Know Her, Love Her: Daisy & Belmont, Book ONE (2 page)

“All I know is he brought her to Curtis’s wedding, and I thought they were behaving like a couple.”

“Don’t tell her that,” Charlie says from somewhere near her.

“Oh, that’s right, Curtis got married in February.”
 

Curtis Levin is Belmont, Maggie, and Charlie’s cousin. Belmont and I were invited as a couple, but it seems he’s already replaced me. Oh well—my heart is broken, but easy come, easy go.

“I was going to tell you, but Charlie talked me out of it. He said all you needed was a reason.”

“A reason for what?”

“You know,” she says.

“No, I don’t know.” I’m a little huffy. “He left me, remember?”

“But you didn’t care.”

“I care.”

Angelina is silent. “Maybe you should talk to someone. Papa has a friend.”

“He has lots of friends.”

“This one’s a psychotherapist, and he specializes in intense couple’s counseling.”

I blurt a sarcastic laugh. “You think I need a shrink? And one who’s a friend of Jacques? Who, by the way, could stand some shrinking himself.”

“He’s won awards.”

“Oh well, good for him.”

Angelina sighs. “What are you afraid of?”

“Nothing!” That’s not true. I’m afraid that Belmont might be right about me.

“Just consider it. He’s one of the best in the world.”

“Angel, please. I’m hungry.”
 

I hear Charlie ask, “What did she say?” Apparently he thinks I need to see a psychotherapist too.

“Just think about it, okay? His name is Luc Calvet. I’ve already talked to him, and he’s willing to make himself available whenever you’re ready.”

I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. The walls have stopped closing in on me. Now they’ve expanded, leaving me naked and exposed. I study my image in the mirror.
Look sad, Daisy. Cry. Let yourself feel a powerful emotion.
 

“Angel, good night. I love you,” I say, studying my reflection. I do love her even though Belmont said I wasn’t capable of loving anyone.

“I know, Daisy. I love you too. And hey, you never RSVP’d.”

Finally, I feel tears welling up. “RSVP’d for what?”

“Our engagement party.”

“Who is the ‘our’ you’re referring to?”

“Charlie and me!”

I’m taken aback. “When did you and Charlie get engaged? I thought you were against ceremonies and crap like that.”

“Well, Curtis’s wedding convinced us that we were wrong. We got engaged a few months ago. I thought I told you.”

“Apparently you hadn’t.”
 

“Well, we are. The party is on… June 12th in Iberville. You have to come. I mean it.”

“I would never miss it. I’ll even put up with Belmont and his girlfriend if I have to.”

“She’s not invited.”

I smile. “My hero.”

She chuckles.

“How awkward will it be when Belmont and I are divorced, and you and Charlie are living happily ever after?”

“Don’t say that. You guys are going to fix this. Just wait and see,” Angelina says.

I fall silent. I hope she’s right. I remember our eye contact at the restaurant, and my heart skips a beat.

“I can’t wait to see you,” she says. “Maggie will be there.”

We spend fifteen minutes talking about how Maggie has left her position at A&Rt Media Group to branch out on her own. It’s a good move, and a brave one, except she’s in business with her friend Monroe. Angelina insists that Monroe isn’t that stable. After we hang up, I put on a pair of jeans, white tank top, leather jacket, and ankle boots and take the elevator down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

A jazz ensemble is performing, and since I’m by myself, the host convinces me to sit in one of the cushy throne chairs in the lounge area. The décor is art deco, a modern take on the decadent Roaring Twenties. I take off my jacket. Before I can get comfortable and drink in the ambiance, Belmont sits in the chair across from me.
 

“Hey,” I barely say. I’m shocked to see him.
 

Belmont regards me with the same cold expression he used before he up and left. “Congratulations on your new job.” He stands to take off his black overcoat. He’s wearing heather-gray slacks and a navy-blue V-neck sweater.
 

I can hardly concentrate. He’s as scrumptious as he was this morning. We definitely have our issues, but attraction isn’t one of them. “What new job?”
 

“Aren’t you the host of
The Lone Traveler
?”

“So you
are
behind the whole thing,” I snarl.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Then we just happened to be in the same restaurant in Chicago at the same time?”
 

“What are the odds?”

I narrow one eye suspiciously. “Yes, what are the odds.”
 

He sets his ankle on his knee and steeples his hands in front of him. “Of all the shit between us, you would be angry if I interfered with you getting a job?”

“I would be more upset than angry.”

“Is there a difference?”

“I think so.”

His expression is indiscernible. “You’re so beautiful, Daisy.”

I turn my gaze toward the stone fountain in the middle of the lobby. It’s an obscure piece of work.

He leans forward. “We haven’t spoken in four and a half months, and when you see me, you run away.”

He’s waiting for me to respond, but I don’t know what he wants me to say. “Should I apologize?”

He sniffs disdainfully. “You have a lot of shit to apologize for, but fleeing a restaurant isn’t one of them.”

“You don’t have to make me feel lousy. I already do.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”
 

I glare at him. To the world, it looks as if Belmont’s the bad guy for leaving me. However, he and I know the truth. After Joella passed, he handled the cremation, the paperwork, and planning her memorial service, which I missed because I couldn’t get out of bed. I only woke up when the nurse Belmont had hired changed the dressing over my incision, gave me a sponge bath, or tried to convince me to eat homemade soup. Belmont had never badgered me about doing my part. He’d consulted Heloise, my mother, and her advice was for him to wait until I got out of bed on my own, which I did a week and a half later.
 

Of course, things weren’t the same. When we had sex, I asked Belmont to wear a condom. He was fine with that for the first couple of months, but then he wanted sex more frequently and spontaneously. I was always worried about being safe. Slowly, we stopped having sex so frequently. Belmont slept in another room. I didn’t complain about that either. Then we started saying cruel things to each other. He would bring up how I missed Joella’s memorial ceremony and question whether I ever cared about her or him. I refused to try to convince him of my love for our daughter. I told him that me being catatonic for a week and a half was right up his alley since he liked me being weak.
 

“You’re not weak. You’re void,” he’d said.

I didn’t recover from that comment until he moved out. I still don’t think I’m over it.

The waitress steps between us to take our orders. I’m no longer hungry, so I just order a club soda.

“Did I ruin your appetite?” Belmont asks, scowling.

“No.” Finally I feel my own anger. “Yes, actually. I don’t know why you’re behaving this way. You’re the one who had a date, and I know you took her to Curtis’s wedding. The invitation was for you and me, not you and her. I’ve seen the reports about you and other women. You’ve moved on. Maybe I should too.”

Belmont puts his hands on my knees and leans in. “There are no other women.”

“Um, should I come back?” the waitress asks.
 

I forgot she was standing there. I swallow. It has been too long since he touched me. The band starts.
 

Belmont stands and put on his coat. “We’re leaving.” He glares at me as if I should automatically follow.

But I came here to eat and listen to music. As soon as I sat down, all the men in the room paid attention to me. Not until this very moment have I considered finding myself a lover just as he did. I know exactly what Belmont wants, and every part of my body wants to comply. I rise to my feet. I’m disappointed with myself for being unable to resist him.
 

Belmont takes my hand—his palms are damp. He leads me to the elevator and slides his card through the reader, unlocking access to the 30th floor.
 

My jaw drops. “Are you serious? You have a room here?”
 

He chuckles. “I do.”

“Is this coincidence, or are you following me?”

“Neither. I used our reward advantage.”

“Ah, yes…” I did too.

As the elevator rises, he slams his lips against mine. His mouth tastes the same. The way he’s so hard for me hasn’t changed either. My chest, pelvis, and thighs rise to meet his. We whimper with frustration. We can’t seem to sink into the other’s skin.

“I do love you,” I say breathlessly.
 

I tilt my head. His tongue slips up my neck to my chin, and his teeth pull my bottom lip into his warm mouth. Ravenous hands squeeze my ass and rub me against his unyielding erection. I’m soaked and ready for him. The elevator door slides open. Belmont leads me to my suite. Of course he knows which room I’m staying in.
 

He shoves me against the door and tugs at my jeans. “Why did you wear these?” His tongue circles mine.

“I didn’t know I would have to accommodate you.”
 

 
“You must’ve known I wouldn’t let the night pass without fucking you.” He grabs my pussy.

I gulp. I’m so sensitive to his touch.

“Give me your key,” he commands.

My hands shiver, but I manage to get the key out of my pocket and give it to him. Belmont swipes it. He doesn’t let go of my crotch as he backs me into the room. The desk lamp fills the room with dim light. Our mouths are incapable of pulling apart, but he releases my pussy to take off my jacket.

“Get on the bed.” His voice is thickened by desire.

I sit on the edge, but Belmont sweeps me up and drops me in the middle of it. He snatches off his coat and spreads himself on top of me. We wrap ourselves around each other. My tank top goes over my head and separates our lips, but our mouths soon reconnect. He tugs the cups of my bra up over my breasts and sucks my erect nipples deep into his wet mouth. I whimper with every stir of his tongue and nibble of his teeth. Excitement makes me overly sensitive.

“Belmont?” I breathe heavily into his mouth.

He unsnaps my pants and pulls down the zipper. “What?”
 

“Do you have a condom?”

He sighs as he rolls onto his back and covers his eyes with his forearm.
 

My body and soul screech from his abandonment, but my face shows no signs of it. I stare at the ceiling and recall the last time we made love. It was the night before he walked out. I couldn’t enjoy all the pleasurable things he did to me because I was too busy worrying about what could happen since we hadn’t taken precautions.
 

Belmont sits up. “I think I want a divorce.”

I close my eyes to bear the ache in my heart. It passes, but my stomach is still queasy. “Okay.”
 

His glare stops my heart. “That’s it?”
 

“You’ve already left me and started seeing someone else. Yes, that’s it.” Fueled by rage, I try to sit up.

All of a sudden, Belmont yanks off my shoes and throws them on the floor. He pulls me close to the foot of the bed and tugs off my pants. He grabs my ankles, spreads my legs, and admires my pussy. Without another word, he puts his face in it, swirling his tongue around my clit. The impact is immediate. I moan and claw at the sheets. He watches me squirm as his fingers dig into the flesh of my ass, pinning my clit to his mouth. He makes me feel pleasure and pain. My knot swells against his tongue, and he squeezes harder.
 

I close my eyes tightly and, like our relationship, focus on what feels good. I whimper and try to wriggle my butt out of his grasp, but Belmont won’t let go. His hands are like a trap, and my ass is the bear.

“Ouch,” I whine. “You’re hurting me.”

He frees me, and I hear the clasp and zipper of his pants. Before I can lean up on my elbows, he lifts my thighs and pulls my hips up toward his erection. I gasp when he slams himself inside me. Belmont pounds me against his pole, hitting bottom. He groans as though screwing me is the best thing in the world.
 

I have no control over what he’s doing. My tits bounce like paddleballs. He’s shifting me so fast that he’s a blur. Belmont is in this for himself. I should shout stop, but it feels so good being handled by him again, even if we’re engaging in risky, condomless sex.
 

“Fuck!” He pulls out, pushes my bottom against the bed, and sprays my belly and tits with his juices.

“Did you come?” he asks, breathing heavily.

I frown. “What was that?”

“Did you come or not?”
 

“Of course not…”

By the way he’s behaving, I expect him to say good, put his pants back on, and leave me unfulfilled. Belmont’s gaze rolls up and down my nakedness.
 

“One second,” he says and retrieves a towel out of the bathroom. He wipes my stomach then digs his fingers carefully into my pussy. “You’re still wet.” His thumb rolls around my clit, and his fingers thrust into me.
 

He watches my stomach muscles roll as sensations surge under the hood of my pubis. Belmont is an expert at this. I bite my bottom lip, arch my back, and let myself enjoy how good it feels. He bends over to suck my bottom lip into his mouth, then my top one.

Belmont breathes heavily. “Shit...”
 

He stimulates me faster. I run my fingers through his hair and grip his scalp as he bites and licks my nipples. I let him hear me when my walls pulsate around his fingers.

“Daisy, baby,” he mutters and prods me faster to make my orgasm last.