A pang of jealousy hits me for a second before I realize I admire him for what he’s accomplished. I’m going to strive to be more like him. School, work, and that’s it. I need to pay off my bills and help my brothers out. No time for getting involved with my boss.
With a new resolve on life, I turn the shower off and step out. I throw on my clothes and take a moment to brush my hair and put on some make-up before meeting Damien back in his office. He was too perceptive earlier when I freaked out when he told me to go home. The suspicion on his face was unmistakable. I’m going to have to be more careful when I’m around him. He catches me off guard, and then watches my reaction. And, I can’t believe I fell asleep in Damien’s office. Thankfully, today’s my day off at my other job, or I’d really be screwed.
Damien has on low-cut jeans and a tight white t-shirt. He’s coming out of his bathroom, and I stop to stare as he towels off his hair. His face is hidden from me which gives me time to get myself together. He drops the towel and his smile is infectious when he sees me. “Feeling better?”
I nod, unable to form any coherent words together. He’s just too breathtaking in person.
“Are you hungry?”
I can’t believe I stayed the night here. It’s early morning and the sun peeks through the blinds in his office. I have class in a few hours, but I don’t want to leave here just yet. I don’t want to see my roommates with no money for rent.
“Can we eat here? I can show you some things I think will work for your website.”
“Perfect, I already ordered breakfast. It should be here soon.”
I smile. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
I catch him studying me and all humor is erased. The room seems hotter than it did a second ago, and I tamp down the urge to fan myself. Damien's gaze is hot as he travels the length of my body. And I stand here, letting him get his fill.
His phone beeps, dragging him away from me. “Food’s here. I’ll be right back.” He throws his towel in a hamper in the bathroom and takes off downstairs.
I sit on the couch, my heart hammering and banging around inside my chest. Ugh, he’s dangerous. Just having his eyes caress me has me close to an orgasm. While Damien’s gone, I take the time to calm down. I’m pretty sure I’ve got control over myself until he walks back in still sexy as ever, and holding food that smells like heaven.
Damien unpacks french toast, bacon, and eggs. He spreads it out on his ridiculously organized desk. I don’t think I’ve ever been this organized in my life. Every container he opens makes my mouth water. He cracks a smile when I give a very enthusiastic moan at the sight of the golden-buttery goodness of the french toast. “If I’d known I could get this reaction out of you, I would’ve bought you food a long time ago.” He smiles again when I grab a plate.
As we eat I boot up my computer, navigating until I have the Trifecta’s website pulled up. “I think if you change this up,” I make a couple tweaks. “You would get more traffic to the website as a whole. Also, if you add a couple more things, your website would be higher up on the search engines, allowing people from out of state to see your club first.”
We eat and talk about certain things I would change to make the search engines produce more traffic. Damien puts everything away before he sits back down on the couch next to me. “Show me what you’re working on?”
His request startles me. I’ve never shown anyone my work. “I don’t really have anything.”
Damien shakes his head, placing his two fingers under my chin, lifting my face an inch to stare directly into his eyes. “You’re a horrible liar, Shayne.”
My lips part, wanting to breathe him in. And I can envision it all, kissing, touching, exploring until we’re both exhausted from the sheer beauty of it all.
“You should stop staring at me like that.” His thumb runs over my jaw, his fingers still under my chin. We wage a war, both staring at each other, waiting to see who makes the first move. “I warned you.”
Damien’s lips crash against mine. The force is so surprising, I gasp allowing his tongue access. My fingers thread into his damp hair, tugging on the silky strands, keeping him close. The kiss is more powerful than the one in his car. This one isn’t a lust bursting between strangers. No, this kiss is him owning me.
Marking me.
Claiming me.
I kiss him back with the same intensity he uses kissing me. I need him to feel just as much as I am. A knock on his door has us jumping apart. We’re both panting. Damien’s hair’s a mess from my fingers. My lips are swollen from his kiss.
“Hey, Damien.” Clara stops, assessing what she’s seeing and smiles brightly at our disheveled appearance. “Hey, Shayne. I just wanted to let you know I’m here. I wanted to get a head start on some work.”
“Hi, Clara. I was just leaving. I have class in a bit. I’ll talk to you guys later tonight about the website.” I refuse to look at Damien as I gather my stuff and escape from his office. This time when I’m running away I don’t take his jeans.
Hey, it’s progress.
Clara stops me before I make it to the stairs. “I’m glad you’re working on our website. With everything else we’re doing it would be nice to have that off our plates.”
“I was just giving Damien some pointers. I don’t think I’ll be out from behind the bar any time soon.” Ducking my head, I practically run down the stairs and jump into my car and drive off.
During work, I ignore Damien as though my life depends on it. It isn’t too hard tonight as he’s busy being the boss. He’s dealing with a new problem every other minute, running around to put out one fire only to go put out the next. I can see the frustration on his face every time he tries to approach me only to be taken away by another problem.
Damien doesn’t come down to the bar after the club is closed, and the disappointment is almost too much. I gather my stuff as slowly as I can without raising suspicion as to why I’m dawdling. So much for ignoring him, the universe took care of that.
When I start my car and still haven’t seen Damien, I’m actually sad. I’ve never been a sappy, clingy girl, so this new side of me is not something I’m used to. I shake my head pushing all thoughts of Damien and his talented tongue out of my head.
As I pull out of the parking lot, my phone chimes with a text message. At a red light I check it, groaning when I see it’s from one of my roommates. I have the rent, but I hate giving it to them since I haven’t really been staying there. I need to just tell them I’m moving out, and save money by living in my car for a couple of months. Not wanting to fight with them, I go to an all night diner and order a cheap french toast. After spending way too much time in the cracked vinyl booth, I drive back to the club. I let out an exhausted sigh when I see Damien’s car isn’t there. Pulling into a spot in the corner, I grab my blanket, set an alarm, and beg I don’t dream about a certain sexy boss.
A knock on my window brings me out of a naughty dream where Damien is dancing for me onstage and the club is empty. I mourn the loss of Damien’s dream abs as they vanish along with my dream. I open my eyes and see Emma staring at me through the window.