by Jada Sioux
But there was still something about her that struck Damien as off that night. A kind of sadness he hated seeing in her and that he didn’t know how to make go away. Even more, he should have been worried that a woman could have that kind of effect on him, but with Kiara, it was the furthest thing from his mind.
He slid his hand down that arching curve of her back, letting his wide palm rest on her round, mouthwatering ass. She shuddered a little, and he liked it. That was how it was meant to be – her on her toes, every glance making her flutter, and him, enjoying the way she reacted to the slightest of touches.
He knew what he had promised her. Without lavishing words, he had agreed to give her something dark, debaucherous and even dangerous. But the way she looked at him that night, almost frail in his arms, he knew he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t tear her down.
With that, he brushed his darkness aside and let himself enjoy the light for the time being. He cupped her chin with one hand, raising her face to meet his, and kissed her deeply.
For once, he could be gentle, and he wouldn’t worry about the consequences – at least not yet.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kiara
Damien’s lips fit hers as if they were made exactly for that purpose – kissing her over and over again. She’d known his kisses to be like the raging tide, rushing in, robbing her blind and then disappearing again. But this time, they were different.
He took his time, slowly and luxuriously exploring the limits of her pleasure. His tongue darted into her mouth, not like the conqueror, but like a snake looking to tease her out of her virtues. Despite her best intentions, she found herself eagerly being carried away by his need.
All night, she had been looking for a way to approach the subject of her possible pregnancy. Tasha was right, she had to tell him. Not only was he the father, but it was the humane thing to do. Even if he didn’t want to have any part in the child’s life, it would be cruel to hide it from him, and Kiara was sure the secret would eat at her until there was nothing left of her but a husk.
But how do you break it to a man like Damien Thatch that you might be pregnant with his child? How do you just tell him that this little secret fling has led to consequences neither of them were quite ready for?
So she had waited and bided her time, until she ran out of it. She couldn’t bear to bring Damien any more pain after he’d told her about the loss of his brothers. He’d only let his guard down for a second, but that had been enough to glimpse into the soul of this rock of a man, this giant of commerce and the bad boy, who worked so hard to keep the public seeing him as aloof and jaded.
And when he kissed her, any objections she may have formed and readied disappeared from her mind, lost amidst the embrace of his strong arms and the brush of his soft lips.
She replied to his kiss eagerly, surprising herself with her hunger. Her fingers grabbed at his strong shoulders, reveling in the feeling of his iron muscles under her touch. When his hand slid down the length of her side, she moaned softly into his mouth, a sound that was equal parts longing and lust.
He grazed her lower lip with his teeth, catching it between them before letting go. Damien swept her off her feet easily, gathering her in his strong arms, and carried her to a white recliner by the side of the infinity pool.
He set her down like the lightest feather, and she clung to his shirt, keeping him from straying too far as she tasted his mouth again. He grinned as he pulled away, undoing her grasp on him. Without a word, he let his hands trek down her body, skimming over her breasts, her stomach and her thighs, until stopping at the hem of her skirt.
Damien rolled it up slowly, revealing the lacy black panties she was wearing.
“What are you…“
“Shh,” he hushed her, hooking his fingers behind the fabric and pulling the panties down until they slid off around her ankles.
With the lightest touch, he trailed his hands up her long legs, stopping intermittently to shower kisses on her skin. Kiara let out a small mewl as he spread her legs, kissing the insides of her thighs. Damien unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off, revealing that body she had missed so badly. Every inch of him was like cut from marble, his wide shoulders the picture of strength.
He gave her a wolfish grin and pulled her lower on the recliner by her hips, leaving Kiara staring up at the starry sky. Damien continued his torturously slow path up her legs until his tongue reached the apex. He parted the wet, wanting folds with his tongue, tasting her. Kiara pushed her head back into the plush seat, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Oh my god, Damien,” she murmured softly.
He sucked her clit into his mouth, and the fire she’d been afraid to let blaze in her came to life once more. She couldn’t say no to him. He wouldn’t let her, and hell, she didn’t really want to.
Pushing all of her guilt and worry out of her head for now, Kiara’s fingers coiled into Damien’s hair, and she bucked her hips up and closer to him, needing more. His teeth grazed over her swollen clit ever so lightly, and his tongue lapped up the length of her sex, making her squirm underneath him.
But, of course, it had to be on his terms. Just as suddenly, the softness was out of his touch. He roughly pushed two fingers into her wet pussy, sinking in the whole way with one thrust. Kiara yelped, trying to squeeze her legs shut, only to have them spread again.
“I know what you need, Kiara. Don’t fight me,” Damien said, one hand scrunching the emerald fabric of her dress as he kept her down by the hip.
With quick, strong motions, he plunged his fingers into her time after time, covering them in her wetness. Her sex ached, and she found herself murmuring his name, pleading for release. Damien’s thumb flicked across her clit in maddening bursts. She rubbed herself against him like a cat in heat, completely unabashed.
Long nails scraped at the skin on his neck, and every noise she made was desperate. Damien’s hand slowed, staying in place with only his fingers curling up slightly and rubbing that most sensitive spot in her. Kiara shuddered uncontrollably, her breath catching in her throat.
Every second that passed was sweet agony, teetering on the edge, wanting to make it last and wanting to succumb to her release at the same time. Damien didn’t let her make the decision. Just as Kiara was reaching her peak, he flipped her over unceremoniously.
Her face was smushed into the covers as Damien dragged her up by the hips, leaving her on her knees and with her ass up. He smacked her across the ass, and she could feel the print his fingers left, soaked with pussy juices. All that carefully contained elegance she had been striving for was now gone. She was reduced to a wailing mess on a poolside chair, tormented by a man who always knew exactly what she wanted.
Damien shoved his fingers into her pussy again, but slowly this time, letting her revel in every second of it.
“You’re so tight, sugar,” he growled, and it was music to her ears.
She could sense him strumming with need, the strain so obvious in his words. Taking his time, he fucked his fingers in and out of her, her pussy clenching around them needily. Then, her eyes shot wide with surprise, and she tried to crawl away from him. The attempt was quickly stopped by Damien’s strong hands on her hips, holding her firmly in place.
His tongue licked up from her sex, all along the curve of her ass and to her asshole. Her breath grew ragged as he twisted his tongue around her asshole, just hinting at what he wanted to do with her. She’d never imagined she could like it, but combined with the way Damien’s fingers kept her pussy wanting more, she was almost ready to beg to be taken like that as well.
Kiara was so wet and ready she could barely understand why he hadn’t pushed her over the edge yet. Then, as if satisfied with the lengths he had taken her to, he took mercy on her. His devilish tongue pressed deeper just as his fingers scissored in her, harsh and demanding. The heat that had been pooling in her, taking over every inch of her body, was finally allowed to explode.
Eyes squeezed shut and h
er hands barely holding on to the sides of the chair, she folded into her orgasm. It spread in her like wildfire, leaving her moaning and writhing against Damien’s touch, unabashed and unashamed.
Finally, he pulled out of her. With a gentle touch, Kiara felt her dress being brought down over her ass, and Damien let her body slide down on the soft seat, spent and tired. He brushed the hair from her face, and Kiara opened her mouth as he pressed his fingers against her lips, still wet with her heat.
“Lick them,” he said simply, and she did.
Her hazel eyes locked on his, she watched him as her tongue and mouth willingly cleaned her juices off his fingers. It tasted sweet. He smirked as she sucked down around his fingers, letting her tongue move slowly, carefully, teasingly.
When he removed his fingers from her mouth, she thought she would collapse right then and there. The mounting stress that had been threatening to consume her was now a distant afterthought, or like a storm she knew was still brewing but not upon her yet.
She glanced down along Damien’s body until her eyes came to the hard bulge in his pants. Kiara bit the inside of her mouth. It had been too long since she’d been subjected to the knowledge that what she wanted was so close within reach and yet so far. She began to reach out, but Damien caught her wrist and brought her hand up to his mouth, kissing it instead.
“Not tonight, sugar. Tonight, we’re focusing on you.”
“But what if that’s what I want?” she asked.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Well, she couldn’t argue with that. Kiara shifted herself to rest her head on his thigh, closing her eyes. It felt nice, being there for a moment, not letting the harsh reality strike into her mellow afterglow. Though she knew things couldn’t remain like that forever.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kiara
“This is certainly nicer than the last time you stayed the night,” Damien’s voice called as he snuck up behind her and put his strong arms around her.
Kiara smiled, falling into the embrace. She was dressed in one of his button-ups and a pair of boxers she’d managed to scrounge from one of his closets in an attempt to keep from waking him up. Apparently she hadn’t been quite as stealthy as she thought she had.
“Well, like last time, I don’t think I’d know where to run to,” she said, remembering that night in New York that had started it all.
It almost felt like a lifetime ago. Her stomach twisted. It just meant that her pregnancy was getting far enough along that she might start showing soon. The happy glow she had about her waned a little, though Damien’s loving touch certainly helped rekindle some of its luster.
“Would you want to run away from me?” he asked, his deep voice licking at her ears.
“Isn’t that part of the game? Being hard to get?” Kiara asked, keeping her eyes carefully on the view that rolled out before her.
The house was perched on the side of a mountain and his living room windows overlooked the sloping expanse of the valley and the winery below. It wasn’t the New York skyline, but it was just as breathtaking. She noticed she was going to painstaking lengths to avoid looking at him in the reflection.
It was just too painful to face the fact that her fairytale bubble could burst at any moment, danger looming just outside, ready to pounce. Of course, she’d never made any attempt to actually hope that things could remain as they were, or that they could grow into anything larger and more substantial than a casual fling between unlikely partners. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t thought about it a few times.
Damien spun her around before her thoughts could wander any further down the dark path she had chosen. She smiled slightly as he pressed her hips against his, his arms wrapping around her waist like he was never going to let go of her.
“I think we moved past teenaged games a while ago, don’t you think?” he queried with a quirked brow.
She didn’t quite know how to respond to that. Had they? She still felt like an inexperienced girl whenever he was around, and the feeling kept compounding with the rest of the mess that was her life. Though he made her feel strong, sexy and desired, the fact that they were so very different and that there was a world between them didn’t really help her think it was going to last.
“You say that as if you’re implying there’s something more to what we’re doing here,” she said, trying hard to keep the regret out of her voice.
She reluctantly peeled herself out of his grasp and padded over to the kitchen that was joined with the big living room. Kiara found two cups in the cupboard and placed them under the coffee machine drip, busying herself with menial things so her body wouldn’t betray what her mind was trying to get across.
“Are you saying there isn’t?” Damien asked, following her.
He leant against the kitchen island. Looking at him for too long felt like staring into the sun. He was so intense in everything he did that seeing him in a more vulnerable state, his hair mussed from sleep and his body relaxed, dressed only in boxer shorts, Kiara almost wanted to throw caution to the wind again and bury her head in his shoulder and enjoy the moment. But wouldn’t that be cruel?
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m saying. You’re Damien Thatch, billionaire extraordinaire. You can have any woman you want, whenever you want her. And don’t get me wrong, I’m thoroughly enjoying this little fantasy, but I know it can’t last. We’re too different. There’s too much against this, and frankly, I’d rather not dream about something that’s never going to happen.”
Kiara bit her tongue. Dream? That was a big word. She saw Damien’s expression twist, getting darker for a moment before clearing again and leaving no sign of the displeasure that had been there just a second ago.
Could it be? Did Damien Thatch dislike the thought of it being just a fling? Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, but she forced that thought away. No time to get emotional again and imagine things that aren’t there.
She turned to grab the coffee, but he caught her by the wrist before she had the chance and pulled her to him, tucking her in his arms like that was the only place she was supposed to be.
“Alright. Have it your way. But if this is supposed to be just fun, then I think you need to lighten up a little, Miss Lockett. If this is just fantasy, then how about you act like a princess in a movie and stop fretting about what’s coming next. Just enjoy it. How about that?”
He smirked in that devilish way of his, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Relax and enjoy it? Her, Kiara Lockett, the woman who could make an Olympic sport out of worrying too much? Well, okay, maybe… If he asked nicely.
Kiara purred with pleasure, draping her arms around Damien’s neck as he kissed her sweetly, just light enough to fit in with the fairytale mentality and just hard enough to stir need in her. She protested a little as he broke the kiss, but his hands stayed on her waist, his thumbs smoothing over her skin through the fabric of the shirt.
“But just so you know, some fairytales are real, and it would serve you best if you didn’t try to fight it all the time. Unless you want me to get a little rough with you, in which case, feel free to keep resisting.”
“Is that a threat or a promise, Mister Thatch?” she asked, batting her lashes playfully.
“Whichever you want it to be, Kiara,” he growled, kissing her harder now.
It took the breath from her lungs, and Kiara was certain that’s just how he wanted it. She melted against him, her tongue darting into his mouth hungrily. Damien easily ignited the passion within her. She knew she should have been feeling guilty about not telling him about the pregnancy, but it was so damn hard to ruin the fantasy and tear it down to reality when the more palatable option was being served to her on a silver platter.
Just a little more… Then I’ll tell him, she calmed herself, eagerly kissing him back.
Sure. That was how it was going to go.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Damien
Damien sat back in his wide leather
chair, pursing his lips thoughtfully. It was the middle of the day on a perfectly nondescript Wednesday, and while he should have been thinking about his next acquisition, he couldn’t get his mind off of Kiara.
The night they’d spent at his Napa Valley mansion had been taking up valuable real estate in his thoughts for days now, and he didn’t find himself minding it one bit. The way her back curved into that delicious, round ass and the way her legs kept going on for miles, even when she was wrapped up in his silk sheets…
Damien smiled to himself. He was beginning to like being distracted like that.
Sure, it wasn’t the first time. There had been plenty of gorgeous women in his life, and he’d adored lavishing his attention on each and every one of them, but none had stuck quite like Kiara. Even when he had been in longer relationships, they hadn’t felt quite as natural and all-encompassing as his time with Kiara.
You’re getting into some deep trouble, Thatch.
The bigger problem was that he couldn’t wait to wrap himself in it even deeper. Kiara had made him promise that he would give her a few days to catch up on work, because another big pitch was just around the corner. He had reluctantly agreed without being able to muster any enthusiasm for the thought of not getting to spend time with her. After all, he did have work of his own to do.
Usually, it was Damien who made the rules – telling women when they would see each other again and on what terms, often not following through on his promises at all because something more interesting came up. It was all the more ironic that he was now the one teetering on the edge of his seat, waiting for the seconds to tick by until he could drag Kiara away from work again.
Suffice to say, he hadn’t got anything of value done in days, and it was starting to garner attention.
His secretary at Divinad, as well as Jasmine, his assistant, were close to losing their minds because of him. He’d pushed most of his meetings, citing the need to strategize – a good buzzword to make assistants and junior execs clear the way and get out of his hair. In truth, he’d mostly just been staring out of the window, imagining all the delectable ways he could make Kiara scream his name.
