Damen removed her bra, and he made sure his hands were right there to capture her breasts as they tumbled out. “Hell, yes.”
He laid her back on the bed and removed her skirt. Now all she wore were panties and nothing else. Her belly was exposed and her slender limbs. His gaze raked her a moment, and then he took her panties off. She chewed on her bottom lip. Once he had tossed everything aside, his attention was back on her naked body, and he inched her legs apart a little. She felt her wet pussy opening to him.
“You’re thinner than before,” he commented.
“I—”
“Shh. So damn beautiful, Heaven.” He bent low toward her core and kissed her bud. She trembled, and he looked up at her. “Are you nervous?”
“No, Damen, I told you. I’ve never been afraid of you, and the way you’re so careful makes me know I’m right to feel that way. I want to make you feel good too.”
“I haven’t begun to pleasure you,” he said, “but you’ve already started with me. I’m about to burst right here. Looking at you… Your skin is incredible, your sweet smell. I remember how you taste too.”
Her eyes widened. “You do not.”
“Like honey.” He dipped low and licked along her slit. She yelped in pleasure, and he sat up grinning. “See? Delicious.”
“Whatever.”
He climbed off the bed and stood between her legs. Heaven sat up quickly to brush his hands away from his pants. She wanted to do it, and he let her. When the button was open, she lowered the zipper, her entire being strained to see his cock. Damen didn’t need judging. She remembered him too, that his dick was thick and long, and best of all that he took his time with it to please them both.
Pushing his pants and boxers down at the same time, Heaven got a face full of his big cock, and kissed the tip. Damen moaned and pushed fingers into her hair. “You don’t have to do that.”
She ignored him and sucked his cock between her lips. If they had never been together and she didn’t know him well, she wouldn’t have done it the first time. This was Damen, and she already knew how much she enjoyed tasting the throbbing length, how he made those strangled noises in the back of his throat and how he struggled to hold on and not come too fast.
“Ah, Heaven, your mouth, baby. You’re killing me.”
She knew she was as she took him deep into her throat, sucked hard, and let him slide out. Pumping his erection from base to just under the head, she knew what he liked. Heaven licked the head and pulled it between her lips, and then she let it pop from her mouth to look up at him.
“Do you still like it like this?”
“Yes, but let me eat you, baby. I want to hear the sounds you make.”
“Not until I’m finished.”
Damen’s hand dropped onto her shoulder. She thought he would push her back to make her stop, but he seemed to lose all strength. He hissed between his teeth, and she felt his balls growing tighter already. Satisfied that she had full control of this sexy man, she worked him until he barked a warning, one that meant nothing to her because she drank his come without a second thought.
Heaven raised her head afterward, smirking at Damen. “You bum, you expected it.”
“I didn’t.”
“Pineapples.”
“I might have eaten one or two.”
She laughed. They had both learned he could flavor his come with what he ate, and she had enjoyed the taste of pineapples. Heaven kissed the tip of his cock again. “Just for that…”
He leaned down and raised her up from the side of the bed to rest her in the center. His shoulder nudged her legs apart. “Just for that I’m going to enjoy my favorite honey.”
“Damen.”
He locked onto her clit, and she came up off the bed. Pleasure fired along her veins and stirred her core muscles. She whimpered and grasped both sides of his head as he sucked her bud into his mouth. Heaven rode his face, pumping against it. She cried out his name and teetered too soon onto an orgasm.
“No, please, not yet.”
She worried for an instant he might think she wanted him to stop, but Damen knew her body. He stuck a finger carefully into her heat and wiggled it while he used the tip of his tongue to flick her clit. She bit off a scream, but there was no stopping the climax. The powerful sensations crashed over her, sweeping her along. Wave after wave swept through her, and she was left at the mercy of Damen’s tongue. Just when she grew sensitive to the touch, he raised his head and kissed along her thighs.
“Damen.”
He looked at her. “Feel good?”
“Yes, so good.”
“There’s more where that came from.”
“I want you in me, please.”
“I’m not hard yet.”
“Can I help you?”
He moved up the bed to lie beside her, and they stared into each other’s eyes. Damen flattened a palm against her mouth. She grasped his shaft. Slowly, she began to stroke it, and she felt the muscle stiffening with each movement. Her head dipped forward, and she shut her eyes. Damen nuzzled his cheek against hers. Together, they used their hands to bring each other to aching need, and then Damen rolled her to her back.
He grabbed a condom from his pants pocket and worked it into place. Then he spread her legs and nestled between them. Her heart pounded, and she found she was a little nervous. When her fingernails dug into his arms, he stilled. She didn’t want him to stop, but he moved off her.
“Damen.”
“Come here. Climb on top of me.”
She gazed at him. “Really?”
“Really. Sit up. You’re in control, okay?”
Funny how he told her she was in control, but he was telling her what to do. She did climb atop him though and straddled his hips. Damen massaged her thighs, and she took her time sinking down toward his cock. Her folds parted, and the thick head eased inside her. Heaven’s jaw went slack, and then she gritted her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut until she was full of him.
They stayed still a few moments, and she knew by Damen’s pants he worked to keep calm. He waited for her to start moving, and she did, rocking on his dick. Sex with Damen was better than every other man she had ever met. If it was his attitude alone, it would be enough, but his big rod drove her insane. The way he used it, pushing her up and letting her down. Over and over, they moved together, pumping and grinding. Heaven felt her pussy getting wetter. She cried out his name, and came hard and with such intensity she collapsed on his chest.
Damen held her in his arms, moving in and out of her pussy. After a long while, he tensed and whispered her name before he found his release. Heaven lay on his chest until he insisted he prove himself again and again.
Chapter Seven
“He’s a slippery one. I’ll give you that.”
Heaven moved up behind Stefan and Damen with the drinks they had each asked for and handed one to each. “Who’s a slippery one?”
Stefan smiled his thanks. “Someone Damen had his bodyguard following. He keeps losing him.”
“Shut up, Stefan,” Damen ordered.
Stefan scoffed. “You sound like Creed.”
Heaven tensed, and Damen touched her cheek in a fleeting caress. “Not what you think. Forget about it.”
“Are you sure?” She looked from one man to the other, but since Damen had warned his brother to be quiet, neither seemed ready to tell her what they were talking about. Well, it didn’t matter anyway. She didn’t want to hear what his bodyguard was doing. Since that first time, she hadn’t seen more than a glimpse of him. The man was big, but he must seriously be part ninja or something. Good riddance.
“Thanks for the drink,” Damen said. He turned to Stefan. “Now, about your brother.”
“My brother?” Stefan laughed.
“He’s yours when he’s being an asshole.”
“Watch your mouth, Damen. You’re in front of a lady.”
Damen swallowed his drink in a couple gulps. “She is a lady, but Heaven knows how my
mouth works.”
She dropped the damn tray on the floor. Damen knew good and well what he insinuated when he said it like that, and probably everybody else did too. Not that he made a secret of wanting her now that they were lovers. They hadn’t admitted to anything, but he seemed more apt to show it off, especially in front of Tiff. Then Heaven had to deal with that jealous heifer’s attitude.
Heaven stomped away from Damen before he could say something else, glad they were at least closed to the public right now. She entered the kitchen on the tail end of Tiff’s complaint to the plongeur. “This place is the most unprofessional restaurant I have ever worked in.”
Rene, the executive chef, spun away from the stove, a rarity to the point that Heaven sometimes wondered if she could pick him out of a lineup. Maybe if the group had their backs turned, she could finger him.
“Then, chère,” Rene growled, “perhaps this is not the place for you!”
“Ohhh,” the plongeur sing-songed, “don’t insult Rene’s kingdom. He might slice you down, chick.”
Tiff scowled at them and then tossed a look of pure dislike at Heaven. She flounced past on her way out of the kitchen.
“Maybe she’ll move on to Stefan now that Damen’s taken,” someone said.
“Or back to Creed because who knows what’s going on with Shada and him,” another added.
Heaven paid them little mind and walked back to the employee’s change room. Her shift had ended, and before the next started, she needed to get out of there. Maybe she would visit Gideon’s class tonight to see where he was in his self-defense training and whether it looked like he was enjoying himself. She didn’t like the idea of it, but if he wanted to be strong and able to take care of himself, she didn’t want to stand in the way because of her own fears.
After slipping out of the restaurant while her lover was preoccupied with something else, she headed toward the community center rather than home. She smiled, thinking of her little scrawny boy. So many times, she had assured him he would grow bigger with time. She believed it based on his dad and his uncles. They were all three tall, strapping men. Her dad wasn’t anything to sneeze at either, even though her mother had been average for a woman. Either way, Heaven loved her baby boy. If he were a midget, she’d adore him. She laughed at that thought and shook her head.
I should probably tell him I’m coming in case he gets embarrassed. She dug into her purse for her phone but couldn’t find it. Her pockets were empty too, and she cursed. The phone was in her apron at work. She’d meant to take it out. Now she had to go back. Well, whatever. She had only walked a couple blocks.
Heaven doubled back to Marquette’s and walked inside. Almost the entire crowd of employees stood in the dining room. She wondered if there was another meeting taking place and no one had bothered telling her about it.
“What’s up?” she said and moved closer to the group. The dish washer looked back at her, and her eyes widened in fear and shock. Heaven frowned. What the heck was that about?
Curiosity got the best of her, so she pushed through toward the front, and then she spotted all three brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, facing someone else—someone squat but with muscles that could bring down an elephant. At least she had always thought so, and Leon worked as a bouncer in a New York nightclub. Heaven’s eyes burned. Her heart constricted in disbelief. Why was he here, not just in New Orleans, but in Marquette’s?
“Look,” Leon said, before Heaven could speak, “all I want to know is where Heaven and my son are. I already stopped by her apartment, but she and Gideon weren’t there.”
“Gideon?” Damen said. Heaven felt her world falling apart.
Leon sneered at Damen. “Yeah, Gideon Burk. He’s my son. I thought I convinced Heaven not to come down here with some lame ass story that Gideon is your boy just to get some money, but then I found out she came down here anyway.”
An eruption of gasps rose from everyone gathered around. Heaven found her voice and she burst through the crowd to stand before Damen. “That’s a lie!”
He stared at her in silence.
Creed’s eyes aimed at her were two chips of emerald ice. “Which part, Heaven?”
She shook so badly, she couldn’t form words, and she knew it made her look guilty. Leon was a bastard. He knew they had no such conversation about her coming to New Orleans to ask for money for Gideon.
“I told him who Gideon’s dad was,” she mumbled, and regretted it every day since.
“Yeah, years go,” Leon said.
“Last year.” She hadn’t had the guts to tell him she was leaving then, but that was when she knew she would. Somehow something inside her had grown strong enough to resist Leon. Twelve tormented months followed until she had made the move. That was after so much time under Leon’s cruel fists.
“Oh, last year?” Creed gave a sharp, angry laugh. “It took you twelve months to come up with your plan, or was it to perfect it, to line up everyone you needed for references, get in here, work with my brother, have an affair with him.”
“An affair!” Leon rounded on her, his face an angry mask. All she saw was him coming at her, punishing her again like he always did in her room where nobody was there to help her.
She stumbled backward, and the tears she had kept control of sprang from her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Swiping at them, she bypassed the crowd while still putting distance between her and Leon.
“Heaven,” Damen said, but she couldn’t figure out from his tone or his expression if he hated her and believed the lies Leon told like his brother did.
“Leave her, Damen,” Creed ordered. “Heaven, get whatever you have in the back, and take it with you. You’re fired.”
Humiliated, she ran around everybody to head toward the back. Her throat had closed, and she couldn’t even stand up for herself. The more she thought of that fact, the wilder her emotions ran, making it harder to put together two words.
“Wait a minute, Heaven,” Leon snapped. “You’re not going anywhere. I want to know where my boy is.”
Leon was putting on a real show. Not only had he never cared one bit about Gideon, she and Leon hadn’t been together long enough for him to think Gideon was his. He knew it, but he wanted to crush her dream of having her baby know his daddy. She hated Leon and wished she had never met him.
She had almost reached the kitchen door when he grabbed her arm and jerked her around. Heaven screamed.
“Get your hands off her,” Damen barked. She had never heard such a tone from him. He charged toward them, as the same time, calling, “Guy!”
The next instant, Leon’s punishing grip was gone, and he was on the floor huffing and curled in the fetal position, clutching his stomach. Heaven looked up from huge, meaty Leon to bigger Guy hovering over him.
“Ms. Heaven, are you okay?” Guy asked.
She’d never heard his voice, but it matched his size. Shrinking away in full on panic mode, she just stared at him. Damen appeared in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. He dipped his head and touched his lips to her cheek. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine. Shh, Heaven. You’re safe.”
Why was he still being nice? Didn’t he believe Leon? She didn’t know what to think or do, and she was so damn embarrassed. Of course, that wasn’t enough, because she clutched his shirtsleeves and promptly hurled all over him.
* * * *
“I’m fine, Damen,” Heaven said, balling tissue in her hand and standing on the street outside Marquette’s. She had already cleaned herself up, and apparently he and his brothers kept a change of clothes and had access to a shower. Heaven had refused to use it, wanting to get home, so she had made use of the staff bathroom and changed into her work clothes. After all, most of the damage had been done to Damen. “I need to get going so I can…”
“Pick up Gideon?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
She turned away from him, hating that she still felt shaky but hoping it didn’t show. Leon wasn’t in the restaura
nt when she came out of the bathroom, and she didn’t know where he was. “Leon said he stopped by my place before coming here. I didn’t give him my address, but if he did find out where I live, I don’t want him there.”
Damen started in alarm. “Is Gideon there?”
“No, he’s at the rec center this afternoon.”
“Then I’ll escort you,” he insisted.
“I don’t—”
Damen blocked her path when she moved forward. “Is Leon the man who hurt you, Heaven?”
She didn’t answer.
“I know I said I wouldn’t bring it up again, but when I said that I thought our pasts were our pasts. This situation shows me I was wrong.”
Her energy didn’t allow her to argue with him. He was probably saying his thoughts about her were wrong. The positive direction she had found coming here faded into darkness.
“Answer me, Heaven.” He spoke gently.
“Yes, Leon used to hit me. There, you happy? I admitted it.” To her disgust, tears fell from her eyes again. She scrubbed them away hard and angry. Damen pulled her hand down and held onto it. She tugged, but he wouldn’t let go, and when a car drew up to the curb, he opened the back door and insisted she get in.
“Give Guy the address,” Damen said.
She hesitated, but it looked like they weren’t going anywhere until she did. Heaven mumbled it, and the bodyguard nodded. Damen kept her plastered to his side with an arm around her shoulders. She turned her head and stared out the opposite window.
Before they could pull off, Creed appeared on the sidewalk and tapped on the window. Damen pressed the button to lower the window. Heaven refused to look at Creed, but she felt his animosity. “Are you seriously going to believe this woman, Damen?”
“Talk to you later, bro.”
“Damen! It’s not like we haven’t had to field bullshit like this before.”
Heaven grew cold. She hugged herself and dipped her head lower. The whir of the window motor sounded, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Damen give Guy the signal to leave. Guy turned right onto Bourbon Street, heading back in the direction of her home.
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