I suck in air, fighting rising panic. Calm, Nikki, calm. The lights went out with the door. Presumably, the idea is that when the janitor locks the door from the outside, the lights are turned off. So just turn the bolt again to unlock it.
I try, my hand shaking because at least here in the dark I’m away from Eric Padgett. But I have to get out. I have to open the door.
The bolt won’t turn.
No. No, no, no.
Okay. Okay, I can deal with this. The bolt turns off the lights, but there must be a switch inside, too. Because otherwise someone might get stuck inside in the dark. I am a living, breathing, panicking case in point.
I fumble near the door, trying to find it, but I don’t have any luck. My breathing is coming faster and shallower. Stop it. Think.
Right. Think.
Oh, fuck. I’ve forgotten how to think.
I breathe. That, at least, I can manage, though not without some difficulty. I’m still clammy with panic and I want to pound on the door and scream. But Eric Padgett is out there, and I think that he’s scarier than the dark and—
Okay, maybe he’s not.
I slam my fist against the door. “Hey! Hey! Is anyone out there? Hello!”
Nothing.
I pound again. And again and again and—
“Nikki?”
“Damien?”
“Oh, shit, baby, are you okay?”
I am so not okay I cannot even begin to say.
“I’m fine,” I manage.
“The door won’t open. Can you unbolt it?”
“No. It’s stuck.” But as I’m speaking, I’m grasping the thing and turning and it flips open like a well-oiled machine. The second it clicks, Damien pushes the door open. I’m not sure if I run to him or if he comes to me. All I know is that I’m in his arms and I’m sucking in air and I’m apologizing over and over and over.
He waits for me to calm down, then cups my face. “You don’t have a thing to apologize for,” he says.
“I’m so glad you came back. Why did you come back?”
He gives me a fifty-dollar token. “I thought you might want to play a bit before my speech.”
For some reason, that makes me tear up. I lean against him. “It was Padgett,” I say.
“What?” Alarm and anger color his voice.
“He didn’t say his name, but I’m sure I’m right.” I describe the man and repeat what he said.
Damien’s face is as hard as I’ve ever seen it. He shifts me in front of him, then his hands roam over my body. “He didn’t hurt you?”
“No,” I say, my own fears fading under Damien’s blatant anger and concern. “No, he didn’t even threaten. But he scared me anyway, and that’s why I ran.”
“If you see him again—I don’t care if he’s three blocks away and you’re not quite sure—you tell me. Okay?”
I nod. “Yes. Of course.”
He takes my hand. “Come on. I’m going to make my speech, and then I’m taking you home.”
I follow him in, and stand by the podium as a polished woman in Chanel thanks us all for showing our generous support to the Stark Educational Foundation, then introduces Mr. Damien Stark himself.
The room bursts into applause, mine included, and I watch as the man who now consumes my days and nights steps up onto the podium. I listen as his powerful, confident voice talks about helping children. About finding those who need a hand. About pulling them up from the muck and giving them the chance to shine.
His eloquent words extinguish the last embers of panic. Now my eyes are brimming with tears of pride. Maybe this man does have secrets and skeletons. But right now, I’m seeing his heart. And I like what I see.
24
The ocean shines in the morning light as I stand naked in the window under the steady gaze of two men. Blaine’s professional inspection, and Damien’s heat-filled gaze that makes my nipples peak and my thighs quiver despite the fact that there’s another man in the room.
It’s awkward—and yet I feel powerful, too.
“It’s a crime you look so hot,” Blaine says. “I feel like hell.”
“That would be all the wine you had,” I tease.