Chapter NINE
Elizabeth
I couldn’t stop thinking about him if my life depended on it.
Damon Donovan was absolutely, without a doubt, the wrong man for me. I had this whole scenario in my head as to why. He was obviously so in love with his own muscles that he worked out three times a day. Who does that, unless they want to appear a certain way to the opposite sex? He probably had a different woman every night. Now that conjured up all sorts of exotic fantasies. Maybe he had nooners in between classes. I could totally picture that about Damon. He had this raw animalistic nature. Like he demanded what he wanted, while at the same time he appeared kind and generous. But it was all an act. I knew the game. I knew his type.
Maybe I wasn’t meant to be in love. Perhaps that was a good thing. No broken heart. No tears or divorce papers to sign. No reasons to want to take my own life although I couldn’t exactly see myself doing that ever again. I’d healed pretty well, deciding once and for all that no man was worth it. Too bad I found that all out after I scared the shit out of Jason. I would never…ever… put him through that again.
Gripping the iron railing of my veranda, I gazed down at the pool and the place around it. I saw kids of all ages, most of them dark-skinned, laughing and carrying, like this was flipping Disneyland.
The sight of their small bodies warmed me, and I wished I could say I hadn’t been where they were, but I had. Judging by the buses, the way some of them were clothed, their ghetto behavior, these were not kids from Prep school. I had a vague idea about the kind of crap these kids must be going through because I’d been there myself.
I glanced back inside my room where my wooden easel stood poised against the back wall. I should focus on my painting. Really make something of my life. I didn’t need a man for that. Actually, I only needed a man for one thing, which gave me an idea. Could I do this? Did I dare? Could I have sex with Damon and go on my merry way? Just mind-blowing no-strings attached sex? I had to admit, I’d thought of little else these days, and Delilah said muses filled one’s soul. She claimed it made her a better artist. I hadn’t asked her, but I doubted she was in love with any of those five men.
I saw Damon walk over to the pool and my nipples immediately stiffened.
He was wearing a pale blue shirt that trapped his magnificent broad shoulders beneath a rich perfectly fitted jacket. Columbian blue. Blue mirrored sunglasses hid his aquamarine eyes making him look untouchable and very, very, yummy.
I wanted to rip those glasses off his face, unzip his perfectly tailored pants.
Lead him up here to my bedroom.
By his dick.
If I thought he was hot before, he was ten degrees hotter now.
I gasped, knuckles white as I gripped the railing for dear life, nipples tightening, almost painfully.
It was nearly a hundred degrees! What was it with all the suits around here? I started to fantasize about taking it off him. Not just the coat. All his clothing. But I wanted to take his tie off most of all, so I could make it into a leash, wrap it around my hand and lead him to…where, exactly?”
I know! I’d tie him to the bedpost!
A hot rush of electricity sparked between my thighs. I was sweating profusely now which had nothing to do with the sun.
Leaning as far over the railing as was humanly possible, I focused on the beautiful blonde talking to Damon. I couldn’t help it. I knew it was ridiculous, but a twinge of jealousy wrestled with my heart. I couldn’t tell if they were laughing or sparring with each other. Her hair, which was braided all the way down her back, looked like the type men ogled after, her legs so long she could have been a model, and when she turned in my direction the sun glinted off the damn jewels in her hair. Damon seemed to be enjoying her company immensely, and when he placed a hand on her lower back, I almost sprinted from the three-story terrace. Like Wonder Woman, ready to scratch her eyes out.
Control yourself! This is what you wanted, right? So he was a player after all. Casual sex was on the table in full force now.
When I made my way back downstairs, I saw Jason finishing his lunch. “Oh hey,” he said. “Pull up a seat. Did you eat yet?”
“Not hungry.”
“Then have a drink. You look like you could use one.”
“I said I’m…not…hungry,” I snarled.
“Hey, don’t take it out on me because you’re in a bad mood.” He wiped his mouth on a napkin. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” Maybe he wanted to leave early or had some sort of excursion off this damn property planned. I could use a change of scenery right about now.
“I think I found you a date.”
“Oh great,” I said, deflated.
“Hey, come on. You look like I just planned your funeral or something.”
“Sorry.”
“You should be. I’m trying really hard here, Liz. Anyway, this guy owns his own company, but it still hasn’t gone public yet.” He raised his eyebrows. “So he’s rich but not too rich.”
“Whatever, Jason.”
“Divorced three times…”
“What!”
“Now hear me out, Liz. The first one was at sixteen. I know. I know. Not too bright huh, but maybe that’s because he’s a romantic right? Like Romeo and Juliet. You gotta love a guy whose romantic.” The words sang from his lips as if he’d just invented the most perfect man on earth. I wasn’t getting it. Not at all.
“And the other two marriages?”
“That’s all I know, but hey…he likes sushi…”
“So.”
“Well, you like sushi right?”
“Anything else?” I asked, not wanting to hear more but needing to give him and… this guy a chance. At least I told myself I did.
“He likes to attend art shows. In New York City. And you like to do your little painting thing. That’s cool. Right?”
My little painting thing!
“So, I just have to work out the details, and I’ll get back to you with the time and place.”
I let out a breath. “All right, Jason. What can it hurt?”
“Well don’t get too excited or anything. I went through a lot of trouble here, Liz.”
“I’m sorry, Jason. I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice guy. Thank you. Really.” I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I’m looking forward to the date,” and I was. Sort of. At least it would get my mind off Mr. Hottie.
Jason looked down his nose at me. Flexing his lips, he was silent for several minutes. “Anyway, I have to go check my stocks. I’ll see you later. Hey, why don’t you come with me? I wanted to show you the library anyway.”
“I’ve…I’ve already seen it.”
On Delilah’s suggestion I’d left my canvas on the easel in the coffee shop, tucked far back in the corner with a drape over it. There was no way I was showing it to Jason though. Nor anyone else for that matter. Not until it was finished.
My little painting thing. Was that really what it was? Was I fooling myself into thinking I had any kind of talent?
“You go ahead and check your stocks. You know those things bore me anyway,” I said.
He patted me on the head. “Right. You don’t understand business, do you? Okay, sis.” I loved my brother, but there were times—oh not very often—but occasionally—when he treated me like... A little girl with marbles for brains? I didn’t think he even knew he was doing it. Had I let him believe that all these years it was okay?
I turned around to find the big bad wolf seated on a bar stool, grinning like he’d just trapped me in a straw house. He held his glass up to me in salute. Holy shit, how did he get there, and had he heard our whole conversation? Oh god, he probably thought I was pathetic. Some little wall flower who couldn’t find a man! I felt my face heat up as I took in the carefree sandy brown waves falling across haphazardly over one eye, the sexy mirrored sunglasses, the warm smile that stretched those kissable lips.
Those lips. How could I resist them? My breath caught as I imagined them on my breasts, my belly, the inside of my thighs trailing up my…
My face heated, but I couldn’t look away. It was like there was some sort of magnetic field between us. I was drawn to him.
“Hey,” I mumbled biting my lip to keep from gushing. I was still wearing my bikini and adjusted the fishnet cover-up that had slipped off one shoulder.
“Hey, yourself pretty lady,” he said giving me the full treatment with those incredibly straight teeth. He took off the sunglasses and suddenly it hit me. The fucker is flirting with me, not fifteen minutes after falling all over that blonde by the pool.
“Something wrong?”
“Nope. I’ll take a lime and ginger, please,” I told the waiter.
“I was wondering if we could get to know each other a little better,” Jason said. The fingers of his left hand brush up against my knee. It was only for a nanosecond, but a jolt of lust shot straight to my core.
“Oh? Sure. I’d like that too.” Reign it in, girlfriend. And steer the conversation to neutral territory or you’re toast.
I cocked my head toward the pool area. There must have been fifty or sixty kids swimming, some doing back flips off the diving board, and one with an almost life-sized blow-up dolphin he kept trying to ride. There with only a handful of adults standing by the water’s edge, and a few more seated beneath umbrellas. Not nearly enough to say they were parents—judging by the child to adult ratio I did in my head. The kids were having a blast but the adults looked bored. “They’re having fun,” I said.
“I sure hope so.”
The water, which was packed—like the day before—with so many olive and dark skinned children made me curious. Not that I minded. I thought it was great someone had the heart to open the pool up to them. “Kids of the clients?” I asked, knowing full well that wasn’t the case.
“Nope. See the buses.”
“Oh yeah.”
The Delaney Club wasn’t a day camp last time I checked, and they were pretty strict about who they allowed in here. Still, the kids warmed my heart, and I forgot all about the wolf in sheep’s clothing seated beside me. “I’ve never seen so many kids before. Where are their parents?”
“These are kids from the shelter over in the city. Well, a few of them are from the shelter. The rest are from foster homes.”
“Oh.”
“That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
“Of course not. I think it’s wonderful. No one gives you a hard time about busing them in like this?”
“Not so far. Most of my clients are so removed from what’s going on in the real world. And those entrepreneur types? They spend all their time in the bars or at the library. They hardly ever use the pool anyway which is a shame. The pool was sorely underutilized.”
“Well, it’s a nice thing to do. The owner must be a very kind person.”
He smiled at that and his mouth parted as if he wanted to say something, but then he closed it again.
“Do you know him?”
“Who?”
“The owner.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you could say that.”
I really didn’t care. I just didn’t know what to say next. Before I knew what I was saying I blurted, “So. You wanted to get to know me?”
He grinned, and ran a finger down the side of my face and across my lips letting it rest on the bottom one for a few seconds before taking it away. My heart stopped beating, and my lips parted.
He was close. So close our knees almost touched. I could reach out and kiss him if I wanted to. And yes. I definitely wanted to.
I imagined leaning forward, grabbing the tie around his neck, wrapping it around my fist and pulling him into me. I imagined him tying me up with it. Naked. While his mouth explored every inch of my aching body.
I twisted my hair around my finger, licking my parched lips while I stared at his bottom one. I imagined his tongue touching mine, sharp teeth drawing a trickle of blood while his hands slipped between my legs.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I breathed, leaning toward his ear. “In my room.”