His Forever, Book 3

Billionaire Alpha Series

One too many cracks in a shallow foundation will cause it to crumble.  

An unfortunate side effect of 'taking a break' is the relief that Bethany didn't expect to feel. With her master's program having started, her teaching assistant job going well and her workload at M&B, she's grateful to take one thing off her plate, but that relief doesn't last too long. 

A new woman has joined the firm, one of Damon's old flames. She's sugary sweet on the outside, but just below the surface lies a home wrecker. One with her eye on a certain alpha billionaire. Luckily enough, Damon realizes the heartache before it happens and saves the day.

Through trial and tribulation, love will finally win. Damon and Bethany let down their guards and learn to finally trust each other. There’s only one thing left to do… get married.

Chapter 1

Bethany

"Turn to page eleven, and you'll see our final report on the inventory system implementation for Zarpeth. As a member of the team, each of you needs to read through the document and sign off on the documentation. It's simply a summation of your work and our recommendations to Mr. Talling." Damon glanced around the room.

He stood at the front of the conference room, Delilah beside him, looking like the angel she wasn't. The woman was stunning and stood far too close to Damon's side for Bethany's liking, but there was nothing she could do about it. Damon should have shifted over or made it more obvious that he was uncomfortable with her closeness, but he didn't.

He continued to plow through the meeting agenda and barked his commands at any and everyone around the table. Something had to be going on between the two of them. Sex? Maybe, but there was no way to know for sure.

Bile rose up in Bethany's throat at the idea of him sleeping with anyone but her. The memory of making love a few weeks back ripped through her mind's eye, weakening her. She'd been a total bitch that night to prove a point, and it had worked. He hadn't said more than two words to her over the last few weeks. What did she expect? She'd hit him where it hurt the most... in the bedroom.

Bethany glanced down at the packet and flipped to page eleven, working hard to scan the page and getting nowhere. Her thoughts were scattered, her heart broken into a million pieces.

She ran her finger across the page, blinking a few times to try and refocus. She didn't belong there. Delilah had made that more than clear over the last three weeks. The new senior manager at McKenzie and Bryant didn't seem to give a shit that Bethany was Kent's daughter. No one on the team seemed willing to go up against the bitchy blond, and Bethany refused to take the situation to Damon. He already knew all of it from what she gathered.

"There were several reports that we received that were hard to decipher." Delilah brushed her long blond hair over her narrow shoulder and glanced around the room. "I didn't include those findings in the report for obvious reasons. If you want to see me after the meeting, Bethany, I can explain where you went wrong."

Bethany glanced up, her neck and throat warmed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry? What was wrong with the report?"

"You and Delilah can discuss that when we're done here." Damon turned his dark gaze on her, leaving her to feel even more disconnected.

She glanced down without another word and swallowed the hot ball of regret lodged in her throat. She'd asked her mother to marry Kent so that she could get some help paying for her master’s. Never in a million years had she expected the proposition to be loaded with the requirement to work at M&B as part of the deal.

You got what you bargained for. This is ultimately all your fault.

"Any other questions?" Damon asked the group that sat quietly.

Bethany glanced up at him, needing to see something in him that reminded her why she still loved him. She'd spent more time crying to Matt and Kendal than she wanted to recall. Both of them wanted her to fight for her relationship with Damon, but of course they did. They cared about the bastard almost as much as she did.

The conversation with Kendal the day before in the parking lot at UT rolled through her mind, choking her with indecision.

“Ask your question. Get it off your chest." Kendal took a step toward Bethany, his green eyes filled with so many emotions. She knew he had too much of his own shit going on to deal with hers, but couldn't help but dig for anything she could get on Damon.

"How is he?" She pursed her lips and glanced down at the ground as another wave of pain shook her shoulders. There would be no holding herself together with him still in her life. She had to make the decision to fight for him or turn around and walk.

"He's torn in half. He's devastated and has sunk down into being the bastard we both hoped he would never be again." Kendal reached out and pressed his fingers softly under her chin to force her to look up. "If you're angry, hurt, lonely, curious... if you care at all - go find him and tell him."

"I can't, Kendal." She closed her eyes, not wanting him to see how destroyed she was from losing him.

"Then lose him. It's your choice." He released her and walked around her to his car.

His words and actions were heartless, but he was simply goading her to do something before it was too late.

"All right. Get busy. No one is leaving before ten tonight." Delilah clapped her hands and walked toward Bethany. "If you'll hang behind, we can talk about your report."

Bethany glanced up into the other woman's eyes and forced a tight smile. "I'd love to, but I have class in an hour. Maybe another time?"

Delilah snorted and closed the door to the empty room. It would seem that Damon and everyone else high-tailed it out of the meeting as quickly as possible.

Bethany let out a soft sigh and stood up, turning around to face the bitch who'd been riding her tail for the last few weeks.

"I'm not sure if you and Kent have spoken, but I did pull him aside earlier this week just to let him know of the concerns I have with your performance."

"Oh yeah?" Bethany put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side as anger burned through the center of her chest. "And what exactly are your concerns?"

"Firstly, you show up when you want to." She lifted her fingers into the air, ticking off one thing after the other. "You leave when you want. You get the assignments you want. You're getting privileges that no one else is." She laughed obnoxiously loud. "Hell, you get better privileges than Damon, Kent's flesh and blood."

"And what did Mr. Bryant have to say about your concerns?" Bethany reached down and picked up her bag, trying hard to keep her cool. She was the youngest on the team and the low-man on the totem pole. She might have a nice office on the top floor, but she was still going to have to work her way up to earn the spot that went with the office space.

"Your report for the meeting today was short and didn't have nearly enough detail to include your findings in the group summary." Delilah crossed her arms over her chest. "So basically all the work you did is null and void seeing that you didn't document it properly. Bravo. Great job. I'm sure your father and your brother appreciate you spending their time and money to do a piss poor job that a guy off the street could do."

The need to realign her nose raced through Bethany, but she pushed it down. It would be seen as childish and cause more problems than it was worth.

"My documentation was in perfect alignment with what was asked of me. My senior, Patrick, actually pulled me aside to compliment the thoroughness of my work, so I think you might have lost a few documents in the mess you call your desk." She picked up her bag and walked toward the door. "But don't bother with looking for them. I'm putting in my notice today. I don't need this shit, and I most certainly don't need to work for someone that casually loses the top button of her shirt no matter which outfit she has on. It's inappropriate, and you look like a slut." Bethany shrugged as Delilah let out an angry sound. "I'll make sure I explain that to my father when we talk tonight about the reasons behind me feeling bullied at his firm. Have a great day, and here. You still need these."

Bethany tossed the bitch a small container of breath mints and walked out into the hallway. After a quick stop by her office to gather her personal things, she walked to the elevator with her head held high.

She and Damon weren't getting back together because she wasn't willing to bend to his rules nor his demands. She'd made a huge mistake in so many ways over the last few months, but it all started with a selfish request.

"I should have never asked my mother to trade in her freedom for mine." She pressed the button for the first floor and moved to the back of the elevator as a torrent of emotion pumped through her.

She got what she deserved, and her lesson was learned.

Now it was simply time to unwind all that which she'd laid in place.

"Time to make things right." She walked out of the elevator and didn't glance back once. The past was the past, and Damon belonged right there with every other mistake she'd made. She pulled out her phone and called Philip. He was the only friend she had in her life that didn't have a direct connection with Damon. Calling on Kendal or Matt would have been asinine.

"Hey. Where are you? There's a buzz up here that you quit." Philip sounded a little out of breath.

"I did. Are you busy in a little while? I need a drinking buddy."

"You asking me on a date?" He snorted. "I thought you were sold out for the big guy."

"If you're busy, then never mind." She closed her eyes and regretted calling. It wasn't a date at all. It was a desperate cry for a friend. Hers were either tied to Damon, in jail or trying to learn to walk again.

"No. No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you. I'll pick you up at eight. Just give me the address."

"All right. See you then." She hung up and texted him the address. Nothing would happen between them because he wasn't Damon.

No one was.

***

"Bethany? That you?" Martha's voice was comforting in ways that didn't make sense, but Bethany was willing to take anything she could get.

"Yeah," she called out to the Bryants’ cook and maid. "I just came by to talk with Kent for a little while."

"He's out back, working on his golf swing. Take the stairs beside the pool down to the grass, and you'll see him." The older woman laughed as she stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Or just follow the sound of cursing. His swing is off today, and he's not too happy about it."

"Thanks." Bethany glanced over toward Martha and paused as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"What's the matter? You look like someone died." She ran her hands over Bethany's shoulders, squeezing softly. "You okay?"

"No." Bethany glanced down. "I quit today."

"Quit what?" The look of shock on Martha's face didn't help the sickness playing around in the pit of Bethany's stomach.

"The firm. I can't do it anymore." She shrugged. "Let me go talk to Kent, and we'll catch up when I'm done."

"All right, child. I'm here for you." She pulled Bethany into a warm hug. "Just don't make decisions in haste. There is nothing good that can come of that."

"I know." Bethany squeezed the older woman once more and pulled from her arms. "Thanks."

"Anytime. I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight if you want to stay," she called after Bethany.

"We'll see." Beth walked out onto the patio and paused, closing her eyes and letting the coolness of the fall weather roll over her exposed arms. She was still dressed in her business casual attire, but it felt more appropriate seeing the conversation that was soon to take place.

"Dammit to hell!" Kent's voice rose up from the side of the house, and Bethany let out a slow exhale. He wasn't just her boss. He was her new father, and he'd made a lot of promises to her as his new daughter. He'd kept every one of them, and where she needed to have a conversation with her dad that night, she needed the first one to be with her boss. Hopefully he would understand.

"Kent?" She walked down the stairs beside the pool and stopped a few feet from him as he turned. A big smile lifted his lips.

"There's my beautiful girl." He turned and walked toward her, pulling her into a hug. "Damon called and said that you left the office upset."

"I'm not sure how he knew that, but it's been a rough day." She leaned into the hug, enjoying the warmth of his connection. "Can I talk to my boss for a few minutes and then my dad?"

"Of course, kiddo. Or, you could just talk to your dad." He took a step back and reached out to cup her face. "You're hurting."

Beth pressed her teeth into her lip and shifted her eyes toward the dark blue sky. She nodded, unable to get anything out for a moment. Tears burned her gaze, and she couldn't help but wonder how many more tears she would have to cry. It was a fucked up mistake to ask for help in the way she did. Everything that had gone wrong in her life felt somehow connected to that moment she asked for help.

"I quit today. I can't work for M&B." She lowered her chin, letting her tears fall onto her cheeks. "If that means you can't help me with my master’s program, then I'll get a loan. I know that was part of the deal, but me being there is toxic for the team, and it's hurting Damon. I can't do it anymore."

"I'd never take a gift away from you, Bethany." Kent brushed a few more of her tears away. "If you don't want to work at the firm, I'm perfectly fine with that. Of course I want you there with us, but I know things aren't as they should be between you and Damon. We're family before anything else. I want to see you two reconcile if it's at all possible."

"I don't know what's possible, to be honest with you."

"Stay for dinner and let's talk about all of this. The three of us. You, me and him."

"No. I can't. I'm heading back to campus. My apartment is still mine." She moved back and brushed the rest of her tears away. "I don't want to get into the details of why I quit. I just need you to know that if you want to take back the funding for my-"

"No. I want you to know that it's yours no matter what happens, okay?" He reached out and cupped her cheek. "I'm not going to let this go without looking into it. I hope you understand that. If something is wrong with my firm, then I have to fix it."

"I know, but I think you'll find that the only thing that was wrong with it is now gone." She cupped her hand over his. "I need to go. Thank you for being here for me."

"I always will be."

She pulled back and turned to walk back up onto the patio.

"And Bethany."

The look of worry on his face left her wanting to scurry away so she could cry in peace. Why was it that when she was in pain and someone was kind to her, it broke her down fast?

"Yes?"

"You're not the thing that's wrong with the firm. Don't believe your own lies, kiddo. They'll do nothing but destroy the truths."

She nodded and jogged up the stairs, avoiding the kitchen and walking out to the front of the house to her car before anyone could see her.

There was no changing her mind.

Her quitting M&B was final.

No matter what.

Chapter 2

Damon

The meeting had been short, which was good, but fuck if he didn't have a million things to say to the beautiful brunette that stole his heart. His pride kept his tongue tied up as he walked out of the room and took a sharp right to walk back to his office.

Delilah was upset about Bethany's report she'd turned in, but he'd yet to see it. After he checked his messages, he would ask his new senior manager to produce Beth's report so that he could check it out himself. It was a coaching moment that he could have with Beth if nothing else.

"Damon." Delilah stuck her head in the room, her blue eyes a little wide as if she were scared.

"What? Make it quick," he barked, glancing up from a pile of papers on his desk. She was beautiful and reminded him of a better version of Krista, but she was the past. He couldn't even force the feeling that something might happen between them. It wouldn't happen now like it didn't when they were younger. He was unfortunately lost to everyone thanks to Beth. The hope that fluttered around his chest every time he saw Beth was enough to leave him cynical and sickened.

With neither of them bending, nothing was going to change.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I think Bethany just quit." She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, trying hard to look nonchalant. "It's better this way. She's sensitive and young and honestly, isn't doing the work."

"That's not what Patrick or Ben had to say about Bethany's output." He stood up as anger burned through the center of his chest. Had Delilah attacked Beth? Her methods of calling the girl out in the middle of the meeting were unprofessional.

"Yes, well, they're men. They're obviously attracted to her."

Damon snorted and walked around his desk as he narrowed his eyes on the woman. "I don't think it had a damn thing to do with them being men. What exactly did you hope to gain today by calling her out in front of the team? I'm sure that dropped morale for everyone, not just her."

"I wasn't being a bitch. I wanted everyone to understand that it's important to pull your own weight. Period." She reached out and pressed her fingers into his chest. "Stop being so sensitive about her. She doesn't have you wrapped around her finger too, does she? Just because she's your step-sister, she gets privileges that no one else gets."

Damon brushed her hand from his chest. "She's a good employee and the youngest member of our team. Your intimidation tactics better not be behind her walking out of here today. It's unacceptable, and you're smarter than this. Playing with fire only gets you burned, Delilah."

"Damon. I didn't-"

"Save it." He turned and walked out of his office toward Beth's. He paused at the door to see that most of her personal things were gone. "Fuck."

The last thing in the world he wanted was for her to keep losing bits and pieces of herself. They were headed in two different directions, and the hope of them ever coming back together was growing more and more slim, but he still loved her with every ounce of his heart.

Walking to the tall windows that ran from the floor to the ceiling, he pressed his hand against it and glanced down. Burnt orange and red leaves blew all over the front walkway of the building as the sun set in the far end of the sky. His heart constricted in his chest as the door opened, and she walked out holding a box. He was high up, but he could tell it was her by the color of her hair and the way she held herself.

"Boss?" Ben's voice surprised him.

Damon glanced over his shoulder and forced his facade into place. "What?"

"You all right?" Ben walked into the office, glancing around as if the poor guy thought a bomb might go off any minute.

"No, I'm not." Damon turned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Bethany just quit."

"Oh shit." Ben crossed his arms over his chest. "Why? What happened? Because of Delilah calling her out in the meeting?"

"Among other things, I guess." Damon walked over to Beth's chair and sat down, letting his eyes scan the various scraps of paper on her desk. A small white wrapper from a fortune cookie was taped to the edge of her desk from one of their many dates.

Life will be filled with adventure.

On the end of the saying, there was a small hand scribbled 'in bed.'

Damon smiled as sadness filled him. He'd written the 'in bed' as he teased her that all fortunes from a fortune cookie had to have that ending. It made more sense that way.

The memory of their last time together in bed flashed in front of his eyes. She'd been angry that morning and had done a good job of showing him. He hadn't felt used like that since his freshman year of college. Those were memories best left dead. He'd become a raging whore that used women like dishtowels after that.

"I'll talk to her, Damon. She's too good to lose." Ben walked the rest of the way into the office and sat down in an empty chair.

"No. I'll talk to her tonight. We're having family dinner at my dad's house." He brushed his fingers by his lips. "I just spoke with Delilah and she insinuated that you and Patrick gave Beth a good review because she's a beautiful woman, and well, you're a man."

"What?" Ben's face grew red as his eyes widened. "That's bullshit. Bethany is beautiful, yes, but she's brilliant and fast as heck, Damon. I told you that already."

"I figured as much." He glanced down. "I'm going to document the situation and our conversation, as well as mine and Delilah’s. My father hiring her was a mistake. I wish he'd have mentioned it before he signed the paperwork with her."

"No shit." Ben rolled his eyes. "How dare she say that about Patrick and me? She's been a total bitch to Bethany. We've all been tiptoeing around her just to keep the peace, but I was coming in today to tell you that it has to stop. I can't tell her to back the hell off, but you can. She's my boss for God’s sake."

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry."

Linda stuck her head into the office. "Mr. Bryant, Mr. Talling from Zarpeth is on line one. I told him that I would have you call him back, but he's pretty insistent on talking with you."

"Now what?" Damon stood up and slipped his hands into his pants pockets before walking out of Beth's office and back down to his. The smell of her perfume clung to him, leaving him wanting to reminisce on all the good times they had before everything went to hell in a hand basket.

Damon closed the door behind him and dropped down into his chair. He reached over and pressed the speaker phone button.

"James. Tell me you have some good news. This fucking day is making me want to break open the oldest bottle of brandy I have and drink myself into oblivion." He closed his eyes, praying like hell that James wasn't about to deliver more bad news.

Beth walking out of the firm on the pretense of quitting was not only a horrid situation for him personally, but he would be facing one fucked up shit-storm when he got to his father's that evening. Beth was family and no one treated family like it would appear that he treated Beth.

"Hey man. I read over the audit reports and the recommendations. We're going to rebuild the inventory system using the programs you've noted here. I hired a new general manager for the Florida plant earlier this week. He's on the ball and will give you a call later this week. Thank you for all of your hard work. You’re an invaluable member of our team here."

Damon let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Excellent. Don't call me a member of your team, old friend. I'm your auditor. You know that doesn't work too well for objectivity."

James chuckled. "On an even better note, my wife and I are going to work things out. I took your advice. I hired a few key people to help me run the office so that I could pull back and try working on fifty hours a week, and it's working. I'm at home at night with her and the boys. We make dinner together, do the kids’ homework together, put them to bed and spend time talking about our day. It's bliss, man. I didn't realize how simple of a shift it would be. I wanted to thank you for the conversation on the golf course. It changed everything."

Damon sat up in his chair as warmth filled his chest. "So love is enough?"

"Yeah, man. Love shown and spoken. People don't know you love them unless you show them. Unless you tell them. You know what I mean?"

"That's great, James. I'm thrilled to hear that." Damon stood and walked to his windows, putting his forehead against the chilled glass. "And all of the bad blood between you and Dana is gone? All it took was for you to make a few sacrifices that showed her that she was number one in your life?"

"Yes. I'm sure we're still going to fight and have issues like every married couple in the world, but we're going to work through it. I just can't imagine being at the end of my life and everyone talking about what a great businessman I was. I want to be known for being a great father and a fantastic husband. I want Dana crippled by my death, not relieved because of it. I want us to mean everything to each other."

"That's awesome. I'm not sure there's anything left to work through for me and my girl. We aren't even talking anymore." He let out a short sigh. He'd not shared his heart with anyone but Matt and Kendal, nor did he want to. It would seem his wants were irrelevant at the moment. Hearing of James' good news left Damon wanting to analyze his friend's every step to winning Dana back.

"You still love her?"

"With every part of me. I hate thinking that my life is going to go on without her in it. It's like getting the winning ticket to the lottery and never getting to cash in. She's everything I want, James. My fucking pride won't let me apologize for something I didn't do."

"Then you better hope your pride keeps you warm at night, Damon."

"Fuck you too, old friend."

James laughed. "Tell your father my check is in the mail for your services."

"I will. I'm glad you called. Congrats on working things out with Dana."

"Thanks. Now it's your turn. If you love her, you're an idiot for letting her go. Love is fickle and doesn't show up very often. Go after her with the same passion and drive that caused you to win her over in the first place."

Damon moved back from the window and nodded. "Right. Talk to you soon, James."

They hung up, and Damon paced the floor, trying hard to think through why Bethany fell for him in the first place.

Passion. Aggression. Lust.

Everything changed so damn fast. All of those things only seemed to agitate her now, so going back to the beginning and using the tools he'd used to win her for the first time was the quickest way to losing her forever.

"What are you doing, baby?" He glanced out the window and took a shaky breath. "Why did you quit today? Another way to separate yourself from me? To run farther from me?"

He gathered up his things and tugged his bag over his shoulder. Patrick was pacing the hall outside of his office when he stepped out.

"Boss. There is no way in hell I would ever give someone a good review unless they did a good job. I'm the most ethical guy I know. Ask anyone. I'm a total stickler for the rules. Bethany could be the hottest thing on the planet, and if she sucked as an auditor, you'd know it. No way would I-"

"Hey." Damon reached out and clamped his hand down on Patrick's shoulder. "I know this. It's all good. I had to vet the information that was thrown at me. We're good, okay?"

Patrick let out a long sigh and pressed his hands to his knees. "I hate this new chick, boss. She's a bitch. I hate to say that seeing that she could fire me on the spot, but she's not right. She's been after Bethany since she got on the team. I think she hates the fact that Bethany is your step-sister."

Damon tried hard not to cringe at the fact that everyone would soon know that Beth was family. It was hard enough trying to keep the fact that they were engaged from the prying eyes of everyone at the firm, but now them knowing that she was family only added another layer of concern.

We're not engaged anymore. She gave me the ring back.

"I'll work it out. Thanks for your hard work this week." Damon patted the kid on the back before walking out of the tall skyscraper they occupied several floors of. He called out to the house to see if there was anything he could pick up for dinner. He was glad that Martha answered the phone and not someone else.

"No. Just come on out. I have a hot and cheesy lasagna coming out of the oven in fifteen minutes. Matt's already here, but Bethany just left. You're going to have to eat her portion."

"What?" Damon unlocked his car and got in. "Why isn't she staying?"

"I don't know. She was upset about something. She went to talk with your father and left before I could talk to her again."

"All right. I'll call her later. Thanks, Martha."

Damon started the car and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "What do you want from me, Beth? What, baby? I miss you so goddamn bad and yet every time I look at you, you turn away in disgust. Do you want me to come after you or leave you alone?"

He shook his head, trying hard not to slip into a dark depression as he pulled out of the parking garage and headed out to his dad's house. There was no doubt in his mind that his father was going to be upset by Beth quitting. He'd ask why she left and Damon would stand there dumbfounded.

The only answer he could come up with hurt too bad to speak.

She left because of me.

Chapter 3

Bethany

She had to get over her depression. It covered everything in a dark gray tint and left her wanting to sit on the couch and stare at the wall. She could cling to a tight facade of indifference when she was out in front of other people, but when she was at home alone, there was no reason to put forth so much effort.

The date with Philip the night before should have been fun. He was a great guy and so incredibly safe for her from a relationship perspective. Sadly enough, all she'd done the whole time was talk about Damon, think about him, cry over him... it was disturbing.

"Stop it," Bethany grumbled angrily as she sat up and tossed her pillow across the room. She'd cried her way through another long night. How long would the pain and sorrow over losing him last? "Forever."

She pulled herself out of bed, using her anger as fuel to push herself through a quick shower. She got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before pulling a sweater over the top of her head. A quick brush through her long brown hair and a pair of comfortable winter boots and she was out the door.

It wasn't her usual day to TA, but she knew Kendal could always use the help. He'd not deny her assisting for the day, and anything was better than sitting in the apartment crying all day long.

There was no way he would complain about her outfit either, or at least he never had before. She looked like a teaching assistant, and if he didn't like it, she'd leave and try again tomorrow. He didn't deserve to catch the brunt of the emotional battle that raged deep inside of her, but if he got in her way and pushed too much, it would spill over no matter how hard she tried to hold it back.

She walked through the halls of the accounting building, avoiding stares and feeling far too exposed though no one knew the baggage she was carrying around.

Pushing the door to the auditorium open, she half expected to find Kendal already working. The room smelled of stale books and mothballs, and for some reason, the thought caused her to smile. She took a seat on the front row and glanced up as the door opened.

Kendal looked incredible in his blue slacks and oxford sweater. He was a preppy bastard but did it well. How he and Damon were so close was a mystery to her, but somehow it brought her a little bit of comfort knowing that someone as good as Kendal was watching out for her man.

"Bethany." He stopped at the opening to the large auditorium.

"Hey, Dr. Tarrington." She went for casual, though there was something about him that made her want to open up and share her hurts - her heart.

He closed the door behind him and paused, giving her an odd look. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

"It's not Tuesday, right? I don't have my days mixed up, do I?" He smiled and moved up to take the seat beside her.

"No. I just wanted to stop by to see you." She glanced down at her hands and let out a shaky breath. "I went on a date last night with Philip."

Kendal's eyes grew wide. "All right." He leaned back in his chair and dropped his hands into his lap.

"And all I could think about was Damon." She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "He's not the right man for me, Kendal. I know he's not, but I can't get him out of my head. It's driving me insane."

"Love does that." He clasped his hands together. "Bethany, you didn't, you know..."

She glanced up, her expression tight. "Didn't what? Tell Damon? Hell no. He would kill Philip with his bare hands."

"No, you didn't sleep with this guy, right?"

"With Philip?" She rolled her eyes. There was no way in hell she would sleep with anyone for a long time. It wasn't fair to them or her.

"Thank God." He stood up and walked toward the stage. "He wouldn't forgive that."

"I know that. I wouldn't forgive it either. We might be on a break, but he still belongs to me." Did she really believe that? No, not really. It would seem things were winding down, but some part of her still wanted to hold on to hope, to dig her fingernails deep into it and not give up.

"And he believes that you still belong to him." He turned to face her. "He didn't hire Delilah. Kent did."

"How do you know that?" Damon had already mentioned it, but she wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Either way, he'd lied about it. Not mentioning it was the same as lying.

"We played golf together on Saturday, and I asked him."

"Was he angry about your asking? Did you tell him it was for me?"

"No, because it wasn't for you. I wasn't even sure I was going to tell you what I found out." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You two are acting like fucking children over this thing, Bethany. You're not a young girl looking for your prince charming, and he's not a broken soul who can find healing in anyone but himself. You can't make each other complete."

"Says who?" She took a few steps toward him and pressed her fingers into his chest. Who the hell did he think he was? Where was the Kendal she had come to know? "Love has the power to do anything it wants to do."

"And what does it want to do, Bethany? Save you both?"

"I don't know, but I can't hold on too much longer." She pressed her free hand to her chest as her face crumbled. "I'm hurting so bad right here. It feels like someone has a fucking vise grip around my heart and I need him so badly."

"Then go to him. Let him hold you and remind you how much he loves you. Stop fighting this shit and embrace it."

"Then he wins." She pushed at Kendal's chest as an ugly cry left her. "If he wins he'll never respect me for who I am."

"You don't know that." He gripped her hand tightly and pulled her toward him. He turned his full attention on her. "Stop speaking for everyone around you. You don't know what he has to say about his feelings for you or the reason he hired Philip. Maybe that was to show you that he trusted you to make the right decisions, but you're not doing that."

"I'm not a fucking puppet." She pulled her hand from his and walked toward the door. "Your class roster is on your desk. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bethany, go talk to him. I can't solve this for you guys."

"I wasn't asking you to." She paused by the door and glanced over her shoulder. "What would you do for love? Would you give up your rights and become whatever your lover wanted you to?"

"Is he asking that of you or are you forcing yourself to believe a lie to stay protected from possibly the greatest thing you might experience in this life." His gaze darkened. He was pushing at her, and she knew it.

"Would you change everything, Kendal? That was the question."

He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced down as his expression changed.

"Yes. I would change everything for the kind of love that promised to sustain me through loss and death, through fear and loneliness. There isn't anything I wouldn't give up for that."

"Not even your rules?" Her eyebrow lifted. She had him.

"Perhaps that's the only thing." He smirked and shook his head. "Get out of here and go mend what you've almost let get broken. It's not worth all that, and if I stand correct, neither you nor Damon have rules."

"Thank God for that." She patted the door and mumbled her thanks before walking out. Jake turned the corner and waved as he moved into the auditorium.

Good. Kendal needed someone with him. He was struggling with something that he wasn’t going to talk about obviously.

Bethany glanced down the hall to her left after holding the door for Jake. Someone that looked a lot like Damon walked toward the exit at the far end of the building. The guy hit the door hard as he walked out into the mid-day sunlight.

"Damon?" she whispered but stood frozen in place. It took a minute, but before she could stop herself, she was jogging after him. It had to be him. No one looked that good from behind in a pair of slacks. Was he spying on her or coming to see Kendal?

She paused as a large group of students walked toward her, forcing her to turn to the side to slip through them. By the time she made it outside, he was nowhere to be found. She pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced down at it expectantly as if he were going to call. He hadn't called for weeks.

After taking a few more minutes to ensure that he wasn't close, she walked around the accounting building toward the parking lot. Kendal stood beside his car with a dark-haired girl. Something was wrong, but it wasn't Bethany's place to interrupt whatever it was.

Was Kendal seeing the girl? The passion on his handsome face said that he was. There was something else there too... Fear. Loss. Terror.

"What the hell?" Bethany walked toward her car and tried to ignore the burning need to turn around and help him. She dialed Damon's number, not wanting to bother him, but needing to inform him that something was up with Kendal. It was his place to check on his friend, not hers.

"Beth?" Damon's voice was raspy as if he'd been yelling all night. Her first thought was that maybe he'd gone to a ballgame and had a good time, but that quickly morphed into him groaning and moaning with Delilah instead.

"Something is wrong with Kendal."

"Yeah, he's interested in the wrong woman," Damon barked into the phone, his voice gaining strength.

"I didn't know he was seeing anyone." She glanced over her shoulder to see the woman crying. "Something is wrong. Like, really wrong. I don't know what it is, but you need to call him."

"You go comfort him, Beth. You seem to be comfortable doing that already." The phone clicked, and Bethany pulled it away from her ear, surprised by his accusation.

Did he think something was up with her and Kendal? No fucking way.

"What?" She growled and got into her car. After buckling up and starting the engine, she called Matt and explained the situation. He promised to call Kendal and deal with Damon. Whatever was going on, Kendal needed Damon with him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"And why the hell would he run out of class when it was just about to start?" She pulled away from the curb before pausing. If Kendal left and his class walked, he'd be in trouble. Was he leaving?

She pulled back up, put the car in park and got out. The phone buzzed, and she checked it, almost expecting it to be Damon.

"Philip. What's going on?" She got out of the car and jogged back toward the school, trying not to sound like she was out of breath. Her worry over Kendal mixed with the concern that Damon thought something was up with her and his best friend left her heart racing.

"Just calling to see if you want to grab coffee later. I had fun last night. I want to see you again."

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I'll call you when I get out of class."

"It's Wednesday. You don't teach on Wednesday do you?"

"No, but something came up. I'll call you later." She dropped the call and walked back into the building, almost plowing into Jake.

“Hey. Kendal needs someone to take over his class. I was going to tell the dean.” Jake shook his head as if he were upset.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll do it.” She smiled and opened the door. “Come give me some moral support.”

“Always.” He chuckled.

The sound of the class having a good time reached her as she pushed open the doors and walked up to the podium.

"Good morning, everyone. Dr. Tarrington is dealing with something at the moment, so I'll start us off, and he can take over when he joins us."

There was a soft cheer around the room as Bethany forced a chuckle and turned on the computer. "Get out your accounting books and turn to page twenty-eight. Just-in-time inventory is our topic today. Get excited. This is riveting stuff."

Another chuckle.

She smiled and forced her worry and angst deep down inside of her. "What? You know you love it. Let's get started."

Chapter 4

Damon

“Unbelievable." Damon tossed his cell phone into the seat beside him. Never in a million years had he seen Kendal Tarrington look at a woman so tenderly. The way he held Beth's hands in his teaching auditorium left no doubt in Damon's mind. They were sleeping together. If nothing else, Kendal had feelings for the girl.

The agony of thinking that Beth would turn to someone else for affection was enough to cripple him, but it being his closest friend? Kendal was like a fucking brother.

Sweat gathered at the edge of his brow as memories crowded into his mind, one after one, each more fucked up than the last.

"Stop," he whispered and closed his eyes tightly as the sound of his mother's infidelities filled up his mind. How long would he have to carry the burden of knowing what she did? She was gone, and he still carried it around. The dark circle it created on the center of his heart was only growing.

Pressing his hand to his chest, he reached up angrily and pulled down the rearview mirror.

"They're not together. Neither of them would do that to you. Kendal would sooner die than hurt you." Damon dropped back in his seat and took a few shallow breaths. How quickly life could unravel him. He hadn't been emotionally wrecked this badly since the night he found his mom. He'd promised himself that he'd never again let anyone into his heart like he had his mother.

And now Bethany was there, and fuck if Kendal wasn't too.

After calming himself enough to stop shaking, he pulled out of the parking lot at UT and headed to the office. Whatever was going on with Kendal would surface soon. Bethany sounded panicked, but she also had feelings for the guy.

"No she doesn't," Damon barked loudly in the car and pressed the gas, scaring the poor guys walking on the street beside him. The battle raged within him the whole way downtown.

He forced himself to calm down as he parked at the office and walked in languidly. He nodded at the attendant and smiled at a few colleagues as they passed him. He didn't have all of the facts on Bethany and Kendal, and until he did, he was going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not that Beth would grant him the same treatment, but it was irrelevant. He didn't have to react like she did. He refused to.

"Damon." Linda glanced up and gave him a weary look. It had been a long time since she'd called him anything but Mr. Bryant. "Your father has been waiting on you."

"Great. I'll head down to his office in a few minutes." He nodded to his secretary and walked into his office. After setting his stuff down and checking his calendar, he made his way down to the corner office where his father spent most of his time or used to. He knocked on the door and poked his head in. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah. Shut the door and come on in. I didn't want to talk about business last night at dinner with Matt and Karen. Everyone seemed a little edgy with Bethany not being there." Damon's father nodded to the seat across from him. "Take a seat."

"I have a meeting in twenty minutes with the CEO of Killinger. Just want to give you a heads-up." Damon unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down.

"Where were you this morning? I thought you were having the Killinger meeting at eight."

"I was. I went up to the school for a few minutes. I wanted to see Kendal."

"And?" His father tilted his head to the side, studying him as he had been doing most of Damon's life. There was acceptance and love in his gaze, but expectation as well.

"And he and Bethany were knee-deep in conversation. I didn't want to interrupt, so I left."

"Interesting."

"I guess. What do you want to talk about, Dad? Beth?"

"For starters, yes. What the hell happened yesterday?"

"She had her fill of being treated like a child and walked out." Damon leaned back and crossed his legs. "Did you really think that hiring Delilah was a good move for us?"

"She's a strong accountant, Damon. I didn't think the ties you guys had as kids would come to haunt us. She has great references and-"

"And she's in love with me. She has been since we were kids. She hates her twin because Krista and I ended up together." He ran his hand down his face. "Anyway, Delilah has been after Beth since she got here. She knows Beth is your daughter but nothing else. She just doesn't like competition."

"Is that causing a stir on the team?" His eyebrows lifted.

"What?"

"Them knowing that Bethany is your step-sister and your fiancee?"

"She gave me the ring back." Damon reached into his pocket and pulled it out. Fuck him for carrying it around, but he couldn't help himself.

"What?"

Damon nodded. "We've been fighting a lot lately, and she gave the ring back. We're better family than we are lovers."

"And you're okay with that?" His father's eyes widened a little as he leaned forward and pressed his forearms to the desk.

"No. Not in the slightest." Damon stood and walked to the windows, finding comfort in the beautiful park scene just beyond the buildings. "I love her so much it hurts, but love isn't enough."

"Damon." His father walked over to the window and put his hand on Damon's back. "Love is always enough. Your mother and I had some rough patches, but love pulled us through."

Sickness raced through the center of Damon's chest and took up residence in his stomach. "Right. Anyway, Beth is probably better off not working here, but that still doesn't solve our problem with Delilah. She hit on me yesterday... again. I'm getting quite tired of putting up with the small things just because she's your pick for the firm."

"Get rid of her. Find a reason to let her go, and do it." He turned to face Damon. "And talk to Bethany. Her position with us here at McKenzie and Bryant will always be open."

"All right." Damon squeezed his father's shoulder before walking to the door. It was the perfect time to explain to his dad why love didn't work. Love was great, but without fantastic sex and loads of money to boot, most women would go looking elsewhere. Why would his mother cheat on his dad? He was a great guy. The house was beautiful; they had everything anyone could want, and yet she slept around like a whore. Why?

Because the sex was bad, or maybe there wasn't enough of it.

Either way, he had promised himself years before that love, wealth, and sex would be the center of his relationship with a woman. There would be an abundance of all three, and then, and only then, she wouldn't cheat on him, or leave him stranded.

And yet something was missing with Beth. The money was there. The sex was in extreme abundance, but maybe James was right. Maybe he wasn't showing his love in the right way.

He almost felt too tired to figure it out, as if it were worth too much effort.

"Son."

Damon paused at the door and turned back toward his old man. "Yeah?"

"What happened with you and Bethany? You seemed so sure just before the wedding."

"I don't know, Dad." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just not enough."

"I highly doubt that."

Damon nodded and walked out. There was nothing else to say about it. Beth had chosen her path, and obviously Kendal was supposed to play some part of it. As much as it pained him to think that either of them would hurt him, some sick part of his heart was thrilled to know that she might end up with a good guy like Kendal.

"Mr. Bryant?" The sound of Philip's voice caused Damon's blood to boil. It was a total mistake to hire the kid back on, but it was one he was going to have to live with. He'd fired him under unreasonable circumstances, and HR had been quite clear that hiring him back was the only way to reconcile the situation. The idea that he'd done it for Bethany was only part of the deal.

"Yeah?" Damon walked into his office and dropped down in his chair. "Make it fast. I have ten minutes until I'm on a conference call with a client."

"I took Bethany out for dinner last night, and the whole time, I kept wishing that she'd see me." Philip crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

Damon blinked a few times, trying to clear the red from his vision. Did the kid have a death wish? And what the fuck was Beth doing? Was she seeing Philip or Kendal, or both of them? The sheets weren't even cold between the two of them, and she was already dating?

"I'm not sure I understand," Damon bit out between clenched teeth.

"She didn't see me sitting across the table in front of her." He gripped the back of the chair across from Damon's desk. "She was lost in thought or talking about how much she missed you. I know you don't want to hear this, but I was hoping that maybe the dinner might resemble a date because Bethany is such an incredible woman, but it didn't at all. She's heartbroken, and you're the only one that can fix it. She'd kill me if she knew I was standing in here talking to you, but I thought you should know. From the guy that wants to steal your girl pretty damn bad... it's impossible."

Damon nodded but didn't respond. The conversation made little to no sense.

Philip turned and walked out, closing the door behind him as he left.

Confusion swept through Damon in a suffocating wave. He stood and walked to his liquor cabinet. It was mid-morning and yet nothing was going to calm his nerves but a stiff drink.

She loved him, but she didn't?

She wanted him, but she was dating Philip and gazing deep into Kendal's eyes?

"Shit," Damon muttered and lifted his glass to his lips. He paused and closed his eyes, letting the vision of her beautiful face fill his mind. Every cell in his body woke up, all screaming for her attention, her time, her touch. Just simply her.

He tossed back the liquor and groaned low in his chest.

The phone buzzed, and he took his time walking back to his desk. He pressed the speaker button and sat down.

"What's up, Linda?"

"Your call with Mr. Killinger? He's actually waiting on line three."

"Reschedule it for tomorrow. Make something up." Damon hit the button to drop the call.

Business could be done later. He needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts. Why did every scenario end with Beth cheating on him? Why did he automatically assume that of her?

Closing his eyes, he let his head drop back as the burn of the alcohol warmed up his chest and stomach. A soft groan left him as every wicked hot fantasy he'd had with her when they first met moved behind his closed eyelids. She was so timid and beautiful, smart and sexy as fuck.

He was going to drive himself mad with indecision if he didn't figure something out soon.

Give her up or get her back?

Fucking forget it and move on, or buckle down and do anything it took to win her back.

Life without her didn't make sense. Nothing tasted right or felt nearly as good. The excitement was gone, and a dull sadness had cast a net over the top of every day since she handed the ring back.

If he went after her a few things would have to change. No more assuming the worst about her. No more being terrified that she would go to another man for affection if he didn't smother her in sex.

No more rules. No more demands.

It wasn't lust anymore that forced him to his knees with her.

It was love.

Chapter 5

Bethany

Bethany got to the coffee shop a good forty minutes before she was supposed to meet Philip, but it gave her time to think through how she was going to let him down. The guy was perfect for her, but she wasn't open to thinking about truly dating anyone yet, nor would she be for a long time.

Worry continued to swirl in the pit of her stomach over Kendal. Something was wrong. She'd tried calling Matt several times to see if he figured out what was going on yet, but he wasn't answering.

"Hey, you." Philip's voice caused her to glance up.

His dark blond hair was cut short like he assumed Damon wanted it at M&B. He looked good no matter the length of his hair though. Being from Australia, he not only had his sexy accent going for him but the beautiful golden color of his skin, his great smile, hot body, and sweet personality. He was the full package, but it didn't matter. Someone else would grab him up by the time she healed enough to even consider anything more than a friendship.

She almost preferred it that way.

"Hi." She stood. "I got here a little early. Kendal had to leave because of an emergency or something, so I took on the class by myself today."

"Oh wow. How was that?" He reached out and touched the small of her back, guiding her through a crowd of people toward the front counter. The touch was intimate and caused chills to run down her spine, warming her and leaving her thoughts racing toward Damon.

How good it would feel to leave her coffee date with Philip and meet him over at his house. They could start a fire and forget everything but each other. Had she really laughed at him the last time they made love?

"It was okay." She gripped the counter in front of her and lowered her head as the room seemed to pull in tightly.

"Something wrong, Bethany?" Philip rubbed the top of her back and leaned over a little, getting in her face.

"No. Just having trouble breathing. Allergies, I guess." She sucked in a deep breath and moved back. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." He turned toward the barista and ordered for both of them. He glanced back to her. "Go wait at the table and I'll bring the coffee over for us."

"You sure?" she asked softly, not quite having gained the volume back to her voice.

"Absolutely." He smiled warmly and turned back toward the counter to pay.

She walked back to the only open table in the place and sat down. Pulling out her phone, she thumbed through her texts with Matt and then with Damon, unable to help herself. Why was he so angry when she called about Kendal? His words were accusatory. Surely he hadn't convinced himself that she was seeing his best friend.

Both she and Kendal would give the heart from their chest for Damon. He had to know that.

"You look quite lost in thought. Anything you care to discuss?" Philip set her coffee down in front of her before taking his seat.

"Not really." She reached out and wrapped her hands around it. "Did you go into the office today?"

"Yep. I saw Damon too." He leaned back and let his hands drop into his lap. "He seemed disturbed. Upset."

"Yeah. I spoke with him a few minutes earlier, and he was pretty ugly." She shrugged and lifted the mug, blowing on the dark caramel-colored liquid carefully. "I think we're going to have to go our separate ways for a while until things calm down."

There was no way she was comfortable believing her own lie, but maybe if she told herself enough times, she'd be able to finally accept that it was over.

"I told him that you and I went out last night."

"What?" Her voice rose significantly. "You did what? Why?"

"Because I care about you, Bethany. He needs to know that he's being an asshole, and he's going to lose you if he doesn't get up and do something about it."

Tears blurred her vision. "You told him to help him?"

"Yes." Philip picked up his coffee mug. "You talk about him nonstop. It's obvious that your heart still very much belongs to him. Where I hate it, I understand it too."

"I can't do this anymore, though. I quit the firm to get away from him. I'm not going to family dinners and I-"

"You quit the firm because you’re hurting and because that bitch Delilah keeps bothering you." He snorted. "I'm pretty sure Ben and Patrick went to Damon about her, and he went to Kent."

"Wow. Really?" Bethany took a quick sip of her coffee before setting the cup down. "Did anything happen to her?"

"No clue. I think she's probably on her last leg. Everyone is saying that she lied to Damon about Patrick and Ben being sweet on you."

"Sweet on me?" Bethany snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"Yep. She's just a bitch." Philip shrugged and reached across the table to touch the side of her face. "You're so much stronger than you think you are. You're beautiful and smart, and you have everything to offer someone. If you're done with Damon Bryant, then give me a chance, but if you're not done, then stop moping about it and go after him."

"Easier said than done." She glanced around the coffee shop as she let out a long sigh. "I feel like if I go back to him and grovel, then he wins. I'm not sure I can live in a world where he thinks he has the right to control me."

"You think that's what he's trying to do?" Something about the way Philip asked forced her to question the belief she'd convinced herself of.

"I don't know. I hate the fact that everything that's happened to us is something he's done or not done and that I can't help but think he meant to do it."

"Or not do it?"

She smiled. "Exactly."

"Maybe you should talk things through with someone close to you so that you can dig deep into whatever is going on."

"My best friend is on trial for attempted murder." She pulled out her phone and checked the date. "Damn. The trial is this Friday. I'd almost convinced myself it was a few more weeks away."

"That sucks, but I know you'll all be glad it's over with." Philip took another drink of his coffee. "You're avoiding my question. You don't just have one friend in the world. Who's another girl you could talk to?"

Bethany thought about it for a second, and her mother popped into her mind. The only hesitation was that her mom didn't like Damon to begin with.

"You got someone?" Philip lifted his eyebrow and gave her a cheeky grin.

"Yeah. You trying to end our date before it starts?" She relaxed a little for the first time in a long time.

"You know this isn't a real date." He smiled. "How many times have you thought about Damon?"

"Not once." She gave him a sheepish look. "All right. Several."

"Exactly. Who are you going to talk to about all of this stuff?"

"My mom. I'll go over to Kent's when we get done. You're right. I need to get all of it off my chest." She picked up her coffee mug and nursed her coffee until it was gone.

Maybe having Philip as a friend and nothing else would work out not only in her favor but Damon's as well.

How messed up would that be?

***

"Mom? You here?" Bethany called out as she walked through the kitchen toward the living room.

"In here, baby."

She turned to walk toward the large master bedroom at the far end of the house. Her mom was standing by the full-length mirror near the bathroom with a pretty white dress hanging in front of her. She turned and smiled.

"What do you think of this? Too much?"

Bethany walked toward her mom and glanced down at the dress. "What's it for?"

"A dinner party Kent's having with some of his clients. I'm supposed to be there, but I've been begging him to let me out of it."

"What?" Bethany chuckled and reached for her mom, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're going to be great there. You always are."

"I know, but you know how weird I feel around rich people." She sighed and pulled back. "It's like I'm still dirt-floor poor and scrambling to rub two nickels together."

"But you're not, Mom. You have everything anyone could want." Bethany moved back and sat on the edge of the bed.

"All I want is a healthy, happy family. As much as I want to kick Damon in the shin, I still care about him." Her mom laid the dress down on the bed beside her and moved to stand in front of her. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Bethany flopped back on the bed and let out a long groan. "I'd rather get back to living my life instead of talking about Damon all the damn time."

"All right. Then what do you want to talk about instead?" Her mom climbed onto the bed beside her and rolled onto her side. She reached over and pushed Bethany's hair back. "We can talk about anything you want to."

Bethany rolled over to face her mom and closed her eyes. "I want to talk about Damon."

Her mom laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Then talk to me, but let me tell you something you might not want to hear first."

"Oh great." Bethany moved back and curled up into the fetal position as she looked up at her mom. The dark circles and worry lines were almost gone. The new life Kent had given her was beyond good for her spirit. Maybe even though asking her to move up the wedding was done with selfish intent, something good came out of it. Her mom was happy.

"I know you and Damon have been going through a lot lately, and I've noticed that you're not wearing your engagement ring. I can put two and two together. I'm not sure what has the two of you walking away from something you seemed so bold about only a month or so ago, but I think you'd better stop running for a minute and really think about what you're giving up."

"I thought you didn't like him, Mom." Bethany rolled on her back and sat up.

"I love him as a part of my family now, Beth. I'm not thrilled with the way he acts, or his cocky attitude, but it's part of his charm from what you've said."

"It is." She brushed her fingers by her lips. "He hired his ex-girlfriend's twin sister and Philip back to the firm. Why? Is he trying to tear us apart? This woman is a raging bitch. She's been nothing but horrible to me."

"Is she the reason you quit? You've never quit anything in your whole life."

"Partially. I can't be there and walk around him every day like he doesn't exist." She turned to face her mom. "It hurts too much."

"You know, it took me a year to finally tell Kent that I would have a glass of wine with him. He would come into the bank where I worked and would try to get my attention all the time. But my mindset wouldn't let him be anything but a villain."

"What? I don't understand." Bethany pressed her elbows to her knees and held her chin in her hands. She and her mother hadn't talked much about how she'd met Kent. It seemed to happen fast from Bethany's perspective, but maybe she didn't know the full story.

"I was the victim, Beth. Your father ruined my life and ripped away my hope for a future with a solid family like I thought we were." She sat up and wrapped her arms around herself. "Everything Kent did or said, I would analyze it. Was he up to something? Trying to pull one over on me?"

"No. He's a good guy, Mom."

"And so are his sons, baby." She reached out and brushed her knuckles softly down Bethany's cheek. "You're not a victim. Damon isn't out to get you. He isn't trying to undermine you or pull something over your head. He's an ass sometimes because he's a cocky alpha male, but that's a good thing too, right? You like that about him."

"I love it." Beth glanced down at her hands. "I've never thought of myself as a victim."

"Your dad walked out on both of us. You might not have given it a name, Beth, but you've treated Damon and every other guy in your life like there's something behind their smile. You do that because, like me, you feel like you've been a victim of an unfair life."

"It was unfair. Dad messed up everything." Beth's voice cracked as she glanced up. "He's a bastard, and I hate him."

"I know, baby, but Damon isn't like him. Neither is Kent." She moved to her knees and pulled Bethany into another long hug. "Think about what I'm saying. Just chew on it, and it might make sense."

"Beth?" The sound of Damon's voice caused her heart to almost stop in her chest.

"Oh Lord." She pulled from her mom and got off the bed. "In here."

Damon rounded the corner and stopped. His beautifully tanned complexion was washed out, his eyes wide and filled with pain.

"What's wrong?" Bethany moved toward him without hesitation. She reached for him, sliding her hands up his strong chest and cupping the side of his neck. "Damon. What's going on?"

"I just called Kendal because Matt reamed me for being a dick." He glanced at my mom. "Sorry, Karen."

"Don't mind me." She got up and walked around them, leaving them standing in the doorway.

"What's going on with Kendal?" Fear danced in the center of Bethany's chest.

"His sister died today." Damon closed his eyes and took a shallow breath. "I was such a cock to him the last time we spoke, but to hear him crying on the phone a few minutes ago…"

"Oh my God. Where is she? What happened?"

"She's been in the hospital with MS for a long time. He's her caregiver."

"What do we need to do?" She ran her hands back down his chest and stepped back, giving him a little bit of room.

"I need to go up there. I was coming to find you, but I'll check in later this week. You okay? I'm so sorry about the shit with Delilah. We're handling it."

"I'm not coming back." Bethany shook her head. "I can't."

He reached out and touched the side of her face as his eyes grew glossy. "I understand. I support whatever decision you make."

"Go to Kendal. Tell him that I'm thinking about him."

Damon nodded and turned, walking out without another word. It was only after he left that she realized that her word choice might not have been the smartest.

She would explain herself when he came back to her. Maybe then they could talk through everything and figure out where they truly stood and where to go from there.

Would the story change if she decided that she wasn't a victim and Damon wasn't doing things with malicious intent?

Yeah. It would change a lot of things.

Chapter 6

Damon

A million memories assaulted him as he drove toward the hospital. He'd been friends with Kendal since his freshman year of college. Kendal's baby sister, Amanda, was always in the picture because of her MS. It was unfair and didn't make much sense at all, but somehow the girl kept her spirits up no matter what.

Damon absently rubbed at his chest as he drove just above the speed limit to reach Kendal's side. How he could have contemplated Bethany cheating with Kendal was a clear sign that he had a problem. Not all women were his mother, and the sooner he realized that, the better.

"Maybe I've gone about this shit all wrong." He pulled into the parking lot at the hospital and turned off the car, sitting in the silence for a few minutes. The situation with him and Beth would have to be resolved and soon. The look on her beautiful face told him that it wasn't going to take some massive change to bring them back together. She was worried about him the minute she saw his face.

She didn't hesitate to reach out and touch him.

Relief flooded his system as he got out of the car and walked toward the front of the massive hospital. Kendal was somewhere inside, and though he'd told Damon the floor and the room number, it was too hard to understand that poor guy through his tears.

Damon paused by the front desk and ran his hand over his face. He'd never seen Kendal cry, though they'd been through some shit that should have caused them both to break down. He hadn't even broken down over Ana, which was well worth the emotion. The girl had been perfect for Kendal, but because of her age and the fact that she was one of his students, their relationship soon became the center of controversy.

"Can't catch a fucking break, can you, man?" Damon smiled over at the nurse who glanced up.

"I'm sorry?"

"No, I was just talking to myself. I'm looking for Amanda Tarrington's room. I just got word from her brother that she passed away." Damon slid his hands onto the desk and leaned forward.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." She turned back to her computer. "Let me see where she is. Looks like she's in six forty-two on the sixth floor."

"Thank you." Damon nodded and turned to jog toward the elevator. He was surprised Kendal was still at the hospital seeing that he'd gotten word that morning that Amanda hadn't made it through the night. Why the fuck hadn't he gone home?

An older man in a white coat held the door for him as he walked into the elevator and let out a tight sigh. "Sixth floor please?"

"Sure." The guy glanced back and crossed his hands over his chest. "You all right? You seem a little out of sorts."

"My best friend just lost his sister. I'm just trying to get to him." Damon ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "She's had MS for a long time, but I don't think any of us imagined her not pulling through."

"MS is a horrible disease." He moved toward the door as the elevator stopped on the third floor. "I'm sorry for your loss, son."

"Thanks," Damon mumbled and pulled out his phone. Nervousness resurrected deep inside of him. What was he going to say to Kendal that would offer comfort? He should have called earlier, but he was lost in his belief that his best friend was after his girl. "How fucking stupid is that?"

The door opened on the sixth floor, and Damon forced himself to walk out and turn left. The room was down on the right, but the hall was empty. He'd half expected Kendal to be sitting alone in the hall. There was no way they still had Amanda's body in the room, right?

"Can I help you?" A pretty nurse with dark hair and caramel-colored skin moved in front of him.

"I'm just going right here. Is... Is Amanda Tarrington still in there?" Damon hated to ask, but he had to prepare himself just in case.

"No." The woman glanced down at her hands. "Her brother is."

"Kendal." Damon turned but paused before reaching up and resting his hand on the door handle. Every horrid memory of his mother dying played along his mind's eye. Anger and devastation soon followed, leaving him frozen in place.

"He's in there." She touched Damon's shoulder. "You all right?"

"Yeah." He glanced back, thinking she looked almost too much like Kendal's old girlfriend, Ana. Surely the guy had noticed. How could he not?

She gave him a sad smile and walked back toward the nurses’ station.

Damon took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Kendal turned from the window and stood stone still. "Hey, buddy."

"Hey man." Damon moved across the room, unsure of how to react. He glanced back toward the bed to find it empty. "I'm so sorry, Kendal."

"Yeah, me too."

Damon turned back as Kendal's eyes filled with tears. He reached up and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

Without thinking, he reached out and pulled Kendal into a tight hug. "We'll get through this together."

Kendal's voice broke as he pressed his face to the top of Damon's shoulder and gripped the back of his shirt tightly. "Will we? My baby sister isn't here anymore. Mom and Dad are gone and now, she's gone too, Damon. I should have done something more. I should have forced the hospital to look at new treatments, or taken more fucking time off from work to be with her." He let out a painful sounding sob. "She died alone last night. No one was in here while she slipped into the darkness. No one."

Damon's throat tightened as tears blurred his vision. He gripped Kendal tighter, hurting for his best friend in the same way he hurt for Matt when their mother died.

There were no words that would offer comfort. She's in a better place? Was she really? Damon had no clue. He didn't even fully comprehend what the better place might be or where it was. It seemed trite and too callous to offer a canned answer to his closest friend, so he didn't.

"Let's get you out of here, okay? I'll take you back to your apartment." Damon cupped the back of Kendal's head and pressed his cheek against his friend's. "I'm not gonna leave you to deal with this alone. You're not alone at all. I'm right here."

Kendal nodded and moved back before wiping his hands down his face. "I'm so numb. Every fear I had about this day is coming true. I kept hoping that I'd be married or have a family of my own before I lost Mandy. I knew the day would come, but it's early. Too early. She was fucking twenty-five, Damon. Just a baby."

Damon nodded and moved to wrap his arm around Kendal's shoulders. "Come on, man. We'll talk in the car and at your place. Let's get out of here, okay?"

"Yeah, just turn right when we walk out. I don't want to see Dana."

"The pretty dark-haired nurse out front?" Damon glanced down at Kendal as he pulled the door open. "Is she the one you casually mentioned the other day?"

"Yeah. Just turn to the right, all right?" he barked and pulled from Damon's grasp.

"All right. No problem." Damon moved up beside him and ignored the sweet sound of the girl’s voice as she called Kendal from behind them. He was in no place to talk to anyone, but fuck if it didn't feel like crap to leave her standing in the hall unanswered.

"I just can't." Kendal ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and got into the elevator, keeping his back to the door.

Damon got in and shook his head as the girl pressed her hands to her face and turned. The soft sound of her crying tore at his heart. Was she in love with Kendal? Now wasn't the time to ask, but there would be some comfort in knowing that someone cared about his best friend besides him. Bethany cared too, but Kendal wasn't going to let her too close to him. Damon had no doubt that Kendal holding Beth at arm’s-length was because of his friendship with Damon.

"My car is over there." Kendal pointed to the far part of the parking lot as they walked out.

"Don't worry about it. Matt and I will come get it later. Let's just get you home." Damon walked toward his car, moving to Kendal's side and opening the door for him. "Man, I'm sorry for not coming sooner. I'm a fucking horrible friend."

"It's all right." Kendal got in the car and leaned back, letting out a long sigh. "Just make it up to me and grab us a six pack before you hit the freeway."

"Of course," Damon mumbled before closing the door and walking to his side. Life was so damn fleeting. Amanda shouldn't have passed away so quickly, but it almost seemed like she'd given up. Being in bed for so many years had a tendency to wear on someone, but Kendal wouldn't let her see it that way. Maybe he should have been there more for her, not that Damon would have ever mentioned it, but his career, his profession had become the biggest roadblock in his life. He wasn't willing to bend on his career in any way whatsoever for anyone. Never. Not even a little.

Why?

"I'm gonna call Beth when we get to your place after you get settled." Damon glanced over at Kendal after he got into the car and buckled up. "She was worried about you."

"I bet." Kendal turned his face toward the window closest to him. "You need to make amends with her. She's a good woman, and you're fucking things up horribly. I've been fighting your fights for you, but it's your turn to man up and fix this shit or let her go."

Damon nodded, not willing to strike back at Kendal's comment. He was right in his assessment, and Damon was moving toward fixing things. It wasn't going to happen overnight, but it needed to happen. She was everything to him. Nothing mattered outside of her and yet he was scared as hell that he didn't have the power to fix it.

"I'm working on it, buddy." He started the car and put it in reverse as he let out a soft sigh. "I was trying to think through what the best way to get her back might be, and thinking back on the beginning when we met; I realize it was about physical attraction."

"That's true." Kendal turned his face toward Damon. "But that time is over. I think the attraction can always be present, but there was something that moved you from lust to love Damon. You proposed to the girl after a few weeks. That's not at all your style. What changed all of that?"

"For her?" Damon pulled out onto the road in front of the hospital and swallowed his pride for a minute. Kendal needed to focus on something besides Amanda, and Damon needed solutions. No matter how uncomfortable talking about everything was, he needed to get it off his chest. "I stood quietly beside her during the shit with Krista and Jake. I went to the apartment with her, the hospital, the jail..." He paused as his heart constricted in his chest. "She accepted my strength and wanted to help me heal from the shit that happened with my mother. I could see the future in her eyes, Kendal. I could feel it. For the first time in my life, I wanted a wife, a pretty house to offer her, and a few little ones running around. She has the power to change me. I can almost see myself being the man I've always wanted to be with someone like her."

"Someone like her?" Kendal winked and turned to look back out the window.

I reached over and patted his chest softly. "No. With her."

"Exactly," he whispered before closing his eyes.

"Thanks, man." Damon started to pull his hand back and decided against it. He patted Kendal's chest until his friend's breathing grew deep. There was no need to grab a six pack. Kendal needed rest and someone to listen and take care of him. Where Damon had no doubt in his mind that this Dana chick would be up for the task, he knew Kendal had already started to pull back from her. He wasn't sure why, but he would work to figure it out and help Kendal move past it.

Where Bethany was the right woman for him, he had no doubt that there was a woman who would heal all of Kendal's wounds and change him forever. Whether it was this Dana chick was yet to be seen, but Damon couldn't help but hope it was. The way the poor girl cried in the hallway as Kendal left spoke volumes.

What had happened between them to leave him pushing her away?

It had to be something related to his career. Where Damon wasn't willing to ask anytime soon, he figured it would soon come out in the wash. The next few days would be about Kendal healing. Nothing else.

Damon got his best friend into the apartment and tucked into bed before calling the office.

"I'm going to be out for the next few days. Reroute everything to my cell phone." Damon dropped down on the couch and closed his eyes as Linda went through the list of things he had scheduled. They worked to clear everything for him.

His next call was the most important he would make that day, but it also scared the hell out of him to do it.

"How is he?" Bethany answered the phone a little bit out of breath.

"He's pretty fucked up." Damon pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "I can't imagine burying Matt."

"When is the funeral?"

"I don't know, but Kendal kept mumbling about Saturday, so I assume that's what he was talking about. He's asleep right now."

"You want me to come over there?" The woman on the other end of the phone was the girl he'd fallen so deeply in love with.

"Yeah, but it would be for selfish reasons. I'll give you a buzz later this week. I'm hoping maybe you'll come to dinner with me on Friday. I need to talk to you, Beth. Kendal needs me for the next few days, but I need to see you. I can't keep doing this shit. I need to clear the air completely between us."

There was an awkward pause, and for a minute, he thought she might have hung up. He held his tongue and waited for her to speak.

"Okay. I have to be in court all day Friday for Krista's hearing, but I can go to dinner later that evening."

"All right. I'll call you in a few days. Take care, okay?"

"You too. Take care of Kendal, Damon. He's a good man."

"Yeah. He is."

They said their goodbyes, and Damon tossed the phone on the couch next to him. What would it take to have her say the same about him? He wasn't sure, but he wanted to try and be that guy. He'd won her over the first time by standing beside her the moment she needed him to the most.

Friday would be another chance, a chance he wouldn't be missing out on.

Chapter 7

Bethany

Damon being with Kendal for the last three days gave her a lot of time to think through things. If nothing else, she was willing to hear him out that night. She had a lot to say, but it almost seemed like the old Damon was back for a minute. The one who stood beside her at Jake's apartment and made love to her in Jamaica. Maybe all the pressures of getting back to work trying to be everything for everyone changed him. Her being his step-sister and his fiancée had to have weighed heavily on him.

"I'm not a victim," she mumbled before walking into the courtroom. The place was packed with students from the look of things. She didn't know many of them, but something told her that word had gotten around. Everyone loved a good train wreck, no matter who was involved.

Kendal sat near the back of the room, his face blank and eyes haunted. Bethany made her way over to him and sat down in the seat beside him.

"Hey. I'm so sorry about your loss." She slid her arm into his and pressed her cheek to his shoulder, not caring who was watching. It would seem that having to watch Jake and Krista tear each other apart during the court hearing that day wasn't the only pain she'd have to live through. Having Kendal there only made matters worse. He was required to testify, but he was in no shape to be anywhere.

"Thank you." He glanced down at her. "The funeral is tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there." She sat up but kept her arm wrapped around his.

"I will be too." Damon moved in and sat beside her, shocking her a little. He had to have been there with Kendal.

"I thought you were going to the office today," Kendal leaned around her and whispered softly.

"No. I wanted to be here for you and Beth." Damon glanced over at her and damned if her heart didn't skip a beat. Between his dark hair that curled up on the sides to his warm brown eyes, she found herself wanting to drown in him. With so much sadness all around her, he seemed to be the warmth she needed.

Funny how quickly that could change.

"I'm glad you're here." She sat back and turned her attention toward the front as he slid his arm behind her and gripped Kendal's shoulder tightly.

"I'll always be here for you, Beth," he whispered but kept his eyes on the front of the room.

There was truth in his statement.

The judge walked in, and everyone stood but Jake. He hadn't gotten to the point where he could stand or walk without help. Too much nerve damage. The door opened on the far side of the room, and a guard brought Krista out wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. Bethany realized that it had been a few weeks since she'd gone to see her old friend. The girl had lost far too much weight. Her cheeks were sunk in, and the dark circles under her eyes left her looking like death.

"Shit," Kendal murmured and shook his head. "She looks so much like Mandy."

"You wanna get out of here?" Damon leaned around her and glanced up at Kendal. "Just say the word, man."

"No." Kendal turned his gaze toward Damon. "Thank you though."

"You?" Damon glanced down at Beth.

"Yeah, but I don't have a choice. I have to testify today." She let her eyes move around his impossibly handsome face. There were so many things she wanted to tell him. I miss you being the first. It wasn't time to reconcile just yet though. They had to set a few things straight between them as family, then friends and if they could make it to the last round, lovers.

"I'd take it from you if I could." He reached out and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip as his eyes filled with foreign emotions.

"Somehow I believe that." She smiled and pulled his hand from her face. It was too much to have him touch her. It felt too good. Too right.

"Promise me that you guys are going to talk after this." Kendal turned to look down at Bethany and back up to Damon. "You're both driving me crazy. Life is too short for this shit."

"We are." Bethany reached over and patted Kendal's arm. "I promise."

"And you should talk with Dana sometime soon, Kendal." Damon's voice wasn't nearly as soft as Bethany thought it should be. It was obvious that Kendal was still trapped in a dark place due to his sister passing.

"She's going to be my student in a few days, bro. I can't do that. You understand."

"Nope. I don't." Damon sat back. "I think love is far more important than your career."

Bethany held her tongue as a million comebacks burst through her mind. Damon had forced her to put her engagement ring in a box when she came to work so that they wouldn't upset the delicate balance of how everyone at work felt about her. He was far more willing to give up everything for his career than Kendal seemed to be.

"Bullshit." Kendal leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "You're not the one to be giving me this advice."

"All right, but I'm saying it because I love you like a brother." Damon shrugged. "Take me and Beth for instance. I fucked up big time with her at work. I tried to separate who we were when we were there and when we weren't. It caused her to feel like I was embarrassed that she was mine, right?"

Bethany nodded and turned to look up at him. "I know why you did it, but the reason doesn't matter. It hurt me."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. I was wrong." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I would take it back if I could. I don't give a shit what anyone thinks anymore. It's nothing but a lie anyway."

"So it's that easy? Just disregard the rules at UT and start dating a student?" Kendal barked a little too loudly. A few people turned around. He lifted his hand and apologized. "Sorry."

"No, man. Either tell her to drop the fucking course or stop teaching that type of accounting. Look at the options and stop pigeonholing yourself. You deserve love more than anyone else I know besides Beth. Fight for it, Kendal. Fight for it like life would stop without it." Damon patted Kendal's back. "We're going to figure this out. I'm not letting you mess this relationship up."

"There is no relationship." He glanced over at Damon with a sour look on his handsome face.

"You guys talk about this later." Bethany put her hand on Damon's thigh and glanced up at him, giving him a stern look. Only he could shut down the conversation. Kendal was too out of it to do anything more than react with whatever punches were thrown his way.

"Okay. You're right." Damon's eyes moved across her face slowly, holding her captive as if he had some sort of power over her. Sadly enough, he did.

The warmth of knowing that maybe not everything was lost between them caused her stomach to tighten. There was no one she wanted beside her, above her, all around her but the handsome asshole watching her so closely.

How did we let things fall apart?

She finally pulled her gaze from his and glanced up toward the front to find Krista turned around, her eyes locked on Bethany. Unsure of what to do, Beth did the only thing that seemed natural to her. She held her friend’s gaze, trying like hell to push as much sympathy into her expression as she could. They'd been friends for far too long for Beth to deny Krista anything. Her breakdown and not taking her medicine was at the core of what happened between her and Jake. Where some of it was her fault, some of it had to be blamed on her illness.

"I'm sorry, Beth," Krista mumbled. No sound came from her mouth, but Bethany could make out the words.

"Me too," she whispered back and blinked back tears.

Had the moment really come to have to get on the stand and testify against her best friend? Even with all the shit Jake had been through, he didn't want to see Krista put away either. There was nothing to do but tell the truth of all the events that they would be questioned on, but damn if everything they had to say didn't leave Krista painted as a monster.

Hopefully her lawyers would be able to bring into the picture that she was a sick woman and her medication was the only thing that kept her from snapping. That was their only hope of saving her from prison for the rest of her life.

"You okay?" Damon whispered softly against Bethany's hair. The warmth of his breath and the dark scent of his cologne left her feeling far too emotional.

She leaned into him, taking comfort from his closeness even though it was the wrong thing to do. "Yeah. I will be when this is over."

After the opening statements were delivered by the attorneys, various people were called up to the stand. Bethany chewed on the side of her cheek, waiting her turn as the sickness in her stomach grew. Damon continued to hold her as the morning progressed, but with each new testimony, the situation for Krista grew more and more dim.

"The defense would like to call..."

Bethany faded out as fear raced through her veins.

"Beth. They called you up, baby." Damon pressed softly on her back.

"Oh. Okay." She got up and walked to the front, ignoring both Krista and Jake. She tried not to think too much about how badly her knees were shaking. She turned and faced the bailiff as he held out a Bible. "Lift your left hand and repeat after me."

She did as she was told and took her seat afterward. Everyone was looking at her, and for the first time in a long time, she thought she might have a panic attack.

The DA started to pepper her with questions, and for the first few, she stumbled over her words, not able to think clearly due to the intensity of the situation. She turned her attention toward Damon as he smiled warmly at her.

Something about the calm in his face caused her to release the breath she'd been holding.

He mouthed for her to breathe, and she nodded, forcing air slowly into her lungs. Everything calmed inside of her, and she felt her mind clear and her pulse slow a little. Him being there changed everything, which was enough proof for her that their relationship was far from over. He'd come to support Kendal no doubt, but she couldn't deny the way he watched her. It wasn't his normal domineering glare, but something softer. The strong man that demanded life to bow at his feet still very much lay underneath his loving demeanor, but he was holding back.

He had to be doing it for her.

"Did Krista often miss her medication? I mean, someone with a tendency to go off the deep end and stab someone multiple times in the chest if she didn't take her meds would most likely make sure she stayed on a schedule, right?"

"Leading the witness." Krista's lawyer stood, and Bethany shifted her eyes over to her old friend.

The woman that sat slumped over with tears running down her face wasn't the girl Bethany knew. She was broken because of all that had happened. Bethany turned her attention to Jake, only to find him crying as well.

"I retract the statement. Let me rephrase it."

Bethany forced herself to pay attention. The trial would be over soon, and Krista would get the help she needed, and Jake would fully recover. The horrible event would forever be a part of their past, but everyone would move on.

We have to.

Bethany was dismissed much to her relief. She walked back toward the row where Damon and Kendal sat and moved in to sit between them again.

"Great job." Damon kissed the side of her head, surprising her a little. Too bad she didn't have the emotional energy to make more out of it than she needed to.

"Yeah, thanks to you calming me down." She glanced up at him, letting her eyes linger on his lips a little too long. Why was lust so easily resurrected in the midst of tragedy? It was almost as if she were searching for something to warm herself against, and he was the perfect fire in the middle of the darkness around them.

"That's funny." Kendal leaned around Bethany. "I've never heard a woman use calm and you in the same sentence."

"I kinda like it." Damon smirked and glanced back up at the front. "I can be many things."

Can you be mine again? Bethany forced herself to pull her attention from the handsome man beside her and turned back up toward the front as Kendal was called to the stand next. Funny how quickly true tragedy could put everything into its proper place. Damon wasn't the enemy that she was fighting against.

Their past demons were.

Chapter 8

Damon

"God, that sucked," Kendal muttered as they walked out of the courtroom.

Damon put his hand on Kendal's shoulder and moved his best friend to the side of the hallway to get them out of the rush of the crowd. Bethany wanted a moment to talk with Jake and hopefully see Krista. Damon offered to go with her, but she needed a few minutes to herself. He could respect that.

"No shit." He glanced around and turned his attention back to Kendal. "Do you need me to do anything else for the funeral tomorrow?"

"No, and honestly, not to be a dick, but I need some time at home by myself tonight. I appreciate you being with me for the last few days, but I need to mourn the loss of my sister, Damon. My heart hurts so goddamn bad, but I've been trying to hold it in because you're all up in my grill."

Damon smirked. "All right, bro. I'll take you back to your place and leave you be for the night."

Kendal nodded and lifted his lips in a sad smile as he glanced over Damon's shoulder. "I think you being here is going to melt her heart faster than anything else you could have done."

Damon turned to see Beth looking for them. Her long brown hair played around her shoulders, and the innocent look on her face had his cock twitching in his slacks. They wouldn't be getting naked anytime soon from the look of things, but he was okay with that. She was out searching for a new man to warm her bed, and he wasn't willing to let his old fears steal his focus on being the kind of man she wanted, the one she needed.

How many times had she mentioned him using sex as the cure all? Sadly enough, he had. For him, it was healing when it was with her. Being one with her left him whole again and feeling like he could conquer the world. She didn't feel the same about it. Until she did, he was backing off as best as he could.

"Good. I miss her so fucking bad," Damon whispered and walked toward his woman. "Beth. Over here."

"Sorry." She walked toward him and shook her head. "They're both a hot mess. I completely get it, but my chest hurts because of it. I wish I could take it from both of them."

"It's going to get better." Damon reached out and ran his hands down her lithe arms. "I'm going to drive Kendal back to his place and then go home and take a quick shower. You're still willing to have me for dinner tonight, right?"

Her cheeks colored pink, and he realized that his choice of words could be taken in several ways. The fact that she might be thinking about taking her time with his lower half left his body aching for her.

"Dinner sounds good," she whispered as she glanced down toward her shoes. "We're talking about us tonight though. If you're not up for that-"

"I am." He pressed his fingers under her chin and forced her to look back up at him. "I want to get everything out in the open and figure out where we are, Beth. I need to. You do too, baby."

She nodded and moved toward him, lifting to her toes and kissing his cheek softly. "See you around seven."

He turned and watched her go as his pulse spiked. "How am I supposed to get through a night of dinner and talking without thinking about seducing her? She's so damn hot. I swear she's the only girl that can turn me on by talking about washing dishes and having babies."

Kendal snorted, showing signs of life for the first time in days. "Then you know she's the one for you. Just be yourself tonight, man. If you want to seduce her and the moment is right, then go for it. Beth doesn't want a cardboard cutout of the man you were. She's not asking you to change everything, bro. Just the things that hurt her. Ask what they are and promise to work on them."

"Yeah." He pressed his teeth into his bottom lip as she glanced over her shoulder at him. She walked out of the courthouse and left him staring after her. "I'm not sure I can keep my hands off of her, but maybe it's foolish to try. I don't want to change who I am, but I can work on changing a few things or at least explaining myself a little, right?"

"Exactly. Get me home and go get the girl, bro."

"What about you?" Damon turned and wrapped his arm around Kendal's shoulders as they walked toward the exit door. "You going to think about what I said about Dana?"

"I don't know, Damon. It's not as simple as you think. She could drop the class, yeah, but she's still a student at UT."

"But why does-" Damon started, but Kendal cut him off mid-sentence.

"I don't wanna talk about this right now. I have to bury my baby sister tomorrow. I want to dive into the agony of that and honor Mandy as best I can with my speech tomorrow. We can talk about Dana after I figure out how to get out of my funk, okay?"

Damon nodded, wanting so badly to push the fact that Dana was most likely the best way to get out of his funk, but it wasn't the time. Just like he was going to have to do with Beth later that night, Damon needed to be himself with Kendal and yet tread lightly enough that his old friend wouldn't feel threatened.

They got in the car and drove in silence back out to Kendal's apartment. Damon parked the car and turned to face his oldest friend.

"I'm here if you need me."

Kendal nodded. "I know. I'll see you tomorrow. Go love on Bethany and remember, she fell in love with the real you. Nothing else. No one else. Fix this by being authentic, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, man." Damon let his head drop back as Kendal waved and got out of the car. How in the world would he ever make it through losing someone like Kendal had without a relationship like him and Beth were capable of having?

Simple. He wouldn't.

***

He parked outside of the apartments on campus and turned the car off. The need to sit in the darkness and gather his thoughts was a new sensation. He was so used to rushing into things like a bull in a china shop and getting his way. No matter what it was, or who it was, if he wanted it, it was going to be his. Where he wasn't sure he could change that about himself, he hoped like hell he could at least try and soften it a little bit.

Getting out of the car, he grabbed the single red rose he'd picked up on his way over to get Beth and walked toward her apartment.

He knocked on the door and took a step back as she opened it.

The blue dress she wore fit her like a glove, the top tight and accentuating just how big her breasts were, and the bottom flaring out and forcing him to pay homage to her beautiful legs.

"Wow," he whispered roughly. "I'm not sure how you keep getting more and more stunning, but you do."

"Thanks." She stepped outside the apartment and closed the door. "Is this for me?"

He handed her the rose and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Yeah. It's to apologize for when I stop behaving like a gentleman and slip back into being the alpha male that fucked you on top of your desk like you wanted."

She smiled, and he knew he was safe just to be himself.

"I wanted you to do that? I don't think so." She turned and locked the door, and he stepped closer and breathed in deeply, taking the scent of her deep into his lungs.

A soft yelp left her as she turned and bumped into him.

"I think you did." He smiled down at her and moved back before offering his hand. "I have everything for us to make pasta from scratch out at the house. You good with going back to my place?"

"Yeah, as long as you hear me clearly." She tugged at his hand. "I'm not sleeping with you tonight. The hell we've put each other through over the last month or so has to stop. I need to understand why you've done a few things you've done, and we need to figure out if we are still going to work on us, or if it's time to move on."

He tried to stop himself, but there was no use. He slipped his hand into her hair and gripped it softly as he leaned down and hovered above her.

"The answer to the last question is crystal clear in my mind, Beth. I don't want another woman in my life now, nor will I ever. We're going to work this out no matter what that looks like." He brushed his nose by hers and growled softly. "You don't have to sleep with me again until you’re ready to. I'll wait forever."

"No, you won't." She lifted to her toes and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was soft and tentative, and he left it at that. "I won't make you wait that long."

"I told you that you were the bad girl you pretend not to be." He nipped at her lips before moving back and taking her hand into his. "I get to lay some shit on the table tonight too. Understood?"

"Absolutely." There was no question in her tone. She seemed ready to lay all of their issues and problems on the table no matter how small or large they might be.

He walked her to her side of the car and opened the door for her. "My lady."

She got in and licked her lips as she smiled up at him. "What are we having for dinner besides pasta and you?"

"Not fair." He chuckled low in his chest as he walked around to the other side of the car. She might not want to sleep with him yet because it would muddy the waters and soften her, but by the end of the night, she'd be curled up beside him, his woman again if nothing else. That's all he wanted. No twisting reality or promising shit he couldn't deliver on either. He was just willing to open his heart up completely and let her poke around until she was assured of him being the right man for her.

There was no doubt in his mind that they belonged together. How things had gotten so incredibly fucked up felt like a mystery. He couldn't even put his finger on half the things that had gone wrong between them.

He got in the car and started it, glancing over at her and falling in love all over again. "Let's start the conversation part of this night now. You go first."

"All right." She buckled up and let out a long exhale as she stared out the front window. "Why did you rehire Philip? I want the truth."

"You're going to get the truth tonight. Just ask your questions, and I promise you that I'll give you nothing but honesty. You do the same for me."

"Of course." She glanced over at him.

"I hired him for several reasons. The first is that I wanted you to know that I trusted you." He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "The second was that I had a guilty conscience. I shouldn't have fired him in the first place. HR told me to bring him back on board the day I did it, but I needed to think it through, to make it my decision. I'm usually a reasonable guy, but something about being your man turns me into a major asshole at times when I feel threatened. Philip threatens me because he's the right kind of guy for you."

"How do you know anything about whether Philip is the guy for me? You don't know him."

"No, I don't, but I know his kind. He's a hard worker, he's respectful, and he tried to help take the blame for you punching Sadie in the face. He's a good man." Damon shrugged. "I wanted to repay that after I calmed down."

"Okay. I'm sorry that I thought it was because you wanted me to be with him."

"I wanted what?" Damon snorted loudly. "Is that a joke?"

"Watch your tone. I'm super sensitive to you right now." She jerked her head toward him, pinning him with a hard stare.

He took a slow breath through his nose and nodded. "All right. I'm sorry, I just can't believe that you would think I would want you with anyone but me."

"Why did you tell me not to wear my ring in the office?" Her voice softened a little, and he glanced over to make sure she wasn't in tears. She certainly sounded like she was headed that way.

"Because I'm an asshole."

"Damon."

"No. Wait, okay." He reached over and took her hand, holding it tightly. "I was scared that everyone at the office would give you hell for being a part of the family when you first started, and then I realized it would be way worse if we were engaged. Throw the two things together and who the fuck knows what people would say around you."

"I can take care of myself."

He stopped at a stop light and turned his attention on her, narrowing his eyes a little. "Do you think for one minute that I'm the type of man that would let you take the brunt of that shit and not do something about it?"

"No, but I-"

"No, nothing. I was worried about what might happen. If someone said something to you that was offensive or harmful, I'd likely break their damn nose myself."

"I understand." She pulled her hand from his slowly. "It just hurt me so much. I kept thinking maybe you didn't want anyone to know that I was yours because you were embarrassed."

Her voice cracking caused his heart to ache.

"Baby. I want the whole world to know that you're mine. If I knew then what I know now, I never in a million years would have asked you to take that damn ring off. The morning you left it on my nightstand felt like the world crashed in around me. I can't remember hurting that much since the night I found my mother sleeping with another man." He turned his attention back toward the front of the road and held his breath, working on not letting his emotions get the best of him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, Damon. I just couldn't see spending my life with someone that was ashamed of me, had no respect for me and worked to leave me well aware of both." She reached over and slid her hand onto his thigh. "Forgive me."

"For what? Running from the monster? I can't say that I blame you, to be honest." He pulled over on the side of the road and let out a soft sigh. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they couldn't work things out. It sounded like she was dead set on painting him as the biggest fucking villain ever in her mind.

How in the hell could he salvage that?

Chapter 9

Bethany

I'm not the victim. He didn't do any of those things with malice or the intent that I thought he did.

Against her better judgment, she unbuckled her seat belt and moved to her knees, leaning over and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I told you that I was struggling, that I felt like you didn't care about me. I know it's stupid now, but those are the things that kept kicking me down each time I would try to work things out with you." She pressed her face against his neck and breathed in deeply. "You're not a monster at all. I just felt like a victim, which is stupid."

He kissed the side of her face and rubbed her back softly. "You want me to take you back to your place? I honestly didn't realize how bad all of this looked. I didn't have the intent you thought I had, but I understand why you ran from me. Maybe you were right to run."

"No." She turned her face toward his. "I don't want to run anymore. I just need to understand where you were coming from. You explaining it is clearing up a lot, okay?"

"My turn." He slid his hand into her hair and pulled her down for a long kiss. The soft press of his tongue against her lips left her body waking up. She'd promised herself ten times that she wouldn't let their physical attraction pull her down into worshiping him without getting clarity and clearing the air between them. If they were going to have a solid relationship, it was going to start that night. She was tired of waiting to make a decision. It was shit or get off the pot time.

She opened her mouth and moaned softly as he pressed his tongue deep into her mouth and gripped her hair with the same aggression that left her wet and aching every time he reached for her.

"I want you so fucking bad, Beth." He licked her lips and sucked her bottom lip back into his mouth. "You know that though, don't you?"

"Yes," she whispered roughly and pressed her lips back against his. He took full advantage of her going in for the kiss and ran his hands down her back and squeezed the top curve of her ass. Every part of him felt alive as she flattened her chest against his and took the fierceness of the kiss like a champ.

"Stop teasing me, or I'm going to break your promise to yourself." He brushed his nose by hers and kissed her once more before she moved back into her seat.

"God, I forgot how good it felt to be close to you." She pursed her lips and pressed her head to the seat behind her as she let out another soft sensual sound.

"Keep it up." He licked his lips, trying to taste her again before they started to talk.

"Why did you let Delilah push me around at the office?" She lifted her eyebrow at him.

He shook his head and pulled the car back onto the road. "I didn't know she was giving you such grief until Ben and Patrick came to see me the day you quit."

"I should have been more clear about it." Bethany shook her head. "The woman is a whorish bitch."

"Good, then come back to work and put her in her place."

"Why aren't you firing her?"

"I am," he glanced over at Beth, "but I have to have proper cause to do it. She's been a little too flirty with me lately, which has me verbally beating her back each chance I get. I can't fire her without proper cause. Come help me find a few good reasons."

Bethany laughed sardonically. "You're just looking for a way to get me back up there. I'm not doing it. She's not worth the strain of working with you."

"What if I change?" He reached for her hand, pulling it toward his lips and licking at her fingers one at a time.

She whimpered softly and tried to tug her hand free, but he gripped it tighter. Everything about him turned her on. The soft pulse between her thighs had moved from something that she was able to ignore to a violent ticking that demanded her attention.

"You're not going to change." She bit her tongue as he sucked one of her fingers deep into his mouth, rolling his tongue around the digit and pressing his teeth against her flesh. "Stop, Damon. You said we would just talk."

He released her and kissed her hand one more time before putting it back in her lap. Her request seemed ignorant all of a sudden.

"I've already started to change, Beth. I don't want to be a different man than the man I've grown into, but if explaining myself and working hard to make sure you and every other fucking person in our lives know that you're number one in my world, then so be it. Delilah's days are numbered. My father made a huge mistake in hiring her, and he knows that now. He feels like shit about it." He glanced over at her. "I never would have brought her to the firm to work beside me. You thinking that I would lie about it is almost crazy."

"It looked that way, but I'm starting to realize that a lot of things that looked that way were just me expecting the worst from you." She shrugged. "My father woke me up the morning he left and kissed me on the cheek. He promised that he would be home that night and that we'd work on my bike out in the garage. It wasn't much of a bike, but it was all we had. We were pretty poor."

"Beth." Damon reached over and squeezed her thigh.

"No, let me finish." She took a deep breath. "I went to school that day and came home to find my mom in the house and three big thugs tearing up everything. He'd skipped town because he owed them drug money, but he left us there without saying a word. He forced us to be the victims of poverty, of fear, of a whole host of other fucked up things." Tears filled her eyes, but she kept going. "I've never been whole or complete. When we first got together, I kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it didn't. I think I started just to assume that everything you did had some small seed of malice in it. Why wouldn't it? We couldn't last. You wouldn't want a broken girl like me. I had nothing. I have nothing. I'm poor, and you’re rich. I'm average, and you're beautiful."

"Beth." Damon pulled into the driveway at his place. "You're everything I want in my life. You're beyond beautiful to me. You're talented and smart, and you could run circles around all of us put together if you believed in yourself."

"But I don't." She pressed her fingers to her eyes and wiped at her tears. "I think that's why I bastardized all of it in my mind."

"I believe in you completely." He got out of the car, walked around, opened her door and pulled her out, wrapping his strong arms around her. "And this isn't just about you making yourself out to be a victim. It's about me needing to have tight control on our relationship, so tight that I almost ruined it. It's about my fucked up situation with my mother forcing me to turn every outing you had without me into a rendezvous with some incredible lover."

"No one is better than you," she whispered against the side of his throat.

"I just knew that you had something for Philip, and then Kendal and God knows who else. Every man I look at around me is better for you. I'm an asshole, and I deserve nothing for the way I've treated women, but I want you so goddamn bad."

He licked up the side of her throat, leaving her knees weak. "I would pay penitence for the rest of my life if you were in it. I'd do anything I could to make you happy, to give you anything you wanted, baby. I would do all of it for you."

His words softened her, driving the truth deep into her heart. He loved her. He had to. There was no way someone that loved her like the man clinging to her could have malicious intent toward her.

"Why were we fighting? Why did I leave my ring with you?" She turned and pressed her lips against his as a sob left her. "When did all of this shit start?"

"I don't know, but I need it to go away. I don't care about anyone else, Beth. I gave you that ring and asked you to marry me because I love you, baby. I love you so fucking much." He gripped her face and leaned down, consuming her with his kiss. She melted against him, letting go of her promise to leave untouched, her hope to work things out, her need to facilitate a full night of working through their demons. She didn't need to talk about their shit anymore. It was invalid, and both of them were in the wrong.

"I love you too. I've missed you so much." A fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks as Damon gripped the back of her thighs and forced her to wrap her legs around him. He kept his tight grip on the side of her face and wrapped his free arm around her rear as he walked them toward the house.

"Let’s not do this shit anymore, okay? Just tie me down, and we can talk about things as they come up. Yes?" He kissed her again before letting her slide down the front of his body.

A moan left her as she brushed by his thick erection. Why in the world would she have thought that anything but love making would be the end result if things went right? Sex was his love language, and nothing felt better than being pressed beneath him, covered by him, spread wide open for him.

She nodded in response to his question and kissed him softly one more time before moving out of his way.

He worked on the door, and she moved up behind him, wrapping her arms around his narrow waist and pressing her cheek to his back. She breathed deeply, trying to stain her lungs with his scent. Everything about him left her breathless and needy. All of the bullshit they'd put each other through slowly started to dissipate as she let herself consume the truth.

"Are we still making dinner?" She pressed her teeth against his shoulder and closed her eyes, not sure she wanted anything but him hovering above her, naked and sweaty.

"Anything you want, Beth." He opened the door and walked in, turning and pulling her against him as he closed the door.

She groaned as he pressed her to the wall behind her and ran his hands up her sides, cupping her breasts and squeezing. The firm press of his body against hers left her with little question where his mind was.

Some part of her wanted to make dinner and talk more, but it seemed irrelevant. They could make love and then get up and eat then. There wasn't much more to talk about other than the ring.

"You smell so good, baby. Like lust and roses." He pressed his lips against her ear and groaned as he rocked against her. "You know how badly I wanted to bed you over the conference room table the other day just to teach you a few lessons?"

"And what would you have done to me?" she whispered roughly as she slid her hands over his hips to squeeze his ass.

"Knelt behind you and forced you to scream my name a few times." He brushed his thumbs over her nipples. "Wear my ring again, Beth. We can work through anything you want to work through, but don't give up on us. I can't let you do that. I love you too much."

She closed her eyes and lifted one of her legs, locking her knee over his hip as he ground against her. Pleasure danced in the center of her stomach, and everything seemed so far away all of a sudden. The pressure building between her legs and deep inside her chest caused something to shift deep inside of her. She loved him too. More than anyone she'd ever loved in her short life. How could she fathom giving that up? The hopeless situation wasn't at all hopeless. He was willing to open himself up and work it all out.

"Where is it?" She turned her head and brushed her nose by his ear. "The ring? What did you do with it?"

He moved back and reached into his pocket, pulling it out and turning it over in his palm. "I carry it everywhere with me." He smiled shyly, not looking like the aggressive bastard that would have her panting like a whore by the time the night was over. "I honestly couldn't let the hope die that you'd want it back. I'm not sure I could live with that thought.”

"Damon." She reached out and plucked it from his palm. "I didn't want to let it die either. I was just so hurt."

He cupped her face with both hands and leaned in to kiss her. "I don't want you hurt. Marry me, Beth. Let me fix all of it and make it better. Let's build another house together and start a family someday, baby. Can we do that? Please?"

She leaned against him and closed her eyes. Nothing sounded better.

"And when things get rough?" she mumbled against his lips.

"We talk about it and work on it together."

"You promise?" She slid her hand between their bodies and cupped his cock, squeezing it as she ran her nails up the swell of his sack.

"Fuck yes." He licked at her mouth and shifted his hips, pressing himself against her hand. "Let me make love to you tonight. Don't deny me."

"I don't think I could if I wanted to." She nipped at his lips and leaned back, pulling her hands up to rest in front of her. "I don't want to ever take this off again. Don't ask me to."

"Never. I swear it." He reached out and plucked the ring from her before sliding it onto her left hand and leaning down to kiss it. "You're mine forever. Don't ever run from me again."

"I won't." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Make love to me after dinner. Fuck me now."

"Hell yeah," he growled and picked her up, walking back toward the bedroom as he kissed her with a passion that left her insides trembling. "You're all mine tonight, pussycat."

She clung to him and licked at his mouth as he growled low in his chest, the promise one that she was more than happy to hold him to.

Chapter 10

Bethany

She laid on the bed as he moved around the room. There were a million things she wanted to say, but he'd laid her down and told her to hush the minute she started asking questions. There was nothing left to do but watch him walk around the room, lighting candles. She'd pulled his shirt from him as he kissed her before getting up, which left the view from her vantage point beyond spectacular. Thick muscles bunched up as he reached up to pull the curtains closed. His arms and back were beautifully sculpted, as was his chest and stomach.

He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a sexy smile. "What are you thinking, Beth?"

"I was wondering what kind of pasta we were going to make." She tried hard not to smile in the middle of her fib, but much like her mother always warned her, the devil made you smile each time you lied.

"Oh yeah?" He turned around and unbuttoned his slacks, pushing them over his hips and letting them fall to the ground. The sexy bastard didn't have on underwear, which was less than surprising.

Her eyes moved down his body, coveting every part of him. He was well endowed and as naughty as it was, one of the things she would have missed about him was the way he forced her to take all of him, regardless of whether she thought herself capable of doing it. It was exhilarating.

"Your nipples budding so tightly against your dress tell a different story." He reached down and stroked himself as he walked toward the bed.

"What story do they tell?" She moved to her knees and crawled to the edge of the bed as excitement raced through her center and played with the most sensitive parts of her body.

He stopped in front of her and reached out, brushing his fingers over the tops of her shoulders and down her arms. Chill bumps ran rampant on her exposed skin. He took his time, touching her everywhere as he reached for the bottom of her dress. He pulled it over her head and took a deep breath. "Wow. So fucking beautiful."

"You're avoiding answering me. Why?" She slid her hands up his strong chest and cupped his neck. She couldn't help but revel in the softness of his skin and the way his muscles clenched under her feather-light touch.

"You already know the answer to that question, you bad girl." He leaned in, wrapping his arms around her and undid her bra before leaning over to worship her breasts one at a time. The tenderness in his touch was almost surprising after her request for him to unleash every bit of himself all over her. Maybe he wasn't capable of separating the lust and love anymore. The thought caused her heart to flutter as gratefulness rolled over her.

"Thank you," she whispered and kissed the side of his face as he rolled his tongue around her nipple and pulled it deep into his mouth, flicking it hard a few times.

She groaned and ran her fingers through his hair as he pulled back and glanced up. "For what, baby?"

"For giving us another chance." She pulled him down for a long kiss, giving herself over to him and trying like hell to push as much passion into the kiss as she could.

He nipped at her lips and stood back up as he pressed the back of his fingers against her stomach.

"You have nothing to thank me for, Beth. Both of us made mistakes and misunderstood the other. I should have been more open with you. This is as much my fault as anyone's." He glanced down where his hand rested and smiled. "Tell me you’re wet for me."

She nodded. "I always am when you're around. I hated myself for it when we weren't getting along, but it didn't matter how I felt. You've captured my body in a way I can't begin to explain."

"Then don't try to." He slid his fingers into the top of her panties and forced them down until he brushed through her wetness. He licked his lips and lifted his gaze to hers. "Lay back. I wanna clean that up for you."

"Damon, let's do that later. I want-"

"Good. You'll get anything you want, but I'm a greedy bastard, and I haven't stopped thinking about tasting you." He pushed softly at her shoulder. "Lay back and let me taste you."

She moved back and laid down as a shiver ran down her spine.

He reached up and pulled her panties slowly down her legs as his eyes dragged across her. The way he watched her left her without a doubt in her mind that he planned on taking his time and forcing her to remember that if nothing else, they had this. This burning passion that left her insides fuming, her inhibitions lost to his demands.

"I want to touch every part of you." He ran his hand up her stomach, between her breasts and gripped the base of her throat lightly. "There’s a huge part of me that wants to hear you scream, to feel you cry out for more and more of me. Does that girl exist anymore?"

"Yes," she whispered roughly and bent her knees, rubbing them along his sides as he leaned down and pressed his mouth to the soft skin just below her breasts. "I want all of that with you."

"Good girl." He brushed his nose down her stomach and pressed his mouth to her mound, flicking his tongue over her clit as she cried out and arched her back. The intensity of having him between her legs again was almost too much. He was so much more than she'd ever expected to end up with, but after having him and losing him again, she was ready to pony up, to put up anything it would take for him to feel as if he'd met his match.

She sunk her fingers into his hair and let her knees fall to the side, rolling her hips as he took his time lapping at her soft skin. He groaned and sunk two fingers deep inside her as she worked herself against them.

"Harder," she murmured and extended her hands toward the top of the bed to grab a pillow. She wanted to see him better, to watch him enjoy himself in the ways that only he could.

"So demanding." He brushed his lips down her sex and glanced up at her before sucking her skin back into his mouth. "Just tell me what you want if I don't give it to you. I don't want to leave you wanting for anything."

She nodded and rolled her hips again as the delicious burn of orgasm resurrected in her stomach. There is no way in hell she could be with someone else after being with Damon. No one would love her the way he did.

"I'm so close," she groaned and gripped the sheets as he mumbled across her skin and worked her harder. The cry that left her almost frightened her. It was needy and filled with angst.

"More." He groaned and licked at her as his eyes moved up to lock onto hers. The sexy look on his face combined with the soft press of his tongue and wicked hard pumping of his fingers caused her to buckle as she came again.

She rode the high as he continued to stoke it. "No more." She pushed at his shoulder with her foot and rolled over onto her stomach, squeezing her legs together and pressing her face to the cold sheets as she panted for air.

"So fucking hot, Beth." He slid his hand up the back of her thighs and squeezed before crawling up on the bed with her. "I want you to ride me tonight." He pressed himself down on top of her and leaned down to kiss her neck and the back of her shoulders. "Can you do that for me, baby?"

"Anything you want." She forced herself to calm down a little. Her heart was racing so fast that it felt like it was trying to break free from her chest.

"Good. I want to see you enjoy yourself." He moved off of her and laid on his back, reaching for her as she moved up to her hands and knees.

"I'm sorry about being a bitch the last time we-"

"No." He lifted his finger toward her and pressed it to her lips. "No more apologies tonight, baby. I was a cock to think that sex would fix everything. It makes me feel whole and complete when we make love, but that doesn't mean you feel the same."

She moved toward him and straddled his waist. The thick press of his erection against her sensitive skin felt good. Too good. She arched her back and rubbed herself along his shaft as he reached up and gripped her sides just above her hips. She wanted to apologize again, but she was just incredibly sensitive to making things work this time around.

"Do you have a condom?" She pressed her hands into his thick chest and rocked against him. A whimper slipped from her lips as he lifted her a little and thrust, pressing himself into her a little as she cried out.

"No. We don't need one. You and I are going to start a family when you're ready. If it's tonight, so be it." He slid one hand up her side until he gripped the side of her throat. "Press back and take my dick, Beth. It's all yours. Every inch of it belongs to you."

The sound of his voice accompanied with his wicked words left her body opening up quicker than she thought possible. She pressed back and lifted her chin toward the ceiling as stars danced around the edge of her vision.

"I love it so much." She bounced on him a little as he helped set the rhythm by moving her hips.

"Good, baby." He sat up and wrapped his arms around her as she gripped his shoulders and let every ounce of emotion from the last few weeks pour into their sex. "Let go with me. Forget about everything but us, Beth. It's just you and me, and I want your pleasure more than my next breath."

She whimpered again and lifted up before impaling herself with his thickness over and over. The sweet press of his mouth against the top of her breasts only added to the feeling of him holding her as if he might lose her again.

"I'm tired," she murmured.

"I bet. It's been a long day." He picked her up and rolled them over, pressing her to the bed beneath him. "Just hold on to me and let me take care of you. I'm so proud of how strong you were today."

"You are?" She wrapped her legs around him and dug her nails into his back as he rolled his hips, massaging her as he worked himself deep inside of her.

"So much, baby." He licked the side of her neck and pressed his mouth against her ear. "Come for me again. I want to feel your body contracting around me. Lose yourself in me."

"I want to." She glanced up and locked gazes with him. The love she found in his expression was overwhelming. To have almost lost him left her emotionally bent over. "Don't leave me."

He brushed her hair back and pressed his chest to hers as he rocked against her, forcing her to open her legs wider for him.

"Never. Not in a million years. You're stuck, baby." He brushed his lips by hers before kissing her with a need that caused her heart to heal. She held on to him with all she had in her as he continued to make love to her throughout the night. The sound of him losing himself more than once left her yearning for the chance to hear it again.

He dropped back on the bed a few hours later, and she crawled back onto his lap, her back to him. "One more time."

"Fuck." He gripped the top curve of her ass and lifted his hips, impaling her again. "Do whatever you want, Beth. Anything."

"I want you to come for me again." She glanced back as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Then make it happen, lover." He ran his fingers down her lower back and smiled. "I know you can."

"Oh yeah. I know I can too." She pulled from her last bit of energy and pressed her hands to his thick thighs as she removed any concern about how she looked or what he might think. He was confident in bed and deserved a woman that was too. She could be that woman, no, she wanted to, and she would.

Chapter 11

Damon

He laid on the bed beside her for what felt like forever the next morning. Nothing could have pulled him from her side other than the house burning down around them. Dinner never happened the night before, but he had plenty of stuff in the fridge for a great breakfast. She loved omelets, and he'd paid close attention over the last few months on what she liked in hers. She'd be surprised for sure seeing that they'd never talked about it before.

It was the little things. The communication between them was going to have to improve, but the little things would be a balm for the times when things got fucked up, and they would. There was almost no way around that. Sometimes life threw shit at him, and his only reaction was to be an asshole to anyone and everyone. It wasn't that he chose that reaction, it just happened. After thirty-one years of being the guy he was, it wasn't going to change overnight, but he sure as hell would work on apologizing and not directing too much of it toward her if he could help it.

"I love you so much," he whispered and reached over to pull the covers over her back. He kissed the side of her face and got up. His slacks were on the floor, but pajama pants sounded like the better option. He only had two hours before he needed to be ready to head to Amanda's funeral. He pulled his pants over his legs and tied the drawstring tight before looking for his phone.

The text on it was from Matt, just checking in. He texted his brother back that he would see him at Amanda's funeral. He quickly gave him the name of the church too, seeing that Matt was too much of a knucklehead to figure anything out on his own.

"Or maybe I'm just not giving him enough credit." Damon brushed his fingers by his lips and pressed the button for Kendal.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Kendal sounded better, not good, but not nearly as lifeless as he had since Amanda passed.

"I was just calling to make sure you didn't want me to come get you this morning." Damon walked to the fridge, opened it and pulled out the various items he'd need to make breakfast.

"No. I'm able to get myself there. I was trying to decide between a black tie and a blue one. This is why I should already be married. I can never get the color scheme right for anything."

"Black for a funeral." Damon turned and leaned against the counter. "Is Dana coming today?"

"I would assume so, though I really wish she wouldn't." Kendal sighed softly. "She would come even if something hadn't started between us. She was one of Mandy's nurses and the two of them connected."

"That's awesome. It's nice to know your sister had people watching out for her all of the time."

"That's true. I'll see you there, okay?"

"All right."

"Hey. Damon."

"What?"

"Is Bethany coming? Have you talked to her since yesterday? Did you guys end up going out for dinner?"

"Whoa. That's a lot of questions. I should charge you for information gathering."

"Answer the questions, man. I just didn't want her to feel like I didn't invite her. I forgot to mention it yesterday at the courthouse with everything going on."

"She's coming today. She spent the night last night. We worked everything out. I mean, we certainly have a long way to go to repair all the damage we both did to the relationship, but we agree on the fact that we're willing to work on it. She's wearing the ring again, and I didn't have to pin her to the ground to force it on her finger."

"Good. Damn, at least something is working out in the world."

"Yeah, I'm stupid blessed. I'll see you in a couple of hours. You know all you have to do is call if you decide you can't get yourself up there. I'll drop everything and come get you, man."

"I know. That's why you're my best friend."

"See you soon." Damon dropped the call, set his phone down and worked on breakfast. The sound of someone walking into the kitchen behind him caused him to smile. He glanced back to see Beth wearing one of his white button down shirts, and it would seem nothing else.

Her hair was an unruly mess, her pretty mouth a little swollen from his licking and kissing at it all night. He could imagine what the rest of her beautiful body looked like.

"Sleep good, baby?" He walked across the kitchen and pulled her into his arms.

"Like a baby, funny enough." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into the kiss. "I need to go home to grab something to wear for the funeral. You want me to take one of your cars or can you run me over there?"

"Whatever you want me to do. I made you breakfast. Eat real quick while I change and then we'll go."

She inhaled as if trying to discern what breakfast he'd made. "Smells divine."

"It's a ham, egg and mushroom omelet with cheddar cheese on top like you like." He kissed the tip of her nose, released her and walked toward the bedroom. "Enjoy."

"Wow. You did this for me?" she called after him.

"Yeah. I figure I'd better stop saying how much I love you and start proving it." He chuckled. "You could always wear this pretty dress in here on the floor. It's wrinkled, but I could throw it in the dryer for you."

"That's a good idea. You think it looks good enough for a funeral?"

"Yeah. It's perfect." He closed the door to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He needed to wash the scent of their lust off of himself before changing. Nothing sounded better than calling her in to join him, but they'd never make it to the funeral in time.

Sadness welled up inside his chest as he let the hot water run across his skin. Kendal would have a hard time holding it together at the service, which was completely expected, but there was nothing that bent Damon over more than seeing someone he loved suffer.

At least Beth would be there beside him. Just a quick glance her way and he would be forced to consider the future. It was finally bright again now that she was back in the picture. Did she want a bigger house than the one he had? And how many kids? He smiled at the thoughts running through his mind. Never in a million years had he considered truly settling down with someone.

He finished up and got out about the time she walked in. "You getting in?"

"Yeah, just real quick." She reached for him and kissed him a few times. "Thank you for making me breakfast. It was delicious. The best omelet I've ever had."

"Good. I wanted you to enjoy yourself this morning like I did last night." A nefarious grin slid up his face as he chuckled.

She shook her head and pulled his shirt over her head, leaving her beautiful ass on display. "You're so corrupt."

"You like it."

"No, I love it." She glanced over her shoulder as she got into the shower. "What are your plans after the funeral?"

"I need to swing by the office to talk with my dad today if he's up for it. I know he's got a conference call with a company that's overseas and has no concept of taking off for a weekend." He snorted and reached for his comb, running it through his hair a few times. "I want to try and clear the air between us."

Bethany poked her head out of the shower. "Clear the air? Did something happen?"

"From when my mother died. My father is still upset with me for not going to the funeral, and not that anything could probably change that, but I need to get all of it off of my chest. I don't want to let the pain of that shit continue to ruin my life. I can't afford it anymore. I won't take the chance of having it fester further and hurt this thing between you and me. It's not worth it."

"Do you want me to go with you?" The earnest sweetness in her voice melted him a little farther, as if possible.

"No. I need to close down the old hurt by myself. I'm honestly not sure if my dad knows that my mom slept around, and I wouldn't want to bring that up with anyone in the room but the two of us." Damon turned to face her instead of watching her in the mirror's reflection. "I have no clue how he's going to react."

"Something tells me that with as much as your father loves you, no matter how he reacts, the two of you will work it out."

"I hope you're right." He tightened the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom, rehearsing the same conversation that had run through his mind a million times over the last ten years. No matter the outcome, it was time to be truthful and give himself rest from carrying around the burden alone.

***

"Thanks for coming today." Kendal reached out and pulled Damon into a hug.

"Of course, man." Damon squeezed him and moved back to let Beth get in a quick hug as well. The pretty dark-haired girl standing just off to his left seemed to be trying not to watch Kendal too closely.

"Guys, this is Dana Young. She was one of Mandy's nurses and is a friend of mine." He put his hand on the girl's lower back as Damon smiled and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. I think we got to see each other earlier this week at the hospital." He smiled as she nodded. She looked a lot like Ana, but there was no way in hell Damon was going to mention it. The fact that Kendal was touching the girl was a good sign. Maybe Kendal had taken Damon's advice and figured out a way to have love in his life despite the fact that it might hurt his career again. If not, the man was in the wrong damn career.

"We did." Dana smiled back and turned to Beth.

"I guess we should sit down." Damon glanced down at his girl as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He glanced back up to Kendal. "We'll let all of your extended family sit up here with you, and my family will be a few rows backs if you need us, okay?"

"Just remember that you're a pallbearer."

"I know." Damon walked Beth to the back, and they sat down next to an elderly couple who still seemed very much in love. Damon took Beth's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her fingers a few times. The fact that she had her ring back on her finger gave him more peace than he thought possible.

How quickly they both were moving away from not working things out and letting go of what could possibly be the best thing life had to offer them.

"I love you," he whispered softly and kissed the side of her head as she snuggled against him.

"I love you too." She turned and kissed him once before settling in beside him.

The preacher walked in, and Damon turned his attention from Beth to the front. He was grateful that Kendal had decided against an open-casket funeral. Seeing Amanda up front while the service was going on would have been too much. Especially for her older brother.

Chapter 12

Bethany

Bethany held her breath as the funeral started. There seemed nothing worse in life than death to most people, but she'd been through a few days that felt like death might be a reprieve of sorts. The preacher was opening the service as Matt moved in quietly to sit beside her. Her mom and Kent were beside him, all of them trying to get into the pew as quietly as possible.

"Morning," Matt whispered as he reached over and gave her a quick hug.

She smiled and leaned forward, reaching out and squeezing her mom's hand too. Her mother eyed her and Damon, nodded and turned back toward the front.

"We're gathered here today to celebrate the life of Amanda Tarrington." A few sniffles lifted up around the room, and Bethany couldn't help but hurt for Kendal. Without his mom and dad, Amanda was the only family he had left, or so Damon had told her on the way to the funeral.

She reached over and took Matt's hand into hers. She still had her family with her, but how quickly it had started to dwindle before her eyes over something stupid and trivial. She'd have to be on guard with her wayward feelings and Damon's quirks. There was no way in hell she was going to let them get back to where they were before last night.

The preacher had spoken for a few more minutes before he called Kendal up.

Bethany's eyes lingered on the dark-haired nurse that sat beside him on the front row. Who was she? Was Kendal in love with her?

"I just wanted to thank you guys again for coming. My sister has been fighting MS for a very long time, and yet I can't help but wish she were still in that fighting stage. I know it's selfish, but I miss her already." He glanced up toward the ceiling and paused as Bethany's heart broke in her chest. "At twenty-five, you never expect life to be over. I guess what I want to say is that she was loved so much by me and everyone that walked into her hospital room. She'll be missed forever, and if there is something that Mandy would have said to us, it's to live your life to the fullest each day. I struggle with that, but she was right. We never know if tomorrow is coming or not, so live for today. Thanks."

Bethany reached up and wiped at her tears as Kendal wiped at his and made his way back to his pew.

The preacher went through the rest of the ceremony, and one of Kendal's cousins sang a beautiful old hymn that had most of the church in tears. Damon leaned over and kissed her cheek close to the end.

"I have to help out. See you outside when it's over. Just stay with Matt." He smiled and kissed her cheek again.

She started to respond with something cheeky about being a grown woman and not needing Matt or any other man to walk her outside, but she let it go. He was only trying to make sure she was taken care of. It was a good thing.

He got up, and Matt wrapped his arm around Bethany's shoulder. She snuggled against him and followed Damon with her eyes as he and several other guys moved to the front.

Kendal took the time to hug each of them before moving to lift Amanda's casket from the stand where it sat.

Everyone waited for the preacher to say his final words and the guys to move down the center aisle with Amanda before standing up. Bethany wanted to turn and talk to Matt, to dive into something other than the death of a girl her age. It weighed heavy on her like it did on everyone in the room.

She moved out into the aisle after the family cleared the room and glanced back to make sure Matt was behind her. His dark blue eyes filled with warmth as he smiled.

"Hey, sis."

"Hey," she mumbled quietly and turned to walk out of the church. The sun was sitting high in the sky, but the cool breeze of fall made the day pleasant in a way that was hard to get in late October in Texas.

"What happens now?" Bethany's mom moved up and pulled her into a hug as she turned.

"We go to the graveside, and the preacher says a few more things." Kent moved in for a quick hug after her mom. "How are you this morning, Bethany?"

"Good." She glanced up at Kent. "Really good."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled down at her and released her to wrap his arms around her mother.

Matt rolled his shoulders and glanced down at her. "You and Damon make up?"

"Yeah. Something like that." She turned to face her step-brother and lifted her eyebrow. "What's going on with you and Erica?"

"Nothing? Everything? I don't know. I had a great time with her for the weekend, but it's all too much." He brushed his hands over the swell of his chest. He'd been working out in his spare time from what she could tell.

"Too much? I'm not sure I understand." She put her hand on her hip. "Tell me what happened."

"No." He winked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "There isn't anything to tell. She still scares the fuck out of me, and I'm avoiding her until I figure out how to get over my fears."

"Avoiding her? I'm not sure that would go over very well."

"It's not." He nodded toward the car. "You want to ride with us out to the graveside?"

"Yeah. That sounds good." She turned her head a little to find Damon.

He waved before getting into a long black stretch limousine with Kendal and the other pallbearers.

"I care about Erica, and am probably a little obsessed with her, though I'd never admit it to anyone but you and Damon."

"But?" Bethany glanced up at her brother.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I feel like if we let ourselves, we'd both be consumed by the other. It's not fair to her or me."

"You're making no sense at all." She pulled from his hold and reached for the door.

"Then it's a normal day, and all is right in the world." Matt wagged his eyebrows and walked to the other side of the car.

As much as Beth wanted to push the conversation, it was more than obvious that she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. He wasn't scared of Erica necessarily, but of the feelings that existed between the two of them. It could be a powerful relationship, something like she and Damon had, but there was no way Matt was going to let that happen. For some reason, the handsome nugget-head felt the need to protect himself.

Protect himself from love?

Weirder things had happened.

***

The graveside service was much faster, and everyone seemed okay until the end. The preacher looked down at the front row where Kendal sat and offered him a rose. Bethany couldn't hear what the man said from where she was standing off to the side with the rest of her family, but Kendal took the flower and stood up.

The preacher turned and walked to the head of the casket, bending down and grabbing a handful of dirt. He sprinkled it over the shiny black box. "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

Kendal moved up next and paused with his back to everyone. He was speaking, but it was impossible to hear what he was saying. The soft sound of crying rose up and almost tore Bethany in two.

She glanced over toward Damon, who moved forward to stand beside his best friend. He paused as Dana got up from her seat and moved up beside Kendal instead.

Kendal's back shook as his shoulders rounded, and he laid the flower down. Dana wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, holding him while he said goodbye to his little sister.

Bethany moved toward the back of the crowd as Damon walked toward her with tears in his eyes.

"Shit. I hate this kind of stuff," he whispered roughly and pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her a few times before tucking his handsome face against her neck. "I wish I could take it from him."

"Me too, but it seems like someone is going to help him move past it better than either you or I could." She kissed Damon's face and snuggled against him as he moved back and took his place beside her.

Dana still had her arms around Kendal as they walked from the grave toward the car.

Damon released Beth and walked after them, moving in front of the couple and giving his best friend a long hug. Bethany watched them from the side, letting the moment touch her heart in ways that it needed to be touched. Damon was a good man with a rough past, but he was willing to try and be someone better, someone different in all areas of his life.

That was all she could ask for.

She reached for him as he walked back to her a few minutes later. "Let's go have lunch with our family and then we can take a nap. That sound good?"

He nodded. "I was going to talk with my dad today, but I got a text in the car that the Zarpeth team needs me to come sign off on a few things and help them work through one more kink. I'll eat with you guys and then get on a plane and head down to Florida."

"You're leaving?" She groaned and ran her hands up his chest. "I don't want you to go."

He smirked and leaned down to kiss her nose. "Then come with me."

"I'm not ready to make a decision about working at McKenzie and Bryant yet, Damon. I don't want to be pushed into making it either."

Matt walked up beside her. "So I heard you quit? Holy hell, I thought that place was like Hotel California. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

Damon gave his brother a 'kiss my ass' look, and Bethany couldn't help but chuckle. The two of them were too cute together. Nothing alike and yet got along incredibly well most of the time.

"You don't have to come down there to work, baby. Just come with me so we can spend time together. You can go to the beach later today and tomorrow while I'm in the office." He pulled her close and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. "I'll even let you bring Matt if he promises to behave."

She glanced over at Matt and smiled. "You wanna go have some daiquiris and lay on the beach with me in Florida today?"

"Does it mean I don't have to make any big decisions in my own life?" Matt gave her a lopsided smile.

"That's pretty much every day in your life." Kent walked up and laughed before looking down at Bethany's mom. "You wanna take these kids to lunch together before I have to run up to the office for that call?"

"Absolutely." Bethany's mom moved out of Kent's hold and pulled Beth into a hug as the boys walked toward the car. "I can't imagine losing you at this age. I know Kendal's parents are already gone, but maybe that's a good thing. There's one thing a mother should never have to do, and that's bury one of her babies."

"I agree." Beth rested her cheek against her mother's shoulder, letting the older woman cry a little as she clung to Beth. There were a million things to tell her about her relationship with Damon and such but now wasn't the time.

"I love you, baby." Her mom kissed the side of her head.

"Me too." She rested against her mom, grateful that if nothing else, this would always be a safe place to land.

Chapter 13

Damon

Damon stood over the sink, washing dishes and listening to the sounds of his family laughing behind him. Martha had the day off to be with her son since he was graduating from college. Damon almost felt guilty for not being there beside her. She'd been a part of his father's household since he was a boy.

"What are you thinking about, handsome?" Bethany slid her hands around his waist and pressed herself against his back.

He closed his eyes, letting himself fully experience the warmth that radiated off of her. How in the world he thought himself capable of moving on without her beside him was a fucking joke. He’d have hated the man he would have become if their relationship didn't work out. He was already slipping back into being a full-time asshole.

"Martha. Her son is graduating college today." He turned off the faucet and grabbed a hand towel, wiping his hands and turning around to face her.

His father glanced up from talking with Karen and smiled. "I sent flowers to her house this morning as a congratulations from us. She knew we were at Amanda's funeral."

"Oh, good." Damon wrapped his arms around Beth and smiled down at her. "You need to go grab something to wear to the beach. We gotta get going."

"Do I need a fancy outfit for dinner tonight?" She rubbed the small of his back and tightened her arms around him as she watched him in a way that left his body yearning for another romp in the sheets.

"Just something casual. I'm not sure what the schedule is going to look like yet." He glanced up as Matt walked into the kitchen. "You got enough stuff here to pack for the overnight trip?"

"Yeah. Do I need something other than shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops?" He gave Damon a goofy grin.

"No. That works perfectly." He turned his attention back to Beth. "You need me to run you by your place before we head to the airport?"

"That would be great." She lifted to her toes and surprised him with a long kiss. The sound of Matt grunting and walking out of the kitchen with false disgust was always a delight to hear.

Damon moved everyone along, and twenty minutes later had Beth in the car beside him and Matt in the back. They'd swing by and get Beth's clothes and get on a flight to Florida.

"You think Kendal is going to be okay?" Beth's voice was soft as if she were lost deep in thought.

"I think he will eventually. It's going to take some time." Damon swallowed his worry and reached for her hand. "I think that pretty girl standing next to him at the casket today might help speed up that healing if he lets her."

"How pretty?" Beth gave him a look before laughing softly.

"Nothing compared to you."

Matt groaned in the backseat. "Am I really going to have to watch you guys be lovey-dovey all damn weekend?"

"Yep," Beth and Damon answered in tandem.

Matt made another noise and flopped down in the backseat. The sound of deep breathing filled the car a few minutes later, and Damon chuckled as Bethany looked his way.

"Is he seriously asleep?" she asked.

Damon nodded and pulled up in front of her apartment. "Yep. When he was little and would get all wound up, which was all the fucking time, Mom and Dad would put us in the car. Me with a word puzzle, and Matt with a blanket. They'd drive around the block a few times, and by the time we got back home, Matt would be sound asleep."

"I hope we get a kid that trick works on." She gave him a cute smile and got out of the car.

He reached over and popped her on the butt as she yelped, gave him a look and closed the door.

"Damn, I love you, woman," he mumbled under his breath as he watched her jog toward her apartment door. Reaching up, he pulled the rearview mirror down and studied his brother. Why in the world was the idiot running from Erica? Damon had known the woman for the last few years, and she was perfect for Matt, but Matt would have to come to that conclusion on his own. There was nothing Damon, or anyone else could do to sway the sleeping giant.

Damon jolted as the door opened and Beth got back in. "Wow. That was fast."

"I figured I only needed a few things seeing that we're going together. I was hoping that most of the trip would be in the nude?" She gave him a cheeky smile and buckled up.

He leaned over, slipped his hand into her hair and brought her toward him for a long string of kisses. His pulse spiked as the smell of her skin filled his senses and left him wanting so much more than he was going to get of her in the car. Especially with Matthew in the backseat.

"Let's go before I turn the car off and force you to take a quick detour into your apartment with me." He moved back to his seat, adjusted himself and started the car.

"And that would be a bad idea because..."

He growled and pulled out of the parking lot quickly before he changed his mind. Matt was so out of it that he wouldn't miss them, but the text from Florida sounded like the shit might hit the fan over the Zarpeth account before it was all said and done. If that were the case, the quickie with Beth would have to wait.

***

"Why do you keep biting your lip and fidgeting? You okay?" Damon reached for Bethany's hand as they walked off the plane in Florida.

"I don't know. I just hate the idea of you going into work and Delilah throwing out her web of lies." Beth shrugged and wrapped her arm around the back of Damon's waist as they walked toward the black Lexus that sat off to the side of the private runway for them.

Matt moved up beside them. "I told you that woman is a viper. Dad should have never hired her. I bet she's working up some fucked up concoction now to bring you down to your knees, bro."

Damon glanced over at his brother and scowled. "Right. You're not helping right now."

"Oh shit. Sorry." Matt gave them a sheepish look and walked toward the trunk of the car, popping it and reaching for Beth's bag after tossing his into the back.

"You guys need help?" Beth asked as Damon released her and handed her bag to Matt.

"No, just get in the car, baby." Damon waited until she was in the car to turn his attention to his little brother. "We're working through our shit, but please don't say anything that would cause her to be upset or worried, all right? Just help me keep things on an even flow until I take care of this shit with Delilah and get things back to normal."

"Are you firing the beast?"

"She's not a beast." Damon chuckled and reached up to shut the trunk. "She was one of my best friends as a kid, Matt; you know this."

"She's always had it out for you. You know this. The woman would sell her soul and all of your future children's feet to belong to you. Don't be naive. That's my role in this life." Matt wagged his eyebrows and walked around to the other side of the car. "Get rid of her. Seriously."

"I plan to." Damon opened the door and got in, moving close to Beth and reaching for her hand.

"What were you two planning back there?" She smiled up at him.

"How to cut Delilah down at the knees and kick her off the island." Matt gave Beth a wide grin as Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Really?" he grumbled and leaned back in his seat.

The driver turned around and nodded. "To the office, Mr. Bryant?"

"No. The Omni hotel first to drop these two off and then the office." Damon let out a soft sigh, hating the fact that Beth wasn't going to be working in the office with him anymore, and yet totally understanding why. Maybe it was a good thing that they wouldn't have to behave in a specific setting. If all they had to be was engaged no matter where they were, then things had to get easier. It was the stress of having to be professional with his lover in the middle of the office setting that made things incredibly tense.

"You don't have to fire her if you don't want to, Damon. You need to make that call yourself." Beth squeezed his leg and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't do it for me, okay?"

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, do it for me."

"Stop." Damon gave him a look, though Matt let it roll off his broad shoulders just like he always did. "I'll deal with it when I get into the office. I want to make sure I have the proper documentation to let her go. She's a devious bitch and has already started to pull my team apart, but I honestly can't imagine why. What good would it do her? She's been wanting to work for the firm forever. She's ruining that opportunity right now."

"She doesn't give two shits about the firm, and you know it," Matt mumbled and turned to look out the window closest to him. "Don't be blinded by friendship, Damon."

He bit his tongue and shook his head, unwilling to attack his brother again. Matt was right in a lot of ways, but there were parts of Delilah that didn't at all resemble the woman she was slowly becoming. Where Damon belonged solely to Beth, it didn't mean that he didn't want to salvage whatever was left of his old friend. Sadly enough, there was probably not much to salvage, and even if there were, what would it cost him to do it?

"We're here, sir." The driver glanced back and nodded. "The Omni hotel."

"You guys be safe and stick together. I got Linda to get us two rooms." Damon turned his attention from Beth up to Matt. "Don't let her go to the beach alone. You know this place is nutty."

"Got it." Matt got out of the car and moved back, waiting on Beth.

"I love you." She leaned toward Damon, touching the side of his face and pulling him into a sweet kiss.

"Me more," he mumbled against her mouth and cupped her neck, kissing her a few more times.

"Hey. I ain't getting any younger out here." Matt chuckled.

"Be careful, okay?" Damon brushed his nose by hers. "Promise me."

"I promise." She nipped at his lips. "Do whatever you think is best with the situation at work. Don't let me or Matt sway you, okay?"

"All right." Damon waited until she got out of the car to pull out his phone. He texted Ben that he wanted everyone on the team pulled together for a quick meeting when he got there. Time to close down the job and have everyone sign off on what they'd done.

If there were issues, he would solve them.

If Delilah needed to be fired, he would do it, but it wouldn't be in Florida. It would be sitting in his father's office back in Texas where they should be for such an event.

Maybe after he fixed everything to be as it should be in the office, Bethany would come back. If not, he was okay with it, but there was still some small hope that his girl would be just down the hall from him. He spent too damn much time at work not to have her close by.

But even if she still decided that M&B wasn't the place for her, he'd take a page out of James Talling’s book and hire a few more strong executives. There was no way he was letting the momentum between him and Beth go.

Not then.

Not ever.

Chapter 14

Bethany

"Okay, so this was the best idea, ever." Matt glanced over and gave Beth a cute smile.

"Right?" She reached out and took his hand. "I know it might sound sappy, but I'm really glad you're in my life."

His expression softened as they stopped in the sand by the surf. "Me too. I've always wanted a sister, honestly. You're exactly the type of sister I wanted too, but I do wish we would have grown up together. I'd have loved to have someone to blame all the shit Damon, and I did on."

She laughed and released his hand before spreading out her blanket and lying down. "Tell me about your deal with Jonathan. Is he going to have a showing that features your work soon?"

Matt dropped down in the sand next to her and wadded up his towel. "Yeah. He said later this fall. I want to get excited about all the great stuff happening, but I can't seem to move past this lump in my chest." He rubbed his chest and glanced down at her.

"And that lump represents what?" She put on her sunglasses and cupped her hands behind her head.

"I don't know. I messed things up with Erica, and my indecision to call her has probably pissed her off something horrible. She's hostile like Damon when she's pissed, and I hate confrontation more than anything else." He turned to face the ocean. "I could fall in love with her so easily, Bethany. She's perfect in a million ways, and she has this artist inside of her that's starving for air. I want so badly to help her find an outlet for all of that."

"So stop being scared and call her." She reached over and rubbed his side with the back of her fingers. "She's totally into you."

"I asked her if I could paint a picture of her." He lifted his chin toward the sky. "She's nude in it."

"Oh. Wow." Bethany stifled the smile that rose on her face. Matt wasn't being silly or cheeky. He was hurting.

"Yeah. She's fucking magnificent too. I can still see her standing there with her back to me. It leaves my heart racing and chill bumps all over my skin."

"So tell her that. What the heck are you waiting for?" Bethany groaned and sat up next to him. It would seem a quiet afternoon of sunbathing was a pipe dream, not that she minded. Helping Matt get his life on track would be something to delight in when looking back ten years from the future.

"I don't know." He glanced over at her as a group of girls jogged by in front of them, kicking up sand and having far too much fun.

"I think you're being stubborn and trying to protect yourself from something that doesn't even exist. It's like being afraid of the monster under your bed." She pushed her shoulder against his. "You totally miss out on the comfort of slowly getting into your cold sheets and enjoying the peace that most people find there because you're full of fear and catapulting from the door into the bed like an action hero. The monster doesn't exist. Stop letting him steal your joy and your peace."

"Wow. That was deep. You come up with that on your own?" He chuckled.

"I did." She beamed. "You need to call her, Matt. You can't spend the weekend with someone and not follow up with them. She's not just the woman you're falling for, but she's an integral part of McKenzie and Bryant. What if she decided she'd had all she could handle of you jumping in and out of her life and left the firm?"

"Like you did?" He pressed his shoulder against hers, almost knocking her over.

"That is true." She pursed her lips. Had she left too quickly? It was almost childish now thinking back on it. So she had a problem with Delilah. So what? She loved working with Patrick, Ben, and Philip when she got the opportunity. Being down the hall from Damon was a dream come true when he wasn't acting like a dick, and the job itself was the type of job she'd always wanted. She'd gone to college to be an accountant in hopes of working for a prestigious firm like M&B one day.

Why had she been so quick to give that up? Was Damon being truthful in his hopes to have her come back and work beside him? It was the family business. Her family.

"Are you going to go back?" Matt asked before standing up.

"Are you going to call Erica?" She stood up beside him, smiling as a look of challenge moved across his handsome features.

"You join the firm, and I'll try and get up the nerve to call Erica and at least apologize for not calling. She knows I'm a flake and a half."

"That's no excuse. Did you guys sleep together?"

"Are you always this nosy?"

"Yes. I'm the little sister, remember?"

He snorted. "We did sleep together. It was honestly one of the best nights of my life. She's so good at-"

"Hey." Bethany held up her hand. "I'm good with no details."

He laughed deep in his chest. "I wasn't going to give them. I just thought it would be fun to watch you squirm a little, and I was right. It was fun."

"Why are we standing up?" She glanced around, enjoying the coolness of the Florida beach and the warmth of the sun on her skin.

"I'm going in the water. Last one there is a rotten egg?"

"What are you fifteen?" She smirked.

"In here, I am." He tapped the side of his head. "Come on. It'll be fun."

"It's freezing out there." She glanced toward the water, trying to calculate the perfect moment to bolt toward the water so she could get a head start. Matt had been running in the mornings with his best friend Sophie, which meant he probably had a better chance of winning between the two of them.

"So? You don't have nuts that crawl back up in your body when it's too cold. You don't-"

"All right." She bolted, running toward the water and kicking up sand as she did. Why there was something so freeing about acting like a child with Matt was beyond her, but there was. She might have been the sister he was hoping would show up someday, but she had no doubt that he would fulfill two roles in her life.

Brother and friend. There wasn't much more she could ask for.

***

"It's fine, baby." Bethany pressed the phone to her ear as she stood in the hotel room and watched the world outside of her window. The ocean was beautiful at sunset, so romantic and calming.

"I thought I would come in and sign a few things and go over the documentation with the team, but we have one more glitch that's looking more like a control issue. I have to help fix it. James is flying out and should be here any minute. You and Matt grab dinner?" Damon sighed, and she could tell that he was less than thrilled with the fact that he wouldn't be joining her for dinner or bed.

"We will. Just do what you need to do and come snuggle up to me when you get in. That work?" She moved back and let the curtains fall into place.

"Yeah. I love you, baby."

Warmth filled every part of her as she closed her eyes and smiled. "Me more. See you in a little while."

She wanted to ask about Delilah but figured it wasn't the right time. Hanging up, she tossed the phone onto the bed and changed into something more casual that she planned to wear for the evening. There was no reason for her and Matt to go to dinner at a fancy place. They'd be much more comfortable hanging out at the edge of the beach, drinking beer and eating fish tacos.

She turned to walk into the bathroom as her phone started to ring. A smile lifted her lips as she bounded across the bed and dropped down on her stomach to answer it. It had to be Damon.

No. It was Jake.

"Hey. You okay?" Fear rushed through her heart as she pressed the phone to her ear. Where she and Jake had been close all throughout their undergrad degrees, they hadn't talked too much since the situation with Krista happened.

"Yeah, I'm doing great. I got out of my wheelchair over and over today during therapy and the best part? I did it on my own."

"That's great news." Bethany rolled onto her back and let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "You were so brave during the trial yesterday too."

Was it just yesterday? It seemed like a week ago. Was the funeral for Amanda just that morning?

"Thanks, Bethany. It sucked to high heaven. I know I should be angry at Krista, and part of me is, but there's a much bigger part that feels sorry for her. She's not the monster she believes herself to be." He took a shaky breath. "That's why I'm calling."

She sat up. "You want to bust her out of jail?"

He snorted. "No, silly. I want us to take turns going to visit her. She needs to know that we care about her."

"Have you lost your mind? Where I agree totally about her not being a monster, I still don't think it's a good idea to have you go up there. I'll go if you want me to, but you're just going to give her a false sense of hope."

"I don't think so." He paused.

"I do. She's in love with you, and even if she attacked you because of not being on her meds, she still has that desire inside of her. Seeing you isn't going to help anything. It's going to hurt. Believe me when I say this, I know what it's like to have to come face to face with someone you're in love with but can't have. It feels like a form of death. We're not doing that to her."

"Interesting. I didn't think about it like that."

"I'll go." She moved to the edge of the bed, not sure she was comfortable going to visit her old friend or not. "She's not in love with me, and maybe if she and I grow close again, it would help her to heal."

“She's going to be in the mental hospital forever." He let out a soft sigh. "I hate that so much. I feel like part of it is my fault."

"It's not your fault, and the hospital is better than jail, right?"

"I guess so."

"I'll go see her soon."

"Come see me too?" There was hope in his voice, but she couldn't tell if it was a friend needing a friend, or a man still in love with a ghost from his past.

"Yeah, absolutely, and call anytime, okay? I'm here for you."

"I know you are. Thank you for that."

Someone knocked at the door, and she got off the bed and wrapped her free arm around herself. "I have to run, but we'll figure this out together, okay?"

"Thanks, Bethany. I knew I could count on you."

She dropped the call and walked to the door to find Matt in a nice shirt and slacks. A chuckle bubbled up inside of her as he handed her a white rose.

"My brother called and said I was your date for the night. What do you fancy, my lady?"

She snorted and took the rose. "Beer and fish tacos at the bar down the street."

"Oh thank God. I'll be back in five. I'm going to change." He winked, turned around and walked back to his room.

She couldn't help but stand there and watch him go. Life was good, but it was about to turn the corner toward great.

Chapter 15

Damon

"Do you have a minute?"

Damon glanced up at the sound of Delilah's voice. The innocence on her face caused him to stiffen. She was up to something. What the fuck happened to the girl he grew up with? Bridget was always the one getting into shit and causing problems for everyone around her. She'd come between him and Delilah so many times over their teenage years that Damon finally relented and asked the bitch out. It had been a wild ride, and his profession of love was more from not understand at all what love looked like. His mother and father being the guide left a little to be desired.

"Only a minute." He stood from the makeshift desk the client had set up for him.

She walked in and sat down in the chair across the desk from him, leaning back and crossing her legs as a seductive look moved across her face.

"I honestly think if we worked on the report a little more that we could sell more services to Mr. Talling. We have that new adviser group opening up soon. Why not utilize it?" She brushed her hands down her thighs, but Damon made sure to keep his eyes locked onto her pretty face.

"What services are you referring to specifically?" He sat back down and leaned back, clasping his hands over his stomach.

"If we offer them a just-in-time inventory system from Pollock in Dallas, I could get us a kickback from them, and we could offer to consult on the project. I know the system Pollock put together backward and forward. I helped to consult on the project when they built it a few years back." She smiled. "It's a great product. They'll benefit from it and we will too."

"You know as well as I do that we're not legally able to recommend a system that we're going to get a kickback from. There's no way I would put the firm in that position. I'm honestly wondering why you thought I would." He pressed his fingers to his lips, knowing that he had enough to fire her. Maybe she wanted to be released. No, that wasn't her end game. Not by the look on her face.

"You chose Bridget over me when we were kids, Damon. You'd probably still choose her again. Why?" Her expression tightened. Fuck if Matt wasn't right. "It has to be because she's ballsy because she lives on the edge."

"It was a mistake." He stood and walked to the window. "You've been making a lot of mistakes yourself lately. What happened to the sweet girl I grew up with?"

"Lots of things." She stood up and moved to stand beside him. "You being one of them."

He glanced down at her as she reached over to touch him. "Don't. I'm engaged and very much in love with the woman wearing my ring."

"What?" She jerked back like he'd slapped her. "Since when?"

"I don't share my private life at work much, Delilah." He turned to face her. "I'm not sure why my father thought this was a good idea. I know your resume is heavy in the areas we needed most, but this thing between you and me doesn't exist. It's a toxic memory for you, obviously. I can't let it continue. It's not fair to you, and I can't ignore the way you've behaved lately. This shit you just tried to pull was too much."

"Is this about Bethany? Your sister caused this, didn't she?"

"She's my fiancée, not my sister." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You caused this. Pack up and take an earlier flight back. We can meet next week to talk about your exit strategy for leaving the firm, and don't plan on using us as a reference."

"You can't be serious." She narrowed her eyes, making her as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside. How he hadn't noticed it before was beyond him.

"Close the door on your way out." He walked around her and sat down at his desk.

"Damon. It was just a suggestion."

He glanced up. "You're fired. Collect your things and get Linda to put you on an earlier flight. We'll talk next week."

"Your father isn't going to let you do that." She walked to the door and stopped before walking out. "He knows how valuable I can be. You just wait."

"I'll hold my breath." He smiled and turned toward his computer, ignoring her as she huffed and slammed the door. She'd no doubt say a few things to the team about it, but it was all part of the show she'd put on. He would correct everyone's thinking before heading back to the hotel that night.

Some part of him wanted to invite Beth back to give Delilah hell for how she'd treated her, but he knew Beth well enough to know that she wasn't the type of woman to take an eye for an eye. Her demeanor and testimony at Krista's hearing the day before made that more than obvious. Had she grown up in the last few months, or had she always been that mature? He wasn't sure, but it made him even more proud that she belonged to him.

He picked up the phone, needing to check on Kendal before getting lost in his work for the next few hours. By the time he packed up, it would be well past midnight.

"Hey, buddy." Kendal's voice was more solid than he expected it to be.

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm as good as can be expected."

"You alone?" Damon leaned back in his chair, knowing that the answer wasn't really any of his business. Oddly enough, it would have been comforting to hear that Dana was over there with Kendal.

"Yeah. Dana wanted to come over, but I'm just not sure where I am with all of that."

"Really? Why does this have to be so damn difficult? Do you care about her?"

"Clearly, asshole."

"Good. Then make an adjustment. You don't want your gravestone to read that you were an incredible and ethical accounting professor from UT, right?"

"No, Damon, but this isn't that simple. The school has strict rules. I'm not allowed to date a student. Period."

"Then wait until she's not a student. Just be friends with her until she's graduated. She's doing work at the hospital, so she has to be a resident, right?"

"Yeah. She's in her senior year."

"Good. Then be a close friend this year and when she graduates in May, take it to another level. If you care about her, you need to make sure you don't let her slip through your fingers. I'd never in a million years expected you to let someone hold you like you did today. All I'm saying is that she obviously means something."

"She does." He let out a soft sigh. "I'll think about it. I don't want her changing the path that she's on to suit me, which is what she wants to do. That's not fair to her."

"If she's falling in love with you, then she's being quite sensible in her thoughts. I'd do anything to be with Beth. That's what love does. You know this. Look at what you did for Ana, what you almost gave up."

"And that's the distinguishing factor right now. I care about Dana, and I like her a lot, but I'm not in love."

"And you shouldn't be. You've known her a few weeks?"

"Something like that." He cleared his throat. "My career is my passion. It's my identity. I almost died six years ago when that shit went down with Ana and the school threatened to let me go. You know how hard and how long I worked for this position. It's everything to me."

"Right, and until a woman means more than your job, you'll never be fulfilled. You're too much like me. Having a relationship with a good woman that loves a frequent romp in the sheets is what makes life worth living."

"I'll agree with that. I'm just not there yet, man. Until I get there, I have to follow what my heart's telling me to do, and right now, that's to keep my distance. I'll maintain a friendship with her as long as I can. I figure that won't last long though."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm attracted to her. She's beautiful, and I've already slept with her. She's passionate and giving in the bedroom. I'm also totally into her because of the way she took care of my sister. She wasn't just that way with Mandy. She is that way with everyone on the floor. She's a great woman. Someone that deserves a great man."

"A man like you." Damon stood up and pressed his free hand to the desk.

"You're a little bias." Kendal snorted.

"Yeah, but it's truth."

"Thanks, man. Have a safe trip home, and thanks again for being here for me. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. You know that, right?"

"I do. I'll check in on you this week, but call if you need me."

"Will do."

Damon dropped the call and set the phone on his desk before lifting his arms toward the ceiling and stretching. A knock at the door caused him to drop his hands.

"Come in," he called out.

Ben stuck his head into the room. His blue eyes were wide with what had to be surprise.

"Um, boss?"

Damon chuckled and motioned for him to come in. "Did Delilah come down there and blow up?"

"Yep. Something like that." He crossed his arms over his chest and walked into the office. "She just told everyone down there that you were engaged to your sister."

Damon nodded. "And?"

"And I thought you wanted that kept secret."

"I did, but it would seem that our lovely senior manager wanted to throw one last punch." Damon shrugged and walked around the desk toward Ben. "It was a shitty thing to do, but she's a shitty person. I fired her, and that was the best retaliation she had against me. Shame."

"Do you want me to tell them that she was full of shit? They'll believe that she was lying. Hell, half of them can't stand her."

"No. I don't want to lead them to believe something that's not true. Beth is my fiancée and my step-sister. It's a dicked up situation, but I wouldn't deny that she belonged to me in front of anyone. We're not blood, and it's a little unconventional, but I love her with everything inside of me." He patted Ben on the back as he walked past him and took a sharp left turn down the hall. "She still down here?"

Ben caught up quickly. "No, sir. She grabbed her computer and got out of here."

"Good." Damon glanced over at him and offered a tight smile. "Contact our IT guys and have her access codes shut down. A woman scorned is always a bit dangerous."

"Hell yeah, they are." Ben opened the door to the staff conference room as Damon walked in.

"Guys, let me have your attention for just a minute." He paused as everyone turned their attention on him. There was far more weariness on the team’s face than condemnation. They were beyond worn out from working so much over the last few days. "I know Delilah just came in and said a few things that were less than appropriate in a working environment. She's headed home shortly and won't be joining us again, so please disregard her behavior here before she left. Her information was correct, but like most personal things in business, it's no one’s concern but my own. If you'd like to discuss any of it, come talk to me, otherwise, enjoy the rest of your weekend here in Florida and expect a nice bonus from the firm for your efforts."

A cheer went around the room, and the craziness was forgotten in lieu of something much better - money. It worked every time, and where it wasn't his intent to divert their energy with him sharing the information about the bonus, it sure as hell didn't help.

He winked at Ben as he walked out of the room and turned to head back to his office. A few more things and he was headed to the hotel to be where he should be - with his woman.

Chapter 16

The evening with Matt was just what she needed. The conversation and laugher were innocent and never once turned to her relationship with Damon or his lack of relationship. By the time they'd had their third round of beers, Bethany was feeling the weight of exhaustion. Between the trial, the funeral and traveling to Florida, she was spent. A hot bath and bed sounded far better than anything else she could imagine.

She hugged Matt's neck, walked into the room and pressed her back to the door, letting out a long sigh. Having Damon there with her would have had intense benefits, but in the state she was in, she wasn't sure she would have enjoyed any extra attention at all.

After her bath, she snuggled down into bed and texted him to let him know that she was thinking about him. She passed out before he responded, slipping into the world of dreams and resting peacefully.

The touch of someone's hand on her shoulder caused her to jolt up.

"It's just me, baby," Damon whispered softly and pulled her back down.

She turned and snuggled against his naked body, pressing her lips against his neck and breathing him in deep. His smooth, tight skin felt good under her fingers.

"I missed you," she mumbled with sleep in her voice.

"Good. I missed you more." He rolled on top of her, pressing her to the bed with the weight of his perfect body. "Moan for me a little while I make love to you."

She nodded and ran her feet up the outsides of his strong legs before wrapping her legs around his waist. The groan that escaped her as he pressed himself into her was low and shook her to the core. Pleasure stretched out of her center like the rays of the sun, warming her and waking her up.

"God, you smell so fucking good, Beth." He ran his nose up her neck and rocked against her until he was fully tucked inside of her.

"Too much," she mumbled and ran her hands over the muscles of his back down to his ass, squeezing softly as he chuckled and began to work her.

"No, baby. You've got all of it inside of you. It's just enough for you." He licked at her throat and slipped his hands down between her and the bed, cupping her ass and groaning softly against her ear. "And you love it, don't you?"

"Yeah." She rolled her hips, wanting to massage him as best she could. "I love you too."

He chuckled and sucked her ear into his mouth as he picked up his pace, pumping in and out of her until she cried out and dug her nails into his lower back.

"Damon," she panted softly as the orgasm pulsed in her lower stomach. "So good."

"Mmmhmmmm, you are, Beth. You're so insanely good." He moved up to kiss her hard, stealing her breath and leaving her heart to race in her chest.

She forced her eyes open to catch a glimpse of him as he pressed his hand into the bed beside her head and rolled his sexy hips. She lifted her legs, pressing her feet against his chest as he moved up to his knees and gripped the front of her thighs. The position was deep and as per usual, left him in complete control. It's where he thrived, and she was more than willing to hand over control in the bedroom. The man was a god.

Now if he could just behave outside of it. She reached up and grabbed the headboard as he let himself go, working her long and hard until he clenched up and his breathing got off kilter.

"I'm gonna come. You want me to find a condom?"

"No. I want everything you have to give." She reached out and slid her legs down to wrap around his waist again as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her.

"Such a greedy little bitch." He smiled and pressed his lips to hers, consuming her completely as he tumbled over the edge of ecstasy. It was a feeling she wanted in her life every chance she got.

Something told her that he wouldn't be one to deny her of anything though, least of all, lust.

***

"So she told everyone that I was your sister and your fiancée?" Bethany cringed at the news of Delilah getting in one more punch the night before. She reached for her coffee at the small cafe her and Damon were having breakfast at before they got back on the plane to head home. After knocking on Matt's door more times than seemed necessary, Damon made her leave him alone. They'd pick him something up when they were done.

"Yeah, but it's all right. The bitch probably did us a favor. I needed to get the word out that we were together. She just did it for me." He shrugged. "I should have nipped the situation in the bud when it happened."

"Which one?" Bethany reached for her coffee and sat back in her chair, studying her handsome man from across the table. He had to easily be the most beautiful thing she'd ever had the pleasure of seeing, much less holding or making love to. Lucky didn't describe the way she felt sitting there across from him.

"Both." He picked up his coffee and took a quick sip. "I should have told everyone at work about us the minute we got back from Jamaica. Asking you not to wear your ring was a huge mistake, and again, I'm sorry. I was trying to protect us more than anything, but last night I realized that I don't need to protect us from anything. People are going to have their opinions and will talk all they want. At the end of the day, I sign their paychecks, and it's a business I run, not a family. They'll do their jobs and keep their opinions to themselves where my personal life is concerned, or they can work somewhere else." He shrugged and gave her a cocky smile.

"And with Delilah? What happened there?"

"I knew the minute I found out that Dad hired her that it was bullshit. She has a great track record in the accounting field, but I felt a little slighted that he didn't talk to me about it first. I'm CFO, yeah, but I run the day to day business for him and have for years now. He's made a few errors in decision-making in my opinion lately. Delilah is just one of them, but how do I confront him with that? I should have taken care of her the minute she got there. I guess I was just hoping that she would be a friend and want nothing else. I was wrong. The small problem grew into a huge one, and as the owner of M&B, I deserved her blow up last night. I'll talk to Dad about all of it and get it figured out, but she's not going to be working for us anymore either way."

"That's a relief." Beth smiled, feeling good about the fact that Damon was willing to talk to her about not only his mistakes but what he'd learned from them too.

"She's coming into the office next week to sign all the final exit paperwork. If you want to come kick her in the tit or stand by with a smug look on your face, I won't blame you one bit." He set his coffee down and smiled. "She deserves it."

"No, I'm good. She's got issues, obviously. I used to get really upset when someone would treat me like shit, and I still do, don't get me wrong, but now I try hard to let it go. She doesn't matter to me. Now, if you or Matt, Mom or Dad treated me like that, we'd have a problem, but Delilah doesn't matter. She's nothing to me." Bethany stood up and lifted her hands toward the light blue sky. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Absolutely." He stood and moved around the table, reaching for her hand and pulling her to his side. After dropping some money on the table, they took the long way back to the hotel. Damon glanced down at her as she looked up at him. "Do you want to move in with me?"

"Do you want me to?" Nervousness swirled in the pit of her stomach. It was the next step she'd been waiting for with him. Why was she so nervous about it?

"Yes. I want you to right away, actually. I don't want to spend another night without you in my bed next to me." He rubbed his thumb over her fingers softly. "I wanna wake up next to you every morning as well."

"You leave awfully early. No waking me up, okay?" She chuckled as he gave her a wry smile.

"What if I wake you up the way I did last night? That change your mind any?"

"Yes. Wake me up anytime if you're naked and willing to make me moan."

"Fuck, that's all the time." He released her hand and held the door to the hotel open for her. "I'll go get Matt up. You pack up your stuff, and we'll head home. Let's see if we can have a family dinner tonight the way we're supposed to have them."

"With all of us there?" She walked toward the elevator with him beside her, his fingers brushing over the top curve of her rear as she moved.

"Exactly." He waited until the door to the elevator closed. Pulling her into his arms, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "Forgive me again for all the bullshit we've been through. You're the only woman I want in my life, and I want you forever. You're stuck, did you know?"

She smiled and lifted up to her toes, kissing him until she had to pull back for a breath. "I'm happy to be stuck, and I'm sorry for my part in all of it too."

"Still no talking you into coming back to the firm?" He ran the tip of his nose by hers.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll give it some serious consideration. When are you talking to Kent?"

The elevator opened, and he moved back, taking her hand and walking out into the hallway.

"Tonight. I gotta get some of this stuff off my chest." He let out a sigh. "I just hope I can do it. I keep trying to tell myself that it's for the best, that he needs to know."

"He might not need to know, but one thing is for sure... you have to get it off of your chest. You can't keep carrying this secret around. It's toxic to you and everyone else. Your dad will love you no matter how it goes. You know that." She squeezed his hand and released him as he paused before walking toward Matt's room.

"I know he will. I just hate to hurt him. He's in a good place right now with your mom."

"And he'll always be in that place. Tell him all of it, Damon, and then love on him. Mom, Matt and me will love on you both. Let's just get it out and over with."

"All right, but tell your mom and my brother to keep their paws to themselves. I'm only interested in one person loving on me." He wagged his eyebrows and turned to walk down the hall.

She chuckled under her breath and enjoyed the view. The man had a fine ass if nothing else.

"You checking me out?" he called over his shoulder.

"Every chance I get," she muttered and turned to walk toward their room.

Moving in together was a huge step, but one she was ready for. Next it would be time to plan the wedding.

The sooner, the better.

Chapter 17

Damon

"Wow. Everyone is finally around the table. The apocalypse must be coming." Matt glanced around as he reached for the mashed potatoes.

"Naw, Bethany and I just decided to forgive each other for any and all offenses. I think I got off lightly." Damon reached over and took Beth's hand into his as he smiled at her. "We're going to move things along now too."

"Oh yeah? How so?" Karen asked, giving him a look that he wasn't quite sure how to decipher.

"We're moving in together," Bethany spoke up. "In the next week or so. I still have my lease through December-"

"But we'll just pay it out and be done with it," Damon finished for her, unable to take his eyes off of her. Something about knowing that they were moving one step closer to her truly being his left his heart racing. He'd almost lost her over a handful of stupid bullshit. "I want you with me."

She smiled and glanced over at her mom. "Now all we need to do is talk Damon into letting us redecorate his bachelor pad."

Matt snorted. "Good luck with that."

"Redecorate all you want. I just want you there as soon as possible." Damon winked at his woman and glanced down the table to find his father quiet and staring at his plate. "Dad? You okay?"

"Hmmm?" He glanced up. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just thinking about a few things."

Karen reached out and brushed her fingers down his arm. "Like?"

"Kendal losing his sister just brought back a lot of memories." Damon's father let out a soft sigh and turned his heavy gaze to rest on Damon. "Have you checked on him since the funeral?"

"Yeah. We spoke late last night, and I told him I would check in with him again this week."

"Good. Sometimes the death of a loved one doesn't truly hit you until everything is over and everyone has gone home. Then you have time to sit alone in the silence of the house, and it slams into you like a brick wall." His father shrugged and got up. "I've got a few calls to make. Forgive me?"

"Of course." Karen stood up and leaned in as he moved over to kiss her. "You sure you're okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm great." He walked out of the dining room toward his study as Damon glanced across the table toward Matt.

"What's up with him? Any idea?" Damon turned his question toward Karen.

"This is around the time that Mom died. Maybe he's just having a hard time with the memories of her death?" Matt shrugged and grabbed another piece of fried chicken.

"Go talk to him." Bethany rubbed Damon's back softly, giving him the little bit of courage he needed.

"All right." He leaned in for a quick kiss and stood. "Save me a piece of chicken. Matt will sit here and eat every damn piece if you're not careful."

"Hey! I'm right here." Matt snorted. "I'm watching my weight too, so only three pieces tonight.”

Damon rolled his eyes and chuckled as he walked languidly toward the study. It seemed the worst possible time to talk with his dad about his mom's infidelities, but Beth was right. He had to get it off his chest. Lying was the one thing he wouldn't stand for, and not being honest with hidden information was the same as lying to him.

Maybe that was part of the reason for the truth being such a burden to him over the years.

"Dad?" He knocked softly on the door and pushed it open. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah. I'd like that." His father was kneeling in front of a large fireplace, tossing in small logs when he walked in. It was a rarity to need a fire in Texas no matter what time of the year it was, but his dad had always been good about letting them keep the air-conditioner down low starting in October so that fires were part of their fall and winter experience.

"Did you by chance get to talk to Delilah?" He closed the door and sat down in one of the large leather chairs in the center of the room.

"She called, but I didn't call back. Her message was a little hard to understand, and by the sound of her voice, I could tell it was something personal and not business related." He stood, closed the fireplace and turned to face Damon. "What happened?"

"Lots of things." Damon ran his fingers through his hair. "I should have told you the minute you hired her that it wasn't a good idea, or better yet, maybe next time just include me in the hiring process. I thought that was my job anyway."

"It is, but you've been under a lot of stress lately." His father sat down in the chair beside him. "I wanted to take something off of you. I thought you and Delilah had a great friendship when you were kids. Once I saw her resume and realized who she was, I thought she would be perfect for the position. Not only was she completely capable of doing the job, and doing it well, but you already had established some type of trust with her from your youth."

"Yeah, I get it. Thanks for trying to help." Damon moved to the edge of his seat and pressed his forearms to his legs. "I fired her in Florida. She's been an HR nightmare since she got to the firm, both with Beth and me. And it's not just us. Patrick and Ben have complained about her antics and the poor way she's been treating the staff. She's manipulative and still has feelings for me, which drives her to make shitty decisions while at work."

"Oh, shit. I didn't know all of that." He let out a tight chuckle. "You need to document everything for when she tries to sue us."

When. There would be no question that the bitch would try, but Damon almost looked forward to slapping her back again for all the shit she put Beth through.

"I will."

"Good. Is Bethany rejoining the firm now that Delilah is no longer there?"

"I'm not sure. It's fine either way." Damon shrugged. "Where I'd love to have her with us, it might be best while we're rebuilding our relationship if we just see each other outside of work. It's sometimes a hostile environment in the office thanks to our deadlines and the stress to keep up with demands."

"Whatever the two of you decide is fine by me. You know that I'd love her up there with us because she's family, but if it's a better situation for your relationship to let her work somewhere else-"

"Or not at all. She doesn't need to work. I'll pay for everything."

He chuckled. "Good luck with that. If she's anything like Karen, she's not going to let you pay for everything. That woman is fiercely independent."

"And you love her even more for it?" Damon leaned back and smirked.

"Hell, yeah, I do. I never imagined finding someone that truly loved me for me, you know?" He shrugged and brushed his hands down his face.

"Mom didn't love you for you?" Tension roared to life in the middle of Damon's chest. He reached up and rubbed it. It was time to let his demons come rolling out, but fuck if he didn't want to. It didn't seem right all of a sudden.

"Your mom was a complex creature." His father stood up and walked to the fire. "She wanted something more than what I was capable of giving her, but she never could articulate what it was. I tried so hard to make her happy in every area of our life, but it became an exhausting quest."

"Dad." Damon stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets as his father turned to face him.

"She started to sleep around on me somewhere around your junior year." His father's eyes filled with tears. "It was the most devastating time of my entire life. It outweighed my father beating me as a boy and my sister dying from fever when I was twelve. It was the most painful thing I have ever been through."

Damon stood in silent shock. His father already knew? All the years of carrying around the lie that his mother was sleeping around on his dad and it was for nothing? He prepared for the fierce anger that should have accompanied the truth of knowing that his dad knew, but it never came.

His father walked to his desk, grabbed a Kleenex and wiped his nose. "I wanted to divorce her, but about the time I got the balls to do it, she got sick. I couldn't let her die alone."

"Dad, fuck." Damon moved across the room and reached out, grabbing his dad's hand as the older man shook a little.

"I hated her by the time we buried her, but I never in a million years would have let you and Matt know that your mother wasn't the woman we all thought she was." He pressed the napkin to his eyes. "It's caused me to move away from more relationship opportunities than I care to discuss. Karen is the first woman in six years I've let myself get close to."

"And why her?" Damon swallowed his confession. There was no reason to spill the truth now. His father already knew, and he'd fought the good fight, trying to hide it from Damon and Matt. There was no way Damon was going to take away the honor in having to be the man his father was for them and their mother during that time.

"Because she's beautifully broken. Her heart has yet to heal, and she's as scared as I am about love and marriage, but she's willing to let me in. It gives me the courage to let her in as well." He wiped at his nose again and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry I held the information back from you and Matt. Can you forgive me?"

"There is nothing to forgive. You did what you thought was best as our father." Damon moved up and hugged his dad, resting against the bigger man and closing his eyes to enjoy the moment. "She was incredible at the beginning of the marriage, and I've analyzed a million times what I could have done differently, but the answer always came up the same. Nothing. There was nothing else I could have done. I was more than enough. She was just looking for a different experience."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Damon squeezed him one more time and stepped back, holding in his emotions as years of struggle came to an end. No more. No more having to worry that he wasn't enough, that his woman would find someone else if he didn't go over the top in life, at the office, and in the bedroom.

It was almost as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders.

"I'm so thrilled to hear that you and Bethany are working things out. I know it's going to be a hard road to hoe, but we'll all do it together, okay? You two aren't alone in any of this. You have me, Karen and Matt. And Kendal." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Speaking of, you need to tell that boy to find a woman that can help him heal. With his parents gone and now with Amanda's death, he's going to need someone other than us."

"You're preaching to the choir, Dad." Damon smiled and studied his father. "Thanks for telling me about Mom."

"Of course. Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Damon's chest constricted.

"Why didn't you go to her funeral, son? It was shocking and a little disappointing. I still can't help but wonder about it." He tilted his head to the side. "You were so close to your mom for a long time."

"She wasn't the woman I thought she was, Dad. I couldn't pretend that she was, not even in the midst of her death." He nodded and walked to the door before glancing back. "Thanks for being someone I could look up to."

"You still can, right?" His father gave him a cheeky smile.

"Absolutely."

Chapter 18

Two Days Later

Bethany

Peace was a feeling she wasn't used to feeling too often, but between Damon being relaxed from talking with his father, Delilah gone from the firm and Bethany starting to pack up her apartment for the next step in her relationship with Damon, peace belonged to her.

She walked down the long hall in the accounting building and let her smile grow wide on her face. Life was good, and as long as she and Damon communicated about the parts that weren't so great, everything would work out. It would be time to start planning the wedding soon, and the only two people she really had that could help her were Matt and her mother. Erica might be willing to do some of the decorating and such, but maybe it was better just to hire someone to come in and take care of all of it. That had been Damon's vote the night before when they lay in bed, talking about the future.

"Bethany," someone called from behind her.

She turned to find Jake rolling toward her with a smile on his handsome face. His hair was hanging in his eyes, and she couldn't help herself from reaching over and moving it off his forehead.

"Hey. You look great. You doing okay?" She smiled down at him.

"Yeah. I've been making great progress like I told you." He locked the wheelchair into place, gripped the side of it and stood up as she held her breath. "See?"

"Oh wow. That's incredible." She kept her hands locked to her side but wanted so damn bad to reach out and help him sit back down. He wouldn't have appreciated her doing so, no matter the intent. He seemed to thrive on pushing himself to walk again. She understood all too clearly.

"I'm joining you and Dr. Tarrington in class today. I have an extra physical therapy session tomorrow, so I'm going to get in my TA hours today." He unlocked the wheelchair and moved along beside her. "What's new in your world? How is everything going?"

"It's good." She pushed the doors to the auditorium open and glanced up to see Kendal leaning over his podium, studying something.

"You and that jackass back together yet?" Jake glanced over his shoulder and gave her a grin.

"Yeah." She extended her hand to show off the ring. "I'm going to move in with him soon. I love him with every part of me. I was falling apart trying to figure out how to not love him that much."

Kendal glanced up, his face pale, dark circles under his haunted-looking eyes. "Morning, guys. Glad to hear you and Damon are working things out."

"I'm not," Jake muttered and winked playfully before rolling to the other side of the room.

"Me too." Bethany set her bag down and moved up to the stage, climbing up and standing in front of Kendal. "I would ask how you are, but it seems like a trivial question. I know you must be suffering."

He glanced up, his green eyes dull. "I'm just taking each day as it comes. Some part of me knows that it's going to get better, but it feels like a promise that's just out of my grasp right now." He turned toward Jake. "Thanks for your help last week. Guess we were lucky that Bethany showed up on a day she wasn’t scheduled to." He turned back to Bethany. "And thank you for teaching for me. It’s nice to know I have someone I can count on."

"I loved it. I hated the reason I needed to step in but getting to do it was exhilarating. I don't think I realized how much information I retained from this class when I took it."

He nodded. "It's pretty hands-on because of it being more about product accounting. Have you thought about going into teaching? Not everyone that gets an accounting degree has to become a CFO of a large organization. Some of us dive into academia and enjoy life immensely."

She thought about his question before responding. What kind of life did she want for herself? What kind of career? With her raising being so rough, the only thing she had focused on since starting college was to get a degree in something that would pay lots of money. There was no way in hell she was going to let her future family suffer the way she and her mother had.

"It's something to think about for sure." She brushed her hair off her shoulder. "I haven't given it much thought. I figured I would end up in public accounting like everyone else seems to."

"I didn't." Kendal gave her a tight smile and glanced back down at his notes.

"Very true. I'll think about it, and maybe we can have coffee sometime soon and talk about it." She didn't wait for a response seeing that he wasn't in a mood to talk from what she could tell. Time would help to heal the wounds of losing his sister, but having someone hold him at night would certainly speed up the process.

Damon had already tried to get Kendal to think more about giving Dana a chance. Bethany was going to hit the same nerve, but meeting the girl and trying to put her in a position where Kendal would have to pay her attention didn't seem like a bad idea at all.

She bit her tongue, grabbed her bag and waited for the students to start filing in. Maybe she should just leave good enough alone and let Kendal find his own way.

Maybe, but what was the fun in that?

***

"So, when are we having this wedding?" Bethany's mom asked through the phone.

Beth shrugged and turned down the long road that would lead to the mental hospital. The last thing she wanted to do was visit with Krista, but she promised Jake that she would.

"I think it would be nice to do in the spring next year. Maybe around March?"

"That sounds great." Her mother paused. "Christmas would be fun too, but it's late October. There is no way in hell we'd have everything done by then."

"Exactly. Let's shoot for March." Bethany tugged at her seatbelt as nervousness ran through her. "I really don't want to do this."

"Then don't." Her mom let out a sigh. "You don't have to be everything to everyone, baby. Just because Jake feels the burden for the two of you to help Krista through this transition doesn't mean you need to."

"I know, but I don't want him out here, and some part of me wants to help her, you know?"

"I know, but she's not going to be the same girl, Bethany. They have her medicated until they can figure out if there is something deeper going on besides her being bi-polar."

"I understand. I'll just go in, talk to her for a few minutes and get out of there." Bethany reached up and rubbed her chest just above her left breast. It would have been incredibly comforting to have Damon with her, but he was at the office, putting out fires from what she understood. Their conversation moments before had been quick and very to the point. Where she'd have gotten upset in the past with him for being so short, she worked on understanding the why behind his actions.

"All right, well, when you get done, come out to the house and let's start picking colors and looking at dresses. Are you going to want a destination wedding like Kent and I had?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have a ton of people that I want to invite. Maybe going somewhere would be a good idea. Could be fun for sure."

"I like the idea, but it's your wedding. Talk with Damon about it, and I'll see you in a little while. I'll have lunch waiting for you when you get here."

"Perfect, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, baby. All my heart."

Bethany dropped the call and reached over to put her phone back in her bag. "What in the world am I going to say to Krista? I'm sorry you didn't take your meds? I'm sorry your life is ruined? I'm sorry you ruined Jake’s life and scarred his body?"

She pulled into the closest parking lot and parked the car, but didn't get out. It took a few minutes to gather her courage, but finally, she forced herself to simply get out of the car. What the hell was she afraid of?

Lots of things.

"Just breathe," she mumbled and walked toward the building, forcing a tight smile on her face as various doctors and nurses passed by her, each smiling kindly.

She pushed the doors to enter the hospital and walked to the front counter. "I'm here to see my friend, Krista Grey."

"Sure, honey." The nurse stood and pointed down the hall behind Bethany. "She's down that way in four twelve. She's not very talkative, so don't let it bother you, okay? She's on some light sedation drugs that keep her calm."

"Right." Bethany glanced over her shoulder before returning her attention to the nurse. "Has she not been calm up to this point?"

"She's been okay. It's a rough transition for everyone. They don't understand it. It'll do her some good to see you, I'm sure. She hasn't had a visitor yet."

"Her father hasn't come out to see her?" Sickness rolled around in Bethany's stomach.

"No." The nurse’s expression saddened. "We're taking good care of her, but we're not family, you know?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She turned and walked down the hall, trying to convince herself that Mr. Grey just hadn't had time to get over there. By the time she reached out to grab the handle, her heart hurt so bad she was having trouble breathing.

Pausing, she closed her eyes and tried to find the source of her fear. Was she scared that Krista would attack her? No. That was ridiculous.

That her friend would look like death? Not really.

That she would be hallowed and unresponsive at all? Like the world had forgotten her and no one cared?

Tears blurred Bethany's vision, and she reached up and pressed her fingers to her lips. That was it. She was scared to see what her not being there for Krista looked like. How many times could she have come by and she hadn't? The fear was tied to the guilt of not reaching out when she should have.

She forced herself to push the door open and walked in.

Krista sat in a wheelchair with a blanket over her legs by the window; her attention fully focused on whatever was going on outside. Her long dark blond hair was halfway down her back, and she'd lost all of her extra weight.

Bethany's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out before wiping at her tears.

Damon: I figured you were in the hospital with Krista. I know you didn't want to go there today, but I'm proud of you. I'm thinking about you, and I hope that visit turns out to be something that frees you from all the shit you've been through with your friends. If you're too scared to go in to see her, come get me and I'll go with you. I love you, baby. All my heart.

She smiled and put the phone back into her bag. She could do this.

"Krista?" She spoke softly as she moved to sit down on the couch near the window where Krista sat. "It's Bethany. Jake and I wanted to see if you were okay and to let you know that we're here for you."

Krista turned her head slowly, her blue eyes filled with tears that broke Bethany's heart. She extended her hand toward Beth as the first tear dropped.

"I've missed you," she mumbled softly.

"Me too." Bethany let her fears subside as she got up and walked over to pull her friend into a tight hug. Jake was right. No one else was going to pull Krista from the darkness but the two of them. Maybe there would even come a day when she was completely healed and could leave the hospital.

Warmth raced through every part of Beth to know that when that day came, she would be there to pick her friend up. It wouldn't surprise her much if Jake and Damon were with her.

Krista wasn't alone, and neither was Beth anymore.

Chapter 19

Damon

"Damon, your father is on the phone for you." Linda gave him a warm smile as she leaned into his doorway.

"Great. Thanks, and close the door behind you." He pushed away the financials he was in the process of reviewing and grabbed the phone. "What's going on, Dad?"

"Hey there. I just wanted to touch base with you on Mitch Roberson. Remember I mentioned him a few times?"

"Sure do. Did he accept the position in Seattle?"

"He sure did. He's our new director of advisory. I sent him up there to introduce himself to Erica today. You probably need to touch base with her though. I've been so busy lately, and you know once she gets me on the phone-"

"There's no getting off." Damon snorted. "I'm well aware. I'll call when we get off the phone in a minute."

"I spoke with your brother this morning too. It sounds like he's made his decision to move up to Seattle. You think that's a good thing for him?"

"Yeah, I do." Damon leaned back in his chair and let relief run through him. Matt had been dancing around the topic of moving up to the northwest and working on his future for far too long. Now that he'd made the decision to go, Damon would be interested to see what happened with his little brother's career and with his budding relationship with Erica. He'd made some stupid mistakes with the pretty director of marketing, but knowing Matt, he'd figure out a way to win the woman back over.

"I do too. I think I almost have him willing to work with Erica for fifteen to twenty hours a week if she's still interested in that. Let's see if we can get her on a conference call just before six today so we can all work on him together. He needs one more push, and we should be good to go."

"I'm hoping that you're right and all of this meddling in his life doesn't blow up in our faces."

"Nonsense. When is Delilah coming in to sign her exit paperwork and such?"

"Not sure. Why?"

"Because I'll handle that mess. I created it, and I'll close it down."

"You sure?" Damon stood and pressed his free hand to his desk.

"Yep. Just have Cindy let me know when and where, and I'll take care of it. You just call Erica for me, and we'll consider it an equal trade."

"I'm not sure what that says about your feeling toward Erica, but all right."

"Nothing to do with her and everything to do with the fact that I can't stand advertising and marketing." His father chuckled softly. "Enjoy your day. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad." Damon hung up and dialed Erica's work number, not really knowing what to expect.

"Erica Hall." Her voice was tight, but maybe it was because she was working to be professional.

"Erica? This a good time?"

"Sure. I just met Mitch. He seems like a nice guy."

She'd already met him? Damn. The guy was more efficient than they'd expected.

"Yeah. I think he's going to be good for the advisory practice we're setting up. The man has a resume that impressed my father. I'm thinking we're going to do well to have him on our side."

"Awesome. What can I do for you?" She was far more business-like than usual. Something was wrong, but he wasn't sure it was his place to ask what.

"I wanted to see if we could have a conference call around five thirty today. Dad and I have been talking with Matt, and I think we have him convinced to at least try out a twenty hour a week schedule. He might work remotely from his new place, but I'm not sure."

"His new place?" Her tone lifted a little.

"Yeah. I think he's going to come up there later this week and try to find a place."

"That means he's moving up here?" She sighed heavily.

Had Matt not worked things out with her since going up there? He and Damon had spoken a little bit about it, but nothing in depth. Damon tried not to let the guilt of not checking up on his brother drag him under. He had a ton of shit in his own life that was going off track, and Matt had Sophie and several other friends that he was most likely talking to.

"He's still being noncommittal, but yeah, I think he's going to keep his place here in Dallas and get one up there too. You know Matt."

"Yep. I do."

"What's up with you? You sound... tense."

"Yeah, I have things going on in my life that I'm not exactly able to ignore today. Forgive me for having an off day. Shit happens." Something was wrong. This wasn't the Erica he knew at all, outside or inside of work.

"Wow. I'm here for you; you know that. Talk to me and let's work this out. We've been friends a lot longer than we've been co-workers, Erica."

"There's nothing to talk about." Her voice became thick as if she were fighting tears. "I'm good."

"Liar. I'm not getting off this phone until you spill."

"It's my mom. She's not doing well, and Daniel isn't visiting her anymore. He's too sensitive about her getting older and dying on us like Daddy just did." The soft sob that echoed through the phone caused his heart to ache. Was she being honest? The poor woman had a ton of family issues she seemed to be dealing with all the time, but her sadness almost seemed tied to something bigger, something more painful. Had she lost someone?

"What can I do to help?"

"Nothing. I just need to take some time off soon and figure things out."

"Is this just about your mom?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because my brother has been moping around here for a week, ignoring most of us and acting like a ten-year-old boy lost in the woods."

"I don't care what Matt's doing, and if you expect me to try and talk him into coming up here, you're shit out of luck. Tell your father that too. Matt's a twenty-eight-year-old man. He doesn't need any of us pushing him to do anything. If he's not willing to make the decision to move forward with his life, none of us are going to change that."

"No truer words have been spoken." Damon cleared his throat. "Why are you upset with him? What happened?"

"You know how I feel about your brother, Damon. Or rather how I felt. I'm getting over it."

"Yeah, of course, I do. You guys would be-"

"Don't. I'm not interested in hearing it. He came up to visit, and we had a good time for the weekend, or at least I did. I haven't heard a fucking word from him in seven days. Not 'thanks for letting me crash at your place' or 'I really appreciate you helping me with my contract with Jonathan' or better yet, how about, 'thanks for the all-night fuck. I needed that in my life'."

"Wow. Shit. He didn't say anything after you guys spent the weekend together? That's more something I would do than Matt." Damon stood up and brushed his hand down his face. She was destroyed by his brother's ignorance. The stupid bastard was walking around, trying to decide what to do with himself, and here Erica thought that he didn't care. How could Matt not know that ignoring her would leave her feeling used? Was he that naive? Had to be. Matt was a lot of things, but he wasn't at all malicious.

"Exactly. And tell me something, and be fucking completely honest."

"Of course." Damon walked toward the wall of windows in his plush corner office, suddenly wanting to feel the warmth of the sun through the thick glass.

"Why would you do that to someone? Why would you lead them on and walk away without a word?"

"Because in my past life, I was a user. I would walk away because I never had any intention of being with you in the first place. You were just a warm body and pretty smile to spend the weekend with. But, Erica-"

"No. Fuck it. That's exactly what happened. You and Kent are so concerned that Matt isn't going to turn out like the two of you, but you're wrong. He's already everything you used to be." She hung up, leaving Damon staring out the window.

"Shit." He dialed the number for his secretary in Seattle and asked the woman to check on Erica. Just to poke her head in there and see if she was all right.

"She's not here, sir. I'm not sure where she is."

"All right. Thanks." Damon dropped the call and called his father back.

"What's up, son?"

"Matt fucked things up with Erica, and I think one of us needs to fly up there and fix it. She's pretty upset and didn't sound at all like herself a few minutes ago."

His father growled. "Your brother is going to fix it. I'll call him now. Don't worry about a thing. Erica is dedicated to her job and to us. Matt can clean up the mess he made, or deal with the consequences."

"Which are?"

"Taking her job if his actions cause her to leave it. Then he can grovel at her feet until she comes back." His father's voice was loud and reminded Damon much more of his dad in his younger years. "She's the best ad director we've had. We're not losing her over your brother sowing his wild oats."

"All right, Dad. Don't be too hard on him, okay? He's trying to-"

"I don't care. He needs to stop trying, grow the fuck up and do it. Do something."

"Keep me in the loop." Damon hung up and walked back to his chair, dropping down into it and closing his eyes. Poor Matt. He was in love with Erica and yet would never do a damn thing about it. He was too scared to.

"How can I help you?" Damon mumbled and glanced up as the door opened to his office. A smile lifted his lips as the prettiest girl in the world walked in with two coffees in her hands.

"I thought you might could use a break." Bethany smiled and kicked the door shut.

"You thought right." He got up and walked toward her, taking the coffees and setting them down. He turned and pulled her into his arms, breathing the scent of her perfume deep into his lungs and leaning down to consume her mouth.

She tilted her head a little and opened up for him, sucking on his tongue and dragging him from every fucked up thought he'd had that morning. Nothing mattered when she was there and had her arms around him. Everything gained clarity and could be solved with simple solutions.

Matt needed to apologize to Erica.

Kendal needed to let Dana into his life and ask her to drop the damn class.

"Wow." Bethany smiled up at him. "What was that for?"

"For you loving me." He kissed her again a few times softly. "It's been a long day already. I needed to see you."

"You having trouble with me not being part of your day more often?" She gave him a cocky smile that caused him to laugh in spite of his troubles.

"Yes. How much do I have to pay you to come back and work for me?" He slid his hands down her back and squeezed her ass softly as his body woke up.

"You don't have enough money."

He glanced toward the door and smiled. "I wasn't planning on paying with money. Lock the door, and I'll give you a taste of the currency I have on hand."

She pulled back from him, her eyes a little wide. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack. Go lock the door and let me remind you who you're dealing with." He smiled wickedly. "Because this thing between us is happening. Whether you want it in my bed or with you trembling across the top of a desk. Your choice."

She turned and walked toward the door, stealing his heart for all time. "Across your desk, please?"

"Good girl, pussycat."