Kerry

I can hear the familiar piano melody as we walk into the Diamond Belle Saloon, and my eyes are immediately drawn to the old man behind the keys. His eyes are on the door and he smiles in recognition when he spots Damian. For me, he has an almost lascivious wink, and I can’t hold back a chuckle when I hear Damian growl under his breath behind me.

“Dirty old coot,” he mumbles, causing me to laugh out loud. One of the waitresses turns her head at the sound and moves in our direction, a smile on her face.

“Regular booth?” she asks Damian, who gives her a friendly nod.

“Bring all your dates here that you have a regular booth?” I tease him over my shoulder. The hand he rests on my hip as he guides me through the restaurant squeezes slightly. Once we’re seated and left with menus and an order of drinks on the way, he grabs my hand over the table.

“I don’t,” he says with a serious face. “The only people I’ve ever brought here have been my sister, Gus once, and Jasper and Luna for lunch at Christmas. Mostly I come alone because no one seems to appreciate the music.”

“Are you serious?” I blurt out, a tad skeptical.

“As a heart attack. Gus would rather have found a quiet spot to talk, Bella almost walked out until Clive started playing modern songs she recognized and Jasper...let’s just say Jasper is more of a hardcore rocker. The manly music, as he so often likes to remind me.” The look of horrified disbelief on his face is comical.

“Well, I love it. Mind you, I love all kinds of music. Don’t have any one particular style preference over another,” I admit with a shrug of my shoulders.

“I’m glad,” he says, bending toward me. “I much prefer sitting here with you than anyone else.”

It occurs to me that we have much left to learn about each other. The unconventional progress of our relationship is a lot like being thrown into a pressure cooker. Intense circumstances, high levels of chemistry, and close proximity have brought us to a point that would normally take months to grow.

This place really has a fabulous atmosphere and not just because of the music. I’m surprised how easy and effortless conversation flows over dinner, from favorite movies to first childhood memories and from fears to family dynamics. It seems we’ve covered it all.

I shove my plate away from the edge and put my hands over my stomach in the universal sign for stuffed. “I’m thinking I need to find a dress like this,” I announce, loving the way the stretchy material simply stretches a little more to accommodate my food gut. I’m glad I threw my kimono on over top since it hides a lot of sins.

“Don’t remind me,” Damian groans across the table. “I’ve been working hard to try and ignore the fact, that thing leaves nothing to the imagination.”

I catch some movement from the corner of my eye and turn toward it. Fucking hell. I don’t know who this person is, but from the look on her face, she’s bringing trouble. Her eyes are shooting daggers at me. Tall, busty, heavy on the makeup and with a mane of sleek, almost-black hair, the woman virtually charges at our booth. For some reason, the name Cora comes to mind.

“Darling,” she purrs when Damian finally turns his head in her direction. His initial shock is quickly replaced by a narrowing of his eyes as she closes the distance. Once close enough, she has the gall to run her hand proprietarily through his hair. Oh, this is going to be fun. Damian grabs her firmly by the wrist, pulling on her hand and moving his head out of the way at the same time.

“What the fuck, Cora?”

Bingo. I give myself a little round of applause and sit back to watch the fireworks. There was a time when a display like this would have me sick with insecurity but not anymore. And certainly not with Damian’s anger at the intrusion permeating the air. Yeah, I’m good.

“I just popped in for a quick drink and noticed you sitting here. Thought you might like some company,” she simpers. Sure, I bet she spotted him through the window and decided to try and stake a claim. Damian’s eyes flick to mine, and I smile encouragingly.

“As you can see, I have company,” he bites off.

“Ah, yes.” A smile as fake as her massive tits accompanies the hateful glare she directs at me. I smile broadly, which immediately has her turn the charm back on Damian. She plants a hand on the table and leans forward, her assets almost piling out in front of us. In a voice that’s dropped so low I have to strain to listen in, she says, “I’m afraid I was referring to the kind of company that has me on hands and knees and you trying to decide which end to fuck first, my ass or my mouth. Somehow she...” She throws me a pitying look. “...seems a little too vanilla to give you what we both know you need.”

Alrighty, then. A little more information than I banked on.

I watch in fascination as Damian rises to his full height from the booth, causing Cora to stumble back a little. He’s intimidating, to say the least, with barely  contained rage rolling off him in thick waves.

“Enough,” he barks.

I vaguely notice Clive’s earlier ballad transition into a hefty ragtime, drawing the attention from some of the patrons whose ears and eyes had started pointing in our direction. Bless his heart.

Damian grabs a firm hold of Cora’s arm and turns to me. “Excuse me while I take out the trash, Gypsy.” His voice is angry, but the look he shoots me is soft and pleading.

“Of course,” I automatically reply, waving a dismissive hand.

Instead of marching her through the entire length of the restaurant and out the door, he leads her to the back passage to the hotel lobby. A much shorter walk, but long enough to draw even more attention, especially with Cora voicing her displeasure rather loudly. I try to make myself as small as possible, in the far corner of the booth, to avoid the curious and pitying looks being fired in my direction. I focus on Clive, who throws me a wink and does his best to cover the collective hush that has fallen over the restaurant with some lively tunes.

The minutes crawl by as little, nagging doubts start eating away at my earlier confidence. A vivid imagination is my downfall, as I can’t seem to stop visualizing the picture Cora painted with her words. It describes a side of Damian I haven’t seen yet. Is he holding back? The thoughts start bouncing around my mind, and the comfortable fullness of my stomach just minutes ago starts churning with nausea.

Jealousy. Such an ugly and uncontrollable emotion.

By the time Damian slides into the booth across from me, my eyes have been focused on a spot on the wall while insecurity has gradually taken over. I even considered leaving, but the last vestiges of common sense had me stay right here, where I was relatively safe in the public eye.

“Gypsy?” I turn my eyes to him at the sound of his voice. I’m not sure what he sees in mine, but he’s out of his seat again in a flash. Taking his wallet from his pocket, he tosses some bills on the table. “Let’s go,” he says, helping me out of the booth and pulling me tight to his body, his arm protectively over my shoulder. I keep my eyes focused on the floor in front of me until I feel fresh air hit my cheeks.

DAMIAN

The drive home is relatively quiet. Mostly because every time I start to apologize, she plasters on a smile and tells me she’s fine. Deadly words, those—I’m fine. Especially since it doesn’t take much to know she’s anything but fine.

That was an ugly-ass scene back there, and I’m pissed as hell that what was a great night, and shaping up to become phenomenal, came crashing down around my ears when that bitch showed up.

Son-of-a-fucking-bitch. I’ve never come so close to clocking a woman, but more than once I had my hand already fisted during that encounter. The way she insulted and embarrassed Kerry had me furious, which is why I marched her out. She hadn’t liked that, but just as quickly she turned back to her seduction when we hit the hotel lobby. Her hands slipping inside my jacket, her boobs pressing against me—it took every effort not to toss her on her ass. I am angry at myself because not that long ago, that whole scene might’ve had a much different outcome—and that’s all on me. I took my time to make sure Cora understood exactly where I stood. Still, it took me telling her how deadly serious my involvement with Kerry was before she listened. And that ticked me off, too, that I was forced to take words I hadn’t even spoken aloud to the woman who deserved them, to warn the bitch off.

I played fast and loose long enough, without much concern who I was playing with, and I probably deserved every bit of what happened.

But Kerry doesn’t.

“Talk to me,” I try again, my hand searching hers. “And don’t tell me you’re fine. Just tell me what’s going through your head. I hate that she had an opportunity to spew her vindictive words before I got her out of there. I hate that she got her claws in—”

“She didn’t,” Kerry interrupts, turning toward me for the first time since we started driving. “I just...it threw me, that’s all.”

I can’t focus my attention when I’m driving, so I pull off into the James Farm parking lot. Turning off the engine, I turn and face her. “Bullshit.” I watch her flinch at that, but before she has a chance to turn her head away, I put my hands on her neck, keeping her jaw in place with my thumbs. “Babe, I can see the questions swimming in your eyes. Spit it out. Whatever it is, just get it out.”

“It’s not bullshit,” she argues. “And I was fine...but then you took a while, and I started thinking: What if he gets bored with me? I don’t know. I’m pretty sure you have a lot more adventurous experience to draw from than I do. I honestly don’t even want to think about that, but her description of what you apparently like was pretty damn vivid. Truthfully? I could’ve done without that.”

“Okay, a few things,” I interrupt her almost-breathless flow of words. “My so-called experience is probably not half as adventurous as she made you think. Her view of things is generally self-serving and far from the truth.” I rest my forehead against hers. Her beautiful, gray eyes blink furiously in an attempt to hold the tears at bay and still one or two escape. I wipe them away with the pads of my thumbs. “I’m sorry I left you alone,” I continue in a softer voice. “I had to make it clear to her, once and for all, that the reality of her never was a match to the dream of you.” A little hitch in her breathing, and her hands coming up to clutch at my wrists, gives me hope I’m getting through. “As for getting bored with you? The likelihood of that happening doesn’t exist, so get that out of your head right now. There is so much of you still to discover, so much I’d like to discover with you.”

Her eyes close and I press a soft kiss on her mouth.

“I’d like to get you home now and get started on that,” I mumble as my lips skirt along her jaw and to her neck.

“Mmmmm,” she hums. “I think I might like that.”

A second later, tires spinning, we’re back on the road, racing toward home.

The moment I turn off the engine, we are both scrambling to get out. Kerry is already halfway to the front door when I round the Expedition. I jog to catch up with her and scoop her up in my arms.

“Damian!” she scolds, but she’s giggling as she does it. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she holds on tight as I carry her to the door, which opens just as I’m trying to figure out how to get to my keys with my hands full of woman.

“I thought I heard something,” Bella smiles from the hallway.

Right. Not sure how it slipped my mind that Kerry was not my only guest, but ever since I saw her coming down the stairs in that little black body sleeve, she’s all I’ve had on my mind.

At my sister’s appearance at the door, Kerry starts wiggling to get down, but I’m determined not to let myself be distracted from my goal again.

“Close and lock behind us, Bella,” I order over my shoulder as I walk past her into the house. “We’re turning in.”

“Damian!” This time Kerry angrily hisses my name, her fingers knotting painfully in the small hairs of my neck. The sound of heels follows me to the stairs.

“I should probably tell you...” Bella starts when I’m halfway upstairs.

“Tomorrow,” I snap impatiently.

“But...”

“Tomorrow, Bella.”

I’m not sure what it is she’s muttering, my focus is on the bedroom door at the end of the hall. Once I maneuver Kerry safely through, without knocking her head on the doorpost, I kick it shut behind me. Only then do I carefully let go of her legs, keeping her steady until she’s found her balance. The moment she does, her little hands shove me hard in the chest.

“You’re an ass.” Her mouth is set in an angry line, her eyes shoot fire, and all I can think is how to get inside her in the next two seconds. “That was incredibly rude and embarrassing,” she bites off, turning her back to me, shrugging out of that floral jacket, or whatever it is, and tossing it on the chair. Then she bends over to take off her shoes.

She’s probably right, I’m an ass and that was rude, but right now every working brain cell I have is focused on the deliciously round ass, encased in slinky black, sticking up in the air—calling to me. I don’t even think about it, I simply drop on my knees behind her, put both hands on her hips and put my teeth in one of the juicy cheeks. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I might’ve expected anger, maybe a slap, but that wasn’t enough to stop me. Obviously. But the deep groan coming from her is a surprise. A pleasant one.

Encouraged, I nuzzle her backside while my hands carefully slide down to the hem of the dress, only to work their way back up, taking the material with them and uncovering only skin.

Fuck me sideways. She’s as naked as a jaybird underneath. The ass I’m getting closely acquainted with, an absolute piece of art. The slight reddening of the pale skin where I nipped her is an invitation to match it with a similar mark on the other cheek. This time there is no fabric barrier, and I love the feel of her heated skin against my mouth. The moment my teeth press down, she groans again, this time with a slight gyration of her hips.

KERRY

Oh my.

I was about to tell Damian whatever moment we’d been building up to had passed, but then he bit me. A love bite. Strong enough to feel the sting but not hard enough to hurt. Just burn. The most erotic sensation I’ve experienced.

I don’t even think about the fact he’s behind me, at eye level with my less than perky backside, but the soft hum as he nuzzles me from behind, while pulling up my dress, has me toss any lingering insecurities out the window. This turns him on. And by God, it does me, too.

I stay where I am, bent over and slightly shivering, when I feel the air hitting the newly exposed skin. His open mouth brushes over the other side before I feel his teeth sink in. This time my knees buckle. I slowly straighten up, not too fast, I don’t feel like doing a face-plant on the rug. Behind me, Damian licks the mark I’m sure he left, and I feel the electricity ripple over my skin all the way to the top of my head. It leaves goosebumps in its wake all over my body.

“Turn around,” he whispers, his hands steady on my hips. I step out of my shoes and turn to him.

He’s on his knees, still fully dressed in dark jeans and steel gray dress shirt, with his eyes nearly black as they travel slowly up my body to meet mine. Even with the dress pushed up around my waist, undoubtedly looking a little silly, he still makes me feel desired. It’s a heady feeling. There are no words needed, I can see it reflected in his eyes, on his face. I can feel it in the reverence of his touch as he unapologetically runs his fingers over every blasted dimple and imperfection on my skin. It makes me feel powerful. This man could probably kill me with his bare hands, yet he is on his knees—worshipping.

I let my gaze roam over his features and use my hands to trace behind. My heart does a little skip when he closes his eyes and ever so slightly tilts his face into my palm. Powerful.

This is discovery.

No shields, no shame, no covers...completely naked, despite the remaining clothes covering us. Exposed and vulnerable, but without fear.

This is trust.

The need to share every flaw, every thought, every honest moment.

This is love.