AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Staring into those blue eyes, hearing that delighted laughter, smelling her soft, evocative scent, even noticing the way her brow creased as she concentrated on her counting absolutely delighted him. He found himself wanting to do nothing but stare at her, talk to her, be with her. She was his first thought every morning, and if her face wasn’t literally the last thing he saw every night, it was most certainly the last image in his mind.
He had never experienced it before, always doubted he would...but he truly believed he had fallen in love. It went against all odds and expectations—hell, practically against his own genetics—and probably against common sense, considering the obstacles. Proximity being one of them, the fact that his family was pretty fucked up being another. But it suddenly didn’t matter.
For the first time in his life, he actually began to believe he understood what the whole love thing was all about. Because of her.
“I’m glad we came,” he said, not yet ready to actually say anything to her about his strange emotional self-revelation.
“So am I.”
He kissed her temple. “But now I’m ready to get out of here. I want to take you upstairs and strip that dress off you so I can make love to you for hours.”
Her mouth trembling, she nodded. They abruptly halted their dance, heading without a word toward their table. Before they reached it, though, she said, “I left my wrap in the prep room we were using before the party. Actually, I left my overnight bag there, too.”
“Oh, were you planning on having a sleepover?”
She smirked and lowered her voice. “You’ve done a great job tonight, baby, being pretty and keeping your mouth shut and all. I guess I’ll give you somethin’ to make it worth your while.”
He had no doubt of that. Anything she cared to give him would undoubtedly go on his list of favorite things ever. “I’ll go get your wrap and your bag.”
“That’s not necessary,” she insisted. “Give excuses to Lex and Amelia for me, and meet me out in the corridor. I can slip out of the prep room, cut through the service wing and avoid the farewells.” She reached down and lightly pinched his ass. “I’ll meet you at the elevators. The sooner we’re in one, the sooner I can shimmy out of my panties.”
Whistling as he imagined how much fun it would be to test the elevator’s safety systems again, he strode to the table. Lex and Amelia were going as well, and they ended up leaving the ballroom together, along with a handful of other guests.
As they walked out the doors, Damien glanced down a side corridor and spotted a flash of blue that could only be Viv’s dress. He smiled, wondering if her panties were the same color. Or if she’d already slipped them off and intended to hand them to him the minute they were alone. With Viv, anything was possible.
The idea of her being pantieless and alone suddenly worried him. Rather than heading to the elevator, he decided to go to her, not wanting her to walk through the rear service hallways of the hotel alone. He turned to give a final wave to Viv’s friends, but froze when he heard the sound of a woman’s shriek.
His blood went cold. Some might have confused the noise for a shrill laugh, but Damien knew it hadn’t been. His instincts—already heightened even before he’d heard the sound—were now pinging, tension flooding him. He couldn’t see who’d made the distressed sound.
But he didn’t have to.
He knew Viv. By now, he knew every inch of her, from the dimple on her pert butt to the freckles on her collarbone, to the sound she made when she was excited. Or happy.
Or frightened.
Damien spun around, his body reacting before his mind had a chance to. He didn’t spare a glance for Lex or Amelia, or anyone else, including the startled-looking staff members. There was no time. Viv needed him.
He pounded down the hall at a dead run, toward where he’d last spotted her.
Frantic for her, he rounded the corner and his heart fell from his chest. Because there stood Viv, one hand gripping her torn dress, the other touching her swollen lip. Her blue eyes swam with tears of pain, which filled Damien with a level of rage he’d never experienced before in his life.
There was no evaluating the situation, no wondering who, what, why. He simply saw Viv—his Viv—struggling with a massive guy wearing jeans and a hoody, and launched.
9
WITH HER WRAP in her hand and anticipation filling her mind and heart, Viv hadn’t experienced the slightest hint of worry as she’d entered a secluded hallway of the hotel. She’d been practically skipping, still cocooned in the bliss she’d experienced when Damien had whisked her across the floor. Viv had always been more of a shake-it-don’t-break-it kind of girl when it came to dancing. But when Damien Black had waltzed her around the room, she wasn’t sure she’d touched the ground.
