then sliding back up to his blazing eyes.
"And don't bring up your pathetic daddy.
The old man was damn near drooling into his own lap while I stripped him of his title, wishing he had thirty years back so he could try his luck.
" I let a nasty smile stretch across my lips.
"You're standing up here shaking like a bitch because you don't know whether you want to choke me out or fall to your knees. "
Damini scrunched his face up in disgust, his dark eyes burning into mine with intensity.
"Fall to my knees for what? A crazy, demonic bitch?
You think I actually want you? I wouldn't touch you if you were the last breath of oxygen on this island.
You probably got venom dripping out of that untouched pussy. "
"Then why is your heart hammering against my chest like a trapped dog, Damini?" I purred, tilting my head. "Why are you leaning in so close I can taste the liquor on your breath?"
"Because I want to snap your fucking neck!
" he roared, lowering his face until his lips were a millimeter from mine, his hot breath washing over my skin.
"You think you're going to buy me? You think I'm going to be your little prize on a leash?
The second this ink dries on this contract, I'm taking a second wife.
A real woman. Someone with a mute button who knows how to take a fucking dick without trying to start a war. "
The mention of another woman hit my chest like a shot of pure adrenaline.
I reached up and grabbed him by the front of his collar, yanked him down into my face until our noses were smashed together.
"Listen to me real carefully, you arrogant, useless asshole," I whispered.
"You belong to my estate now. I own your title, I own your bloodline, and I own every single inch of you.
You take a second wife, and I won't just kill her—I'll carve her up in front of you, cut that dick off you're so proud of, and feed it to you piece by piece. "
Damini’s hand shot up, and his thick fingers locking hard around my throat.
His thumb dug right into the dip of my collarbone.
A shock of heat surged straight down my spine, pooling in the pit of my stomach.
My body betrayed me. Underneath the silk of my top, my nipples hardened into tight, achey knots.
Worse than that, a traitorous pulse slammed through my core.
My entrance clenched as an involuntary convulsion spasmed against the pressure of his thick thigh wedged between my legs.
My body recognized the dominance standing over me.
I kept my eyes cold, refusing to let the betrayal happening between my legs show in my face.
"You touch another woman without my permission," I continued, my eyes drilling into his, "and I will personally destroy every single street plug, every hidden account, and every offshore asset you've been running through Florida.
I will strip you until you have nothing left to offer anybody but your flesh. "
The air went bone-dry. The tension between us was so thick, it felt like we were about to tear each other's clothes off right on the floor.
Damini stared down at me, his grip on my neck tightening for a fraction of a second, and his chest heaved violently against mine.
A dark, twisted smirk pulled at the side of his mouth.
"You are fucking insane," he rasped, his eyes dropped to my lips.
"And you're throbbing against my thigh," I whispered back, my eyes still cold as ice. "So what does that say about you?"
"You are one evil ass fucking woman," he muttered, easing up.
"Thank you."
I gave him a mocking wink and stepped around him, ignoring my body defying me. I could feel his eyes burning holes into my ass, but his presence was still glued to the spot.
"Stop staring at my ass," I called out over my shoulder.
"Don’t tell me what the fuck to do!" he shouted back.
“I just did!”
I just kept pushing through the doors, the twitch on my lip turning into a full, satisfied smirk.
***
I sat on the edge of Jade’s velvet couch as my mind worked overtime.
Jade had just finished having a custom wall unit completed to house the largest flat-screen television on this side of the island, and the blue light washed over the room in flickering pulses.
Kandi was glued to her phone, her thumb moving in a rapid blur before she mindlessly handed me the wooden bowl of popcorn.
“Don’t eat it all, Danni.”
“You telling me what to do?”
She rolled her eyes, ignoring my question.
I took it and let my fingers dip into the salt as my gaze drifted across the sofa. Nyah was stealing yet another clumsy glance at Jade, mesmerized while Jade leaned in close to explain the plot twist in the movie.
It was almost pathetic how obvious Nyah was. Anyone with even a shred of self-awareness could read the girl like an open book. With her sharp features, clean low fade, and that boyish charm, she was practically vibrating with a crush. Every single micro-expression screamed desperation.
We all knew Jade was fluid in her sexuality, and found Nyah attractive.
But still, Nyah was sitting there giving these puppy-dog eyes, afraid to speak up.
Nyah needed to stop being so damn timid.
It wasn’t like Jade was about to go anywhere, literally.
She suffered from severe ombrophobia, a paralyzing fear of the rain and coastal storms. It was why her private quarters were meticulously built as a adult playground.
The girl never left her house if she could help it, regardless of whether the weather metrics swore the skies were clear.
I finally broke my focus when Nana sauntered back into the living room with a glass bong clutched in her withered hands. She sank her small frame into the leather recliner with a satisfied grunt, then tipped the mouthpiece directly toward me in an unprompted offer.
"No thanks," I said, keeping my voice detached.
"Why? You stressed out before the man gets here?" Nana asked as she sparked the bowl.
The room got quiet and the movie was paused. Every pair of eyes snapped to mine. I fixed Nana with a glare, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she just matched my stare with a wicked grin and blew a thick, deliberate smoke ring straight into my face.
"Damn, you are so pretty," Nana murmured, staring at my face through the haze. "I can’t believe you came out of me."
"I didn’t," I corrected her.
"Well, if it wasn't for my bloodline, you wouldn't be stacked like a brickhouse, girl."
Jade jumped in as she looked between us. "Hold on, Nana. They told her already?"
Nana slid further into her recliner. "Yeah, her head has been spinning all morning. I went into her quarters earlier and found some fresh holes in the drywall that the servants had to patch up."
Most people would throw a fit if their ninety-six-year-old grandmother went through their private sanctuary and spilled their destructive business to the crew, but Nana wasn't one to hold back around me or anyone else.
She frequently reminded us she was far too close to the grave for that polite shit.
Kandi finally paused her texting. "So... you leaving the crew?"
Nyah jumped in right after her. "Do you really have to go through with that tradition, Boss? Can’t the Chairman just fix it?"