by Sarah Carter
Claire laughs as he climbs on the back. “You want me to outdo Jackson?”
“Hell, yeah,” Damien replies, putting on the helmet. “I love extremely fast things.”
“Well then, we should take the Ducati.” Claire giggles.
“No, this is fine. Show me what you can do, baby.”
With a devilish grin, Claire says, “Oh, now you asked for it.” She slides down her visor, and revs the engine loudly. Everyone backs away from her. They take off down the track. Claire doesn’t hold back. She feels Damien tighten his grip around her. Claire shows him what she can do before they come to a stop. Damien sits there for a second.
When he takes the helmet off, he demands, “You will teach me how to ride a motorcycle now.”
“Really?” Claire squeals in excitement.
“Hell, yeah!” Damien exclaims. “That was awesome. We’re going to go motorcycle shopping this week.”
Very excited, Claire starts to clap her hands. “Yeah!”
“Well, let’s get the real racers out there and show them what this is all really about,” Nick laughs. “Then we can go party.”
“Sounds good to me,” Claire replies. She takes her bike in and gets off of it. “Did you have fun?”
Damien grins broadly. “You have no idea.”
“That makes me very happy,” Claire states.
Damien steps up to her and kisses her deeply. She wraps her arms around him, holding him close. After a bit, they finally pull away.
Claire smiles. “Wow, I’m really happy.”
They both laugh and give each other a quick kiss.
* * * * * * *
“This is in the middle of nowhere,” Damien declares, as he looks around.
“Yes, that’s the great part,” Claire says, looking at the woods around them. “No one to make noise complaints.”
“Awesome.”
“Who wants a beer?” Nick calls out.
Phil raises his hand. “I do!”
Claire rolls her eyes. Damien leans in. “He’s underage, isn’t he?”
“He likes to get stupid-drunk.” Claire sighs.
“You know what would be funny,” Damien laughs, “If I dared him to a drinking contest.”
She gives him a look. “That would make him sick since alcohol has no effect on us.”
“Pretty damn funny though.”
“No,” Claire snips.
“Do you know what we need to do?” Jackson interjects. “Pull a Jude.”
“A what?”
Kayla claps her hands. “Yes!”
“What are you guys talking about?”
Giving her a mischievous look, Kayla giggles. “We’ll show you later. Let the boys do it. If we all disappear, someone may suspect something.”
Thrusting her hands out, Claire says, “What are you talking about?”
Damien leans over and whispers something in her ear.
Claire grins. “That’s perfect. Hold on.”
She leans forward to Damien and whispers something else. He nods.
“Awesome!” Claire cheers.
“Now we wait.” Damien snickers.
They fill themselves up on burgers and junk food. Claire smiles, “I’m still hungry.”
“Dear god.” Ben gasps. “What’s with you and eating?”
“It’s my metabolism now that I’ve started to…well…you know,” Claire replies. “I’m hungry all the time.”
“It’s getting dark.” Kayla sighs. “Hopefully the moon is bright enough.”
“It may be better if it’s not,” Jackson states.
“True,” Kayla agrees
They’ve all been watching Phil walk around. By now he’s downed six beers and is staggering. Finally, he lifts his hands in exasperation. “I’ll be back.” With that he turns and walks into the woods.
“Show time,” Damien breathes. With that, he and Jackson disappear into the tree line.
“This is going to be epic,” Kayla exclaims.
“Shh,” Claire shushes her with a giggle.
A few minutes go by, when they hear a blood-curdling scream. Phil comes running out of the woods, with his pants falling down. “Oh my god! Oh my god!” He yells. Everyone stops and stares at him. Phil falls down and then stutters, “In the woods…oh my god…oh my god.”
“What?” someone snaps.
“Tigers! There were tigers in the woods!” Phil shouts in terror.
Everyone bursts out laughing. “Are you okay?” Nick chuckles.
“No! Dude! There were two tigers in the woods!” Phil yells.
“Okay, Phil.” Nick snorts. “Have another beer.”
“No! They were there, I swear!”
Nick rolls his eyes. “Hate to point this out to you, but tigers aren’t native to the San Diego area.”
Someone asks, “Are you sure they weren’t mountain lions?”
“No! They were orange with black stripes! I saw them!” Phil screams.
Turning to Sunshine, Nick says, “You should probably get him home.”
With a pissed-off look, she walks over him. “Gosh, Phil, pull up your pants at least!”
Damien and Jackson appear next to Claire and Kayla. “That was fantastic,” Claire states.
Jackson smiles. “That never gets old.”
Alex walks over to them and whispers, “I have to presume that was you guys.”
“Oh, yeah.” Damien laughs. “Epic, huh?”
“I do have to say yes.” Alex chuckles quietly.
“On that note,” Claire says. “I think I want to go home.”
“Yeah, it’ll be late by the time we get there,” Alex says, looking at his watch.
In a very excited tone, Kayla exclaims, “I’m riding with Claire.”
“That is so hot.” Jackson sighs.
“It is. I agree.” Damien laughs.
“Alright, let’s go, then,” Claire replies. “Come on Kayla. I’ll make sure the ride home is a pleasurable one.”
“That sounded so dirty.” Damien chuckles.
Claire gives him a playful look and says, “Well…you know.”
He bursts out laughing and they turn to leave.
Chapter 18
“I’m so tired.” Kayla exhales, as they walk into the house.
“Well, you guys can go to bed,” Claire says back. When Kayla looks at her, Claire gestures for her to unzip her jacket. Kayla’s eyes get big, and Claire nods mischievously.
“Yeah,” Kayla replies. “Real tired. Come on, honey.” She grabs Jackson’s hand and pulls him up the stairs.
Jackson gives her a peculiar look and says, “Okay, ’night guys.”
“’Night!” Damien and Claire call out.
Claire bursts out laughing when they disappear from sight.
“What’s so funny?” Damien asks.
“Nothing…girl stuff.” Claire sighs.
He eyes her speculatively. “I don’t believe you.”
“Your cousin might be getting lucky tonight,” Claire whispers, wiggling her eyebrows.
Damien makes a face. “Gross. I don’t need to know that.”
“Aww, poor baby,” Claire murmurs. “Jealous?”
Getting a glint in his eyes, Damien steps up to her. “And what are my chances of getting lucky tonight?”
Stepping back to the stairs, Claire says, “Well, I do need to get this outfit off. Tight leather, I may need some help.”
A wicked grin passes over Damien’s face. “I’ll race you up.”
With a squeal, Claire turns around and runs up the stairs. They quickly make it into her room, and Damien slams the door. Claire can’t help giggling. Damien looks at her with heat in his eyes. She tries to be serious and fails, giggling some more.
“Why are you laughing Claire?”
“Because,” she replies, with a smirk, “I’m a little nervous.”
Tilting his head to the side, Damien says, “Why?”
“Because all of this is new for us,” she mutters, l
ooking up at him from under her lashes.
“How far we talking?” Damien says, his eyebrows rising skyward.
Claire walks up to Damien and pulls him against her. “I’ve never let a guy see me in lingerie before.”
“And you’re going to let me?”
“I did say I would,” Claire whispers. “I think that can be your reward for being a stellar boyfriend today.”
He brings up his finger and traces it down her jawline. “You don’t have to. It was all talk to get under Phil’s skin.”
“No, I want to,” Claire replies softly. She takes his hand and puts it on her zipper. “I want this.”
Bending over, Damien gently kisses her. Very slowly, Damien pulls down Claire’s zipper, never taking his lips away from hers. He pushes off her jacket, and she presses herself against him.
After a minute, Damien finally pulls away and looks down. “My god, you’re so beautiful.”
She grabs the button of her pants and undoes it.
“Claire,” Damien breathes out. “I only have so much self-control.”
“Well, I’ll see if I can reign it in,” Claire murmurs. She unzips her pants, and shimmies them down. “Sorry, leather sticks by the end of the day.” She laughs. Somewhat clumsily, she takes off her boots. Claire kicks the pants off and stands there in her corset, panties, and thigh-highs.
“Lord, have mercy on me,” Damien mutters, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t think I can touch you.”
Claire backs up to the bed and jumps up on it. She falls to her knees and sits there, trying to look bashful. “Why can’t you touch me?”
“Because!” Damien yells. “I want to slowly take all your clothes off you.”
“And tell me, what’s stopping you?” Claire quips.
Biting his knuckle, Damien groans. “Claire…you’ve made it clear you want to wait. This is way too big of a temptation for me. If I come over there, I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself. My energy will have a mind of its own.”
“I think your hands should have a mind of their own, too.” Claire snickers.
“Be serious.” Damien exhales. “I really want to come over, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Claire sighs. “Fine, I’ll take it off.” She lies down on her back and puts a leg up in the air. Slowly, she pulls the stocking down and off.
“Oh my god Claire.” Damien gasps. He covers his eyes. “I’m not looking.”
“Well, I have to take these off to put normal clothes on.” Claire giggles. “Up goes the other leg,” she says.
Damien looks from between his fingers.
Claire slowly takes off the stocking and throws it to the side. Rolling off the bed, she walks over to her closet. With her back to him, Claire takes the corset ribbon and pulls one end out, holding it up for Damien to see.
“Gosh.” She sighs. “It’s so much easier for someone else to do this.”
“Claire,” Damien says sternly.
“Damien,” she mocks back, turning around. Slowly, she pulls the bow apart and stares at him. “Are you going to watch?”
Covering his face, Damien snaps, “No.”
“It’s…your…loss,” Claire says in a sing-song voice. She slowly undoes the ribbon. When it’s done, Claire holds the corset together. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch this?”
He clears his throat. “You should put some clothes on.”
“Damien,” she breathes out, walking up to him. “We are technically betrothed, correct?”
“Yes,” he retorts sharply, not moving his hand.
“Then you can watch,” Claire says. Damien shakes his head. “Mmhmm,” she hums, as she throws the corset on the ground. They stand there for a while, just like that. “Do I need to take my panties off too, to get you to look?”
“Claire!” he squeaks.
Reaching down, Claire takes his hand and puts it on her. With that, Damien pulls her against him and kisses her hard, without skipping a beat. Claire starts to undo the buttons of his shirt. When it’s open, she glides her hands down his chest and over his abs. Damien moans. That only eggs Claire on. She grabs Damien’s open shirt and pulls him to the bed. Without losing contact, they climb onto it. Damien shrugs off his shirt and throws it to the side. When they lay down, they frantically embrace and feel each other.
“Claire,” he finally breathes out. “We need to stop.”
“Shut up,” Claire mutters, pulling him back down to her.
Damien pushes away. “No, seriously, I’m losing what little self-control I have left.”
With a sigh, Claire runs her fingers through her hair. “Alright.”
Scanning down her body, Damien whispers, “I can’t get over how beautiful you are.”
“You have seen, like, a hundred naked girls.” Claire snorts. “Please.”
He shakes his head and scoots down. Gently, he kisses her stomach and then all the way up. “No,” he finally whispers, nuzzling his nose against her. “I’ve never seen anyone this beautiful. I can guarantee that.”
“Mmm,” Claire hums. “That’s sweet.” She yawns.
“My baby is tired. We should go to sleep.”
“Your girlfriend is pretty much naked in bed with you and you want to go to sleep?” Claire teases.
He flops down next to her and puts his head on his hand. “I figure we have the rest of our lives to do all that. I’m enjoying what we have now.”
Claire turns over onto her side and props her head up, so that they lie face-to-face. “That means you’re really planning for us to be together.”
“I plan on marrying you,” Damien declares. “It’s what we agreed upon.”
“So, you have a long time to take advantage of me?” Claire giggles.
“Yes.” Damien laughs back. “So, we don’t need to do it all tonight.” Claire nods. She reaches down and undoes the top of Damien’s pants.
“What are you doing?”
She smiles, “Getting you undressed.”
“No!” Damien exclaims, slapping her hand away. “I’m going to stay dressed.”
Scooting over by him, Claire presses herself against him. “I want us to sleep like this.”
“You want to sleep naked?” Damien snorts. “Why?”
“It’s intimate,” Claire whispers. “I’ve never done it before.”
With a shake of his head, Damien sighs, “Fine.” He undoes the zipper of his pants. Damien kicks off his shoes, then pulls off his socks, and then his pants. “I’m leaving the underwear on,” Damien states seriously. “I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I didn’t.”
“Okay,” Claire giggles. Her eyes widen, and she slaps her forehead. “Crap.”
“What?”
“I need to wash my face and brush my teeth.” Claire sighs. “And we’re naked.”
“Do you have a robe?” Damien asks. She nods. “Put that on. I’ll put on a pair of pajama pants. We can make it quick.”
Giggling, Claire says, “Okay.”
They sneak to the bathroom. Claire shuts the door and smiles. “Hopefully my parents don’t wake up.”
“Get caught red-handed with a boy in the bathroom?” Damien quips.
“Pretty much,” Claire snorts. “Come on. Let’s get ready.”
Damien brushes his teeth, while Claire washes her face. When it’s her turn to brush her teeth, Damien chuckles and says, “I have to pee. Is that going to be a problem?”
With a scoff, Claire replies, “No, because I do, too.”
“Well, just wanted to make sure.” Damien laughs. He goes over to the toilet and pulls the seat up.
Claire brushes her teeth as he starts to go. It takes everything in her not to look. Finally, he finishes and she rinses out her mouth. “My turn,” she says. “Move.”
“You know…” Damien starts. “It’s like we’ve been dating for years. We pee in front of each other, use each other’s toothbrushes.”
Claire shrugs. “It just feels
natural with you. I don’t have those usual hang ups.”
“Doesn’t bother me in the least,” Damien says.
“Well, you can turn around while I wipe myself.” Claire giggles.
Damien turns his back.
“Alright, I’m good.”
They both wash their hands and then Damien kisses her. “I do love you.”
“I know,” Claire whispers. “And I truly care about you…a lot.”
He smiles, “I know that. Come on.” Damien opens the door and they start to walk down the hallway. When they pass Kayla and Jackson’s room, they pause and then look at each other.
“Oh my god!” Claire gasps, and then covers her mouth.
Damien gets an appalled look on his face. Claire quickly shoves him down the hallway. When they get into her room, Claire shuts the door.
Damien still has a horrified look on his face. “Please…tell me that didn’t just happen.”
“Well…he must have proposed or something.”
“Or something,” Damien snorts. “Ugh, god…that’s weird. That’s my ex and my cousin.” He shivers. “Ugh.”
Laughing hysterically, Claire holds her hand to her chest. “Oh my god…the look on your face.”
“It’s not something I needed to overhear!” Damien gags. “Oh, geez. Yuck.”
“Hey,” Claire interrupts. “It’s a beautiful thing. They love each other.”
With a deep breath, Damien says, “You’re right.” He pauses then says, “No…I didn’t need to hear it. I’m going to have auditory nightmares.”
Claire undoes the tie of her robe and then drops it to the floor. Damien shuts up quickly and looks at her.
She smiles. “How about I whisper dirty comments into your ear? That will give you some auditory things to dream about.”
“I’m game for that,” Damien replies mischievously. He grabs ahold of her and says, “Come here.”
* * * * * * *
The next morning, Claire stirs and opens her eyes. The sun is shining brightly into her room. She looks at the clock. It says 9:30. Moaning, she turns over. Damien was spooned behind her. He’s still asleep. Claire kisses him on the nose. Damien doesn’t wake up. She brings up her finger and tickles the bridge of his nose. He still doesn’t stir. With a giggle, Claire reaches down to his boxers.
His eyes snap open and he yells, “Holy crap,” as he pulls back.
