by Lauren Dane
“Shut up.”
She did look hot in a pretty blue minidress that showcased her tits and her legs. He bet she and Daisy tore that place up. And then he frowned. He bet she got hit on too.
“Why are you frowning?”
“She looks hot.”
“And that’s a problem why? You prefer your women not hot? ’Cause I call bullshit on that.”
“Shut up. God.”
“Oh, I get it, she’s not supposed to be hot when you’re not around.”
“Well. She probably got hit on. Dudes probably danced with her. She won’t commit to me; god only knows what she got up to.”
Paddy socked his arm really hard.
“Ow!” He shoved Paddy, who fell back over the arm of the couch. “Dick.”
“Fuck you, crybaby. You’re a dick.” And he socked Damien again, dancing out of the way of any retaliation. “You really gonna tell me you think she gave a guy a BJ in the bathroom? I’m not even dating her and I can tell you that’s bullshit. She’s not like that, which is why you dig her so much. But she has a life without you, which is why you’re so bugged. And you know it’s stupid and shitty to be bugged, which bugs you more.”
“Why’d she send this picture then?”
“What is wrong with you? It’s like you’ve never dealt with women before. They always send you pictures of times they look great. Duh. She’s like, hey, dude, look how foxy I am. Not, hey, dude, I’m going to bang a stranger. She wants you to see what you have. You’re dumb. Is she supposed to stay home and wear sackcloth? Because we’re headed out the damned door to go party in Portland. That’s what Mom would call a double standard.”
“I’m not all duded up!”
“You’re going to get hit on by dozens of women. They’re going to show you their tits and buy you drinks.” Paddy shrugged. “Are you going to bang a stranger in the bathroom?”
“No! I told you, I’m with Mary.”
“So why would you expect that she would do that to you? She’s a nice girl. A. Nice. Girl. Sure you’re not used to that, but that’s what Mary Whaley is. You? You’re not so much a nice boy, but you’re not going to fuck around on her. So I think you should afford her the same trust you’d expect her to give you.”
“When did you get so fuckin’ wise?”
“I was born wise. One of us has to be smart since the rest of you are dumbasses who lead with your dicks.”
“Oh, the irony. I’m surprised you didn’t get struck by lightning right now.”
“Let’s go get our drink on.” Paddy slapped his shoulder. “I told Vaughan we’d grab him on the way out.”
It wasn’t that Ezra couldn’t deal with the sight of them drinking. He was far enough down his road to recovery that he wasn’t bothered by people drinking around him. But they did it out of respect and also, Portland had great clubs and hot women. Well, for Vaughan and Paddy anyway.
“You drive. I’m gonna call Mary.” Damien settled in the backseat and dialed her number.
“Hello there, Damien.”
He smiled at the sound of her voice. There was enough noise in the background that he knew she was with her friends. It was supper club night.
He missed her.
“Hello there, Mary. What are you up to?”
“Wrapping up supper club and then we’re headed to Adrian and Gillian’s for a movie marathon. What are you up to?”
“Going out with Paddy and Vaughan. Thanks for the pictures you sent last night. You looked hot.”
Her laugh made him miss her even more.
“Thank you. There was some jerk photographer there taking pictures of Gillian. We got him removed.”
So ferocious in the defense of those she loved.
“Did you punch him in the throat? I seem to recall you have a penchant for that.”
Again she laughed. “No, I batted my eyes and got wistful with the management. But I think it was probably more the fact that she’s a sort of celebrity in his club and they didn’t want to lose her business more than my eyelashes.”
He doubted it. She had great eyelashes.
“How’s my pig?”
“Ha! So far she hasn’t reverted to her former ways. But Ezra says she misses you. You should come down again to visit her. Keep her on the straight and narrow. Me too.”
“Are you in danger of straying from the path of righteousness, young man?”
“Only if you’ll discipline me after.”
Her laugh had changed, lowered. Shivers slid through his system.
“And no, I have no plans to stray. You know that, right?” Flirting and joking aside, it was important she understood that.
“I should hope so.”
“When can I see you again?” He hadn’t planned to ask, but he didn’t plan lots of things about the way he felt for her. It simply was. He needed her in his life, damn it.
“Going into some busy times. Over the next three weeks I’ve got jobs every day of the week. Some days I have two. Nice to be able to pay for Christmas presents.”
“We’re going into the studio in November. Would you consider being our personal chef?” He’d broached the idea with Vaughan, who was fine. Ezra had brought it up first anyway. He didn’t care what Paddy thought by that point. Damien wasn’t above admitting he wanted her with him and it would only be fair to have her work there. She was good at what she did. He knew that. She’d be a calming influence. “We work all day and into the night. It’d be good to have real meals and snacks. If you were here to do it for us, we’d probably get a lot more done.”
Paddy gave him a look in the rearview, but held his tongue.
“We can talk about this the next time we see each other.”
“Fine, fine. I’ve got to run. I just wanted to check in with you because I wanted to hear your voice.”
“I’m glad you did. I miss you.”
Pride roared through him. She rarely gave him little bits of praise like this when they were apart. It made him unbearably happy.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I miss you too. Sweet dreams, Mary Whaley, very nice girl. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye, Damien Hurley, very dirty musician with the very big heart.”
She hung up and missing her came right back.
“What’d she say about the personal chef thing?” Vaughan asked.
“She said we’d talk about it when we see each other next.” Which would be very soon because he was sick of not being with her.
19
She was still smiling when she pulled up to the garage. It had been an awesome night with her friends, though she was the only uncoupled one now. Adrian had asked her to do an event for Gillian. Just a little gathering with their friends and family to celebrate the pregnancy.
There had been too much food, lots of laughter. Ice cream and scary movies. She’d left full up of laughter and love. Though she did still miss Damien.
She grabbed the totes with all the dishes in them. Adrian, Cal and Miles had done cleanup in exchange for the cooking, so all she had to do was put her stuff away. When she came around the corner to her back door she screamed and jumped three feet when a man stepped away from her stoop.
“Curly, darlin’, it’s me. It’s Damien.” He stepped closer his hands up in the air, voice calm the way you use with toddlers and crazy people.
Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
“You scared the hell out of me! I thought you were a prowler.”
“I’m so sorry.” He approached and she allowed him to hug her. His scent registered and she calmed a little. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t want your neighbors to call the cops if they saw me on your front porch so I’ve been back here. I parked on the side of your garage like I always do. I figured you’d see me. Um. Surprise?”
“I didn’t see the car.”
“It’s a rental. I had them meet me at the airfield. I . . . Is it all right that I’m
here?”
She hugged him again. “Yeah. Better than all right. I’m glad to see you. Come on inside.”
He took the totes and went in first, making sure no giant zombies or anything were inside. She went to her junk drawer and pulled out a key. “Here. You may as well have a key. That way you don’t have to sit on the back porch in the cold. How long have you been here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
He kissed her and she melted into his embrace. Loving his mouth on hers.
“Now then. Thank you for the key. I’ve only been here about forty-five minutes or so. I didn’t call because I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew you had two jobs today so I figured I’d come in later so as not to interrupt. Also, yesterday when I called you and heard your voice I knew I’d rather be here than anywhere else.”
“Oh. Well.” She grinned and tiptoed up to kiss him again. “Hi. I’m glad to see you.”
“Me too.”
He looked back over his shoulder. “Door locked?”
Her heart, which had just stopped pounding over being so surprised, started to thud-thud-thud again. Desire pulsed through her, slow and heady.
“Yes. Why?”
He smiled. “I have plans for you, Curly. Plans that would send a casual viewer into therapy.”
“Only because they’d be sorry you weren’t doing it to them instead.”
“You always know exactly what to say. How is that?” He unzipped her fleece, peeling it back and then down off her arms.
Her hands went to his belt, getting it unbuckled, and then to his button and zipper. His cock was hot and hard in her hands within several breathless moments.
But he spun her to face the wall, his hands moving to cup her breasts before he peeled the cups of her bra back to tug on her nipples over and over until she nearly cried for him to get on with it.
His cock nearly burned through her pants as he pressed against her. Taunting.
One of his hands left her right breast and slid down into her jeans, down into her panties. He cupped her pussy for long moments, just holding. The heat of him singed her memory. She’d be unable to forget this moment. Not for a long time and maybe not ever.
No one had ever done this to her. Only Damien with his cocky smile and his clever fingers. With that mouth of his. He drove her crazy.
Her head fell back to his shoulder and he kissed her temple with so much tenderness it brought the prick of tears to her eyes.
“All I could think of over the last two weeks was this. The smell of your skin. The way your hair tickles my lips when I kiss your face or neck. The way your nipples feel against my palm.” He tugged and pinched and she squeaked.
She felt the curve of his lips against her neck as he smiled at her reaction. “The way you give over to me, demanding your due. You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She swallowed back the emotion, throwing herself into the sensation instead. The ground was more solid there.
The hand in her panties moved, his fingers spreading her open to pet her clit.
“So hot and wet. Always.”
“You could put something far better than your hand in there. Just sayin’.”
He laughed. “Oh, darlin’, I will. But I like to make you come. It makes me happy. After. Then I’m going to fuck you so hard you stutter. Ah, your cunt just got even hotter.”
She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the wall, her fingers curled into the wallpaper.
That hand slid a little further down, enough that he circled her gate, entering her ever so slightly before moving back to her clit. He knew her so well. Knew just how to touch her. Just how much pressure to use, how fast, how slow to draw it out.
Pleasure rose, slow and steady. Building. Filling her from her pussy outward. Outward until it scorched through her system and there was only the need to climax. It overflowed, sucking her under so hard she barely registered the way he shoved her pants down.
They kept her in place, hemmed her in, much like his body at her back did. A wild thrill spiraled through her as he bent her to angle her body better. His cock brushed against her and then he pushed inside in one hard stroke.
“Goddamn.”
He thrust and thrust, wanting more. Wanting everything. And she gave it to him. She always did. Despite her protestations, she was his.
The need to fuck her, to be in her, to possess her, drove him. Need nearly made him blind. Consumed him. He touched every part of her that he could. Slid his palms over the curve of her hips, the weight of her breasts, the strength of her thighs as she got to her tiptoes to meet his strokes better.
Sweat broke over his skin, his muscles burned and when he came it seemed to last forever, echoing through him, making his fucking teeth tingle with it.
He gasped for air, kissing the back of her neck as he pulled out carefully.
“Wow.” She turned, her eyes glossy, her lips wet.
He grinned, but his legs were shaky as he got himself back to rights. He was head over heels in love with Mary Whaley. In so deep that if he had any sense at all he’d be scared.
* * *
The following morning at Tart he watched her while she worked. Careful of course to keep out of the way. She could be a bear if people got into her flow when she cooked. It made her ferocious and bitchy. Which only rendered her hotter to him.
He played on his tablet, answering e-mail, sending instructions to his manager, declining to participate in a label event in New York the following week. Paddy loved that stuff so he could go instead.
Jules wandered in and gave him a raised brow. “Well, hello there.”
“He surprised me last night. Nearly scared the life out of me. I thought he was a prowler.” Mary continued to seed cucumbers as she spoke, a smile on her lips.
“I’m glad you didn’t shoot him.” Jules winked at him. He knew Cal and Jules were protective of her. Knew too that they didn’t trust him at first. But over the last weeks, each time he’d seen them and interacted with them, things had gotten a little less tense. “You want a coffee? Something to eat?”
“I’d love you forever if you made me a latte.” Mary fluttered her lashes and went back to her work.
“You already do love me forever on account of me being so pretty and charming.”
Mary barked a laugh. “I’m sorry for your deep self-esteem issues, Juliet.”
Damien liked their interplay. Liked knowing she was surrounded by people who cared about her. It made it easier to be away from her, though on some levels it also made it harder. He wanted her to come to him for emotional support, but she didn’t need to.
“I’d love an Americano if it’s not too much trouble. Thank you.”
Jules nodded. “No trouble. Be back in a sec.”
She moved to the large espresso machine and began to work.
Mary spoke over the swish and swirl of the espresso machine. “Oh, I have something for your mom if you’d take it back when you go home again.”
“Really? Of course I will. What is it?”
“I took a lot of really great pictures when I was down at the ranch. There are a few I thought were pretty spectacular. One of her and your dad. I had an extra frame so I put it in. Nothing big.”
He warmed. His mother would dig that. A lot.
“Thank you. Can I see them? The pictures, I mean.”
“Yeah.” She rattled off a URL and then a password. “They’re all there.”
He looked, pretty amazed at her eye. “Wow. These are really good.”
“I’m no Daisy. She’s got so much talent it’s not funny. But I like taking pictures and I think there are several in there with some nice composition.”
He grinned. “The demon pig even looks sort of sweet in these.”
Mary laughed. “She’s a sweet animal. Just sort of lost.”
“You’re pretty special, you know that?”
She looked up from her work, her hands glistening from the vegetables and, God help him, it shot st
raight to his cock.
“Thank you. They’re just pictures.”
“Mary has a difficult time taking a compliment.” Jules placed a cup at Mary’s right hand. “Latte here. Honey and a little chocolate.” She handed another cup to Damien. “Americano. Milk, cream, soy, sugar and all that is right over there. I don’t know how you take it.”
“Hush, both of you.” Mary blushed, sipping her latte. “Perfect. Thanks.”
Jules kissed Mary’s cheek. “Anytime.”
“Pictures of food. I should have known.”
She looked up again. “Oh, I’d forgotten about those. They’re for a cookbook proposal.”
“Really? Tell me about it?”
She blushed. “A while ago an agent contacted me. She was at a dinner I catered. Anyway, she suggested I write a cookbook. I put together a proposal. Those are just some shots I took for it.”
“Wow.”
“I don’t know if it’s wow-worthy, but it’s pretty cool. Anyway, I just sent it to her a week ago. I’ve been so busy.”
“What did she say?”
“She did some sort of whiz-bang formatting for it to make it look better. She said she had a few sources she was going to pitch it to. I haven’t heard. I put it out of my mind. Easy enough when I’m busy.”
“I think it totally merits a wow. I hope you hear good news soon.”
Mary’s assistant came in a short time afterward and they began to put together the luncheon she’d been preparing, packing it up.
“I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He stopped her, pulling her close for a kiss and not caring who saw it.
And was relieved she accepted it without hassle, even rewarding him with a smile. “Thank you.”
“Believe me when I assure you my kisses are available at any time. I’m heading over to Adrian’s. Text me when you’re done?”
She nodded. “All right. Tell Gillian I said hello.”
And she was gone.
Jules cruised back in. “So, I’m going to try to ask you this in a way nicer fashion than I did the first time. Which was totally rude and unfair, I admit.”
“I’m in love with her. I want to make something real with Mary. But she’s skittish.” He knew Jules was going to ask what his intentions were so better to just answer honestly.