Last Chance (31 page)

whore who was here before for McKenna?

Pulling away reluctantly, he said, "Margret, my housekeeper, will

bring you dinner. Tomorrow I'll show you around your new home."

"Thank you, Damon, for being so good to me."

Her words, the deference and sincerity in her voice, were music to his

ears. A new wash of tears stung his eyes. Stepping away from her, he stalked

to the door. Before walking out, he turned back around and said, "We're

going to be so happy, McKenna. It's going to be the way it should have

been."

She nodded and smiled. Relishing her trembling, grateful smile,

Damon closed the door, then turned the lock. Tomorrow they would begin

their courtship all over again.

The night had been a sleepless one, long and agonizing. Now

McKenna stood in the middle of the bedroom Damon had led her to last

evening. Eyes closed, she drew in deep, even breaths, preparing her mind for

what she had to face today.

Their arrival last night had given her little information about her

whereabouts. After landing on a helipad obviously belonging to him, she'd

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been hustled from the helicopter to a gated entrance. Her eyes barely caught

a glimpse of anything other than a sandy beach and a few palm trees. The

ocean had been close because she'd heard and smelled it, but other than that

bit of information, she still had no real knowledge of her location.

The instant she entered the compound, the loud and ominous clang of

the lock told her that any possibility of escape had been relinquished.

Damon allowed her to look around for a scant few seconds, enough to see

that the giant courtyard was surrounded by a high brick wall and cameras

were everywhere. Whatever she did while she was here, she would be seen.

The surprises hadn't stopped. Damon had picked her up and carried

her into the mansion, still wrapped in the blanket. Before they'd walked

through the door, he had covered her head. She hadn't asked why. Asking

questions would bring out his ire faster than anything.

She'd heard a door open and close, then Damon had dropped her to

her feet and told her to open her eyes. A wide grin on his face, he had spread

his arms out as if to say, "See what I've done for you."

As she had looked around the room, a chill of revulsion shuddered

through her. He hadn't said anything; he hadn't needed to say anything. He

had just waited, apparently expecting delight and gratitude.

It took a lot to shock McKenna and a whole lot more to make her

speechless. She had been both. Not because of what he had done, but by his

attitude. Yes, she recognized that he had replicated her bedroom. What

stunned her was that Damon seemed to think giving her an identical

bedroom to the one she'd had as a teenager somehow made up for what he

had done. Just how freaking crazy was the bastard?

McKenna had struggled somewhat to pull herself together, knowing

Damon's eyes would pick up any hesitancy or antipathy. He needed to think

he had her where he wanted her. Reminding herself that she was damn good

at undercover and pretense, she went into automatic mode and became what

Damon wanted.

Whirling around the room like the silly, naive sixteen-year-old she'd

once been, she had forced delight and wonder onto her face as she thanked

him. All the while the bile built in her throat.

His words told her she had convinced him. "I knew you would love it.

And this is only the beginning. Every day will be better than the one before."

It had taken every ounce of her control not to respond with
Yes, you

freak. As long as I obey your every command and never have another

independent thought
.

He had pulled her into his arms. Unable to use her fear of heights to

explain the nausea churning in her stomach this time, she reminded herself

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that this was no different from any other job. She had closed her eyes and

accepted his mouth on hers.

Finally he had let her go. Before walking out the door, he'd given her

a sickening smile and a promise. "We're going to be so happy."

The instant the door closed behind him, she had dashed into the

bathroom and vomited.

An hour later, after McKenna had scrubbed herself raw in the shower

and brushed her teeth three times to get the taste of Damon out of her mouth,

Margret, the housekeeper, had entered the room. The dour-faced woman had

brought her a large meal and absolutely no sympathy. She clearly didn't

want McKenna here.

For an instant, McKenna had thought she might be able to use

Margret's obvious resentment to her advantage. If the woman didn't want her

there, what better ally could she have? She quickly changed her mind when

she saw the jealousy gleaming in the housekeeper's eyes. No way in hell

would Margret betray Damon.

Sleep had been nonexistent. Much of the night had been spent pacing

and trying to come up with a way to get Damon to talk about Jamie. She

hadn't revealed that she knew the girl he had returned wasn't Jamie

Kendrick. She might have to at some point. For right now, she needed

Damon to think all was well. Chances were, at some point, he'd let his guard

down. Until then, she would continue to be the helpless, trusting McKenna

he wanted.

Though she was surprised he hadn't tried to force himself on her last

night, in a way it made sense. To Damon, this was romance. He was wooing

her again, as he had when they first started dating. And as long as she acted

like the sweet simpleton he wanted her to be, he wouldn't take it any

further...yet. That wouldn't last, so she needed to act as quickly as possible to

figure out not only where Jamie was, but how the hell to get out of here in

one piece. Was Jamie still here or had Damon sold her? Hell, was she even

alive?

Since the bedroom door was locked, she hadn't been able to snoop last

night. The room was on the third floor with nothing but a steeply sloping

rooftop outside her window. Trying to escape through the window would be

pointless; breaking her neck would help no one.

Her only option was to gain Damon's trust and hopefully get some

freedom to snoop around.

The click of the lock told her she was being released temporarily. She

turned to see Damon standing there. The adoration gleaming in his eyes

made her want to run to the bathroom and throw up again. Instead she forced

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a glowing smile and headed to him with her arms outstretched. "Good

morning, Damon."

Damon stood at the bedroom door and allowed himself once again to

revel in the happiness he felt at having McKenna back with him. Last night

had been an exercise in patience. He'd gotten out of bed at least half a dozen

times to come and stand outside the bedroom door, just to make sure she

hadn't somehow escaped. It had taken all of his considerable willpower not

to unlock the door and show her exactly how much he'd missed her. Each

time his hand had been on the door, he had reminded himself of his promise

to woo her back into his arms.

As he opened his arms, allowing her to come to him, he was glad he'd

waited. His McKenna was coming around already; just by allowing her this

extra time, he was already reaping the rewards for his patience. Another

couple of days and he'd have her exactly where he wanted her.

Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he pressed her close against

him. "Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?"

She snuggled against him, but then he felt her stiffen suddenly as his

hard dick pressed into her belly. Damon smiled. Yeah, let her get used to

feeling it again. Eight years had passed since she'd felt something that good.

He wouldn't take her to bed yet, but it wouldn't hurt her to know what was

coming and what he could do to her anytime he wanted. Not only would she

realize that he was just as virile as he had been years ago, she should be

grateful he still felt this way about her. Eight years was a long time to stay

horny for a woman. Damon pushed against her, giving her a good, solid rub

to reinforce his message, then stepped away from her slightly.

Her smile was one of shy gratitude as she answered his earlier

question. "I slept wonderfully, thank you, Damon."

"And did it feel good to be back in your old room again?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's why I slept so well."

"Excellent." His eyes swept over her, noting she'd put on one of the

short, feminine dresses he'd purchased for her. Many of them were identical

to the dresses she had worn years ago. The one she had chosen today wasn't

one of his favorites since it covered her more than most of the others, but

since he had provided it for her, he decided he couldn't complain.

"Are you ready for breakfast?"

One of the many things he knew about McKenna was her enjoyment

of food. Though her excessive appetite had always disgusted him a bit, he

indulged her since she never appeared to gain weight. If it ever came to the

point that her body showed signs of overindulgence, that would change in an

instant. Having her change the least little bit wasn't something he would

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tolerate. Which brought him to a concern he hadn't addressed yet.

"You've cut your hair."

Her eyes widened as if she was startled by the difference in his tone.

He refused to soften the statement, though. She needed to realize that

making any kind of change to her appearance without consulting him wasn't

something he would allow.

Giving him a tentative look, she admitted, "Just a bit."

"Don't do that again. I want you to let it grow to just above your ass

like it was before. Understand?"

"Yes, Damon. I'm sorry I had it cut."

Her apology pleased him so much, his erection grew harder. Knowing

that if he didn't get her out of the room soon he'd throw her on the bed and

screw her senseless, he held out his hand. "Come. Let's go down to

breakfast, then I'll give you a brief tour of your new home."

Looking both relieved that he'd allowed her some slack about her hair

and grateful for his patience, she put her hand in his and followed him out

the door.

Yes, he was playing this as he should. Very soon she'd be filled with

awe over the grandness of his mansion and his wealth. With his good looks,

abundance of money, and obvious adoration, McKenna would soon realize

she was one of the most fortunate women in the world. Any woman would

be grateful, but a farm girl from Nebraska with nothing going for her but a

pretty smile and a nice ass? Yes, McKenna was damn lucky he loved her.

And very soon he intended to show her just how grateful she should be.

Standing at his mirror, Damon admired how the new tailored shirt

emphasized his broad shoulders and the way the trousers called attention to

his long, muscular legs. During the tour of his mansion this morning, he'd

seen McKenna stealing a glance at his physique more than once. The

attraction was most definitely still there.

At the knock on the door, he turned from his reflection. "Come."

Elliott entered; Damon eyed him closely. The man's usual ruddy

complexion was almost pale. He looked like something had scared the shit

out of him. His massive neck jerked as his throat moved convulsively, but he

still didn't speak.

"Well, what is it?" Damon snapped.

"I just got an email...." He trailed off to look down at the small device

in his hand.

Somewhat surprised that Elliott's hand seemed to be shaking, since the

man was usually devoid of emotion, Damon said, "What's wrong?"

"There's a picture you need to see."

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Afraid of nothing, especially a fucking email, Damon grabbed the

iPhone from the man's hand and looked down at the screen. It was a picture

of a man and woman standing on a sidewalk, holding hands and gazing into

each other's eyes. Even without reading the caption, he knew who they were.

He'd seen photos of Lucas Kane. The man was almost as famous as a rock

star. And the woman--he knew her, too. It was McKenna. His McKenna. Her

hair was even shorter than it was now and seemed much lighter, almost

white. But he'd recognize that face anywhere.

When had this been taken? And what was Lucas Kane doing with his

woman?

The caption below the photograph hinted of a relationship. Perhaps a

secret romance. McKenna had been with Lucas Kane? Impossible. The man

had a whole harem of women he dated. No way had his McKenna been one

of his many followers.

"There has to be some mistake." He glared at Elliott. "Where did this

come from?"

"Maury, one of our investigators. It was in the gossip column of the

local newspaper this morning."

"Leave me."

"Do you want--"

"I said get out. Now!"

Elliott moved as fast as his big body would allow, closing the door

behind him.

Damon took one more look at McKenna's betrayal and then with a

roar threw the iPhone at the mirror. The fracture in the glass matched the