Chapter 3

Damon

She was pissed, and he couldn't blame her. Well, maybe not pissed. Hurt was more like it.

Damon set the phone down on his desk and slipped his hand into his slacks before walking toward the full-length windows in his office. The sunny day did nothing to permeate the sickening feeling that swelled deep inside of him. He'd have to miss his father's wedding if he couldn't fix the situation with Zarpeth soon. It needed far more than a quick band-aid, and yet a patch-up job was all he had time for.

It was time for his father to have a happy ending, to get to enjoy a relationship that was based on truth and love. Karen, Bethany's mother, was going to be great for him.

"Much better than my own cheating-ass mother," Damon mumbled under his breath and tried hard not to let the images of catching her with another man poison his thoughts. He was already struggling like hell with keeping his mood under control.

"Damon?" Linda's voice reached him before the soft rapping of her knuckles on the door.

He turned and forced a tight smile for his secretary. "What's up?"

"I'm running down to the cafeteria and wanted to make sure you didn't need anything." She gave him a warm smile. She was a pretty older woman, but he kept her beside him because she was organized and would quickly turn into a bulldog to protect him if the situation called for it. She was loyal, and that meant more to him than anything else.

Loyalty and trust.

"No, but thanks." He pulled his hands from his pockets and walked over to his desk. "Hold all my calls for a little while. I need to review these inventory files one more time and see if I can't come up with something that would help close this gaping hole at Zarpeth."

"Anything I can do to help? I'm happy to grab Ben or one of your other staff and haul them up here for you." She stepped just inside the door, but not too far.

He sat down and leaned back, letting his vision glaze over. "No. Just close the door on your way out. The team has already turned in their reports. Thank you though."

"Of course." She closed the door, and silence rushed in to welcome him.

Had he really told his and Bethany's family that he was in love with her the night before? Had he told her?

The smile that lifted his lips reached to his eyes. He should have said something to her when he called to talk to his father moments before. She was young and would overreact to his dismissal of her. She wouldn't realize that he was protecting her from the asshole he could quickly become if he weren't careful.

She'd been so sexy in the pool. Like a kitten. Unsure of herself and yet wanting his affection desperately. He closed his eyes and pressed his palm to the front of his slacks as his cock stirred to life.

"Fuck," he mumbled before biting his lip. Maybe there was time to have her again before she got on a plane the next morning. Realization rolled over him, and he sat up. He wouldn't be sinking deep into his girl if he didn't get his shit done in the office and get over to his father's.

They needed to hire a more experienced senior manager for the firm, someone that could support Damon and help to filter the amount of work that ended up on his desk.

"Preferably a male." He sat up and ignored the soft thumping of his pulse along the base of his cock as it continued to harden. One thought of Bethany, and he was lost to lust. Why? How was she so different than the other women who walked into his office on a regular basis.

His thoughts quickly moved to her, and he leaned back in his chair and gave himself over to it for a minute. Long brown hair and big green eyes. So much innocence and yet determination and drive resonated in the way she carried herself. Confident. Smart.

Every inch of him ached for her attention by the time he pulled himself out of the deepening daydream. Reaching for the phone, he stood up and walked to his door to lock it. To call or not to call?

"Just leave it alone." He flipped the lock on the door and walked toward the small restroom attached to the back of his office. Privacy was the best part of being an executive, but just slightly above getting to control every aspect of the company when his father was away.

There was no reason to call her and apologize for not talking to her earlier. They could talk later. Hearing her voice would just distract him more, and he was already on edge from all the bullshit bubbling up on the Zarpeth account.

He flipped on the light and closed the door to the bathroom before dropping his slacks and turning to sit down. It had been a long time since he had to take care of himself, but then again, being with one woman made things more complex.

"And far more stimulating." He wrapped his hand around his cock and lifted his hips, pressing deep into his tight hold as a tremor ran through him. It wouldn't have taken more than a phone call to get her up there, and if he knew her well enough, Bethany would be more than willing to help him let off a little bit of steam. His pretty girl loved sex as much as he did, or so it seemed.

He let his head fall back as he continued to work himself near the edge of orgasm. His mind moved from the sterile bathroom to the beach in Jamaica, the sound of the ocean so real, the smell of the salt water almost concerning.

Stretched out across the empty beach naked with Bethany on his lap, her back to his chest.

"You're so beautiful, baby," he whispered against the back of her shoulder and moved his hand to rest between her thighs as she lifted her hips and stroked his cock with her tight, wet body.

"And I'm all yours." She pressed back down and moaned loudly, throwing him toward orgasm. Hearing her come was all he wanted.

"Just mine." He cupped her mound and rolled his fingers over her clit in a slow rhythm as she gripped his thighs and lifted up, working herself up and down his shaft.

"I'm so close. Bite me."

He growled softly and pressed his teeth into the back of her shoulder as she arched her back and came loudly, her moans pushing him over the edge to join her.

His breath hitched as he thrust his hips one last time and lost himself to the delicious warmth provided by his orgasm. The phone ringing just outside the door didn't faze him a bit, nor did he let it pull him from the moment.

Damon gripped the side of the toilet as he lifted his hips and finished the job. Stars burned at the edge of his vision, and it was most likely a good thing that Bethany hadn't been at work that day. He would have been enough of a bastard to get her up to his office for a quickie against the wall or bent over his desk.

He leaned over and pressed his arms to his thighs as he panted softly. So much pleasure. And there could be the promise of love behind it. Real love. Not the bullshit emotions his mother pretended to have for his father, but authentic caring and connection.

The sound of someone knocking on his door had him moving quickly to clean up. He walked from the bathroom with his heart still racing. Letting off a little bit of steam would help, but he needed far more that a ten-minute masturbation session. He'd have to find a way to get over to his father's later that night and take advantage of Bethany's sweet body.

Part of that meant explaining his shortness from the call moments before.

"Fine. Whatever." He pulled the door open to find Linda standing in the hallway, looking sheepish.

"Sorry to bother you, boss, but Patrick is on the phone. He needs to talk to you. It's an emergency." Her expression was pained.

"It's always an emergency with this guy." Damon rolled his eyes and walked back to his desk. "Who hired him anyway?"

"Your father did, and you like him, remember?"

Damon chuckled. "I don't like anyone but Ben."

"Not true." She stepped inside his office and lifted her eyebrow as he turned and dropped back down in his chair. "You like me, and you sort of like Patrick."

"Stop trying to save the guy from getting his ass handed to him. Close the door and forgive me in advance." Damon picked up the phone.

"For?" She moved a few steps back and grabbed the door handle to pull the door closed.

"For yelling." He put the phone to his ear as his mood darkened again. "This better be a call where you tell me that you have fixed all the things your team missed at Zarpeth. That or you better sit down and protect your ass, because I'm about to hand it to you."

"Hi, Damon," Patrick mumbled.

"It's Mr. Bryant for this conversation," Damon barked into the phone as Linda closed the door softly.