And…I melted. I just gave up, gave in. His eyes were so sincere that I instinctively knew that it wasn’t his arrogance talking right now.
In fact, I almost sensed that he was…insecure? Was it possible for a male like Damian to be vulnerable to any kind of self-doubt?
I blurted out the words I knew he wanted to hear. “Okay, here’s the truth. It was the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had, too. Every kiss I have for the rest of my life will probably be compared to the one we just shared, and come up wanting. You completely rocked my world, Damian.” I hesitated before I asked, “Happy now?”
He grinned at me. “Completely ecstatic,” he drawled.
“I have to pee really bad, so I have to get up now,” I informed him.
“Right,” he said as he put a hand under my ass and pushed until I moved toward the armrest next to the aisle. “Up you go.”
My toes touched the ground as I finally became perched on the armrest.
His arm went supportively around my waist. “Go slow,” he instructed.
I stood up and put a hand on the back of his recliner. “I’m good,” I told him.
Once my head stopped spinning, I cautiously bent to pick up the change of clothes that had landed next to his seat when I’d fallen.
Damian kept a hand near my waist, probably just in case I decided to swan dive into his lap again.
I turned toward the rear of the plane. The restroom wasn’t far away, and I was feeling more confident that I could get there safely, when Damian spoke.
“Need help?”
“Nope. I’m good. No more falling into the laps of gorgeous men.” If I was still shaky, it wasn’t from the alcohol.
It was that damn kiss.
He frowned as he looked up at me. “No falling into any other men’s laps,” he grumbled, like the thought of me kissing another guy was completely unacceptable to him.
He almost sounded…jealous, but I quickly removed that possibility from my mind. I’d never inspired any kind of protectiveness or possessiveness from any man.
“Seriously. I’m okay,” I assured him as I moved toward the bathroom.
It was a short walk, but I swore that I could feel Damian watching me until I slipped inside the restroom door and locked it behind me.
CHAPTER 7
Damian
“I HOPE YOU HAVE a pleasant visit to the US,” Nicole muttered as she was drinking her coffee near the end of the flight.
She’d put her seat down flat after she’d changed clothes earlier, and had fallen asleep almost immediately.
I’d envied the fact that she could pass out so easily, even though I knew it probably had a lot to do with the amount of alcohol she’d consumed.
Me? Dammit! I hadn’t slept for a single moment. My mind had been racing to figure out exactly how I could dig myself out of the dark hole I’d landed myself in.
I had gotten my laptop out after Nicole had gone to sleep, but I’d done absolutely nothing productive, which was a rarity for me. If my computer was out and turned on, I was working, churning through things that needed my approval or input.
I wasn’t used to not being productive, and I sure as hell wasn’t accustomed to a woman getting me so damn distracted that my priority wasn’t Lancaster International.
But there it was…the first time I’d ever put my thoughts about a woman over my business interests.
I’d pondered my dilemma for hours, and I still hadn’t come up with a solution.
Problem was, I could hardly tell Nicole that I was Damian Lancaster now. She’d probably hate me for lying to her, and for initiating that whole tell-me-what-you-would-have-said-if-you-
had-the-opportunity-to-do-the-presentation-again discussion.
I’d been so eager to hear her talk that I hadn’t taken a moment to think about the fact that I might want to see her again. I hadn’t thought about the future, but I’d known that she would have never said a word to me if she’d known my true identity.
Can I blame her for that, really? In the public eye, I’m a hedonistic bastard who apparently loves gigantic orgies.
I couldn’t tell her the truth, even if I wanted to spill it. I couldn’t possibly out Dylan, and I’d have to if I ever wanted Nicole to speak to me again.
A few days ago, I couldn’t have cared less about what the public thought of me.
Now, I cared. I cared a lot. All because of the woman sitting beside me who had been treating me like a total stranger from the minute she’d woken up a quarter of an hour ago.
I hope you have a pleasant visit to the US…?
What was that statement all about?
I was fairly certain it was a brush-off, but I couldn’t say for sure since nobody had ever brushed me off before.
Maybe Nicole was embarrassed about our discussions and that damn kiss, now that she was sober.
“I’m hoping it will be,” I answered vaguely, stalling for time to think as I made myself a cup of tea.
What exactly were my choices here?
I could either spill my guts, or just walk away from Nicole like I’d never experienced this mind-blowing attraction I had to her.
I’d forget about her, right?
Oh, hell no. Who in the hell was I trying to convince? This wasn’t going to be an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation. I’d remember her, the way I’d felt when her gorgeous body had been plastered to mine, the frank discussions we’d had, and that kiss. That damn kiss!
“How long are you staying?” she asked in a polite voice that I instantly decided I hated.
Jesus! What had happened to that sexy, breathless voice that had gotten my cock so hard that I’d been desperate to fuck her?
Really? Like I’m still not trying to control my dick, sexy voice or not?
“I have no idea,” I told her honestly. “However long it takes to get my business done here.”
Dammit! Having this superficial discussion grinded on me after we’d been so damn close the night before, but what fucking choice did I have?
Obviously, she wanted to put distance between us, maybe because she was embarrassed, but there was also the distinct possibility that she’d woken up, looked at me, and decided I just wasn’t her type.
Her comments had been short and disinterested since she opened her eyes earlier.
Was it possible that she’d only confided in me, kissed me like I was the only man in the world for her, because she’d had one too many cocktails?
Let it go, Damian. It was one kiss. Okay, it was one extraordinary kiss, but it’s not like you formed some kind of relationship with this woman in a matter of hours.
Besides, I couldn’t find a way out of my current situation, and I’d rather see a polite look on her gorgeous face than one that said that she completely hated my guts.
In any event, now was not the time to become infatuated with a woman. I had Dylan and my corporation to worry about, and those two things consumed every waking moment of my day.
Not that I’d ever experienced an infatuation with any female, but if it was going to happen at some point in my life, I’d like it to happen later, when all of this mess with Dylan was resolved.
I was the sole partner in Lancaster who didn’t have his mind all screwed up right now, so it was important for me to stay rational.