Tattooed Emotions Page 22

  On the next pass, I forced my trembling legs to rise with his assistance. Then, together, we found the perfect pace of me rising and falling and him countering my movements with an upward rotation of his hips. Persistent hums of pleasure rolled through me.

  My head fell back on my shoulders as I gripped his toned thighs for balance. I was completely lost in him, the way he felt inside me, and the feelings he awakened in me. He was always so attentive to my needs.

  Damien wasn’t a man to verbally express himself, but when heat and passion melted us together, I could feel his affection for me. It seemed as though he’d reached into my heart and rekindled me to life. I’d never felt so taken, so alive, than I did with him.

  We weren’t drowning in each other. We were reviving one another.

  “Come with me, Raelyn,” Damien breathed on the next joining of our bodies.

  It was all I needed for light to dance behind my eyes. My climax rushed, breaking through its barrier, and it sent a never-ending wave of vibrations through my core. A warm essence filled me as Damien found his own release.

  After a few moments passed, I shifted off his lap and rotated to glance at him. He helped me nestle into his chest. It was only seconds before he gently brought his hands to either side of my face to meet his gaze. The sincerity in his eyes knocked the wind out of me.

  “I’m not a man of many words, Raelyn. I never have been, and I probably won’t ever be.” He linked his fingers with mine and set it over his heart where I felt it beating rapidly under my palm. “But I want you to know that only you can make me feel this way.” His spare hand came to my face and caressed my cheek. “Only you.”

  Those gray eyes burned into mine, and then he kissed me so reverently that I thought my own heart might stop beating.

  The Florida sun was baking my skin as a light breeze cooled it. It was truly the best combination ever, and I was determined to keep my bum planted on my towel with my feet in the sand for as long as possible. It felt way too good to leave.

  At my side, Damien rolled onto this stomach and rested his cheek on his forearms, facing me. It gave me a clear view of his Roman numerals.

  I flipped onto my front and matched his position while scooting closer to him. “What does one, two, one, five mean?” I asked softly.

  With his gaze locked on mine, he was motionless for so long that I feared he might not answer me until he released a rush of air and said, “December fifteenth. It was the day I became free.”

  “Free of what?”

  His shoulders lifted slightly on a small shrug. “Free of my past.”

  “And your tattoos?” slipped out of my mouth before I could think better of it.

  “They cover the remnants of it.” His expression was reserved and guarded.

  My lips parted with another query as I wondered who and what had left such deep marks on his flesh.

  “Leave it there, Raelyn. Trust me. It’s not something you want to know.” Damien rolled over onto his back and stared up at the clear blue sky. If his tone hadn’t been a clear sign to end that discussion, his body language surely was.

  Respecting his wishes, I let it go. Then, I felt guilty about bringing up the topic of his past when it clearly caused him anguish. I had no right to pry since I hadn’t been forthcoming with my own history.

  I climbed over to him where I gently laid my body on top of him until my face was directly above his, giving him no choice but to look at me. His eyes were loaded with unsaid words, and countless emotions rippled out of him.

  Unable to stand his expression without my heart splintering in two, I languidly kissed him and poured my silent apology into my embrace. Flutters rose in my belly when his mouth moved with mine, accepting my act of contrition.

  “I’ve tried to avoid any emotions since I was old enough to feel them, yet you seem to evoke all of them in me,” he said.

  I pressed my lips to his one last time. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He unleashed a deep breath, as though he’d been holding it in.

  Before I had the chance to respond, his cell phone rang from his shorts. I shifted, so he could retrieve it out of his pocket.

  His eyes flashed with irritation at the screen as he answered, “Zoey, it’s Sunday. What do you want?”

  I wasn’t sure if my nose scrunched up at his curtness or because it was his less than friendly assistant. I guessed it was the latter of the two.

  “I haven’t changed my mind, and I told you that last night at the charity. Considering three other similar development companies are currently for sale on the market, two point three million is a generous offer.”

  He listened for a moment, and then his eyes widened in surprise. “Zoey, that is none of your business. Now, is that all you needed?”

  Two seconds passed before he replied, “Good,” and ended the call without saying good-bye.

  Worry filled my features as I questioned, “Everything okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” I lay over him again, hoping he’d offer some kind of explanation. Of course, he didn’t, so I spoke up, “She doesn’t like me.”

  “Zoey doesn’t like most people.”

  I tugged my lip between my teeth and then released it. “Except you?”

  “Except anyone with a deep wallet,” he corrected me matter-of-factly.

  “Why do you keep her around then?”

  “Because she is good at her job.” He sighed in exasperation. “And she has no one else. Zoey is a loner, like me.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t have much else to say.

  He set his hands on my hips and pulled me closer, forcing me to gaze into those deep grays. “Please don’t worry about her. She’s only an employee now.”

  That last word of his sparked a little jealousy in me, and I didn’t like the feeling one bit. I tilted my head to the side. “Now?”

  His throaty laughter vibrated from his body to mine, and it sent a thrill of excitement through me to hear it.

  “I just hung myself, huh?”

  “Do you think now is the time to be answering a question with another question, or should you be saving your ass with a spectacular explanation?” I probed, sporting my best game face.

  “I don’t know.” He grinned. I mean, he really grinned. It left me breathless. “I kind of like this look on your face. Beneath that sass, I can see your jealousy. And the combination of the two make you look unbelievably sexy.” He rocked his pelvis up into me, and I felt pure male hardness rubbing along my sex. “Really. Fucking. Sexy.”

  Knowing I could never maintain my bluff with him touching me, I crawled backward off his ridiculously hot body.

  He sat up and came after me. “And where do you think you’re going?”

  “I want an answer.” I increased the space between us, nearing the shore. “Was she a friend or a lover?”

  Damien arched a devious brow and stalked toward me. The expansion of his chest moved with his graceful actions, and the sight mesmerized me. I could only hope that all of that muscle would be slow if I needed to make a quick escape.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he taunted.

  I was getting nowhere fast, so I went for diversion. “Nah, I don’t want to disclose all my previous lovers either, so maybe it’s best we don’t go there.” I shrugged casually. There had only been one, and that was Nick, but I’d keep that to myself.

  That made his steps falter, and he cocked his head to the side. “All?”

  “Friend or lover?” I asked, slowly speaking each word.

  “Oh, gorgeous girl, if you think you’re coming out of this quarrel on top or even at a stalemate, I can assure you that I never back down.”

  I sidestepped to the left, and he followed with a look of thrill in his eyes.

  “You should know by now that I’m relentless until I get what I want, and I love a good chase.” His voice was full of his usual confidence.

  I normally admired it, but today, my inner sass ref
used to surrender.

  “I hate to break it to you, Damien, but I believe you’ve met your match in the stubbornness department.”

  To the left was the ocean, and to the right was his house, the one that seemed so far away at the moment. I was going to have to haul ass to make it.

  Damien caught my line of sight, and when he gazed back at me, he bedazzled me with those glowing grays of his. “Give it your best shot.”

  I retreated one more step and faked a move to the left before darting to my right where I took off with long strides. It was harder to run in the sand than I’d imagined it to be.

  I squealed when Damien’s arm banded around my center and flung me into the air over his shoulder.

  I gripped his waist for balance and thrashed in his hold as he turned around. “Damien, put me down!”

  “Not a chance, baby,” he said, heading straight toward the wooden dock leading out into the water.

  “You are not throwing me in the water!” I shouted, laughing hysterically. “That’s not fair when you’re the one who won’t answer my question!”

  “You flipped me off my inner tube, going at least forty miles an hour, and you almost flipped my boat.” He snorted as his feet padded across the wooden surface. “Tell me exactly how you think it’s unfair to toss you into the sea?”

  “We are back to that mishap? You’re so dramatic.” I prodded with hilarity and sarcasm evident in my tone, earning myself a smack on my ass.

  “There is nothing dramatic about being concerned about you nearly hurting yourself on my speedboat.”

  “Oh, be quiet. I was fine.”

  “Was being the operative word there.” He neared the end of the dock. “Now, tell me how many lovers you’ve had, and maybe I’ll reconsider being a gentleman.”

  He wasn’t going to get off that easily. “How many have you had?”

  Damien brought his feet to the edge of the structure and jostled me in his hold, getting a better grip on me. “Last chance, Raelyn.”

  “Fine!” I yelled, carefully flaying in an effort to free myself. “Only one. We met in college.”

  “I appreciate your honesty,” he said with sincerity. “But I still think you need a reminder of who holds the power in our relationship.”

  “You mean, me?” I giggled. After all, I had an outstanding view of his ass from up here.

  “Oh, gorgeous girl, you are quite mistaken,” he drawled in that bone-melting, domineering tone of his. “But don’t worry. I fully intend to remind you.” He effortlessly lifted me in the air over his head as he warned me, “I’d ask you if you can swim, but I already know the answer.”

  “Damien!” I screamed, feeling weightless, as my body went sailing through the air.

  I landed in the ocean with a loud splash before sinking far beneath the surface. By the time I reemerged, I was sputtering up water with a wet Damien already swimming to my rescue. I saw his futile attempt to bite back his mirth.

  My glare met his shimmering stare. “You, sir, are in a heaping shitload of trouble,” I threatened, stifling my own amusement, especially at my bizarre choice of words.

  Damien threw his head back and laughed hard before returning his attention to me. “Can I redeem myself if I tell you that Zoey and I were just friends?”

  “No.” It was definitely too late to redeem himself.

  He pulled me into his arms and kept us afloat. I clung to him, mindful of my hand placement on his shirt-covered body.

  His expression went serious. “Then, how about if I admit that there have been women in my past, but you are my one and only lover?”

  I lost my breath at the weight of his confession, as it seemed to trigger inexplicable feelings in my soul.

  I slid my hands to his nape and up to his hair where I pulled his mouth down to me, overcome with the need and desire to feel his lips on me.

  Damien wasn’t a man of many words, yet the few he had spoken touched me in a way that no one had ever done before.

  This man was all I could see.

  I woke up in my apartment on Monday morning with my sheets clung to my damp skin. The back of my head felt heavy with pressure. There was no other way to describe how it felt than to compare it to someone sticking a five-pound brick inside of my skull.

  Groaning, I flipped onto my stomach, hoping the change in my body position would offer me some sort of respite.

  My pulse accelerated like I was running full speed toward a finish line, causing me to feel…twitchy. And a light sheen of sweat broke out across my forehead and moistened my pillow under me.

  Minutes ticked by, and I knew that relief without some sort of intervention would be hopeless.

  Unable to stand the torture any longer, I rose from my bed and went into the bathroom to open the medicine cabinet. Ibuprofen was the first thing I spotted, so I opened it and popped two pills into my mouth before turning on the faucet to chase them down with water.

  Finished, I shut off the valve and stood up straight. My head slopped forward, and I closed my eyes. I’d just slept for at least ten hours, yet I felt like it hadn’t made the slightest difference. I sighed, thankful I’d talked Damien into bringing me home last night.

  Finally, I gazed up at the person reflecting back at me in the mirror. It was the same woman I’d tried my best to conceal with makeup on Saturday night for the charity. She was pale. The only color on her face appeared from the dusky purple circles under her eyes. Somehow, their darkness stole my attention and managed to pull at me, as if dragging me into a dark storm, a ferocious one that I knew would grip ahold of me, sink its nails into me, and try to suck every last breath out of my lungs.

  I’d barely survived the fight against my illness the first time, and I was terrified out of my mind at the mere thought of doing it again. I wasn’t strong enough to endure such torture twice.

  Petrified beyond reason, I snatched the green soap dispenser on the counter next to the sink and hurled it at the mirror. “No!” I screamed defiantly over the loud noise of the glass shattering into pieces.

  Tiny shards fell against the counter, covering the surface. I barely felt an unforgiving sharp stab at my forearm. It was nothing compared to the aching fear in my heart.

  Uncontrollable sobs ran through me. My exhausted limbs protested holding me up, so I crumbled to the floor and cried. Never had I wanted Damien more than I did in this moment of weakness. I wished I were resilient enough to call him, so he could burst through the bathroom door, swoop me off my feet, and chastise me for hastily jumping to conclusions about my state of health. I longed for him to soothe and comfort my worries.

  Yet, in order for him to come to my rescue, I’d have to tell him my greatest fear and take the risk that he might run when I do.

  The vulnerability of being alone kept me from doing so.

  So, instead, I cried and let my emotions roll out of me in dense waves as I was consumed with loneliness.

  I was unsure of how long I’d sat in the bathroom before I found my inner strength to pick myself up off the floor and stand to my feet.

  Refusing to let my apprehensive mind and body play tricks on me anymore, I inhaled a refreshing deep breath in an effort to bring color back to my cheeks even if I couldn’t see it.

  I was cured. I was in remission. My oncologist, Dr. Enright, had said so himself. And I wanted to live, more than ever before. I would not let these foolish worries drag me down any longer. It was probably just some bug or virus messing with my head.

  “You’re fine, Raelyn,” I whispered reassuringly to myself, squaring my shoulders and standing tall.

  I quickly showered and readied myself for the long workday ahead of me. It would be the perfect distraction.

  When I was finally ready to go, I grabbed my keys and purse before heading out to my car. I was bummed that Iris wasn’t awake before I’d left, but I would try to catch up with her tonight. I’d yet to grill her for details on this new Joshua guy in her life.

  On the drive to the offic
e, I cranked up the radio and listened to some tunes. It was amazing how music could be so uplifting on the spirits. I parked my car and grabbed my belongings before heading into the front of Adam & Jennings where I saw Kate at her desk.

  Tim walked out of the break room and approached me with a chipper morning smile. Other than work-related discussions, we hadn’t spoken much since the night at FireSide Bar. I was relieved that things hadn’t been awkward with us.

  “Hey, Tim.” I gave it my best to reciprocate his expression. “Can you bring me the Luxemburg files? I’d like to get started on them right away this morning.”

  “Uh, sure.” Tim shifted his stance and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his cream-colored slacks before rocking on the balls of his feet. He seemed off today.

  Nerves washed over me at his uneasy state. “Everything okay?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t. I hoped there wasn’t an emergency with any clients because my ten-hour day was already going to be jam-packed.

  Tim looked around the office, as did I. Kate was talking on the phone and jotting down notes from her seat.

  When Tim realized that she wasn’t paying any attention to us, he glanced back at me and queried, “Did you know that Cale was going to be here today?”

  “No.” My head snapped back on my shoulders. I briefly glanced to my left to see Cale’s office door was shut, and the light was off. “Where is he?”

  “He’s in the conference room.”

  “Okay…” I drawled, perplexed. “Did he say why he was here? Does he want to talk to me?”

  “He didn’t say.” Tim scrunched up his face, appearing distressed, as he confessed, “But I did see him walk in there with Mr. Heathman.”

  “Oh.” My chest deflated a mere second before my body snapped into gear. “Excuse me, please.”

  I barreled straight for the conference room. If Damien and Cale were talking about Adam & Jennings, I had a right to be there, too, so I would know what was going on.

  My strides increased, as did my irritation that they’d left me out. I was especially upset with Damien for his lack of communication skills on the matter. We’d spent a good portion of the weekend together, and he hadn’t mentioned a single word about Cale.