Page 72 of Damián

I snatch my hand away from my own body as if I’ve just been burned.

“No, no, no,” I gasp, my face burning with mortifying shame.

I wrap my arms around my chest, suddenly feeling completely exposed and incredibly foolish.

What the hell am I doing?

I shouldn’t be thinking of him like this.

Damn it, Oliver… of course, your first crush had to be with the man who is kissing you as part of his job.

If he knew I was in the shower, blushing like a desperate teenager and fantasizing about his calluses—uuugghh… he would be horrified.

Even I am horrified.

Crawling with shame, I turn the water from hot to freezing, which does wonders to snap me out of my fantasies.

Once I’m done showering and getting ready, I give one last check to the bedroom and bathroom. I chop the list into microscopic pieces and flush them down the toilet, right along with whatever cocaine I didn’t already use to dust the silver trays and my nightstand.

“Okay, you can do this.” I take a deep breath, mentally preparing for my least favorite part of these benders… I rub menthol under my nose and around my eyes until they turn so red, puffy, and watery that I look like a man who has been stuffing his body with drugs.

“Jeeezzzz—suuu fuck!” I groan in pain as my eyes bloat and cry, and my nose reddens.

I check the mirror by the door, and yes… I look like I’m dying.

Perfect!

I slip the encrypted lip-balm USB into my pocket because there is absolutely no way I am leaving it behind. I know for a fact that the second I walk out that door, Rafael’s men are going to toss the room, checking every single nook and cranny to figure out what I was doing in there.

I leave the formatted burner laptop sitting on the bed, logged into a multiplayer game so it looks like I spent the last three days geeking out while high.

I grab my father’s book and head downstairs.

When I reach the dining area, I see Elijah, Serena, and Rafael are already seated at the dining table, having breakfast.

Or more like a royal buffet.

“Good morning!” Serena picks up a big bowl of fruit and places it in front of an empty plate that was set for me.

“Morning.” I walk over and hand my father the book. “Here. The solutions to both of the problems you had.”

My father takes the book and starts reading it.

“Ollie, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think what you are doing is healthy,” Serena says gently. “You look like you’re dying.”

“Leave him alone; genius always requires benders like this,” Elijah says, his eyes glued to the pages. “This is incredible work, son.”

I smirk at Rafael, and he glares at me.

“I know what he’s doing is good for the business, Elijah, but he needs to take care of himself,” Serena argues. “How about we go to the spa this afternoon and have dinner there?”

Ahhh… The spa sounds great, but I should really get this USB out of here before something happens.

Maybe I can leave it with Zara until I see Damián.

Wait… Should I tell my family I am dating Damián? Start warming them up to the name.

It could take like a month, but I think after mentioning him a lot, I’ll be able to bring him here without causing suspicion.