The Odor of Violet
Page 15
“Oh, you startled me. I was just going into town to pick up a few things.” I would offer to take you, but now that Damien has regained his sight I have to make a move on things so I can leave for Scotland.”
Opening the door, she walked back into her office with Jake following in behind her.
“How did it go with you and Damien?” she asked as soon as the door closed behind him.
“It went great. I was beginning to think I was wrong in my assessment of Damien, but when he explained things to me, as only Damien can, he had me convinced his way was the best way. I would not have approached the situation the way he did. I especially would not have allowed Shelly back into my home, but you can’t argue with Damien’s logic. In the end we parted as the firm friends we always have been, regardless of our differences of opinion.”
“Oh Jake,” she said, hugging him. “I’m so happy.”
“Whoa, don’t hug me too hard. I’m very fragile, and you may crack my fragile bones,” he said teasing. “Now that we have this out of the way, I have to go about my boss’s business so I can expedite my move.”
“I know,” she agreed. “I’ll miss you something terrible when you leave. Do you have any idea when that will be?”
“Much sooner than you and I expected, things have changed drastically around here.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, now that Damien has regained his sight, he will have no need for a personal assistant, ergo, there goes your job. My job as accountant will have to be filled. And you and I both know that is not your strong point,” he teased.
“Jake, I had not thought so far ahead. I was so on cloud nine I did not give much thought to the changes that would be taking place here,” she admitted sheepishly. “Sometimes I can be so naive.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Lisa. This is overwhelming news for any normal person, let alone one who is too emotionally involved in the situation to see it objectively.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do without your strong voice of reason,” she told him.
“Why, my dear, you’ll have the strong voice of your new husband to fall back on. By the way, congratulations!”
“Damien told you? I wanted to tell you myself, but I guess he beat me to it.”
“I don’t think it really matters who told me. What matters is that you are happy. Damien appears to be ecstatic. I haven’t seen him this excited about anything or anyone in all the years I’ve known him. You are good for him. I wish you both the best. And you know I’ll only be a phone call away.”
“Oh, Jake,” she said with tears in her eyes, giving him another big hug.
He walked into the room while Jake still had his arms around Lisa, he saw red. “Please take your hands off my wife,” he said, trying his best to keep the anger out of his voice.
“She’s not yet your wife,” Jake said, laughing.
“She will be before you can blink, and too much hugging from you might go to her head, and then she’ll be expecting the same from me,” Damien continued, holding his arms wide open.
Lisa was only too happy to release Jake and walk into Damien’s arms, into her haven. She reached up to give him a kiss on the lip, but he took it further by kissing her back, his mouth artfully searching then demanding until she opened up to him.
“Get a room, you two,” Jake said with a smile in his voice as he walked out of the room.
Twenty-Four
“You do realize that I no longer have a job, Damien. What will I do with all the free time I’ll have on my hands?”
“Who said you’ll be having free time on your hands? I intend to keep you very busy,” he informed her with a sheepish grin.
“This I’ve got to see,” she replied.
“Well, let me begin the way I intend to continue,” he said as he caressed her with his hot gaze.
“You are not thinking what I think you are thinking,” she said, laughing up at him.
“Want me to show you what I’m thinking?” he said with smoldering eyes.
Damien released her as he stepped back and took off his sweater and T-shirt revealing the exquisitely muscled physique that had driven her mad with longing. His hand went to his belt, and he looked up at her, waiting for her to begin her own striptease, which is what it was, at the slow pace he was moving.
She stepped out of her shoes and removed her jacket and tee. She was wearing her red push-up bra, one of her few luxuries. She looked over at him as he removed his belt. His erection was very obvious. She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, and her breasts sprung free, the nipples stiff from excitement and the cool air in the room.
Dropping his jeans, Damien’s erection jutted straight out in front of him, the slight weight of it pulling it down a bit. She devoured him with her eyes. This was a gorgeous man. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he wanted her, wanted her enough to offer her marriage.
“You are so beautiful,” Damien whispered, kissing her face, eyes, nose, and finally returning to her mouth. As he finished undressing her, he took his time, kissing every inch of her skin that was revealed as he removed her pants and then the flimsy piece of red fabric she wore that passed for panties.
He seemed like a kid in a candy shop, moving from her breasts to the patch of curls between her thighs. “How beautiful you are, my darling. I love you, Lisa. You are my heart.”
His exploring mouth and hands were everywhere, touching, feeling, sniffing, and kissing her until she was almost incoherent with need. The pleasure surged through her in response to the clever manipulation of his mouth, which seemed to be all over her at once. She was overcome with need, and tears began forming behind her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she looked up at him. Just then he picked her up and carried her over to her desk.
Bracing his legs, he lifted her and brought her down on his protruding erection. The weight of the downward pull impaled her until he was buried inside her.
Lisa stared up at him, shaken to the depths of her soul. For them, there could be nothing less than love, nothing less than forever.
“I love you Damien,” she whispered. “I love you now and forever.”
“And I you, my darling,” he responded as he proceeded to take her to that now familiar place where all she knew was sweet pleasure and unending sensation. She was once again reduced to chanting her mantra: “My darling, my darling, my darling!”
And this time he answered: “Yes, my love,” as they claimed their release together.
Afterward, her legs were weak from the blood returning to them. He held her close until she was able to stand fully on her own.
There were more questions that would be asked, answers to be found, and plans to be made for their upcoming wedding. But for now, all that could wait as she stood in his arms, wrapped in a sense of possibility and hope.
Epilogue
The blustery fall wind whistled against the church window as Damien and Lisa stood before the clergy exchanging their wedding vows.
It was a small occasion, with only close family and friends. Her family was there; even her sister had put in an appearance. She was happy to see all them in one place at the same time, and the fact that it was on this day, the most important day in her life, made it doubly special.
Damien didn’t have anyone from his side of the family, but what he lacked in family, he made up for in friends.
When it came time in the ceremony to exchange vows, Damien surprised her by adding his own. “Lisa,” he said, “I give you my life, my love, my heat, but above all else, I give you my body as I take yours as my own. So as long as I breathe, I belong to you.” There was not a dry eye in the church afterward.
Lisa was happy Jake was able to attend their wedding. She knew it would not have been the same without him. She felt her meeting, falling in love, and marrying Damien had all come about through Jake. Had he not selected her from among all the other applicants, she doubted she would have met the love of her life. When she’d told this to Dam
ien, though, he’d assured her that he’d hand selected her out of the lot, himself, without any help from Jake. Therefore, she should show him all her gratitude and he was never tired of accepting and demanding it.
The ceremony complete, Lisa looked out into the small gathering, which consisted of only her and Damien’s family and friends. She sighed in contentment. This was the best day of her life. With one hand intertwined with Damien’s and the other laying protectively on her tummy, which held the baby they were expecting in seven months, they walked down the aisle, into their new life together.
Ju Ephraime 3
Read on for a sneak peak at another exciting and sensual romance from
Ju Ephraime
A WONDERFUL PIECE
OF
DARK MAHOGANY
Coming February 2013
Copyright© 2012 by Julia E. Antoine
A WONDERFUL PIECE
OF
DARK MAHOGANY
It was Friday, the rush hour had started, and everyone was making his or her way home from the city, and so was Millie. She was rushing to get to the bus stop to get her favorite window seat on the bus. She was in no mood to be standing on the bus because she was “dead on her feet,” to coin a phrase. She certainly appreciated the meaning of the phrase today because she was almost in physical pain, exhausted from the constant lugging of huge files at the law firm where she currently worked.
With all these inconsequential thoughts chasing each other in her head, and rushing to get to the bus stop on time, she was not concentrating on where she was going. She was traveling at breakneck speed, and had she been paying attention, she would have slowed down when she got to the corner. But she rounded the corner at the same speed with which she was traveling and ran into a wall. The wall appeared to have arms because it held onto her to prevent them both from toppling onto the pavement.
Millie felt the impact of her connection with the wall all the way to the soles of her feet. It was a miracle she was still standing; however, she was still struggling to regain her balance when she looked up to see who or what had saved her from certain injury. She found herself staring into the smiling face of the most attractive man she had seen outside of a magazine cover or the television screen.
By any normal comparison, Millie was tall for a woman. She was five foot nine inches in her stocking feet. She was almost eye level with this gorgeous man. Very few men from her native island were able to match her height. Most of the men averaged five foot seven or thereabouts, so, compared to them, Millie was tall. She had long limbs and wore size ten shoes and had the distinguishing features of the native Indians who lived on the island before the Europeans invaded it.
Her mother and father were of mixed heritage. Thus, Mille was a “mongrel” if there ever was one because she was not fully black or fully white nor fully Indian. She’d been told she was unique, with a presence that was felt long after she had left a room. This came naturally. She did not have to work at it. Yet, she felt inadequate looking into the face smiling back at her. The sensuous pull of his lips over extremely white, perfectly formed teeth struck her as perfection. She could not help thinking....My God, what a wonderful piece of dark mahogany.