Chapter 34: Shopping With the Young Master

Damon stepped deeper into the private display room of Velour. Behind him, Eleanor set the financial ledger down on a side table, her tailored blouse shifting slightly as she adjusted her hair.

Lily stood by the central mirror, her hands still resting on a silk dress hanger, her eyes darting between Eleanor’s quiet, submissive posture and Damon’s unreadable face.

She wasn’t stupid. She had seen how Eleanor moved around him.

He didn’t offer a single word of explanation. He didn’t introduce Eleanor as anything more than the owner of the shop, nor did he bother reassuring either of them.

"We’re here to shop," He said flatly, pulling his hands from his pockets. "Get her what she needs."

Eleanor’s expression smoothed out in an instant. The subtle tension in her shoulders vanished behind a flawless, professional mask.

She turned to the head sales clerk standing near the curtain. "Bring the autumn collection. The private line from the upper vault."

"Yes, Miss Eleanor," the clerk murmured, bowing slightly before hurrying into the back stockroom.

Lily’s eyes brightened. The brief flutter of realization about Eleanor’s place in Damon’s life didn’t slow her down for a second; if anything, it lit a fire under her heels. She turned toward the long brass racks lining the perimeter of the room, her fingers sliding over hand-stitched leather jackets, cashmere coats, and tailored silk skirts that cost more than three months of her sister’s bakery revenue.

She pulled a dark crimson velvet dress from the rack, holding it up against her waist as she turned toward Damon.

"This one?" she asked, her voice dripping with playful inquiry.

He didn’t even look at the price tag dangling from the hem. "Take it."

Lily smirked. She tossed the dress over her arm and moved to the shoe displays, picking up a pair of pointed Italian leather heels set on a marble pedestal. "What about these?"

"Take them," He repeated, his tone completely flat.

Her smile widened into something greedy. She began moving down the aisle with speed, pulling down coats, tailored trousers, designer handbags, and silk scarves, stacking them onto the arms of two sales clerks who scrambled behind her to keep up.

She picked items purely because they sat on the highest shelves, testing him, waiting to see the exact second his brow would furrow or his wallet would tighten.

It never happened.

Damon sat on the leather couch near the front display, one leg crossed over his knee, watching her sweep through the store with indifference. The numbers meant nothing to him.

Fifty million dollars sat in his account, multiplying every time Eleanor signed another shipping manifest. Whether Lily spent ten thousand dollars or fifty thousand dollars in twenty minutes was less than a rounding error on his ledger.

"I need to try these on," Lily said, her voice dropping into a cadence as she picked up a small lace piece from a specialized lingerie display near the back wall.

She held up a black lace set, her eyes looking straight at Damon over the top of the fabric. "What about this?"

He glanced at the lace, his eyes resting on her bare shoulders for a fraction of a second. "If you want it."

Her grin turned mischievous. She reached onto the lower glass shelf, picking up a tiny silk bikini bottom that barely used three inches of thread. "What about a bikini?"

"Take it," He said.

"And matching panties?" she asked, her voice carrying across the room without a shred of shame.

A young sales clerk standing nearby flinched, her cheeks turning bright red as she hurriedly looked down at her inventory tablet, pretending to examine a barcode.

Across the room, Eleanor stood beside her desk, her hand resting flat against the glass top. She watched the exchange in silence.

She saw the way Lily leaned forward, saw the provocative arch of the girl’s back, and saw how easily she tried to push her way into Damon’s space. Eleanor’s jaw tightened slightly, a bitter pang rising in her chest before she forced it back down into the corners of her mind.

She knew where she stood. Damon had never promised her love. He had given her power, protection, and the chance to take everything Julian had built. In return, she had given herself to him.

That was enough. At least, it had to be. A small part of her still wanted more. She buried it before it could grow.

Don’t ask for what he never promised, She reminded herself coldly, her eyes dimming as she forced her chest to settle. You have the boutique. You have Sterling Apparel. You have his backing. That is enough.

She buried the small wish for something more, locking her face into an elegant mask as she watched the young girl play her game.

Lily caught the brief shift in Eleanor’s posture. As she turned toward the changing rooms, she saw Eleanor’s eyes lower for a fraction of a second when Damon adjusted his cuffs.

Her lips twitched upward. So she really is his.

Her smile deepened.

The knowledge didn’t frighten Lily. It made her blood run hot. If Damon was the kind of man who collected women like high-end property, and if Claire was already resting exhausted in his bed while Eleanor managed his corporate assets, then there was no reason Lily had to stand outside the fence looking in.

Five minutes later, the changing room curtain pulled back.

Lily stepped out onto the carpet wearing a tight, backless black evening dress that clung to the curve of her hips like a second skin. The high neckline framed her collarbones, while the back dipped all the way down to her lower spine, revealing pale, smooth skin.

She didn’t look at the mirror. She walked directly toward the leather couch where Damon sat, her hips swaying with deliberate emphasis. She stopped right in front of him, leaning down until her hair brushed against his suit jacket.

"Young Master Thorne," She whispered, her eyes sparkling with wicked delight. "You’re really generous."

Damon didn’t pull back. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, looking up into her face.

"If I keep asking for things," She cooed, her tongue running over her lower lip as she pressed closer, "are you going to keep saying yes?"

He looked directly into her eyes. He had understood her from the beginning. Lily wanted attention. She wanted money. And now she wanted him. At least she wasn’t trying very hard to hide it.

A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"You’ve been testing my patience since you got into my car," He said softly.

Lily’s eyes brightened with electric thrill. "And?"

He stood up.

His broad frame towered over her in an instant.

"And now you’ve finally gotten an answer,"

Lily’s teasing expression froze for half a second. Her heart skipped a violent beat against her ribs as she looked up into his eyes.

Damon stepped forward.

She instinctively took a step backward, her breath catching in her throat. Before she could take a second step, Damon reached out, his fingers closing around her delicate wrist like an iron clamp.

He turned and pulled her along behind him, walking straight down the quiet corridor toward the private changing rooms.

Lily’s eyes widened, a wild mix of shock and wicked delight rushing through her veins as her heels clicked frantically against the floor to keep pace with his long stride.

"Wait..." She gasped, a breathless laugh bubbling up from her throat as she looked back at his broad shoulders. "Young Master Thorne... what are you doing?"

Damon didn’t answer.

He reached the end of the hallway, pushed open the door of the large private fitting room, and pulled her straight inside.

Across the main showroom floor, Eleanor stood motionless beside her desk. She heard the solid click of the changing room door locking from the inside.

She watched the door for another second.

Then she picked up her tablet.

"Close the front door," she said calmly. "We’ll finish the rest of the appointments tomorrow."

Her voice didn’t shake.

Only her fingers betrayed her.