Chapter Nineteen

Alex

I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. With the sun down, the temperatures were cool enough that my thin pajamas couldn’t keep up. I glanced up at the stars overhead, searching for a bright one to wish on. I could use all the luck I could get.

Stop stalling, Alex. I’d been standing on Damian’s front deck for a solid three minutes, working up the nerve to knock. The past two nights when I’d run over to wake Damian from his nightmare, I hadn’t knocked. I used the spare key Walsh had given me and rushed in without even thinking about it.

But this was different. Damian wasn’t having a nightmare. It was barely eleven, and he wasn’t even asleep yet. I could see the lights on in his cabin. He didn’t need me here.

But here I was. Standing on his porch in my pajamas with a comfy blanket on my shoulders and holding a basket filled with movies and junk food.

This couldn’t go anywhere. I wouldn’t let it. So what the hell was I doing?

Knocking. That’s what I was doing. I reached up and rapped my knuckles against the solid pine door.

From the other side came pounding steps as Damian walked to the door, and the scrape of the lock turning. He opened the door and I shut my mouth to keep from gasping out loud.

Damian stood framed in the light from inside, a pair of gym shorts hanging low on his hips the only piece of clothing he had on. The past two nights, he’d worn a long-sleeved shirt to bed. His bare chest was wide, and defined muscles stood out from his broad shoulders all the way down to the six pack leading to his...

He coughed, and I pulled my gaze back up to his. A teasing smile played across his lips letting me know exactly how busted I was for checking out the eye candy he had on display. An edge of wariness lined his expression, too. I doubted too many people had seen the extent of his scars. That he trusted me enough to see them felt huge. This was a large source of his anxiety, but he trusted me with it. My heart raced with the combination of that knowledge and the view of him in front of me.

Despite the way Damian constantly covered up and hid them away, there was no denying his scars did nothing to detract from his beauty. I could happily examine his body all night long. In fact...

“What brings you here?” Damian stepped back and spread his arms to welcome me in.

I swallowed down my unease and embarrassment. “Sprinting through the woods at midnight was getting dangerous, so I decided to be proactive and come over while I was still conscious.” I held up my basket like little red riding hood. “I brought sustenance and a movie.”

Damian peeked inside. “Let’s see what you’ve got. Snowcaps and Junior Mints. Excellent movie-watching choices. What is this?” He held up a small plastic bottle.

“That’s the best popcorn seasoning you’ve ever had.” I pointed at the cheesy film strip logo. “It’s made by the dilapidated theater downtown. The place is an absolute wreck, and I’m pretty sure this seasoning is the only thing keeping them in business.”

Damian’s eyes got this bright light in them that transformed his entire face. “Interesting.”

“We should go down there sometime.” I bit my lip. Hard. What the hell was that? Did I just ask Damian on a date?

His face shut down, the light zapping out in a second. He ignored my comment and went rooting through the basket again. “You like horror movies?” Damian lifted up my ancient copy of Children of the Corn.

“Yes and no. I’m a big wimp and scream at every scary part, but I love watching them, and this is one of my favorites.”

Damian smiled, but it wasn’t as good as when his face lit up like a Christmas tree. I’d still take it, because even his almost-real smile got the butterflies fluttering again. “Why don’t you go get the movie set up, and I’ll put on some corn?”

I nodded and tossed him the jar of seasoning. Kicking off my shoes, I shuffled back to the living room to get the movie set up. It was a cozy room with a deep couch and a few end chairs. My first night here, Damian had sat in one of those chairs, keeping his distance from me. Last night, I had invited him to sit next to me, because apparently, I like torturing myself. I plopped down into the middle of the couch and waited for the sound of corn popping in the kitchen to stop.

Damian walked in, a big bowl of popcorn in his hands...and a T-shirt covering his chest. He must have run to throw one on. Disappointment hit me in the gut, but it was probably for the best. I didn’t need the temptation, and I was only here to help Damian get through the night. And if I kept telling myself that, I might actually start to believe it.

“Got room for me under your blanket?” he asked.

I lifted the corner of the throw and patted the couch next to me. “Always.”

He slid in and set the bowl of popcorn on my lap before scooping up a handful. “Let’s see if this seasoning is as good as you say it is.” He threw the kernels into his mouth and closed his eyes while he chewed. “My god.”

I smiled, silently pleased with myself for kind of being responsible for making him happy. “I know, right?”

“It’s salty and sweet at the same time. How the hell do they do that?”

I laughed. That’s the same question I’d been asking ever since I discovered the little theater a few months ago. “Don’t question the gift.” I scooped up my own handful of buttery goodness. “Just enjoy it.”

Damian looked at me, his eyes darkening as his expression turned serious. “I can do that.”

The butterflies went wild because that look. That look said things. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on a donkey. I reached up a hand and ran it along his jaw. “I think it’s been a while since you’ve been given a gift. Since you’ve been willing to accept one.”

Damian dipped his head into my hand and closed his eyes, nodding.

“How long?”

He swallowed, and I resisted the urge to pull him into me, protect him from my own question. But I didn’t. Damian didn’t need my protection; he needed my...something else. And I wanted—no, needed—to give it to him despite the niggling in the back of my head telling me this was an extremely bad idea. What could go wrong? He’d be leaving soon.

“Almost three years.”

I hissed in a breath.

Damian pulled away from my touch. He tossed the popcorn bowl on the table. “I don’t need your pity.”

“Question.” Is that what he really thought I felt for him? That was so far from the truth. I admired and respected him, not only as a person, but for all he’d overcome. I put my handful of popcorn back in the bowl and turned so I could face him fully. “Do I strike you as the kind of woman who would sleep with a man out of pity?”

Damian swallowed again but shook his head, looking anywhere but in my eyes.

“Question two.” I reached up and grabbed his face with both of my hands. “When is your birthday, Mr. Thorne?”

“August.” The word was barely more than a whisper.

“Happy early birthday.” I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him like I could fuse our lips together.

Within seconds, Damian’s arms wrapped around me and he kissed me back, matching my intensity. His head dipped, and his mouth left a trail of hot kisses and bites across my jaw and down my neck, but I needed more. So much more.

I slung my leg around to straddle him and grabbed the edge of his shirt to pull it over his head. Damian froze, his fingers clenched around my wrists. The panic was there in his eyes, but it warred with the desire burning there as well.

Leaning down, I kissed his temple where the burns started and worked my way down the side of his face, kissing every inch of burned skin until I reached the collar of his shirt. “You are beautiful.” I brushed my lips along the edge of his ear where the skin was puckered and ridged. “Every last inch.”

He shuddered.

Damian let go of my wrist, and I lifted the shirt up and over his head. Starting where I finished, I kissed down his shoulder and down his chest. I slid off his lap to plant a trail of kisses down his abs and couldn’t resist letting my tongue have a taste.

I moaned, the butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and my hands reached for the waist of his gym shorts.

Damian grabbed my arms and pulled me back onto his lap. “Oh, no you don’t. It’s been three years, and I intend to make this last.” He tugged my shirt up, and with a single flick had my bra unhooked and tossed to the floor.

“Three years, huh?”

The wicked grin twisting his lips set my core on fire. “Just like riding a bike.” He drew my left breast into his mouth, and it took everything I had not to come right then. I ground my hips into him, and his erection pushed back against me, barely restrained by thin layers of pajamas.

His hands rushed up and down my bare spine, sending shivers and goosebumps over my body. I thrust harder against his thick shaft, and Damian groaned, his teeth scraping against my swollen nipple.

“Dammit, Alex.” He lifted us both up and tossed me back against the couch. “Are you trying to send me over the edge?”

I reached up and ran my nails along the generous length of his cock, pressing against his gym shorts. “Maybe.”

He hoisted my hands up over my head and pinned them there with his hand. “You’re going to pay for that.”

“I hope so.” The words were barely out of my mouth when he descended on me, pulling my right breast into his mouth, swirling the nipple with his tongue, and sucking it just the right way.

I wriggled under his weight, but he had me boxed in with his legs. He took his time, teasing and pleasuring my breast while his free hand touched and explored everywhere.

Finally, his mouth made its way back to mine, and he released my hands to run through his hair. But no sooner had he let go than his fingers were tugging at my pajamas. In two seconds, he had them tossed to the floor, and I was naked.

His mouth tore from mine to kiss a straight line from my mouth to my belly button. My pussy throbbed with need. He hadn’t even touched me there, and I was already soaking wet. Gently, he spread my knees apart and kissed my thighs, right, left, and then right again, each time moving closer and closer to my pulsing heat.

“You, my dear, sweet Alex, are the beautiful one.”

Damian dipped his head and tugged my swollen clit into his mouth. My hips surged to meet him, and he grabbed my ass, pulling me closer, deeper. His tongue swirled around, drawing out my pleasure and pushing me closer to the edge.

“So good,” he growled into my sex, sending a new thread of sensation straight to my core. He alternated between soothing movements and demanding need, keeping me on edge until I didn’t think I could take anymore.

My muscles clenched, and my body drove closer and closer to an orgasm. “Damian,” I yelled out as he slid two fingers inside me and hit the bundle of nerves hidden there as his teeth played at my clit. I threw my head back and grunted as the orgasm pulsed through me, sending shockwaves down into my trembling legs.

Damian kissed his way across my stomach and back up to my heaving breast, but I was done with the games.

I pushed against his shoulders until he was looking at me. “Damian, I need you to fuck me. Now.”

He stood and dropped his shorts, his erection slapping against his stomach in agreement. I couldn’t help but lick my lips. Maybe not tonight, but soon, I would have that delicious cock in my mouth.

Damian leaned down toward me but froze with his hand planted on my hips. “Jesus fucking...I don’t have a condom.”

“Movie case,” I panted out, needing to feel him inside.

Damian reached over and opened the DVD case where I’d stashed a few condoms before coming over here. It had felt assumptive at the time, but praise Jesus. He opened one of the foil wrappers and slid the condom over his glorious shaft.

“Now.” I reached up and pulled him down to me, arching my hips to welcome him in.

He slid into me, my core opening and stretching to accommodate his size and then pulling him in deeper. It started slow, but I was too far gone for a prelude. I grabbed his hips and bucked to meet his thrusts.

“Fuck, Alex,” he hissed between breaths. “I’m not going to last.”

“I brought more than one condom.” I scraped my nails up his bare ass and urged him even deeper into me. My muscles clenched in preparation as I balanced on the edge of another orgasm. “Come with me.”

Damian leaned down and took my mouth in his, tangling our tongues and biting at my lips. He slipped a hand between us, and his thumb zeroed in on my clit, rolling the tingling bud in tiny circles that matched the pace of his frantic thrusts.

I broke his kiss as the tension built, drawing me closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy. My back arched, and I let out a guttural scream as he assailed my senses and the orgasm tossed me over the edge of bliss, my toes curling as pleasure exploded along every nerve. Damian grunted and pulsed with me as he found his release with my shaking body.

He collapsed on top of me, and I wrapped my trembling arms around his shivering torso. We lay that way for what felt like forever, content to just soak up the moment.

“That was...” His voice trailed off as if he was overwhelmed.

“Only the beginning,” I whispered in his ear.

Good or bad, we’d taken the leap. All we could do was hope for a soft landing on the other side.