"Good enough. Thanks. The conversation took a turn for the worst. I'm good when I'm single, but being with someone like Erica will just bring it out of me. I hate it."
"Why? Women love a strong man." She reached out, but he moved away.
"Because I wanna be loving, but it's hard. I don't even know why."
"You objectify them?"
"A little, yeah. Let's change the subject. I haven't dated since college, and things have honestly been great. I don't plan on starting soon."
"You're making yourself out to be a monster." Bethany chuckled, but the sound fell flat as Matt waved her off and left her stewing in her own thoughts. Whatever was going on with him, she'd have to talk with Damon about it later.
*
She glanced up from reading a magazine on the bed in the room as the door opened. Damon walked in, looking like he'd been up for three days straight.
"Hey." He gave her a tight smile and dropped his bag just inside the door before pulling off his suit jacket.
"Hi, baby." She got up and moved toward him, pulling him down for a long sweet kiss. There was no fire to it, but it was almost a good thing. They were dancing around each other as if they were both waiting for the other to strike, to pull back and deny the other.
"Your flight go okay?" He kissed her again and ran his hands over her hips to squeeze the top curve of her ass.
"Yeah. It would have been better with you being with me, but I was still pretty pissy toward you, so maybe not." She smiled and pulled from him, turning and walking toward the bed. "Come lay down with me until we have to go."
"Sounds like a plan to me." He pulled off his tie and undid his shirt before letting it drop to the ground behind him. "Why were you pissy? You stood me up."
She opened her arms to him and cradled his head against her chest as he snuggled up beside her and let out a long sigh.
"You refuse to call or text me. We've had two or three days since getting back from Jamaica where we haven't talked." She kissed the side of his head and groaned as he rolled her onto her back and moved to lay on top of her.
"You have fingers and a phone too. Why do I have to be the one calling all the time? This is the twenty-first century." He licked at his lips and tugged her blouse down as he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth. The soft lace covering her breasts was little protection against his assault.
"You wanna be in control here, but nowhere else? Is that what I'm hearing?" She pushed at his shoulders.
He moved back to his knees and ran his hands up her legs, squeezing softly. "I'm in control everywhere, Beth. If you wanna try and tug it from my tight grip, go for it baby. I'd love to see you own it."
"Own you?" She reached up and brushed her fingers over his lips as he tugged her shorts down her legs.
"You already own me, you've just denied yourself the opportunity to flaunt that." He brushed his knuckles over her mouth and licked at his lips. "How long do we have?"
"Forty minutes until we need to meet Matt downstairs." She bit her tongue on his comment about flaunting anything. He'd denied her that opportunity when he left the note about hiding her fucking ring.
"That's just enough time to lose myself in you." He moved back off the bed and worked his slacks off his hips.
She sucked in a sharp breath as he climbed back on the bed naked, hard and hungry. He leaned down and bit the edge of her panties before pulling them down her legs with his teeth.
"Damon. Do we really-"
"Shhh." He moved back up her body and forced her legs open. "You and I need this more than anything else we might get this weekend."
"Each other?"
"Yes, baby. Hold on tight." He pressed his hands beside her head and smiled as he dipped his hips and impaled her.
A long cry left her as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his narrow hips. "You could have warned me."
He leaned down and licked at her ear. "I'm gonna fuck you now. That all right?"
"Yeah," she whispered before giving in to the carnality that lay between the two of them. Passion was fueled by many different emotions, but in the moment it was neediness. Both of them searching for the other and yet missing the mark over and over again.
"Good. Give yourself over to me and stop thinking. Work me hard from below, Beth. Bring me over the edge and I'll do the same to you."
She nodded and cried out his name as he crashed into her and lifted her legs, trapping them against his chest as he brought her to the edge with intense efficiency. His lips pressed tightly to hers as she felt the world explode, and oddly enough, for a moment, nothing mattered.
Nothing but him.
Chapter 11
Damon
Somehow the sex set him right, cleared his mind and left him feeling far more relaxed than he had when the day started. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her as they walked to the elevator. Matt had texted ten times to see when they were coming. The poor guy was nervous, and Damon couldn't blame him. The tension between his brother and Erica wasn't anything new, but had grown significantly over the last two years since Erica came to work for the firm.
Between trying to impress a high-class art dealer and Erica, Matt was going to be running circles around himself. Liquor. He needed to get a few drinks into him and things would be fine.
"Like my dress?" Bethany wrapped her arm around the back of his waist as they moved into the elevator and turned to face the door.
"Love it. I'm a little concerned about having to beat the men off of you, but it's worth it." He smiled and licked his lips as his eyes moved over the soft swell of her breasts. She was exquisite, and he hadn't been lying in his conversation with Charles. He was completely convinced that she was the woman for him, he only hoped she was sure of it too.
She lifted her left hand and smiled as she turned her attention to the large diamond sitting on her finger.
"There's no need to beat anyone off of me. This right here makes it more than obvious that I belong to you."
"And you do." He turned and pulled her flush against him before kissing the tip of her nose. "Only wear that when we're not in the office, okay?"
"I know." Her smile faded a little. "I got the message loud and clear the other day."
"And you understand why?" He pressed his fingertips under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "My request is not without reason."
"I know." She moved back and refused to look up at him. "It just stung a little."
"I didn't mean for it to." He took her hand as the elevator opened and walked out in the large openness of the hotel lobby. "I hired your friend back."
"My friend?" She moved up beside him and intertwined their fingers.
"Yeah, the little shit you were using to make me jealous."
"What? I wasn't... Oh. Philip." She shook her head. "We're just friends. Nothing more."
"I recall you saying that already. I took your word for it and gave him the job back. I did it for you." It was partially true. The kid hadn't done anything wrong but draw Bethany's attention away. He shouldn't have lost his job in the first place and after getting the opportunity to step back from the high-emotion of the situation with Bethany and Sadie, Damon had discovered the error of his ways.
No need to open the door to another possible law suit.
"Somehow I doubt it was all for me, but either way, thank you. He's a good guy and thinks a lot of you."
Damon ignored her comment, not wanting to dive into just how good of a guy the Aussie was. He had a thing for Beth, and though his grades and drive were impressive, Damon would be keeping an eye on the little shit.
Matt turned and let out an exhausted sigh as Beth released Damon's hand.
"Shit. We have thirty minutes before we're supposed to meet Jonathan. Let's go." Matt huffed and walked toward the door, in a dramatic fashion. Damon smiled, unable to help himself. Matt's work would speak for itself. He had nothing to worry about.
"I thought it was appropriate to be casually late for these things. It speaks of your importance as an artist." Damon shrugged as Beth turned and glared at him over her shoulder. He chuckled and walked out behind the two of them.
Her dress fit her beautifully, tight on her hips and accentuating her ass in a way that had his stomach tightening again. He could make love to her ten times a day and still want another turn buried deep inside of her.
Love or Lust?
Scary enough, there were times he wasn't too sure of the answer. Love seemed like the right answer, but after only three weeks, was it possible? Maybe. Maybe not.
He got in the back of the black Lexus next to Bethany and dropped his hands in his lap as the driver pulled out of the hotel and headed downtown to the art gallery they were scheduled to be at in ten minutes.