Damian’s face flashed through Kelly’s mind, and the image was so clear, so vivid, that it was almost as if he were standing right before her. The room went silent, and that’s when Kelly realized that he actually was standing there, leaning against a bookshelf just a few feet away, watching her.
Kelly quickly collected herself and said, “Well, ladies, I think we’ve exceeded our time limit, but I’d like to thank you all very much for coming. If you’d like to vote on the book for next month’s meeting, please send me an email. I’ll contact everyone once the selection has been made, and I’ll let you know when the next meeting will be.”
As the women rose and shuffled toward the door, they all glanced at Damian as they passed by. Mrs. Simmons even stopped, laid her bony hand on his arm, and whispered something in his ear, to which he smiled and nodded.
After the last person left, Kelly and Emma began cleaning up, and Damian pitched in by stacking up the folding chairs. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting, but it was after nine, and Zack started to panic. He asked me to come and check on you two.”
Emma giggled. “That sounds like him. Has he always been this overprotective?”
“Pretty much. Especially when we were kids, but then I got bigger than him, and he didn’t need to protect me anymore.”
Kelly shot an appreciative glance at Damian’s muscled physique, but then she wondered about his heart. Who’s protecting that?
“I better get home before he calls the police,” Emma teased. “Can you two finish closing up?”
“Sure. We got this,” Damian said.
Kelly walked Emma to the door. “You did a great job tonight,” Emma said.
“You really think so?”
“Yes. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and you kept the discussion moving.”
“I was surprised when some of the women shared their personal stories,” Kelly said, and she glanced back at Damian, who was taking down the snack table.
“Everyone has their own love story, although some are still being written,” Emma said, and then she pulled her friend in for a goodbye hug.
“See you tomorrow,” Kelly said and then locked the door behind her. When Kelly turned around, she didn’t see Damian’s head over the bookshelves, so she went toward the back of the store to investigate. She found him sitting in one of the beanbag chairs in the children’s section, with the book club romance novel open in his hands. His eyes were glued to the page, and he didn’t even look up when she came and stood before him.
“Holy shit! This book is hot!” he said, flipping to the next page.
Kelly giggled. “I wouldn’t peg you for a romance reader,” she teased.
Damian put his thumb in the book to keep his place and peered up at her. “Why not?”
“Well, because you’re not really the mushy, gushy type.”
“From what I’ve read so far, neither is this guy, but that’s not stopping him from getting lucky!”
Kelly put her hands on her hips and cocked her head at him. “You’ve only read a few pages. There’s a lot more to the story besides that.”
“Oh,” he said, looking disappointed.
Kelly shook her head and started to take the book away from him, but he clasped her wrist in his tight grip. “You don’t think I can be romantic?” he asked, a hint of challenge in his voice.
“I didn’t say that…”
“But that’s what you think.”
“No. Not exactly.”
“So, leaving donuts on your doorstep isn’t romantic? Saving you from drowning isn’t romantic?”
Kelly laughed. “I wasn’t drowning. Besides, I could have swum to shore if I had to. I was a swimmer, remember?”
“IN HIGH SCHOOL!” he shouted.
“Never mind,” she said and started to turn her back on him.
Damian still had a grip on her wrist, and he spun her back around. “Grand gestures. Is that what you want? Am I supposed to ride up on a white horse and whisk you off into the sunset?”
“No, Damian. I don’t need grand gestures.”
They were both frustrated now, and Kelly wasn’t sure how their conversation had turned from playful to inflamed in a matter of minutes.
“What do you need, Kelly? Tell me, because I feel like I’m operating under a serious disadvantage here.”
I need to know how you truly feel about me. I need to know that you want me for more than just sex. But the words wouldn’t come out. They were stuck. They were trapped under the hurt, under the pain of her many failed relationships. They were buried under the memory of him leaving her once before, when he had walked out of her life without so much as a look back, like what they had shared was meaningless. She hadn’t been important enough to warrant a phone call, a text, an email, nothing. She had been easy to leave behind, and why should she think it would be any different now?
Damian had let go of her wrist, but he was still clutching the book in his left hand. “You know what? You think about it and let me know. I’m outta here.” With that, he turned and stalked to the front of the store. He fumbled with the lock for a second and then jerked the door open, cursing loudly on his way out.
Kelly watched him peel out of the parking lot, and amidst the jumble of emotions that flooded her brain, something else registered. “That idiot stole my book!”
When Kelly pulled up in front of her apartment a short time later, she noticed that Damian’s truck was parked in its usual spot and a light was on in his apartment. She sat in her parked car for a few minutes, debating about whether to have it out with him right away or sleep on it. Feeling as keyed up as she was, she knew she wouldn’t get any sleep, so she settled on the first option. Kelly gathered her courage as she walked up the three flights of stairs to his apartment and rang the doorbell.
It took a few minutes for him to answer, and she was just about to turn away when he flung open the door. The sight of him took her breath away. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of gray sweats that hung low on his hips. His thick, dark hair was still damp from a shower, and it curled up enticingly at the ends. He must have dried off in a hurry, because there were still water droplets on his shoulders and upper arms. Kelly’s eyes naturally honed in on his lightning bolt tattoo, and she swallowed hard. Oh, how she had loved to trace the design with her fingertips before, during, and after their lovemaking.
Damian’s expression was neutral as he stared back at her, but then he softened a little when he stepped back and said, “Come on in.”
Kelly followed him into the living room and took a seat on the couch while he sat in the lounge chair across from her. “You stole my book,” she began. Facts were always an easy place to start!
He quirked his eyebrows, but his lips remained in a tight line. “I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it. Figured I might be able to gain some tips.”
“Hmm…”
“Did you stop by just for the book, or is there something else on your mind?” Damian asked, his expression a cross between trepidatious and hopeful.
Kelly entwined her hands in her lap and sighed. “You asked me what I needed, and I’m here to tell you.”
Damian leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. “Tell me.”
“I need to know why you never contacted me after you returned to California, and I want the truth. All of it.”
Damian studied her for what felt like an interminable amount of time before he spoke. “I needed some time to figure some stuff out. I had to get my shit together before I saw you again.”
It was something, but it still wasn’t enough. “Figure out what exactly?” she asked, careful to keep her voice steady—determined to stay calm.
“I had to decide if I was ready to do this again. This meaning us. Having a relationship.”
Now they were getting somewhere, but she wanted more details. “So, what we had before…”
“Was fun and easy. My usual M.O., but when I left, I wasn’t satisfied. I felt like I wanted…more.”
Kelly’s eyes widened at his admission, but she didn’t dare speak. She wanted him to tell her at his own pace.
“The problem was that I hadn’t felt that way in so long. Not since…well, you know. And it knocked me on my ass. At first, I tried to ignore my feelings, but they wouldn’t go away. They never went away.”
Kelly’s breath caught, and she felt a tear prick the corner of her eye.
“I thought about you every day after I left, but I fought it, and I didn’t think that it was fair to you for me to call until I was ready. Really ready.”
“But what if…”
“You had been with someone else? It killed me to think about that, but I shielded myself from finding out. I didn’t ask Zack or Emma about you because I didn’t want to hear that there was someone else. I took a chance, and it was probably foolish, but I didn’t want you to put your life on hold for me. Honestly, I thought you deserved better than me anyway.”
Kelly felt the tears drip out of one eye, but she ignored them. “But you came back. You came back…”
“Yes, and at first, I used the excuse that my big brother was getting married and that Jim was selling the shop, but those weren’t the real reasons.”
“You came back for me,” she said, almost disbelieving.
Damian nodded and crossed the room to pull her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and let the tears flow freely, watching as they dripped onto his bare chest. He ran his hands soothingly up and down her arms until she stopped crying.
“I’m not perfect, Kell. Far from it. And I still have commitment issues, but I want this to work between us, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
Which was why he had been agreeable to forgoing sex. Suddenly Kelly realized that she had all the answers she needed and that she had punished them both long enough. She placed her hands in his and looked deep into his eyes, finding further confirmation there.
“There is one more thing that I need from you.”
“Name it.”
“I need you to make love to me.”
Chapter 21
Damian sucked in a breath. “But you said…”
“I know what I said, and I changed my mind. It’s a woman’s right, you know.”
Damian chuckled and then swiped his thumb across her tear-stained cheek. “Is that what you really want?”
“Yes,” Kelly said. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
With that, Damian lifted her into his arms and carried her down the short hall to his bedroom. He laid her gently on his new bed and kneeled over her, staring at her reverently.
“Don’t you want to tear my clothes off or something?” Kelly asked, placing her palms on his bare chest.
Damian’s mouth curled up with an amused grin, but he shook his head. “If I do, it’ll be over in a few minutes. I’d rather take my time.”
Kelly squirmed when he placed his hands on the hem of her dress, which fell to just above her knees.
“I do want to see more of you though.” Damian tugged her dress upward, and she felt a whoosh of cool air as he lifted it over her head and tossed it aside. “That’s better,” he said as he ran his eyes over her from head to toe and back again. He wasn’t even touching her, but her body was on fire, her nerves prickly with desire.
Like the rest of her wardrobe, Kelly had an extensive lingerie collection, which had served her well in the past and was having the desired effect now. Damian’s eyes glazed over as he zeroed in on her sheer pink bra, especially where her nipples poked assertively at the fabric, begging to be released. He ran a fingertip down the middle of her chest and over her belly button until he reached the edge of her matching pink sheer panties. There was nothing left to the imagination there either—just a thin piece of material pressed against her damp skin.
Damian’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed roughly. “Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed of this? Do you have any idea how tempting you are?”
“Tell me,” she whispered, her voice strained with emotion.
“Twice as tempting as before. Even more than that. I wanted you from the first time I met you, but now, now…”
“Show me, Damian. Show me how much.”
He bent over her then and sucked her bottom lip between his, drawing gently at first. And then he traced her lips with his tongue, and she arched her back, begging for more contact. He braced himself on his forearms, and his magnificent biceps strained with the effort. Kelly gripped them tightly and parted her lips for him, inviting him to take more of her.
Suddenly he flipped onto his back, pulling her over on top of him. Kelly smiled down at him seductively, because they both knew that she liked to be in the driver’s seat. They had discovered that it was one of their favorite positions and had practiced it often in the past.
Kelly seated herself on his hips and wiggled against his thick erection. “Still want to take it slow?” she teased.
“Um-hmm.” He laced his hands behind his head and watched as she moved her hands around her back to unhook her bra. The sound of it coming undone caused Damian to buck underneath her, and she relished the feel of him—so strong, so powerful. Kelly slid the bra straps off her shoulders one at a time, slowly, just for him, until she revealed her ample breasts.
Damian reached out for them automatically, cupping and squeezing, just the way she liked. Kelly realized that she was grinding against him now, eager for more, but Damian seemed content as he plucked her nipples almost to the point of pain.
Since she was still in the driver’s seat, Kelly pulled back, just out of reach, and laid her hands on the tie of his sweats. Damian lifted himself up so that Kelly could bare him, and as she did, she drew in a ragged breath. First of all, he was sans underwear, so his glory sprang forth immediately. Secondly, she had almost forgotten just how glorious he was! Long and thick, straight and proud, throbbing with need, and all for her.
Once his sweats were discarded, she took him in her hands and glided them up and down, rhythmically, her memory returning as he groaned beneath her. Just like riding a bike, she thought, smiling softly. It was too dark for her to see the look on Damian’s face, but his sounds were like music to her ears.
He gripped her wrists just as she felt him getting close. “I need to be inside you,” he stated.
Kelly wriggled out of her panties while Damian leaned over and extracted a condom from his bedside table. She was in the passenger seat now, spread out and waiting for him as he straddled her.
“You ready?” he asked, dipping a finger inside her at the same time.
She didn’t need to answer. They both knew that she was more than ready. Damian glided in easily, and Kelly sighed as he filled her completely. She threw her arms around his broad back and wrapped her legs around his hips, and as they moved, she said, “You’re home. You’re finally home.”
Afterwards, she curled up next to him with her head against his chest and traced the pattern of his tattoo. “Tell me again about what this symbolizes to the Greeks,” she said, always interested to learn about his heritage.
Damian gave her a squeeze. “You like to hear stories, don’t you?”
“Um-hmm. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my parents would read me a story before bed.”
“My parents did that too, although they didn’t always read from a book. Sometimes they told stories from our family history or from Greek mythology.”
“So, the lightning bolt,” she prompted.
“According to legend, Zeus was responsible for throwing lightning bolts. Since he was the most powerful of all the Greek gods, the lightning bolt became a symbol of that power, although there are other meanings for it as well.”
“Such as?”
“Some saw it as a symbol of fertility and masculinity.”
Kelly giggled. “Seems fitting, although there’s no proof of your fertility running around somewhere, is there?”
Damian laughed. “Not that I’m aware of.”
�
��So, you got the tattoo done on a dare, right?”
“Yep. Dumb reason, I know. I was on spring break in Mexico, during my senior year of high school. Me and my buddies were goofing around one night, and there may have been some drinking involved, and the next thing you know, we were at a tattoo parlor.”
“But you were the only one who went through with it,” she finished. “Any regrets?”
“No. Not about that. Getting a tattoo is not a big deal in the scheme of life, Kell.”
She glanced up to see that his expression had turned serious. “It sounds like you might have other regrets.”
He ran his hand down the back of her long hair and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “I think that most people have some, but I try not to dwell on past mistakes. What about you? Any regrets?”
“Just one.” She crawled over on top of him and buried her hands in his hair. “I regret making us wait so long to do this…” She bent her head down and nibbled on his bottom lip. They were still naked, and she felt his erection press into her belly.
Damian cupped her bottom as she peppered him with kisses along his stubbled jaw, on the tip of his nose, and on the slight indention in his chin. When she blew into his ear, he groaned, and when she reached between them to grab his manhood, the groan turned into a growl.
“Then let’s make up for lost time,” he said and flipped her onto her back. As Damian kissed his way down her body, Kelly marveled at how wonderful it felt to make love with him again. There was comfort in knowing each other’s bodies, but there was a newness to it as well. Their sex had been explosive before, lust-fueled and driven, and even though she still felt those things, there was something else now. This time, she wasn’t just giving him her body. She was giving him her heart, which was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. She wondered for a moment if Damian felt it too, but then he was stroking her center and licking her neck simultaneously in the perfect spots. The orgasm ripped through her before she knew it, and she clung to him, pulsating and rocking, until she slowly drifted back down, safe in the comfort of his arms.
Twice as Tempting Page 14