Diamonds Are Forever (21 page)

Gemma could barely wait now that she was pretty much wandering the party alone.  Sophie had reunited with Tyler and the two had gotten comfortable in a corner of the giant leather sectional.  And the famous Eugene had finally gotten in at some point as well – at least Gemma assumed that was whom Azura was suddenly talking to.  He was a big, burly man with the stance of a bear.  It was a physique that strangely matched with his sweet, boyish face.  It was bizarre to see her standing with him by the bar, making him a drink and looking oddly demure.  Gemma smiled.  Azura hadn’t been kidding about being a different person around him.

Gemma turned, looking for somewhere quiet she could wait for Damian.  The dress had already garnered more attention than she was prepared to battle and she was anxious to see him already.  But right as she turned, she caught his tall, strong figure pushing in through the front door.  Gemma’s heart fluttered as she watched him look through crowd, searching for her.  She wanted to call out and let him know where she was, but half of her was still mad at his delayed responses to her texts, and the other half was just happy to look at him.

He wore a pair of fitted, grey jeans with a simple white tee and a black cargo hoodie that he left unzipped.  She imagined him grabbing whatever he could from the open suitcases that he lived out of and slipping it on after a shower, rushing to the airport to catch the earliest flight out to her.  Gemma blushed, unable to stand there waiting.  She pushed through the crowds, putting a hand out to grab him by the elbow and get his attention.

Damian turned, looking down at her.

“Hi,” he said quickly before looking suddenly like he’d had the wind knocked out of him.  “Wow.  Hi,” he repeated.  Gemma laughed as Damian’s eyes scanned over her body.  He clasped a hand over his mouth, rubbing his chin as if he were analyzing some painting in a museum.  “Wow,” he said yet again, laughing at himself.

“What are you wowing about,” Gemma teased, putting her arms around his waist.  He was more than pleased with the gesture as he went in for a hug.

“He’s looking at your butt,” Azura yelled from across the room.  Gemma turned to see her sitting on Eugene’s lap, waving hello at Damian.  She laughed, turning back to catch Damian’s sheepish grin.  Azura continued.  “Like, he went in for the hug, and he looked over your shoulder to check out your butt.  I saw it.”

“Were you?” Gemma asked when she pulled away, letting her hands wander up his broad chest.  Damian smiled, blushing slightly as he looked skyward, shaking his head.

“I was going to ask you to dinner,” Damian said.  “But now…”

“You haven’t eaten yet?” she asked.  “It’s like, almost 10pm back in New York.”

“I haven’t, but I don’t care anymore.”

“So you’re asking me to dinner now but when I asked, you decided it was fine to ignore me?”

“I texted back,” Damian said.  “And I’m here, aren’t I?”

“I mean back in New York.  When I texted you to hang out and you just never answered,” Gemma continued.  Her voice was firm, demanding an answer, even though her hands were wandering around his body.  She slipped her hands under his jacket, running her nails down his back.  Damian flinched, biting his lip.  She couldn’t tell if it was from the question or the physical contact.

“I didn’t know how to answer.”

“What does that mean?” Gemma persisted.  “I asked if you wanted to meet up for dinner and you didn’t know how to answer? A simple yes or no would have sufficed.”

“I know,” Damian replied.  “There are many things I ask myself where a simple yes or no would be the answer, but I’ve been having trouble lately.”

“I just wanted to see you,” Gemma said, surprised by her own ability to just say what was on her mind.  “I wanted to take it from where we left off at Bay.  I didn’t like how we left off.  It was kind of awful.”

“I couldn’t just say yes because I really did need the time to wind down from that night at Bay,” Damian said.  “And it wasn’t your fault, it was all me.  I just needed to cool off a little before we started up again.  I really felt like I was losing my mind for a couple of days.  And I couldn’t say no to seeing you because that would be a lie.  I’ve
never
not wanted to see you, Gemma.”

She smiled at his last line, knowing he was telling the truth.  She stood on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

“Okay,” Gemma said.  “Then just
tell
me that next time.”

“I will,” he said, holding her up to keep her lips to his.  “But it’s not exactly easy to say some of these things aloud.”

“Then why are you able to say it all now?”

“Because,” he whispered, planting quick kisses from her lips to her neck.  Gemma felt a shudder as he lowered his hands from her waist to his hips.  “You’re wearing this dress that apparently makes me answer any question you throw at me.”

“Oh, really?” she laughed, blushing.  Her face felt hot as she let his lips wander around her neck.  “Then I have a few other questions while we’re at it.”

“Okay,” he said, pulling away from her.  “Shoot.”

“
Were
you looking at my ass when you hugged me before?” Gemma asked.  Damian laughed.

“Yes.”

“What’d you think?”

“I have no words.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means words would just water down the very intense emotions that I felt while looking at
your ass.
”  Damian’s eyes crinkled, looking away as he said the last two words.  Gemma smiled, realizing he was doing exactly what Azura had suspected.  Damian was in an active battle between remaining her dutiful friend and giving into his urges.  She looked past him, watching as Azura snuggled up to the burly Eugene, tucking her head under his chin as they talked.  She kicked her bare feet in front of her as she balanced on his lap.

“Do you want to dance?” Gemma asked, pulling Damian towards the crowd.

“Uh,” Damian replied, letting her lead him by the hand.  “I’m not sure I’ve totally recovered from the last time we danced.”

“But it’s different this time,” Gemma murmured, turning to press herself up against Damian’s body.

“How so?” Damian asked.  Gemma snaked her arms around his neck, pulling herself up.

“Because this time,” she breathed, brushing her lips against his ear.  “You’ll be recovering in a different way.”  Damian swallowed hard, a quick, nervous laugh escaping his throat.  He froze among the crowd, seemingly not knowing how to react.  Gemma bit her lip, surprised that he was actually taken by her terrible line.

“Let’s skip the dancing,” he finally said.  “Let’s get a room.”  The urgency of his words made Gemma have to bite back her giant smile.   But she let it loose once he scooped her up into his arms, carrying her towards the front door and stepping through the doorframe as if they were newlyweds.

As soon as they were out in the quiet hall, she pulled him in for a kiss.  Gemma felt his lips press hard against hers, parting them with his tongue.  He propped her up against the wall, drawing her legs around his waist to get in closer.

“Oh! Wait,” Gemma gasped, feeling the hem of her skirt rise.  She watched as a hotel worker passed behind them with a room service cart.  “I’m not wearing any underwear, so…”

“What the hell, Gemma,” he moaned.  Damian pulled away, biting his lip as he looked towards the elevators.  “Yeah, I’m not going to make it downstairs to get us a room.”

“So, what? We’re just going to do it out here?” she laughed.  Damian squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his head against the wall as he thought.

“Let’s go back inside,” Damian replied, setting her back down on her feet.  He took her by the hand, leading her back into the suite.  The music was blaring and the dancing bodies seemed oblivious to them as Damian surveyed the room.  Suddenly, he was dragging her down the hallway towards the bedroom.

“Hold on,” Gemma said, dragging her feet.  “Azura didn’t want anyone in there.”

“Too bad,” Damian shrugged, reaching under Gemma’s legs to sweep her up off her feet once again.  She giggled, enjoying the suddenly single-minded Damian and delighting in the fact that she was the one bringing him out.

Once inside, he kicked the door closed and threw her on top of the covers of the California king bed.  She watched as he tore off his jacket and threw it behind him before ripping off his t-shirt in a single motion.  Gemma wet her lips as he kicked off his shoes and climbed on top of her.  He lowered his body to hers.  She felt as his weight enveloped her.  Damian slipped his fingers under the deep-v collar of her dress, lowering the tight fabric just enough to put his lips to her bare breasts.  Gemma inhaled slowly as she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.  She could hear the sound of him undoing his belt.  She was panting now, feeling herself grow impatient.

“Hurry,” she gasped, clawing into his bare back as she pulled him deep into her body.  The command made him moan, shuddering as her nails dragged across his skin.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

“Who the
hell
is in here? Get out!” the familiarly steely voice yelled.

Gemma gasped, sitting up and covering herself.  She locked eyes with Azura who was in a similarly compromising position, her legs wrapped around Eugene’s giant frame.

“Oh, hell,” Azura said, hopping down from Eugene as she realized who she was looking at.  “Oh,
hell. 
C’mon.  
Now?
Of all times?” she yelled.

“I’m sorry!” Gemma said, half laughing as she watched Damian sigh, struggling to zip up his pants.  “We’ll get out of here.”

“No, I feel bad, I just,” Azura huffed, shaking her head as she glanced at Damian and Gemma.  “I mean, you two should just…” She looked back at Eugene who had reached forward to rub her shoulders.  She bit hard into her lip, stomping her little feet in frustration.

“No, no we’ll leave,” Gemma said, hopping up off the bed and slipping her heels back on.

“I’m
conflicted!
” Azura whined.

“Don’t be,” Gemma laughed, grabbing Damian’s hand after he pulled his shirt back on.  “We’re getting out of your hair.  Don’t think, remember? Just do your thing.”

With that, she slammed the door behind her, flying out of the suite, practically coughing on her laughter.

~

Gemma wasn’t sure what the plan of action was, she just knew she didn’t want to be the person cockblocking Azura’s success with Eugene, especially since it was such a long time coming.  Thankfully, a bad case of the giggles turned out to be just what she and Damian needed to keep from being completely inappropriate on their way down to the lobby in the elevator.

Though after being alone for a couple floors, Damian had her backed up into the corner, kissing her so deeply that it was hard for him to pull away, even after another couple had stepped onto the elevator.  When he did so, reluctantly, he did his best to catch his breath before the door finally opened to the lobby.  Damian managed to remain polite, allowing the older couple to step out of the elevator before he took Gemma’s hand and burst out towards the front desk.

“Hi, I need a room for tonight,” he said, leaning anxiously against the counter.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“No.”

“Unfortunately we don’t have any available rooms left for the night without a reservation.  The resort gets really popular when we hold special events,” the concierge said, a practiced tone of apology in her voice.  She was utterly professional but Gemma could still see a flicker of interest in her eye as she processed the sight of Damian Evans and Gemma Hunter pleading for a hotel room at such an hour.

“Can you check again? There has to be
something,
” Damian insisted.  “Like a cancellation or one of those insane suites that no one ever rents.”

“I do apologize,” the concierge continued in her even tone.  “But we have no cancellations tonight and all those ‘insane suites that no one ever rents’ have indeed been rented out.”

“Azura,” Gemma whispered, reminding Damian.

“That’s right,” the concierge nodded.

“Damn,” Damian sighed.

“You can check with one of our sister hotels on the strip to see if there are any other options.  I can help you look into that now if you’d like.”

“Sure,” Damian said.  He tapped his foot impatiently against the marble floor, rubbing his lips with his hands as he steadied his breath.  Gemma watched as the concierge typed away, seemingly searching forever with no result.  She tightened her grip on Damian’s forearm, feeling rather anxious herself.  As if she sensed their urgency, the concierge looked up again, a more genuinely apologetic look on her face.

“I’m sorry it’s taking some time.  Our systems have been having some issues this past week,” she nodded, continuing to type.

“You know, it’s fine,” Damian smiled.  “Thank you so much for your help, though!” He reached back, taking Gemma’s hand and leading her in a speed walk towards the exit.  She giggled as they ran through the revolving doors and felt the dry Vegas heat settle across her already tingling skin.

“Damian Evans!” a voice yelled.  Gemma turned in its direction.  It came from somewhere within a group of men in their twenties and thirties, seemingly a bachelor party crowd.  A shorter man stepped out of the crowd, wearing an oversized Knicks t-shirt.  He pulled down at the fabric so the logo was smooth.  “Damian Evans!” he repeated, showing off his shirt with pride.

Gemma looked up at Damian.  His lips were pursed and his feet were pointing in the direction of the main street, but he stood still as he watched the fan approach.  Finally, a smile cracked on his face.

“Hey!” Damian responded, turning to face the fan.

“I got to get a picture! My fucking luck, I can’t believe this!” the man handed his phone to a friend, scurrying to Damian’s side.  He pointed out at his group.  “We’re all huge fans, all of us! We’re from Long Island.  Huge fans.”

Gemma stepped away so that the fan could get his picture.  But despite being “huge fans” of Damian, his friends seemed unable to keep their eyes off of Gemma.  When she caught them, they looked away in unison.  She laughed at the sight.