20. Gabriella
Gabriella
A new day.
New battles.
Damien woke me with kisses over my shoulder and arm as his erection probed my lower back. Last night, he’d done as I’d asked and made the world go away. If only for a momentary time, we relished the bubble of our own making.
Shower sex was followed by dinner, delivered from a local restaurant, eaten naked in bed with our respective bottles of wine. There was brutal honesty spoken as we ate. I learned more about Amber. Nothing made me like her.
Of course, I could choose to not believe Damien about their marriage.
It was that I did believe him.
I’d watched and listened to this man speak in personal meetings, small groups, and to large auditoriums. Damien was a man who set goals and achieved them. In the depths of his being, he believed in the future of Sinclair Pharmaceuticals. I’d seen the tears he tried to hide when facing the reality of his father’s ill health. I’d witnessed his wrath when he confronted Darius in the hospital. Those were emotions I’d experienced recently and in our past.
When it came to business, he could be ruthless, cutthroat, and abrupt.
The one thing I’d never witnessed in Damien Sinclair was untruthfulness.
He could answer that everything was fine when it wasn’t. He’d claimed that late hours and long days didn’t exhaust him when in fact they did. Once I recalled him pretending to like a dessert my mother made—in his defense, it was terrible.
Those were not lies.
Those weren’t even untruths.
They were placations.
Words said to ease the burden on someone else.
When it came to things that mattered to Damien, he could be brutally honest.
That was why as we dined on sushi and wine, I made the decision to trust the man I’d fallen for a second time. A marriage license was filed, unbeknownst to him, with his signature—of which he admitted signing.
After the take-out containers were thrown away, our lovemaking was less about making the world go away and more about making our world stronger. Intimate touches and caresses occurred as we explored one another’s bodies. Kisses and licks sent goose bumps over our flesh. The vigor and urgency of our shower sex was replaced by savored encounters, slow and steady. We were both in need of what only the other could provide.
As one of us would nod off to sleep, the one still awake would rouse the other, needing to know that we were still here for each other.
With dawn awaking beyond the blinds, I rolled to face Damien. Bringing my hand to his scruffy cheek, I saw the engagement ring I’d agreed to wear. My gaze met his. “Good morning.”
His deep baritone timbre reverberated through me. “Good morning.” He tipped his forehead to mine as his hands roamed my body beneath the blankets. “I’ll make this right.”
“We’re right. Us, here.” I sighed. “Why can’t life be simple?”
He grinned. “If it were, you and I would be married, living in the house I bought for us, with one or two little Sinclairs.”
A giggle came from my throat. “Oh, you think one or two little Sinclairs would be simple?”
“If they’re like their mother they would be.”
“I’m simple?”
“No, you’re very complex.” He rolled to his back, bringing me with him until I straddled his torso. Stretching his neck, he caught one nipple and sucked before doing the same to the second. “You’re also perfect in every way.” He splayed his fingers on my hips and lifted me.
I was the one who directed his now-erect penis.
My eyes closed as I slid down, feeling the stretch. With my hands on his shoulders, I bent my knees, moving up and down. It was as I opened my eyes that I became lost in the kaleidoscope of his orbs. Different shades of blue swirled within, pulling me into Damien’s orbit, a magnetic attraction I couldn’t break if I wanted to.
All at once, we switched positions—my head on the pillow and Damien above.
“I thought I was perfect,” I said with a grin.
“The perfect torture.” He kissed my nose. Pushing my knees back, Damien increased his speed. The friction was fantastic as my insides grew tight and my back arched. I held tight to his shoulders as I teetered on the brink of my orgasm.
Gasping for breath, my nerves exploded, setting off electrical charges throughout my body. The tendons in Damien’s neck stretched as he too found his release. Our hearts beat against one another’s as we steadied our breath and our heart rates returned to normal.
It was after our showers as I was dressing that Damien asked me about my meeting with Millie.
I looked at the clock. “It’s in an hour.”
“I hate not being with you. But I need to get to Sinclair Corporate.”
“Beta Kappa Phi is close. It’s why I bought this condo.”
“The bodyguards are starting today,” he said, looking at his phone. “I’ll text for one of them to drive you to your meeting and back to Corporate.”
Tilting my head, I sighed. “I was all right with the bodyguard thing in principle, but in reality…”
“In reality, Darius was here last night saying disgusting things. And Amber is a hot mess. We’re not taking any chances.”
“Fine,” I said. “I get the feeling there’s no arguing the point.”
“None,” he replied, knotting his tie.
I took a moment, as he donned his gray suit coat, to admire his reflection in the mirror beside mine. His navy stare met mine as his lips curled. “I like starting our day together.”
Nodding, I smiled. “I do too.” I turned toward him and took a step closer. Lifting my chin, I brushed his lips with mine. “And ending it. Will you drive me home or will one of the bodyguards?”
Damien wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me closer. “You’ll have me.”
“My favorite.”
Damien picked up his phone from the vanity and read a text message.
“It seems Deidra will be picking you up in twenty minutes.”
“I wanted Eli.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you’re not getting Eli.” He gave me another chaste kiss. “I’ll see you at Corporate. Text me when you’re with Deidra and when you’re headed downtown.”
“That didn’t seem like an ask.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t. Don’t poke the bear. Give me the sanity that comes with knowing you’re safe.”
After Damien left, I collected my things for the meeting with Millie. Mostly, I had my notes and the information I’d gathered on the coalition.
I was almost ready when the doorbell rang.
“This is my driver,” I said to Duchess. “Fancy.”
Opening the front door, I was met with a green stare, and not from the woman we’d interviewed. “Amber. Why are you here?”
“You’re sleeping with my husband. I think we need to talk.”
Still holding the door, I didn’t budge. “Your marriage isn’t legal. You know that.”
She scanned the solid door. “Don’t you see. You can help Damien get the permanent CEO position by accepting that he’s married.”
Before I could respond, another car pulled to the curb and a woman in a simple black suit emerged from the driver’s seat.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I said to Amber, “my car is here.”
“What do you think the board will say when they learn about Damien’s and my marriage? They’ll know you’re with a married man.”
I pressed my lips together. “Will that be before or after they’re told about your marriage to Darius, when you knew you were already married?”
“Mrs. Sinclair,” Deidra said from the sidewalk.
“Yes,” Amber and I said in unison.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, Ms. Wilmott was just leaving.” I reached inside for my bags before closing and locking the front door.
As I was walking to the car, Amber said, “I’m not giving up.”