by Zoe Allison
“Eva, listen—”
“The thing is I thought it was really shitty of you to kiss me the other night then say you regretted it.”
“What?”
“If you don’t like me enough for things to go any further, then you shouldn’t even be kissing me in the first place.”
She pointed her finger and tapped him on the chest. “I deserve some respect. Either you find me attractive and want to kiss me and do other things to and with me, or you just want to be friends and not do any of those things. You can’t have it both ways and—”
Damon circled her waist and drew her in, lifting his hand to her face.
Her voice faltered. What’s happening?
He searched her eyes with a fierce intensity that pierced her soul and halted every train of thought. He stroked her cheek. “Of course I want more. I thought it was obvious.”
Her pulse gathered pace, throbbing in her ears. She held her breath, terrified that he’d change his mind.
Damon closed the gap between them. He kissed her softly, parting her lips and sliding his tongue against hers. Her head started to swim, and she teetered on her heels. She couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
Damon steadied her, manoeuvring her backward a few steps until they were pressed against the side of the house. They could have been up against the living room window for all Eva cared. She just didn’t want him to stop.
She tangled her fingers in his hair. It was so soft, just as she’d imagined. He rubbed his thumb along her jawline and stroked his other hand down her spine, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. Is this real or am I dreaming?
She let out an involuntary moan as he trailed his mouth onto her neck. The sound seemed to spur him on, and he pressed against her, sliding his hand onto the back of her thigh.
“Is this okay?” he whispered against her skin.
Eva drew back to look into his eyes. “More than okay.” She grasped his shirt and pulled him back in.
He groaned as the movement caused his fingers to graze up her thigh onto the lace of her underwear. “Eva,” he murmured, “I want you so badly.”
She shuddered with desire. Goosebumps erupted over every surface and her nerve endings sparked with fire.
She kissed him urgently, struggling to control her breathing. She was so consumed by her need for him that she barely registered the porch light flick on. It was followed by the sound of a key turning in the front door. They both startled, their lips breaking contact but bodies frozen in the same position.
“What was that?” Damon said.
Eva’s eyes widened. “Shit. It’s my parents. Rachel said she was going to phone ahead to tell them I was on my way. They’ll be coming out to find me.”
Damon searched her face. “I have to see you tomorrow. There’s stuff we need to talk about.” He paused to kiss her. “And stuff we need to do,” he murmured against her lips.
“Damon,” she whispered.
Another noise came from within the house. Damon disentangled himself then started backing away along the driveway, not taking his eyes off hers.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “Come round to mine.”
“In the morning?” she asked.
He paused at the edge of the driveway. “As soon as you’re up.” He looked meaningfully into her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Eva swallowed hard. “See you tomorrow.”
Then he disappeared around the corner.
Chapter Sixteen
Eva opened the front door. Her dad was in the hallway, getting his shoes on.
“There you are.” He smiled. “The search party, aka moi, was about to be deployed.”
“Sorry. It’s slow going, walking in these heels,” Eva said.
Matthew gave her a knowing smile. “That’s okay. Come through so your mother can give you the third degree. I mean…have a general conversation with you.”
“Sounds great,” Eva said with a look of mock dread on her face. She followed him along the hallway, wondering what was behind that smile he’d just given her. She tapped out a quick message to say she was home and all was well then sent it to both Rachel and Jane.
The tea had indeed been brewed and the three of them sat in the kitchen, sipping away. Meena asked how the evening had been and Eva played it down, saying it’d been ‘fine’ and everyone had had a good time.
“I just decided to leave early because I’d had too much to drink,” she said.
Matthew nodded. “Good idea.”
“Did Damon enjoy it?” Meena asked.
“Yes,” Eva replied. She smiled, deciding to mess with her mum. “He seemed to particularly enjoy Tracey’s company.”
Meena’s face fell. Guilt stabbed in Eva’s chest, followed quickly by a resurgence of the nausea she’d experienced upon witnessing Tracey hanging off him. She’d been so distracted by that kiss that she’d never managed to ask him what had gone on.
Matthew frowned for some reason. Was he in on the matchmaking thing too? She remembered how much she and Damon had just been enjoying each other’s company only a few yards away, and heat started rising in her face. She cleared her throat. “I’m pretty beat.” She stood. “Night all.”
She took herself off to bed.
All night she tossed and turned, the scene with Damon playing over in a loop in her mind. She looked at the clock—six a.m. How early had he meant for her to go over? He’d seemed keen that it be as soon as possible, but he might feel differently now. What if he regretted it again? Eva took a deep breath. Stop overthinking. She’d find out what he’d wanted to tell her soon enough from his own mouth.
His mouth. Eva remembered the way it had felt against hers and on her neck. Stop it. Try to go back to sleep. She lay down but her thoughts continued to race. What had gone on between Damon and Tracey the previous night? She should’ve given him the chance to explain rather than her going off on a rant. Too much bloody wine.
The next time she glanced at her clock, she’d only managed to get to six-thirty. She sighed, threw off the covers and went to climb in the shower. Once in there, all she could think about was the feel of Damon’s hand on her thigh, sliding up her dress. It was driving her crazy. She wasn’t sure she was going to manage to sit and listen to whatever he had to say without wanting to tear his clothes off. She climbed out of the shower and walked back into her bedroom wearing her towel. Her phone lit up with a message.
Hurry up.
So he was awake. She messaged back.
Just out of shower will throw on clothes and come straight over.
Don’t tell me that. Now imagining you naked out of the shower.
Eva smiled.
Sorry. Better not tell you I’m putting on my new black underwear then.
You’re killing me here!
Eva put on said underwear and added her press-stud blue shirt and a pair of jeans. She ran the hairdryer quickly over her hair, producing a pretty tousled result, but she didn’t care. After brushing her teeth, she hurried downstairs, drank a glass of water and went out to the car.
Eva was beside herself with nerves on the drive over with potential scenarios playing out in her mind, all of which involved her and Damon ripping off each other’s clothes. She shook her head to clear it and completed the drive with clenched teeth. As she pulled on his driveway, she rammed on the handbrake and unclicked the seatbelt.
He must’ve been watching for her because the door opened before she exited the car. She climbed out and nearly fell over at the sight of him. He was freshly showered with damp hair and bare feet, wearing light blue jeans and a white T–shirt. He wasn’t even trying to do that jokey catalogue smoulder, but he had it down to a T. He leaned against the front door, the muscles in his arms flexed appealingly and his brown eyes burning into hers as she strode past him through the doorway. She stopped herself from grabbing and kissing him because she wouldn’t want to stop, and there were things they needed to talk about first.
Eva went straight into t
he living room and turned to face him as he followed her through the doorway. The look in his eyes set her on fire and she tried to steady her breathing.
He stopped a few feet away from her. His voice was gravelly. “I’m not coming any closer because I know I’m not going to be able to control myself, and there’re some things I need to tell you before I get carried away like I did last night.”
Eva nodded and stayed silent. She put her hands behind her back to stop herself from reaching out for him.
Damon ran a hand through his hair. “Bloody hell, I don’t even know where to start now.” He took a deep breath in, and out again. “Okay. First of all, I don’t suppose I need to explain now that of course I’m attracted to you. I can’t stop thinking about you and I absolutely want this to be more than friendship. To be honest, I thought you knew because I’ve had trouble controlling my feelings. And I was only holding back because we’ve become good friends and I didn’t want to wreck that, especially when I didn’t know how you felt about me and I thought you still weren’t over Callum.”
He took another breath. Eva put her hand up as if asking permission to speak.
Damon laughed. He put on a stern teacher voice. “Yes, Eva?”
She smiled. “Please, sir, I am most definitely over Callum.” She was relieved that humour went some way to dispelling the unbelievable sexual tension building in the room. It was almost as if she could reach out and grab it.
He smiled. “Great to know, thanks.” But the heat was still burning in his eyes. “So second of all, nothing happened with Tracey last night. She came over and grabbed me, but I never so much as touched her. I just spent ages trying to get away from her, and in the end, I pretended I needed to go to the toilet.” He screwed up his face. “That’s when I saw you being slimed on by Eric. And thirdly, I’ve no idea what you were talking about when you said I kissed you and regretted it. I don’t remember kissing you at all. I assume this was that night I was blind drunk and you brought me home?”
Eva nodded.
“My memory of that night is patchy, to say the least,” he said. “I wish I could remember kissing you, but I don’t. However, I certainly remember doing it last night and I do not regret a thing about it…except getting disturbed by your parents.”
She leaned back against the wall, trying not to interrupt him by grabbing hold of him in a fit of passion.
He moved towards her. “Or maybe it was a good thing we were disturbed, because the way I was feeling last night, I don’t think I would’ve wanted to stop at kissing.”
He was right in front of her, his eyes dark with longing and burning into hers. Eva tried to summon the power of speech but failed. They stood for a moment, a couple of inches apart. She grasped his shirt and pulled him in. The cold light of day had done nothing to take the heat out of their situation and their kiss quickly became fevered.
Eva slid her tongue into his mouth, and he groaned in response, sending a delicious thrill into her core. He pressed her against the wall, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him deeper.
He broke off to cup her face. “Are you sure this is what you want? I feel like it’s come out of nowhere.”
Nowhere? I’ve wanted this for over a decade. She gazed into his eyes. “I’m sure.”
The corner of his mouth flickered in a smile and he leaned back into their kiss. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him as he manoeuvred them towards the sofa.
He collapsed them onto it. She revelled in the feeling of his weight on top of her, holding her securely and sparking every nerve ending in her body. He kissed her in a way that conveyed a deep sense of longing, like he was trying to drink in everything about her, like he’d been waiting just as long as she had for it to happen. But there’s no way that can be right.
He slid his hand to the top of her shirt and popped the top stud. A wave of exhilaration surged through her body.
He popped a second stud and a third. The anticipation was killing her. Why didn’t he just rip it open? She didn’t care if it tore. He brushed his hands against her skin as he worked his way down, causing an unbearable ache to build deep in her belly.
The shirt hung open but her skin was on fire, despite the cool air reaching it.
Damon slid one hand behind her head and ran the other along her neck, pushing her bra strap off her shoulder.
She breathed his name as he kissed her. He slid his lips down her neck, sucking her skin gently against his teeth. Eva began to tremble. He kissed along the length of her collarbone and began to drag his mouth lower still.
The doorbell rang, and they both froze.
“Shit,” Damon said. He lifted his head, listening as if he were hoping whoever it was would disappear. The doorbell went again.
Damon groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Eva’s. He met her eyes, his voice low. “Maybe they’ll go away.”
Eva shook her head. “It’s seven-forty-five in the morning. It must be something important.”
Damon swore and dragged himself to his feet. Eva sat up and pulled her clothing back together, quickly re-snapping her shirt.
Whoever it was started hammering at the door. Eva’s heart rate picked up and she shot Damon a worried look as he left the room. She listened, wondering who it could be.
She heard him open the door. “Sarah?” he said.
There were footsteps, and Adele and Sam appeared through the door.
Adele’s eyes lit up and she came over. “Can you help me take my coat off? I can’t get the zip.”
“Of course,” Eva said as she tended to the jacket. She turned to Sam to give him a hand. She could hear Sarah’s voice from the doorstep. She was speaking quickly and there was a distressed tone to her voice.
“The ambulance is on the way to the hospital,” Sarah said. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t have anyone else to leave them with. Mum is riding with him in the ambulance and I want to meet them there.”
“It’s fine, really. Just go. I hope everything is okay,” Damon said.
There were tears in Sarah’s voice. “Me too.”
Eva turned to Adele. “Has something happened?”
Adele nodded. “Grandpa went to sleep and fell over, so Grandma has to take him to hospital to get better. Mummy is going to go help wake him up, so me and Sam are with Daddy for a sleepover.”
Eva tucked a stray strand of Adele’s hair behind her ear. “That sounds like a good plan. I bet Grandpa will be better soon. The doctors at the hospital are very good. Did I tell you about how they fixed my leg?” Eva tried to drown out the worried conversation between the kids’ parents, and in the meantime put the TV onto Sam’s favourite cartoon channel. She lifted him onto her lap and he watched contentedly.
Adele chatted away about what she’d been doing at school and Eva interjected with questions and interested noises. Damon entered the room with a deep frown on his face, which softened when he saw Eva sitting calmly with the kids.
“Eva”—he was clearly controlling his voice—”can I have a quick word with you in the kitchen?”
“Yeah, sure.” Eva deposited Sam next to Adele and followed Damon into the next room.
He turned round to face her. “I’m really sorry about all this.”
“It’s okay, honestly,” she said.
Damon took a deep breath. “Sarah’s dad was taken unwell this morning and they’re on their way to hospital. It sounds really bad.”
Eva nodded. “I’m really sorry. I hope he’s all right.”
Damon sighed. “I hope so too.”
She reached out to touch his arm.
He met her gaze. “It seems we keep getting interrupted.”
Eva remembered what had been happening in the living room only a few minutes before and heat rose in her face. Damon reached out and circled her waist. She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
His grazed his lips against her ear. “I
don’t want you to go.”
“You should have some time on your own with the kids,” Eva said as she trailed her fingers through his hair. “Keep some normalcy. They’ll have sensed the stress and be worried about it.”
He leaned back. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
“Of course,” Eva said. “But won’t you still have the kids?”
“Sarah’s coming to collect them after dinner tomorrow. She doesn’t want them staying any longer or it’ll disrupt their routine,” Damon said.
“Okay.” She stroked his face. “Just text me with what time you want me.”
He leaned in to kiss her. “I want you all the time.”
She kissed him back but after a few seconds pulled away and gently moved out of his arms.
“I’d better go,” she said. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Damon sighed. “Okay.” He took her hand to lead her to the door.
Eva gave Damon a brief hug and a kiss, told the kids goodbye then exited for the car. He stayed in the doorway to wave her off as she drove away.
On the drive home, Eva tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. It was turning out to be a rollercoaster. One minute she was in despair that she’d never be with Damon in the way she wanted. The next it seemed as if she’d get everything she wished for, then yet again it seemed that the fates were against them. She remembered the distress in Sarah’s voice and a wave of empathy washed over her. Poor Sarah… She must be so worried about her dad. Eva hoped they got him to the hospital in time and that he’d recover.
Her thoughts shifted to Damon’s tortured expression when he’d told her what’d happened, and the way she’d heard him comforting Sarah on the doorstep. There must still be significant feelings involved on his part. Her heart sank. It was out in the open that Damon was attracted to her, but his heart clearly laid elsewhere. That meant Eva could never truly get everything she wanted. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. She was being selfish in these ruminations when Sarah’s dad was ill. She should be grateful that she might be able to have a small part of Damon, even if she couldn’t have him all to herself.
