Muse [18+] • REVISING

17 | Slow Burn

D A M I E N

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Leaving the spent girl to rest, Damien focused on his work for the remainder of the night.

Or, tried to.

As he finished making a cup of coffee, he made his way to his study and sighed as he looked at the paperwork spread out across his desk. Sitting down, he took a sip from the mug and cracked his neck to relieve some tension from the night he had just experienced.

Although he wanted to indulge in an evening of aftercare with Vera and sleep away his exhaustion, he wanted to make sure that her first experience immersed in the deviant world was entirely comfortable. Rolling his shoulders back, he pulled himself towards the wooden desk and got to work.

Looking through his emails, he scrolled through the many messages of collectors offering to donate to the new exhibit, only a few hours after it's reopening. A small grin found its way onto his face as he thought of the girl who brought Femme de Sexe to life. Utterly impressed by her work, the man sat proud.

Snapping him out of his thoughts was the ringer of his phone, across the screen read—Nico.

"I thought I told you I'd call you back later," Damien expressed as he answered the call.

"It's been almost an hour, this is later," Nicolas replied, bluntly.

"What do you want?"

"Are you not going to share with me what exactly went down tonight? I know Vera went looking for you," The curious man on the other line inquired.

"While you're my best friend, I don't see how that's any of your business. Besides, I'm not getting into it with you when it's almost three in the morning, Nico," Damien retorted, leaning back in his chair.

"You choose now to hold back from telling me about your endeavors? Jesus fuck, what has this girl done to you?"

Taking a minute to comprehend, Damien sat dumbfounded at his friend's question. He thought about how he had promised the girl one single night where the two wouldn't need to hold back from each other. Except, after spending the past few hours with her, Damien didn't know if he could only have her for one night alone. Without even realizing it, he found himself thinking about what exactly it would look like if they had both entered a relationship.

"Fuck off, Nico," He sneered through the phone as he pushed away his thoughts.

"All I'm saying is that," Nicolas paused for a few seconds. "For someone so bent on being in control, whenever you're around her, it's like every wall you've built up suddenly ceases to exist,"

As much as Damien hated to admit it, Nicolas was right. Despite her being his assistant and him being her employer, the invisible line between them had been blurred and boundaries had already been crossed. Ever since the young girl stepped into his life, his mind grew cloudy whenever she was in his presence.

"She brings out a vulnerable side in you, a side I haven't seen in years," Nicolas continued.

"What are you getting at? That I start a relationship with my new assistant? Give her a job then have her in private? You of all people should know how completely unprofessional that is," Damien explained as he tried to rid his thoughts of Vera.

"You want to talk about unprofessional? Tell me, where is she right now, Dami?" The cocky friend pushed as he made up his own assumptions.

Letting out a long exhale, Damien ran his hand over his face and took a minute before answering.