Damien was silent, so I sat up and looked down at him.
“What’s wrong?”
He shrugged.
“That’s not an answer, Dame.”
He locked eyes with me.
“We just started dating. I can’t say what I want to say without coming across as a protective boyfriend.”
I reached up and brushed my thumb over his lips.
“Talk to me,” I encouraged. “Keepin’ things bottled up never worked for us, so I want us to be honest. Communication, ’member?”
Damien sighed but nodded.
“I don’t feel comfortable with a strange man being here with you.”
A smile stretched across my face. “Dame.”
“I’m jealous,” he continued. “This guy could be gay, have no dick, and think a pussy is revolting, and I’d still be jealous.”
My smile only grew. “Dame.”
“I hate when my brothers flirt with you, and they only do it to tease, so if this guy smiles at you wrong, I’m going to lose it. I know I will.”
“Dame.”
He sighed. “What?”
“You’re so sexy when you’re jealous.”
Damien’s eyes sparked with desire. “Don’t,” he warned.
I chuckled. “Morgan is me employee, and that is it. He has no romantic interest in me, and I’ve none in ’im. He has a girlfriend, too. The only lad who gets me attention and me blood pumpin’ is lookin’ at me right now.”
Damien relaxed. “I trust you, but I’m still going to be jealous.”
“Oh, I’m countin’ on it.”
He hissed. “You get off on my turmoil?”
“What can I say? The caveman act gets me clit’s attention.”
Damien snapped and tried to reach his hand down to find said clit, but I clamped my thighs together and laughed so hard I got a stitch.
“No,” I pleaded. “We can’t. You have work soon, and I’ve to feed Barbara.”
“You should have thought of that before you ran that sexy mouth of yours,” he said, pulling me against him. “You’re so brazen in bed but as timid as Barbara outside of it.”
“Because it’s just you and me between these sheets,” I answered. “I just get a little shy around everyone else, that’s all.”
“I know, and I like it.”
“You do?”
“Hell yeah,” Damien answered. “This is a side to you only I know.”
The second the words left his mouth, Damien’s entire demeanour changed, and I knew why. He realised that Dante shared this bed with me, and not too long ago at that.
“Look at me,” I said, and when he did I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I was never with Dante in the way I am with you. I swear on me life. I hardly spoke, we didn’t kiss, we didn’t do oral either. It was just sex. You have me now, all of me, and that’s what matters, right?”
He nodded and closed his eyes. “I want to hurt him for touching what’s mine.”
Hearing him claim me as his was so hot.
“He only had a tiny piece of me for a short time. You have all of me, and you have since I first met you.”
When Damien’s eyes opened, he reached up and pulled me against him, his lips finding mine. I hummed into his mouth, and his tongue curled around mine, but when he sucked on my tongue, I moaned out loud because it felt so good.
“Stop,” I rasped. “Oh, stop.”
Damien released me, swung his feet over the side of the bed, and stood. I fell back onto my back and glared at his back.
“Don’t do that to me,” I said to him. “God, it’s sexy.”
“Shut. Up.” Damien growled. “Don’t speak; don’t make a sound. I’m talking myself down.”
“Yourself or your cock?”
“A…lannah.”
“Sorry.” I giggled. “Think of Alec naked, Ryder naked, or Kane naked.”
“Why not Dominic?”
I snorted. “Because he’s practically you so that’d be like sayin’ don’t think of yourself naked.”
“We aren’t practically the same.” Damien turned to face me, a grin in place. “My cock is bigger.”
“I’ll get the measurin’ tape out just so we can be sure.”
“Smartass.”
I smiled and snuggled into the blanket with Damien’s eyes on me.
“I could get used to this,” he said. “Waking up next to you.”
My heart thrummed inside my chest. “Me too.”
I closed my eyes then, feeling exhausted, and Damien said, “Are you going back asleep?”
“No,” I answered but kept my eyes closed and didn’t move.
I felt the bed dip, and a kiss brushed over my lips.
“I’ll go feed the cat and clean out her litter tray.”
I think I grunted. I felt Damien move away from me, then felt a blanket being thrown back over me. Damien yawned, pattered about the room for a minute or two, then ventured out. I wasn’t planning on going back to sleep, but when I felt the bed suddenly dip, I jolted out of my daze. I opened my eyes as Damien was climbing back into bed.
“I thought you were goin’ to feed Barbara.”
He grinned. “You fell asleep.”
“Did not.”
“Did too because I fed her, and cleaned out her litter tray an hour and a thirty minutes ago,” he said with a chuckle. “I got caught up watching the game I missed last night.”
“What time is it?” I quizzed.
“Just after eight.”
I stretched before moving over and snuggling against Damien’s side. “When do you have to leave?”
“About eight forty-five. My shift is at nine thirty, but I have to go home to shower and get clean clothes.”
I frowned when I realised that I didn’t want him to leave, and I let him know about it.
“I don’t want you to go.”
His arm came around me. “I’ll come back after work.”
“Promise?”
He kissed the crown of my head. “Promise.”
“Bring clothes with you this time, and your toothbrush, so that way you won’t have to go back home before work. You can just shower ’ere and then leave.”
Damien asked, “Is that your way of saying you want me to stay overnight with you?”
I stilled as doubt flooded me.
“Do you not want to?”
“Hey,” Damien said and didn’t speak further until I looked at him. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Don’t retreat into yourself when you’re unsure of something; you overthink things when you do that.”
I frowned. “I do?”
“Yeah,” Damien replied. “You do.”
I nodded.
“And to answer your question, I do want to stay the night with you. I want to stay every night if you’ll let me. I wasn’t going to ask because this is all new … I didn’t want to push my luck.”
“You said we aren’t playing a game, you said we’re the other’s partner, and partners sleep in the same bed together.”
Damien’s lips twitched. “That they do.”
“I’m not askin’ you to move in,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. “I just … I’ve spent a long time in limbo over you, and if I’m honest … I’m lonely.”
“Lonely?” Damien repeated.
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Not friendship wise just …”
“Boyfriend wise?”
“I guess.”
“Is that why you spent time with Dante?”
I swallowed. “Yes and no.”
Damien inhaled and exhaled a breath and said, “Tell me. I want to know.”
“It’s embarrassin’.”
“It’s me you’re talking to, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart.
“Okay,” I said softly. “When … when things started out with Dante, it was just to prove somethin’ to meself.”
Damien was silent, so I continued.
“I wanted to prove that I was so hung up on you because I was young and dumb … and since Dante is so much like how you were at eighteen, I figured that if I slept with ’im and didn’t get bent out of shape, then it’d prove that me age was a factor in how broke up over you I was.”