Seclusion (14 page)

His beautiful eyes stared
into mine. “Well, let’s just say that we both promise to keep everything that
goes on here to ourselves. It’s just our dream, Rae. It’s not real, but you
know, whatever you want, I’ll do it for you.”

He was back to kissing me
and nibbling my lip. I couldn’t resist any longer; my body had been craving
this since the moment I saw him. I gave in to the make-out session, running my
hands over his broad shoulders and down his muscled back. He moaned “Rae” into
my ear, and I could feel the prickle sensations again. I had no clue how long
we had been lying there; in dream time, it felt fleeting. Damen pulled back and
kissed me again, brushing my hair from my face.

“I’m sorry, Rae. I need to
stop before I do something you will regret tomorrow.”

By then, I was so into it I
didn’t want to stop.

“It’s just a dream,” I
said.

It never felt this way with
Chase. I caressed Damen’s face, attempting to make him kiss me again. He pulled
me up to a sitting position.

“Trust me. I don’t want to
stop, but you were right. I’m beginning to think of you as mine, and it’s not
fair to Chase. You should break things off with him. I know you aren’t
confident about him. You could be with me.”

I looked at his face and
knew he was being sincere. I could feel the emotion in my stomach.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying leave him and
be with me.”

“I’m confused. This dream
world is like a pure emotional haze. I need to think about it in real life.”

Damen smiled and gave me a
peck on the cheek. He picked me up as he stood and moved me to his back, and
then started off toward the water.

“I don’t want to go
swimming,” I said.

“Well, it doesn’t look like
you have a choice,” he said, smiling.

I tried to climb higher up
on his back, but he dunked under the water.

“You jerk!” I sputtered,
laughing as I wiped water from my face. He switched me to his front again and
kissed my forehead with such gentleness my heart ached.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Chase.
But you can’t hurt me,” I said.

Damen looked at me and gave
me a wink. “I knew it was just a matter of time.”

“You are the cockiest guy I
know.”

“And…? You find it
endearing.”

“But we… no more kissing
until I talk to him, and I can’t talk to him until after our little outing,” I
said.

“Mmm… I don’t like that
plan. In fact, we will be in a hotel room together tomorrow night and we won’t
return for three days! I’m supposed to keep my hands off you? When I know
you’re mine?”

“Yes. Except for when we’re
on the job!”

Right at that moment, I
heard the most horrible sound.

“UGHHHH!” we both said in
unison, and started laughing.

“Why…do you wake up so
early?”

“I set the alarm for you,”
I heard from the doorway as Damen jumped onto my bed and wrapped his arms
around me. “I’m not kissing you, and it’s hard. Trust me,” he said.

“You are in boxers!” I
said.

“So? I’m over the
blankets.”

“What did you mean you set
the alarm for me?”

“I think you have a
breakfast date with Prince Charming. Man, is he gonna be pissed when you break
up with him for me!”

“Ohhh. Well, he can’t know
it’s for you. We’ll have to keep our relationship on the D L for a while,” I
said.

He flipped me over so that
I was facing him and we were no longer spooning.

“Rae…Rae, you are making
this more difficult than it has to be. Just tell him the truth. He’ll
appreciate it. We are connected – we can’t help it.”

“No. I said I’m not hurting
him for my benefit or yours.”

“Okay,” he said grumpily.
“Oh, and I don’t mind being Edward for summer fling. I can rock any costume,”
he said, mocking me. I shoved him off the bed.

“Help me get back to my
room without suspicion, will you? What do I tell Elsie?”

“You don’t have to say
anything. I called her last night and explained the note from Dr. Zeke. She
doesn’t care. She knows you’ve been in love with me since the
MOMENT
you
saw me. Which is a little frustrating now… You like all of me, right?” he said
sarcastically.

I just smiled. “You’ll
never know, will you? And she sooo did not say that.”

“Oh, I can find out,” he
said, “but I do have some boundaries.”

We walked hand in hand to
the door. “Oh, here,” he said. Coffee in a to-go cup flew to me. I squeezed his
hand.

“I feel like you’ve known
me for years and I’m just getting to know you.”

“Comes with the
territory…sorry. Your abilities are getting stronger. Trust me, soon you’ll be
stronger than me. Did you see your aura this morning? Gives me a new reason to
call you sun Rae.”

I just smiled and walked
out, rushing to my room. I only had twenty minutes to get ready since I
procrastinated leaving Damen.
I guess I’m not washing my hair, but that’s
what dry shampoo is for.

I walked into the
cafeteria, and Chase was waiting for me.

“You look tired. Long night
studying?”

“Yes,” I said, “and it was
the weirdest thing.”

It was still easy hanging
out with Chase. After all, he had always been like a best friend. I felt bad
because Damen had been right all along. I loved Chase, but I was only willing
to love him as a friend.

I quickly summed up my
study session with Damen and briefly explained the mission Dr. Zeke was sending
us on. Chase wasn’t happy about the situation, but there wasn’t anything he
could do.

Chase grabbed my hand and
squeezed, and I held his back, but purely as a friend.

“I feel like something is
wrong, Raegan. There’s something different between us,” he said.

“It’ll be harder on you if
you procrastinate,”
I heard Damen say.

“Damen, I’ll take care of
it. Are you going to be watching me all the time?”

“Raegan, I wasn’t spying!
I’m here in the cafeteria picking up breakfast and I could hear Chase’s
thoughts from here.”

I looked around and saw
Damen at the end of the line, grabbing his to-go bag.
“I’m sorry, Damen.”

“It’s okay. Trust me
though, the longer you take to tell him, the worse he’s going to feel,”
he said.

I looked back at Chase.
“You’re right. I think we need to talk.”

Chase smiled and kissed me,
and then said, “Okay, when you get back I’ll have a date planned for us.”

“Oh, okay. Um, just coffee
would be fine though.”

I looked for Damen and shot
him a confused look.

“
Grrr. He thinks you’re
going to confirm the feelings he told you about last night. He thinks you’re
ready to take the next step,”
Damen replied in a harsh tone.

“Oh, crap!”

“I’ll see you in class, Rae.”
Damen thought.

I walked into class and
chatted with Chase about the interesting mission Damen and I were going on.
Chase was pretty grouchy after I told him that Damen and I were playing a
couple. We took our normal seats, and Chloe, not surprisingly, headed toward a
seat near Damen. He gave her a knowing grin, which irked me.

“Aren’t you going to break
it off with Chloe?”
I
knew it was a petty comment, but I couldn’t help but think that now Damen would
know how it feels to have to hurt someone.

“
I figured I needed to
wait till after you and Chase break up so it doesn’t look too obvious. You
did
want it to look like you weren’t leaving him for me, right?
‘
Cause I can
tell Chloe now
.”

Chloe was sitting on his
knee. He didn’t have to look so smug about it.

“Raegan, you’re a lovely
shade of clover green right now.”

Damen pictured himself
kissing me, and I started blushing. I tried to focus on my textbook. He started
laughing in his head.

Class took forever. I said
my good-byes to Chase. He had basketball practice, so I wasn’t going to be
seeing him until I returned from my trip. When I got to my room, I found a
dozen roses on my bed – red, too. I could feel Damen’s anger rising through my
curtain.

“Damen!
What’s wrong?”

He could see the roses on
my bed that I’d grabbed and smelled and hugged to myself. I could feel anger
seething from Damen.

“What’s wrong? Those aren’t
from me! I have more imagination than that! I know your favorite is orchids,
and I’d get you purple for passion.”

“Oh, sorry.”

I quickly read the note and
put the roses aside. It was a good-bye present from Chase. I felt guilty… maybe
Damen was right.

“I am,”
I heard.

Damen carried our luggage
as we walked to our private jet.

“This is weird,” I said.

“Yep.”

We were amazed as we
climbed aboard the spacious jet. There was a bar and a table, and even couches.
A flight attendant asked if we wanted any mineral water or soda.

“Two Dr. Peppers with ice,
please,” Damen said.

I guess we should start
playing the part
,
I thought as he guided me further into the jet.

Damen grabbed my hand,
pulled me to the couch, and flipped on the flat screen. He was wearing a
collared shirt with dark denim jeans and casual dress shoes. I was wearing a
bright blue halter dress with jeweled flats and carrying a Louis, compliments
of Taylor. Damen had told me that I looked hotter than hot when he first saw me
and yanked me into his room for a kiss, although I put a stop to it once I was
able to catch my breath. The memory had me blushing, but I still wasn’t
completely convinced that this was real and that he wanted to be with me.

We were cuddled up on the
couch and Damen had his jacket draped around me. Although we felt alone, we
knew that the jet attendants were watching us, which made things awkward. Damen
rubbed my arm and then asked if there were blankets somewhere. A flight
attendant brought us blankets and pillows.

“I think a nap is a good
idea,” he said as he handed me a pillow.

I laughed.
“Our
relationship is weird.”

“You stress too much,
Raegan. I’m gonna be good for you.”

Damen sent me visions of a
clearing in a forest with blankets and champagne and strawberries.

“I think we need a change
in scenery,” he said, “although maybe we should still be in swimwear.” He
winked.

We spooned on the couch and
then fell asleep; we were both tired after the late night study session.

I arrived in the meadow in
my bikini. I started laughing, and then quickly changed my clothes. Damen
appeared in the same clothing as earlier; not in board shorts, unfortunately,
but still sexy as ever.

“I wonder how long our
flight will be,” I said.

“Hour and a half or so,” he
replied as he picked me up and twirled me around. “I never thought I could be
this happy. I owe you a lot for healing me.”

I knew he was telling the
truth, and it hurt me to know that he had been so unhappy before.

“Raegan, you’re the only
one who knows what I’ve gone through. Having to keep myself separated from the
world does not make life as easy as it could’ve been,” he said with a wicked
grin.

I laughed. “Oh, poor Damen.
How do you stand being so gorgeous?”

I felt his warm lips brush
mine and his strong arms embrace me.
Swoon
, I thought.

“Raegan, I don’t want you
to put up any walls while we’re on the mission. If we get separated, I need to
know where you are at all times.”

I started kissing his neck
and murmured, “Of course” in his ear.

He started laughing. “You
are going to drive me insane, little one. You do realize we are sleeping
together right now on the plane. Who knows what our bodies are really doing.”

“Oh. You don’t think…”

“Mmm…yes, I’d say it’s
possible.”

“Let’s wake up then.”

“Okay, how?” Damen asked.

All of a sudden we felt
shaking.

“Excuse me, but we will be
landing in five minutes.”

“Thanks,” Damen said,
holding me tight. He wouldn’t let me get up yet. With one arm under his head
and one arm draped across my waist, he asked, “What did you want to do tonight?
We shouldn’t really be seen together until after the party, so we should
probably just hang out at the hotel tonight.”

“I’m sure we can find
something to do.” I kissed under his ear playfully.

“You’re a tease, but I like
it.”

I was having such a good
time with Damen, I forgot we were in Houston for a reason. The reality of what
we were doing finally sunk in. It did seem a little dangerous.

At the hotel, I held
Damen’s hand as he checked us into our suites. I think he liked taking care of
me, and I had never felt so safe. Damen knew every thought that was going on in
every head around us, and I didn’t need to worry – for now anyway.

Our two suites were
connected by a living area, and as we walked toward the couch, we discovered an
envelope containing two credit cards on the entry table. There was also a note
explaining that the cards didn’t have a limit, so we ate at the hotel
restaurant, and then Damen suggested we go find the Jacuzzi. He grabbed towels
and sodas for us and pushed me toward my room to get dressed.

I changed into my black
bikini, which I had packed especially for him. I figured he’d already seen me
in it, so why not? I grabbed my sheer sarong and began fixing my make-up and
pulling my hair back. Damen was lying on my bed watching me and flipping
through the TV channels.

“Don’t we need to practice
the prediction stuff?” I asked.

“Oh. Taylor told me you got
almost 80 percent on that test. You don’t need much practice.”

“Really? 'Cause I don’t
even know what test that was.”

Damen laughed. “Okay, let’s
test you.” He muted the TV. “Tell me what’s happening on the TV, without
looking. Just clear your mind and tell me what comes to your head.”

I pictured the TV in my
head and immediately saw SpongeBob and started laughing.

“Uh, SpongeBob.”

“Correct.” He flipped to
the next channel.

“Windex commercial,
basketball.”

“So can we go now? You look
great, by the way.”

He swept me off the floor
and grabbed our towels as we headed for the elevator.

“You can’t put me down now.
I don’t have shoes,” I said.

“I’m not planning on
letting you go.” He winked.

After the Jacuzzi we took
showers, separate ones, except we continued talking throughout our showers and
while I was primping afterward. Damen said he wasn’t prying into my thoughts;
however, I wasn’t so sure I could trust him after his comment about me cutting
my leg while I was shaving in the shower.

We thought we should sleep
separately since we didn’t know what we might end up doing in our sleep, plus,
I was still a little nervous about being intimate with him. Dreams were one
thing; reality was a different story.

I slipped into my Victoria’s Secret pink tank top and matching pants. They were cute, and they covered just
enough. When I walked into our adjoining room, Damen was wearing flannel pajama
bottoms without a shirt. Seeing him half-naked, lounging on the couch, made my
stomach do flips. We had gone swimming together, but this was more intimate.

He smiled up at me. “That
pinkish purple hue you have going on matches your pjs. Come here before I
tackle you.”

I laughed and slowly made
my way to him after grabbing water and a blanket. He watched my every move.

“Those pjs aren’t leaving
much to my imagination. Please say you’ve never worn those in front of Chase. I
might have to kick his ass after all.”

My cell phone rang. “Shoot.
It’s him.”

“Hang up, he’ll get the
hint.”

“Stop!” I said.

“He’s mad you never thanked
him for the flowers!”

Damen grabbed my waist,
pulled me close, and gave me a gentle kiss as I answered the phone. His hands
were exploring way too much as he whispered in my ear, “Good night. Go to bed
soon.”

I suddenly felt about ten degrees
hotter, but I knew I had to answer the phone.

A few minutes later, I
walked to my bedroom. My conversation with Chase had put me in a grouchy mood.
This situation was not fair to any of us, and I couldn’t help but feel it was
my fault. I knew Damen was sleeping already. I brushed my teeth and jumped into
my bed. It felt so good to finally go to sleep.

I didn’t see Damen in my
dream. I was in a dark, cave-like place.

“Damen!”
I shouted with my mind.

He popped up in the cave
and grabbed me. “Where is this?”

“I don’t know. I keep
having this dream, and it’s freaking me out,” I said.

“Close your eyes,” he said
as he slid his arms around me. “Now open your eyes.”

I looked around, and we
were in the bedroom of his suite. There were a dozen candles lit and purple
orchids everywhere, and on the pillow there was one pink orchid.

“How…? Am I awake?”

Damen smiled. “I fell
asleep a lot quicker than you. I thought I’d get things ready for you.”

“You’re in boxers again?”

“Yeah, it’s what I sleep
in.”

“Oh, right.”

“Anyway, since we couldn’t
sleep together for real, I thought we could in our dream.”

As we snuggled under the
covers, Damen’s roaming hands sent shivers all over me. I could tell he was
restraining himself, attempting to be respectful.

“Be careful tomorrow,
okay?” he said as he kissed my neck and whispered “Sweet dreams” in my ear.

I found myself falling
asleep in my dream, surrounded by warm, strong arms, although I wanted to stay
up all night with him. I woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee.

After I freshened up in the
bathroom, I walked out to the dinette in our adjoining room. Damen was already
dressed and reading over the files.

“Good morning, sun Rae. I
ordered us food. There’s coffee too.”

I smiled, poured my coffee,
and sat down across from him at the table to eat my food.

“You wake up so early,” I
whined.

“Yeah, habit. Normally all
the voices always made sleeping in difficult. So I’m just used to it. I find I
can get a lot of things done if I wake up early.”

“Wow,” I said as I lay my
head on my arms.

I could hear Damen
laughing. “Go back to bed then, sleepy head.”

“Come with me,” I said, not
sure if I was speaking to him out loud or in my head.

He laughed and scooped me
out of the chair, and then took me to his room. He sat down on the bed next to
me and quietly flipped through the TV channels while I was cuddled up alongside
him and closing my eyes. He stroked my hair, and back, and shoulders.
I
could lie here forever and be perfectly content.

“How was your conversation
with Chase last night?” Damen asked.

I put the pillow over my
head and kicked him.

He started laughing. “That
good, huh?”

“I can’t wait to be done
with this; it’s so stressful.”

*
* *

I arrived late to the
party. The mansion was huge. There were twinkle lights strung across the house
and in the trees, and I heard the pounding of rave music coming from the house.
It was part of the plan that Damen would arrive first in his rented car. I was
surprised that Damen didn’t use our link to talk to me until I got out of the
limo.

“Finally, Rae! I’m in the
backyard at the bar. Don’t walk straight out here though. Just to warn you,
little one, I have quite the girl crowd around me. I’m having trouble thinking
up excuses for not dancing with them since I’ve already used them all. I even
got offered a few hook-ups already!”

“What the…. I’ll be there
as soon as I can.”

Damen started laughing.
“I
find your predictability charming.”

I had spent most of the day
getting ready – mani-pedi, hairstyle, rented jewelry. I was wearing a short,
sleeveless, champagne colored dress, complete with sequins. I felt so glam in
my shiny silver stilettos and my matching long, strappy handbag. I couldn’t
wait to see what Damen looked like. I couldn’t imagine him being more handsome,
though. As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I heard him through our link.

“Trust me, I’m pretty damn
sexy according to the thoughts of these girls around me,”
he thought
. “And I can
tell exactly where you are because all the male thoughts at the front bar just
took a dip in the gutter. I’m sure you’re sexier than usual, too! Stunning in
fact!”

As I listened to Damen, I
saw the suspect enter the room and begin walking toward me.

“Oh, Caleb is heading
toward you. He likes you, of course. Maybe we are playing this wrong. You
probably could get closer to the family and maybe spend some extra time here if
he thinks you’re into him. I can always sneak upstairs tonight with some random
girls. To get near the safe.”

“Damen…what? I don’t like
this! I’m sticking to our original plan.”

“Just be your charming
self. I’ll meet you upstairs in a few, okay? We can use plan A as plan B if he
doesn’t like you. We won’t need it though.”