I made myself go to lunch, just to get some fresh air.
My phone chimed in my pocket, and I found a text from Brooke telling me that she’d meet me, ready to look stunning for the cameras. I rolled my eyes and set the phone down, knowing how much she loved the attention. I kept looking out to the street, and that was when I saw Elisa walking with her team, looking a bit lost. A man was close to her, seeming to guide her, and I narrowed my eyes as he reached for her arm. Elisa looked at him with a slight smile, as if he had caught her off guard, and moved back into the group as they made their way to an Italian restaurant.
I threw the rest of my lunch away and stalked toward the door and back to the office. I was desperate to touch Elisa, and my body raged at me to turn around and claim her, while my remaining logic told me to give her some space. It was useless to try and work, so I just sat at my desk and sipped coffee, only making myself more jittery.
I sent a text to Elisa toward the end of the day, telling her that I missed her. I promised her that everything would be okay, and that we could resume everything, but she only told me to do what I needed to do. I didn’t know if she was still moving, working for me, or even what she was doing tonight.
I went home to dress for dinner, since it was one of the best places in the city. Mark picked Brooke up along the way and opened the door, so she could slide into the car. I gave her a glance, seeing that she was dressed in something skimpy before I looked away. “Someone is in a bad mood. What the hell is wrong?” She asked, as she moved closer to me, filling the car with an acrid scent of her floral perfume.
“Nothing. I just need the paps off my ass. You know the drill,” I said, as I felt her hands slide over my shoulders and tensed.
“I do, but I also know where this has led us before. I haven’t been with a man like you since last time, Damon. Let’s have some fun with this.” She slipped her hand around my arm and moved closer as I looked outside to see how close we were to the restaurant. This was going to be miserable.
I put on my best smile for the cameras as we left the car, taking Brooke’s arm as she beamed. I knew that there was a part of her that got off on this, a part that I was all too familiar with. I was still horny from earlier, and my emotions were all over the place as we walked up the steps and inside, looking every bit the couple that we weren’t. People called out, asking if she was the woman from the beach as Brooke winked coyly at them. With her curly hair recently done in a lighter, caramel shade I figured that someone could easily assume that it was. I kept my head high and my smile charming as I worked the room, feeling Brooke inch closer and closer to me with every step.
We took our seats in a cozy little booth, where she moved close to me yet again and I fought the urge to grit my teeth. “Who is beach girl?” She asked in a whisper, as someone approached to take our drink orders. Brooke ordered a glass of wine and I asked for Hennessey on the rocks as her eyes twinkled. “Did the man with no feelings suddenly develop them? Poor Damon.” Her hand slid over my thigh, making me jump.
“You are a prop tonight. Nothing more,” I told her in a low voice as the drinks were delivered. I smiled as I thanked the waiter. I assured him that we’d be ready soon as I grabbed the menu, hating my body for reacting to a woman’s touch after the day that I had. “Enjoy your free dinner and the spotlight, Brooke. That’s all you’ll be getting.” I gave her a cold look. “You must be lonely after Ben dumped you.”
I knew that her engagement had ended recently, one to a good guy who I knew through family connections. I didn’t think it would ever happen when I’d heard the news, but Brooke got caught with another man and ended things badly. “That was a bad move. This might boost you up, if you stop acting like a desperate whore.”
“Fuck you. You called me, Damon, or had your attorney do it. I think that this night is on your shoulders,” she shot back, as the blood in my veins turned to ice. I reminded myself that it was just a few hours. I smiled and faked a toast with her as we read the same menu together. There would be a lot of pictures from this night, and I needed them to be convincing. We stayed at dinner for two hours, and I forced the meal down my throat, smiling and laughing as I flirted with her. We left in the same rush of camera flashes and questions, but I told Mark to pull into my private entrance and let me out before he took Brooke home. She stared at me as I slid toward the door, almost in disbelief. “That’s it?”
“I’ll see how this works out over the week, and James will contact you if we need a repeat.” I got out and closed the door. This was something that we all did from time-to-time, and it wasn’t her first rodeo. I didn’t understand why she was acting this way, unless she really wanted me to fuck her. I was aching with need, but it was all for Elisa. I watched the car pull back out into the street.
I walked into my empty apartment, feeling the silence heavy in the air. I reached for my phone and saw that there were some Google alerts, but I pulled up the phone screen to call Elisa. The phone that I’d given her was powered off, and I fought the urge to throw my iPhone across the room. I dropped it on the couch and went to take a shower, jerking off like an animal as I played back the times I’d made love to her. I came all over the tile, despondent at the fact that it had been solo, since I’d fucked Elisa in here. I used up all the hot water and dried off, tugging some shorts up my legs before I went back to the living room to do some damage control.
The pictures were surfacing one by one, and I felt sick at how convincing they looked. In an alternate universe, Brooke and I would be a great looking couple, but it wasn’t going to be this one. I just hoped that it worked and everything calmed down so I could get Elisa back. I walked into my kitchen for the bottle of whiskey.
The alarm woke me up on the couch as I blinked and looked slowly around. Shit, it was only Tuesday. I needed to be at the office, but I felt like complete shit. In truth, what would I get accomplished? I sent a text to my managers, telling them that I had a bug and was staying home. I could sleep this off and not fight the urge to go find Elisa and beg to talk to her. I stumbled to bed, ignoring the return texts as I left my phone on the couch.
I passed out for a few hours, tossing and turning as I kept waking up from scrambled dreams. I hated the fact that I could still smell Elisa in here, making myself curse the fact that I’d brought her to begin with. I also wondered if I’d ever wash the sheets again as I pulled her pillow to my face and inhaled deeply.
Eventually, I stumbled back to the living room to order some food for delivery and check the gossip sites. Everything was where it should be, and the comical speculation was running rampant. There were murmurs of Brooke and I being back together after her heartbreak from earlier this year and speculation that she was the woman on the beach, off for a romantic weekend with me. I was glad that it seemed to be working, but knew that none of that was true.
There was also a single text from Elisa, asking me if I was okay. She’d heard some mention of my being sick, and I shook my head as I read it. I told her that I missed her, and that I was hungover from that, knowing or hoping that she’d keep these communications to herself. I told her that the previous night was awful. I knew that I was babbling, but I had the sense to stop when there was nothing in return. I didn’t want to lose all sense of dignity in this process, so I ate and went back to bed.
The next day, I started the morning with a jog, like I usually did. I was going to make life as normal as possible until this storm settled, hoping that I’d get my prize.
Elisa
This whole world was a parody in my eyes. I was in shock when Damon mentioned using a prop to get the rumors deflected. A prop? He was going to dinner with a woman, fake or not. Worse yet, they’d have to act like a couple even more than if they were actually together, for show. I’d heard about these things in Hollywood, never realizing that it applied to business celebrities as well. I got through the work day, assuring my team that I was free to assist them as I laughed along to their jokes and accepted their dinner invitation.<
br />
I felt like a fool when I got home and searched for the pictures online. Not only did I find convincing ones from tonight’s dinner, but a few other occasions where Damon had dated this woman. Her name was Brooke, and she was tall and gorgeous, exuding sexuality with every movement. There was no way that they’d never slept together.
I also found the pictures that he’d mentioned to me, and they were grainy and distant. I didn’t even recognize myself in those, but there was one in town with my back to the camera that seemed like it looked more like me. Apparently, the paparazzi in smaller cities were less aggressive than Boston.
Conveniently, Brooke had a hair texture like mine and a hair color that could be easily mistaken for me. Did this woman do that this day for her role? I didn’t understand any of it as I pored over the pictures of them at dinner. Damon was laughing, holding her hand as they walked in and out of the restaurant, toasting her with a warm smile on his face, and, the worst one of all, the kiss outside, before they got into the car. Fake or not, it was long and intense, and it made all the food in my stomach want to rise right back up.
Still, when I heard that he was out sick, I couldn’t help but send him a text. No matter how I was feeling, I wanted him to be happy. I hated myself for offering the olive branch and shut the effort down when he responded to me later.
I still hadn’t mentioned the apartment to my roommates, despite thinking about it every moment. It wasn’t just for my perks, but for my mother. She’d have a better place to live, and, at this point, I’d live with her and find a way to pay some rent. That was what mattered to me the most, and I’d suffer through the job, internship, and a hundred other ones to take care of my mom.
When Melody asked what was going on, I told her that things might have changed and went back to studying in my small bed. “That’s good. I like sharing this space with you, even if it is the size of a closet.” I smiled at her and told her the same, wondering if there might be a friendship forming there.
Wednesday was my day to work with Damon, but I had weighed that heavily in my mind during my sleepless night. I could intern, go to school, and work a part time job to afford the apartment. It would be crazy, but tons of college students did that every day. It wasn’t permanent, and I would graduate sooner rather than later and get a great job. I did get some financial aid, but it wasn’t a great deal, and not enough to support my mother and me.
I decided to talk to Brent and tell him that I was just going to be sticking with the internship. I’d blame school and family issues, which usually worked and were the truth. I would compose an email to Damon and send it off, feeling motivated by the offer of a weekend job at the coffee shop in my favorite bookstore. I could keep my financial aid with the few hours and hopefully budget enough in for something for Mom and me.
I did the email from my laptop, surprised that the weak Wi-Fi was working so well. It sounded professional, and I thought that I sounded upset as I explained a phantom college issue, asking to be replaced. I offered all the items that he gave me for the new person, as well as any passwords that he’d given me. I didn’t want anything to do with the job anymore, and I hit send before leaving for my classes that day.
I changed into a dress at the apartment and took a bus to work. I had the phone, along with everything else, in my bag, powered down. I intended to work with my team today. I’d made myself clear in the email. I stepped onto the elevator, finding it empty for a change as I glanced around and pushed the button for my floor. Surprisingly, the elevator stopped on Damon’s floor, and I stared forward into his icy blue eyes before he told me to meet him in his office and walked away.
It was obvious that he’d received the email, that he was, at the very least, angry, and that I’d be in for it once I reached his office. I licked my glossed lips and walked out calmly, as if I was just going in for my shift. Nobody seemed to notice me as I approached his door and tapped softly, my stomach in knots. Damon was standing at his desk, staring at me as emotions crossed his face, one after the other.
“What the fuck was that email about?” He asked, as I stood in a stunned silence, not knowing what to say. “Do you want to pretend that you never knew me, when I’ve been thinking about you every fucking second of every single day, Elisa? Do you want to pretend that we mean nothing to each other?”
“Damon, I…” He walked over to me, his hands capturing my face as I started to talk again. “No, don’t do this.” Even saying that, I made no effort to pull away. I was intoxicated by his heat and his scent, feeling dizzy in his presence. I reached forward, clutching his shirt as I closed my eyes and dropped my head forward. “I want to be over you.”
“No, you don’t.” His lips captured mine as he lifted my face to his, claiming me. I felt my lips part as his tongue met mine, dancing in my mouth. I felt my arms slide around his neck as he lifted me and carried me somewhere. I didn’t care where, since I was consumed with my want for him.
Damon made quick work of lifting my dress when I was on the couch, opening my bra as he sucked a nipple into his mouth. “Oh, God,” I murmured, as his teeth dragged against me.
“I want to take you home and tie you up, Elisa. I want to fuck you for hours after you put me through this.” He pulled away and stared at me. “I did all of that this week to protect you from the media. It worked. They think that I’m with Brooke now, after one dinner, and everyone has all but forgotten the pictures over the weekend. My ploy worked, but I know that it hurt you and I feel horrible inside.”
“I know what you did, Damon. I am just so confused about your world.” He pressed his lips to mine softly before pulling away again.
“I am sometimes too.” He slipped my panties down, spreading my legs as he took on my glistening pussy. I was turned on and needy for him as he slipped a finger through my folds. “Nothing happened that night. We went, and I came home alone right after. Everything in those pictures was staged, Elisa.” I jerked as he found my clit and stroked it.
“You kissed her,” I murmured, as he continued his slow torture. “She wanted you, Damon. I could see it in her eyes.”
“She wants her fifteen minutes of fame, any way that she can get it. I’m just a pawn in her game,” he responded as a finger slid inside of me. I arched my back and reached my hands over my head to grip the cushions as I closed my eyes. “That was the most pre-meditated fake kiss that I’ve ever given, and it made me sick. It made me want you.”
He added a finger, and I rocked against him, weak and greedy for my release. I was torn between control or just letting go when I felt his mouth over me, sucking me between his teeth. “So close,” I whispered, sliding one hand into his hair as I continued to hold tight with the other. Damon licked and sucked at me, bringing me close before I exploded before him. Oh, fuck…it felt like it had been months since I’d been with him, when it was only days, and the orgasm pulsed through my body as he kept tasting me. “I need you to fuck me,” I told him, as I stared into his eyes.
I climbed onto my knees willingly as he dropped his pants, spreading my legs for him as I heard a wrapper being torn. “I want nothing more,” Damon promised me, as he took me with a hard, deep thrust. He gripped my ass tightly with his hand, making me cry out as he kept thrusting. I was wet and tight around him, just where I needed to be, as our bodies slapped together. “So fucking tight. So meant for me.” I rocked with him, my dress off and somewhere on the couch. “Come for me, Elisa. I need to feel you again.” I pushed back as my legs trembled, weak as I orgasmed with him.
We collapsed together on the leather and I closed my eyes. All my progress was gone now and I wondered what to do.
“Why the email?” Damon asked.
“I wanted to avoid you and keep the internship. I can get a part time job, and, along with my financial aid, I think that I can take care of Mom and me,” I replied, as he shook his head at me.
“You text me out of concern when you’re probably pissed off at me, and you worry about your mother. What did
I do to deserve a woman like you?” Damon asked, as I honestly shrugged. “I was talking to a colleague earlier today after I got that email.”
“Not this again. I want to do this on my own,” I groaned, as he placed a finger over my lips, one that tasted like me.
“It isn’t what you think. It is the sister company to this one, equal in success. He is looking for an assistant to help with the growing industry. He asked about my new staff, and I told him about you, as my employee. I forwarded your resume to him, and he looked it over, saying he was quite impressed. He is ready to offer you a full-time job, at the same wage that I was paying you, Elisa. It’s still in the city and close by, and you could do everything you want to with it.”
“He doesn’t know that I’m involved with you?” I asked, and Damon shook his head. “He really liked what he read?” Damon nodded.
“He even contacted Brent and asked him a few questions, getting stellar feedback. This is real,” Damon told me.
“I need to think about it,” I told him. He frowned. “This is huge, and I appreciate all of it, but I need time. Can I have his info, and I’ll call him tomorrow?” Damon told nodded, and I leaned in for a kiss. “Does anyone else know about the email I sent you?”
“No,” he said softly, sadness crossing his face. “It’s hard to believe that you won’t be in here with me, no matter what happens in your career. It’s worth it to have a chance with you, though. That’s all I want,” Damon said, as he pulled me down for another kiss.
“Do you still want to tie me up and fuck me for hours in your house?” I asked, as he slipped his tongue between my lips.
“More than anything.”
“Good,” I replied, as I moved over him, needing his warmth. “I’ll come over tonight, and we can discuss every detail of this offer over dinner before you show me how much you care about me.” I smiled. “I need the opinion of a professional after I make a call later today.”
Damon looked down between us where my slick folds were sliding over his hard cock. “You say that sitting like this on me.”
Winter Page 118
