Damien responds, “Bane, don’t look in Rebecca’s room until after the party. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think she would have hidden her diary in a secret cutout in her closet. It’s where we hid all our secrets as kids.”
“Yes, sir.”
And just like that, Bane gets out of the car, and our door opens.
Damien squarely looks at me. “Alli, I mean it. I want you to talk to me first.”
I nod and swallow. Here we go.
I give Damien my hand, and he returns a reassuring squeeze as we exit the car to a waiting Meredith.
Where in the world is Jon?
Their sidekick Cassandra is nowhere to be found.
At least for the time being.
Meredith walks up, animatedly talking with her hands. “Oh, my dear, dear son, we’re so glad to have you home finally.”
“Mother.”
I don’t see the sadness I normally see in Damien when he sees his parents. Between Rebecca’s pregnancy and the payoff to keep it a secret when she disappeared, I think he’s had enough. It’s one thing to mistreat him, but to mistreat someone he loves, such as his sister or myself, takes it to a whole new level.
“Oh, there’s no reason to be so formal,” she says.
I try talking to them again. “Mrs. Wales, it’s lovely to see you again. Thanks for having me in your home. It’s beautiful.”
His mom gives me a slight smile as if it’s painful to form as she nods. “Thank you.” She turns her attention back to Damien.
Well, at least, she was a little nicer this time.
“Let’s see to your bags. The dinner party is at eight, so you’ll only have a few hours to get ready since you arrived later than you said. I have you set up in your old room. Damien, I’d like to speak to you for a moment about some arrangements this evening that I’d prefer to keep as a surprise.”
He looks to me, and I smile.
This should be interesting.
As he walks a few feet, I go to get my camera bag from the backseat of the limo, and then I turn to see them talking. Damien’s back is to me, and his mother has a perfect smile in place. The way he stiffly holds his shoulders and stands erect tells me he’s pissed and on the verge of seething. His arm swipes through the air, and his mother momentarily blanches. When he turns, he closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and walking back to me.
Looks like the sweetness of his mother is still just a charade.
His pace is clipped as he makes his way to me and grabs my hand. “Let’s go to our room and unpack, baby.”
“Sounds good.”
Mentally, in order to remain calm, I keep repeating to myself, The way his mother acts doesn’t matter. This is our life. They have no control over us.
She walks up to us and ever so sweetly says, “Let’s get inside, so everyone can be presentable by the time the party starts.” She turns and starts toward to the door.
As we pass through the threshold, Meredith states, “Oh, and I have invited some of your dearest friends, son. I just love dinner parties.”
I want to roll my eyes, but I refrain and keep it to a mental one only. I wonder where this nastiness stems from. I am almost glad that I barely register on her radar. Deep down though, I would have loved to have had a loving mother-in-law to bond with and be close with, like I was with my mom. However, Damien is worth the trade any day.
We are about to begin climbing the stairs.
Out of nowhere, his father grumbles behind us, “Damien, I would like a word with you.”
Oh geez, what now? Does this family not have any tact?
Damien responds, “Let us get settled. I’ll try to come down later and find you, Father.”
If there were any more ice in Damien’s voice, I’d have hypothermia. His father’s irritation is discernable, but he nods as we continue to make our way to his old bedroom.
As we are headed upstairs, Damien puts his hand on the lower part of my back as he whispers, “I’m sorry about that.”
We stop on the landing, and I look back to see his parents are gone from the bottom of the stairs.
“Damien, it’s not your fault. What did they want?”
“For you, my ‘friend,’ to sleep in another room because Cassandra is staying the night.”
My eyes go a little wide as that was honestly just a little unexpected, to say the least.
He continues, “Obviously, that was a fuck no, and my mother has been warned that we will leave without a moment’s hesitation.”
Taking a deep calming breath, I look him in the eye as I answer, “We need to stay. I’m glad you didn’t have us leave. I would have liked to have a good relationship with your parents, but it’s their choice not to accept me. If they want to live in their little world where I’m just your friend, that’s fine because I’d say I have some great benefits to go along with our friendship. Don’t ya think?”
I wag my eyebrows for extra effect. He only chuckles and smiles at my response even though I know he’s still seething.
We get to the door, and I try to lighten the mood with one of the ways he deals with this type of stress.
“So, will I get to christen this room as your wife?”
He gives me a wink as he opens the door. “I’d say that’s a definite possibility.”
Damien walks into the room and closes the door behind him.
Gah, he’s not taking the bait like he normally does. I look around the room, trying to form some kind of plan on how I’m going to get him to spring into action and take me. His room has his football and baseball trophies from high school. It looks like he might have underplayed how good he actually was at sports back in the day. His room is done in blues and blacks that match his football team colors. It’s fairly plain and boring. There’s a queen-sized bed, and a chair and a desk in the corner. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this seems kind of nerdish with all the books in the bookshelves lining the room.
I turn around, and he’s watching me carefully.
“Not what you expected?” he asks.
“Um…no, I didn’t expect it to be so studious. Maybe I could teach you something here if you’re such a good student.”
I can see his demeanor change. He exudes sexuality, and then all of a sudden, he reels it back in.
Damn it.
“Alli, you’re sore. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Oh, this is why he’s being so restrained. He’s right. I’m very well used at this point, but if he’s about to meet his dad, he needs a way to ease some of the tension that’s been building. Quite frankly, I am a very willing participant. He’s not going to make love to me right now because he’s going to want to after the party tonight for sure.
I guess it’s time for Plan B.
“Damien, are you sore?”
He looks confused, and I want to giggle, but I remain impassive and serious as if I think he really would be.
“No, I’m not sore. Alli, I see that look in your eyes, and you are going to have to wait, baby.”
“That’s fine. I can wait.”
I start walking toward him, and he actually starts backing up a little. It is so comical to watch Damien trying to avoid sex. He has no idea where this is going. I reach him and lean up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss.
“Damien, you’re stiff. I’m not going to hurt you. You said I needed to wait, so I’m going to wait.”
He gives me a knowing laugh. “Alli, you are up to something. Trust me, I have every reason to be stiff if you’re scheming against me.”
I make a shocked face. “Damien, there’s no way that little ole me could scheme against you.”
He’s standing flush against the doorframe and is holding his hand out to put a little space between us. I start giggling.
“Alli, just go back to the bed. I see that look in your eyes, and the answer is no. We will both be satisfied this evening.”
Giving my best puppy-dog face, I respond, “I just want a hug. Surely, you c
an’t deny me that.”
He’s hesitant as he drops his arm and raises it repeatedly before leaving them down. That’s when I go in for the kill. I push myself into his body, truly just giving him a hug for a minute or so until I start to feel him relax. He can’t see my face, but my grin is larger than life right now because I’m about to be victorious. I start to release him from the hug when I put my hand on his dick. As I begin to massage him, he immediately hardens.
Groaning and trying to find the strength to stop me, he says, “Alli, that is not waiting.”
Continuing my quest, I unbutton and unzip his pants, freeing him so that I can continue to stroke him. “I’m giving you a lesson in illegal motion.”
I start backing us toward the bed as I touch him the entire time. I push him down onto the mattress and immediately go to my knees. I lick his entire shaft while simultaneously moving my hands up the inside of his leg. When I reach the top, I swirl my tongue along his tip as he emits some precum. I love how he tastes, manly and musky all at the same time. My other hand goes to brush his balls, moving them between my fingers. An animalistic groan emerges deep from his chest.
As I take his hardened length all the way into my mouth, I hear a hiss as I start to increase my tempo.
“Yes, Alli. Faster, baby.”
I start to bob faster as he laces his hands in my hair and increases my tempo. I continue to massage him with my hands. When he can take no more, he thrusts his hips forward, and I feel his warmness spread in my mouth. I swallow all he gives me. Bringing him pleasure is one of the best feelings.
He collapses back onto the bed and breathlessly says, “You’re incredible.”
I crawl up on the bed and wrap myself around him. I lie there, listening to his heartbeat, and I can tell he’s much calmer now.
“So are you. See, I wasn’t being that bad. You sure did assume the worst in me.”
He pulls me against him as he strokes his fingers up and down my arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps.
“Baby, if you had your sights set on something else, we both know you would have gotten it.”
I just smile and stare into those enigmatic blue eyes that take my breath away.
“What do you want to do this afternoon?”
He needs to go see his dad, regardless if it’s only to get closure to their relationship.
Tracing his tattoo, I try to think of something that would allow him to take care of seeing his dad. “Well, I figured that I would just stay in here and edit my photos from yesterday until it was time to get ready. What did you want to do? I know your dad wants to talk to you, which might not be so bad.”
He lets out a long breath. “We’ll see. You know you can come with me.”
“Damien, I’ll come if you want me to, but maybe it will help smooth things over if you talk some things out with just the two of you.”
He takes a deep breath. “While you’re editing, I’ll go ahead and talk to my father to get it over with. Then, I’ll be back in time to get ready for the party. Are you okay with that? Security would be outside the entire time.”
I know he feels like he’s abandoning me, but he shouldn’t.
“Sounds good. Take as much time as you need. I will stay in this room. Don’t worry.”
He gives me a kiss on the forehead, and then he gets up from the bed. He takes a small jar from the bookshelf and slips it between the curtain and the window. He looks at me, and I know that he’s signaling Martin. Remembering Bane’s earlier words, I don’t say a thing as I dig my laptop out of my bag.
“I’ll be back, baby.”
“See you soon.”
He gives me a sweet kiss and then leaves the room. He seems less stressed out than when we first got here. It’s amazing how much sex can subdue a person. I just hope it’s not a terrible meeting with his dad. I’m sure his dad is going to try to convince him to leave me, saying Cassandra is the one, but it doesn’t worry me because I know he loves me.
I’m fresh out of the shower and finishing up edits when Damien comes back through the door from visiting with his dad.
“Hey, how did it go?”
He rubs his forehead a few times before looking at me. I give him a smile.
He rolls his shoulders as he responds, “Fine. He wanted to know if I’d invest in his company and let his firm take over matters for the team.”
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say to that.
He comes and sits beside me, grabbing my hand. “Alli, what are your thoughts? This is our team now.”
Filling my cheeks with air, I think about it as I look at him. It’s a little overwhelming that he’s asking my opinion on things regarding a multimillion-dollar business. I let the air out and say, “Damien, I hardly know anything about what goes into all of this. I don’t think I’m—”
“I want your thoughts. Just tell me your honest opinion.”
He’s penetrating me with that deep, soul-searching gaze.
“I think…I think that if his firm is the best for the team, then yes. If it’s more out of some type of obligation, I think it will make matters worse. My biggest concern would be leaving the Cassandra drama out of all of it. It’s stress we don’t need. But I’ll support you in whatever decision you make.”
He gives me a kiss. “That was my thought also.” He pats my leg as he gets up. “I’m going to take a shower to get ready.”
As he walks toward the bathroom, he pulls off his shirt, and it takes every ounce of my willpower not to follow him in there.
I distract myself with deciding on what I’m going to wear tonight. Rummaging through the luggage, I decide on a fitted gold-and-silver sequined dress with a delicate swirl pattern that catches the eye and leaves me enchanted. It has a three-quarter length sleeve and hits a few inches above my knee. I pair the dress with the diamond earrings and bracelet I got for my something new on our wedding day, and they give it the perfect touch. For my hair, I do a waterfall braid. Since the braid is loose, I apply a generous amount of hairspray.
Damien emerges from the bathroom, and his hair is still damp. His pants and shirt are unbuttoned, and I’m literally salivating at the sight even though I see him all the time.
He goes to the dresser to grab his watch and says, “Alli, that is not a good look to have if you don’t want to get your hair all messed-up.”
I lick my lips, and I am about to respond when there is a knock at the door. Like me, he’s irritated at the disturbance.
Damien goes to the door and speaks, “What is it?”
The voice is muffled on the other side. I think it’s Bane.
“Sir, Mrs. Wales received a package that was delivered to the front door.”
That’s strange.
Damien turns to me. “Are you expecting anything?”
I shake my head as I say, “No, I don’t even know the address here.”
He briskly opens the door, and the hairs on my neck rise as I wonder if it’s from the killer. The door is barely cracked open.
“Sir, all preliminary sweeps have been done,” Bane says.
Bane’s voice lowers, and I cannot make out what is being said now.
What in the world could it be?
An envelope comes through the small opening of the door, and Damien takes it.
If it’s to me, then it’s probably something disturbing, and quite frankly, I don’t want to see it. Damien looks inside and slightly blanches.
Yep, decision made. I am definitely not looking at whatever is in that envelope. I simply don’t care. I have learned my lesson from that damn video. Damien and Bane speak for a few more seconds, he hands him back the envelope, and then the door closes.
Standing there, I wait for Damien to say something. He turns to face me, watching my reaction closely. From the look on his face, I know it’s the killer, and internally, I start to shake. I keep telling myself that there’s nothing to freak out about. I’m totally safe. Part of me wants to panic because this psycho is starting to contact
me so frequently, but I don’t want Damien to pull the plug and have us leave early. We need the diary Martin spoke about.
Clearly, Damien is waiting for my response.
In a level voice, I ask, “Is it from him?”
“Yes, he sent a picture for you.”
I feel like I’m under scrutiny with how intensely Damien’s watching me.
Must.
Remain.
Calm.
I clear my throat, so my voice comes out strong. “I don’t want to see it, Damien. I learned my lesson with that video. It doesn’t matter.”
There, I think I pulled calm and collective off pretty well. His blue eyes are searching my features as he grabs my hand and leads me to the bed.
Damien starts stroking my hand in those soothing circles. “Alli, I don’t think I could show you the pictures even if you asked. I had no idea they even existed.” He pauses and brings my hand up to his lips. “I need to tell you something.”
I start shaking my head. “No, you don’t. It’s fine.” I do not want any details.
“Alli, right now, the one thing that this asshole has over me is that you don’t understand some of my past. If I tell you now before he gets through, like he did with the video, I think you’ll be more prepared.”
I close my eyes briefly. I do not want to do this, especially here. I ask barely above a whisper, “Is this worse than the video?” I can’t help how small my voice comes out. Remembering that horrid video makes my gut clench.
“Yes.”
I feel my eyes snap open and go wide at what he says. How could it be worse than watching him have sex with someone?
There’s sorrow and regret in Damien’s eyes. “I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like what I have to say.” He starts rubbing his forehead. “Son of a bitch! I hate that he’s making me do this.” He takes a deep breath. “Cassandra and I had what you would call an open relationship.”
Open relationship? What the hell is an open relationship?
Love Me (Trust Series #2) Page 20