Chapter 19
Shadow
“Is it still stinging?” Even in the darkness of the limo, I can see the blush on her cheeks as she tears her gaze away from the scenery passing us by.
“Just a little. The aloe gel you gave me has helped. Thank you.” Her eyes meet with mine only briefly, and the smile that touches her lips is small, not meeting her eyes.
She is upset with me. And herself.
After our surprise BDSM session on the hood of my car earlier, the drive home had been tense.
And while whipping that delicious derriere had partly released my anxiety and fury when I found out she had left with a stranger in a cab, I was still on edge.
I told her what an irresponsible move it was on her part, especially with her stalker on the loose.
She countered that she is not a child and can do what she wants.
That used to be true, but it wasn’t now.
Until her stalker was captured, Sienna couldn’t do as she pleased.
I made this very clear to her. And while she was angry at this, I could also tell she was afraid.
The two feelings look remarkably like each other.
Until I had explicitly stated the danger she had put herself in, she had not thought about it that way, and definitely not when she was defiantly heading off in a cab without protection.
There was also something else bothering her. Unspoken thoughts around my public display at Sin. It couldn’t be helped.
While Jordan and I negotiated with Wesfy Incorporated’s owner, a formidable man named Travis Jones, for access to his black-market customer list, Sienna’s movements had been hard to ignore.
Travis, a man I was fast coming to like, which was unusual for me, had gauged from my expression the first time when noticing Sienna that she was off limits and taking that hint, had not paid her even an ounce of attention—a man I could tolerate.
While he would not give us access to his client database, we reached a compromise in that he would assist us with our investigation.
I appreciated a man who stood by his ethics, especially against me.
He would not break the confidentiality clause he had with his clients, but without me saying it, he understood there would be repercussions if I didn’t get what I wanted.
My instincts were rarely wrong, and I felt I could trust him.
Unlike the rest of the men in the room at the time.
Especially Luciano. His blatant attempt to sweep in on territory I had explicitly told him was off-limits on two previous occasions was the last straw.
My business ended with Travis at the same time Luciano’s hand dipped into his pocket.
As I approached, I could hear his clear demand for Sienna to accompany him as his date to tonight's party.
I could also feel Sienna's pure and undiluted anxiety at being put on the spot like that.
She knew he was a powerful man, and he took advantage of that.
Tonight's party would elevate him further as we celebrated his move from vice president to president of Galeio Oil Rigging now that his father had stepped down, making him even more influential and arrogant.
But then, so was I. We just swam in different ponds.
What happened after that was history, and now everyone knew where Sienna and I stood. Together.
This is also what tonight’s little tiff was about, even though she had not voiced it.
Love. Her frustration at not knowing me in a way that society has told her she should to justify the feeling.
She still did not see how everything I do, every breath I take, is for her.
Ultimately, she doubted how I felt for her and was terrified about her feelings for me.
The fact that I publicly declared her as mine bewildered her because she couldn’t see the truth in the confusion created about how things were supposed to be.
How normal relationships progress. How normal feelings are expressed.
She was trying to paint what was happening between us with ‘normal expectations’ when it was different. What we had was unique.
I hoped she would just accept it for what it was, but instead, she fled.
If it wasn’t for the tracking device on her phone and the piece of jewelry I gave her hanging from her wrist, I would not have known better.
I assumed she would do as told and wait for me in my office.
But when the notification pinged through that she was outside of the fifty feet mark I had set, all fucking hell broke loose.
Jordan and Kai had been called, along with Bob, everyone ready for a situation if one arose.
Luckily, one didn’t. Except for the rising of my cock in my pants suit as I watched the whip slash red marks against my girl's perfect satin ass.
But my Sienna is feisty and does not follow the script I set, something I realize I love about her but which, in this instance, put her in danger. If anything happens to her…
I can’t even bear the thought, and with one quick move, I lift her in my arms and gently place her on my lap.
“What the—” I cut her off with my lips, and seconds later, she clings to me, melting against me like she always does. We pull apart, and the look of awe on her face is picture fucking perfect. Kissing Sienna was timeless.
“I like your dress.” She smiles, running her hand down the figure-hugging silk red dress I arranged for her.
I had already picked it out before the incident at Sin with Luciano, and now, after seeing the challenge in his eyes when I staked my claim, I was thinking about how it would only serve as a further enticement.
I didn’t want to lose his business, but if it came to it, I would.
There was no way he would ever get his paws on Sienna.
He had a propensity for violence when it came to his lovers. The rumor mill was far too detailed, and this aspect was frequently spoken about, making me doubt it was a fabrication.
My delicate little rainbow likes pain, but only with me and in a way that heals rather than tears down.
I could see it tonight as she screamed out all her bottled-up emotions.
It wasn’t the sting of the whip that she cried for.
The tears running down her face carried with them a trauma release so powerful, she felt it now still with every shift of satin against her raw skin.
“What kind of party are we going to?” I can read between the lines, her softly asked question laden with much more.
“Not like Lady Chatman’s. Jordan and Kai have already hacked into the security system at The Barcelona, and Bob swept the premises earlier. Nothing out of the ordinary. He will also be there as a guest. For your protection.” Sienna nods and then looks away, tears brimming in her eyes.
“I wish it wasn’t like this. Why is he doing this to me?
I don’t wish this on anyone, but there are loads of women out there.
Better women. I just don’t understand.” She wouldn’t.
Because she couldn’t see herself through everyone else's eyes. She couldn’t see the light that she exuded, which called to bad men like us.
The ones that danced and lived in the shadows.
The ones that killed in the darkness. She was what we desired.
“The why is irrelevant. We will find him soon, and I will make him and everyone involved pay.” I run a thumb over her cheek and then pull her towards me for a light kiss.
Her phone pings, and she sighs, pulling it out of the small matching clutch bag discarded on the back seat.
“It’s my brother. He wants me to come over there tomorrow for lunch. He wants you to come, too.” She scrunches her face as if this request is problematic for me.
“Ask him what we must bring.” She blinks a couple of times, and then a slow smile transforms Sienna's face into a fucking masterpiece. Not that it wasn’t a paragon before. But when she smiles, it is incomparable. I realize it is because she is made to do this. Created for joy.
“Really? Thank you, Damon.” She hugs me and then messages her brother, the smile still stuck on her flushed face.
“I want to be part of your life, Sienna. You don’t need to thank me for this.”
She looks up and then tilts her head to the side, a question brewing .
“What are we to each other, Damon? How long do you want to be part of my life?”
“Everything and forever.” We stare at each other as she processes the words, and then she jumps, a knock on the window outside the culprit.
“Oh my. I didn’t realize we had even stopped. I swear I get lost in you sometimes,” she mumbles, scrambling off my lap. She smooths her dress and pulls out a small mirror from her bag, her flushed face staring back at her.
“Look at the state of me.”
“You look fucking delicious.” She laughs and rolls her eyes, pulling lipgloss from her purse and applying it before giving me the all-ready.
The valet stands poised as I exit the vehicle and escort Sienna out. A couple of cars behind us are under the porte-cochère, one belonging to a man I hoped to see here tonight. Marcello.
“Oh look,” Sienna exclaims, also just spotting them. “I didn’t know they would be here. At least I will know someone.”
Marcello notices us as we approach, his large smile matched by one on Sienna's face.
“ Mia figlia ! You are here. At least you and Lucy will have company. These things can be tedious.” He opens his arms, and Sienna doesn’t hesitate, stepping in for the embrace.
She likes hugging him. He has a fatherly way with her that she misses from her own.
She never talks about him, but I know about his death.
It came up during my initial investigation of her.