Complete Me (Stark Trilogy, #3)(21)

“Is she?” His brows lift slightly as if the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him. I can’t help but laugh. Damien knows damn well the effect he has on women. “Well, she can have whatever fantasies she wants.” He pulls me closer and holds me tight. “You’re my reality.”

“And you’re mine,” I say, feeling right then like the luckiest girl on the planet. Damien is safe and this afternoon’s funk seems like nothing more than a bad dream. Most of all, I am in his arms. There may be other shit going on, but all that can wait for later. For right now, I am content.

“Of course, there is one small matter we need to discuss,” Damien says, his voice suddenly stern. I look up, not certain if he’s serious or teasing, but his eyes reveal nothing. He hooks a finger under the elastic and lightly snaps the band of my thong. “I seem to recall a certain agreement that ensured unfettered access whenever and however I wanted.”

I force my expression to remain as bland as his. “Unless I was imagining all that just happened, I think it’s fair to say that these panties don’t fetter in the least.”

I step back, then run the tip of my forefinger lightly over the soft skin between my pubis and my thigh, tracing gently along the edge of that minute triangle of material. I aim my most sultry look at him. “Besides, what’s the point of having rules if you don’t break them on occasion?”

“You make an interesting point.” He looks me up and down, the slow inspection making my body tingle again. Then he moves to the far side of the dressing room and squats down to look at the contents of the canvas shopping basket. His back is to me, but he is at an angle, so I can see his muscular legs straining against the now-tight denim of his jeans. The material curves the cup of his rear, too, and I imagine that I have moved behind him. That I am lowering myself until my lips are pressed to the back of his neck, the short bit of hair that brushes his collar teasing my lips. I close my hands gently and let my fingertips graze my own palms as I imagine my hands cupping his rear, not just to balance myself, but because I am compelled to touch him. And because I want to turn him on.

I swallow, lost in the fantasy, but not yet ready to move to him and make it reality. I am enjoying the anticipation too much, not to mention the decadent pleasure of watching Damien’s body straining against that lucky, lucky denim.

He lifts his hand, a lacy thong dangling from his finger like an enticement. “Interesting,” he says, then repeats the process, pulling out the expensive scraps of silk and satin that constitute underwear and bras in all shapes and sizes. Some barely there. Some that create more cleavage than the law should allow. Some that would have my breasts spilling out over the tops. Some that, if the gleam in Damien’s eye is any indication, are very intriguing indeed.

He stands, a red thong and matching red push-up bra hanging from two extended fingers. “I think perhaps it’s time to amend our deal, Ms. Fairchild. As much as I appreciate the possibilities associated with complete access, there is something to be said for the pleasure of the journey.” He extends his empty hand to me. “Come here,” he says, and I comply obediently.

“I’ll go with you anywhere,” I whisper. “I’ll do anything for you. You know that, right?”

With a violence I’m not expecting, he tugs me to him, capturing me within the circle of his arms. We are tight together, my breasts against his chest, my nipples hard. I feel the press of his erection hot and hard against my very scantily clad body, and that rush of tactile pleasure is accompanied by an even greater one. The pleasure of knowing that I am his and that he is mine.

He tilts his head so that his forehead presses gently against mine, then sighs deeply. “I thought you’d gone.”

I blink, confused, and ease backward, then wait a single heartbeat for him to lift his head and meet my eyes.

“I woke up and you weren’t there,” he says in explanation. “I talked to Charles and he told me you’d come by. That he’d told you about the photos and videos.” He shakes his head and laughs without humor. “I thought you were so disgusted by them that you’d left me.”

I look at him hard. “I wasn’t the one who went away,” I say, my voice level and firm. “You’re the one who left. I stayed.” I swallow and blink back tears. “I stayed because I knew you would come back to me.”

“I will always come back,” he says, and in those simple words I hear both understanding and apology.

I nod, then clutch his hand. “I didn’t see the photos,” I say. “But no matter what is in them, I would never have left you. I just thought you needed sleep.” I look away, not meeting his eyes. Because the words that I am biting back are just too damn selfish. I didn’t think you needed me.

“I wanted you, Nikki,” he says, as if in answer to my thoughts. “I wanted to pull you close and strip you naked. I wanted to tie you up and run my fingers over every inch of you. I wanted to bury my face between your legs and bring you to the brink over and over again, never quite letting you come.”

I swallow. I am suddenly very, very warm.

“I wanted every sensation you experienced—every spark of pleasure, every hint of pain—to come from me. I wanted to f*ck you until you begged me to stop and then I wanted to f*ck you some more. Everything you felt, everything you wanted, everything you desired—I wanted it to be wrapped up in my touch, in my bed. I wanted to f*ck you until there was nothing left but you and me. Until the whole goddamn world was erased.”