by Alicia Rae
“However, our greater concern is where Caroline has them and who is there to help her because we never know where she’ll be standing when the seizure starts…” I trailed off as the memories made my heart ache profoundly.
“Like the stairs at school?” Damon questioned in a sad, quiet tone.
I could tell his mind was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“Exactly,” I answered, blinking back tears while wishing there were some miracle to keep Caroline safe. I wanted to be an angel, wrap my wings around my sister, and protect her from anything like that ever happening to her again.
“When does she start E2 Excellence in Education?” he asked.
I was grateful for the subject change because I did not want him to see me cry.
I swallowed hard. “My parents are now going to wait until next semester,” I responded. “That way she has more time to recover from her injures.”
“I think that will be better for Caroline, too.”
We reached the northern part of downtown and came to a four-way stop.
Damon scoped out the area. “There are so many places to choose from.”
“Yep.” I smiled up at him, wanting to lighten the mood. “So, you get to take your pick.”
Damon’s eyes kept searching onward. “Anywhere I want?”
My phone beeped from the front pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out, hit the silent button on the side without glancing at the screen, and sincerely replied, “Sure. It’s your day after all.” I tucked my cell back in my pocket.
I gazed back at Damon to see him release a devilish grin that made me question my previous answer.
“Freshies Restaurant it is.”
“Argh!” I groaned out loud as the fish fry dawned on me. “I can’t believe I forgot about that place!” I added as the building came into my sight.
Damon laughed at me.
I made a last-minute effort to curb his appetite. “There’s a good steak place another block up.” I used a persuasive tone and tugged on his hand.
He spun around on me, picked me up, and tossed me over his shoulder.
“Hey!” I screeched, looking around upside down at the bystanders who were luckily not paying us any attention.
“You said anywhere I want, sweetheart,” he countered, striding onward with ease. “And this guy wants to see you eat a fish.”
“Shit,” I muttered, making him laugh again as I simultaneously wondered how I was going to survive the next hour.
Damon set me on my feet right outside the brick building with an orange canopy. His eyes were dancing with mirth.
I playfully glared at him. “You’re going to enjoy torturing me, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah.” He grinned, taking my hand back in his, as he pulled me inside the Freshies Restaurant.
I scrunched up my nose as I immediately smelled an array of seafood.
A young waiter approached us. “Table for two?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” Damon said, stifling his humor.
We followed the boy to the back of the restaurant, and Damon and I were seated at a booth that overlooked the water. I glanced out at the water, amazed by the stunning view.
“Can I start you off with a drink?” the waiter asked.
Is it too early to start drinking?
I ignored the urge, sticking with my better judgment. “A Pepsi, please.”
Damon lifted his hand. “Make that two.”
The gentleman politely dismissed himself, and I stared at Damon to see him regarding me with a mixture of apprehension and mirth.
“You look like you’re planning your escape route.”
I tipped my head to the far right. A sign that said Exit was not far from the restrooms. “It’s only a good thirty feet away,” I teased.
“I’ll catch you before you make it to the door.” He grinned as the waiter returned with our drinks.
I shook my head. “Not if I chuck plates into your path on my way out,” I fibbed before taking a sip of my Pepsi.
“Then, you’d definitely better hope I don’t catch you,” he countered, keeping my gaze. “Because when I do, we’ll be heading straight home and fast-forwarding to naked Sunday.”
A chuckle seeped past my lips as I peered at him over my glass, now planning to switch my tactics. “That sounds heavenly right now.” I smiled. “Let’s skip dinner and go home. I’ll let you lick whipped cream off my body.”
Damon’s eyes flared with heat and longing. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the wooden table. His right hand lifted to caress his morning stubble that he had not shaved before leaving, and he appeared to be contemplating my offer.
“You play dirty,” he crooned softly. “But there is still not a chance in hell I’m letting you get out of trying fish first.”
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath.
He was a tough nut to crack. I sighed in defeat and shifted my attention to the menu in front of me. I was overwhelmed by all the choices and names. In fact, I did not even know what half the selections were—let alone, how to pronounce a handful of them. Apparently, I had been a sheltered child when it came to seafood.
“Do you know what you want?” he asked considerately.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I replied, staring blankly at the foreign-to-me menu. “But I sure as hell am not eating an octopus or a squid because those just sound…gross.”
“They are an acquired taste,” he replied. “I would stick with something basic.”
The waiter appeared before I was ready. “May I take your orders now?” he asked, pulling out his notepad and pen.
“I’ll take the grilled salmon,” Damon replied.
The boy’s eyes shifted to me. “And you, miss?”
“Do you want to try the salmon, too?” Damon chimed in.
“Yes, please.”
The waiter nodded and walked away, leaving us to ourselves.
Damon and I made small talk while waiting for our food. I learned that he’d had quite the week with Jason at the office on top of his obligations back in Colorado. It astonished me to see the amount of work he was juggling, and I feared that he would soon have to choose between living in California or Colorado.
Before I mustered up the courage to ask him about my reservations, I was distracted by a plate of fish being set in front of me. I peered down at my salmon hesitantly while Damon had no problem digging right into his own meal.
“It’s not going to bite you,” he teased in the middle of a mouthful.
“I know that,” I said, picking up my utensils to cut off a small piece.
I lifted it to my nose, inhaling the scent of it. To my surprise, it actually smelled fairly appealing.
That has to be a good sign.
I slowly lifted the fork to pop the salmon into my mouth, and I chewed. Damon watched me with an inquisitive expression, and he simultaneously looked like he was going to burst into laughter if I suddenly spit my lunch out.
I swallowed. “Shocking…” I stalled for added suspense. “Good.”
“See?” He chuckled. “And you had yourself all nervous for nothing.”
I broke off another sliver and continued eating. “Huh,” I murmured more to myself than anyone. “I can’t believe I waited so long to try this.”
“Don’t worry, baby.” He gave me a sideways grin. “I’ll have you trying all sorts of things in no time.”
“Don’t get too confident there, sport.” I laughed, taking a drink of soda to wash the lingering fish taste down my throat.
“Never.” He chortled.
When we finished our meals, the waiter dropped the check in front of Damon. I extended my arm to grab the bill, but he snatched it up first.
“Hey!” I scoffed. “This is my day to treat you.”
“You already have, Gail,” he answered in a gentle tone, those blue eyes burning into me with nothing but sincerity. “But a gentleman always pays, so don’t even try to debate this one.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, beaming over at him while loving this man beyond reason.
Damon left cash on the table, came to stand at my side, and led me out of the restaurant. Once outside, I felt a burst of renewed energy that was refreshing.
“So, how has your day of firsts been so far?” he asked, still a step in front of me.
His own mood reflected my own.
I stepped off on my right foot and leaped onto his back, looping my arms around his neck for a piggyback ride. “It has been amazingly perfect.” In more ways than you know, I added inwardly while nestling into him to kiss his cheek.
At the same time, he hooked his hands around my legs to catch me. His lighthearted laughter filled the air…and my heart.
“Glad to hear, sweetheart,” he said with affection ringing in his voice, effortlessly striding forward with me on his back. “Now, let’s go and make more first memories together.”
~Damon~
I opened my eyes the next morning and let loose a boyish grin. Today was naked Sunday, and I was not going to waste a single moment of it.
I had reveled in every last minute of yesterday with Gail and her willingness to try new things that I enjoyed. It made me adore her even more than I already had, if that were physically possible. And I planned on showing her just how much…starting right now.
I ducked my head underneath the bedsheets as I grinned over arousing her with my lips. I positioned myself between her legs, grateful that she was already naked from me making love to her last night.
My cock hardened at the thought of sinking deep inside her and riding her hard until we came together, but I ignored the impulse, wanting to pleasure her first. All I could think about was her.
I leisurely began to lap at her sex, my tongue teasing her with slow, unhurried circles. A soft moan left her mouth as she awakened and lifted her hips into me.
“Good morning,” I breathed against her smooth skin.
“Morning,” Gail rasped in a sexy tone.
The sound of her labored voice had me eager to make her come undone. I pressed two fingers into her moist heat, angling them right against the ridges of her inner front wall. The movement made her curl her fingers into my hair.
I continued to lap at her folds while matching the rhythm with my hand. Her legs began to tremble against me, and I increased my pace, feeling her insides clutching around me. I knew she was close.
As her body went perfectly taut, I gently pulled her clit into my mouth with my lips, sucking rhythmically. She bowed her back off the mattress and shook her head from side to side before unleashing a soft cry from the back of her throat as she came against me.
The sweet sound made me want to do it all over again, but I refrained, needing to feel her lips along mine. I climbed up the length of her as I skimmed my tongue up the slight curve of her stomach and then passed over each of her tiny ribs, counting and memorizing them along the way. I would simply never have enough of her delectable body.
I ran my nose up the swell of her breast. Then, I enclosed her taut nipple in my mouth, alternating between licking it and giving it a gentle tug.
I tipped my head up at Gail to see her eyes glossy with ecstasy and on fire for more. Her cheeks were rosy and pink with satisfaction, and I fucking loved the look on her.
I braced my weight on either side of her and brushed her brown locks to the side, so I could see more of her beautiful face.
“Morning,” she whispered, still smiling.
The look she gave stole my breath, and I knew I would do anything to see it there all the time.
“Eager to start naked Sunday, are we?” she teased while I was stuck in her trance.
“Hell yes.” I grinned wolfishly at last and then captured her mouth for a fervent kiss.
Her small, tender lips moved with mine as I deepened our connection. She set her fingertips on my back and gently dragged her nails up and down. I groaned at the feel of her soft hands on me.
A primal need came over me, wanting to claim her as my own and have nothing between us. I drew back and asked, “Are you on birth control?”
“Yes,” she breathed inches from my face.
“I want nothing between us this time,” I said as my way of asking her permission.
“Yes,” she repeated again, rocking her pelvis, making her wetness caress the tip of my erection.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head to burrow into her, kissing her cheek and lips tenderly, while absorbing every sensation that was coursing through me on overdrive. I tilted my hips upward at her next movement and sank into her, reveling in the way her tight body fit me like a glove as she squeezed around me.
I dropped to my knees and gripped her waist, effortlessly pulling her downward on the bed. She opened her legs wider before draping them over mine, baring her sex to my hungry eyes. I thrust into her, balls deep, while looking directly into her gaze.
Nothing had ever felt so good because when I was with Gail, she was all I could see. She was my light in a storm of darkness, my serenity when daily stresses tried to consume me, and my every reason for breathing.
She clenched the sheets at her sides while her tits beautifully bounced with each forward movement. I pounded into her over and over, wanting to take us to that mystic place of ours where it was just us.
Gail bore down around me as her hands shifted to clutch my thighs. I set my thumb on her clit, lightly pushing the pad of my finger across it as I let go, pumping my release into her and watching her fall off over the edge with me.
I lay to the right of her, flipped on my back, and pulled her into my side.
“That was a sensational way to wake up,” Gail purred, snuggling closer.
“Yeah, it was.” I was elated to know we had the whole day to spend together with nowhere to be or any work that needed to be done, so I kissed her again.
My stomach rumbled with fierceness, breaking our serene moment.
“Someone’s hungry.” Gail erupted into a brief second of laughter. “Would you like me to make us some breakfast?”
“Yes, please,” I answered.
Gail kissed my cheek before rising from the bed. I watched as she strode into her bedroom. When she walked back out again, she was in a pink tank and a pair of black yoga pants with her hair twisted up into a messy bun.
“What happened to naked Sunday?” I asked, pretending to be wounded.
She paused at my doorway. Her eyes wandered up and down my naked body. The flare of desire in her eyes did not go unnoticed by me.
“You can undress me again after we eat, handsome.” She winked and then retreated toward the kitchen.
“I can live with that,” I called after her, jumping from the bed with a grin plastered across my features.
I had a whole day with my girl filled with home-cooked meals, and passionate, hot sex without any interruptions.
Yeah, from here on out, naked Sunday was going down in my books as a weekly tradition with Gail.
I lifted my sledgehammer and drove it straight into the old office bathroom drywall for the third time in a row, creating a big enough hole to slip my hands inside to get a grip. I carefully dropped my tool of choice, pried as much of the battered sheet of drywall off, and tossed it to the side, so I could repeat the process again.
Drywall demo was a bitch, but it was one of the last remodels on our list to tackle, and it felt so good to be close to finishing.
“You got some built-up aggression over there, bro?” Jason teased. He unscrewed the last nail from the vanity and ripped it off the wall before launching it into the small dumpster just outside the room.
“I guess you could say that,” I answered evasively, keeping my mind focused on the work in front of me so that I wouldn’t take off one of my fingers.
“Care to share what has your panties all in a twist?” He snickered, not letting me off the hook.
“Just a million different thoughts running through my mind,” I sighed. “And they are all pullin
g me in opposite directions.”
“Ah,” Jason crooned. “Does this have anything to do with you leaving for Colorado tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Do you want to go?” he probed.
“Yes,” I answered and then said, “No.” I shook my head at my own indecisiveness. “Fuck, I don’t know.”
“So, don’t go,” Jason replied as though it was no big deal.
“I have to,” I countered, throwing down another broken piece of drywall. “It is a big job. I can’t just walk away, or my contractor would shit a brick.”
“So, quit,” he responded.
“I don’t want to.” I glared at my brother. “I like my work back home in Denver.”
“So then, quit here,” he continued simply.
“I’m going to throat-punch you if you don’t get off my ass,” I said, shaking my head, not liking his company right now.
“Anytime. You just say the word.” Jason grinned at my brotherly threat as he picked up his cordless drill to start removing the bolts from one of the bathroom fixtures.
“I like my new job here, too,” I added with a sigh.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, as the old saying goes. Something has to give in your schedule, Damon.”
I laughed humorlessly. I knew he was right, but I did not have the slightest damn clue on how to fix it. “Well then, you definitely don’t want to hear about my ice cream on the side.”
Jason quirked a brow at me. “Huh?”
“You know how I’ve always dreamed of working for William Rawn Associates?”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out! You got the job?” he exclaimed with wide eyes, dropping his cordless drill.
“No, no. Easy there, fella, or your own panties might twist.” I laughed at his theatrics, causing Jason to glare at me. “They asked me for my most recent blueprints about a week ago.”
“Damon, you know William Rawn Associates wouldn’t just inquire about your work if they weren’t seriously considering you,” he warned.
“Maybe.” I shrugged, overwhelmed with all the shit on my plate. It would just be one more decision I’d have to make soon. Also, I did not want to get my hopes up to only be left disappointed.