He needed air and he broke away only long enough to pull oxygen into his starving lungs. She gasped along with him, and then he started at the corner of her mouth and licked and kissed his way across to the other corner.
Her small hands slid up his chest. It was like a heating element sliding over his skin. She left a blazing trail of fierce need in her wake. His entire body came alive, and all she’d done was touch him. Innocently.
They wound up around his neck and then her fingertips just delved into the hair at his nape. He shuddered, and it was all he could do to retain his tight hold on his control.
His body screamed at him to haul her over his shoulder and drag her caveman-style to the bedroom. He’d rip off her clothes and spend the night taking her over and over until they both succumbed to exhaustion.
His mind yelled at him to be careful. To take it slow. Not to push her so far away that she nev
“Then there are the people, like me, who are allergic to physical activity.” Wendy said.He snorted and sent an appraising look over her body. She ignored him and continued on.“These are the people who watch sports. They’re tuned in to every game. The players. The teams. They run the gambit from the fanatic to the casual observer. They’re the people who will buy your sportswear not because they’re going to worry over the functionality. They don’t care. They want to look cool. They want to immerse themselves in the aura of the sports world. You’re a brand, a label. It’s a status symbol.”Her excitement mounted with every word. He was listening intently. She had him.“So you do dual marketing. You go after the die-hard fitness enthusiast with the sweaty workout commercials. The driven athlete who’s going to be the best and wearing your brand the entire time.” She said.Again she paused to
Damon cocked his head to the side. “Just how well do you know him?” he asked.Before she could reply, Damon's phone rang. She tuned into Damon's conversation when he said her name. He was obviously talking to his mom.“We’ll be there this afternoon. Four o’clock. Yes, I know. I won’t miss it. Dinner afterward. Wendy and I are having lunch together down by the marina. We’ll meet you back at the hotel in time for rehearsal. You have my word.”He hung up and let out a sigh as he tucked the phone back into his pocket.“The woman is convinced I’ll flake on the wedding. I wonder how on earth she got that idea?” he said.It was said so innocently that Wendy burst into laughter. Damon joined her and business was effectively put back out of the way once more.-------------------------The nice lunch by the harbor never happened. As Damon and Wendy were leaving th
Damon made a strangled noise and promptly took a long drink of his wine. Wendy kept a perfectly straight face as she took in the reactions of Damon's family.Martha looked wary. Debbie was smiling. Grace looked murderous. Sam had a strange look that could only be interpreted as a cross between regret and sadness, his father, Ben looked distracted, while Ross nodded approvingly. He reached over to slap his son on the back.“You’ve got yourself a winner here, son. I heartily approve. This one will keep you on your toes well into your old age. I like her.” he said.Greaaat, Wendy thought. She had the approval of her fake father-in-law to be. She looked over at Damon as guilt swamped her. She’d gotten carried away and hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to needle Damon a bit. Though he deserved it, she still felt bad about carrying things so far.To her surprise, he was staring thoughtfully at her, his eyes
“Someone like Grace. You seemed pretty hung up on her.” Sam said.“I think it’s safe to say I’m not hung up on Grace.”“I can see why you’re attracted to her,” Sam said.“Who?” Damon demanded sharply.“Wendy.”Both men stared across the room to where Wendy danced with Ross.“She’s a beautiful woman. I bet she’s awesome in bed.” Sam said.Damon rounded furiously on Sam .“You shut the hell up. Don’t even breathe her name again. You got it?” he said.Sam smiled and backed away, holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re awfully touchy about her. Funny, you weren’t that pissed when you found out about Grace.”Sam sauntered off and Damon turned away, angry that he’d let him goad him.“Damon, there you are.”He sighed when his mom latched on to his
She raised her gaze to meet his. He was propped on his arms, his body still flush with hers and their noses were mere inches apart. His eyes were warm with desire, liquid with want, and her heart fluttered in response.His voice was so tender and understanding. He stared down at her like she was the only woman he’d ever made love to. A mixture of awe and wonder that humbled her.“I was thinking we shouldn’t do this,” she admitted.“But? There’s definitely a but in that sentence.” he said.He sounded so hopeful that she smiled and once again traced the lean lines of his face with a fingertip.“But I don’t care. I should care. I should be on my way back to New York. I should have never agreed to stay.”“But,” he murmured again, his voice husky and so very predatory. 
He reached down and his fingers slid between them.“That. Oh my God, that.” She said.Her cry echoed sharply over the room. It was the single most exquisite pleasure and pain all in one she’d experienced in her life. The tension was so sharp, so unbearable and then finally she exploded.The room darkened around her. She blinked but everything was fuzzy. All she was aware of was Damon stroking into her and the wonderful melting sensation as she went liquid around him.He growled her name and then he gathered her in his arms, holding her so tight she couldn’t breathe. His hips jerked against her before finally he collapsed onto her, his chest heaving with exertion.Her hands relaxed on his shoulders and went from punishing grip to soothing caresses. His skin was damp, and all that could beheard were his harsh breaths against her neck.She held him as tight as he held her, determ
He eased down, and she welcomed him into her arms. She pillowed his head on her chest, his mouth a breath away from her nipple. He kissed the plump swell of her breast but didn’t move. Their hearts thudded against each other and neither did anything to break the silence.What could be said? She knew she didn’t have words. She didn’t want to dissect the moment. Words would only ruin the euphoric aftermath of an experience she was at a loss to describe anyway.She ran her hand idly through his mussed hair. At his nape the crisp hairs were slightly damp with sweat. She inhaled, savoring the uniquely masculine smell of sex and sweat. It was intoxicating and erotic.“Does it make me a bastard that I’m already fantasizing about the part where you climb on top of me and have your wicked way?” he mumbled against her chest.She smiled. “As soon as I regain the feeling in my legs, I’ll see what I can do about that particular
As they waited behind the line of people going back inside, Damon leaned down and nuzzled her ear.“Let’s go have some fun at the reception,” he murmured. “You, me, a little dirty dancing…..”She laughed as the tightness left her chest. It was hard to remember all the reasons she shouldn’t become involved with this man when he charmed her to her toes.She tucked her hand willingly in his, and this time she curled her fingers around his as he led her into the hotel. No, logically she shouldn’t immerse herself in this charade. But then attraction was anything but logical. She had only a few more hours before she would be jolted back to reality. She planned to enjoy every single one of them.They danced. Slow, sensual songs and even the more upbeat tunes. Damon was astonishingly adept as he spun her around the room. Somehow she hadn’t seen him as the type to do more than a staid waltz or just a slow cuddle type dance i
"Oh, Damon" Wendy said, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too. I never stopped. I always will"Damon smiled and wiped a tear that had fallen with his finger. "Don't cry, honey" he said, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. And it makes what I'm going to say next so much easier"Wendy laughed and wiped her cheek with her palm. "Oh.... There's more?" she asked.He nodded. "Hell yeah" he replied, then his hand moved to stomach and he cupped it. "You remember when I found out about the baby and I asked you to move in with me?" he asked."Yes" she replied softly."At first I didn't like that you said no, it pissed me off in fact, but I realized that it was a crappy thing to say. We are having a baby, Red. You, me and that tiny human growing inside of you. And we love each other, so if we are going to do this, I want us to do it right, so...... "
“You are so beautiful,” Damon drawled, then gave a small cough. “Red, i have missed you so damn much, so much that I stayed up at night thinking about you. It was never just about sex for me".Wendy smiled up at him, tracing lines on his chest with the tip of her finger. "I have missed you too. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Damon. I didn't mean to push you away like that. I cared but I was just so worried about what people thought so much, that I didn't know I was torturing myself, and hurting you too, but now.... With the baby, I don't care so much anymore. My priorities has changed all of a sudden"He laughed—and it sounded so good. To see him relaxed, smiling, was like glimpsing somehow a different man, and all she knew was that she wanted more of this. He ran his hand over her warm, naked body and she squirmed with pleasure, couldn’t believe she was lying naked in his arms in the middle of the day and feeling only beautiful.
“Don’t hold onto those thoughts, Red, just let them go.” And she tried, really tried to just relax as his hand cupped her bottom and lifted her enough to slip off the shorts and knickers in one. But the movement erased what had been achieved, embarrassment flooding in as her flesh was exposed, her knees lifting instinctively and her hand moving down in a futile attempt to cover herself. Wanting to hide her body from his gaze. It had been a while since they'd been this way together.“Don’t fight,” he ordered, but he was soothing her with his words. “Don’t think about that anything else, just think about this.” His hand hovered over her stomach until she caught her breath.She wanted the contact again and he was very gently tracing tiny endless circles around the little hill of her abdomen as his lips dusted her cheeks. Oh, how much she'd missed him. He was kissing away the salty tears that were spilling from her eyes with his other hand around
The sun blocked out as he hovered over her, her eyes still closed as she blissfully attuned to the feel of his lips lightly on hers until it wasn’t enough. He was waiting for her bidding, she instinctively knew that. She could smell the bitter orange and bergamot undertones of his cologne, his breath mingling with hers, and after seconds that seemed to drag for ever she gave him her consent with her mouth, pressed her own lips into his. The greeting was acknowledged by the reward of his cool tongue parting her lips, slipping inside, and that delicious taste of him, the intimate feel of his mouth inside hers, his tongue languorously capturing hers, playing a slow teasing game, long strokes that made her want more, countered by a tiny feather-light stroke on the tip of her tongue and then a gentle sucking as he dragged her deeper into him. And it was the most erotic of kisses yet the most frustrating, because still nowhere else did he touch her. Only their mouths were touching only the
She turned abruptly away, terrified he’d read the naked lust in her eyes. She took a long drink from her water bottle then, blowing her fringe skywards and trying to keep her voice normal, determined not to make a fool of herself again, to be absolutely sure she wasn’t misreading things, she said, “You should try meditating if you want to be relaxed.”“It wouldn’t work,” Damon dismissed.“It won’t if that’s your attitude...” She could feel the atmosphere sizzling between them, knew that if she said what was on her mind then she’d be crossing a line, playing the most dangerous of dangerous games. “Try it,” she breathed, her eyes daring him to join her. “Why don’t you lie back and try it now?”“Now?” Damon checked, a dangerous warning glint in his eyes, which she heeded, but it only excited her more.“Now,” Wendy affirmed. “Just lie back.”“Then what?” Damon's impatient voice demanded instruction as,
Absolutely the last person she was expecting to see at this hour as she thought she wouldn't be back from work so early. He was dressed in his inevitable dark suit, but there was a slightly more relaxed stance to him. He held a brown paper bag in one hand and he didn’t look in his usual rush—his usually perfectly knotted tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone. But his dark eyes were shielded with sunglasses making his closed expression even more unreadable if that were possible.“You’ve done a lot of work. I can see.” he said.“It’s getting there.” She nodded. “And if I keep going at full speed, I could still be done with this by early next week.”He didn’t say a word, he didn’t have to. Just a tiny questioning lift of his eyebrow from behind his dark glasses was enough for Wendy.“I am allowed to take a break,” Wendy retorted.“I didn’t say anything!” he said, but she could see
His mouth brushed her cheek, sweeping along her cheekbone till she could feel his breath warm on the shell of her ear then moving back, back to her waiting lips, slowly, deliberately until only a whisper separated them, till his mouth was so close to hers that she was giddy with expectation, filled with want —deep, burning want, a want that suffused her, a want she had never, even in their most intimate moments, experienced, and he hadn’t even kissed her. Her breath was coming in short, unyielding gasps, his chest so close to hers that if she breathed any deeper their bodies would touch.It was the pregnancy, she thought. Everything seemed to be heightened.She was torn between want and dread, her body longing to arch towards his, her nipples stretching like buds to the sun, his hand still on the wall behind her head, and all she wanted was his touch.As if in answer, his mouth found hers, the weight of his body pushing her do
Damon smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel better, your plan worked out fine"Wendy smiled back and withdrew her hand slowly from his, missing the feeling instantly, "I should go now" she said, trying to unlock her car. "Did you bring your car""Yes, but I will follow you home"Wendy grinned at got into her car, and she could see him through the mirror as she drove home. "---------------“Home!” she said, when they were at her place and both got out of their cars.He didn't leave then, but followed her up.“Should you be climbing the stairs everyday? Now that you are... You know.”She laughed."I'm not paralyzed Damon" she said, "Besides, it's good exercise"They were at her front door now. “I know what I said before, but thank you for coming, Damon. It’s been, er...pleasant. I mean... Having
"You really have to ask? Damon, for the past weeks all we have done is fight. We simply can't stand each other. We can't agree about a single thing, and now you think all that is just going to magically go away because we are having a baby together? Even you have to admit that that's ridiculous ""I honestly don't think it is. I think we can work through things and find a way to make it work""Well I don't" Wendy replied, rolling her eyes, "And you can't just come in here and expect me turn my life around just because you said so. Have you ever considered the fact that I might have my own plan? No you don't. You think that all of your idea is gold and I'm just supposed to agree with whatever you say"Damon didn't want to fight or argue with her, especially not in this room, so he took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm sorry I didn't ask you first. I just wanted to be helpful not piss you off" he said. "What are your plans?"