He starts to speak, but I press a soft finger over his lips and shake my head.
“I mean it when I say that I want to be there for you, Damien, but saying it that way makes me sound more altruistic than I am.” I take a deep breath because honesty is never as easy as it should be. “The truth is that it feels unfair. I’ve shared everything with you, but you still keep so many things locked up tight.”
“Nikki—”
“No,” I interrupt. “This isn’t a demand or an accusation. It’s an apology. Because it was my choice to tell you, and it’s unfair of me to be irritated because you haven’t made the same choice. It’s not like we’re playing Follow the Leader.”
“No,” he agrees, and I see the faintest hint of a smile touch his lips. “But considering how much I enjoyed our game of Simon Says, perhaps we should add that one to our repertoire.”
I cock my head and grimace. “I’m serious.”
“I know you are.” He pauses. “Thank you.”
I look at him, at this man who commands an empire. But right now the power and the fame and the money mean nothing. He is just a man. My man. And in that moment I must acknowledge the truth that has gone unspoken and unexamined for so long—I am falling in love with Damien Stark.
The thought doesn’t scare me. On the contrary, it makes me smile.
He matches my grin, then brushes his fingertip over my lower lip. I open my mouth, drawing him in, tasting the chlorine and the soft comfort of Damien’s skin. “What are you thinking about?”
“You,” I admit. “Always you.”
“What about me?”
I allow my smile to widen. “Close your eyes, Mr. Stark, and I’ll show you.”
His brow lifts, but he complies, and I move closer, then stroke my fingers over his slick, wet chest.
“I’m going to make love to you, Damien.” My words are so full of emotion they feel too big for my throat.
“I’m going to take your mind off everything that’s bothering you. And a lot more effectively than swimming laps.” It’s late—after three—and I’m tired. I’m a bit sore, too, but it doesn’t matter, because I need this moment with Damien. I need to take care of him now, to stroke and soothe him.
I need it—and I desperately hope that he needs me, too.
I press a soft kiss to his temple, then ease down, trailing kisses down his neck, then his chest. We’re standing close together in waist-high water, and his erection presses against my thigh as if in silent demand. I want to shift and capture him between my legs, to use the buoyancy of the water to rise up and then sink back down again, impaling myself upon him.
I don’t, though—not yet. Instead, I slide my hands down over his back, breaking the surface to cup his perfect ass beneath the water, then continue my oral exploration, lower and lower until I’m tasting the lapping water along with the smooth skin of his tight lower abs.
I tilt my head to look at his face and find that he’s cheating—his eyes are open, but he’s looking at me so tenderly that I cannot chastise him. Instead, I allow myself one tiny smile, then slip beneath the water.
I hold his hips to keep me in place, and run my tongue along his cock. I’ve never done anything like this before, and the sensation of moving water coupled with the taste of chlorine and Damien seems sweetly wicked somehow. I want to draw him into my mouth, but I’m afraid of swallowing water, and so I satisfy myself with simply dancing my tongue and lips over his hard, beautiful cock. I can’t see him, but I know that the sensations are equally arousing to him. He’s becoming even harder under my ministrations, and the tension tightening in his body seems to shoot through him and into my hands as I hold tight to his bare, wet skin.
I rise up, needing both air and his kiss. I break the surface, gasping, and then press my mouth against his. His lips part, drawing me in, his tongue warring with mine as he takes control of the kiss. His lips are hard against my mouth, his tongue hot and demanding and so very thorough that there is no question that I have gone from being the seductress to being the seduced.
I’m only vaguely aware that he has moved us to the side of the pool. Now he breaks the kiss and turns me roughly around. I can feel my ribs beneath his hands and I am struck by how strong he is, and how fragile I am. He possessively skims his hands up to cup my breasts as his erection nestles against my ass. The cool air brushes my damp skin, but I hardly feel it. I am hot; hell, I am burning. I may have started this with the comforting warmth of glowing coals in mind, but I can already tell that Damien’s finish will be scorching.
“Tell me you trust me,” he whispers.
“You know that I do.”
“Tell me I can take you however I want to.”