Damien went onto the bed a moment after her, his mouth seeking one nipple while his fingers found the other one. He tugged and tweaked the one nipple while he twirled his tongue around the other. Kendra gripped the bedsheets, her body already on sensory overload.
“Damien, you’re driving me crazy.”
“I love how you respond to me,” he told her, talking around her nipple.
“Damien, I swear, I’m already close.”
“Mmm, is that so?” He kissed a path down to her belly, where he dipped his tongue into her belly button. Then his face went lower, to between her thighs.
A slow breath oozed out of Kendra.
And then he began to pleasure her there, until the sensations became too intense and Kendra was catapulted into a pool of sweet bliss.
* * *
Damien awoke to see Kendra getting dressed. Frowning, he said, “Hey.”
“Morning,” Kendra greeted him as she fastened her bra. “I didn’t want to wake you. But I’d better get back to my mother. She’s going to have questions about where I went—I’ll just tell her I was with my cousin.”
“Oh,” Damien said, disappointed. He was hoping that unlike when they’d been traveling, they would be able to laze around together in bed this morning. “What are you doing the rest of the day?”
“Spending it with my mom. I don’t think I’ll have time to do anything else.”
His sense of disappointment grew, but he didn’t express that. Instead, he said, “I want to see you again.”
“Definitely. I’ll call you.” Her wink made it clear that she wanted more good times with him in bed.
She approached him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Certainly not the kind of kiss that spoke of the kind of passion they had shared last night when she had wanted so badly for him to make love to her.
“All right,” Damien told her. He didn’t know what else to say. But he did suspect that trying to engage Kendra on a deeper level would only make her put the wall back up. He would get to that, but not yet. Maybe all she needed was more time with him to realize that things could be different between them a second time around.
Minutes later, she left him. And Damien lay back on the bed, wondering what was going on between them. Kendra might be acting like a sex-starved vixen, but Damien believed more than that was at play. Something deeper.
Even if Kendra didn’t want to acknowledge it.
* * *
By the next day, Kendra was ready to see Damien again. Already, she’d missed him not being in her bed the previous night.
There was no doubt that the man rocked her world, and since she was already in for a penny, she might as well be in for a pound.
She called him, and when he picked up, she asked in a flirtatious voice, “Where are you?” She wasn’t sure how long Damien would be in town, but she had figured at least until Christmas Day. So why not see him as much as she could until they both had to head back to New York and D.C.?
“Actually, I was just heading out,” he told her.
“Oh. Last-minute shopping?” Kendra asked.
“No, I’m going to see Alecia, my goddaughter.” He paused. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“Really?”
“Sure,” Damien said. “Why not? And maybe we can get something to eat afterward,” he added.
Kendra had had something else in mind when she’d called Damien, but just hearing his voice she knew that she wanted to see him regardless. “Why not?” she agreed.
“I’ll pick you up,” Damien said. “It will be easier that way.”
“Okay. Half an hour?”
“See you then.”
* * *
Just less than half an hour later, Damien was at her door. She gave him a bright smile as she greeted him, thinking to herself that he was looking better every time she saw him.
The drive to his friends’ place took less than ten minutes, and once they got to the door and Kendra saw the beautiful couple standing there, she realized that the man looked familiar.
“Hey,” Damien greeted them warmly, stepping into the foyer. Kendra followed him.
“Hello, Damien,” the woman, who Kendra had already learned was named Tonya, said brightly, stepping away from her husband to give Damien a hug. “And this must be Kendra.”
“Yes,” Damien said. “Kendra, this is my friend Steve.” He gestured to the tall, handsome man. “And this is his wife, Tonya.”
“Kendra.” Steve’s eyes lit up. “It’s nice to see you again.” His smile was wide and knowing. It was the kind of smile that told Kendra Damien had spoken to Steve about her recently.
“Yes,” she said. “You do look familiar.” She hesitated for a second. “We went to school together, correct?”
“Yep.”
“You did?” Tonya asked. And then the sound of a crying baby filled the air, strong yet fragile. Tonya’s eyes lit up. “That’s my angel waking up now. Excuse me.”
Kendra watched as Tonya hurried into the nearby living room, where a bassinet was set up. She reached into it for her crying daughter, and Alecia immediately settled upon being cradled in her mother’s arms.
Kendra walked toward them, looking at the darling bundle in a tiny pink jumper. Alecia had a round face, bright brown eyes framed with thick lashes and a full head of curly dark hair.
“Oh my goodness,” Kendra said, a feeling of warmth filling her heart. “She’s absolutely beautiful!”
Tonya beamed with pride. “Thank you.”
Tonya began to walk toward the sofa, where she took a seat. Kendra sat beside her, taking a closer look at Alecia. She was adorable.
“How old is she?” Kendra asked.
“Three weeks old yesterday. She’s being christened this weekend, and we’re so glad Damien was able to make it here for that.”
“May I?” Kendra asked.
Tonya extended the baby to her, and Kendra took her gently in her arms. Alecia looked up at Kendra with wide, curious eyes. Her little hands were curled into tiny fists.
“Hi, there,” Kendra said and touched the baby’s fist with her finger. A moment later, Alecia opened her hand and wrapped her tiny fingers around Kendra’s large one.
“Oh my, she’s seriously one of the cutest babies I’ve ever seen,” Kendra commented. And as she looked down at Alecia and listened to her cooing sounds, emotion flooded her. An emotion she didn’t expect. But suddenly, she was remembering her goal. The goal that she would be married by the age of thirty and on her way to becoming a mother.
The sad reality was that she was nowhere near that goal.
Or was she…?
“I can’t believe how much this little baby has changed me,” Tonya commented. “I used to think I had it all. Steve, my career as a lawyer. I always knew I wanted children, but I figured there was no way I would give up my career for them. And I’m not saying I will for sure, but right now, I have no desire to go back to work. Every day, I love her more and can’t imagine how I lived without her before now. It’s like everything I did before her pales in comparison to becoming a mommy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my work I’ve accomplished. But she is what I’m most proud of.”
Kendra nodded. “I can only imagine.”
“So,” Tonya began in a lower tone. “You and Damien…I hear you used to date before. You’ve gotten back together?”
“Oh,” Kendra said. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“He’s a great guy,” Tonya said, as though she had been enlisted to give Damien a ringing endorsement.
Kendra looked at Damien, who was sitting at the table in the nearby kitchen with Steve. Yes, he was a good man. She was remembering all the good between them now that they were spending time together again. And even holding this precious baby, she couldn’t help remembering that she had once believed she would have Damien’s babies one day.
But those dreams had died.
Damien looked at her. Held her gaze. And it took just that moment for those dream
s to come rushing back.
Kendra hadn’t wanted to entertain the idea that something deeper was happening between her and Damien other than sex because she needed to protect her heart. But now, as he regarded her with fondness while she held the baby…
Kendra felt the wall she’d erected around her heart slowly eroding.
* * *
By the time they left, Kendra was feeling unexpectedly emotional. Seeing Steve and Tonya so happy and with a child…Kendra was seeing the life she wanted for herself.
And she was with the man she’d always wanted it with.
But the idea of putting her heart on the line with Damien again was beyond terrifying. He was the one man with the power to destroy her.
Back in the car, as Damien began to drive away, he asked, “What did you think of Steve and Tonya?”
“Your friends are awesome,” Kendra told him. “They’re wonderful people. And Alecia…she is just the sweetest little thing.”
“I know,” Damien said, a smile touching his lips. “I’m honored to be her godfather.”
As she had throughout the evening, Kendra once again wondered what Damien would be like as a father. She imagined him being as attentive and proud as Steve was.
“You want kids?” Damien asked her.
“Definitely. I just don’t know that it will happen.”
Damien reached for her hand, and Kendra was caught off guard by the motion.
“It’ll happen.”
She met his eyes, and their gazes held for a long beat.
“We haven’t talked yet about…about us. But you mentioned a word the other day, and I think that’s key. You mentioned fate.”
Kendra’s stomach tightened. She knew this moment had to come, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
“Damien,” Kendra began, then sighed softly. “I think…it makes sense that you and I have taken a bit of an emotional trip down memory lane. Given how we met again and…and everything that’s transpired. But we would both be foolish to think that what happened between us means more than two old friends reconnecting.”
“Do you even want to know how I feel?”
“We were always great in the bedroom,” Kendra forged ahead. “The two of us alone together…we were bound to end up in bed. And I’ll admit—I missed that. I’m just trying to say that we don’t have to expect things to be different for us now. And I think it’s really important that neither of us becomes all glossy-eyed and starts thinking that the sex means something more. Look where that landed us the first time.”
“The first time we were both young,” Damien said. “We’re older now.”
“My life is still in D.C. And your life is in New York.” She shook her head vehemently. “No. I can’t do this again—”
“I think fate put us together. Because we had unfinished business.”
“And now we have some closure and can finally be friends. When I’m in New York, I’ll make sure to call you,” Kendra added, forcing a cheerful tone. “And when you’re in D.C., I hope you’ll do the same.”
Disappointment marred Damien’s handsome features. Kendra’s chest tightened painfully. But then she reminded herself this was the way it had to be. She wasn’t about to put herself in the position of being vulnerable again. Not with Damien Monroe.
That man had the power to destroy her.
“So we shouldn’t even bother having a conversation about it.”
“We are having a conversation.”
Damien was stopped at a red light, and he faced her for a long moment before speaking. “You know, one thing that I really couldn’t deal with years ago was the way you had to control everything in our relationship. There was never any bending with you. I loved you, but you seemed to love me only as it related to the script you had designated for your life.”
“I’m telling you that we can have sex and be adults about it,” Kendra said, the words feeling heavy as they passed through her throat. “Isn’t that what you guys want?”
Damien shook his head. “I thought you knew me better than that.”
He began to drive again, and Kendra didn’t speak. Her heart was beating erratically. She wanted nothing more than to accept what Damien was saying to her, but she couldn’t let herself believe that he wasn’t simply caught up in the nostalgia of the past.
“For years I haven’t stopped thinking about you, Kendra.”
“You had a funny way of showing it,” she retorted, anger now beginning to wash over her.
“I’m trying to tell you why. I didn’t think you were totally invested in me. I had to do all the bending with you, something I saw my father do and it only led to resentment between my parents.”
“This is exactly what I don’t want, to argue,” Kendra said as Damien pulled up in front of her house.
“I want us to have a conversation,” Damien stressed. “I’ve been giving you time, but now it’s time to deal with the past.”
“I say we not talk about the past. It’s only going to ruin what has been a pleasant time for us.”
“Exactly what will be ruined?”
“My mother gave up her dreams for my father. And you know what he did? He left us. He abandoned his three-year-old daughter. It destroyed my mother when he left.”
“And you?” Damien asked.
“I was weak once. But I’m not going to let a man ruin me the way my father did my mother.”
Damien looked at her in disbelief. “So your love for me was a weakness?”
“Okay, I’m getting out of the car now.” Kendra did not want to continue this conversation with Damien.
“And you’re putting your wall back up,” Damien said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. “Actually, you never let it down.”
“I’m not doing this,” Kendra said and gripped the door handle. She was flushed and nervous and had to get out of the car immediately.
And that’s exactly what she did. Before Damien could say another word, she threw the door open, hustled out of the car and ran into her mother’s house.
Chapter 11
Damien hit the gas and sped away from Kendra’s house. He was angry. Angry that after all this time, Kendra wouldn’t give him a chance.
He’d wanted to push her harder, call her out on all the nonsense she was spewing, then kiss her and make a liar of her line about how they would remain friends. But he was afraid that if he pushed too hard too soon, he would lose her forever.
Which was essentially what had happened anyway. Because she didn’t want to entertain the idea of a relationship, not even for a second.
Here Damien was, certain that fate had put them back together for a reason. He wanted to explore that.
Kendra didn’t.
Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe her heart had closed off to him ten years ago, and all that had happened between them now was as she’d said—a physical connection.
And even if she was lying through her teeth, as he suspected, how could they have a relationship if the same issues that had driven them apart years ago existed now? Damien couldn’t always walk on eggshells around her, and he wasn’t about to follow the script she wrote for their lives. If they were going to be together, it had to be an equal partnership and nothing less.
He drove through the neighborhood contemplating the disturbing thought that his feelings for Kendra were one-sided. Hadn’t he told himself that he was going to concentrate on finishing his residency and not worry about a relationship? Especially after having gotten married, the last thing he needed was to complicate his life with another relationship.
And yet…
His phone rang. He had an earpiece in, and it answered automatically after two rings. “Hello?”
“Damien!” came the frantic voice. “Damien, it’s my mother. Please—I need you. You have to come back. I don’t know—I don’t know what happened.”
Damien hit the brakes. “Kendra, calm down. Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I came in, called out to her, did
n’t see her. Then—then I saw her, and she was facedown on the floor!” Kendra sobbed.
“Is she conscious?” Damien asked.
“I—I’m not sure. She’s breathing, but she’s not moving.” Kendra managed the words clearly, but then emitted a grief-filled wail. “Damien, what if she’s dying?”
“She’s not going to die,” Damien told her. “I’m on my way back.”
Once he got back to Kendra’s house, he barely had the car in Park before he jumped out of it and charged up the front steps. He pushed the door open and rushed inside.
“Kendra?” he yelled out.
“In here!” Kendra called back. “In the kitchen!”
Damien bounded into the kitchen, where the sight he witnessed caused his chest to spasm. But a nanosecond later, he went into doctor mode.
“I turned her over,” Kendra said. “I hope that’s okay. Her breathing is very weak.”
Damien didn’t speak as he dropped onto his knees. He had been eyeing her mother’s chest and, unable to see any movement, he immediately lowered the side of his face close to her mouth to feel her exhalations. It was critical that he determine if she was breathing even before he felt for a pulse.
“Call 9-1-1,” he said, learning the worst. He immediately began to do chest compressions.
“Damien?” Kendra asked, dread filling her voice.
“Do it now!” Damien ordered.
He did a series of hard chest compressions, hoping to kick-start her heart. Her heart had stopped beating, but Damien didn’t want to tell Kendra that. He only hoped that critical minutes hadn’t passed.
Minutes that could mean the difference between a normal life and brain damage.
Or death.
And then he parted her mother’s lips and began to breathe into her, praying that it wasn’t too late.
* * *
At the hospital, it didn’t take much time for the official verdict to be given. And it was just as Damien had suspected.
Kendra’s mother, Lucinda, had gone into cardiac arrest.
Damien had done his best to keep her alive until the paramedics got there and was rewarded when Lucinda had begun to breathe. But whether or not her brain had been starved of oxygen for too long was yet to be determined.
Merry Sexy Christmas Page 17
