“Most assuredly, and as a side benefit, it’s silk and soft and beautiful,” he says
“Now I have to stay up and read.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re sitting in the car parked in front of my house.
“Kat, I wanted to say something about the kiss tonight.”
“I’m sorry. I had a moment, and I reacted impulsively.”
He opens his door and rounds the car. When he reaches my side, he pulls me out a little too roughly, causing me to stumble into his arms. Before I register another thought, Damon’s lips are on mine. It seems like hours before we end the kiss that makes me feel weak in the knees.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” He breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Can I come in for a few minutes? I’m not ready to leave you yet.” His eyes are downcast, so I tip up his chin to look into them, but all I see is uncertainty. Odd for such a confident man.
“That would be nice.”
We enter the empty house and make our way to the couch. In a matter of minutes, we’re a tangled mess of limbs and lips. I feel like a teenager.
Damon slows the pace and kisses me leisurely. His tongue delves deep inside my mouth, and when he pulls back, he sucks in my lower lip, only to devour me again.
He leans back and licks his lips. “I’ve got to go.” Damon stands and dashes for the door.
I chase after him, but he’s halfway down the sidewalk before he turns and says, “See you Wednesday.”
What the hell just happened?
Chapter Ten
Monday morning, I dig right into my donation requests and land the hottest leather bags available. They’ll be the perfect container for all the goodies I’ll get.
After a few more calls, Trevor rushes in. “Kat, I’m so sorry I’m late. We were supposed to be out of here an hour ago for the tour. Grab your stuff, and let’s go.”
With my sweater in my hand and my purse over my shoulder, I run after Trevor, who has legs twice as long as me. I’m barely in the car before he takes off.
He races through traffic and gets us to Ahz in record time. It doesn’t matter that my stomach sits in the heel of my right boot or my heart beats like I ran a marathon, we’re here, and no blood was shed.
He races into the building and stops in the middle to take a breath.
“The restaurant will be here on the first floor,” he says on an exhale. “The rest of the floors are entertainment venues.” He points to the wall at the back. “The elevator is over there. Why don’t you take a self-guided tour, and I’ll catch up with you?”
Floor by floor, I go until I’m in the VIP lounge. The place is dark and plush with comfy groups of seats everywhere, but it’s the tall booths surrounding the room that intrigue me. They’re private enclosures, big enough to sleep on, and I can’t resist the urge to try one out.
Lying on the velvet sofa, I stare at the ceiling. The lights above come on, and I watch people walking above me through the glass flooring.
Holy smokes—I can see everything. My imagination takes off, and visions of dancing bodies fill my head. There are scantily clad women with their hard-body partners swaying above me. I think of several girls I know who are averse to panty lines and giggle at how exposed they’d be walking across this floor. Looking up a girl’s skirt from this room could get you an eyeful. Damon must have been having naughty thoughts when he came up with this design.
I visit the glass dance floor and keep to the tiled sides, so I don’t flash my utilitarian, white, cotton undies today.
An hour later, Trevor finds me on the rooftop terrace, where he talks about his vision for opening night, and I update him on my gift bag progress.
“You’re killing it,” he says.
I smile because he’s right. I am killing it. This job was custom made for me.
The next two days go by quickly as I work on various projects for Trevor and attend classes. Damon and I talk every night, but neither of us brings up the kisses we shared Sunday.
On Wednesday, I hurry home to get ready for my date. I know it’s not a real date, but I can’t stop thinking that our time together is more than what we tell ourselves.
Unfortunately, with my new schedule, I’m behind with my reading. With a good half hour before he arrives, I read the next several chapters.
Holy Moses, now I know why he gave me the scarf. If his intent was to stir emotion, he gets an A-plus.
Two can play at his game. Dressed in a low-cut T-shirt and jeans, I take the scarlet silk from the box and tie it loosely around my neck. What a great reminder of the bondage chapter.
The roar of his Mustang rattles the windows as he pulls up in front of the house. I rush out the door with the book in my hand and hop into his car.
“I would have come to the door for you, Kat.”
“I know, but I’m so excited to talk about the chapter. I think our discussion will titillate, don’t you?” I play with the scarf, wrapping it around my wrist repeatedly.
“You’re doing that on purpose. Stop it, or we won’t get to dinner.” His tongue slips out of his mouth to moisten his lips, and all I can think about is how much I want to suck that tongue into my mouth.
“So many threats, and so little action,” I tease as I roll my tongue over my lips, mimicking him.
His eyes widen, and a soft murmur that sounds like hmm comes out.
Moon Mongolian Barbecue is the perfect location for tonight’s talk. The chapter was descriptive, and I’m sure I can make him squirm. He seems to enjoy making me come unhinged, so let’s see if I can turn the tables.
We both head to the buffet to fill our bowls with various meats, veggies, and sauces. While we wait for our food to grill, I reach for my silk scarf and weave it around both of my wrists, raising my hands above my head to grab his attention. I keep twisting the ends until I’m bound.
“Is this what you had in mind?” I whisper. “The fabric is soft, yet so strong.”
Damon lunges forward and unwinds the scarf from my wrists and places it back around my neck. “Be careful, Kat. You don’t want to go there. You don’t know what you might unleash.” He bites his lower lip and lets it pop free. “I’d have no problem tying you up right here in front of everyone.”
Shocked, I step back but never stop playing with the soft fabric.
His expressive eyes track my every move. I think about his threats and convince myself they are simply that—empty threats.
Once we have our plates of food, we walk to our table and start tonight’s book club meeting.
“What’s your take on this week’s read?” I ask.
“Well, last week we discussed their good looks and how that might influence them. Do you still think that’s the case?” He eats a forkful and looks to me for an answer.
“I think their attraction to each other draws them together. Combined with the pure sexual chemistry they share, it’s addictive, but it goes deeper than that. She cares about him and wants to please him because she wants to be everything he desires.”
“Don’t you think being someone’s everything is taking it too far?” he asks.