And before he entered her, Damien’s eyes met hers. Held for a moment. And then, he kissed her. Kissed her as he entered her.
Kendra’s eyelids fluttered shut as the most exquisite sensations came over her.
He settled himself deep, burrowing himself inside of her, making her cry out his name. She clung to him, clung to his strong body, one even more honed to perfection than before and able to please her on a grander level.
When she and Damien made love before, it had been sensual and completely satisfying. But this…
This was a whole new level.
His body was fully a man’s now, stronger. More powerful. He was deep inside of her, filling her completely and taking her breath away. Her breathing grew shallower with each delicious stroke. She wrapped her legs around his buttocks and her arms around his back, wanting to meld their bodies together.
She never wanted this to end.
He withdrew, then moved deeper into her, and when Kendra cried out in pleasure, Damien withdrew and thrust into her again.
“Oh my God, baby,” Kendra moaned.
Damien’s lips captured hers. He went still inside of her as his mouth mated with hers. It was a deep and meaningful kiss that reminded Kendra of the close connection she and Damien had shared in the past.
Something welled in her heart. She clung to the feeling of closeness she was experiencing, even if she knew it was fleeting. Even if she knew she was simply remembering the past. She was going to enjoy this time together as though they had never been apart.
Damien began to move inside of her again, and nothing—absolutely nothing—had ever felt this good.
There had been only one person to ever make her feel this magnitude of pleasure before.
And that was Damien Monroe.
He suckled her earlobe as he made love to her, and all Kendra could think was that he remembered. Remembered how sensitive her earlobes were, and when he suckled it while making love to her…
Kendra couldn’t think anymore. She was lost in a sea of bliss, her breathing had become short pants.
Damien picked up speed. “Come on, baby,” he rasped hotly against her ear. “Let go.”
He eased a hand between their bodies, played with her nipple. And the onslaught of marvelous sensations brought her to the edge.
And then she fell over that edge, her body consumed with fiery pleasure.
Damien picked up his pace, and then he was grunting as he, too, was consumed by the fire. Kendra held on for the ride, enjoying every delicious moment.
Finally, they both went still, and the only sound in the room was their mingled breaths. Damien kissed her again, and Kendra kissed him back deeply, letting him know that she hadn’t had nearly enough of him.
Chapter 9
“About what happened between us,” Kendra began.
They were in the car and heading to the airport to catch their 11:00 a.m. flight, and Damien had wondered when they would get around to talking about last night. He had wanted to, but Kendra had busied herself with checking her email, then watching CNN and getting her belongings together, and Damien had realized she was trying to avoid talking about them. She’d made that obvious last night in bed, after they’d made love again and Damien had spoken her name, prepared to tell her how he felt. She’d put her finger on his lips and shushed him.
Now, Damien looked at her, eager to hear what she had to say. He knew he had to be gentle with her, let her take the lead. “Yes…?”
“Obviously, the physical attraction we felt for each other hasn’t died. But that doesn’t mean we have to act like teenagers with stars in our eyes and pretend as if we’re going to sail off into the sunset together. It was just sex, though it was great.”
Damien stared at her for a moment, unsure what to say. Then he turned his gaze back to the road.
“I have no regrets,” she quickly said. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just pointing out that we can keep it in perspective. We can see each other over the holidays—if you want. Then you’ll go back to New York and I’ll go back to D.C.…” Her voice trailed off.
And that was it, Damien thought. Once again, Kendra was writing the script of their relationship. She would do this, he would do that…just as she dictated.
He wanted to take her and kiss her again, feel her surrender in his arms. That was the Kendra he liked. He didn’t like this girl with the tough exterior who pretended that nothing could faze her.
And he wished that they could have an honest to God conversation about their past. At the age of eighteen, Damien had come to see Kendra as an independent and bossy woman. One he had connected to, sure, but one who seemed to always keep a wall up where her heart was concerned. He had fallen for her deeply, and he had bared his soul to her. Sharing with her the pain of his relationship with his older brother, who seemed to live to make his life miserable. And worse than that, he had confessed how much he wished he had parents who loved each other, that he would love to know what it was like to live in a happy home.
Kendra had listened, stroked his back while he spoke of his pain, but she hadn’t totally opened up to him. Not from what he could tell. Still, he’d loved her, and he’d wanted their relationship to work. He had been willing to make many concessions for their relationship—but as time passed, he had needed to be sure that she would do the same.
Their relationship couldn’t be one-sided.
Damien had seen his own parents fight over the simplest of matters and end up on the opposite sides of countless issues. Yes, each was entitled to their opinion, but there had to be compromise at times. Because without it, disagreements would lead to resentment.
Damien had witnessed that with his parents. Ultimately, their differences had led to bitterness.
He had loved Kendra too much to see their relationship deteriorate to that. So when the time had come where she had insisted yet again that he take a trip to see her in D.C.—she had gotten quite upset when he’d asked her to come see him that time—Damien had begun to fear that they would never see eye to eye. Wasn’t it better to end their relationship on the pretense of the distance being a factor as opposed to continuing to make an effort only to watch it go downhill? It would have hurt him too much.
“Damien?” Kendra prompted.
“Sure,” he said. He took the turn leading into the airport, and Kendra didn’t say anything else.
* * *
They didn’t speak much on the way from the Louisville airport into their old neighborhood of Newburg. Music was playing on the car’s stereo system, a variety of Christmas songs to get everyone in a cheerful holiday mood.
But the mood in the car was obviously strained. Kendra was starting to think that she had offended Damien with her comment when they were leaving Pittsburgh.
As he neared her street and still hadn’t said much more than a few sentences, Kendra knew she didn’t want things between them to end like this. So she said, “You know, if you’re not doing anything tonight, why not join me at my aunt and uncle’s anniversary celebration?”
He gave her a puzzled look. “You want me to go with you?”
“Sure. It sounds like it’s going to be a very big to-do. Formal dinner, DJ and party. My aunt and uncle eloped years ago, and they always talked about doing something spectacular for their thirtieth wedding anniversary—if they lasted that long.” A smile touched Kendra’s lips. Her aunt had always joked that she and her husband were heading to divorce court, typically when Uncle Ralph didn’t do the things she wanted him to do. But there was no doubt to anyone hearing Aunt Joan speak that she was full of nonsense. She was deeply in love with her husband, and he with her.
“Yeah, you mentioned that.”
“Thirty years,” Kendra said wistfully. “That’s nice. My aunt always said that if they made it to thirty years, they’d surely know they were in it for the long haul.”
“What did they do for their twenty-fifth?” Damien asked. “That’s usually the milestone everyone celebrates
.”
“They went back to Jamaica, where they’d gotten married. Had their second honeymoon. Though if you ask me, they’ve never stopped honeymooning.”
“They sound like a great couple,” Damien said. “I wish that had been my parents.”
Kendra said nothing. She just stared at Damien as he turned the corner and slowed as he reached her mother’s house. He was different than most guys. He really seemed to value a solid relationship, which made it all the more shocking that his marriage had lasted only six months.
Not to mention the glaring fact that he had walked away from her ten years ago without even telling her why.
When Damien put the car into Park, Kendra turned in her seat and faced him. “We made it,” Kendra said, smiling. “Thanks to you.”
“Delivered safe and sound.”
“What an ordeal.” Kendra shook her head as she thought of all that had transpired over the past forty hours. “Thanks again. For everything, Damien.”
“No big deal. It was an adventure, really. One much better spent together. I would have lost my mind sitting in an airport for days without a friend to keep me company.”
“I know, right? It’s kind of like things worked out the way they were meant to. That fate was at play.”
At her own comment, Kendra’s heart fluttered. She should have chosen a word other than fate. What was she trying to do to herself, bringing up fate? She needed to keep her mind from going down memory lane, into nostalgia territory. The last thing she needed was to start believing that what had happened between her and Damien would lead to anything more.
She reached for the door handle, opened it and got out of the car. Damien, ever the gentleman, got out with her. He helped to haul her large suitcase out of the trunk and to her door.
“Thanks again,” Kendra said.
“You sure you want me there tonight?” Damien asked.
The wind was cold, and Kendra huddled into her coat. “Definitely. The more the merrier, right? Besides, you were instrumental in helping me get home in time for this. It seems only fitting.”
“All right, then. I’ve got the car. Want me to pick you up?”
“I’ll be driving with my mother, so why don’t you meet me there? It’s at Eloquence Banquet Hall, and it starts at six-thirty.”
* * *
Hours later, the party was in full swing. The dinners were eaten, and the dance floor was open. An array of desserts was available on a huge table at the back wall of the spacious reception hall.
Damien had sat at Kendra’s table during the dinner, and now he was chatting with some mutual friends who happened to be at the party.
Kendra had just gotten a plate with some desserts and was seated at her table once again. Gemma, her older cousin by two years, plopped down onto the seat beside her, a look of excited curiosity in her eyes.
“So,” Gemma began. “Who’s the hottie you came with?”
“Oh. That’s Damien. An old friend.”
Gemma spun her head around so quickly, Kendra wondered if she would suffer neck pain as a result. She stared in Damien’s direction, then turned back to Kendra.
“You mean Damien Damien?” Gemma asked, her jaw dropping to emphasize her surprise. “Damien who you used to date ten years ago?”
Of course Gemma had met him. Kendra had forgotten. “That’s him,” Kendra confirmed.
“I thought he looked familiar. But he’s so much more…manly,” Gemma finished. “Girl, he is fine.”
“Sure,” Kendra said nonchalantly.
“Sure?” Gemma’s eyes widened. “You say that as though you’re not in the least bit attracted to him. But obviously if he’s here, that means you two are back together? Right? You never said a thing the last time we spoke. I want to hear all the details!”
“No,” Kendra said emphatically. “We’re just friends. Which is why I didn’t say anything when I spoke to you last. Damien and I ran into each other at the airport—a total fluke. He just became a godfather and was heading back to town to see his new goddaughter. I was heading here for this celebration, of course. The weather was horrible and he suggested renting a car—”
“Boring,” Gemma said in a singsong voice. “That can’t be all that happened.” Her expression said that she didn’t believe Kendra and Damien could be together without fireworks going off.
“Yes, that’s it,” Kendra lied. No point telling her cousin anything else and getting her all excited for no reason.
Now her cousin made a face. “You are not telling the truth, cuz. I know you, remember?” And in a hushed voice she went on, “Road trip together? What really happened?”
And despite Kendra’s resolve only a moment ago to keep her cousin in the dark, she suddenly wanted to tell her. Kendra didn’t have that many close female friends with whom she confided in. Her closest female friend had made a play for her last boyfriend just before Valentine’s Day, and that had ultimately been the end of their friendship.
Besides, Gemma had always been like the sister Kendra had never had. So she leaned forward and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “We had to stop in a hotel two nights.” Gemma nodded, her wide-eyed expression saying she was hanging on her every word. But Kendra had hoped that her cousin would fill in the blanks. “We stayed in one room.”
“And?” Gemma urged.
Surely her cousin could connect the dots. She didn’t need Kendra to spell it out for her.
Obviously, she did. So Kendra continued. “And…things got…well, they got a little hot. Actually, a lot hot.”
Gemma squealed and stamped her feet, as though this was the most startling and delightful news she had ever heard.
Kendra squeezed her cousin’s hand. “Hush,” she told her. “Please don’t draw attention.”
“You slept with him!” Gemma went on, clearly oblivious to what Kendra had just said.
“We were alone, together in a hotel room.” Kendra shrugged. “I guess it was bound to happen.”
“I’m so happy for you. Your dry spell was one for the record books!”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Kendra quickly said, not wanting Gemma to get the wrong idea. “Other than having scratched an itch. Because, as you said, it’s been a long time.”
“I remember you saying how great you and Damien were in bed together. And I know you were heartbroken when things didn’t work out. Maybe—”
“Maybe nothing,” Kendra interjected. “It was sex. Nothing more, nothing less. We’re still in two different cities, our lives on separate paths.”
Gemma frowned. “That sucks.”
“No,” Kendra countered. “It was nice. Nice to have a moment to reconnect with him. I think I finally have closure on our relationship.”
Gemma looked disappointed. “You have great sex again and you’re talking about closure? Are you telling me you felt nothing for him?”
Kendra hesitated. It would be a lie to say she felt nothing. In fact, far from closure, sleeping with Damien again had felt a lot like returning home to a safe harbor.
But Kendra had to remind herself of the reality, not get caught up in what would never be. “I’m just saying that I’m not deluding myself. We had a fun time together. That’s allowed.”
“It may have been a fun time for you,” Gemma said, indicating beyond Kendra’s shoulder with a jerk of her head. “But the way Damien is looking at you right now, I’m not sure it was the same thing for him.”
“What do you mean?” Kendra’s pulse began to race, and she quickly glanced over her shoulder. She found Damien staring at her…and a sexual rush swept over her.
Kendra swallowed. Lord the man was sexy. And her attraction for him was strong and undeniable.
Though she told herself that what she and Damien had experienced was about closure, she was suddenly feeling a surge of lust for the man.
Another night of pleasure with him…she wouldn’t mind that. Not at all.
Kendra pushed her chair back and stood. “Excuse me,�
� she said.
“Ahh,” came her cousin’s comment from behind her back, the kind that said she knew what the deal was.
Kendra began to walk toward Damien, one purpose in mind. Seeing her approach, he also began to walk toward her, the charming smile he wore making him all the more endearing.
“Great party,” he told her as he reached her. “Kind of like a reunion—I’ve seen so many faces from back in the day.”
“What are you doing later?” Kendra asked without preamble.
Damien’s eyes widened in surprise. “Going home,” he said, his answer sounding tentative.
“You have to go home?” Kendra asked.
Damien’s lips parted, but she also saw fire spark in his eyes. “What are you asking?”
Kendra extended her hand and placed it on his chest. “If you don’t have to go home—”
“You don’t want me to go home?”
She grinned. “Okay, I’ll say it. I don’t want you to go home. I want to spend the night with you.”
Chapter 10
Kendra hadn’t thought about the logistics of her proposition—where she and Damien would spend the night. Not until he asked the question.
She certainly couldn’t bring Damien to her mother’s house, and she obviously couldn’t go to his mother’s place.
“The hotel across the street?” Kendra suggested, hoping there would be a room. She didn’t want to have to drive around the city looking for an available place to be alone with Damien.
“They have a room,” Damien told her when he came back to the car where she had been waiting, a huge smile on his face. Clearly, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Within minutes, they were upstairs in the room.
Their mouths locked, Kendra was hastily unbuttoning Damien’s dress shirt, and he was pulling her unzipped dress down her body. They had to pull apart in order to finish getting naked, and once they were, they came together and began to kiss deeply.
Damien’s tongue swept through her mouth, playing over hers as he walked with her toward the bed. She hung on to him, taking steps backward as he walked forward. And when she hit the bed, her knees buckled and she instinctively went down.
Merry Sexy Christmas Page 16