Tattooed Emotions Part 24

Overwhelmed with the intensity of his actions, I pulled him into my mouth with more force this time, taking him from root to tip, over and over again.

Dangling on the brink of an imminent release, my stomach muscles drew in tight.

"I want to come inside you." He seized either side of my waist to maneuver me until I was straddling his erection, still facing away from him. "Sink down on me-slowly," he demanded.

I complied, lowering myself onto him ever so leisurely.

Closing my eyes, I reveled in the feel of him stretching me wide. It was so deep this way. He gradually lifted me, and the movement created a heavenly friction along my inner walls as they automatically clenched around him.

My breathing came and went in pants, matching Damien's from behind me.

"That's right, baby. Feel me. All of me." His voice was low and gruff and edged with domination that I loved. "Only me."

On the next pa.s.s, I forced my trembling legs to rise with his a.s.sistance. 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 pa.s.sion 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 pa.s.sed, 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 b.u.m 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 a.s.sistant. 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.s 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 sa.s.s, I can see your jealousy. And the combination of the two make you look unbelievably s.e.xy." He rocked his pelvis up into me, and I felt pure male hardness rubbing along my s.e.x. "Really. f.u.c.king. s.e.xy."

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 s.p.a.ce between us, nearing the sh.o.r.e. "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 c.o.c.ked 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 a.s.sure 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 sa.s.s refused 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 a.s.s 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 a.s.s.

"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 a.s.s 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 s.h.i.tload of trouble," I threatened, stifling my own amus.e.m.e.nt, 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.