Temptation Haven: Dirty Little Secrets

Leverage

After crying for what seemed like forever, she curled up on the couch without even taking off her clothes, completely exhausted.

She wasn’t sure she could continue working for him, seeing him every day, without getting her heart torn open again. Maybe the best option would be to quit.

Her phone started ringing from her bag by the door. She let it ring without moving. By the third ring, she finally stood up and sluggishly walked over, bending down to dig her phone out of the bag.

Damien’s name flashed on the screen. She almost declined the call, but a sudden thought crossed her mind and she answered it.

“Hello,” she said, her voice weak.

“You finally picked up,” Damien said, his voice smooth and low. “What did I do wrong? You haven’t been taking my calls.”

“I’ve just been busy with work,” Lily replied, walking over to the kitchen counter.

“What do you want, Damien?” she asked.

“Well, I have to admit, I’ve seriously been missing you. Why don’t you come over to my villa this weekend? We can talk. Something’s clearly going on with you. I can hear it in your voice.” His tone turned husky. “I have so many fantasies planned for us this weekend. My c**k is already throbbing just thinking about the filthy things I’m going to do to you.”

Lily hesitated, thinking about Vance and how she wanted to stay away from Damien. But the idea of making Vance angry suddenly felt tempting.

“Will you be free this weekend?” Damien asked again.

“Sure,” Lily replied. “I’ll be free.”

“Good,” Damien said, clearly pleased. “I can’t wait.”

Lily ended the call.

The next day at the office, she went about her work the same way she had the day before. If anything, she was even colder. After work on Friday, she went straight home and began packing. Damien had texted that he would pick her up by seven in the evening and had asked her to pack a bikini.

Just as Lily zipped up the last of her things into the suitcase, the doorbell rang. Certain it was Damien, she picked up the suitcase and went to answer the door.

The second she opened it, she saw Vance standing there.

The smile immediately faded from her face.

She was dressed provocatively for Damien, wearing a low-cut top that hugged her curves and a short skirt that barely covered her thighs. The kind of outfit that left little to the imagination. She had wanted him to notice every inch of her.

Now, with Vance standing in front of her, the provocative outfit suddenly felt wrong, like she was dressed for the wrong man entirely.

Vance’s eyes moved over her body, then down to the suitcase. He frowned.

“Are you heading somewhere?” he asked.

“Yes, I am, Mr. Ashford,” she replied. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

Vance’s gaze finally left her dress and moved up to her face. “Yes. I want to speak to you about something important. Can I have five minutes?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ashford, but I really need to leave right now,” she said as she stepped out and shut the door behind her. “We can always speak on Monday.” She flashed him a small, tight smile. “Good night, Mr. Ashford.”

She turned to walk away, but Vance caught her wrist.

“This is serious, Lily. Please stay and let me speak.”

Vance was never the type of man to beg or use the word “please.” Hearing it from him now showed just how serious he was. Lily hesitated. The weak part of her that still loved this man considered giving him those five minutes.

“Lily!” someone called from the entrance.

She turned to see Damien stepping out of the elevator and walking toward them.

“What are you doing here, Vance?” Damien asked, using the nickname he usually called him.

“I should be asking you that question, Damien,” Vance replied, hostility clear in his voice.

Damien shrugged. “I came to pick Lily up. We’re having a little retreat at my villa for the weekend. Hope you don’t mind.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.

Vance sighed and finally let go of Lily’s hand. “I don’t mind. Lily is a free woman. She can decide what she wants. Right, Lily?”

Lily shrugged, looking back at Vance, unsure how to answer.

Damien smiled as he walked up and gently slipped an arm around her waist, pressing his warm cheek against hers. “You look incredibly sexy, my sweet angel,” he said.

Lily blushed.

“Let’s go,” Damien added.

Vance stood near the wall as Lily and Damien left. When the elevator doors closed, he was alone in the hallway. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.

He had come here to mend things between them and tell her how he really felt. But somehow, it already felt too late.

Lily was completely awed by the sheer beauty of Damien’s villa. On Damien’s instruction, his butler came forward and took her things to a guest room while Damien led her to the dining room where dinner had already been served.

“Wow,” Lily chuckled as the butler lifted the cover from her plate, revealing a meal that looked like it belonged in a high-end restaurant. “Thank you. This is really nice.”

“Wait till you see the second course,” Damien said with a small smile.

They ate together while talking about light, trivial matters. For a while Lily almost forgot that the man sitting across from her was married. Or maybe the part of her that wanted to get back at Vance had simply pushed that fact out of her mind.

After dinner, Damien led her out to the second-floor balcony to watch the stars. The evening breeze gently ruffled her hair.

“It’s really quiet here,” she said as she ran her fingers along the railing.

“Do you live here with your wife?”

Damien shook his head. “No. I come here to get away from her and everything else.”

Lily nodded. “What is the issue with you and your wife?” she asked, curious.

“Nothing complicated,” Damien replied. “My wife is a cheating w***e. She’s been cheating on me for the last two years with different men, mostly business partners. Vance is the only one she hasn’t messed with.”

“Really?” Lily asked.

“Yeah. He made this moral code about not sleeping around a few years ago. He doesn’t even f**k whores or strippers. And when a man like Vance gets interested in something, it tends to pique my interest too.”

As he spoke, he brushed her hair away from her neck. Lily shivered at the touch, but she didn’t feel the warm electric spark she usually felt whenever Vance touched her.

When Damien leaned in to kiss her, she took a step back, pulling away from him. His words kept repeating in her head.

The fact that Vance rarely got truly interested in anyone made her realize something she hadn’t fully understood before. She had simply assumed he always slept with his secretaries.

Now she wasn’t so sure why he was even ducking her in the first place.

“What is it?” Damien asked.

“Nothing,” Lily replied. “Can we go inside?”

As she turned to head back in, Damien grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

“You know what? I have an idea. Why don’t you hold onto that railing while I f**k you right here from behind? It’s a good way to start the evening, don’t you think?”

He unfastened his jacket and began unbuckling his belt.

Lily stiffened and tried to yank her arm away from him.

“Let go of me, Damien,” she said, her voice serious now.

“Why?” Damien asked, pausing. “Isn’t that why you’re here? To screw me?”

“Yeah, maybe five minutes ago. But now I’m no longer interested in you. Let go of me.”

Damien’s jaw ticked, and his grip only tightened on her arm.

“What makes you think I’m going to let you go after you came to my house, ate my food, and drank my wine? You think I can just let you walk out of here and go back to f*****g Vance?”

He pulled her hard against his chest and forced a kiss on her. Lily struggled and kicked him squarely in the groin. Damien groaned and immediately let go of her.

“You stupid b***h,” he cursed as she ran from him.

She stopped the butler and asked him to bring her suitcase down immediately. At first the man looked confused, but knowing his master’s aggressive nature with women, he assumed something had gone wrong and quickly went to retrieve it.

“You b***h, where do you think you’re going?” Damien shouted after her.

“f**k you. Let me go,” she snapped, giving him the middle finger as she headed for the door.

“I wouldn’t be so quick to run if I were you. You wouldn’t want your s*x tapes all over the internet tomorrow morning.”

Lily nearly froze. She glanced back at him.

“What are you talking about?”

He smiled. “Let’s just say the last time we f****d, I took a few souvenirs for leverage. In case you started acting bitchy.”

“I don’t believe you,” Lily said. “You’re bluffing.”

“Am I?”

He snapped his fingers at the butler. “Get that file from my study.”