Читать книгу All of Me - Sheryl Lister - Страница 13

Chapter 4

Damian went back to the deck, gripped the railing and gulped in a lungful of crisp ocean air. The startling depth of his desire for Karen had thrown him for a loop. How could he want a woman so much? And in such a short time. He could still smell her intoxicating perfume, feel her silky skin beneath his fingers and taste the sweetness of her kiss in his mouth. As much as he wanted to take Karen up on her offer, he needed to step back and gain some perspective. His mind said things were moving too fast, but his body argued they weren’t moving fast enough. Even now his heart hadn’t returned to a normal pace, and his erection throbbed with desire. Damian was tempted to go back and knock on her door. He hadn’t accepted her invitation tonight, one, because he felt it was too soon, and two, he didn’t have any protection. Troy and Kyle mentioned they had left him some condoms, and he made a mental note to check his bag when he returned to his room.

He remembered he needed to sign up for the tour in Jamaica and glanced down at his watch. Leaving the deck, he retraced his steps and searched out the tour desk, hoping it hadn’t closed. Luckily it hadn’t, and there were three spaces available for the eleven o’clock tour. He was too wound up to sleep and made his way to the piano bar, where an up-and-coming artist was playing. Damian claimed a stool at the circular bar, signaled the bartender and ordered a Coke.

“Thanks,” he said, accepting the glass. Although his body had calmed considerably, his mind continued to race with thoughts of Karen.

“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”

His head came up. A woman stood next to him wearing a white low-cut skintight bodysuit and offering a come-hither smile.

“Be my guest.” He gestured to the stool, then went back to his drink.

She slid onto the stool, purposely leaning close enough to brush her breasts against his arm.

Damian pretended not to notice. He didn’t want to give the woman any indication he might be interested. She tried making small talk, and he remained courteous, but after a few minutes began to think he should have gone to his room.

“So, does that empty left hand mean you’re not married?”

He stared down at his hand. He’d finally stopped wearing his ring a year ago, and the tan line had faded completely, as if nothing had ever been there. “No, I’m not.”

She scooted closer. “Are you looking to be?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? A handsome guy like you looks like he should be married.” Her hand skimmed his thigh, sliding upward. He clamped his hand down on hers and jumped from the stool. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Her gaze raked over him. “Want some company?”

“No, thanks. Enjoy the cruise.” He turned on his heel and strode out of the lounge. Damian scrubbed a hand down his face. While he didn’t mind an assertive woman, overaggressiveness turned him off. He hadn’t gone far when a hand touched his shoulder.

He groaned inwardly, thinking the woman had followed him. Glancing over his shoulder, he was relieved to see his friends.

“Well, well. For somebody who didn’t want to come on this cruise, you sure have been busy,” Kyle said.

“What’s up?”

Troy folded his arms across his chest. “That’s what we want to know about you. We haven’t seen you all day.”

Kyle laughed. “My man D has jumped back into the game at full speed. I saw the woman in the catsuit. Hot! Curves for days. She basically handed herself to you on a platter.”

“I wasn’t interested.”

“Is that because you’re more interested in the woman you were dancing with earlier?” Troy asked.

“Damn, were you guys following me around or something?”

Troy shook his head. “No. We went looking for some fun and just happened to see you while we were dancing. She’s the same woman you were staring at the first day?”

He nodded. “We’re spending the day together in Jamaica tomorrow, then going to Monte’s performance tomorrow night.”

“I guess you didn’t need our help after all,” Kyle said with a laugh. He lowered his voice. “Those condoms are in the small inner pocket of your duffel bag...in case you were wondering.”

Yeah, he had wondered. “Are you guys going into Jamaica?”

“Yeah,” Kyle answered. “You think you can tear yourself away from your new friend long enough to hang with your old friends once we get to the Bahamas?”

He really wanted to spend as much time with Karen as possible since they had limited time together. However, even though they worked together, he had neglected his friendship with Kyle and Troy, and they did pay for the cruise. “Yeah, man.”

They said their goodbyes, and Damian continued to his room. Once there, he showered and crawled into bed. An hour later, he lay awake with thoughts of Karen filling his head. Where was she from? What did she do? Did she feel the chemistry between them as strongly as he did? He planned to get the answers to those questions and more. Turning over, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

Karen untangled herself from the sheets and groaned. Another dream. Her pulse raced, and her breathing came in short gasps. It was the second one she’d had tonight, and seemed so real she would swear Damian lay beside her with his lips pressed against the hollow of her neck. She hadn’t been able to get his kisses out of her mind, or the feel of his hands sliding over her bare back and hips.

Scooting off the bed, she went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face in an effort to cool off. She walked back into the room, opened the curtain slightly and leaned against the door frame. The sun had already begun its ascent, breaking through the early gray morning with streaks of red, orange and pink. Her mind lingered over every detail since she had met Damian, from their flirting at the pool and the uncertainty in his voice when he asked her out, to his solicitous manner during the concert and the possessive way he’d held her while his mouth plundered hers.

She wanted him. Bad. So much that she had invited him into her room last night, something she would never do with a man she’d just met. Maybe the effects of the alcohol she’d consumed had lowered her inhibitions. No. It was the man, plain and simple. But he hadn’t accepted her invitation, and Karen wondered why, when he clearly seemed to be as into her as she was into him, not to mention the huge erection she’d felt pressed against her belly.

Maybe she had read more into what was happening between them, or maybe he thought her too aggressive. She sighed softly. Whatever the case, she needed to apologize. She didn’t want Damian to think she made a habit of inviting strange men into her room.

Pushing away from the sliding glass door, Karen went to get ready for breakfast. She dug out her black swimsuit. The sexy cutout one-piece had crisscrossing straps across the back, but aside from that, left her back and sides bare, and tied at the hips. She put it on and slipped into a black crochet cover-up. Grabbing her tote, she added her waterproof camera, a change of clothes, towel, comb, brush and wallet, then sat on a chair to fasten the straps on her flat sandals. She picked up the tote and room key and left.

Karen searched the dining room for Damian and spotted him waving. She started in his direction, then halted her steps when he came toward her wearing a black tank exposing his strong muscular shoulders and arms, black swim trunks and sandals. An involuntary moan slipped from her lips. The man exuded masculinity in waves. It would be harder than she thought to keep her desire under control. As she came closer, his gaze traveled over her, stopped at her breasts and then slid lower, just below her stomach. His eyes darkened with desire, sending a rush of heat directly to her core.

“Morning,” Damian said, dipping his head to kiss her cheek.

His soft, warm lips lingered on her cheek, and a shiver passed through her. “Good morning. Have you been waiting long?”

“No. Just a few minutes.” He led her to the table. “Why don’t you leave your bag here and go fix your plate? I’ll get mine when you come back.”

“Okay.” Karen surveyed the buffet and filled her plate with a small amount of scrambled eggs, potatoes with onions and peppers, two strips of crisp bacon and a slice of toast, then got a glass of orange juice. She placed her plate on the table, and Damian shook his head. “What?”

“That’s all you’re eating?”

She glanced down at the plate. “Yes, why?”

“I can still see half of your plate.”

“I may go back for more.”

He nodded, leaned down close to her ear and whispered huskily, “By the way, you’re killing me with that outfit. Makes me want to cancel the tour.” His mouth curved in a wicked grin, he winked and walked off.

The timbre of his voice and accompanying look turned her legs to jelly. Karen managed to pull out her chair and drop down in it before she collapsed. She fanned herself and took a long sip of juice.

Damian returned to the table with his plate piled high—French toast, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and fruit.

“You can go back for more, you know. That’s why they call it a buffet.”

He paused with the saltshaker in his hand. “What? I don’t have that much.”

“Whatever you say,” she said with a laugh, and forked up a portion of potatoes.

He wiggled his eyebrows. “I have a healthy appetite. What can I say?”

Her belly fluttered with the double meaning. She propped her chin in her hand and leaned forward. “So do I.”

“That’s good to know,” he murmured.

* * *

Damian tried to concentrate on his breakfast. Their verbal exchange, combined with the revealing black cover she wore over her bathing suit, had him hard as a steel beam and he was tempted, once again, to drag her to the nearest bed and find out just how healthy of an appetite she had. He had never engaged in this type of sensual play with his late wife—she had been very reserved when it came to sex. But he knew things would be different with Karen. He sensed a passion and fire in her that he eagerly wanted to explore. He forced his thoughts elsewhere and finished breakfast.

“Are you ready to head out?” he asked when her plate was empty.

“Yes.”

He stood, slung his backpack over his shoulder and helped Karen. More than one man turned when she walked by. Damian moved closer and placed a possessive hand on the small of her back. Sending a lethal glare at one man who was staring a little too long, he guided her toward the ship’s exit.

The ship’s coordinator checked off their names, gave them colored wristbands and directed them to a waiting van.

“Damian,” Karen started, once they were en route, “I want to apologize about last night.”

“For what?”

“The whole room invitation thing. I’ve never done anything like that before,” she mumbled, and turned to stare out the window.

He turned her face back toward his. “You don’t have to apologize. If it helps any, I really wanted to accept your invitation, but I didn’t want to come on too strong.”

He placed his arm around her shoulders, kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. They rode the rest of the way in silence. After reaching the park and getting water shoes, he suggested they rent a locker. Damian stripped off his shirt, placed it in his bag and put it in the locker.

“If you—” His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. Karen had taken off the cover and stood clad in a bathing suit that left every inch of her velvety brown back and sides bare. The sight almost dropped him to his knees. A man passing by whispered, “Dayuum!” while staring with his jaw unhinged. Damian couldn’t blame the man, because she was a vision of beauty. He let his gaze roam lazily over every delectable curve.

She placed her tote in the locker and faced him. “Were you going to say something?”

He stared at her with confusion, then realized she had asked him a question. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”

“I thought you were going to say something.”

For the life of him, he couldn’t remember one word. “Nothing. You look amazing.”

She slowly looked him up and down. “So do you.”

It’s going to be a long day. He closed the locker and reached for her hand. “We’d better get going.”

At the base of the fall, a vendor asked if they wanted their picture taken.

“Yes. Take two.” He wanted a memory of this trip with her. The photographer took the pictures of them together, then one of them separately.

“You can view the pictures on your way out and buy if you like,” the man said.

Once they started the climb, Damian took a picture of Karen using the waterproof camera she’d brought along. Instead of linking hands and climbing with the others, they chose to leisurely climb to the top, stopping to linger in some of the pools along the way. Unable to resist, Damian came up behind Karen, wrapped his arm around her and trailed kisses along the smooth flesh of her neck and shoulders. She moaned softly. Turning her in his arms, he transferred his kisses to her jaw and nibbled on her lush bottom lip until her lips parted. He kissed her hungrily. Her hands came up and circled his neck.

“I can’t get enough of kissing you,” he managed to say huskily against her lips before kissing her again.

“Damian,” she whispered, her body trembling.

He pressed his lips to her temple, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to slow his galloping heart. Damian had never been so tempted by a woman in his life and certainly hadn’t ever lost control this way. He opened his eyes, eased back and released her. Giving her one last kiss, he took her hand and gestured her forward. “Come on, baby. Let’s keep going.”

* * *

Karen didn’t know how he expected her to climb anything after kissing her senseless. Her legs felt like rubber, her heart raced and her mind was a jumbled mess. She took a moment to collect herself before climbing the next step. They moved at a good pace for a while, and she stopped along the way to take a few pictures to show her students. After taking the last shot, she turned and lost her footing.

Damian tightened his grip on her waist. “Careful, sweetheart.”

The low timbre of his voice in her ear and the heat of his touch wreaked havoc on her nerves. She sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m good.” She glanced up. “We’re almost at the top.”

Once they reached the top, she turned and looked down with her arms spread. “That was great. I can’t wait to get back and see the pictures.”

He nodded. “I’m glad you allowed me to tag along. How about we get changed, stop and pick up the pictures, then get back to the van? It’ll be leaving shortly for lunch.”

“Okay.” They retrieved their belongings from the locker and headed to the changing facilities.

“I’ll wait for you over by the lockers,” Damian said.

She nodded and watched his sexy stroll until he disappeared. “Mmm, mmm, mmm.”

Inside, Karen stripped off her soaked bathing suit, dried off and dressed in shorts and a tank top. She combed out her wet hair and secured it back into a ponytail. She met Damian, and they returned the water shoes, paid for the pictures and boarded the van taking them to the restaurant.

“You didn’t have to pay for the pictures, Damian,” she said once the van pulled off.

“Think of it as my way of saying thank you. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much. I’ll never forget it,” he said, holding her eyes with an intensity that made her insides tremble.

“Neither will I.” She stared down at the picture of them in her hands. At least she would have something to remember him by when the cruise ended. But for some reason, the thought of never seeing him again caused a churning in her stomach.