I take my eyes off the road long enough to grin at him. We’re almost to my condo, cruising along Ventura Boulevard. I turn on Laurel Canyon, but then drive right past the intersecting street that leads to the place I share with Jamie.

“Joyriding, Ms. Fairchild?”

I run my hand lightly over Cooper’s dash. “A little respect, please, Mr. Stark. We’re bonding.”

“I may have to call Coop out for a duel at dawn,” Damien says. “Because I’m not interested in sharing you. I want you all alone and to myself.”

“Do you? I have to admit, I like the sound of that.”

“I’m very relieved to hear it.”

“Remember what I said about a Lamborghini being almost like foreplay?”

“It will be a very long time before I forget that, Ms. Fairchild.”

“A Mini is, too.”

“Is that so?” Damien says. “I confess I’ve never thought of the Mini as sexy. Cute, absolutely. Eye-catching, most definitely. Sexy, I’m not so sure.”

“Don’t wound Cooper’s ego,” I say. “Besides, it’s not a question of appearance. It’s a question of power.”

“Is that so?”

“Feel that?” I ask, as I shift gears. Cooper does me proud, cruising up the hill toward Mulholland Drive without even the slightest hint of hesitation. “Power,” I repeat. “And endurance. Very important qualities. In a car.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he says. “Responsiveness. Handling.”

“Like I said, all things that turn you on. Ergo, foreplay.”

I turn right and pick up speed as Coop takes control of the famous curves along Mulholland Drive.

“And what turns you on?”

Since I don’t want to go careening off a mountaintop, I don’t look at him. “You do,” I say.

For a moment he says nothing, but I feel the weight of his gaze upon me. Then his voice, rough and demanding. “Pull over.”

“What?” We’ve rounded a curve, and are back on a straightaway, so now I shoot him a quick glance.

“There,” he says, pointing to a dirt-covered area overlooking the valley. It’s the kind of place where tourists snap pictures and teenagers come to park. “Pull over, stop the car.”

I do as he asks. “What on earth—” I begin, as soon as I’ve killed the engine.

I can’t finish the question, however, because his lips are upon mine, his hand on the back of my neck urging me forward. His mouth open. Hot. Demanding. Taking. I moan and lean forward, craving the feel of his body pressed to mine—then howl in pain when the gearshift stabs me in the gut.

“I think it’s Cooper who’s the jealous one,” Damien says with a wry twist to his mouth. “Are you okay?”

In my head, I’m running a monologue of very colorful curses. To Damien, I just nod.

“Stay put,” he says, then opens his door and gets out. He walks to my side of the car and opens the door for me, then holds out his hand. I take it and let him pull me to my feet.

“I think I destroyed the mood,” I say.

He turns so that we are both facing the valley and the panorama of lights stretched out against a blanket of night. “No,” he says. “Just changed it a little. But how can there be anything but romance when we’re floating above a blanket of stars?”

“Romance, Mr. Stark?” I tease. “Not hot and sweaty sex in the back of a tiny car?”

“Romance,” he says, with such passion that I have to lean against the side of the car to remain upright.

“Damien . . . ” My voice is soft, choked with emotion.

“I know.” Gently, he strokes his fingertips over my cheek. “Close your eyes.”

I do, my lips slightly parted. He touches my hair, strokes my back. And then I feel the butterfly soft brush of his lips at my temple, then the corner of my eye. I grin, not only from the sweetness of it, but because he is touching me so delicately that it almost tickles. And then his lips are upon mine, so achingly tender that tears well in my eyes.

“Hey,” he says when he breaks the kiss and cups my chin. Gently, he runs the edge of his thumb under my eye, wiping away an errant tear. “None of that.” His eyes are so full of love I could get lost in them.

I wrap my arms around him, then sigh when he folds me into him. “I love you,” I say, but my voice is so low that I doubt that he hears me. It doesn’t matter though. Right then, the words aren’t necessary. Right then, all we need is each other.

Chapter Fourteen

As Damien said, my building has essentially been turned into a fortress. The parking area is now gated and monitored full-time by security cameras. I pause at the security box, flash the card that Damien hands me, and watch while the electronic elves slide the massive thing open. The action is smooth, and we’re past the gate in no time.

“It looks nice,” I say, because despite feeling a bit coddled, I do appreciate all he’s doing to protect me. More, I understand that it’s not enough. That he’s going to worry. And the fact that I won the Edward-as-driver argument remains a sore spot with Damien.

“It does,” he says. “But I’m more interested in efficacy than in curb appeal.” He shifts in the car to look back at the gate. “Someone could climb that pretty easily.”

I glance at the gate in the rearview mirror. “Spiderman maybe, but not normal people.”

“That grid pattern could be a ladder.” He types something into his phone. “It’s the typical design for a property gate, but most gates only serve the purpose of keeping non-residents from parking in the spaces. They’re a deterrent. I want more.”

I hear the ping of his phone and realize he’s sent a text.

“Who are you—”

“Ryan. My security chief. I want him on this first thing.”

I roll my eyes, then slide into my parking space. I feel a twinge of regret at the absence of my Honda, but it passes quickly. She’s not gone, after all. Just relocated to the garage beneath Stark Tower until I decide what to do with her.

Since the mailbox is probably overstuffed, we exit the parking area through the pedestrian gate and walk up the sidewalk to the front entrance, with Damien rolling my suitcase and me schlepping my carry-on. When I’d left for Germany, the foyer was a somewhat shabby alcove with the mailboxes off to one side and a staircase on the other. Now, that alcove is protected by a massive—but tasteful—iron gate. More than that, the space has been given a face-lift. New paint, large pots with flowering plants. Even a water feature.

“Your doing?” I ask Damien.

He says nothing, just holds out his hand for my key, then gathers my mail.

I follow him up the stairs, a little amused, a little exasperated.

The front door is more or less the same, the “more” being the addition of yet another deadbolt to the two locks that were already there. I glance at Damien in question.

“Better,” he says, but he’s tapping out another text, and I know that “better” doesn’t mean “good enough.” Apparently Ryan can look forward to a busy Friday.

Inside, my apartment looks exactly the same, right down to the huge iron bed that dominates the living room and the white cat that blends in with the pile of pillows on the couch. Lady Meow-Meow lifts her head as we enter, then stands, stretches, and leaps daintily to the floor. I expect her to come over for a scratch and cuddle, but instead she just blinks her huge, accusing eyes at me, then turns around and strolls to the back of the apartment, tail lifted high, butt in the air. She pads up the stairs, turns into Jamie’s room, and disappears.