Trust Me (7 page)

“Can we talk about this tomorrow? I am so exhausted, and I don’t have the energy right now. It has nothing to do with you. I just need sleep. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

I go to get out of the car, but Damien puts his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m going to walk you to your room. There’s no leeway for discussion on this. Please let me do this because I need to know you’re safe.”

I nod because I’m too tired to argue. He exits the car, opens the passenger door for me, and extends his hand to help me out. He pulls me into his side, and we walk across the street. I love the feeling his protectiveness brings when I’m in his proximity.

We walk through the lobby of my hotel and into the elevator.

He asks, “What room are you in?”

“Room 717.”

Pushing the proper button on the panel, the elevator begins its ascent to the floor. After we leave the elevator and reach my hotel door, he brings me in for a hug. He seems like he’s trying to figure out what’s going on, but I can feel my blank mask is in place. Over the last year, I have perfected it to keep people from knowing how not okay I was.

“Get some rest and call me as soon as you wake up. I’m trying to give you the space you asked for, but it is taking every ounce of willpower not to keep you close to me. Here’s my card with my cell phone number on the back. Call me if you need absolutely anything. What’s your cell phone number?”

Robotically, I give him my number as I pull out my hotel room key. Besides the sadness I feel from the loss of my parents, I have so much to process from my time with Damien. Right now, the spark is out of me.

Bringing his head down to my eye level, he looks me squarely in the eyes. “Alli, I mean it. You can call me for anything. At least, just make sure to call me as soon as you get up, okay?”

I nod. “Thanks, Damien.”

He leans down and gently kisses my lips. At a time like this, it’s amazing that my body still responds to him. All too soon, he pulls away just enough to break the kiss.

“I’ll talk to you this afternoon when you get up. Sleep well, baby.” He kisses my forehead, takes my room key from me, and opens my door for me. “Good night, Alli,” he murmurs.

“Night.” After I close the door, I put the dead bolt in place. Laying my hand on the door, I think about how badly I want him in here with me, but sleep is what I need to clear my head.

After putting on my pajamas, I take some pain relievers and crawl underneath the covers. On autopilot, I unplug the room phone.

Since arriving on Saturday, my world has been turned upside down from everything I thought was right-side up. I have met this amazing man, and I’ve started to live again. I decide to think about it tomorrow after I’ve gotten some sleep. My pain medicine starts to take effect, and I fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

My body aches, and I feel a little discombobulated as I stretch. It’s like everything is on a delay and out of focus. I feel the soreness from when I hit the curb after fainting.
Gah, that was humiliating.

The clock says it’s 4:18 in the afternoon.
Wow, I really slept the day away.
I need a bath, and I stiffly get out of bed to head to the bathroom.

Soaking in the tub, I think about how much I’m going to tell Damien about what happened. He brings me alive in a way that I didn’t know was possible, and it scares me on so many levels.

My mom always said,
In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you take but how many moments take your breath away.

Damien takes my breath away. My mind is having all sorts of crazy thoughts. I want him in ways I’ve never desired anyone. It just seems too good to be true.

I hear a knock at the front door. After I hurry out of the tub, I grab the robe from the back of the bathroom door. I yell, “Just a second,” before I head out to answer it.

Looking out the peephole, I see Damien staring straight ahead with his hands on each side of the door frame. He has a dark expression on his face.
What’s going on?
Whatever it is, all I can think about is that he’s here, and I want to do a little happy dance.

Opening the door, I cheerily greet him, “Hey, stranger.”

Damien strides past me into the room. He’s obviously been working today. The way he looks in his custom-tailored gray suit with a dark purple dress shirt is breathtaking. The top two buttons of his shirt are open. He’s rubbing his forehead furiously, and his black hair is tousled.
Geez, I crave his touch.

“It looks like you’re okay, so I hope to hell you have a good explanation as to why I could not reach you on your cell phone or room phone. It is after six, and I asked you multiple times to call me as soon as you got up.”

“Seriously? You’re irritated?”

I cinch my robe’s belt around my waist as if it is a shield. I look into his concerned eyes, trying to figure out what my best approach would be. The beast inside Damien is rattling his bars, waiting to be unleashed.

“I took the pain medication the doctor had prescribed last night. I woke up around four and started a bath because I was a little sore. I’m fine. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

His hand comes down from his head. “Damn it, Alli. You cannot pull disappearing acts like that. I need to know that you’re safe.”

I raise my hands in peace and walk toward him slowly. When I reach him, I lay them on his chest and look into his mesmerizing blue eyes. “Listen, I wasn’t disappearing, and I appreciate your concern, but my cell phone has been off all week. It didn’t even cross my mind when I gave you my number. I wasn’t trying to worry you.”

He lets out a breath and stares at me intently. “I missed you.”

And on that declaration, he leans down to give me a kiss with his delectable lips. Like all of the times before, my body instantly zings to life, and I tilt into him, completely surrendering myself. He hauls me against him and deepens the kiss causing my hands to go to his sides. His hands are beginning to roam from my waist up to my breasts. My nipples tighten into hard little pebbles in anticipation of his hands reaching their goal.

After this short amount of time of knowing each other, it’s crazy how much my body longs for his touch. My body needs something. I don’t know what it is, but it’s craving it. He pulls away from my mouth and begins to kiss down my neck. A soft moan emits from me as his mouth reaches the top of my right shoulder.

His tongue tastes me, and one of his hands comes up and yanks my robe, exposing me from my shoulder to the top of my breasts. When he pulls me even closer to him, I feel his hardness against me. Moving my hands to the front on his shirt, I try to unbutton it, but I am pressed too close against him that I can’t even get one button undone. He continues to bite, nibble, suck, and kiss me everywhere on my bared neck and shoulder. His lips and hands leave a trail of fire in their wake.

Breaking the connection, he moves his hands to each side of my face to hold my gaze. His smoldering eyes look at me while I try to bring my breathing under control.

He states firmly, “I was halfway out of my mind, thinking something had happened to you. I need to know you are okay. Do you understand?” The warmth in his voice is laced with steel and concern.

His tone confuses me, and I stare him back at him, trying to read him like he seems to be able to read me at times. I tell him exactly what’s on my mind. “This type of intensity makes me nervous with how fast everything is going. We just met, and I don’t…I just don’t know where this is even going. I’m trying to process it all.”

He eyes me, still worried and agitated. “Go get dressed, so we can talk. If not, you and I are going to end up fucking this evening, and that’s not a good idea yet. We need to talk first. I’ll order some food.”

I scurry to my suitcase and grab yoga pants and a T-shirt from the drawer. I head into the bathroom and hastily get dressed. I look at myself in the mirror. My lips are swollen from the amorous onslaught, and I feel the space between my legs throbbing again as I relive the moment over in my head. Part of me, a big part of me, wants to end up in bed with him tonight.
How long should I wait? I need to talk to Sam.

When I come out of the bathroom, I find that Damien has made himself at home on the couch. His jacket has been removed and is lying on the neighboring chair. Especially in my small hotel room, his presence is commanding. He is looking me up and down as he motions for me to take a seat next to him. My damn body is such a traitor. I am already heading to him before I make the conscious decision to do so.

With a chuckle, he says, “Well, at least there’s no question about the sexual tension disappearing.”

I mash my lips together to repress a smile.

He continues, “Do you want to clue me in on what happened last night?”

The air is humming with residual lascivious intensity. If it gets any higher, I am going to crack.

After taking a deep breath, I lay it all out there. “I came to Miami to get some perspective. My parents died a year ago today. I was so caught up in this,” I say, gesturing between the two of us, “that it took me aback when you asked why I was here. The memory of their death came crashing down around me, and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t even remembered it.”

“Oh, baby. Both parents?”

He pulls me onto his lap and situates me with my back against the sofa’s arm. I am angled to where I can still see his face. One of his arms is along the arm of the sofa behind me, and the other has a hold of my hand with his thumb rubbing soothing circular motions. He makes me feel comforted and protected.

Looking down, I continue as the images of Sam’s parents telling me about my mom and dad’s death flash through my mind. “Yes, they were heading home, and a semi didn’t observe the stop sign. The semi crashed into them as they were pulling through the intersection. They died on impact. Since then, I kind of lost myself. That was why I came here…to find myself again.” My lower lip begins to tremble, but I keep it together.

He strokes my face. “I’m glad I didn’t push you to come back with me last night. I was scared shitless. I didn’t know if I had made the right decision.”

“I just needed to sleep. It had nothing to do with you. You’ve been perfect.”

I cannot help the smile that emerges on my face, and he matches it.

“Oh, baby, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that.”

His fingers brush over my lips, and I close my eyes at the sensation.

“Alli, I want you badly and not just sexually. I want us to be exclusive. I will not share you. I have never wanted someone this intensely before. Do you feel the same way?”

My mind is reeling as I take in what he just said. My insides are humming from all the excitement. This is a huge risk, but I know I’ll regret it forever if I don’t take the chance. “I do, but I…it’s just…this is all so fast.”

“We’ll take it slow if that’s what it takes. I need you to be honest with me if I am pushing too hard. Please give me a shot. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I want to jump up and down and scream with elation at his words, but I remain calm. “I want to see where this goes.”

He lets out a breath he was holding. “I assume you do not currently have another guy in your life?”

His eyes are watching my reaction, and I smirk.

“No, no guy. I assume you’re single?”

He nods. “There’s no one else, Alli. What’s the most serious relationship you’ve been in?”

Oh no.
I was not ready to discuss my limited to nonexistent sexual history. He’s probably going to think something is seriously wrong with me and run away. I am so out of my depth here.

I wonder if someone like Damien wants a girl with a lot of experience. There’s no way this guy has been celibate like me. Maybe I should develop a sudden case of narcolepsy.
That would end this discussion really fast. Then, I would be the inexperienced crazy lady who gets hit by a moped and falls asleep randomly.
Hmm, that defines the word
attractive
.
Who wouldn’t want a girl like that? What a catch!

He zooms in on my reluctance. “Alli, what are you hiding from me?”

“What?”

Thinking about how we met and my incessant request to repeat his questions, I almost laugh, and he actually does.

“Alli, we both have pasts. It’s not going to scare me away. I just need to know.”

Is that what he thinks I’m hiding—an excessive amount of guys? Geez, I’m not sure which one is worse.

“Um, well…um, let’s see. I guess you could say that my most serious relationship was with a guy I went on, like, probably four dates with during a month at the beginning of college.” I send a silent prayer, hoping we can drop the subject at that and move on.
No such luck.

“So, you are more into one-night stands?”

I cannot believe how calmly he is discussing this with me.
My face feels warm from the blush creeping in on my cheeks. “What? No! Oh my gosh! No! Oh wow, I did not mean to give that impression.”

I try to get off his lap to hide my embarrassment, but his arms come around me, holding me in place like a cage.
How humiliating! Oh geez, have I been acting like a total slut?
He looks at me intently with his black hair flopping in a sexy way. His chiseled jaw is set, and his eyes search mine as his muscular arms keep me from moving.