Natural Satisfaction (Au Naturel Trilogy Book 3)

by Anna Durand

  Ollie threw a potato chip at me, which bounced off my nose. "What do you know about weddings? You're a confirmed bachelor."

  I wasn't feeling confirmed anymore. The more time I spent with Heidi, the more I wanted to do lots of things that didn't involve sex. Cuddling sounded awesome. Maybe some adoring gazes too. Hand-holding would be perfect. I could recite a poem or something like that too. Maybe I'd love to just hold her in my arms for a long, long time.

  "Whoa-ho," Ollie said, looking genuinely surprised. "Were you just daydreaming lovey-dovey thoughts about Heidi? Never seen that look on your face before. Is Damian Petrescu, the Ludar playboy, finally ready to settle down?"

  "What if I am? It's not a crime."

  "No, it's awesome. We could have a double wedding."

  "Double what? Whoa, slow down there, Ollie. I've been with Heidi for a few days, and you're getting married in less than three weeks."

  He shrugged. "Okay. We can plan your wedding later."

  "Aren't the girls supposed to do the planning?"

  Ollie snorted. "You really don't understand women, do you? They expect us guys to act like we enjoy talking about stuff like who sits at which table at the reception and whether to have a buffet or a formal dinner."

  "Which did you decide on?"

  "Haven't decided anything. That's why Mara is panicking." He swigged some water, wiping his mouth with his hand. "Thank goodness Heidi offered to help her with all that. Mara's a lot more relaxed now that she has an unofficial wedding planner."

  "I'm sure Heidi will love taking care of the details."

  We went back to eating and enjoying the sunshine, and Ollie didn't harass me anymore about Heidi and whether I wanted to settle down. The rest of the nature hike seemed to drag by, though, probably because I kept thinking about Heidi and wondering what she was doing, if she was having fun, whether she would be happy to see me when I got back from the hike. Would she wonder where I'd been? Would she miss me?

  Those thoughts made me feel anxious and a little giddy.

  I stifled a groan, realizing exactly what that meant. Oh yeah, Ollie would love this.

  The Ludar playboy was falling in love.

  When we walked out of the woods, our group of seniors wandered off in various directions. Ollie spotted Mara on a chaise and jogged across the lawn to kiss her and sit on the grass beside her chair. Those two were perfect for each other, and they had something I never used to think I wanted—real, soul-deep, forever love. The idea of that kind of connection had always sounded like baloney to me, but the more time I spent with Heidi, the less dumb it all sounded. I guessed that was because I was falling for her.

  And I liked it.

  I saw Heidi at the instant she saw me. She was with her girlfriends, whose names I couldn't remember offhand, laughing and making hand gestures, probably to go along with whatever jokes they were telling each other. When Heidi noticed me, her face went blank for a second, then her expression lit up with the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen.

  A pang stabbed into my chest, and my throat went thick.

  Heidi sprinted across the lawn to me, flung her arms around my neck with her feet off the ground, and kissed me. When she unglued her lips from mine, she slid down my body until her feet touched the ground, but she kept her arms wrapped around my neck. "I missed you, Damian."

  She felt so damn good crushed against me that I couldn't stop myself from admitting, "I missed you too."

  And I grinned as wide as she was still doing.

  No doubt about it. I was in love.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Heidi

  For the rest of the week, I hung out with Damian as much as possible. Whenever he needed to work, I spent time with the Kittens or with Mara. The wedding plans came together quickly, and we got all the right venues booked and ordered all the right flowers and other accoutrements. Mara and I had been friends for a while now but working with her on the wedding stuff made us even closer. I couldn't have been happier for her and Ollie. Better still, I'd stopped feeling guilty over my half-assed attempt to steal Ollie from Mara all those months ago.

  The past was the past. No point in dwelling on it.

  Wow, was that me thinking those words? Guess I'd changed more than I realized.

  No, not changed. I got back to being myself, and a large part of the reason for that was Damian.

  The Petrescus went home after four days, but before they left, Monica took me aside for a little chat. I'd realized a few days ago that she wasn't trying to scare me off. She simply wanted to make sure her son ended up with the right woman. I'd kind of assumed since she'd announced she accepted me provisionally that she would hold off on welcoming me to the family until I had a proven track record with her son.

  But on day four, Monica and I stood under the bows of a big pine tree on the far side of the lawn, alone.

  She eyed me up and down, her expression indecipherable. "Do you love Damian?"

  "What?" The question surprised me, but I collected myself and gave her the most honest answer I could. "I don't know yet. We haven't been together for very long. I like Damian so much, and I want to get to know him better. He means a lot to me."

  Monica nodded slowly. "That's good. My son is in love with you, but I'm sure you've realized that on your own since the first time I told you that. If you break his heart, I will lay a hex on you."

  "Do whatever you feel you need to do. But I have no intention of hurting him." When I was with Damian, I felt more like myself than I ever had in my entire life, but I couldn't tell Monica that, not unless I told Damian first. "He's the sweetest, kindest, smartest man I've ever known. Whatever happens between us, I'll always care about him."

  "I'm glad to hear it." She picked up my hand, sandwiching it between her palms. "I sense you're a good, strong woman, but I'd feel better knowing more about your soul. With your permission, I'd like to do a tarot reading for you."

  "Sure, I'm cool with that." I doubted Monica's tarot reading would be as much fun as Damian's palm reading, but I would do whatever it took to win over his mom. If she wanted to hypnotize me and make me grunt like a monkey, I'd go along with that too.

  Monica pulled a boxed deck of cards out of her pocket. "We can do it right here. Let's sit cross-legged on the ground."

  We sat down facing each other, and she slid the deck out of its box and onto her palm. "This is the old-style Rider-Waite deck. I've tried newer, fancier ones, but the old-school version works best for me."

  "Tradition is good."

  "I'm glad you feel that way because tradition is extremely important to my family."

  "Yeah, I figured it was based on the things Damian has said. It's nice that you guys all get along so well."

  While she shuffled the deck, Monica studied me again, though this time her lips curled at the corners the tiniest bit. "You are a clever girl, Heidi. I'm sure that's part of the reason Damian adores you. But what you just said makes me think you and your family don't get along well. Is that true?"

  "Yeah." Would that be a black mark against me in Monica's book? Even if it were, even if she rejected me, I would stay with Damian for as long as he'd have me.

  "That's a shame." Monica cradled the shuffled deck in her palm, her free hand hovering over it. "But there are different kinds of family, you know. The one you're born with might not always be the best one for you. I'm not insulting your parents, that's not my intent. I'm sure they mean well deep in their souls, and all I'm saying is that you shouldn't feel limited by your past."

  I couldn't think of anything to say in response. Monica was a wise woman, but I'd need time to digest her comments. Another kind of family? I didn't know about that.

  Monica patted my hand. "Relax, dear, there's nothing to worry about. I'll do a three-card spread."

  She dealt three cards, laying them on the grass one by one from left to right, pausing between each card to explain it. The first card showed a woman seated
on a throne, wearing flowing robes and a big crown.

  "The High Priestess," Monica said. "She symbolizes the mystery of a future that hasn't yet been revealed as well as the wisdom, tenacity, and passion of the querent." With her head bowed, she moved only her eyes to glance up at me. "The querent is you, dear."

  "I have wisdom?" A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. "Think you picked the wrong card."

  She shook her head. "No, dear, the tarot never lies."

  Monica dealt the second card, which featured a naked man and woman with a sun-being hovering above them. She studied it for a moment, then gave me that head-bowed look again, this time with a faint smile on her lips. "The Lovers. This card suggests attraction and obstacles overcome, but it also indicates choices must be made in a relationship and sacrifice may be required."

  Was she trying to scare me away after all? I would not sacrifice Damian because of what a few dumb cards claimed to know.

  She dealt the third and final card, which showed a compass and a strange humanoid creature plus a winged angel-like being and a bird. "The Wheel of Fortune. This means your destiny awaits if you choose to accept it."

  "Does it happen to say what my destiny is?" Not that I believed in this crap, but I appreciated the beauty of the cards and Monica's interpretation of them.

  "The tarot does not give specifics. All will be revealed at the appropriate moment."

  "What if I don't notice when that happens?"

  She smiled gently and touched my hand. "Trust yourself, dear. Be open to the possibilities, and when the time comes, you will understand."

  I couldn't help smiling a little. "You really are good at this stuff. I can see where Damian gets it from. He's amazing at palm reading."

  "Yes, he's always had a flair for it. Damian sometimes does tarot readings, but it's not his first choice." She held the Wheel of Fortune card out to me. "Keep this. Maybe it will remind you of the potential for happiness and keep you open to the possibilities."

  I accepted the card, cradling it in my palm. "Thank you, Monica. I'm glad I got to meet you, and Adrian and Stefan too. I hope we'll see more of each other in the future."

  "We will." She rose, offering a hand to help me up. She winked and smiled. "I foresee many future meetings for the two of us, dear."

  "Looking forward to that." And I meant it. In the space of a few minutes, Monica Petrescu had made me feel better in ways I couldn't describe. Damian made me feel the best, but his mom had done something for me I couldn't even explain, not yet.

  We headed for the driveway where the rest of the Petrescus, and Ollie and Mara, waited alongside a station wagon that served as a taxicab. The driver was shutting the rear door where I could see he'd stashed the family's luggage. It was time to say goodbye.

  Damian's dad and brother hugged him, then they shook my hand to say goodbye. My honey hugged his sister-in-law too. But while Ollie and Mara wished the rest of the Petrescus a safe trip home, Damian's mom pulled him into a bear hug and whispered something to him. He looked slightly surprised by whatever she'd told him. She kissed his cheek and came over to me.

  Monica hugged me.

  I tried not to seem stunned. After the conversation we'd had earlier, I shouldn't have been surprised, I guessed. But I was.

  She shocked me even more when she whispered, "You will make a fine addition to the Petrescu family."

  Monica kissed my cheek and got into the taxi with her husband. Stefan and his wife climbed in too.

  Damian slipped his hand into mine while we waved and watched the vehicle drive away.

  Ollie slapped Damian's arm. "What did Mommy say, D-Man? Is she planning the wedding?"

  "Shut up," Damian said with a smile. "Don't you need to go assistant-manage something?"

  "Uh-huh. We'll leave you and Heidi to talk about…whatever."

  Ollie and Mara left us.

  Damian slung an arm around my waist, settling his hand on my hip. "Mom whispered to me that she gave you a tarot reading, and it showed good things ahead for us."

  "Yeah, but she also said I might need to make a sacrifice."

  "In tarot, that can mean a lot of things. Besides, that stuff's a bunch of bunk, right?"

  "Sure, yeah, a bunch of bunk."

  He tugged me more snugly to him. "Let me give you a palm reading. That'll make you feel so good you won't worry about anything for at least three days."

  "That will only work if it's a naughty palm reading."

  "For you, there's no other kind." He kissed my forehead. "Let's grab lunch and sequester ourselves in the wagon for a good, long reading."

  "Can't be too long. Your lunch break is only an hour."

  "I'll make up any overrun by working late. Come on, say yes."

  "Okay. Yes."

  He grinned.

  I grinned.

  Damn, we were a pair of lovestruck fools, but I didn't care. It felt beautiful and hot and sweet and sexy, all the things that made me forget about everything else in the world.

  We stole some food from the lunch buffet in the dining hall, then hid out in the gypsy wagon to eat and…do other things. Multiple orgasms were on the menu for sure. Damian didn't get halfway through the palm reading before I dragged him down onto the pillows and rode him like a wild gypsy cowgirl.

  He was half an hour late getting back to work, but nobody cared.

  That night, after another round of palm-reading steaminess, I lay sprawled over Damian on the bed inside the wagon, satisfied in more ways than I could count. I'd never felt so at ease or so happy in my entire life, and I wanted to explain to him how much it meant to me, how much he meant to me. But I couldn't make the words come out, not yet.

  In my mind, I told him. I love you, Damian.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Damian

  A week after my family went home, it was time for the Kitten Brigade to leave too. Heidi had been a member of that group since the first time they came to Au Naturel, and I assumed she would go home with them. I didn't want her to leave. Heidi and I had grown so close lately that just the thought of watching her ride away in that pink RV got me choked up. Real manly, right? At least nobody saw me doing that.

  We hadn't talked about where we would go from here, so I had no reason to expect her to stay with me. She had a job back home, after all, even if she didn't love it. Mara raved about everything Heidi had done to help her prepare for the wedding, but the prep work wasn't done yet. I supposed Heidi could still help out from home, with video calls or whatever.

  I wanted to beg her to stay. Seriously. Me. I wanted to beg on my hands and knees.

  Heidi came out of the guest house with her friends, and they piled into the RV, each giving Heidi a hug. She had her purse over her shoulder, but she didn't climb in with them.

  I stood at the front of the vehicle, in the gravel driveway, staring at her like a desperate moron and praying she wouldn't get on that RV.

  The door closed. Heidi stayed on the ground.

  She was about to bang on the door so they'd let her in. Right?

  Heidi backed up to get out of the way as the RV's engine revved up.

  I lingered there paralyzed until Shelby, who was driving the bus, honked the horn and waved for me to get out of the way. Shouting "sorry," I hustled over to where Heidi stood. She gave me a strange look while the RV turned around and rolled off down the driveway, out of sight.

  "Are you okay?" she asked. "You almost got mowed down by a giant, lumbering RV."

  "I'm fine." I scratched the back of my neck, head down. "You must be, uh, taking a cab to somewhere to meet up with your friends later, right?"

  That did not sound at all pathetic. What in the world was wrong with me?

  Heidi stared at me for a minute, then she laughed. Holding my face in her hands, she urged me to raise my head and look at her. "You were worried I was leaving you. That's so cute, Damian. You're always confident and smooth, but it's nice to know you have an
anxious side too."

  "You like my anxiety? That's crazy."

  "I like that you care enough to worry about losing me. You're not, by the way. I'm staying."

  "But you have your purse, like you're going somewhere."

  She rubbed her thumbs over my lips. "Relax. I'm taking Mara into town so she can buy a wedding dress."

  "Oh." How dumb did I feel? Thumb-sucking, babbling, drooling-lunatic dumb. "You're sticking around until the wedding, then."

  "I'm sticking around, period."

  "What about your job?"

  She shrugged one shoulder. "I quit."

  "What? When?"

  "This morning. Didn't get a chance to tell you yet because I was helping my friends get ready to leave." She draped her arms around my neck, brushing her fingertips through my hair. "I've got enough money in the bank to get by for a couple months, which gives me time to figure out what my next step is. Val and Eve offered me a job here—a nonspecific, whatever-I-want job—but I need to think about it."

  "The resort needs an event planner."

  "Let's talk about that later. Right now, I need to go with Mara."

  "Was her mom upset that you're taking over the wedding planning?"

  Heidi leaned her body against me, her fingers still toying with my hair. "No, Sheryl understood. She wants Mara to be happy, and she only became the wedding dictator because Mara didn't want to make her mom feel bad. She was afraid to say what she wanted. Naturally, Sheryl assumed her daughter needed the most expensive, designer everything."

  "But she doesn't. Mara wants something cozier and more relaxed."

  "That's right. How did you know?"

  "I've been working with Mara for months now."

  "Right. I almost forgot." She danced her fingertips down my neck, spreading her hand over my shoulder, then she dragged her palm down to my chest. "What should we do this evening, after you get off work?"

  I cupped her ass with both hands. "How about we go into town and have dinner at a real restaurant? No buffet, no senior citizens poking their noses into our business, just the two of us."

  "Are you asking me out on a date?"