Part 16 (1/2)

I was pretty sure I'd missed a good ninety percent of both shows because my gaze was glued on Damien. It had been such a revelation to observe the uncontrollable laughter pouring out of him and the blinding light radiating from his eyes. I wasn't even sure if they were gray today. Or my mind could have been playing tricks on me and confusing the color gray with silver. I was leaning toward the latter because, surely, no one in the history of mankind had silver irises.

Did they? I made a mental note to Google this later. They have to be a soft blue or something.

He was currently lying on the center of the couch, flat on his back, while I was settled atop him with my cheek resting comfortably on his sternum. My second gla.s.s of wine was empty, as was Damien's.

When the closing credits of Fast & Furious 6 came on the television screen, I lifted my head to glance up at Damien and saw him looking at me with amus.e.m.e.nt on his face.

”Would you like to watch another movie?” He c.o.c.ked his head to the side with a boyish smirk. ”Or will you just stare at me again the whole time?”

There was no reason to deny that I'd been gawking at him because I knew he'd caught me countless times.

I crossed my arms over his chest and rested my chin on them. ”You can watch another one if you'd like, preferably a comedy.” I smiled. ”And I'll just keep my eyes on you again.”

He lifted a devious brow. ”And you preferred ogling me over Vin Diesel and The Rock?”

”Oh, don't get me wrong. They're both smoking hot.” I matched his expression. ”But Vin Diesel and The Rock don't have anything on you.”

His hands went to my waist, and he hauled me up the length of his body until we were nose-to-nose. ”And I think all that wine has gone straight to your head.”

”Maybe.” I giggled.

He impishly glared at me.

I was unable to resist the natural urge of ruffling his feathers, so I corrected myself and said, ”No, you're right. It definitely must be the alcohol clouding my judgment. What woman in her right mind could resist all that muscle and hotness in one movie?”

He slid his hands to my a.s.s, squeezed it beneath his palms, and ground his generous length along my center as he vowed, ”Oh, I'll show you hotness, gorgeous girl.”

His mouth was on me before I could hit him with another sa.s.sy comeback. And as his mouth captured mine, I knew I was about to get thoroughly f.u.c.ked senseless.

Lazy Sunday...round two.

The next week pa.s.sed in a blur. I was up to my nose in paperwork at the office, and the only thing that got me through the days was knowing that I would get to spend my evenings with Damien. It scared me that he was quickly consuming my every thought, but I was too overcome with b.u.t.terflies in my stomach at the idea of seeing him again that I kept pus.h.i.+ng my reservations aside for another time.

He and I had made plans to unwind at FireSide Bar tonight with Iris and her unexpected date, Joshua. I hadn't heard of him until an hour ago, so I was going to be watching him like a hawk. Kate and Noah were free this evening, too, so they were going to join us.

I was eager for Damien to finally have the chance to spend some time with my friends, so they could get to know each other, especially Iris and Kate. I ignored the hurt I felt inside at losing Cale and Sage from our gang, realizing our circle of friends had just gotten smaller.

We all met at the front of the building where the six of us showed our identifications to the bouncer at the entrance. He checked them over one at a time before letting us pa.s.s by.

As we entered the building, I immediately squinted at the harsh strobe light flickering in the crowded room. My hand automatically found Damien's larger one, and he weaved us through the ma.s.s of people with our friends all following behind.

I spotted a large group of men who were rising from their table. Damien must have spotted them, too, because he steered us directly toward them.

”Are you guys leaving?” Damien asked as we came within earshot.

”Yes,” answered a tall man with a shaved head. He nodded with a cordial smile. ”It's all yours, man.”

”Thanks,” Damien replied as the other two guys came into view.

One of them was Tim, my a.s.sistant. ”Hi, Raelyn.” He beamed at me a little too brightly to pa.s.s as friendly. ”I didn't know you were going to be here tonight.”

”Hey, Tim.” I smiled kindly.

Kate came to my side and said, ”Of course we're here. It's not often that FireSide Bar has dollar cherry-bomb shots.”

I laughed.

Tim grinned at Kate. ”No, you can't turn down any drink for a buck!”

”h.e.l.l no, I can't!” She mirrored Tim's expression and snuggled into her boyfriend. ”Noah here will be carrying me out of this place by the time I'm finished.”

”Probably.” Noah chuckled quietly and kissed Kate's cheek.

Kate's eyes suddenly widened, and she rotated to look at Tim. ”Hey, you should stay and have a few shots with us.”

Oh, jeez. I refrained from glaring at Kate for inviting Tim to hang out with us.

She knew the guy had an infatuation with me, and he hadn't been the least bit discreet about it. I truly hoped he could keep his wandering gaze to himself tonight. Otherwise, if he made his crush on me known in front of my overly possessive date, I had no doubt that Damien would stake his claim and trample my poor a.s.sistant.

”Sure, I'd love to.” Tim glanced over at me, appearing overly pleased by Kate's invitation.

One might think he'd just won the lottery.

He added, ”We don't ever get to see each other outside of work, so this is the perfect opportunity.”

I struggled not to frown. ”Great.” I forced myself to look happy as I lifted my date's rather stiff arm. ”Well, this is Damien. He's my...” I briefly hesitated, unsure of what to say because we hadn't been seeing each other for that long.

Damien, however, didn't mind cutting right in. ”Her boyfriend,” he stated confidently before extending his spare hand. ”Pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

”Nice to meet you, too,” Tim mumbled as he took Damien's amiable offer, finally shaking his hand.

All the while, Tim's eyes darted between Damien and me. He seemed stunned, and it made me feel awkward when I shouldn't have.

A waitress with long black hair approached us, and Tim stepped backward. He went to sit at the table with my friends where they all began to order drinks.

With everyone else shuffling and chattering around us, I tuned them out and reached up on my toes to bring my lips near Damien's ear. ”Are you okay?” I asked on a whisper so that only he could hear me.

He spun his face to mine. ”I'll be much better when Tim stops staring at you and accepts where you and he stand.”

I shortly rotated my head, and sure enough, Tim was curiously eyeing Damien and me from his position. I sighed. My fun night out on the town was bound to hit the fan at some point in the near future.

I wanted to have a good time with Damien without any drama. So, I returned my gaze to Damien and kissed his cheek, making it visibly clear to Tim that I was taken. ”Be nice,” I breathed in a plea.

”When it comes to you, gorgeous girl of mine”-that devious grin of his proudly revealed itself, and I knew I was doomed-”that is not a promise I can make.” He topped off his declaration with a smacking kiss on my mouth, obviously displaying a claim of his own.

”Get outta here.” I laughed uncontrollably at his caveman traits and shoved him back. Then, I dodged around him, so I could go sit with my friends, only to come to an abrupt halt.

Iris was sitting next to Joshua, followed by Noah and Kate. That would have left two vacant chairs next to Iris and only one next to Kate.

My lovely a.s.sistant had planted his a.s.s next to Iris, leaving it impossible for Damien and me to sit next to one another. The annoying smirk he was displaying at Damien only confirmed his actions had been intentional.