Chapter Five
Emma
“Emma, is that you?”
Mom’s voice floats into the foyer as I step inside and kick off my muddy sneakers. They’re the only thing that remains of my failed attempt at hiking with Travis, and part of me feels almost ashamed to look at them.
“Yeah!” I call back.
“Can you come in here, please?”
Biting my lip, I walk into the dining room. Thank god Mom is alone – there’s no sign of Dad.
“What is it?” I ask. “Is everything okay?”
Mom looks up at my outfit and frowns. “Emma, that’s not a very flattering look on you,” she says. “Where did you get those clothes?”
“Urban Outfitters,” I lie. “I can always return them.” I glance down – my boobs are almost spilling out of Damien’s plaid shirt and my thighs are raw from rubbing against the jeans.
“Well, I want you to get cleaned up and then have dinner with me,” Mom continues. “Your father was supposed to be home so I ordered a special meal but then he called to cancel. You still like lobster, right?”
I frown. How is it possible that my own mother doesn’t know my taste in food?
“Sure,” I say nonchalantly. “I’ll be right down.”
As soon as I go upstairs and lock myself in my room, my head is flooded with thoughts of Damien once again. I can still feel his rough touch on my body – my chin is chapped from his beard rubbing against it as he fucked me. And my pussy is sore and trembling, but my clit is still throbbing with lust. Even though he made me come hard, I want more.
I wish he’d let me stay the night.
In the shower, I soap my body, thinking of Damien as I run my hands over my breasts and thighs. I’m exhausted from my ordeal and my ankle is still hurting, but I’m excited at the thought of seeing him again.
My hand strays between my legs and I accidently brush against my clit. Gasping, I stagger and lean against the wall of the shower as my hand plays back and forth with my slippery folds. It feels so fucking good that I close my eyes and moan, pretending my wet fingers are Damien’s mouth.
The water is lukewarm by the time I’m done bringing myself to a finish. Whew. If the memory of that guy is enough to make me come in the shower, imagine what being with him would be like again. My knees shiver, but my fingers are toes are getting pruney. I have to get on with life.
Stepping out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my wet body and get dressed in a fresh pair of panties, yoga pants, and my favorite hoodie. Even though my family has a lot of money, I’ve never really been a clotheshorse. My curves are big and frankly, most designer clothes don’t fit me. They seem to be built for girls with concave chests and stick-like legs, and not someone who’s got Double D’s and an ample bottom.
But it’s okay. Damien clearly loved it, and I smile to myself before wandering downstairs to find my mother at the table with lobster thermidor in front of her. It smells good, but not great … even a little bland after Damien’s amazing stew.
“Now, I know you should be watching your figure, Emma, but really this is too good to go to waste.”
I frown. Damien had loved the way I ate with gusto.
He even gave me seconds.
“Emma, stop sulking,” Mom scolds. She tosses her head. “My day was exhausting, and it was all for a waste,” she sighs, before launching into an explanation of some charity debacle that I don’t understand.
I sit there with her for as long as I can stand it, picking at my food. Even though I know it was expensive, it tastes bland and mealy compared to the rich chunks of meat and vegetables from Damien’s stew. I love my mother, but sometimes I feel that she doesn’t understand me at all. I just wish that I had a normal family, with parents who were proud of me.
When the meal is over, I rush upstairs and climb into bed. It’s late, and I’m exhausted. It isn’t long before I drift into sleep, dreaming of the rippling muscles across Damien’s sexy back.
On Monday, I get up and shower before dressing in my favorite jeans and driving to school. Park University isn’t much – I’m not really a great student – but I’m eager to get out of the house and see Lacey. I still haven’t decided whether to tell her about Damien. I dreamt about him all night long and when I woke up, my clit was tingling. I had to resist the urge to stick my fingers in my panties and rub myself.
Part of me wants to keep Damien a secret, like he was something that belonged to me and me alone. But the other part of me is dying to shout from the rooftops about how amazing he is.
I pull into the parking lot and begin the slow walk to the building where my first class is. My ankle is still sore – it swelled overnight, and I’m having a much harder time walking than usual. A bunch of lacrosse players jog by and my heart lurches at the sight, but thankfully Travis isn’t with them.
Making my way into class, I sit towards the back. I haven’t even had the chance to pull my phone out of my purse when I see Lacey moving closer with a big grin on her face.
“Hey, you,” Lacey says. She smirks at me as she drops down into the neighboring chair. Lacey is tall, thin and blond: basically, my polar opposite. We have nothing in common, aside from the fact that we’ve been best friends for over ten years.
“Hi,” I reply. “How was your weekend?”
“It was lame,” Lacey says dramatically. She yawns with her jaw agape and rubs her eyes with both hands. “How was hiking?”
I swallow nervously. “It was a complete disaster,” I say quietly. At the memory of being abandoned in the woods, my cheeks burn with shame. “The whole thing was a prank. Travis left me in the middle of the woods.”
“Fuck him,” Lacey says. She snorts. “He’s a lame frat boy.”
Her words recall Damien’s and I nod. “It was really cruel of him,” I agree. “But I’m sure he’s a nice person deep down. He’s probably just acting like this because his friends put him up to it.”
Lacey’s eyes get big and she stares at me. “Emma,” she says sternly. “He abandoned you! In the forest! You could have died!”
“Shh!” I hiss and glance around to make sure that no one is listening. “I don’t want everyone to know!”
Lacey frowns. “I just think it was a dick move, that’s all,” she says. “You don’t have to get all Mother Theresa about it.” She flips her hair over one shoulder.
“I’m not,” I protest. “I just don’t think it’s fair to hate someone because of one mistake they made.”
“Leaving you in the woods doesn’t sound like a mistake to me, but whatever,” Lacey says drily. “It sounds like it was a really messed up thing to do.”
I press my lips together and make a noncommittal sound of agreement. This is one of the biggest differences between Lacey and me. She’s so assertive! I respect her and sometimes I wish that I could be more like her. But I’m so timid and shy, it’s always so hard to stand up for myself.
“So, what happened? How did you make it out of the woods?”
I bite my lip and look up just in time to see Dr. Callahan walking into the room and closing the door. Relief washes over me in a cool wave and I close my eyes and sigh.
“I’ll tell you later,” I whisper to Lacey as Dr. Callahan dims the lights and starts one of what will be another boring slideshow. “Basically, I found my own way out.”
But I can tell Lacey doesn’t believe me and after class, she gets up from her desk with a dramatic sigh and rolls her eyes at me. “Come on,” she says. “I know you were about to tell me something really juicy!”
A flush spreads across my cheeks and I shake my head. “I wasn’t,” I lie.
Lacey snorts. For as long as we’ve been friends, she’s always been able to read me like a book. And as close as we are, for once, I’m not sure that I want her to. It sounds kinda strange, but having Damien to myself is a sexy feeling – it’s almost possessive.
Plus, now that I’m back at school, I know that my parents aren’t looking over my shoulder. And while I was able to resist Googling Damien before, now I don’t think I’ll be able to help myself. Suddenly, my fingertips are itching to get on the keys and start looking for information about the mysterious stranger who lives in the woods.
“You want lunch?” Lacey asks as we collect our books and make our way out of the classroom. “My treat,” she adds. I can tell that she feels guilty about pestering me, but I’m not buying it.
“Nah, I think I should really go the library and get some studying done.”
Lacey gives me a surprised look. “Emma, I don’t think I’ve ever known you to turn down food,” she says. “Seriously, what’s the matter with you?”
I try to look as nonchalant as possible as I shrug. “Nothing,” I lie. “I just have a lot of homework.”
“Well, I’ll walk with you,” Lacey says. She stretches her arms high over her head, exposing a pale strip of belly. “I should be on the other side of campus, anyway. I have a meeting with my advisor this afternoon.”
I frowned. “Well, okay. But only if you’re sure.”
By the time we reach the library, I’m practically itching thinking about Damien. Just as I’m about to go inside, Lacey grabs my arm. “Oh, my god,” she breathes. “Isn’t that the guy who ditched you?”
Stopping dead in my tracks, I turn around to see Travis. He’s standing there with a nasty expression on his handsome face and I know he’s remembering what happened over the weekend, but somehow seeing him doesn’t make me feel bad.
“Yeah,” I say.
“I’m going to go say something,” Lacey says angrily. “He’s a jerk, Emma!”
I grab her arm and look into her eyes with a pleading expression. The last thing I want is trouble – why bother wasting any energy on a college boy? But before I can say anything, Travis smirks at me and saunters over.
He leans down close to my ear and whispers: “Maybe I wouldn’t have left you in the woods if you were skinnier.”
I feel rooted to the spot as my cheeks flush bright red. Travis walks off, laughing. Meanwhile, Lacey is giving me a disapproving expression.
“Emma,” she chastises. “Really? You’re just gonna let him insult after ditching you in the woods? Really really?”
I shrug. What did she want me to do, grow a pair and tell him off?
Nah. That’s not my style. And even if it were, why would I bother now that I have Damien? Besides, it isn’t like I was actually hurt. And even if I had been injured, there’s no way I want Travis to know that.
Emma and I part with a hug. Then, she leaves for the other side of campus. I push open the heavy doors of the school library and make my way over to the computers. The stalls are filled with other kids working busily and I bite my lip as I lower my wide hips into a chair.
Swallowing hard, I turn on the monitor and log in. I wonder what I’m going to find. After all, Damien is so mysterious. He barely even wanted to tell me his name.
What is he trying to hide?
Despite my curiosity, I have a hard time figuring out where to begin. After all, I don’t know very much about Damien. Only that he’s a strange, sexy man who lives in the middle of nowhere. What should I google? Handsome man in the woods? Gorgeous hermit?
Suddenly, Travis’s face pops back into my head and I think about what Damien said. Damien had called him a stupid frat boy, and then made some comment about his own name. What was it?
Oh, yeah. Evercore.
He said that his name is Damien Evercore.
My fingers fly over the keyboard as I type in Damien’s name and hit enter. The screen takes an agonizingly long time to load and by the time the results are up, I’m leaning forward in my chair and sweating. My hand trembles as I reach for the mouse and click on the first result.
What I see shocks me. Sure enough, there’s a photo of Damien. He looks so different though – his face is clean-shaven and his hair is short. He’s even wearing a designer suit.
But the look in his blue eyes is the same naked fear and betrayal that I saw myself. He looks haunted. He looks like a man who has just seen his own ghost.
And when I see the headline, the blood in my veins turns to ice.
“DAMIEN EVERCORE – FRAUD?”
As I read the short article, I learned that Damien was a billionaire who mysteriously left the public eye. But why? Why would he do something like that? What possibly could have happened to make him hate the public so much?
And now, I feel like I have more questions than answers about the mysterious Damien Evercore.