the fact that she likes him. I don’t know. People are strange.”
“So said Jim Morrison,” I quipped.
She studied me. “You’re not upset?”
“Should I be?”
“Well, Alicia’s been dead set on you for weeks. I mean, she was all over you at Julian’s party even though she’d been secretly kissing the guest of honour in his bedroom.”
I shrugged and replied simply, “She can kiss whoever she likes.”
A few moments of quiet passed between us as Rose turned her attention out the window. The bus had just started the journey back to the city, and I found a certain peace in knowing I had two whole hours of her company. I could’ve spent the entire time just staring at her beautiful profile, but unfortunately, there were things we needed to discuss.
I touched her hand gently, bringing her attention back to me, and asked, “How are you feeling about Blake these days?”
It took her a while to answer, and the entire time I felt like I was holding my breath under water. “Better,” she said at long last. “What Blake and I had will never be rekindled. I can even be around him now and not feel so…mixed up. Like I told you earlier, you were right. I needed time to get my head on straight, so thank you.”
“And your head’s on straight now?” I asked.
She smiled. “Yes, very much so.”
“When can I take you to dinner, then?” I blurted, not even caring that I was being overly forward.
Rose laughed, and it was one of my favourite sounds. “When would you like to?”
“Is tonight too soon?”
She was still laughing as she shook her head. “How about next weekend? We move into the theatre this week, and everything’s going to be a little hectic for a few days.”
I nodded. “Okay. Next weekend it is.”
I couldn’t wait. Just thinking about being able to take Rose out for a meal and treat her like she deserved had my chest filling with pride. At the same time, I felt like a little boy on Christmas Eve, excited beyond words. It was ridiculous, the things this woman could make me feel.
Rose shifted in her seat, elegantly stretching her arms up over her head. I watched the movement with barely concealed fascination. Her body and the way she moved it was something of an obsession of mine.
“My shoulder’s still a bit stiff,” she explained, and my eyes traced the delicate arch of her spine, the way her hips flared out in an exquisite curve.
“It’s a shame you fear the stage,” I said without thinking, my voice low.
She looked at me, the comment taking her off guard. “Why?”
I moved closer so that my lips almost touched her ear. “Because a beauty like yours deserves an audience.”
I could see her skin bead as a tremble moved through her. “Damon,” she whispered, her hand going to my knee, the touch soft.
“What is it, petal?”
She exhaled a shaky breath. “You’re the only audience I want.”
Her response sent white heat shooting through my system, my adrenaline spiking as images filled my head. I saw Rose, naked and writhing beneath my sheets, my face between her legs as I tasted her wet sex, eyes never leaving her face as I soaked in her every reaction.
I took her hand that had settled on my thigh and held it in mine, my thumb brushing back and forth over the inside of her palm. Her breathing grew laboured, and I felt like my senses had been heightened. I could practically see the air leaving her, how the barest touch of red tinted her cheeks, the blood rising as she envisioned similar things in her own mind.
We gazed at each other then, the chatter of those around us filling the heavy silence that seemed to punctuate just how much I desired her. I could still feel her breast, full and lush in my palm, remember how her nipple pebbled instantly at my touch. I’d been dreaming of her tits for weeks, but I had no idea how touching them would totally eclipse that memory.
Rose shifted in place, her thighs pressing together, and I wondered if she was wet. It was all I could do to keep my cock in check, because she had a way of sending my blood south just by being close to me. The entire situation verged on the edge of torture. We had a long journey ahead of us with no privacy or route of escape.