AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Nine
Damian
Damian stole many glances at Abby as he neared the surprise location. Abby would love it, he was sure. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. Sure, he’d cheated a little by doing a very in-depth background check on her, and as a result, discovered precisely what she would like. It occurred to him that he was going out of his way to impress her. That boyish urge hadn’t been felt in a long time.
He stopped his car in front of a massive white limestone building and Abby, who had been silently staring out the window, straightened in her seat. She looked around the dimly lit street and then at the building. “What’s this?”
“The surprise.”
“The new art museum? It’s closed.”
“Not for us. I pulled a few strings.” Damian checked his watch. “We have one hour.”
Abby turned to him. “You brought me to a museum.”
The fingers of doubt wrapped around his mind. Perhaps he was wrong to assume she would appreciate a museum as part of their date. Damian nodded. “I thought you’d like it.”
A smile lit up her face. “Are you kidding? I love it! I’ve been dying to visit this museum since I returned home but haven’t had the time. This is amazing. Can we go in now?”
Her excitement brought a smile to his face, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. “Of course.”
Watching Abby inside of the museum was like watching a kid flit excitedly around a toy store. It amazed him that something so simple and boring, in his opinion, brought her such joy. The building was quiet with only the security guards present. The only sound was Abby’s heels clicking on the floor as she moved from one exhibit to the next and from one painting to another.
His eyes were trained on her, studying her in her clingy dress and heels that made her legs go on forever. Damian couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d felt more desire to put his hands on such a petite, slender frame. Yet, there he was, starving for the feel and taste of Abby. He especially wanted to lick the pale skin of her neck…from her ear to her shoulder was left exposed by an elegant chignon. Pulling a breath, he shoved his hands into his pockets to avoid temptation.
Abby stood in front of a painting with her head tilted, and her expression was one of immense concentration. Damian stared at the painting, wondering what she found so fascinating about the portrait of a woman staring back at them. Abby was much lovelier to look at…so he turned his attention to her and decided to watch her watch the dull painting.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?”
Damian’s brows went up. “Sí, mucho.” Very beautiful.
Abby turned to find his gaze steady on her. Patches of pink spread in her cheeks. “I meant the painting.”
He grinned. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to it. I’m afraid I don’t see the appeal in any of this,” he waved his hand to encompass the large, open room filled with works of art, “certainly not as you do.”
“Then why bring me here if you don’t appreciate art?”
“To please you, Abby.”
Her brows dipped into a frown. “How did you know a museum was my scene?”
Damian shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He wasn’t sure how she’d react to his investigation of her. “Lucky guess. I suppose that I could tell that you were the artsy type at first glance.”
Abby’s lips twisted into a small smile, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she’d accepted his half-assed explanation. He sighed. “And I never said I don’t appreciate art.” Damian allowed his gaze to blatantly appraise her delicate frame. “There are certain bodies of work that I have a very deep appreciation for.”
Abby visibly swallowed, and her tongue darted out to run over bottom lip. He watched, fascinated by how much the small gesture affected him. Suddenly, all he could think about was kissing her, tasting every inch of her and maybe pushing her up again the wall to take her beside one of the paintings she was so excited about. Her soft inquiry seeped through his lustful haze, and he blinked.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Damian?”
His deep chuckle bounced off the museum walls. “Well, there’s no point in being coy. Yes, pequeña pelirroja … I am.”
Abby sucked in a breath but didn’t respond to his admission. “You tend to break out into Spanish from time to time, but you don’t have even a hint of an accent.”
Damian hated being left in suspense. He wanted to know if he had a chance of getting between her legs or not. “I was raised in a bilingual household. My mother is Cuban, and my father was American.”
“I’m going to go ahead and assume you got your dark good looks from your mother.”
Damian’s mouth kicked up at the corners. He did resemble his mother more than his blonde-haired, green-eyed father. “Dark good looks, huh?”
