He definitely got around.
I’d gotten little tidbits of his life during our conversation, but I still didn’t feel like I knew that much about him.
Me? Well, I’d pretty much spilled my guts right after my second cocktail. If he asked a question, I’d answered it with a lot more information than I really needed to tell a virtual stranger.
That’s what I get for having more than one drink.
I got pretty damn chatty after a couple of cocktails.
After four of them? I was pretty much in an ask-me-anything-and-I’ll-tell-you mood. Anything at all.
“Would you like another one?” the smiling brunette who had taken my cocktail glass queried politely.
I shook my head, smiling back at her before she retreated. If I didn’t stop, Damian would probably know my whole life story from birth to the present.
I’d noticed that he had downed a single beer before he’d switched to some kind of tea.
I’d probably never understand the obsession that British people had with their tea.
I turned my head to look at him, and he raised his brows as he lowered his teacup. “So let’s get back to the subject I originally asked you about,” he suggested.
“What subject would that be?” I tried to act like I had no idea what he was asking.
“Is it true that you’ve never had an orgasm?” His question was firm, but low enough that not everyone in business class could hear him.
Really, I wasn’t sure how many of our fellow passengers were still awake. The lights had been dimmed after dinner, and it looked like most people had lowered their seats flat to sleep.
He was so persistent when he wanted to know something, and in my… ummm…alcohol-induced relaxed state, I wondered if it was really that big of a deal to tell him what he wanted to know.
Like he said, I’d never see him again.
I took a deep breath. “It’s true. I haven’t. End of discussion.”
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t all that comfortable admitting that my sex life sucked to a guy like Damian. I doubted he’d be able to empathize. Something told me that Mr. Orgasm had never left a woman unsatisfied.
“Wait a minute. You can’t just leave it like that. You have to tell me why,” he insisted.
I let out a long sigh. “I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve had two serious, long-term relationships, and it just didn’t happen for me. Maybe some women just aren’t…orgasmic.”
“Or maybe the men you were seeing were absolute morons,” he grumbled.
Damian sounded so indignant that my lips curved up in a smile. “So what if I’ve never had an orgasm with a guy? Is it really that big of a deal?”
His voice got louder and a little more annoyed. “Hell, yes, it’s a big deal. If you’d ever had an orgasm during fantastic sex, you’d know how big of a deal it really is. Why even bother to have sex if your partner can’t get to the finish line?”
I wanted to tell him that my male partners had never had an issue getting to their finish line, but we were sitting on a plane full of passengers, and I didn’t really want them to hear us discussing my sex life.
I might be pretty tipsy, but obviously not to the point where embarrassment wasn’t a possibility.
“It’s not that important to me, Damian. Keep your voice down.”
“Sorry,” he rumbled apologetically. “But I think you should insist on more.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Great. Now I’m sitting next to Dr. Phil.” I was starting to get a little offended, but Damian was probably right. I hadn’t ever demanded much from either of my previous long-term love interests.
I’d met my first boyfriend in college, and we’d both put more effort into our studies than our relationship, not to mention the fact that we’d both been pretty young and inexperienced.
The second one had come along just when I’d been starting my previous job in corporate law. We’d worked in the same company. He’d been climbing the ladder to get to an executive position, and I’d been career-focused, too, so neither of us had really given our relationship our best efforts.
We’d finally broken it off when I moved to California to take over ACM. We’d probably both known that there was really nothing there anymore, but we’d gotten comfortable after several years together, kind of like roommates who were friends with benefits.
When we were both home…
And not too exhausted…
Okay. Yeah. Well. Maybe we hadn’t reaped the benefits all that often.
Still, we’d seen no reason to break it off until I’d decided I was moving to the other side of the country.
“Hey. I didn’t mean to upset you, Nicole.” Damian sounded almost contrite. “You’re absolutely right. It’s not my place to give you advice. I just think you should demand something…better.”
I did a major eyeroll. Sheesh! He’d done so well with his first few sentences. And then…he’d just had to go there with his personal opinion during the last one. Again.
I lifted a brow as I asked him, “Why do I think you have a very hard time not giving your opinion?” I wasn’t really angry with Damian. In fact, it was kind of sweet that he was trying to be my champion.
Damian frowned at me. “Honestly, I usually don’t give anyone my personal opinion on anything. I’m the boss at my company. I give orders, not opinions.”
I turned my head to look at him. I recognized a hint of a hardcore authoritarian in his tone that I hadn’t heard before.
For some reason, I bought the fact that the Damian I’d been talking with for the last three or four hours wasn’t the face he usually showed to the world.
Maybe it was intuition…
Or the seemingly genuine bewilderment I saw in his beautiful green eyes right now.
Whatever it was, his chagrin was real.
I reached out a hand, but I couldn’t quite touch him, so I just kept it on the armrest between us. “Hey. Are you okay, Damian? Yeah, maybe I didn’t ask for your opinions, but now I’m kind of glad you made me think. You’re right about the fact that the men in my life never put much effort into a relationship. But then, neither did I. It worked both ways.”
His eyes grew clearer as he asked gruffly, “Why were you even together?”
I shrugged. “I guess they were my okay-for-now boyfriends, just like I was their okay-for-now girlfriend. Haven’t you ever had someone like that? Somebody you don’t mind being with, even if they don’t set your body on fire or anything.”
He quirked an eyebrow, the amusement back in his eyes again. “Yeah. I call them my mates, and I don’t sleep with any of them.”
I made a face at him. “I meant haven’t you had that kind of relationship with a female.”
“No,” he answered. “It seems rather pointless. I think I prefer hooking up with a woman I like for amazing sex, and then going home when the evening is over. No strings attached.”
Really? “So all you want is good sex from a woman?”
He hesitated before he answered. “I’d prefer incredible sex, if you don’t mind. And it’s just never gone any further than that. Most of the women I’ve dated aren’t looking for anything more intense. So it’s always worked out well for me.”