by Susan Ward
I gazed at our side-by-side reflections. “We look good together now. I’m almost your match again.”
“You’re more beautiful than anyone else, and we always looked good together,” Damon corrected. “Nothing is ever going to change that.”
I’d only been ribbing him with my comment, and he knew it, but his amber gaze grew lushly intense in a way that made tears prick my eyes. This beautiful man, who I’d once pushed away, held on to me as if he’d never let me go. He was like a romantic hero dreamed up—steadfast, loving, passionate, and good—but there were things even Damon couldn’t control. My heart swelled with joy even as an unwanted stab of pain slashed at me. Damon’s heart was big enough to carry us both through most things—but not everything.
Turning in his arms, I reached up, clasped his gorgeous face, and kissed him gently. In this brief, unexpected bit of wonderful, my first impulse was to let all our love pour into each other.
Damon groaned as my tongue encircled his, holding me flush against him to feel how quickly he hardened for me. His kisses fervently moved to my neck, and he hoarsely whispered, “Oh, Khloe. I want you. Every second of every day, but not now, love. We have a long day ahead, and I don’t want you too tired later. I want the next time we make love to be at the ranch in my bed. In our bed.”
I shivered from what was in his voice. “We can do that, too. But this second I feel like I could devour you.” I touched the underside of his jaw with my lips and closed my fingers around his biceps as I stroked the very ready lower part of his body with mine.
“How about a compromise?” he asked. “We wait until the plane.”
I paused running my tongue along his neck to catch a glimpse of his grinning face. “We don’t leave for the airport for hours. Do you really want to wait that long?”
“Two hours isn’t long. Not even by our standards.” He made an odd sound—something between a moan and an audible grimace. “Love, stop torturing me. Let me have today the way I’ve imagined it.”
“You imagined morning sex,” I gently teased him. “Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
“Not today,” he replied hoarsely. “I was too busy trying to figure how much longer it was going to take you to finish packing this morning—yes, I noticed you have new empty boxes out there—and if all the boxes you already have ready to ship will fit on the plane.”
He tried to look like he meant that, but I ignored it and put my arms around his neck. His arousal rippled across his skin like waves, but he maintained eye contact as though he were serious.
“I need you, Damon. I can’t pack if I can’t concentrate.”
“I need you, too, but in a different way today. Getting yourself in gear so we can move out of here.”
As he said the words, I was struck by how sincere they sounded. I started to laugh, though I wasn’t sure why. It was hardly complimentary that he was passing on sex or how he said here as if he couldn’t wait to be somewhere without my parents always underfoot. No, I was probably laughing because I couldn’t imagine being without Damon ever again.
I made a dramatic slouch as I relaxed back against the counter. “If it means that much to you, fine, I’ll finish packing.”
“It means that much to me.” He dropped a light kiss on my nose and headed back into the bedroom.
“You know,” I called after him as I reached for my makeup brush, “you thinking you can manage me really needs to end once we’re on the ranch. It stopped being funny when I beseeched you for some morning delight and you passed on it. You’ve gotten drunk on power, just like my sister. But it’s not funny. Not at all. The second it’s wheels-down in Jackson Hole, things go back to the way they used to be. With me saying what I want and you doing it.”
There was nothing but silence from the bedroom. I started lightly dabbing the brush into the powered foundation.
I leaned closer into the mirror. “Not answering isn’t going to save you, Damon. There’s no way I’m going to let your high-handedness continue. Not in our home.”
His face poked back into the bathroom, and I jumped even though he was grinning. “I hope not, love. You telling me what you want and me doing it works for me. Especially since what you ask for is always sex.”
“Maybe I’ll change that,” I muttered haughtily, and he laughed. It wasn’t going to happen, we both knew it, but to prove his point he hauled me up against him, his lips seeking mine, and I quickly melted into him. I marveled at how effortlessly he could take possession of my body and make it obey his will.
“Now, finish your makeup and get dressed,” he scolded, bossy as he’d become the past two weeks since his man-to-man talk with my father. “Something warm and comfortable, but easy to get off you once we’re in the air.”
“No, I don’t think so. I liked your first plan better. Waiting until we’re at your house.”
“You won’t be able to contain yourself. Too bad chastity belts went out of style. You’ll be begging for it again the second we’re alone in the sleeping compartment on the jet.”
“God, when did you become so conceited?” I whirled back toward the mirror.
“It isn’t so much that I’m conceited, but rather you’re predictable.”
“Says you.”
Later as we dressed, we moved about the room in a ritual that was comfortable, acutely aware of each other and not getting in the way of what the other was doing. It dawned on me that this was us, who we were and would be on the ranch. A couple sharing everything, and it was just as new for him as it was for me.
“Did I accidently pack my wig, Damon? I can’t find it,” I asked once we were dressed.
“It’s in the bathroom, love, but pack it anyway. You’re adorable with short-short hair. It accentuates your eyes.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Short-short. He’d picked up my double-word habit that I’d inherited from Mom. “By no stretch of the imagination is this a short-short hairstyle. It’s more like a too-close shave with the wrong clippers. Not that I’m not grateful for the little buggars—but.”
“No, no but. It’s adorable. And once we’re in Wyoming, you’ll need to wear a wool cap. Don’t forget to put one in your tote.”
Oh, please. I smirked. “I don’t wear wool caps.”
“You’re going to wear the wool cap and be grateful for it.”
He grabbed one from his suitcase. He’d sent Cody out to do some shopping for him, which accounted for the stylish jeans and sexy gray long-sleeved shirt, but the entirety of what he’d bought fit into a single suitcase. It made the mountain of stuff I’d packed look extreme by comparison.
He held the black hat out to me.
I grimaced. “Not happening, Damon. Not even for you.”
He shoved it into my tote anyway.
I was about to pull it out and toss it back at him when there was a knock on the door. Our eyes locked in meaningful communication, and I held up my palm at him, not wanting to hear him gloat. He did it anyway.
“If we’d gone back to bed like you wanted, we’d have been in the thick of sexy time when our a.m. intrusion happened,” he pointed out.
“Okay. Okay. You didn’t have to say it.” I went close to the door and paused without opening it. “Yes, who is it?”
“Krystal.” There was a slight increase in the pitch of her voice, as though my question confused her. “I texted you I was coming to say goodbye. Oh God, this isn’t a bad time, is it?”
Grimacing, I looked over my shoulder at Damon. My sister had sent me a warning she’d be here early, I’d forgotten, and I could tell by his expression that he hadn’t.
“Not at all,” Damon said loudly. With a smug grin on his face, he came around me and opened the door. “Krystal, come on in. You can help your sister finish packing.”
She flounced past us and halted in the center of the room. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the careful maze of boxes we’d lived with for weeks. For some reason, I’d resisted Damon’s
suggestion that we should let one of the bodyguards take them out of my bedroom.
“Jeez, Louise, it looks like you’re packing everything.” She sounded overwhelmed and a bit sad.
“I don’t know what I’m going to need in Wyoming.” I shrugged. “Isn’t that what you do when you move out? Take everything?”
“Yes.” Her lower lip quivered as she nodded. “But this makes it seem like you’re not planning to come back. Not ever.”
“Oh, Krystal.” I rushed across the room and fiercely took my sister into my arms. “We’ll be back, and you can visit.”
“But it’ll all be different.”
And that’s when it hit me.
I was leaving home.
Something I thought would never happen for me, but then I couldn’t have anticipated Damon and where loving him could take my life. But as wonderful as I was sure our future would be, my sister was right. Everything would be different. Us. My family. Even her. And out of nowhere, I was crying exactly as Krystal was doing.
MY ENTIRE FAMILY HAD COME for our departure, but it was saying goodbye to my parents that was the hardest. Whether they thought my moving out with Damon was a good idea or not, I couldn’t tell from their expressions. What was obvious was that they didn’t want me to leave.
Mom’s hand shook as she lay it on my cheek, and she made one of her quirky expressions. “You have to call every day. FaceTime with me so I can see everything you’re doing. I’m not ready for this, baby girl. To have an empty nest.”
My dad put an arm around her. “Not empty, love. You’ve still got me. I’m a full-time job by any woman’s measure.”
Mom gave Dad a look that said behave yourself and then smiled at me. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself, Khloe. Don’t push yourself more than you should.”
“Never.”
“And don’t forget where your home is,” my dad said, his voice raspier than usual. “We’re always here for you. For you both. Don’t forget that.”
“Impossible. I love you both so much,” I murmured, grossly emotional as I wrapped an arm around each of them and brought them to me. “You two better visit soon.”
“Soon,” my dad promised, kissing me on the head.
“But not too soon, Alan. All right?” Damon jested, and all my brothers and sisters laughed.
Then, before I knew it, we were in the car, heading out of the gates for the airport.
“YOU HAVE THE STUFF you need to do to manage the ranch and your investments, but what am I supposed to do while we’re in Wyoming?” I asked as we cruised through traffic. It amazed me that this thought hadn’t occurred to me until after we’d left my parents’ house.
My life had always been very simple. In Pacific Palisades I had concentrated on my treatments, and the rest of the time I traveled with friends to concentrate on anything but my illness. Without either, I hadn’t a clue what my life would be.
“I’m serious, Damon. I’ve never had a job, not even a small one like parents give kids to keep them out of trouble. I wasn’t born with artistic talent like the rest of the family. We don’t have children and won’t ever. Because of the paparazzi, we can’t spend our days traveling, and I don’t have any idea what people do to fill their days without those things. I don’t want my life to become like Hugh Grant’s in About a Boy. All shallow and boring, inventing activities in increments of fifteen minutes just to get through the day feeling like he had stuff to do. Please tell me that’s not going to be my reality in Wyoming.”
Damon laughed, amused by my overly dramatic meltdown. “That will never be your reality, love. I plan to put you to work on the ranch. It’ll be nice having some help.”
“Ha ha. Not funny. That’s even more pathetic. My fiancé inventing things to make me feel productive. Jeez, Louise, I won’t have my family or even friends in Wyoming.”
“You’ll have me to take care of, love.” Leaning down, he kissed me gently. “Do you have any idea how happy that thought makes me?”
I crinkled my nose. “It shouldn’t. That’s another thing I’ve not done. Taken care of someone. I might end up being really, really lousy at it.”
“No, you won’t. I can confirm you’re pretty great at it, because that’s exactly what you’ve been doing: taking care of me every day since we’ve been together.”
“That’s so not true, but thank you for saying it. Which doesn’t solve my problem. I’m going to be alone with nothing to do, and I’ve never been lonely before. I would hate that, Damon.”
“There’s a lot at the ranch for you to do. And I promise you won’t get lonely, KK.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Everything will be fine. Part of loving someone is making sure they have what they need. I wouldn’t let you down on that, Khloe.”
I frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged but had that expression he got when he tried to keep something secret from me.
I stared at him, and he smiled.
Yep, Damon was up to something.
Chapter Nine
Khloe
The Past
THE CAR ROLLED TO a stop on the tarmac near the hangar that housed my family’s jets at the private airport.
It was a gloriously clear day in Southern California, and I had to fight not to have my mood dampened by the thought that it might be months until I saw the sun shining this brightly in Wyoming. Here, winter looked like every other time of year. In Jackson Hole there were seasons. That was another thing I needed to add to the long list of things I hadn’t considered when I’d agreed to move with Damon.
It was bewildering how little I seemed to think things through now that I was in love with Damon. He could be like a drug that robbed me of every caution at times. A deliciously wonderful, euphoria-charged drug.
My gaze shifted from the busy activity beyond the car window back to Damon. I sensed he was much more upbeat than I’d been since leaving my parents’ house.
A smile teased my lips as I ran my glance slowly from his head to his toes. He was so excited we were stepping into our future together that his body was filled with pulsing energy, and it made him look even more dreamy than usual. Not even his tousled hair or his un-Damon-like outfit of dark jeans, a heavy cable-knit sweater, and black Doc Martens boots detracted from how fantasy-level gorgeous he was.
I drank him in with my gaze, and it was no longer baffling how effortlessly I made so many major decisions without a hint of restraint. I was positive any woman would toss aside fear and practicality if they were keeping her from a man like him. Being with Damon was the driving force inside me. Whatever direction his life went, I suspected I’d always gladly take the journey with him.
Our door was opened by Brayden, the bodyguard who’d accompanied us from my parents’ estate, and as I scanned the people around the jet, my heart dipped. I half expected to find Cody waiting out there, but he wasn’t.
I made a mental note to call him once we were in the air and read him the riot act for having been MIA this morning as I left Pacific Palisades. It’d hurt not to see him among my family members waiting to send us off—Cody was practically family—and worse not with the guys who worked for my family loading my boxes into the plane’s cargo bay. I hadn’t gotten even a text from him explaining what he was doing that was more important than saying goodbye to me in person to soften the blow of him not being there.
Brayden ran around to the rear of the car to retrieve my carry-on luggage as Damon alighted from the back seat. He took my hand to assist me from the car.
“Excited, love?” Damon murmured, kissing my knuckles. “In a few hours it’ll just be you and me, living our life together, no one else’s. Sound good?”
I grinned at him. “Very good.”
“I hope so.” He smiled warmly. “We’re going to be isolated for quite a while after we land. We could go weeks on end without seeing anyone other than the Freeburgs.
It would be awful if you were dreading that now, KK.”
Hmm…isolated with Damon.
No, I definitely wasn’t dreading that.
“The Freeburgs?” I asked, as I hadn’t heard the name before.
“Mr. and Mrs. He’s my ranch foreman and keeps things from falling down around me, and she runs the house. They’ve lived on the property since my mum was a girl. Delightful people, and you can trust them, Khloe. They’d never tip off the press, not about anything. They wouldn’t want the paparazzi spoiling the pristine beauty of the land.”
“Yikes. You mean they’re the only ones you have working for you?” I made a comical face. “No wonder you want a woman in the wilderness with you.”
“I want my fiancée,” he corrected with a salacious smirk, “in our house, our bed, with me always. I can’t imagine anything more delightfully perfect.”
“Then I better remember to always be delightful,” I teased, and he laughed.
“No, just be you, Khloe. Always be you. A man couldn’t want more than that, not ever.” He planted a fervent kiss on my mouth then stepped back. “Wait here, love. I need to talk to Brayden and the men and make sure everything is as it should be. Then we can board and get busy finishing what we started this morning before Krystal interrupted us.”
I frowned at all the shipping containers on trucks and scattered across the tarmac. “What’s all that? I know I didn’t pack that much.”
“Stuff for the ranch.”
“What stuff?”
He kissed my nose. “You’ll see it all sooner or later.”
I sensed he was hiding something from me, and my puzzled stare followed him as he went to the group of guys from Black Star Security.
“Where do you want this, Khloe?” Brayden asked, and I turned to see him holding my tote and my bag of other assorted must-haves.
“In the sleeping compartment of the jet, please,” I informed him.