A Beautiful Thought (The Beautiful Series) (20 page)

“Hmm…” he crooned, grinning mischievously, as he ran his hands down my sides while keeping me near. “Maybe I want to devour
you
first,” he countered.

“You can’t until later.” I snickered even though I was dreaming of him doing just that. On the other hand, I was pretty sure the best time to catch a fish was early in the morning, and the clock was ticking. “We have plans today,” I added.

“Oh, yeah?” Damon questioned.

He planted a chaste kiss on my lips that I felt all the way to my toes. He teasingly tugged on my bottom lip as he withdrew, completely leaving me yearning for more of him.

He asked, “And where are we going?”

“I can’t tell you.” I shook my head at him. “It is a secret.”

“I thought there were no secrets between us,” he teased. “That’s not playing fair.”

“True.” I pondered, deliberating a better explanation. “Then, think of it as more of a surprise.”

“I
love
surprises.” He grinned sexily while he continued to tease me with that soft mouth of his as he grazed my ass with his palms. “Does it involve you and me being naked for the day?” he inquired with questioning eyes.

“Nope.” I chortled and decided to razz him a bit. “It comprises of something stinky though.”

He pulled back and raised a brow at me. “Stinky?” he asked warily.

“Yes,” I persisted, inwardly enjoying myself. “And slimy.”

“Do I get a say in this surprise then?”

He snuck his hands under the hem of my shirt, skimming up my stomach. The sensation made my nipples harden.

“Because I vote for a naked Saturday over your idea.”

Oh, this is fun
. I was going to draw out my plan for as long as possible, so I replied, “Not a chance, handsome.” Then, I chose to cut him a small break. “But you can totally have a naked Sunday tomorrow instead.”

“Sweet.” He grinned. “I will survive your devious plans for today
only
because naked Sunday is twenty-four hours away.”

I maneuvered myself out of his hold and said, “Glad to see you can compromise there, sport.” I winked at him and gently pinched his ass before walking off.

“Careful there,” he threatened good-naturedly. “Or I’ll veto those plans of yours.”

“Oh, fine.” I sighed with mirth. “I’ll behave.”

With that, Damon and I piled our plates with food. I filled our mugs with coffee and joined him at the kitchen table.

As I prepared my own food, I watched Damon with wide eyes as he drowned his French toast in butter and syrup.

“Would you like some bread to go along with all that sugar and cholesterol?” I teased and then took a bite of my eggs.

“Nah, I’m good,” he responded, releasing a wicked grin and digging into his feast.

Damon and I ate silently for a few minutes, and I felt my anticipation growing. I hoped he liked what I had planned for him. We had not been out much lately, so I was looking forward to spending some alone time with him.

“Oh,” he chimed in before taking a sip of his coffee. “I wanted to give you a heads-up that I have to go out of town for work for a couple of days this week.”

“Okay,” I replied. I knew he occasionally traveled for work, but for some reason, I was caught off guard. “Which days?” I wondered out loud.

“I have to catch a flight to Colorado on Tuesday morning, and I should return by some time on Wednesday evening.”

“Okay,” I repeated, smiling over at him. I was floored at how bummed I felt over a mere two days apart, but I was equally intrigued to know more about his job. I loved how his mind switched gears when he talked about anything work-related, so I asked, “What will you be working on?”

He swallowed a mouthful. “I still subcontract with a general contractor back in Denver, whom I met after I completed my architectural apprenticeship straight out of college.” He reached for another piece of bacon on his plate. “The owner, Dave Jones, requested that I come take a look at a hospital their company is remodeling where they want a three-hundred-thousand-square-foot expansion.”

“That sounds really neat,” I replied honestly, pushing my empty plate aside. “How long does it normally take to complete blueprints from start to finish for a building that substantial?”

“The two greatest factors are the size and detail of the project,” he answered pensively. “Usually anywhere from a month to three or four depending on how many people call the shots and the stages of approval and permits the blueprints must go through.”

I absorbed the information, glad to learn more about Damon and his career, as Damon finished his breakfast. Then, he rose from the table to start clearing the dishes, and I joined in to help with the cleanup.

As we worked side by side, it dawned on me how we had settled into such a normal daily life and how much I truly liked having him around. I had never lived with a man before, but sharing a home with Damon felt so natural.

He suddenly bumped his hip into mine. “So…” he drawled.

I could tell he was up to no good.

“Tell me more about this surprise.”

“Not a chance.” I laughed wholeheartedly, nudging him back. “You will have to wait and find out.”

After making two laps around the gas station in search of a small white fridge that held the bait, I finally found it. I carefully retrieved the container from inside, mindful not to touch my clothing, and carried it up to the counter.

As I paid the cashier for my gas and the bait, I pondered over how to hide the blue container of worms from Damon, not wanting him to snoop into the white plastic shopping bag. My only option was to stash them in my purse.

I scrunched up my forehead at the idea as I stared back at the salesclerk. “May I please have a few more bags?” I asked, feeling like a complete dork.

The look on the guy’s face confirmed he agreed with my assessment of myself.

“Uh…sure,” he murmured hesitantly, handing me three more plastic bags.

“Thanks,” I responded, taking the items.

I inwardly concluded that three would have to make do. Hopefully, the worms would not leave behind a lingering smell in my purse.

I wrapped up the blue container with the extra bags as tightly as I could and tucked it into my bag. Then, I glanced up to see that no other people were watching me, except for the salesclerk, who I was pretty sure was still amused by me.

I walked out the double door of the building, back to my car, and hopped into the driver seat.

Damon looked over at me. “Did you get lost in there or what?” he asked jokingly.

“I just had to pee and pay for my gas.” I didn’t want to give up my plans yet, so I slightly exaggerated. Well, I had used the restroom when I first walked in, just not the whole time, so it was only a half fib.

“That’s classy of you to say,” he responded humorously.

“Aw, come on,” I crooned. “We all do it. No reason to be shy about it.”

“Yeah,” he hesitated. “But
normal
people don’t talk about it so openly.”

I rolled my eyes and gave him
the
look. “Says the guy who doesn’t shut the bathroom door all the way when
he
pees.”

Damon threw his head back and laughed hard before peering at me. “That is very unladylike of you to point out.”

“I have been told more than once that my filter between my brain and mouth is missing.” I snickered, relishing in our morning banter. “Sorry for the late warning.”

Damon leaned over the center console in my Firebird, and he lifted his hand to gently grasp my nape, drawing me near. “I love your mouth and what comes out of it,” he replied prior to kissing me thoroughly.

I yearned to either jump over the seat and into his lap or turn the car around and take him back home, so we could continue what he had started.

He pulled back and dragged his lips across mine sluggishly. “Definitely looking forward to naked Sunday right about now.” He grinned.

“Me, too,” I sighed dreamily.

He abruptly returned to his seat and left me craving more of him and his delicious kisses. “You said stinky and slimy first.” He tapped my right leg with his hand. “So, step on it, babe.”

“Tease,” I muttered.

He tilted his head in my direction. “All your doing, sweetheart.”

I could not argue with him there, so I started my car and drove out of the parking lot. As I headed toward the lake, I hoped the spot I had chosen was good for fishing. I briefly looked up at the skyline through the windshield to see the early morning overcast was fading, and the sun was beginning to peek out.

After a while, I pulled into the parking lot of the designated beach area, turned off the ignition, and grabbed my purse before exiting the car. Damon and I met at the rear of the vehicle.

“A day at the beach?” he asked with interest, stepping closer to me.

I slipped my key into the lock of the trunk and lifted it, revealing two fishing poles, a tackle box, and a maroon plaid blanket. “Not quite, but I hope you still enjoy fishing,” I replied, watching his eyes roam back and forth across the items in front of us.

A huge boyish grin spread across his features, and I silently thanked Jason for the suggestion.

Damon stared at me as he hooked his fingers in the belt loops of my pants and tugged me near. “Of course. Every guy likes to fish,” he answered in a delightful tone.

“Well, you and Jason are definitely brothers then because that is exactly what he said,” I responded with wit.

“Yes, we are,” he agreed, his voice full of affection for his brother. Damon lifted one hand to brush my hair off my face while smiling down at me. “But I’m curious to know what made you ask Jason about fishing.”

Gathering my words, I shrugged shyly and twined my arms around his waist. “You have been so great to me this week, Damon—actually, ever since that first night we had dinner together,” I corrected. “I wanted to do something special for you.” I gently set one hand on his chest. “You are so good to me and never ask for anything in return, so this is your day.”

Damon lowered his head against mine. “All I need is you, Gail. That’s all.” He kissed my forehead while embracing me. “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied as we parted.

His eyes lit up as he grabbed everything we needed from the back of my car. “You ready to catch some fish?”

I slung my bag over my shoulder and shut my trunk. We started walking down the trail to the water.

“Uh…funny you should mention that,” I said, recalling yesterday evening. “See, during the chat with Abbey and Jason, Abbey made a good point and said the woman reads while the guy fishes.”

“Huh.” Damon chuckled as we reached the sand. “Seems like I missed quite the conversation then.”

“Yes, you did,” I agreed, keeping pace with his longer strides. “Abbey got Jason to agree to let her read while he fished…if she wore a bikini.”

Damon stopped in his tracks, forcing me to pause, too.

He rotated to face me. “You have a bikini on underneath that outfit?” he questioned, hope lacing his tone. His eyes roamed the length of me in my blue jeans and T-shirt.

“Uh, negative,” I countered.

“You are definitely in trouble for leaving that suggestion out.”

“It is fall and cool outside,” I retorted. “However, I’m more than willing to comply next summer.”

“I’m looking forward to next summer already.” He grinned, bending at the waist to briefly kiss me. “I’ll give you a little while to read, so I can set up our stuff.” He pinned me with his eyes. “And then, you’re all mine.”

“I can handle that,” I happily agreed.

As we reached the dock, I set down the blanket and my purse. Damon lowered on his haunches and dropped all the items he was carrying.

He opened the tackle box and dug around inside of it. “The only thing we are missing is fresh bait, but I’m sure there are lures in here somewhere.”

I reached into my purse and handed him the quadruple-wrapped bait. “I have the worms.”

He reached for the bags, opened all of them, and glanced between the contents and me. His lips twitched in hilarity. “You put a container of worms in your purse?” he questioned in awe.

“Not by choice.” I pointed to the white plastic. “Hence, all the extra plastic bags,” I replied dryly, stifling my humor. “And the only reason I put it in my ridiculously expensive bag is because you
might be
kind of cute.”

“I might be cute enough to go fishing with?” Damon smirked.

“You make the cut by about”—I raised my hand in front of us to gesture a quarter of an inch with my fingers—“this much.”

“Good to know.” He chuckled throatily. “Go get your reading fix before I change my mind,” he added with a playful sneer.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I responded, rising to my feet.

I quickly laid out my blanket a few feet off to the left of him, retrieved my Kindle from my bag, and eagerly dived into Kristen Proby’s
Loving Cara
. After a busy week of work and family, I was excited to finally have the spare time to begin reading it.

I peeked over my e-reader in between pages to see Damon setting up his fishing pole, attaching what appeared to be a weight, bobber, hook, and eventually a worm. Then, he went back to the tackle box to begin working on assembling the second line. I was amazed at how many things he pulled out of that small box.