Chapter 28
Skylar studied Damon while the limo took them back to the hotel. The police said they’d contact him with any news and promised they’d have a detail set up at the hotel to increase security. The rest of the charity event had been fun, but Damon had tried to follow her to the bathroom. He was that worried about what he saw as a threat.
She only wished she could convince him the stalker didn’t care all that much about her. It was all about hurting him; she was sure of it. She had her own suspicions about who it was, but didn’t think Damon would be willing to accept it just yet.
Night had fallen. Each streetlight they passed illuminated the tension in his face.
“You said you wanted to talk. So talk.” Of course he’d used that cliché.
It was just too damn bad that his melody was still playing in her head.
Damon sat forward and reached for her hand, but she crossed her arms and sat back against the leather seat of the limo. He sighed. “I know you said you’re not worried, but I am. Skylar, if anything were to happen to you…”
She snorted. “Plenty has happened to me. Shit you don’t even know.”
The next pass of fluorescent lights showed the hard angle of his jaw. “Exactly. You’ve been through enough, and I only want to protect you.”
“I protect me.”
“And if it’s outside your control?” Damon asked.
Her stomach clenched. “It’s not. Nothing is, not really. It all comes down to my choices.” And she’d made some stupid ones before she’d ended up held down and violated. “I mean—” Her throat felt so tight that even air couldn’t get through. She tried to clear it, forcing out the words. “I chose to get all jacked up that one time. If it hadn’t been for the drugs, I would have fought better. I can fight this stalker if it comes to it.”
“I don’t want you to have to.” His lips pressed together as the limo stopped under the lighting of the hotel. The glow highlighted his sweet face, even through the tint. “Skylar, I think—”
“I know what you think without you saying it.” She shoved open the door, the tight material of the dress she’d bought because it matched his eyes riding up as she pulled herself out of the limo. Cameras flashed. After their little love song performance, the paparazzi were out in droves. It was perfect to do what she’d promised she would do. She wished her stomach didn’t writhe at the reality of it.
Damon climbed out behind her, shutting the door and reaching for her hand.
Skylar shoved him hard in the chest, making him stumble back into the side of the limo.
She cocked her hand on her hip. “I warned you before. I don’t do all that exclusive shit.” She moved closer, running a finger down his chest and letting her lips spread into a smirk. “You come up tonight, and I’ll rock your world one last time. Don’t worry, I’ll send you off on your tour smiling, sweet face.” She moved in, finding his lips soft but unmoving as she planted one on him. “You definitely deserve it,” she said, loud enough for the cameras. “You’re amazing.” She stepped back with a shrug. “You shouldn’t have let someone like me so close. I’ll eat you up.” She turned, holding her hard smile for the cameras as she stalked inside the hotel. Her damn eyes burned, but letting them see actual tears wouldn’t do at all.
Damon stared after Skylar, where she’d disappeared inside, his chest feeling like a huge hole had been carved out of it. She’d done what he was going to suggest, but without the confirmation that it would be only for the public eye, her words sounded much too real.
The cameras continued to flash, and he wondered how many times he’d have to see his stunned expression after this. The breakup was for the best. Picture after picture had been seared into his memory, ripped images of the woman he loved.
Her hazel eyes had shimmered more blue than any other color as she’d broken up with him. She’d done what she promised, making him look good to the media while she took all the blame.
Questions flew at him in a jumbled haze as he pushed through the crowd and into the hotel. More security was inside, and they kept the paparazzi out of the lobby as Damon made it to the elevator. He had to wait for it to return. The hum of his ride up to the suite started to drift in through the fog of his mind, and the final ding sounded downright loud.
Skylar paced the width of the suite. She’d already kicked off her black heels, and the skin of her bare feet looked pale and vulnerable. She didn’t look at him as he stepped off the elevator, and the doors whispered shut behind him.
“I think that was pretty good,” she said. “I’ll have Mandy check, but your image should—”
“Skylar.” She paused at her name, and Damon crossed to her. He stopped right in front of her, searching her eyes and finding those same shimmering nerves he’d seen outside. “I love you. You’re still mine, aren’t you?”
“I belong to me. But if you’re talking the exclusive thing, then yeah, I—” She broke off. “Wait. Did you say—”
Damon kissed her. She let out the most adorable sound of surprise, but then took over. Her hands wrapped around his neck even as she bit his lip. He opened his mouth like she wanted, letting her tongue dive in as his arms encircled her and pressed her against him. Her kiss didn’t stop, but he had to make sure and pulled back enough to ask, “Is holding you like this okay?”
Her eyes had squeezed shut, and her breath shuddered out. “Say that other sappy thing again.”
He smiled. “I love you, Skylar.”
She shuddered in his arms. “Fuck, that makes me wetter than your damn song did earlier.” She lunged for his mouth even as she leaped up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
His hands slid to her ass as he pulled her as close as he could with their clothes still on. He carried her to the bedroom, nearly tripping when her lips moved to his ear.
“I’m crazy about you,” she said
Heat raced over his skin as her arms tightened around his neck.
“Love? Shit, I don’t know. I’ve never—” She arched into his erection and let out the erotic mewl he loved so much.
“I don’t need the words, not if you’re not sure yet,” Damon told her. “I want you to be certain before you say it.”
Her head lifted, and she studied him, frowning. “You really are sweet, you know that?”
Damon turned, pulling her close to his chest as he fell on his back on the bed. “Not so sweet that I don’t want inside of you.”
She pressed her hips hard against his erection. “Fuck, yes. Naked. Now.”
They both laughed as they began removing clothes and getting distracted. She found his lips just beneath the cotton of his undershirt, and he forgot they’d been dragging it over his head as he lost himself in her taste.
“Mmm, I want your eyes on me too.” Skylar tugged his shirt free, dropping it over the side of the bed. She stared down into his eyes, her hand coming up to graze the side of his face. Her smile fell, and she looked almost fragile in the splash of light filtering in from the living room.
“What is it?” Damon asked, reaching for her.
She scrambled off the bed. “I want to see you better.” She walked around the room, turning on every lamp as she went until the shadows fled from every corner.
“Skylar?” he asked.
Her hands jerked open a drawer, and she pulled out an entire box of condoms. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
Damon sat up. His eyes skimmed her face, still not sure what he was seeing. “We don’t have to make love, Skylar. I didn’t mean to pressure you. If—”
“Hell no, I was serious about being turned on.” She leaned over, giving him a hard kiss. “Shocked the hell out of me, all the feels from that damn song.”
His hand found her arm, his fingers sliding over the goosebumps that had risen along it. “You’re serious.” His heart squeezed. “That makes me happy.”
Skylar’s eyes slid away from him. “I don’t make shit up.”
His hand paused in its slow slide. “You think I do?”
“No!” She bit her lip, shrugging. “I mean, not on purpose. You meant it, and the words are still doing things to me as they repeat in my head, but it’s not true. You don’t love me.”
Damon’s stomach tightened. “I know it hasn’t been much time.”
“No, it hasn’t, but that’s not it. Things have gotten intense, and you’re fucking perfect, okay? Let’s not talk about this.” She reached between them for the fastening on his slacks. “I want you inside me. Fucking or making love or whatever you want to call it.”
Damon’s arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her over him again, trapping her hands between them. “If you want to have sex, I’m not opposed.” He couldn’t fake disinterest, not with her hands pressed against his erection. “But doing that won’t be like running. I adore you, Skylar. The things you say, the energy you have, even these nerves beneath the surface that no one sees but me.” He loosened his hold on her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “There’s nothing about you, or the past you still haven’t told me about, that will change my mind. You’re perfect as well.”
Skylar leaned down, her mouth open and hot as she kissed him. She wriggled against his erection, her thighs cuddling him through his pants. Her tight dress had ridden up to her waist, allowing her legs to part.
He groaned into her mouth as she slid her hot center over his hardness. He was surprised she was enjoying pressing against him so much, as there was no way to stimulate her G-spot that way. Though it wasn’t the first time she’d gotten excited that way, he realized.
Her lips parted on a gasp. “Why are you so…” Her eyes squeezed shut as she arched against him again. “I want your hands on me. It’s weird, but I want…” She trailed off again as she shuddered.
“It’s not weird. I want that too.” Damon found the zipper of her dress and slid it all the way down. It had been sleeveless, and she hadn’t worn a bra. Her breasts were as perfect as he remembered when the dress gaped. Her legs straightened, and he helped her to wriggle it off. She started to remove her underwear with it, but his hands stilled hers. “Not yet.”
“I’m not going to want to hold back for long, sweet face,” she warned, straddling his hips again. A shiver ran through her body as she pressed against him, even with all the cloth between.
“We’ll see about that.” He sat up, moving his hands to capture her face and kissing her. She let him lead this time. Their lips clung to one another. His hands slid down, his fingers grazing the side of her neck and making her shudder and arch. “Tell me if anything doesn’t work.” His lips followed his fingers, nipping at her neck.
Another shiver ran through her. “Good so far.”
He kept the nips gentle as he moved them over her neck, licking at her collarbone. His hands had gone farther, mapping out both arms in swirling caresses. He linked their fingers for a quick squeeze as her head turned to give him more room at her neck. She began rocking against him as he moved their hands together to her hips. Both his and her fingers skimmed up her torso, pausing as they reached the swell of her breasts. She shuddered at the sensation. He kissed up her neck until he found her ear and bit.
“Fuck,” she moaned the curse, and euphoria filled his body, making him tingle. She was liking what he did.
He moved her hands to his shoulders. “Hang onto me,” he said.
She did, gripping him hard. “Your pants. They need to be gone.” But she continued to move her lower body against his erection.
“Soon,” he promised before his own hands returned to her breasts. He mapped the soft slope with his hands before circling her nipples with his flat palms. The tightened nubs liked the calluses on his fingers even better, but he continued to rub, not pinch.
“I—” She swallowed as her body lifted and slid down hard along the length of him.
He bit her neck as she did it, and Skylar cried out when the orgasm shuddered through her.
Damon wrapped his arms around her after she’d collapsed against him.
“What the hell?” she mumbled even as her mouth kissed his neck. He doubted she was aware of the kiss. “That’s not possible. You weren’t inside me.”
He massaged her back. “Did it feel good?”
“I mean, I fucking came.” She snorted as her body straightened. They both lost their breath as that pressed her against his erection. “Of course I liked it. But—” Her eyes widened.
“That was all clit action,” Damon admitted. He’d known not to touch her down there, not with his fingers. So he’d let her do it. “I didn’t mean to, but your body was moving so beautifully that—”
Skylar started to cry.
Damon’s eyes burned. “I’m sorry. I should have stopped it.”
“N-no,” she gasped. He held her through the storm, and she held him back, her tears wetting his neck. Her breath shuddered at the end, and she lifted away, wiping at her cheeks with the heels of her hands. “I’m such a fucking mess.”
“You’re not.” His thumbs moved to help, gentle as he slid them beneath her eyes, taking the last of the dampness with him.
“I haven’t been able to come like that, not without some G-spot action or penetration, not since the rape.” Skylar stiffened, then hid her face against his shoulder again.
Damon was glad she couldn’t see his expression. He’d known, but hearing her say it still did things to him. He rested back on the bed, gathering her against him. One hand moved to her back, and the other to her hair, slow, gentle circles following. His teeth ached because of how hard his jaw had clenched, and he couldn’t speak.
“That’s what it was. The six-guy thing.” Her nails dug into his shoulders as she held on. “They played with my clit the whole time. Kept making me come even though I didn’t want to, and fucking howled about it.” Her hands tightened even more.
The ache they created matched the one in his chest. Damon continued his gentle massage, knowing there were no words that would make it better.
When he didn’t jump on her confession, her tension began to fade. Their breathing slowed together. When her face stopped hiding and moved to rest on his chest instead, both of his hands shifted to her scalp, working through her hair with every pass.
“I fucking love these hands of yours.” Skylar sighed as she relaxed fully. “You make tingles race everywhere.” One of her hands moved to his chest, pausing over his heartbeat. “I never thought it was possible.”
“Enjoying a scalp massage?” Damon asked. “Is that why it became something else on the plane?”
“I panicked a little, is all.” She lifted her head to stare down at him. “It’s not every day that I enjoy a guy touching me. I mean, never, not after. Until you.” Her fingers traced his chest. “I didn’t think I’d ever get that back.”
He lost his breath. “Skylar, I—”
She kissed him. This time, she was the one that kept it soft. Gentle. It was the most perfect thing he’d ever experienced.
“So will you try?” she asked.
His heartbeat sped up at what she asked. “We shouldn’t force it. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you, Skylar.”
“I know. That’s why it has to be you.” She opened her legs as she shifted on him, but frowned when she found him soft below her. “I’m sorry. I killed the mood, didn’t I?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Damon’s hands slid down to cup her face, his thumbs tracking over her cheeks. “I love being with you in any form that takes.”
“Please, Damon.” Her eyes squeezed shut. “I hate feeling broken.”
The vulnerable side of her got to him even faster than the sexy side, but for this to work, she’d need both. “What if I touch you like before?” His fingers traced down the sides of her neck.
Skylar shivered. “I forgot how sensitive my neck was.”
Damon’s heart was going to break. He leaned in, kissing where he had touched, and she moved her head to give him more access. He didn’t bite. Instead, he kept each brush of his lips gentle, a barely there caress.
She moaned a little, grabbing at his head. “Why do kisses like that make me feel like my chest is being fucking crushed?” She kept him there when he started to pull back.
It sounded to him like she was confessing her love. “Is that a good feeling?” he asked.
“God, yes. Just touch me, however you want.”
His hands mapped her back, stopping well above her ass before sliding up, skimming past the sides of her breasts and then down her arms. He repeated the caresses more and more. His lips continued to skim, up to her ear, down her neck, all the way to her collarbone, before doing the same to her other side.
Skylar pressed herself against him down below as she lifted from him enough to free her breasts. The nipples had tightened again. “Please,” she begged.
His palms rasped over her chest and dragged out a pant from between her lips. He swirled and nudged, then cupped one of her breasts so his mouth could close around her nipple.
She shifted against him restlessly down below when he began to suck. A small nip had a flush staining her chest. “Fuck, do that again.”
Just like her ear and neck, she enjoyed gentle bites. When he released her, she started to protest, but quieted as soon as he took her other nipple into his mouth.
Her body was moving against him. He hadn’t gotten completely hard. Worry beat at him even as Skylar seemed to lose herself.
His hand slid down her side before slipping between their bodies. He bit her breast again to distract her. Skylar’s underwear was soaked, but that could have been from her prior orgasm. He dipped his hand under the elastic, bypassing her clit and seeking her entrance instead.
She was wet. He lifted his head from her breast to stare into her eyes.
Skylar lowered until her forehead pressed against his. “I’m okay. I want this.”
His fingers swirled, making her breath catch. He slipped them inside. “Let’s start with what we’re sure you like.”
She surged against his hand, taking him deeper. Her hands sank into his hair as she stared at him. He curled the way she liked, working into her faster. Sexy cries filled his ears as she moved with him. Her lips captured his, and she sucked on his tongue as her body wound tighter. He swallowed her gasp as she climaxed. Her eyes squeezed shut when his fingers drew it out as long as they could. Their lips parted, and her panting breath fluttered across his mouth.
When her eyes opened, he searched them. “Are you still okay with this?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Please, touch it.”
“You’re in charge here, Skylar. Tell me to stop at any time.” His fingers slipped out of her, absorbing her tremor before sliding up and over her clit.
Her body shook, and he paused. “Okay?”
She swallowed, nodding. “More.”
He repeated the movement, his finger still wet from being inside her. When he swirled, her eyes started to shut.
“No, open,” he murmured, pausing. “I need to see.”
Skylar opened her eyes.
He continued to touch her, studying her every reaction. The way her skin flushed. What type of caress made her eyes lose focus. The trembling that took over as she got closer.
His hand lowered again to gather more of her natural lubricant up and over her straining clit. Another swirl had her fingers twisting his hair. Then he added the pressure she craved, rubbing her hard once, to a gasp, and again, to a tremble. The third stroke let her orgasm take her.
Her moans washed over him as she stared into his eyes. His fingers had stilled, not wanting to drag it out just in case. Soon she collapsed on top of his chest, trapping his hand against her.
“Oh my God,” Skylar muttered into his chest.
“No flashbacks?” he asked.
“None. No one touched me quite like that.” She raised her head again, biting her lip. Then she laughed. “Well, fuck, I want you to do it again.”
She was more sensitive and shivered as he brushed over her to dip below again.
“I’m being selfish. We can—”
He’d found her clit, and moved against it in a gentle swirl. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than watching you orgasm.” He built into it more quickly this time. He’d already figured out how she liked to be touched, though he lessened the pressure due to how sensitive she’d become. She moved against his hand with a strangled gasp. He switched to the strokes she loved. “Come for me, Skylar.” And she did, choking on her scream as her body shuddered. He kept stroking, drawing out her pulses until she went limp, except for the twitching her legs couldn’t help.
Damon slid his hand free after another shudder, wrapping both arms around her as he turned them to their sides. “You still okay?”
“Fucking floaty,” she mumbled.
He laughed, the last of his tension leaving him. “Then sleep.”
“Not yet,” she said. Her face moved against his chest, rubbing over him like a cat.
Her heartbeat remained fast despite how relaxed her body had become.
“One more,” she said.
Damon laughed, looking down to find her eyes open and latched onto his. “You really are insatiable. Are you sure?” His hand started to move between them again, but she grabbed it.
Her other hand moved up, the fingers brushing over his lips. “No, with this.” She bit her lip.
The thought of tasting her was one he’d had before. Damon’s hand tightened on her back as he breathed through the sudden wave of arousal.
“I mean, unless you don’t like that kind of thing.”
“I’d love to give you oral. But Skylar—” He swallowed as he pictured her riding his face. He’d had himself in check so well too. “I won’t be able to see your face to make sure you’re all right. So I’ll need you to be vocal.” The thought of it had his ears ringing already. “Even if it’s just repeating ‘yes’ over and over. I want constant permission.”
She snickered. “Oh, I can be loud.”
“Then underwear off.” Damon still wore his own pants, but he didn’t plan on fucking the gorgeous woman that was already giving him everything.
She rolled onto her back and wriggled off her underwear, kicking it over the side of the bed.
He crooked his finger at her. “Crawl up here, thighs spread. You can hold on to the headboard.”
Skylar blinked at him. “Oh. I never thought—” She swallowed as she rolled on top of him again.
“You’re still in control here,” he told her even as he urged her higher up his body. Soon her legs quivered on either side of his head. He cupped her ass, absorbing her tremor as he got to see the most delicate and beautiful part of her. “You’re not scared, are you?”
She let out a groan. “I’m fucking excited. Oh, God, Damon, I’m going to drip on you if—”
He licked into her, his own groan impossible to hold back as the taste of her overwhelmed his senses. All that sweetness from the orgasms he’d given her spread through him as his tongue pierced deep.
“Oh, fuck!” she cried out, her hips jerking. He withdrew his tongue and thrust again, his grip on her ass helping her move into it. “No one’s ever—” She gasped as she fell into the rhythm. When she lifted, he withdrew and licked over her clit. “Oh, fuck, just yes.” He nudged and licked and swirled to her repeated affirmation.
She’d orgasmed so many times already that her body was shaking. Yes, out of excitement, but also with the pending crash he’d wanted to give her. The taste of her made his balls tighten, and he was a little lightheaded. He closed his lips around the most sensitive part of her and sucked, sending her over the edge screaming.
He held her close as he continued his ministrations through the orgasm, loving every gasp and shudder and pulse. By the time he pulled away, she leaned her upper body against the headboard in a daze. His breath against her was almost too much for her, and he shifted out to help ease her under the covers.
He didn’t ask whether he could hold her. She’d already burrowed into his arms.
She yawned against his chest. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually taken someone to bed.”
He hugged her, so thankful to have the one he loved close that he wasn’t sure he would sleep at all.