Beauty in the Broken_A Diamond Magnate Novel by Charmaine Pauls

Author:Charmaine Pauls [Pauls, Charmaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9782956103189
Published: 2019-05-13T18:30:00+00:00

Lina

Everything Damian didn’t give me in the study, he gives me after we’ve made love in his bed. He carries me to the shower and washes me, always touching, always having a point of contact. Even when he squeezes shampoo onto my head, he does it with one hand, the other securely resting on my waist. He dries me and brushes my hair. I finally escape from his lavish attention to the bathroom with the box of tampons while he strips the bed of the mess we’ve made. When I come back, I stare at the bare mattress with longing, wishing I could crawl back under the covers to hide from myself and my significant, not to mention humiliating, loss of our war, but it’s only late afternoon.

Dressed in a pair of jeans, he watches me from the edge of the bed with crossed arms. I gingerly walk to the dressing room, pretending I don’t notice his stare. He doesn’t crowd me but gives me space to dress. I pull on jeans and a T-shirt before joining him in the room.

“Come here,” he says.

Conscious of the ache between my legs, I cross the floor and stop in front of him.

“Give me your hand.” I lift my right hand. “The other one.”

My hesitation lasts only a second, but Damian’s eyes darken. Quickly, I extend my left hand. He takes a ring from his pocket and slips it onto my finger to fit against the wedding band. The teardrop diamond has been beautifully set inside a cluster of black diamonds. It catches the light, giving off a sparkle that seems ironic, given the circumstances.

“There,” he says, twisting the ring until it fits right.

I can’t bring myself to say thank you. It would be false.

Instead of commenting on my lack of enthusiasm, he asks, “Hungry?”

“Yes,” I reply softly.

Offering me his hand, he leads me through the empty house to the kitchen. It’s nice with just the two of us, when there’s no Zane to glare, no Anne to gloat, and no Russell to watch me.

I’m surprised at how at home he is in the kitchen, throwing together an early supper of omelets and salad. He makes me sit at the table as if I’m fragile, but I’m too mentally and physically exhausted to argue. Resting my chin in my hand, I watch him move to and fro as he works. When he dashes past me again with the pan in his hand, he stops to wipe a thumb over my lips.

“This mouth is mine,” he says teasingly. His smile vanishes, and his face grows serious. “You’re mine now, Lina. I own you in every way.”

Before I can reply, the very people I wanted to escape file into the kitchen. Zane stops just inside of the door, his arms stiff and hands fisted as he watches Damian serve an omelet on my plate. Damian doesn’t acknowledge Zane, but his body tenses. Something happened between them. Anne plants a newspaper next to me.

“Didn’t want you to hear it from someone else,” she says with fake sympathy.

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