Chapter 8
Marlie stared. Hard. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Her aggression only made her giant’s grin wider.
Will glared at him. “What are you…” His anger faded as recognition set in. “Demon Sinclair?”
A few people glanced over at his raised voice.
Damon glanced furtively around. “Hey, man. Keep it down, would you?” Then he stared at Will’s arm over her shoulder. “And how do you know my future wife?”
Marlie blinked.
“My sister?” Will cracked up laughing. “Got a whip and some chains? If so, you’ll need more to tame Mad Marlie.”
Mortified, she pulled back to punch her brother in the arm.
“Kidding.” Will ruffled her hair, and while she batted his hand away, he spotted someone in the crowd. “Hey, Cade’s waving me over. I need to go and say hi to someone. Don’t leave.” He reached out to shake Damon’s hand. Like pumping water from a well.
Marlie did her best not to laugh.
“So awesome to meet you, man,” her brother continued. “You’re my favorite player. I mean it. I’ll be right back.” He hustled away, looking over his shoulder at Damon, worried his idol might disappear.
“Your family is weird,” Damon said. “But nice.”
“No, they’re just weird.”
They regarded each other, her with curiosity, him with satisfaction.
“How did you sneak your way in here?” she asked. “Because you’re a little too big to go unnoticed.”
He chuckled. “Cade’s a friend of mine. His brother and sister-in-law are throwing the party.”
“Yeah. I’m here with Jeff. You met him this morning. He got us in through Will, who knows Cade.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
They stared some more until she broke first with, “So, no dick pic?”
Unfortunately, she said it just as one of those odd lulls in conversation hit the party, and her words rang out.
Damon hid his face behind a huge hand while Marlie turned red.
Around them, people started laughing. Then conversation returned to normal.
“Great timing, Marlie.” Damon’s grin threatened to split his face in two.
“Laugh it up, killer.”
“I prefer Demon. Though Killer in Bed has a nice ring. But then, you wouldn’t know. I couldn’t even tease you because I was ordered not to send any enticing images.”
“Enticing. Right.” She had trouble not laughing. The guy was funny but full of it.
She glanced past him, wondering where Jeff had gone, but then she spotted someone she’d much rather forget. “Oh, crap.”
“What?” Damon turned from sexy giant to glowering tough guy in a heartbeat. And her libido revved up, raring to go.
Hadn’t she decided to go for a bad boy? No more nice guys. Just something simple with someone who’d leave soon enough.
“Um, just a guy I’d rather forget.”
He nodded, relaxing. “Ah, isn’t that Ben, your loser ex from the restaurant?”
“Loser is right.” Oh goodie. Ben stood with his arm around Darlene McBoob, the chick from his “all guys trip” to Vegas.
Marlie studied them, trying to figure out how she felt. She wasn’t hurt or angry. More like disgusted with herself for wasting time with a guy she knew was no good.
“What did you see in him?” Damon asked, standing next to her as they stared at Ben and McBoob. “I mean, those shoes.”
She snorted. “Loafers are for losers.”
“You got that right. Real men wear boots.”
They both glanced down at his feet. Then at hers, encased in comfy leather ankle boots.
“I guess I’m a real man then.”
He stared into her eyes, his gaze shifting from amused to serious.
Damn, but he made her nervous. “Damon?”
Ben ruined the moment by joining them with Darlene. “Hi, Marlie.” He glanced up at Damon and frowned. “I know you.”
“Yeah, I saw you at Rielle’s Bistro. You know, when Marlie was dumping your ass.” Damon looked at Darlene, not seeming to read the woman’s admiration, because he said, “And you must be Darlene McBoob.”
Marlie blinked, not sure she’d heard right.
Darlene didn’t take exception. She gave a throaty laugh and stuck her chest out. “Yep. All real too, handsome.”
Damon turned around, giving them his back while Ben sputtered about boorish giants.
Boorish? Really?
“Come on, Marlie.” Damon grabbed her by the hand and dragged her with him away from the crowd.
They found an empty hallway.
“Sorry.” He let her go, his cheeks turning pink. “I probably shouldn’t have said that, but Ben’s an ass, and that chick with him is even worse.”
Marlie, delighted with his abrupt rudeness, reached for a door. She opened it, spotted the room empty, then shoved him inside.
“Um, what?”
Glancing around and seeing them in what appeared to be a guest room, she locked the door behind him.
“Marlie?”
Then she turned him around, his back to the door, and dragged him down by the neck to kiss him.
For a moment, Damon froze.
He’d let his big mouth run away from him, yet Marlie didn’t seem annoyed. He’d been furious to see the dickhead who’d cheated on her having the boldness to bring the cheater with him to rub his new happiness in Marlie’s face.
So how was he now having the best damn night of his life?
Her mouth, soft yet firm lips devouring his, tasted like warmth, home, and sex, all wrapped in one.
She stepped closer, her soft breasts pressing against his chest, and he went from semi-erect to full-out steel-hard.
Unable to stop himself, he cupped her head, sifting through her mane of long, silky hair until he could take control of the kiss.
She let him and sighed into his mouth.
Before he could shift to angle closer, her clever hands teased his abdomen, pushing under his sweater.
“Fuck,” he muttered against her mouth, kissing his way to her neck and sucking.
She moaned. Then he heard his jeans unsnap and froze.
“Marlie?” he whispered.
“Shh.” She winked.
He could only stare into her eyes as his zipper slowly went down. Her hand followed, pushing under his underwear to grip the heat of him.
Bucking into her hand, he felt himself leaking, so fucking in lust he couldn’t see straight.
“Oh, I really shouldn’t have said no to all this earlier.”
“You—I—what the fuck?”
She tugged his head down and kissed him again while her hand gripped and stroked, priming him to come far sooner than he’d like.
He wanted to tell her to stop, embarrassed he’d last maybe a few more seconds. But her taste, in addition to her brazen seduction, had him helpless to do more than obey.
She pulled away from the kiss to rasp, “Oh yeah. You’re big. Bet you feel like heaven inside me.”
“I’m gonna come,” he growled. “And I want you with me.”
“Not yet.” She smirked and jerked him hard.
He gasped and shot into her hand, coming so hard he saw stars as she worked him in silence.
When he could think again, he watched her grab some tissues to clean up. Leaning back against the door, in shock and still recovering from a racing heart, he watched her clean him up too.
She tossed the tissues in a trash can before zipping him up and snapping his jeans closed. Then she patted his chest. “Wow. You’re a big guy. Can’t wait to see what you can do next time.” She dragged him down for another kiss then gently tugged him away from the door.
Unlocked it, went through it, closed it behind her.
He stared at the back of it, wondering if he’d really had an out-of-body experience or if he’d imagined it. Then again, nothing had ever felt that good. And that included losing his virginity for the very first time.
Get ahold of yourself, Damon.
He shook his head, found the attached bathroom, and splashed water on his face to wake the hell up. After checking that he looked presentable and not like he’d been given a heavenly handjob by a woman he had yet to take on a first date, he rejoined the party.
Marlie had returned to her friend and brother, chatting with Cade and his wife. A few folks he’d met earlier greeted him. Marlie glanced his way once, smirked, and turned away.
To his shock, he grew hard again and had to do his best to relax.
Marlie—1.
Damon—0.
Determined to get a grip, he circulated and grabbed a piece of cake to replenish his energy.
On the way, he recognized Flash Flashman, a reigning quarterback who’d retired a few years ago, along with his brother, who’d also played in the league, if Damon wasn’t mistaken.
Grant and Piper stood talking with them.
When they spotted him, talk stopped.
So of course he moved closer and smiled. “Gentlemen. Ladies.” He winked at Flash’s wife, a beautiful woman holding a plate of apple pie. “Wait. There’s pie?”
The woman laughed. “I made it myself. It’s delicious.”
“It is,” Piper agreed. “Becca runs Bragg’s Tea House.”
Delighted, he introduced himself and shook her hand. “Your cookies are the best I’ve ever tasted. But don’t tell my mom.”
She smiled. “Which ones?”
The other guy’s wife answered for him. “Gingerbread, I’ll bet. Hi, handsome. I’m Nora.”
“Nora Flashman,” the bruiser with her added with a grin. “I’m her lowly husband, Deacon.”
“Nice to meet you. Damon Sinclair.”
Flash scowled. “We know who you are.”
“Hey, I can’t lie. Your wife makes killer cookies.”
“Don’t mind him.” Becca rolled her eyes. “He’s upset because the Mavs have a leg-up on Sunday’s game.”
Damon blinked. “Wait. Are you guys playing?” He glanced between the large Flashman brothers, recalling something Piper had said about ex-footballers playing hockey. “I thought you two were into football.”
“We are,” Flash said. “But for fun, we’ve started playing ice hockey. It’s not as brutal—”
“Not the way you play it,” Deacon muttered.
“—and easier for all of us to get together so no one has an advantage. Grant plays too. We didn’t want to play flag football or softball. Ice hockey puts us all on the same level.” Flash looked Damon up and down. “Until the Mavs got themselves a ringer to train them.”
Damon held up his hands, secretly amused. “Whoa, whoa. I’m just helping out a fan. He asked for some advice. I can’t play anyway. I’m recovering.” He pointed to his knee.
Nora frowned. “Oh no. What happened?”
“Tore my knee, but it’s healing. Gotta rest and not stress it though. I start heavier PT after Thanksgiving.”
“Is that why you’re in town?” Becca asked. “Recovering?”
“That and my parents were in a car accident. They’re mostly okay now, but I’m helping while they heal. That’s also why I’m drinking. A lot.”
They laughed.
Grant mentioned using Damon as inspiration for a villain in his graphic novel, and the topic of conversation turned to his new career.
And speaking of villains… He glanced over to see Marlie staring at him.
He narrowed his eyes, pointed to them then pointed those fingers at Marlie.
She grinned.
He lost his ever-loving mind and fell in love.
“That fucking gift,” he muttered.
“What’s that?” Deacon asked.
“Ah, nothing.”
The Sinclair Curse had struck again.
I can never tell my father this or I’ll never hear the end of it.
Damon had fallen in lust at first sight. In love at first hand-job.
Now how to get past their first date into a happily ever after?