Sweet Persuasion (Sweet #2)(65)

For the first couple of hours they rode in silence, Damon’s gaze fixed on the road ahead. Occasionally she glanced at his profile, studying his tense expression. He’d seemed eager to visit his mother earlier, but now, as they crossed over the Louisiana state line, his jaw was firmly set.

Wanting to ease some of the strain, she tentatively reached across the seat for his hand. He glanced over and smiled, easing some of the lines at his brow.

Not wanting to pry too deeply into what may or may not be bothering him, she opted for general and light. She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him.

“Tell me something about yourself.”

Amusement twinkled in his eyes and he seemed to relax.

“Like what?”

“Oh, anything. I’m all ears.”

He rubbed his thumb over her palm while he gripped the steering wheel with his other hand.

“Okay. I like good wine, good food and beautiful women.”

Serena snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know. You’re horribly spoiled. Tell me about your past lovers.”

He coughed. “I’m not crazy. A guy should never talk about other women when he’s in the presence of another one, particularly one he’s currently having sex with.”

“Come on, it’s not like I’m your girlfriend,” she said lightly. “How come you don’t have a permanent slave to do your evil bidding?”

His expression sobered. “It’s not that easy.”

“No?”

He shook his head. “There are plenty of women who are into the fantasy. Not so much the reality.”

“You mean like me,” she said softly.

He stared over at her but didn’t agree. He didn’t have to. It was the simple truth.

“No one ever wanted to do it . . . permanently?” she asked. “Did you ask them to?”

“I only asked one,” he said as he looked away. “The others . . . it was obvious it was a fling, and I was okay with it. I never wanted something permanent or I just didn’t think it would work long-term.”

“Except with one,” she said.

He nodded.

“Did you love her?”

The corner of his mouth crooked up. “Maybe? She was the only woman I thought might be the one. You know the whole clichéd one in a million, the one meant for me. All that sappy bullshit you women read about in romance novels.”

“Bitter much?” she asked with a raised brow.

He laughed, and his shoulders sank again as he relaxed. “You’re fun, Serena. You don’t let me take myself too seriously.”

“Well, someone’s got to keep you in line,” she teased. “You could easily become too spoiled if left unchecked.”

He grinned and squeezed her hand.

“So what happened with this woman? Did she just decide that the slave thing didn’t work for her or what?”

He blew out his breath. “We enjoyed a very exciting sex life. She was into every imaginable kink. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. She was into me, didn’t seem too impressed with my money and wanted to please me. In turn, I wanted very much to please her. We talked about the kind of lifestyle I led and that it wasn’t a game. It wasn’t something I did randomly. She was on board with that. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to own her. I wanted her to own my heart.”

“Oh boy,” Serena murmured. It was on the tip of her tongue to say what a dumbass the woman had been for running from Damon, but then how big of a hypocrite would that make her?

“Yeah, you can guess the rest. One day she decided that belonging to me wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted freedom, though I never tried to restrain her. Her time with me was mine, but I never tried to interfere in her outside interests. I knew that to make it work, we both needed time and space outside of an exhausting sexual odyssey.”

Serena slowly nodded. “So she left.”

Damon nodded. “And I let her go. She was my slave, the woman I loved, but she wanted freedom, and I couldn’t do anything other than grant it to her.”

It was her turn to squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled. “If I was still with her, you and I would have never embarked on our own odyssey.”

“True. I guess I’m not so sorry after all. I do regret that you were hurt.”

He reached over and touched her cheek. “Thank you for that, Serena mine.”

“Did you call her that too?” she asked in a sudden flash of irritation.

Damon gave her a puzzled look. “Call her what?”

“Mine.”

He slowly shook his head. “No. I’ve never used that particular endearment with anyone before. Does it bother you?”

“Only if you used it for all your women,” she said honestly.

“No, just with you.”

It was ridiculous that it gratified her to hear it, but she wouldn’t lie outright and say it wouldn’t have annoyed her if it was used so casually. She loved the endearment. Loved the way it made her feel. Special. Like she truly belonged to him.

“What about you, Serena? Why did you seek me out? Did your previous lovers not satisfy your hunger?”

She leaned back against the head rest and sighed. “It’s hard to explain, really. I won’t say my lovers were bad. They were all different. Some better than others, but they all satisfied my needs at the time. It was only later that I felt like something was missing, that I wanted something more but couldn’t articulate what it was exactly.