Grabbing hold of my hair, he yanked my head back and slammed his mouth over mine in a show of ultimate possession. I never minced words and it fucking turned me on the way he took exactly what he wanted. He was the one in control now. Not me. His tongue stroked inside my mouth, plundering and sucking. Our breathing became ragged. My clit throbbed for release but Damon had other tantalizing ideas.
Standing, he held his dick tight in his hand and turned my chin up so I was forced to look at him. “Suck my dick, angel. Prove to me how much you missed me.”
My lips encased his shaft and he was balls deep in my throat a split second later as I worked my tongue flat against him in slow circles. His hips moved then, thrusting his cock in and out of my mouth in a torturous rhythm as he took what he wanted. I reached up and massaged the corded muscles on his stomach, enjoying the way they danced under my fingers. He was so fucking hot. So hard and long. And the sounds he made drove me to the brink of insanity. He gripped my head and roared as cum shot out his shaft and filled my mouth. I gulped and sucked and licked him through the length of his orgasm, glancing up to revel in the ecstasy written all over his face as he shuddered through the climax.
Holy shit, my pussy was soaking wet.
He sank to his knees and I pulled his lips to mine in a sweet kiss. His tongue darted against mine and he groaned as he poured himself into a torrent of languid kisses. My heart still raced from the absolute high of watching him lose control. Opening my eyes, I gazed at him and grinned, swaying my hips seductively, my ass still in the air.
“Ready for that ride?’ he asked, nipping at my ear.
“You’ve got another one in you so soon, old man?” I teased, knowing full well he was insatiable, but still enjoying the perturbed expression he tossed my way.
He lifted one sardonic eyebrow as he stroked himself to life again. “Does bread rise?”
A husky laugh burst out of my chest and I air-kissed him while he strode to the pile of clothes on the floor to retrieve a condom. He rolled it over his shaft before positioning himself behind me, taking a few seconds in cruel retaliation to appreciate my round bottom. My heated gaze met his and he smiled before parting my butt cheeks. He slid his cock into the warmth of my cunt and sighed, inching slowly into me.
“I want to fuck you without a condom and feel your slick cum all over my cock,” he said, pulling out in a maddeningly slow pace.
I pushed back hard, unhappy with the pace he’d set for our pleasure. His cock impaled me again and my forehead fell to the bed as I purred like a kitty getting scratched behind the ears.
“I’ll have none of that.” He pulled back a bit and held my ass still.
I glared at him over my shoulder. “I’m going to make you pay for teasing me. No more sexy panties for you.”
Reaching around my belly, he sought the silky nub between my thighs. A harsh breath tore out of me when he found my aching clit and flicked his finger back and forth over the sensitive skin while pumping his cock in and out in long, quick strokes. “Is this what you want?”
“You know I do,” I replied with a pant as I rocked back and forth in time to his bumping and grinding against my back side.
He brought his finger to my mouth and I licked slowly, savoring the taste of cum until every last bit was gone. I never would’ve thought it possible, but his cock became even harder. Digging his hands into my hips, he pounded into me now, completely lost in the smell and sounds of our lovemaking. I leaned forward on my forearms and opened up even more to his relentless passion.
I listened to his cock slam in and out of my pussy; felt the way my cum soaked his shaft and couldn’t suppress the mewling sounds that gurgled in my throat with every new thrust. I was so goddamned close to orgasm.
“Touch yourself.” He rasped. “I want to see you playing with your pussy while you come all over my cock.”
Snaking my fingers between my legs, I rubbed my clit in time with the bumping and grinding of his shaft. The muscles in my pussy constricted with each push and pull and then waves of pleasure rolled over my body. I shouted his name as the cosmic orgasm ripped through me.
He cried out too and pounded harder and faster until he collapsed on top of me with a grunt. I fell to the bed and he rolled over beside me, pulling me into his arms and kissing my cheek and hair until my body was wrapped around his, my arm flung over his chest and leg hooked over him. The warmth of his chest against my cheek felt like home and I sighed, exhausted by our lovemaking but feeling ridiculously satisfied.
There wasn’t anything I didn’t love about Damon—except maybe the dirty little secret he was keeping about my father—and I wanted to know everything there was to know about him. One week ago the admission would’ve freaked me out. I was twenty-four-years old and had sworn I’d never lose my heart to a billionaire. Damon was in his mid-thirties and richer than Croesus. But it didn’t matter, because I felt closer to him than anyone I’d ever met in my life. He didn’t want me as a trophy to parade on his arm and he made me feel proud of my accomplishments however small they might be in comparison to his own. It was a heady combination.
“Tell me what you did while I was away, angel. I want to know what you do when I’m not around.”
My breathing slowed as I rubbed my hand across his stomach, wondering if he had a direct line to my mind and heart. I propped my chin on his chest and gazed at him with wide eyes. “You are a control freak, you know that, right?”
He pinched my bottom and grinned. “No, I’m not. I missed you. Besides, is it wrong of me to want to know everything there is to know about you?”
The twinkle in his eyes told me he knew I was teasing him and his admission sent a warm glow spreading through my body, starting in the center and working its way out.
I laid my head on his chest again. “I worked most of the time. But on Saturday morning I met with a young woman hoping to start her own bakery business.”
“Hmmm…” He squeezed my shoulder. “What prompted you to do that? How do you know her?”
With my finger twirling in his chest hairs, I glanced up and studied his face. Bald curiosity radiated from his gorgeous blue eyes and I suddenly wanted to tear down the walls around my heart and let him in completely.
“I volunteer for a not-for-profit organization several hours every month, offering free advice to low income entrepreneurs. You know, giving back to those in need. I’ve struggled to make my way the past year and if I can help anyone else, then I want to do it. My knowledge goes far beyond college text books. Working at my father’s restaurant taught me a lot about running a successful business. He entrusted me with a lot of the other aspects of running the business. Ordering food and supplies from the vendors. Hiring the hostesses and waitresses. Training. Even some of the bookkeeping.”
My mind drifted back to the days when I woke every morning and dragged my tired ass to Let It Rayne for work. I’d never fully appreciated all that my father had taught me until I’d moved to Chicago and was on my own.
I snorted and propped myself up on one elbow. “I learned more running that restaurant under my father’s guidance than I did in college.”
Damon leaned up and kissed my lips. “Sounds like it to me. You’re amazing. Do you know that? Sharing your time with those women is special.”
“And men,” I said with a smirk. “There are low income men who want to run a successful business.”
He growled and nipped at my ear. “You’re such a tease. But so long as you keep it all business, then I’m proud of that, too.”
“Proud?” I asked with an arched brow. Even though I’d felt his pride in me, it was refreshing to actually hear him say it. I wanted his approval and that scared me, because I didn’t really know where our relationship was going. “Parents are proud. Not…” I stuttered to a halt and looked away. “Whatever you are to me.”
“Yes. Proud.” He laid my head on his chest and held me close. “Can’t I be proud of the woman I’m banging?”
I laughed
and pinched him in the side. “You’re an ass sometimes.”
“Yes, but you enjoy this ass very much.” He grabbed my hand and placed it on his butt until I rubbed of my own volition.
“What else did you do? Anything fun?” he asked.
“I turned Giovanni down three times,” I whispered, continuing to rub his ass. “He was relentless all weekend. I thought he would’ve returned to New York by now. He’s not taking no for an answer. I’m afraid I might have to meet with him once to make my point quite clear.”
Damon stiffened and then sat up to glare down at me. “You’re not going anywhere near that asshole.”
CHAPTER 13
Betrayed
My gut bristled with anger at his sudden controlling behavior and I sat up, too. Being my lover didn’t give him the right to tell me what to do.
“Don’t go all caveman on me, Damon. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for quite some time now, I’ll have you know.”
He ran his fingers through my hair and took a deep breath. I could sense the effort it took him to rein in his frustration. Fixing problems was his thing. And no one questioned him at work. But I wasn’t his employee.
“Look, I know you can,” he said, gazing deep into my eyes. “But I don’t like the idea of you alone with him. Let me talk to him. Can’t wait to tell him to back the fuck off. You’re my woman.”
My heart thumped an erratic beat. “Am I?”
He held my chin and forced me to look him dead on. “Yes, you are. And I won’t tolerate Giovanni pestering you. I’ll handle him. Ignore his calls.”
“Okay,” I said with a weak smile. But I wasn’t satisfied with the turn of our conversation yet. “Does that mean you’re my man?”
My chest tightened as I waited for his response. Was that what he wanted? To commit to one woman for the unforeseeable future.
He ran the back of his hand along my jawline and smiled. “Do you want me to be?”
“That depends,” I said, nuzzling my cheek against his hand. “What were you doing this weekend in New York?”
A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. The battle I had going on with my father was serious, but it was my battle to fight. Not Damon’s. Had he met with my father to try and settle our differences? Nothing else made sense and I was dying to know the truth. I laid back on the bed and pulled him with me. “Tell me, baby. You promised.”
He turned onto his side to face me, arching one eyebrow. “You really want to know? Who is the control freak now?”
I slapped him playfully on the arm. “Tell me.”
He caught my hand in his and jerked me toward him, kissing me with sensuously deep strokes of his lips. “All right, but now you’re going to hear every last boring bit of it.”
I snuggled onto my pillow and smiled, though my insides were tied up in knots. “Nothing involving my father is ever boring.”
“I disagree,” he said, hooking his leg over mine. “But we’ll get to that. As you so astutely guessed, I’m an investment banker. One of my clients is in the process of going public. We spent the weekend walking through the first draft of their offering document.”
“That sounds titillating.” I ran my hand down his arm with a cat-like grin. “No wonder you were so bored without me. What else? Did you enjoy any fine restaurants while you were in the Big Apple? Frequent any nightclubs?”
“None of that,” he said, tracing my jawline with his finger. “We worked late both Friday and Saturday and ate in.”
His hand dropped to my shoulder and stroked across my collarbone. His touch evoked warm shivers in my body, making it difficult for me to pay attention to his words.
“That’s standard protocol for these meetings. The client orders in crap and I fall into bed exhausted at the end of the day.”
“Did you work on Sunday, too?” I asked, catching his hand and placing a chaste kiss on the palm as I watched him closely. His response required my full attention.
He fell onto his back and stared at the ceiling. His eyes were guarded. Maybe a touch wary. And my stomach flipped. This wasn’t a normal reaction for Damon. He was always straightforward and direct.
The air between us grew tense and I suddenly wanted to push off this discussion to another time. Adrenaline spiked through my veins and I felt restless. Though a part of me was glad to finally get the discussion past us. Leaning up on one elbow, I stared down at his tortured face expectantly.
“I took care of personal business with your father,” he said, kissing my lips.
“What kind of personal business?” I asked, sitting up and giving him my undivided attention.
He’d piqued my curiosity and I waited patiently for him to confess his reasons for meeting with my father. But I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. Inserting himself in the middle of my problems wasn’t cool, especially without talking to me about it first. Still, it was a forgivable offense since it came from a good place.
A minute ticked by without a word spoken and my brow knitted. Why was this so difficult for him? I bit my lower lip and studied his face. His intense stare sent shivers rippling along my spine.
“I offered to purchase Let It Rayne,” he finally said.
Our eyes connected as his words sank into my addled brain. I gaped at him with a thousand questions hurtling through my mind at light speed and then I closed my mouth, unsure where to start. I opened my mouth again, only to close it almost immediately. Confusion flooded me and I shook my head a little to clear the cobwebs. There was no way I had heard him right. Why on earth would he want to purchase my family’s restaurant?
“Come again?” I asked, my voice little more than a croak.
“I’m negotiating with your father to buy Let It Rayne,” he said in an even tone of voice. Reaching for my hands, he grasped them firmly in his and rubbed soothing circles in the palms. “You’re too young to remember this, but your father didn’t purchase Let It Rayne. He won the restaurant from my father. In a game of poker, to be exact.”
Let It Rayne had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember. My father loved that place—almost more so than the rest of his dynasty. I pulled my hands away and stood, heading to the closet in the hallway where I retrieved a nightshirt, pulling it over my head. We needed to sort this out and I couldn’t think straight while naked.
Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “You’re mistaken, Damon.”
“No, I’m not mistaken,” he said, standing and pulling on his boxer shorts, watching me warily from the bedside.
I ventured into the kitchen and poured a glass of water from the tap. My gut clenched as I processed the information and a question burned a path to my tongue, demanding to be asked. How long had Damon been planning to make an offer on Let It Rayne?
“That restaurant has been in my mother’s family for generations,” he continued softly, but forcefully. “My father was a fucking bastard for gambling it away without a care.”
“Water?” I asked over my shoulder. My voice cracked and reverberated in my chest.
“Yes, please.”
I didn’t want to hear anymore…didn’t want to consider what this meant. Did Damon know who I was when he’d approached me that first night in Midnight Blue? He certainly knew before he fucked me senseless on his couch. My mouth felt unbearably parched as he padded over to me, keeping a respectful distance between us. This next part was not going to be easy and I dreaded his answer because a part of me already knew where our conversation was headed.
“What did my father say to your proposal?” I asked, turning to meet Damon face-to-face before sipping my water.
He took a deep breath and leaned his hip against the kitchen counter. “He was agreeable under one condition.”
I swallowed hard. “Which was?”
“If I can get you to move back home, then it’s a done deal.”
My shoulders slumped and he reached out to pull me into his arms.
“I’m not going back,�
� I said, burying my face into his chest. “I’m sorry, Damon. But you can’t ask that of me. Even if the restaurant has been in your family for generations. There has to be another way.”
Kissing the top of my head, he sighed and tightened his hold. “I’d never ask you to go back home given the circumstances.”
“My father is a fool to think you could convince me.”
I glanced up and almost flinched at the guilt and sorrow reflected in Damon’s eyes. There was more to this than he was letting on. What was he hiding from me? He averted his gaze and I stepped back, placing my hand over my stomach as a nauseating thought struck me. Fuck. My father couldn’t possibly have known Damon was my lover. But he knew I worked at Midnight Blue.
“He wanted you to fire me, didn’t he?”
Damon nodded and my heart shattered into tiny pieces. Chicago was hundreds of miles away from New York but I still couldn’t escape my father’s clutches. And now Damon found himself in the middle of it all—having to choose between me and his family’s restaurant.
“That’s not all,” he whispered. “He asked me to ruin your reputation. Make some calls so there was no chance you’d ever find another bartending job in town.”
Shock rocked through me and I slumped against the kitchen counter, the devastation engulfing me. Tears glistened in my eyes as I fought to bury my pain beneath a thick layer of callouses I’d built over the years. How could my father choose Giovanni’s side and do this to me?
“Oh, my God.” My head snapped up and I stared at Damon wide-eyed. “What if you’d met with my father before you knew about Giovanni? I shudder to even think about it.”
Damon cleared his throat, and then licked his lips. He couldn’t meet my gaze when he said, “I’ve been trying to buy Let It Rayne back from your father for several months.”
Breaking His Rules Page 12
