She had rounded the corner where Damian’s building came into sight when she saw him, and she quickly stepped on the brake so that he wouldn’t see her. He stood in the doorway of his apartment with his arms around a woman—a very attractive, leggy blonde, from what Kelly could see of her. They hugged each other for a minute, but to Kelly, it felt like forever, and then Damian backed into his apartment and closed the door.
Kelly sat frozen in her car, scowling at the stranger, who walked confidently and gracefully down the stairs in her short skirt and heels and then strode to the Mercedes that was parked two spaces away from Damian’s truck. The woman was even more attractive from the front—the kind of woman Kelly would have been jealous of in her younger days, before she had learned to embrace her ethnicity. All that long, straight blonde hair that framed the woman’s lightly tanned face, those expressive blue eyes, and that smile full of perfectly aligned white teeth. Yes, the woman was smiling as she unlocked the door to her Mercedes and slid inside.
Kelly managed to pull off to the side of the road so that the woman could get by, and they made eye contact as she drove past. The floozy even had the audacity to give Kelly a friendly wave, which Kelly did not return. Her blood was boiling when she pulled into her parking space and shut off the engine. She considered barging into Damian’s apartment and demanding an explanation, but she decided that she should probably try to simmer down first. Instead, she marched up the stairs to her apartment and slammed the door behind her. If Damian had been peeking out his window, he might have seen her display of aggression and realize that he’d been caught.
“UGH!” Kelly yelled and threw her purse at the couch. “You idiot!” She wasn’t sure if she meant him or her, but she decided to focus her anger on him for the moment. She was just about to let loose with a stream of swear words when her phone rang from inside her purse. Kelly dug it out, and when she saw Damian’s name on the display, she tossed the phone back on the couch.
“Oh no you don’t, mister! You don’t get to cheat with Blondie and then turn around and call me up like nothing happened! You can just go to…”
The sound indicating that a voicemail message had been left interrupted her rant. She picked up her phone and pressed the button to listen to his message.
Hey, Kell. I can see your car, so why won’t you pick up? I have something to ask you, so give me a call.
“In your dreams!” she yelled and stomped off to her bedroom to change clothes. It was the perfect time to don her MSU sweats, since she planned on staying in—alone. She gathered her hair up in a messy ponytail and scrubbed off her makeup. When she was finished, she realized that she might have scrubbed too hard, because she had ugly red streaks on her cheeks and forehead. Oh well. Nobody’s going to see me tonight anyway!
Kelly was still riled up when she realized that she hadn’t eaten dinner yet. She shuffled into the kitchen and had stuck her head in the refrigerator when the doorbell rang.
“Shit.” There was a small kitchen window above her sink that looked out on the front doorstep. Kelly stuck her head up just enough to peer outside, and sure enough, it was him. She stood there quietly, hoping that Damian would give up and go away, but the doorbell rang again, and it sounded more insistent that time.
Kelly waited a few beats and then stuck her head up again, but this time, Damian’s face stared right back at her. She was so startled that she let out a little screech and was met with Damian’s hearty laughter.
Kelly scowled at him and turned away from the window. Just great! Now that he had seen her, she felt like she had no choice but to open the door. She unlocked the door and yanked it open, but she immediately turned around and huffed off to the living room.
Damian closed the door behind him and followed her. “Is there a problem?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused.
“Yes. There’s a problem,” she said through gritted teeth, her arms crossed defensively.
“Care to enlighten me?”
Damian looked more concerned than guilty, but that was probably because he didn’t know that he’d been caught. “It didn’t take you very long, did it?” she spat.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“So, did you get tired of waiting for me and decide to have some fun on the side?”
Damian’s eyebrows furrowed, and he took a step toward her. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”
Suddenly Damian loomed very large in her tiny living room, but Kelly stood her ground. “I saw her, Damian. I saw that woman coming out of your apartment, so don’t even try to deny it.”
Damian relaxed his stance immediately and gave a sigh of…relief? “You mean Rachel? Tall, blonde, attractive?”
“OH MY GOD! So, you’re admitting it?”
Damian took another step forward, but Kelly backed up. He threw his hands in the air and said, “Guilty as charged. Rachel was in my apartment because she brought me a housewarming gift.”
Kelly glared at him. “So, you must know her pretty well, huh?”
“Yes, Kelly. I know her very well, because she’s my cousin’s wife!”
While Kelly took time out to digest this, Damian continued. “In my family, people look for any excuse to feed someone. Rachel kindly brought me a homemade cherry pie as a housewarming gift, and I’m sure some of my other family members will follow suit.”
Kelly tried to hold on to her dignity for a smidge longer. “If she’s your relative, then how come I don’t remember meeting her at Thanksgiving or Christmas last year?”
“That’s because they were in Colorado for the holidays. Rachel’s family lives there, and they alternate the holidays each year.”
Kelly dropped her arms to her sides and gave a defeated sigh. “Well, don’t I feel like an idiot?”
Damian chuckled and shoved his hands through his hair. “Jesus, Kelly. You must not think very highly of me.”
Now it was her turn to look confused. “What do you mean?”
“How dumb would I have to be to have a fling right under your nose?”
She giggled nervously. “Sorry?”
“I know how you can make it up to me.”
Uh-oh, there’s that look again. “How?”
“Come across the street and eat a slice of cherry pie with me.”
“Really? You’re going to let me get off that easy?”
Damian quirked his eyebrows. “Nobody said anything about getting off.”
Kelly followed his gaze down to her MSU t-shirt, where her traitorous nipples were jutting out as if trying to escape. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest again. “Very funny,” she said.
“Well, what’s it going to be? Cherry pie or some other favor?”
“Ok, fine. Let me change, and I’ll be over in a minute.”
“Oh no you don’t,” he said and grabbed her hand. “You’re coming over just like you are.”
“But Damian, I’m not dressed properly,” she protested as he practically dragged her to the door.
“You’re dressed perfectly fine for eating cherry pie,” he scoffed. “Here, put these on,” he added and handed her a pair of flip flops that she had discarded near the front door.
“But what if someone sees me like this?” She purposely glanced down at her sheer t-shirt and back up into his eyes.
“Walk close behind me,” he ordered and pulled her out the door.
They passed a young couple walking a Pomeranian, but the couple just gave them a friendly nod. If they thought it was strange that Kelly was practically smashed up against Damian’s back as they crossed the street, the couple didn’t show it. As soon as they were safely inside, Kelly leaned back against his door and breathed a sigh of relief, which caused her breasts to thrust forward enticingly—not exactly what she had intended.
Damian scratched the back of his head and looked around the room as if trying to remember what they were there for.
Kelly cleared her throat and said, “Cherry pie?”
“R
ight.”
She took a seat at his new kitchen table and observed while Damian extracted plates and forks and dished out two hearty slices of pie.
“I don’t suppose you have any vanilla ice cream to go with this?” Kelly asked, remembering that she still hadn’t eaten dinner.
“You’re in luck! I happened to pick some up the other day. I was saving it for my special guests.”
“Guests, plural?” She tried to sound flippant, but she was still smarting from what she had seen earlier, before she had found out that Rachel was a relative. Just the idea of Damian with his arms around another woman made her heart hurt.
Damian plopped a generous scoop of ice cream on her plate and then leaned down until his face was just inches from hers. “You’re the special guest, Kell. Just you. No one else.”
They gazed at each other for a few seconds before Damian turned his attention back to scooping ice cream.
“Ok,” she said softly and relaxed into the chair, content with the knowledge that she was the only woman visiting his apartment. At least the only one who wasn’t a relative!
“So, what did you want to ask me?” she said as she scraped up the last morsel of cherry pie from her plate. Kelly would have to give her compliments to the chef if she ever saw Rachel again; even though it wasn’t fair for the woman to be gorgeous and bake such a fabulous pie!
“I have two questions for you. First, what are you doing on Labor Day?”
Kelly had almost forgotten that the coming weekend was the last hurrah of summer. “Well, the store is closed on Labor Day, so I’m available. Why?”
“Alex invited us over for a barbecue with Zack, Emma, and the kids. Interested?”
“Sure. That sounds fun. Any other attractive female relatives going to be there?”
Damian chuckled. “No, it’s just us. If the weather cooperates, we can take the boat out.”
“So, I’ll need to bring a bathing suit.”
“Oh yeah,” he said and smiled wide.
Kelly smiled back. “A conservative one-piece bathing suit, since your family will be there.” Right after she said it, Kelly realized that she didn’t even own such a thing. Her bathing suit collection consisted of skimpy bikinis and an assortment of revealing cover-ups.
“No. One-piece swimsuits aren’t allowed. Only bikinis,” Damian teased.
Kelly rolled her eyes at him. “What was your second question?”
“I wondered when you can start helping me with some marketing stuff? Jim plans on leaving by the end of the year, so I need to come up with a plan to attract business.”
Kelly perked right up at the idea of helping Damian and at the thought of spending more time with him. There was only one problem. How would she fit it in around her job at the bookstore? “I’d love to help, but I need to talk to Emma first. I’m sure she won’t mind, but I’ll have to work around my bookstore schedule.”
“That’s no problem. We can always get together in the evenings.”
Kelly raised her eyebrows. “Do you really think that’s such a good idea?”
“Kelly, you’re over here right now, and I haven’t touched you. Even though…” He glanced down at her t-shirt for the umpteenth time since she’d been there.
Somewhere along the way, Kelly had given up on trying to cover herself, and now she crossed her arms over her chest again. “Damian…” she warned.
“Sorry, but you’re sitting there looking all…touchable, yet I’m exercising complete control.”
Suddenly Kelly wished that he wasn’t, and she decided to drop her guard and have some fun. “You have been a pretty good boy, haven’t you?” She scraped the kitchen chair back and slowly stood up.
His eyes widened, but he just nodded his head as she stalked toward him.
“I should probably reward you for good behavior.”
Damian nodded more vigorously and made a motion to stand up, but Kelly placed her hands on his shoulders to keep him in place. Then, in a move that obviously surprised him, she straddled him on the chair.
Damian’s arms immediately wrapped around her waist, and hers coiled around his neck. “Oh God, Kell. This feels so good.”
“Kiss me, Damian,” she demanded.
His lips were warm and sweet, and she tasted the remnants of cherry pie on his tongue. As the kiss intensified, she felt him grow hard beneath her, and she rocked against him just a little bit, but enough to make him emit a low moan. His hands were on her bare back now, and her spine tingled as he slid them up and down. When his lips trailed down from her mouth to her neck, her head fell back, and it was her turn to moan. He knew right where to kiss her on the most sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder that shot sensations straight to her core.
Damian started to move his hands around to the front of her shirt, but he halted. “Is this ok?”
His words melted her heart, and part of her wanted to tear off her clothes and beg him to take her. But he was following her rules, and they were taking it slow. Still, a few touches couldn’t hurt. “Yes,” she said.
His hands were on her breasts before she could change her mind, but why would she want to? He cupped them gently at first and then rasped his thumbs over her nipples, causing another shot of adrenaline to rush right to her center. He had ceased kissing her and now stared intently at the movement of his hands beneath her shirt and her reaction to his ministrations.
It was all so good, the heat between their bodies, his rough yet gentle hands on her bare skin, their connection that was so much more than just physical, but still, Kelly wanted to wait. Almost as if he sensed it, Damian pulled his hands out from under her shirt, and planted them on her waist. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips, one, two, three times, and then pulled back.
“I like eating cherry pie with you,” he said, his voice a little raspy.
“Me too,” Kelly said and removed herself from his lap.
“I’ll walk you home.”
She didn’t bother arguing.
When they stopped outside of her door, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Sweet dreams, Kell.”
Of that, she was certain!
Chapter 15
“Open wide,” Damian said with a spoonful of cherry pie poised in mid-air.
Kelly opened her mouth wide and relished the mix of flavors from the tart cherries, the flaky crust, and the cold vanilla ice cream. “Umm…so good,” she said and licked her lips with satisfaction.
“Again,” he demanded, and she immediately complied.
Suddenly this seemed less like eating pie and more like a seductive dance. After the third bite, Kelly licked her lips more slowly and observed Damian as his eyes glazed over with desire.
“I want you to lick me like that,” he said, dropping the spoon with a clatter.
“I want that too,” she said. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted off the chair and into Damian’s muscular arms. She flung her arms around his neck and let him carry her into his bedroom. He laid her down gently in the middle of the luxurious mattress that they had picked out together and placed his hands on the hem of his t-shirt. Before he pulled it over his head, Damian said, “We’re not stopping this time…”
But then, the familiar blast of her radio woke Kelly up, and she rolled over to shut it off just like she did every morning. “When am I going to finish this dream?” she whined to her empty bedroom.
The rest of the week flew by, and Kelly didn’t see much of Damian, although they had texted back and forth a few times. He had explained that he was working extra hours because Jim was going out of town for the long holiday weekend. Damian was going to be handling the shop by himself over the weekend, so he wouldn’t be freed up until Labor Day.
That was fine with Kelly, because she was busy at the bookstore preparing for her first romance book club meeting, and since Jill was also going out of town, Kelly had to cover her hours too. Being a native Michigander, it was expected that just about anyone who could would travel Up
North for the long holiday weekend. The coastal towns and beaches would be packed, and the hotels would have been booked months in advance.
Kelly had made the annual trek Up North many times herself, but not as often in recent years. There was nothing like the crisp, pine-scented air of upper Michigan, and she made herself a promise to visit again soon. She allowed herself to daydream about what it would be like to travel there with Damian. What kind of traveler would he be? Would he want to be active all day and night, or would he be content to simply sit by the water and enjoy the scenery? Surely, someone who had lived in Southern California would enjoy the sun and the sand, right?
Thinking about sun-drenched days on the beach reminded Kelly that she hadn’t spoken to her parents in a few weeks. She had been so wrapped up with work and with Damian that she hadn’t made her customary weekly call. The bookstore was particularly slow on Sunday, so she sat down and dialed her parents’ number.
“Hello, my beautiful daughter,” her mother answered cheerfully.
Her mom sounded happy every time she answered the phone, and Kelly thought that it was no wonder given where she lived. Her parents lived in Naples, just a few short blocks from the ocean. They often took their daily walks on the beach, and Kelly could picture the beautiful scenery in her mind’s eye.
“Hey, Mom. How’s everything?”
“Everything’s good. Your father went to the doctor last week, and he checked out fine.”
Last fall, her father had suffered some health problems that were directly attributed to him having been a smoker for so many years. He had ditched the habit, but he occasionally experienced shortness of breath. Kelly was relieved to hear that he was doing well.
“When are you going to come down and visit?” Maria asked.
Her mom asked the same question every time they spoke, but this time, Kelly came up with an answer. “How about over Thanksgiving?”
“Oh, we would love that,” her mom enthused. “But what about Emma’s wedding? Isn’t that cutting it close?”
“The wedding isn’t until the first weekend in December. The details will be wrapped up well before Thanksgiving.”
Twice as Tempting Page 9