Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) by Kat Attalla Page A

expected, she laced her fingers through his and tugged him onto the mattress with her. He stretched out beside her and eased his arm across her waist, drawing her trembling body closer. She snuggled against him, seeming to relax from the warmth he provided.
    “Mm. Nice,” she murmured against his chest.
    Yes, it was, he agreed. He only wished she was letting out those soft sighs when she was fully conscious. He didn’t understand the chemistry going on between them. He only knew that she was different from any other woman he had met and he was drawn to her in a way he’d never felt before.
    For the first time since they’d met, she looked at peace. What would it take to make her this comfortable, this affectionate with him all the time? He would do whatever it took. She mystified him, but he knew one thing for sure. He wanted her in his arms, and for more than one night.
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    On Friday morning Damian returned to his office to find a stack of messages from Monica. He’d been in the Bahamas on business for most of the week, sparing himself the unholy wrath of his mother. He had no desire to see her today, but he and Erik had promised to take her to dinner.
    While away, he had spent more time thinking about Charlie than he had about business. The woman was an intriguing paradox—streetwise yet innocent; a realist who longed to dream. He wanted to see her again. She made him feel, and it had been a long time since anyone had touched him that way.
    First, he had to get through the evening with his mother. Instead of returning the messages, he held off a confrontation until he got to her house. As he walked in the door, he was summoned into the living room.
    “How have you been, Mother?” Ignoring her impatient huff, he added, “I see you’ve been rearranging the paintings.”
    “I don’t have time for small talk. Why haven’t you returned my calls?”
    “I was away on business. I do have a company to run.”
    She offered him a drink, which he refused. “So. Did you take care of everything?”
    “Take care of what?”
    “Don’t do this now. You know what I mean. Did you make sure that girl stays away from Erik?”
    He slipped into the wing-back chair and braced himself for battle. “No. Erik is old enough to choose his own friends. And his own wife for that matter.”
    Monica let out a horrified gasp. “You can’t possibly mean he plans to marry that woman. I won’t allow it.”
    “You won’t allow it?” Damian repeated. “You can’t stop him from doing anything. But I wasn’t referring to Charlotte.”
    “Well, thank God for that. It would be indecent.” Relief punctuated her words.
    “I don’t know what you think you’ve got against her, but I find her very decent.”
    Monica stood over him and scowled. “Not you, too! Don’t you see what she’s doing? She’s going to start playing you and Erik against each other, and she won’t be happy until she’s ruined you both.”
    “And why would she want to do that?”
    “You men are all such fools. You’re blinded by a pretty face and a seductive body. Wake up and see her for what she is. A social-climbing parasite who’s after your money.”
    “That’s a rather harsh opinion of someone you’d never met before last week. Or had you?” What was he missing? What secret was guarded so fiercely that he came up against a granite wall every time he searched for answers?
    She sighed and lowered her head. “You don’t understand. Just trust me on this one and get that tramp out of Erik’s life. And your own as well.”
    A loud crash echoed through the room. Both Damian and Monica jumped to their feet and turned quickly. A beautiful porcelain vase was in pieces, and Erik stood in the doorway looking like a man bent on more destruction.
    “What’s the matter with you, Erik?” Monica cried out “That was a gift from your father. How could you be so careless?”
    “My father liked things shattered. He was a master at