answering my questions about him. There were no more short answers. Instead, he not only told me about himself, but how he felt about his place in the world, too.
The two of us couldn’t be more different, but we connected on a much deeper level than the superficial.
Both of us had high expectations of ourselves: me because I was an only child, and him because he was the eldest in his family.
At times, watching him try to be everything to everybody, and feeling like he often came up short, was like observing…myself.
I got Damian in a way that perhaps other people didn’t, and through my eyes, the man was pretty incredible.
I was now completely convinced that whatever had happened the night that he’d been caught on camera, it wasn’t exactly the way it had seemed.
Damian claimed that he didn’t recall what had occurred that evening, and it was hard for me not to buy that.
I’d seen too much, learned too much about Damian over the past week to doubt his explanation.
When all evidence was contrary to his behavior on that particular day, I couldn’t deny that he’d been set up.
“Watching me would probably be incredibly boring,” I said lightly.
He toyed with the small tendrils of my hair that had escaped confinement when I’d clipped it at the back of my head. “Not at all. It’s become my favorite occupation, I’m afraid. I’ve become completely addicted.”
God, I was starting to become dependent on seeing Damian every single day, and on his nearly obsessive desire to make sure I was happy.
His concern wasn’t something he turned on and off simply for a performance.
His “attentive boyfriend” switch seemed to be permanently in the On position, even when we were alone like this, and it was making me absolutely crazy.
I thrived on his attention, his affection, and the way that he looked at me like I’d made his entire day just by walking into the room.
Honest truth: I was falling in love with Damian Lancaster, and I couldn’t seem to stop the progress of that dangerous plunge.
I pulled away from him defensively, and then mourned the loss of the crazy, topsy-turvy way he was conquering my heart with every touch. “I’m starving,” I said in an overly bright tone.
Instantly, his expression filled with remorse, like he was deeply sorry that he’d kept me from eating.
Really? Like I can’t afford to miss a meal or two?
“Let’s go feed you then,” Damian said as he took my hand.
My heart melted until it was a puddle on the expensive marble floor.
Truly, this man needed a woman who was as eager to meet his needs as he was hers.
I definitely didn’t want to think about who that woman might be in the future as I let Damian take me down to breakfast.
CHAPTER 22
Damian
SOMETIMES I WISHED I could be a hearts and flowers kind of guy for Nicole.
She deserved a slow and steady seduction, filled with romance and whatever else a woman wanted from a lover.
Unfortunately, my patience was gone, and all I could think about was getting her naked and shagging her until my body and brain got back to normal.
Since I really needed more privacy to do that, I knew I had to get her to London.
Soon.
Now.
Today.
In the next hour or so.
“I’ll have to head out after your gala, Mum,” Leo informed my mother as we all sat around the breakfast table.
“So soon?” Nicole asked. She looked seriously disappointed as she gazed at my youngest brother.
Leo smiled at her, and I suddenly felt the intense desire to make him go away right now.
I was under no illusion that Leo was up to anything with Nicole when he piled on the charm. No, the bastard was simply trying to get a rise out of me.
And damn him, it was working.
“I want to see if I can work with Colombian officials to get a breeding pair of Rio Apaporis caiman that were recently discovered in the Amazon. They were thought to be extinct, but an American team recently found a population there. I’d like to put them in my conservation breeding program,” Leo explained, still aiming that one-thousand-watt grin at Nicole from across the table.
“So I guess we’ll be saying goodbye,” Nicole answered, sounding highly disappointed.
Leo shook his head. “Never goodbye. I’m negotiating on some land near Palm Desert in California. I want to start another sanctuary and breeding program in the United States. We can meet up there. I’ll get your number before I go.”
I hated the way