Blame It on Your Heart (14 page)

She tapped lightly on the closed door.

"Come on in," he called through the door.

She curled her hand around the doorknob and took a moment to gather her composure. Despite what had happened last night, and that hot look he'd flashed her this morning, this was a business meeting.

Purely professional.

And obviously he wanted it that way as well, or else he wouldn't have called her over to his small, utilitarian office. Not exactly setting the stage for seduction

Oh please, since when have the two of you needed anything other than a closed door and a flat surface?

She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"You mind closing the door?"

Her heart rate doubled. Closed door, check. And that wooden desk of his was plenty flat and plenty wide.

"I can't stand that ridiculous music Janelle has pumping out there."

She closed the door behind her and settled into the padded arm chair that faced his desk.

She put the file she'd brought next to one of the many piles of neatly stacked papers that covered his desk. Her mouth quirked involuntarily as she remembered how when they were growing up his desk had looked exactly the same.

But no, this was not the time to indulge in memories of their shared past. If she wanted to move forward she had to let all of that go, starting now.

"Before we go over this, I feel like we need to talk about what happened last night."

Damon cocked his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair.

She forced herself not to squirm when he remained silent, pinning her with that unreadable stare. "I think we can both agree that nothing like that can ever happen again."

He gave her a half nod and folded his arms across his chest.

God, he had amazing arms, she thought, noting the way they bulged with muscle, his biceps straining the sleeves of his shirt even when he was at rest.

When he was exerting himself... a vision of him from last night flashed through her brain. Damon, bracing himself over her, every muscle and sinew standing out in stark relief, sweat slicking his skin as he drove himself deeper...

She gave herself a mental slap. "I mean, we're not kids anymore, who can fool around and not worry about the consequences, right?" She grimaced at the slightly hysterical note in her voice. She reached out and grabbed her folder from the desk. "Okay, now that we have that settled, we can go over the numbers. I've also written up a timeline to help keep things moving as we go from cocktails and appetizers, to dinner, to dessert and dancing."

As she was talking, Damon rose from his chair and walked around his desk.

Ellie continued, as he moved behind her, explaining the irregularities she'd found in the liquor distributor's pricing, as well as the fact they didn't carry many of the top shelf brands Jane wanted for the party.

"I've been researching other vendors—" she stopped cold at the sound of the deadbolt on Damon's office door sliding into place. "A-and I've found someone who can get us everything we need at a much more competitive price."

"Sounds like a good idea."

He stood directly behind her chair, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his big body. It seeped into her pores, curling tight between her legs.

She twisted in the chair so she could see him and offered the spreadsheet. "Don't you want to check my numbers first?"

One look at his face and she knew the cost of liquor was the last thing on his mind.

He took the folder and papers from her hands and tossed them back onto the desk before moving so he stood between her and the desk.

Stop him,
she scolded herself as Damon braced his hands on her chair's armrests and bent his head to hers.

Stop him,
she said again when his mouth opened hungrily over hers, his tongue thrusting insistently.

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do this," Ellie gasped, as she tried to pull away.

"I didn't agree to anything," he growled and cupped her head in his hand, holding her in place for another ravaging kiss as he sank to his knees in front of her.

"It complicates things," she protested even as her hands came up to curl over his shoulders.

"Only if we let it," he said, then slid his mouth over her cheek, down her neck until he found that spot under her ear. He gave it a gentle nip and she bit back a little cry as it sent a pulse of heat to her very core.

After all this time, he knew exactly where and how to touch her to drive her completely out of her mind.

"One thing you were right about, we're adults now. Not a couple of kids who don't know any better than to get carried away thinking it all has to mean something. We want each other. That's all that matters."

He kissed her again, hard, and trailed his hand down her neck until it slid inside the open collar of her button front shirt.

A thousand protests swirled in her brain, reasons why this was the mother of all bad ideas. First and foremost was that Ellie was not and had never been casual about sex. Of her two partners, she'd planned to marry the first and actually married the second.

She didn't have it in her to treat it like it was meaningless. And if Damon had truly become as cavalier as he claimed... disaster was unavoidable.

But just like the night before, her protests died against his lips as pleasure burned through her. Stealing her common sense until all that mattered was his tongue thrusting against hers, his big hand slipping under her bra to cup her breast. His thumb flicked over her nipple, and she moaned against his mouth and sucked his tongue between her lips.

It was like a drug, this mad rush she felt when she was with him. She'd almost forgotten it, told herself she'd over played it in her memories, how amazing he made her feel.

But last night proved that her memories didn't even come close to capturing the experience. His heat, his taste, his scent, the sheer size of his body pinning her back into the chair. Last night he'd given her a taste of that high only he had ever been able to give her.

And now she was helpless against its lure.

At his urging she rose to her feet and they tugged clumsily at each other's clothes. Shirts, shorts, jeans, and underwear went flying.

Naked, he pulled her tight against him and turned her until her butt rested against the edge of the desk. Neatly stacked piles of paper fluttered to the floor as he laid her back across it.

She wrapped her arms around his back and hooked her leg around his waist. They both hissed as his rock hard shaft slid against the wet heat between her legs.

Her inner muscles clenched, eager to feel that thick length driving inside of her. Damon had other plans, taking his time as he slid his mouth down her neck, over her chest until his lips found her breasts. Kissing, licking, sucking them each in turn, until Ellie brought her hand to her mouth and bit down hard on her finger to muffle the noises bubbling up in her throat.

She coiled her fingers in the thick silk of his hair, rocked her hips until her sex was pushing against the muscles of his stomach. Her own stomach went tight as the pulse between her legs beat harder, the tension coiling tighter until she was hovering at the breaking point.

"Oh, God," she said in a shaky whisper. "Please Damon, I need..." Her voice trailed off as he gave her right nipple one last nip and slid his open mouth down her stomach, past her navel.

Just the sight of his dark head, hovering between her thighs, sent another rush of wet heat to her core.

She remembered the first time he'd gone down on her. How nervous and self-conscious she'd been, how careful and cajoling he'd been, assuring her over and over how much he wanted to do it, how good it would feel.

Today there was no cajoling, no convincing. Damon hooked his hands behind her knees and drew her legs over his shoulders, parted her with his thumbs and bent his head.

Heat pulsed through her at the first stroke of his tongue, and she pressed her lips to contain a sharp cry. Circling, swirling, stroking... his tongue was driving her insane.

And then, God, his fingers, stroking, thrusting, deliciously thick inside her as his lips and tongue continued their torture.

Though he was more forceful in his approach, one thing hadn't changed. Damon was still a master at giving a girl head. The way he moved his mouth over her, like she was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted, the way he worked to draw out every last tremor of pleasure...

She'd never felt more beautiful, more loved, than when she was with him like this.

"Christ, Ellie, you taste so fucking good," he murmured against her. "So fucking sexy, and I can't get enough."

There was no holding back the rush of emotion that poured through her, mingling with the pleasure until she felt like she was soaring through the stratosphere. At being so wanted, so desired... it had been so long...

He sucked her clit between his lips, and she let out a shuddering breath. His fingers pumped, reaching and twisting until they hit a bundle of nerves guaranteed to make her go off like a nuclear bomb.

She clamped her hand over her mouth as the first wave of her orgasm hit her, desperately trying to muffle her cries as her body spasmed with pleasure.

"I love it when you come in my mouth," Damon rasped. He was relentless, licking, stroking until the last aftershock shimmered through her.

Lost in a haze of pleasure, she was vaguely aware of Damon's weight lifting off of her. Her brain registered a ripping sound and then big, hard hands were cupping her ass, lifting her hips up off the desk.

Then he was there, huge and hard. He stroked the head of his cock against her sex, bathing himself in her wetness. Then he pushed inside, his big hands gripping her hips, holding her still for his invasion.

Her body, still quivering in the aftermath of her climax, felt swollen and tight. He was relentless, squeezing himself inside, slow, steady, inch by inch, until he was as deep as he could possibly go.

Oh, God, she loved how he felt inside her. Filling her to the brim and making her crave more.

And then he started to move...

Her body responded as though she hadn't come mere minutes ago. Her knees fell open, and her hands slid down to his ass, urging him deeper, harder, as the pleasure coiled tight. The sound of their breathing filled the tiny room as he pistoned in and out.

"Ellie..." he ground out her name like he was being tortured.

She lifted her heavy lids and found him staring down at her, his face tight with need as he slid his hand down her belly. She let out a sharp gasp as he burrowed his thumb in the plump folds to find her clit, stroking her in time with his heavy thrusts.

"Damon," she said struggling to keep her voice at a whisper when a scream was building in her throat "I'm going to... please—"

Her mouth opened wide but before she could let loose he cupped his hand around the back of her head and closed his mouth over hers. He swallowed her cry as she clenched and pulsed around him, her body milking him as she came so hard she saw starbursts behind her closed eyelids.

He followed her over the cliff, his big body jerking and shuddering against her as his cock pulsed and throbbed inside her.

Somehow he managed to stand up and take her with him. With his cock still rock hard and inside her, he settled himself in the armchair with her on top, knees on either side of his hips. Feeling too weak to move, Ellie settled herself against him and tried to keep reality at bay for just a little longer.

It was the height of foolishness, she knew, to have given in to him again. To now revel in this moment of afterglow.

To let herself indulge, for even a second, in the fantasy that his hands gently stroking down her bare back, his lips tracing the curve of her cheek, meant that he held any real affection for her.

Who says we have to be friends?

She didn't want to care.

But it stung. The idea that whatever he'd felt for her had disappeared so completely he didn't even care if they were friends.

Especially when, for her, the love she'd felt for Damon had never gone away at all.

Chapter 8

Get up. Get dressed. Get her out of here.

His body, especially his dick, was in no way inclined to obey his brain's demands. Despite coming so hard he'd nearly passed out, he was still hard as a spike, buried deep inside of her. And God help him, it wasn't just that he wanted to keep fucking.

He wanted
her.
Ellie. Her soft weight settled against his chest, her warm breath against his throat. Her skin under his palms as he slid them up and down her back. Her sweet, flowery scent curling up in his nostrils, mingling with the earthy scents of sex.

Only she could make him feel this way. This hungry, this needy, wanting her until he felt like he was going to break with reality if he didn't have her.

Crazy enough to sneak into her bedroom uninvited. Crazy enough to take her here, in his tiny, sterile office when who knew how many customers were right outside the door.

Crazy enough to convince himself that he could have sex with her and not have it be any different than with any other woman. That he could close himself off to the tangle of emotions that threatened to erupt when he so much as thought of her, much less touched her. Because convincing himself of that was the only way he could rationalize taking the one thing he wanted more than anything, ever. Had never stopped wanting.

Ellie.

It had never gone away, he'd just done a good job of burying it. And now that she was here....

He tilted her chin up and bent his head to meet her lips with his. She sucked his tongue into her mouth. Hot, sweet, luscious.

He fed her slow, leisurely kisses as his hands explored her body. He re-memorized the curves and angles, every inch of her so familiar even though some parts had changed.

What hadn't changed was his body's reaction to hers and her own eager response. Their kisses grew deeper, hungrier, and he could feel the tips of her breasts hardening into points against his chest.

The mere thought of her tits made his mouth water. He cupped a breast and brought it to his mouth. He sucked hard, and she clenched hard around his cock. Another pull, and again she tightened, like her body was trying to suck him deeper inside.

Her shuddering breath fluttered against his cheek and she started to rock her hips, but he slid his hands to her hips, staying her.

He sucked again, alternating between her breasts as he held himself as deep inside her as he could get. His cock swelled bigger inside her as her pussy squeezed with pleasure. Her fingers curled into his shoulders, the sharp bite of her nails making his balls draw up tight against his body.

Her response never ceased to amaze him, her nipples so sensitive he knew he could make her come without so much as a thrust of his hips.

And she was close, he could feel it, her muscles stiffening, her breath speeding up as she pulsed and fluttered around him.

He pinched one nipple between his fingers and took the other between his teeth. A gentle nip and a firm squeeze and that was all it took. Ellie came with a gasp, throwing her head back as she clutched at shoulders for support.

Damon bit back a groan as his own climax loomed just beyond his reach. Grasping her hips, he worked her up and down his shaft. She quickly picked up the rhythm and rocked against him. He stared at her through his pleasured haze, mesmerized. With her blue eyes narrowed and glittering, her kiss swollen lips parted, her full, creamy tits bouncing as she rode him, she was by far the sexiest woman he'd ever seen.

So beautiful he almost didn't want to come, didn't want this to end.

But one more rock of her hips and he was at the point of no return. He could feel his balls tightening, his thighs tensing. He came, his cock twitching and throbbing inside her as his heart threatened to burst from his chest.

She collapsed against him, her forehead resting against him, their breath mingling.

After a few moments she pushed away and lifted herself off of him. Every cell in his body screamed at him to snatch her back. He wasn't even close to finished with her. He wanted to take her back to his house for a week, a month, a year.

And even that probably wouldn't even be enough.

But now that he'd taken the edge off of the unyielding lust that had dogged him since her return, his logical side was able to briefly override his system. Remind him that they were at his office, that this was a work day. That he had a shitload to get done, and she eventually had to get back to her job and her son.

Damon grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk and discreetly took care of the condom.

Silently they gathered up their clothes, exchanging garments with little smiles as needed. Once dressed, Ellie excused herself to go tidy up in the bathroom right outside his office.

While she was gone, brain warred with itself, alternately scheming about the next time he could get her in bed—or a chair—and reminding him that no matter how amazing the sex still was, nothing could ever come of it.

And despite all of his bluster about being over it, his feelings about Ellie and what happened were far from resolved.

So there it was, he thought as he pulled his shirt over his head and yanked his pants up his legs. A thirty-year-old, grown fucking man, still stewing about what had gone down between them when he was eighteen.

Still unable to resist the one woman who'd been able to work her way inside his heart before he realized how important it was to protect it.

She came back into the office and offered him a little smile.

His stomach clenched at the uncertainty lurking in her blue eyes. He should feel triumphant over it, proof of how the tables had turned. That she had no doubt he was not the Damon that had been willing to do whatever it took to make her happy.

Instead, that vulnerability, like she was preparing for him to hit her with another verbal blow, made him feel about two inches tall. Like it or not, if he hurt her, he would feel the sting twice as hard.

As she closed the door behind her, he closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek in his hand. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tilted her mouth up to his.

He gave her one soft kiss, then another. He lifted his head before it got too far out of control, pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her dark hair. "I think," he murmured, "now that I've got some blood back in my brain we can finally go over those numbers."

She gave a soft laugh, settled herself back in the armchair and spent the next several minutes going over the information she'd pulled.

"Wow," Damon said, impressed. "I always think of you as the artist and Molly as the numbers girl, but you found some things that even slipped by her."

"Growing up, we both had to become experts in budgeting and cash flow management. Thank God, or I'd never have made it through the last year," she added wryly.

Tension knotted his shoulders at the reminder of the crazy wealthy lifestyle she'd lived with her husband. "I imagine being suddenly broke was quite the shock to the system."

"The bigger shock was finding out my husband had a mistress and another kid," she said tightly. "Honestly, all the money, that life... I always sort of felt like it wasn't meant to last. That it wasn't real."

"And this is?"

"As real as I've ever known." The sudden intensity in her gaze made him uneasy. It vanished in a flash. "I should get going," she said, nodding at the wall clock mounted behind his desk. She stood and gathered her purse and folder full of spreadsheets.

Damon stood too. "You want me to give you a ride?" he asked. Determined to keep this casual or not, he still wasn't ready to part from her.

"Thanks, but I could use the walk," she said. She paused at the door. "So, I'll see you soon?" She looked over her shoulder at him, her lips curved in a sexy half smile, one eyebrow cocked that left no question as to her meaning.

His mouth pulled in an answering grin. "Be sure not to lock your window tonight."

###

Ellie didn't know it was possible to function on less than five hours of sleep for several nights in a row. But not only was she functioning, she felt remarkably energetic as she cleared the last of her tables after her breakfast shift.

Supercharged, even.

All of it was due, she knew, to the way she was spending her nights.

And with whom.

After their "meeting" in Damon's office, Ellie had obeyed his request to leave her window open. And every night since then she'd waited, body pulsing with anticipation, for the moment he crept into her bedroom.

"You certainly look satisfied with yourself," Molly's voice jerked her out of her reverie. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ellie said as she untied her apron and lifted it over her head. "Thanks for covering the lunch shift for me today. It was the only time JT could meet me to go over everything." JT Osbourne was the general manager of the Lazy Creek Guest Ranch, where most of the party guests would be staying. Not only was it the only place around town that had the capacity they required—not to mention fancy enough to satisfy the handful of Hollywood types that were attending—because it was out of town, it meant that Deck would remain ignorant of their presence until the party a week from this coming Saturday.

Today Ellie was doing a site visit to check out the rooms and make sure JT could accommodate the special requests Jane's assistant had forwarded on behalf of the guests.

If the Lazy Creek cook couldn't guarantee he could provide a completely gluten, dairy, and sugar free menu to a certain B+ list actor, Ellie wanted to know about it well in advance.

"Not a problem," Molly said as she grabbed a clean apron from a hook on the wall and slipped it over her head. "I can cover tomorrow too if you need it. But Friday Sadie and I have another trip to Billings. Lunch and a hunt for bridal shoes," she said with a little grin.

"I'd love to go with you sometime," Ellie said, hoping she didn't sound too pitiful. She told herself she was being stupid, feeling hurt that Molly didn't seem to want to include her in her wedding plans. Her feelings about Josh aside, Molly was her little sister, and Ellie wanted to be a part of her sister's big event.

"And I'd love to have you, but we can't both be gone, not in the summer, and especially not with the party coming up. Don't worry El," she said, grabbing Ellie and giving her a big squeeze. "There will be plenty of stuff to help me with. Like, hello, bachelorette party?"

"I'll keep my roster of male strippers handy," Ellie said and went to grab her bag.

"Speaking of work and party planning," Molly said, "I meant to ask you about a message I got from Bob Wilkins at AtoZ Liquors—something about canceling his contract?"

Ellie nodded.

"He misunderstood right? I mean, I know he doesn't have the inventory to supply the specialty stuff Jane wants, but it's just a one-time thing, right?"

"No, no misunderstanding. I canceled his contract and negotiated a new one with Mountain Spirits."

A crease formed between Molly's eyes, and Ellie's stomach clenched in response. Just when she thought she and her sister were settling back into their close, comfortable relationship, Molly looked ready to pick another fight.

"But Bob and his family have been our supplier since the restaurant opened.”

"They've also been charging us fifteen percent more than the next closest competitor. By going with Mountain Spirits we'll save almost twenty percent on our alcohol."

"They floated us a credit two years ago when we almost went out of business. Do you think some big company who doesn't even know us would help us out like that?"

"I think a big company wouldn't overcharge us for our liquor and contribute to the issues that nearly pulled the restaurant under," she snapped. "I also think that you, as the bookkeeper, should have caught this well before I ever did. I can barely make a spreadsheet, and it only took me ten minutes to realize he was taking advantage of us."

"Do you seriously have the nerve to come back here, after barely setting foot in the place for over ten years, and tell me I suck at my job?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I'm just surprised that you didn't catch it."

"Who says I didn't?" Molly said, gathering her blonde waves into a thick ponytail that hung down her back. "But business isn't always about hard numbers. It's about relationships too, and our relationship with Bob's family—"

"Is apparently one that involves us getting screwed."

"Yeah, well you would know all about choosing money over a relationship."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"But what do you care," Molly continued, ignoring her. "You're leaving. You can do whatever you want, piss all over a partnership that's lasted over fifty years. You won't have to deal with the fallout."

"Who said anything about leaving?" Ellie sputtered.

Molly grabbed a tray and took it over to the rack that held trays of clean silverware. "You did, from the second you decided to come back here. ’It's only temporary, just until the worst of it dies down, and I can get back on my feet. There's no way I could deal with moving back permanently.' Sound familiar?"

Of course it did. And at the time she'd said it, she'd meant it with every fiber of her being. Now...