by Anna Durand
His statement made me feel glowy inside, but I also got a tightness in my throat. "Your food is getting cold."
Neither of us mentioned my job again.
When lunch was over, Damian went back to work, and I played rummy with the Kittens in the entertainment room. Yesterday, Damian and I had played chess in here by ourselves, and I'd beaten him twice. He beat me once. Though I'd always liked chess, the game had never been so much fun before. Damian would occasionally hold a chess piece to his forehead, shut his eyes, and make ghost-like moaning noises for a few seconds. Then he'd slap the piece down on the board and declare, "I have seen the future. I'm going to win, so you might as well surrender now."
"You don't surrender in chess. You resign."
"I never give up."
"No kidding." I made my move, taking his pawn. "It's one of the sexiest things about you."
"Let's make this a little more interesting and play strip chess."
"Maybe next time."
Playing rummy with my girlfriends wasn't as much fun as doing anything with Damian, but I enjoyed it anyway. I lost every game, though. Thinking about the Ludar prince who had pursued me with tenderness and sensuality kept me distracted. I hoped he'd meant it when he said we could have sex tonight. Making love with Damian felt so good, and not just because of the orgasms involved. It felt right. The intimacy we shared meant more than lust.
After the card games, my friends wanted to go on a nature hike, but I wanted to stick closer to the resort. Yeah, okay, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Damian while he performed his concierge duties. All morning, I'd kept seeing him walking from the guest house to the caretaker's house, or from the guest house to one of the other buildings. He always noticed me and waved, flashing me a sexy grin. All his smiles were hot, from the subdued ones to the I-want-your-body-now variety.
Every time he smiled at me, I smiled back, overcome by a giddy sensation.
While my friends marched down the nature trail, I hung out on the lawn, relaxing in an Adirondack chair. I didn't see Damian for an hour. Then he walked out of the guest house wearing his Ludar prince garb, looking so damn lickable. Maybe I'd told him on the day I arrived that his Dracula-chic outfit didn't do anything for me, but I had lied. We both knew it, even then. Now that I was done fighting my attraction to him, I could say it out loud.
I wanted to do more than simply say it, though. I wanted to shout it to the rooftops, through the sky, and straight into outer space.
I cupped my hands like a megaphone and hollered, "Woo-hoo, Damian, strut that gypsy-vampire sex appeal."
He grinned and blew me a kiss.
So I blew him one too.
Everyone else on the lawn gave me knowing smiles. Ruth Norris clapped and said, "You go, girl. About time you found the right man, and a hot one too. Bet he's a god in bed."
"He sure is," I shouted loud enough everyone, including Damian, could hear it.
Damian blew me another kiss, smiling with so much sizzling sweetness that my heart stuttered. Only he could be sweet and naughty at the same time.
I watched Damian unlock his wagon and bring out the sandwich board that advertised "a genuine Rom experience" and listed his specialties—palm reading and tarot reading. He set the sign up a few yards in front of the wagon's door, which he left open.
As soon as he disappeared inside, I wandered toward the guest house.
I ran into Mara just coming out of it. She almost collided with me since she had her head down, focused on the clipboard she held.
"Oh!" Mara said, her head jerking up. "Sorry. I wasn't looking, was I?"
"No problem. What's got you so distracted? Must be some heavy marketing stuff." Though Mara was the marketing director at Au Naturel, I didn't think she'd be pondering pay-per-click advertising while walking out of the guest house.
Mara shook her head. "Wedding stuff. Ollie and I are getting married in three weeks, and I still haven't nailed down all the details. Ollie offered to help, but I know he's super busy with work. Besides, men don't get all the wedding stuff."
"Yeah, I guess not. Maybe I can help."
"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that. You're a guest."
"I'm a friend too, right? So I absolutely can volunteer to assist the bride."
Mara gave me a grateful smile. "That would be wonderful, but honestly, you don't have to."
"Once upon a time, I wanted to be an event planner. Even interned with a real expert. And I would be honored to take some of the wedding load off your shoulders, Mara. It's the least I can do after how sweet you've been to me, even when I was trying to steal Ollie from you."
She stared at me for several seconds. "That would be amazing, Heidi. Thank you."
I took the clipboard from her. "Let's go sit on the lawn and see what we can work out for you."
Mara and I spent two hours hashing out the details, first while sitting on the lawn, then in my room in the guest house. We didn't have the entire wedding mapped out, but we had a plan. I insisted we split the duties, not only to keep Mara from sinking under the weight of it all, but also to get things done faster. We had a lot of calls to make, but the most important task required a trip into town.
"We have to get you a gorgeous dress," I said while Mara and I walked down the stairs, heading for the main doors of the guest house. "Isn't there a dress shop in town? I think I remember seeing one."
"Yeah, there is a shop." At the bottom of the stairs, Mara stopped and bit her lip. "Um, would you mind going with me to find a dress? Eve is so busy, and I don't want to bother her."
"Sure, I'll go with you."
Mara smiled. "Thank you, Heidi. You are such a wonderful friend."
Her compliment made me feel a little weird, but I knew she meant it. Mara Severins was the kindest person on earth, and I was lucky to have her as a friend. I told her that out loud too, which made her blush. Yeah, I completely understood why Ollie fell for Mara. They were so perfect for each other.
Were Damian and I right for each other? I tried not to think about that too much. Not yet.
He found me at dinnertime and suggested we should take our meal to go and "dine in Ludar splendor inside the mystical gypsy wagon where pleasure is always on hand." Then he'd winked and added, "Or by mouth, whichever you prefer."
"Maybe I prefer the cock method of receiving gypsy pleasure."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"Does this mean you'll make love to me tonight?"
He molded his lips to mine, holding them there for a moment that felt like a blissful eternity. Then he held my hand to his forehead, shut his eyes, and made those ghost-moan noises again. When he looked straight into my eyes, he murmured, "I foresee nudity, sweat, the scent and flavor of your cream, and multiple orgasms."
If anyone else had told me that, I would've laughed and walked away. But whenever Damian talked that way, I got wet and tingly between my thighs. And whenever he smiled at me in that sweetly understanding way, I got an ache in a different place altogether—in my heart. It was the best kind of pain. Maybe I was falling for him. Here, tonight, in his gypsy wagon, I suddenly realized I wouldn't mind if I did tumble head over heels for him.
No, I wouldn't mind at all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Damian
Okay, so I lasted less than forty-eight hours before I crumbled and made love to Heidi again. I never claimed to be a bastion of willpower, did I? Besides, she seemed to be better and better every minute, dealing with her anxieties faster than I could've ever dreamed she might. Was it temporary? No, I didn't believe that. Heidi had suppressed her natural tendencies for months out of shame and fear, but now she was unleashing them one by one. It was real and permanent. I believed that.
My prediction for last night came true. And the wagon might've been rocking and rolling, which I hadn't foreseen with my bogus hand-on-the-forehead prediction. That might've been only a ploy to get her to touch me, not that I needed an e
xcuse.
This morning, I woke up with Heidi sprawled on top of me, her cheek on my chest and her hair spilling over my skin. Gently, I brushed enough hair away so that I could see her face.
She was smiling in her sleep.
Yeah, my heart melted when I saw that. She looked so…at peace.
I lay there covered in Heidi for ten minutes before she finally roused, fluttering her lids and sighing. Her body writhed on top of mine as she tried to stretch, though she couldn't quite do it from that position.
She lifted her head to gaze at me with a dreamily satisfied smile. "Good morning."
"Any morning when I wake up with you is the best morning ever."
"For me too." She wriggled, and my already stiff dick twitched. "Ready for wake-up sex?"
"I'm always ready for you." I rolled us over onto our sides and skimmed my hand over her hip to her thigh. "Wish I could spend the day with you, but I'm on duty again."
"That's okay. I can entertain myself." She rolled onto her back to stretch her entire body, her arms above her head, and moaned. "You really do work hard, don't you? I watched you running here, there, and everywhere for hours yesterday."
"You watched me for hours? Sounds like stalking. Maybe I should lock you up in my private jail cell so I can interrogate you the Ludar way."
"Only if the Ludar way means lots and lots of sex. I wouldn't mind handcuffs."
"Sorry, I don't have any of those." But maybe I could order some online, the kind with padded cuffs designed for sexy playtime.
Heidi stared into space for a few seconds, then she pushed up onto her elbows. "Where was your family yesterday? I didn't see them at all."
"They went sightseeing. I gave them a map of all the best attractions in the area, including restaurants, so they could have the full tourist experience."
"Aren't they disappointed you didn't go with them?"
"Nah, they understand I have a job to do. Besides, they came for a surprise visit, which means I didn't have a chance to beg for time off. They get it." I sat up, allowing myself five seconds to admire her breasts before I got back to business. "My family will be hanging around the resort today, so you might have to submit to more of my mom's well-meaning, if misplaced, protective harassment."
"I like Monica. She's a tough cookie but with a soft center, like a caramel-filled sugar cookie."
"Sugar cookie?" I chuckled. "Let's not tell Mom you described her that way. She likes to think she's a force to be reckoned with."
"Oh, she is. But considering what my parents are like, Monica is a breath of fresh, cool air."
"Well, I hope you still feel that way after today."
She sat up and tickled my chin. "Relax, Damian. I'm not a basket case anymore."
"You never were one."
I grabbed my phone off the top step and checked the time. "Afraid we'll have to skip wake-up sex. I need to be at work in twenty minutes. Didn't realize I'd slept so late."
She kissed me. "You go on. I might relax in your bed for a while if that's okay."
"You can rub yourself all over my bed for as long as you want. I love having your scent all over me and my sheets."
"I'll make sure to cover this bed with me." She pulled the sheet up and rubbed it over her belly, then up to her breasts, massaging them with the soft fabric. "Have fun at work."
The last thing I wanted to do right now was to walk away from the beautiful, naked, horny woman in my bed, but I had to go. I'd never missed a day of work at any of my jobs. So I kissed Heidi and said, "Call me if you're still tangled up in my sheets at lunchtime. We can eat in bed."
"Even if I'm not still in your bed at lunch, we can eat here."
"It's a date. Now, I need to get dressed and go."
Heidi watched me while I climbed off the bed, found my clothes, and pulled them on. She kept rubbing the sheet over her belly and chest while licking her lips. Damn, she was the sexiest woman in the universe. So what if I'd never visited another planet? I knew without any doubt that not even the naughtiest alien sex kitten could've been hotter than Heidi Mackenzie.
I left her in the wagon, on my bed, naked and willing. And I went to work.
Yesterday had seemed like a blur, with one guest after another asking for my help. I must've run back and forth between the guest house and the caretaker's house two dozen times, not to mention all the trips to the daycare center on the opposite side of the guest house. Kids made so many messes, but that wasn't my job. I had to ferry stuff over there because the parents forgot their diaper bags, or they left the kid's medication in their room, or Mommy needed her Xanax. I only got one call like that. Mostly, I brought aspirin to those moms and dads. Considering how loud their kids loved to scream, for no reason I could see, I understood why their parents needed headache medicine.
Today turned out to be no less exhausting. Ollie and Mara were supposed to take a group of guests on a guided nature hike, but I got a call from Ollie not five minutes before the hike was scheduled to begin. The second I picked up the call, before I even said hello, Ollie started talking.
"Help," he moaned, doing a totally fake anguished voice. He added a sarcastic whimper at the end of his moan. "Mara just told me she can't co-lead the hike because Heidi's helping her with the wedding plans. You can't leave me alone with these old farts. They're crazy."
I'd forgotten the hike was a special event for seniors. And why was Heidi playing wedding planner for Mara?
"You love the fogies," I said. Since he'd used his sarcastic fake moan to make me feel sorry for him, I decided to use my sarcastic baby-talk voice to irritate him. "And they think you're the cutest wittle thing in the whole wide world. Sing a song for them, wittle Awee."
"Awee? What in the world is that supposed to mean?"
"It's your name in baby talk. Better get used to that kind of thing. I'm sure you'll have Mara knocked up any day now, if you haven't already."
"We're waiting until after the wedding and the honeymoon."
"Uh-huh. You know what they say about best-laid plans."
He snorted. "You are so not funny, man. Get out here and help me before the gray-hair brigade jumps on me like a horde of zombies."
"Why don't you get Val or Eve to help?"
"Val went into town to buy bathroom supplies. Man, these people use a lot of toilet paper. Anyway, Eve is busy teaching an arts-and-crafts class. I think it's how to make shit out of duct tape or something."
"Hey, don't knock duct-tape shit. I had a girlfriend who made me a wallet out of that stuff, and not only was it waterproof, but it lasted forever."
"I remember that wallet. The duct tape was rainbow-colored." Ollie sighed, sounding genuinely miserable. "Please lead this hike with me. I hate doing it alone, and we haven't had a chance to hang lately."
Yeah, we were both too busy with work and women.
"Okay, fine," I said. "I'll be your bodyguard."
I tucked my phone into my pocket and hurried to my room to swap my uniform sneakers for a pair of hiking boots and to grab my favorite baseball cap, then I headed out to the lawn. Ollie and the fogies were waiting there. My best friend was laughing at something one of the older guests had said. He slapped the guy on the arm and started talking while making big hand gestures.
Yeah, he looked stressed-out and desperate for help.
When Ollie saw me approaching, he grinned. "The D-Man is here! Let's get this party started."
"Party?" I said when I reached him. "I thought it was a nature hike and you were about to drop dead from stress if I didn't show up to lend a hand."
Ruth and Sylvester Norris pushed past the other guests to get to me and Ollie. Ruth patted Ollie's cheek. "This dear sweet boy needs all the help he can get."
"Hey, I'm not helpless," Ollie said. "Damian needs fresh air. That's the only reason I conned him into doing this. Excuse me, I talked him into it, not conned."
My best friend was smirking. Oh yeah, he had totally
conned me into this.
"You didn't need me at all, did you?" I asked, pretending to be offended. I raised my hands, fingers spread, and tipped my head back like I was communing with the sky. "I call upon the ancient gods of the Ludar to lay a horrendous curse on Oliver Jackson. May he lose his sense of smell forever."
"Awesome," Ollie said, grinning. "I'll never again get nauseous when I smell liverwurst."
One of the older guests, who I didn't recognize, raised his hand. "Can you curse my ex-wife? She got the Boca Raton house in the divorce, but she only wanted it because I loved that place. She hates Florida."
I stifled a laugh. "Sorry, man, I only curse people who annoy me."
Ollie gave the introductory speech about the rules of the hike and the things we might see along the way. We both strapped on hefty backpacks stuffed full of snacks and water bottles, plus a few outdoor essentials like bug spray and calamine lotion. For the next half hour, we explained nature to a dozen senior citizens. Well, Ollie did the explaining. I wasn't anywhere near as well-versed in the wildlife and plant life as he was.
We had lunch at the lake, on the beach. While the guests broke off into three groups and entertained each other, Ollie and I set up our picnic blanket a short distance away from everybody else.
A hummingbird buzzed past us, and Ollie smiled like he was reminiscing about something.
I elbowed him in the side. "Are you ever going to tell me why you get sentimental about hummingbirds?"
"Sorry, I've been sworn to secrecy. It's a private thing between me and Mara."
"Whatever." I ate a bite of my sandwich before I asked the question I'd wanted to ask him since he tricked me into going on this hike. "Why did Mara bail on you at the last minute? That's not like her at all."
"She bailed on me last night. I couldn't say no. She's super stressed about all that wedding junk."
"You do realize you can never speak the phrase wedding junk when you're within earshot of Mara. Practice saying 'yes, dear, I'd love to pick out place settings with you.' Then ooh and ah over that crap when you're shopping with her."
