“This is beautiful...”
Excited, she moved to the next, and this time, tears blurred her vision. It was a painting of her and a newborn Sophia. They were both sleeping, Sophia perched against Kat’s nearly exposed breast as Kat sat in her comfortable feeding chair. Kat must have fallen asleep while feeding her daughter. Damien probably made her photo-ready and began snapping. The colors were warmer than the last and Kat could practically feel the sunlight through the painting.
Looking over her shoulder, she found Damien watching her.
She threw a shaky smile his way and moved to the last. She loved them all, but this was her favorite. This would go above their electric fireplace.
Kat remembered the day well, only because Damien had “set the scene” and had had them take about ten different shots before he’d been content. He’d come home early on that day and had found her and Sophia in Sophia’s playroom. In a matter of minutes, Damien had returned with the camera, placed it on its stand, set the timer, and proceeded to take pictures. The painting captured a cameo that was so natural, no photographer could have staged it.
Sophia had made her way to Kat’s lap and Kat helped her sit up. As Kat kept an eye on her daughter, Damien stared at her with love radiating from his person. Sophia happened to look at the camera with a toothless grin at that exact moment. It was the portrait of a happy family and the artist had used bright blues, yellows, and warm browns to capture it.
“Oh Damien...”
Strong arms slipped around her middle and firm lips touched her neck. “Do you like them?”
“I love them!” She turned in his arms as understanding began to dawn. “This was the surprise? You commissioned paintings of our family?”
He nodded. “I knew you were looking for paintings to put up around the apartment.”
“And Vanya?” Kat continued, knowing in her heart that the answer was going to cause her further embarrassment.
Keeping an arm around her, Damien pointed to the artist’s signature at the bottom of each piece. Vanya B.
“Oh.” Kat stared at each signature, embarrassed that she’d accused her husband of having an affair when he’d been busy getting a realist painter to surprise her with paintings of their family. Vanya...
She turned back to Damien. “Her name sounds familiar.”
“Yes,” he confirmed, gently rubbing her lower back. “We went to a Valentine’s Day gallery opening in my office building. Do you remember?”
“Yes, and I liked the painting...” Oh God. Her heart began a rapid pounding, and Kat felt faint.
Vanyanka Burdzecki.
That had been the name of the painter. The painting had been beautiful. It had only been a field of flowers, but the simplicity had accentuated the artist’s many talents. An art minor in college, Kat had always like paintings, particularly realist ones, and she’d been completely enamored with that one. Damien had made an offer but it had only been on display. The artist hadn’t been ready to sell.
“How?”
“I hired her and sent her the pictures I wanted her to paint.”
“But she lives in Russia.” She distinctly remembered the host saying that they were lucky to get one of her paintings on display as she lived in Russia and usually only offered her work for Russian viewing.
“Gavin helped,” Damien told her slowly. Because he’d been unable to go to Russia to convince the artist to do it, Damien had asked Gavin. “He was already in Germany, so I asked him to spend a few days in Russia, convincing her.”
“How did you get her to come here?”
With a small smile, Damien continued, “That was one of her conditions. She wanted to come to New York to do the paintings.” Damien had HR set up a priority work-visa for her, and his secretary found an apartment spacious and quiet enough for Vanya to work.
“Oh.” Kat was close to speechless. He’d done all of this for her? Turning to her husband, she leaned into him. “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you. I love you so much, Damien—I just thought...I don’t know what I thought.”
His hand slid into her hair, pulling her head back. “You thought I’d found someone to replace you.”
Kat looked away. She had. Even if it wasn’t Vanya, she’d thought it might be someone else. Someone prettier and thinner, someone who’d be able to give him access to her body when Kat couldn’t.
“I don’t want anyone else, Kat.” That declaration was followed by a hard kiss to her lips. Kat clung to him greedily, helping him unbutton her coat and push it from her heated body. As it fell to the floor, he pulled away an inch. “You have to trust that.”
“I know...I just thought...I gained weight and you were always leaving—.”
His lips cut her off and this time, his hands slid under her buttocks and he hoisted her up. Instinctively, Kat locked her legs around his waist and clung tight to her husband.
The warm palms of his hands tightened on her bare ass and Kat moaned. Her dress had ridden up and now bunched at her waist, leaving her exposed to him in only the lace thong she’d worn tonight.
“I...don’t...care...about...the...weight.” Each word was followed by a bruising kiss to her lips. As Kat broke away to gasp for breath, Damien turned his attention to her neck, sucking voraciously before nibbling on her tender flesh. He slid her a few inches down his body and pulled her heated center against his hardness. “Do you believe me?”
Although her head was spinning, Kat remembered Sophia. “Damien, the baby...”
“Is in her cradle asleep.”
Confused, Kat looked to both sides. The car seat was gone.
His lips pressed to her neck again. “I took her up while you were admiring the paintings.”
“Oh.”
“Now answer me.”
Still reeling from his lips on her neck and the hard bulge pressed against her, Kat didn’t even remember the question. A sting to her backside made her jump, a shocked squeal leaving her lips.
“Damien!”
As he rubbed her assaulted buttock, he repeated his question. “Do you believe me, baby?”
Again, she took too long to answer because he slapped her other cheek with swift precision. Another squeal, this time ending on a moan, left her lips. “Dam...” The rest of his name died in her mouth as his tongue slid against hers, suckling and licking until she was jelly in his arms.
“You obviously don’t believe me,” Damien growled against her lips. One hand slid between their bodies, easily pulling her thong to the side as fingers invaded her slit. His thumb pressed against her button as two fingers slid deep into her wet channel.
Kat screamed. It had been so long that she’d forgotten how much pleasure he could give her with just his fingers. Almost as soon as his fingers entered her, they pulled out.
Frantic and needing his touch, Kat began pleading with him. “No, please. I believe you.”
Hoarse laughter touched her ear and he released his hold on her. Unwillingly, Kat slid down his body.
“I don’t think you do, baby.” His hand was still between her legs and his fingers lightly teased her swollen lips.
“Damien...” she whined, pressing her face against his shirt as she tried to gyrate against his fingers. “Please!”
“Please, what?” His voice was casual, but the look on his face was the equivalence of a prowling, hungry animal.
Feeling shy at having to ask for it, Kat lowered her eyes from his intense blues to his shirt. “Please...make love to me.”
Hands slid into her hair, pulling her head back. Something dark and dangerous swirled in his gaze and Kat felt a smidgen, only that because she knew her husband well enough to know he would never hurt her, of fear. “I don’t think I can do that tonight, Kat.”
Confused, she only stared at him. He wanted her. She could feel the press of his hard, steely length against her now. Emboldened, she ground her hips against his and spoke in a low purr, “You want me.”
“Yes.” The quick response only further
confused her, but she wasn’t allowed to focus on that for long for Damien’s lips caught hers again. The kiss was harsh, with his mouth forcing the submission of hers. His teeth sunk into her bottom lip, not breaking the skin but hard enough to pinch, before he finally pulled away. “I don’t want to make love to you tonight.” His hand cupped between her legs again. “I want to fuck you.” A finger teased her slit, hovering over her clit but not making contact. “I want to spread you wide and stick my tongue into your pussy.” She gasped. “And when you’re on the verge of orgasm, I want to flip you over and fuck you from behind so I can watch your beautiful ass jiggle as I slide into you.”
Being together as long as they had, Kat had experienced Damien’s dirty talk before. What she hadn’t experienced was this type of intense reaction to it. His kisses had made her wet but as he spoke of the things he wanted to do her, she felt her moisture flowing from her body. Her state of need made her somewhat shy but Damien’s touch and words made desperation override it.
“Will you let me fuck you, Kat?”
She was nodding before he even finished the question. “Yes. Damien...please.”
“Please...?”
“Please fuck me.”
She felt a pinch at her hip and looked down to find Damien holding her torn, black thong in one hand. He allowed it to fall from his fingers to the floor before sweeping her up once more and moving her to the couch. Laying her down, he sucked at her lips hungrily, pulling away only to ask, “What should I fuck you with, Kat?”
“Your cock.” The answer slid from her automatically. Kat’s filter had long since evaporated in the face of this desire.
“Not yet, my greedy wife,” Damien murmured. “I haven’t tasted you in six months and I’m going to take my time relearning every inch of your pussy with my tongue.”
Before she could respond, he’d pulled her hips to the edge of the couch, knelt between them and had his face buried between her legs. Falling back, Kat slid her hand into his hair, spread her legs wide and arched her hips, and began to scream her husband’s name.
Chapter 8
She tasted better than he remembered.
Damien had been a selfish lover before Kat, enjoying the receiving of oral sex, but never quite returning the favor, but with her, he could remain where he was for hours. Kat tasted tangy-sweet, like an overripe tangerine waiting to be plucked. As he pushed his tongue into her tight heat, she cried out and tightened her grip on his hair. A gush of her pleasure coated his tongue and her legs began to tremble, her cries growing louder and more frantic, and he knew she was close.
Lifting one leg over his shoulder and parting her folds with his thumbs, he closed his lips over her pert bud and sucked as he inserted a finger into her tight channel. Her hips bucked as she tried to dislodge him but Damien was tenacious, holding fast until she began to ride his face and finger, and finally as her orgasm rolled through her, she slumped against the sofa. Spent.
With a final lick, he lifted away from her pulsing pussy, pushed up from where he knelt and stared down at his wife. Her eyes were glazed, her mouth partially open to help with her breathing. Leaning down, he kissed her lips softly, before reaching under her body and hoisting her into his arms.
***
“Get out.”
Zaire couldn’t say she was shocked. She’d been waiting for the rude, entitled, judgmental, arrogant ass that was Gavin Locke to make his appearance, and there he was. Rugged good looks and seriously ripped body be damned, the man was still a bastard.
With a scowl, she opened the door, slid both feet out, and fixed her coat.
“You can close the door now.”
Spinning on her heels, she leaned down to face him. “First of all, fuck you. Second, no one asked your pasty ass to drive me, you volunteered. And third, I hope you have a real shitty New Year.”
He smirked and flashed some teeth in a showing that could not be called a smile. “First off, feeling’s mutual. Second, my pasty ass is two shades lighter than yours and you don’t have to hope about that last one, I’ve been having a shitty New Year for the past hour.” Eyeing the door, he continued, “Are you going to close that anytime soon?”
Pulling herself up, she gripped the door preparing to slam it when Gavin called, “You break it, Damien breaks you.”
Right.
This was Damien’s car, the one no one saw because it was one of his prized possessions and he rarely used it. She had no gripe with Damien and definitely owed him for almost ruining his marriage, so she closed the door without slamming it.
Catching sight of Gavin’s satisfied look, she turned away and looked up at the red-lit letters of Bar X calling to her. Zaire hadn’t been here in a while, almost a year, but she seriously needed Uriel’s mixed drinks to take her away from the fuckery of the day she’d just had. Today had had too many surprises and she still needed to wrap her head around them. Later on, after she awoke from the raging hangover she was currently courting, she’d allow herself to think the past hours through.
She’d reached the heavy door and was pulling it open when the sound of a horn made her turn to the noise. Gavin was pulling off and the horn was no doubt a sign of good riddance.
Giving him the one finger salute, Zaire pulled the door open and stepped into chaos.
***
“Oh God! Yes! Damien!”
Her throat was raw, her voice almost gone, but Kat couldn’t help her screaming. She’d tried to muffle it before by biting the pillow, but her husband had long since tossed most of them from the bed.
“You like that, baby?” Damien pressed his uncovered erection against her drenched center, teasing as he’d done since undressing and laying her onto their bed.
“Yes! Please, Damien...I need it…need you!”
Instead of giving it to her, he palmed a full, sticky breast, before running his hand to the other. “These are perfect.” Leaning down, he licked before suckling gently, and pulling away. “Tasty.”
Kat felt her milk leak from the tip of her nipple and run down the sides of her breast. It was followed by Damien’s hungry tongue, lapping greedily.
“Please...stop...”
“You want me to stop?” Damien stilled and made to move away, but Kat gripped his hips and shook her head frantically.
“Stop teasing me!”
He chuckled low. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
“You have to be punished.”
“Why?”
“You’ve forgotten already?” His cock parted her folds, sliding over her nub and down to her aching center, but remaining outside of her body. “You misjudged me. Twice. And you walked out on me.”
She sobered as much as she could with the amount of heat pulsing through her body. Gripping his hair, she looked into his eyes and spoke, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Damien.”
His lips captured hers, a passionate but quick joining of the lips, before he replied, “I know you are.”
“Then why are you punishing me?” It came out whiny because Kat was at the edge. If he didn’t give her release, she would run crazy and she was certain of that.
“Do you love me?” His voice was deeper, huskier, and Kat tried to concentrate.
“So much.”
“Do I love you?”
The question confused her at first, but she nodded, keeping her gaze trained on his in the lamp-lit room. She’d wanted complete darkness but Damien had only held her hands above her head as he’d flicked on the lamp. Before she could protest, his hungry eyes were touching every part of her body and before long, his lips were tracing the areas she disliked: the silvery stretch marks marring her belly and hips, the bulge at her waist, the tops of her thick legs. It wasn’t long before Kat had begun to enjoy having the soft light to guide her in her perusal of his body as well.
“How much?”
“Very.”
His hips nestled closer and Kat gasped as the tip of his thick length pressed into her. Her hands instinctively went to his
waist, holding him there like an anchor as she tried to take more into her body.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She spoke immediately, nodding to put emphasis on her words. “Yes, I trust you.”
“Do I trust you?”
“Yes, yes.”
Another inch slid into her and Kat moaned and whimpered, feeling similar to the night she’d lost her virginity to him in her dorm room. It had only been six months, compared to the years they’d been sexually active, and yet, he felt impossibly large again.
“Are you okay?”
Biting her lip, she nodded. Kat knew from experience that she would be. Losing her virginity had been painful—the searing burn, the close-to-bursting fullness, the excruciating pain—but after, there had been such pleasure.
Damien slid forward another inch and she turned her head aside and moaned, both in pain and pleasure. His lips were suddenly over her breasts, alternating between licking and sucking each, and with each jolt of pleasure he fed her more of his cock until at last, he was deeply seated within her.
Only then did he turn his attention to her lips, nibbling on them until she opened for him. His tongue slid in, tasting of her and him, as he languidly kissed her.
“Do I want you?” he whispered against her lips.
She nodded, enjoying the feel of the steely length buried inside of her. He moved slightly, shifting his weight, and Kat moaned softly. Damien pulled back further and came into her again, dragging another moan from her lips.
“Pain or pleasure?” There was concern in his voice.
“Pleasure.” She kissed him. “Don’t stop, Damien. Don’t ever stop.”
Her words must have unleashed something inside of him because Damien caught her leg and lifted it, pressing it upwards and against her torso. He slid deeper and she moaned at the exquisite friction.
As he began to pump his hips into hers, Kat slid her hands to his buttocks, tightened them on his solid glutes, closed her eyes, and let herself feel. It had been too long. She’d missed having this with her husband. She’d missed waking up to him inside her, missed passing out from the releases he gave her.
A New Year's Surprise Page 6