He knew what she was worried about. One look made it plain that Nate had an extreme fear of dark spaces. A flaw like that in a noble young lady was treated as a serious defect on the marriage market. Someone like Count O’Hara, who placed great importance on family honor, might scold her harshly for letting another person see her weakness.

“Don’t worry, Miss O’Hara. I won’t say a word about today to anyone.”

Damon gave her the answer she wanted without hesitation. He had no intention of telling anyone about today even without her asking.

“I doubt anyone else saw. So please don’t trouble yourself over it.”

Nate stared at him with a slightly dazed expression, then slowly nodded. Both her cheeks were flushed a soft pink.

Damon fixed his gaze on Nate’s cheeks, the kind that looked like they’d taste sweet as a peach if bitten, then dropped his eyes again. The front of his trousers was visibly taut. His c*ck reached full hardness at last.

A filthy impulse reared its head. He could coax Nate O’Hara into going somewhere comfortable and explore her body to his heart’s content in a closed space.

He’d tear that prim dress to shreds, grope her pretty br*asts without restraint, and rub furiously between her legs. Then he’d drive his throbbing c*ck all the way to the root inside her and pound her like an animal…….

“Young lord Preston, you can go on ahead. I’ll head back inside in a little while.”

Nate’s soft voice shattered his filthy fantasy.

He raised his head to look at her, eyes still trailing the outline of his fully *rect c*ck straining against the fabric. Unlike Damon, who was entertaining depraved thoughts, Nate showed no sign of any s*xual interest in him whatsoever.

Only then did Damon Preston belatedly recall the nature of their relationship. The two of them were not close enough to be having a warm conversation. So naturally, there was no chance of them going somewhere enclosed and devouring each other like they couldn’t get enough. In other words, all of it was nothing but the fantasy of a Damon Preston in heat.

Recognizing that, all his interest evaporated. He wished his *rection would go down with it, but there was no sign of that happening.

“Then I’ll take my leave, Miss O’Hara.”

Damon looked at Nate without expression and turned away immediately. He felt her gaze follow him from behind, but he didn’t look back. He figured it was a gaze that would fall away soon enough.

That was how he decided there would be no more entanglements with Nate O’Hara.

…Until she confessed to him out of nowhere.

* * *

Nate looked up at the building in front of her with a slightly tense expression.

〈Hotel Ombra〉

It was a place only those with an invitation could enter, even among the upper nobility. And the fact that obtaining one of those invitations was harder than expected was what gave Hotel Ombra its air of mystery.

“Nate, you made it?”

Lilia, waiting for her in front of the building, smiled and walked over. Nate nodded, and Lilia held out one of the two invitations in her hand. She glanced at the striking dress Nate wore and let out a small sound of admiration.

“It suits you far better than I imagined.”

Nate replied with a slightly embarrassed look.

“That’s because you gave me such a beautiful dress, Lilia. I honestly feel a little out of place in it.”

“There’s no need to feel that way. You look stunning.”

Nate was wearing the dress Lilia gave her as a gift. It was a completely different feel from anything Nate wore before. The design was bold, with rich red tones and a cut that left the shoulder line and décolletage openly exposed.

On top of that, on Wendy’s suggestion, Nate wore her hair down today, which made her look more elegant and alluring than usual.

“Shall we go in?”

Lilia led Nate toward the building. Nate lingered a moment, studying the hotel invitation she received, then slowly started forward.

They entered the hotel and walked down a long corridor. A staff member stood waiting in front of the ballroom where the party was being held. Lilia presented her invitation first, and Nate followed, handing hers to the staff member as well. He checked both invitations carefully and opened the ballroom doors.

Lilia gave Nate a quick once-over and then walked inside ahead of her. Nate watched her go, then stepped into the ballroom.

The first thing her eyes landed on was the large table at the center of the ballroom and the nobles gathered around it. They were laughing and chatting casually over a card game. Instead of glasses, they held entire bottles of liquor in their hands. A few nobles were openly smoking cigars inside the ballroom.

‘So this is what it’s like…… It doesn’t look as dangerous as I thought……’

Hotel Ombra was a place Damon frequented, so Nate was quietly curious about what kind of place it would be. But so far, it didn’t seem all that different from other parties. She attended her fair share of lively, free-spirited parties while following Damon around, so drinking straight from the bottle or smoking cigars wasn’t enough to surprise her.

“Wait here for a moment. Or feel free to look around. I’ll go get us drinks.”

Nate nodded at Lilia’s words.

While Lilia went to get drinks, Nate looked around with an awkward expression. Then, near a table by the window, she spotted the very person she spent the whole time hoping she wouldn’t run into.

Damon sat with a bored expression, watching the young ladies on either side of him play a card game. A cigar rested in his hand, naturally.

Nate stared at him without thinking, her expression going blank. She knew she should look away, yet her eyes, fixed on Damon out of something like habit, refused to move anywhere else.

Maybe he sensed her gaze. He drew a long pull from the cigar and lifted his head, and their eyes met directly.

Damon stared at her with slightly widened eyes, seemingly not expecting to run into Nate at Ombra. Nate finally dropped her gaze.

“Miss O’Hara, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Someone approached Nate just then. It was a young lord from a viscount family she exchanged greetings with occasionally at parties. But they never had a proper conversation.

“Yes, it’s nice to see you.”

She returned a simple greeting. The young lord looked Nate over openly and spoke.

“You look different from usual today. You’re absolutely beautiful.”

“Oh…… Thank you.”

Nate glanced around with a slightly uncomfortable look, searching for Lilia. Lilia stopped partway to getting drinks and was laughing and chatting with someone else.

“Would you join me at my table? I’d love to talk more.”

The young lord didn’t seem to notice her discomfort. Or perhaps he noticed and simply didn’t care.

He grabbed her wrist without warning. Nate tried to stop him, flustered.

“Miss O’Hara.”

A familiar voice reached her. Nate turned her head in surprise. Damon, who was sitting with others just moments ago, was now standing beside her.

The young lord holding Nate’s wrist saw Damon and let out a disappointed sigh before turning away. Damon watched the young lord’s retreating back with a dry look and spoke to Nate.

“It seems you’ve come to the wrong party.”

Nate rubbed the wrist the young lord grabbed, then met Damon’s eyes at those words.

She frowned slightly. His words sounded like he was saying she didn’t belong at a lively party like this. Hearing it from Damon, of all people, the man she spent so long caring for, stung her pride.