An unexpected rush of heat surged between her legs. How could just one look make her respond with such passion? To keep herself from acting on that stimulation, she decided to change the subject. “I heard you got kicked out of the resort today. What happened? Did you give Paul a swirly?”
He recoiled. “If that’s a whacked-out term for some crazy sexual activity, I feel it’s my duty to inform you that I’m straight.” He met her gaze for a long moment. “Very straight.”
“Right now?”
A naughty smile lit his features. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know.”
She chuckled. “A swirly is when you dunk someone’s head in the toilet and flush it.”
“Oh,” he said, looking more at ease. “That would’ve been fun. And more than appropriate.”
“Really? Do tell.”
Damon took his time relaying the incident without judgment or even getting angry. However, he looked upset with himself for not anticipating a sneak attack.
Kelsey was shocked that Paul acted so deviously and cowardly. For the briefest of moments, she wondered if Damon dramatized the episode, but he related the story in a matter-of-fact way that made it difficult to distrust. The story provided greater justification for not seeing Paul again. “I bet you want to get back at him pretty bad.”
He gave that some thought. “I don’t know. Am I pissed about it? Yes. But I could take him any day of the week. What would it prove? Besides, I started it last month, so I guess I deserved a little payback.”
Kelsey hadn’t expected that response. “Yeah, what happened that night?”
Damon looked away and paused before answering. “I’d…rather not say.”
That only made her more curious. “Why? Did he insult you?”
“He insulted someone I respect and care for, someone who…”
“Cassandra.” She couldn’t have hoped for a better segue about his feelings for the red-headed beauty. “She was with you that night, right?”
He nodded. “But it wasn’t about Cassandra.”
Kelsey didn’t get the clarification she’d hoped for. If she didn’t ask now, she might never find out the truth. “But you feel that way about Cassandra, don’t you?”
Now Damon turned and looked into her eyes. “Not the same way I care about you. Not even close.”
That statement stole her breath, and a wisp of excitement tickled her spine. She wanted to hear more, wanted to find out how deep his affection went, but she couldn’t find her voice.
“That night at the dance club, Paul insulted you, Kelsey. He insulted you, and I hit him. I don’t regret that for a second, even if he got back at me by hitting me from behind. I’d do it again, and I won’t apologize for it.
The way Damon had protected her honor almost made her swoon right there. This time, although she once again drew breath normally, she didn’t want to say a word. She just wanted to look at that determined, protective gaze, the kind that said he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, the kind that made it known that he wouldn’t hurt her.
“I’m not dating Cassandra,” he said. “Never was. Never will. She’s a good friend. Such a good friend, in fact, that Cassandra suggested that she and I were dating…to make you a little jealous.”
Kelsey lost her breath, feeling betrayed by both of them. “But—”
“Please let me finish. I didn’t want to lie to you. But Cassandra likes you. She thinks you and me…we’d be a great couple. She asked me to trust her. So I gave her a chance. I did it so you’d get to know me. Not the person your brother wants to believe I am. But the real me. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’ve made my share of mistakes. But I’m a good man.” His eyes, no longer looking insanely sexy but understanding and thoughtful, looked humbled, even wounded.
Damon had misled her, but if he was truly the type of person Alex had described earlier, he wouldn’t have admitted his feelings, wouldn’t have admitted his shame, and wouldn’t have laid his soul bare before her.
And that made all the difference in the world. She wanted to be angry with him for lying. But Damon’s ruse, no matter how self-serving, had worked: it had given him a chance to spend more time with her, and she did indeed learn that he was a better man than she’d given him credit for. So she couldn’t really blame him for playing along with Cassandra’s plan.
Besides, she hadn’t been entirely honest either. She felt guilty about secretly pining for Damon while she’d spent time with Paul.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, searching her gaze, looking for a glimmer of hope.
That he looked for some type of approval, rather than displaying a cocky grin laced with nonchalance, made her smile.
“So I’m forgiven?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He lowered his gaze and nodded slightly. “You know earlier? At the water park? When I first saw you in that bikini?” He raised his eyes and looked into her eyes. A mischievous grin formed on his lips.
His gentle shyness and subtle confidence really turned her on.
“You looked so devastating!”
The prospect that this situation might turn into something serious didn’t escape her. She got wet at the mere thought of it. Her parched mouth made it difficult to swallow. And she wanted him. She wanted to feel those strong arms around her, holding her tight, clinging to her.
As if he knew the affect he had on her, Damon moved a little closer to her, leaving less than a foot between them while leaning against the cushions and placing an arm around the space behind her head.
That he seemed completely aware of how she responded to him heightened her attraction. She closed the distance between them with an urgency that surprised her, springing her arms around him, feeling the heat coming off him in waves. The scent of leather and peppermint drifted toward her, urging her to get closer. She pressed her lips against his and felt the same need that infused every pore in her body.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, pulling her even closer, his muscles in tight control of her as his lips caressed hers with frantic desire for a few moments before settling into a deep kiss that didn’t need practice to find the perfect rhythm.
He broke away from her mouth and worked his way down to her neck, lingering there, tasting her, brushing his lips across sensitive skin that had always craved such treatment but had never received it. Kelsey let out a long sigh from deep in her throat as tremors wracked her body.
But as she opened her eyes to find the taxi driver splitting his attention between the road and the rearview mirror, she gulped in fear and pushed away from Damon.
“We’re here,” the driver said, flicking the toothpick in his mouth with rapid strokes. “Total damage for this destination is $15.65.”
She should have felt embarrassed that she’d been making out in a cab, but recalling that erotic scene in the backseat of a taxi between Kevin Costner and Sean Young in the film, No Way Out, she felt more than a bit naughty for such highly inappropriate behavior and found the idea titillating.
Damon yanked out a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet and flipped it to the driver, then sprung the door open for her to exit.
Kelsey hurried out, and Damon followed close behind, clutching her hand in his as they rushed for the front door. They reached it as the taxi sped away, and Kelsey fumbled for the key in her purse. She found her brush, a sticky unopened piece of gum that needed to be tossed in the trash, a paperclip, and a couple pennies, but she couldn’t locate the key.
Damon started to laugh.
“It’s in here somewhere,” she said, feeling a hair clip, some lint, and a business card. “This is incredible!”
His laughter grew in volume.
But even without looking his way, she could feel his eyes, never more smoldering than at this moment, taking her in, and she wanted that feeling to consume her. Kelsey’s finger found the key at the corner of her purse. She pulled it out, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. She turned to Damon, but he’d already slipped his a
rms around her waist, pressing her against that strong chest of his, leading her through the doorway and into the hall. His lips found hers, and a scorching kiss made her sink into his embrace. She closed her eyes, letting her body respond to the magic that had overtaken her.
Then a couple lingering questions crept in from her subconscious: would Damon be loyal? Did he want a long-term relationship?
“Wait.” Kelsey put a hand against his chest, stopping him from closing in for another kiss. “I know how you feel about me. But I need to hear you say—”
Torn from the heat of the moment, Damon focused on her and stayed quiet for a few moments, obviously picking up on her uncertainty. “I’m not looking for a one-night stand. I want more than that. I want…a lifetime.”
She completely trusted the sincerity in his eyes, and all of her pent-up worries drifted by the wayside.
From somewhere in the distance, Max barked.
Damon smiled for a second. He moved in close again, pausing just as he neared her lips then took her mouth gently, sliding the tip of his tongue along her lower lip before slipping a hand through her hair and deepening his kiss.
With pleasure mounting inside her, Kelsey let out a low moan of excitement. She fought back the urge to climax right there, and broke away from him to tuck her face into his neck, letting his scent wash over her.
As she breathed heavily against his neck, Damon nibbled on her earlobe, and the heat building between her legs grew more intense, more fevered, making her almost dizzy. Then she felt hot breath tapping against her left pant leg, interrupting the exhilaration that sent shivers through her body.
“What’s the matter?” Damon asked, obviously enraptured by their tryst. “Oh,” he said, looking down at Max, who stood at Kelsey’s leg, lashing his tail from side to side. Smiling, Damon said, “Should I leave you two alone?”
She gave him a light shove.
Damon pretended that he’d gotten pushed by a pro-wrestler, and accidentally tripped over Max, who leaped out of the way just in time to avoid a collision. His owner, however, hit the ground with a hollow-sounding wallop. “Ooh,” he said, wincing and rubbing his right elbow. He looked at his dog. “I can’t believe you’d throw me over…for a woman.”
Max grinned and made his way over to Damon, licking his face and causing him to erupt in a fit of laughter.
“Wow,” Kelsey said, touched by their relationship. “Maybe I’m the third wheel.” Seeing Damon still favoring his elbow, she walked over to him, only to feel his left foot curling around her right, preventing her from moving. “What’re you—”
With one swift movement, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him, sending her on top of him and knocking the air out of his lungs. She hadn’t expected the takedown and was caught between laughter and surprise, while he tried to recapture oxygen into his chest. Considering that his effort had backfired, she laughed at his expense. But then, he’d managed to take her down to the floor with him, so perhaps his plan had succeeded after all.
Max had straightened up to give them room. He bobbed his head low, eager to take part.
Kelsey shook her head at him in a playful way. “Maxi-pad, you had your chance with him. Now it’s my turn.” She lowered her neck towards Damon, eager to get back into the rhythm they’d built up only moments ago.
“Must you continue to emasculate my dog?”
“He needs a little girl-talk once in a while.”
“But…it’s disgusting. Can’t you come up with something a little tougher?”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
“Thank you.” Damon strapped his arms around her back, pressing her towards him. “Now come back here.” He slid a hand through her hair again until he cupped the nape of her neck, tilting her head towards his own.
Kelsey awaited his kiss, eager to once more feel the beautiful sensations he’d evoked in her. Did her body respond this way because she’d endured a ten-month drought? Or because she’d never met a man who could kiss like Damon Durant? Or because she…really liked him? Just as her lips touched his, just as she got lost in his embrace, she heard the door behind them swing open.
“Awww, fuck!” her brother shouted.
Kelsey, startled by the interruption, lurched upwards, off of Damon, and craned her neck towards the front door. From the corner of her eye, she saw Damon doing the same.
Alex gaped at them, his mouth outstretched in horror. He shook his head, as though unable to wake from a horrifying nightmare, then turned around and marched right past Marisa who stood in the doorway beside Cassandra.
Kelsey pushed a hand through her hair as she got up, figuring that the most amazing “almost” sexual encounter she’d ever experienced had come to a frustrating end. Only now, when she’d almost engaged in what would surely turn out to be the best sex in her life, did she realize how sexually frustrated she’d been all along.
Damon let out a long, disappointed sigh of his own as he said, “This’ll be fun.”
Max took that as a call to shower his owner with love; he began lapping his tongue against Damon’s face again.
“Dude, come on!” he said, pressing a hand to Max’s nozzle and gently pushing him away.
Marisa stepped into the cabin, looking startled.
But Cassandra’s smile seemed to reveal that nothing could have pleased her more. It seemed that catching them on the floor in a tight embrace thrilled her.
Kelsey examined her expression for what she expected to see: deception, jealousy, or rage. Yet she found only well-wishes. It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or unsettled by that revelation. She got to her feet, and Damon did the same a moment later.
Marisa took in a heap of air. “Paul is a piece of shit…asshole…dumbass.”
“Now tell me how you really feel,” Kelsey said. According to the tale Damon told her about what happened at the resort, she agreed wholeheartedly with her best friend. Nevertheless, she wanted to hear the reason why Marisa felt likewise. “What did he do?”
“The bastard stole our money and cut up our credit cards.”
“What?” Kelsey asked, panic hitting her tone. She already felt the need to make up for Paul’s ruthlessness. She pulled out the wallet in her purse and flipped through it, feeling despair overshadowing her optimism as she couldn’t locate the forty-five dollars she had stored there. “My money is gone!” She dug deeper into the purse. “Ouch,” she said, twitching in shock before pulling out a cut-in-half credit card. “What the hell?” She found another destroyed credit card that she showed the group. “How could he do this?”
“But that’s not the worst of it,” Marisa said. “He stranded us at the restaurant. We don’t have a ride home!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What?” Damon asked, walking up to her. “He just took off?”
“Yeah,” said Marisa. “We’re stuck here.”
Cassandra took to the staircase. “I’m going to see if he left anything behind. Maybe there’s some money up there.” She disappeared from sight, probably to enter the room Kelsey had expected to share with Paul.
“Why would he do this?” Kelsey asked with a guilt-ridden expression.
“Right after you left the restaurant,” Marisa said, “he was nice enough to treat us for dinner. Then he went to the bathroom. At least that’s what we thought. We sat there for twenty minutes until Alex went to check on him. But he wasn’t in there. We checked the restaurant, but couldn’t find him. Then we went into the parking lot; there was no sign of him or his Explorer.”
“He didn’t even say why he left?” Kelsey asked.
Damon hated seeing how Kelsey blamed herself for this turn of events. As far as he could tell, she hadn’t mistreated Paul or given him any reason to resort to such extremes. Besides, Paul had taken these steps of his own accord. No one had pushed him to do it. “This wasn’t your fault,” he told her.
“Exactly,” said Marisa, lending her a sympathetic look. “I know wh
at you’re thinking. But it had nothing to do with you. I think he’s just a dickhead on principle.”
Cassandra hurried down the steps. “I found your luggage,” she said to Kelsey, but I didn’t find that duffel bag of his. It’s not in the closet, under the bed, or anywhere else.” She shook her head, exasperated. “He’s gone.”
Damon figured he would foot the bill for an SUV rental so they could get back home. He pulled out his wallet, pushed past a few dollar bills and found a slip of white paper at the back of his billfold, where he’d expected to find three $20 bills. If he hadn’t gotten such a heavy buzz at the restaurant, he would have noticed the missing cash. But he’d simply paid (with the extra cash he’d stuffed in his shoes – a holdover “hiding place” from his teenage years when various foster parents raided his room, looking for money to score drugs or alcohol) and dropped the currency into his pocket, which had paid for the cab fare. And since he didn’t carry credit cards, he only had three dollars left.
He removed the white slip of paper with scribbled black letters that read, “Hey, how’s it going? Glad I had a chance to give you that souvenir on your left eye. Feel guilty for decking me at the nightclub yet? Take care, buddy!”
Damon fumed inside, wishing he had a chance to pulverize Paul, but he exhibited a calm demeanor; doing otherwise would only further upset the others. Now they didn’t have enough to rent a vehicle.
“You too?” asked Kelsey.
Damon nodded. He had no intention of showing the group the letter. It would only make Kelsey feel worse. He went over and put an arm around her shoulders, letting her head rest against his chest. “No one could have seen this coming. He’s just a devious prick.”
“I know.” Her voice, however, betrayed her sentiments.
He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to talk with Alex. Be right back.” Damon exited the cabin and stepped down the porch steps with hesitation.
Alex stood about twenty feet away, looking up at the moon and stars. White tendrils of heat escaped his mouth with every breath, proving that he’d gotten so worked up over finding his sister and best friend locked in an embrace on the floor that he couldn’t quite control his breathing.
One Last Promise (A Bedford Falls Novel Book 2) Page 21