Damen (The Marquette Family Book Two) (10 page)

“Yeah, I told him. He said you deserve to have a better life than to be dragged down by an unplanned pregnancy because I wasn’t careful.”

Damen’s eyes widened. This sounded like fantasy. He knew Professor Burk, or thought he did. As he recalled the many conversations they had had over the years, he realized they centered around learning and whatever scientific advancements interested Damen at the moment, nothing more intimate like a daughter and his own son. The sense of betrayal burned in his veins.

“It took two to make our son,” he ground out.

“Yeah, well, my dad didn’t see it that way. He saw it as me causing more heartache in your life. He knew about your past.”

Damen nodded. “I’d discussed it with him once or twice.”

“What about you, Heaven?”

“Huh?”

“What about your past—with him and your mom and…?”

“There’s not much to tell.” She started to move away again, but he caught her up to his chest. He kissed her lips and felt her tremble a little.

Damen nuzzled her neck. “We’ll pick this up later, when you’re going to open up to me.”

“Damen.”

“No arguments.” He left her standing in the kitchen to find Gideon. His son sat in his room on the laptop. Nita had sprawled before the television in the living room. Damen wondered if they would ever get along and then recalled the way Heaven handled the two. With time, he decided, working together, they would be a family. “Gideon, what do you say to some sightseeing in New Orleans today?”

Gideon looked up from his computer screen. “Sightseeing?”

“Yeah, we can go anyplace you want to this afternoon.”

His son appeared to think about it. “How about a city of the dead? And there’s a new sci-fi movie I want to see.”

“You got it, but don’t you think you’ll be afraid visiting a graveyard?”

“It’s different. All the graves are aboveground. I read about it before we moved here.”

“Fine. I have to take care of some business, and then it’s us four together.”

Gideon hesitated. “My…sister doesn’t like me.”

Damen smiled, liking how Gideon worded it. He’d at least begun to accept Nita. “Give it time. Neither of you have had a sibling before. In fact, this is new to all of us. We’re going to make it work though. As a man, can I count on you to help me with your mom and sister?”

Gideon’s narrow chest poked out. “Yes, sir.”

“Thanks.” Now all Damen had to do was bring around a very angry older brother of his own.

* * * *

Damen paused in Marquette’s kitchen. “Someone, a vodka on the rocks, please.”

Within moments, he held the glass in his hand, and he knocked back most of the alcohol.

“Isn’t it a little early for you?” Shada asked. She kept her back to him as she worked. He heard a sour note in her voice, but he couldn’t see her expression. So she and Creed hadn’t made up. Great. He had been hoping they did, and it would mean he’d find his brother in a better mood. Not that Creed scared him, but the bear soothed was better than being ripped by his claws—the claws being Creed’s temper.

“It’s after one,” he said.

“Whatever.”

Damen waited for more from her, but she said nothing. He checked her left hand. No ring, but that didn’t mean anything either. She’d kept removing it with the excuse that she didn’t want it to drop into a pot or get damaged in some other way. No one believed the excuse, least of all Creed. An instance of pity washed over him regarding his brother. His choice wasn’t an easy one.

Hell, neither is mine.

Damen finished the drink and set the glass in the sink before heading down the hall. He didn’t bother knocking on the door or inquiring of one of the others as to whether Creed was in. Creed was always in if he wasn’t in New York. They had hired competent managers for the parent company, and Creed had stepped down as CEO, so New York wasn’t as much of an issue.

As soon as Creed spotted him, he frowned. “Ever heard of answering your cell?”

“I had it on silent.” Damen shut the door and dropped into his desk chair.

“Damen—”

“Let me get right to it, Creed.” Damen pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I’ve asked Heaven to marry me.”

“You fucking
what?”
Creed raged.

“You heard me.”

Creed slammed a fist on his desk and surged to his feet, but Damen didn’t move from his position. “I suppose she jumped all over it, probably has the gown waiting in the closet.”

“She turned me down.”

“A ploy.”

Damen sighed.

“You can’t tell me you believe her. We’ve had women pretending their bastard children are ours before. This woman was probably fucking several other men at the same time she was with you. Her son—”

Damen clenched his hands atop the desk. “Say what you want about Heaven. I care about her, and I happen to think she’s a good woman. I understand you have your doubts about her character because you don’t know her. But say one single word against
my
son, and I will forget I hate violence and wipe the floor with your ass.”

Creed’s eyes grew round in shock. “I wasn’t about to. He’s just a kid, subject to believe whatever his mother told him. Seeing you so obviously convinced without evidence disgusts me. Damn it, Damen, think. She’s after your money. Why can’t you see that?”

“Let’s say that’s true. Gideon
is
mine. Everything I have is his and Nita’s. You’re saying I should turn my back on him?”

“No, but before you offer her our name, check her out. You saw that guy who came in here yesterday. There might be something to what he’s saying.
He
says the boy’s his.”

“It’s always about our name with you, Creed.”

His brother ground his teeth.

“You act like the Marquette name is special. It’s just another name.”

“It’s all we had coming up.”

“No,
we
are all we had. We are, and we’re still here, you, me, and Stefan.” A new thought came to Damen. “Other people recognize the name now though. They respect it, and it opens doors. I’m going to adopt Gideon and give him my last name.”

“Wait, so he’s not your son. You’re going to try to take Heaven’s son?”

“No, I don’t have to take him away from her to adopt him as my responsibility and one of my heirs. I want to be on his birth certificate as his dad, and I want him to carry my last name.”

Creed rubbed his eyes. “Damen, I always knew you were stubborn, and you just had to do whatever popped into your head. You, along with Stefan, have pulled some crazy stunts. This—this beats all of it, and it’s wrong.”

“No, you’re wrong. I’ve made my decision.”

“Test him,” Creed suggested. “Get a paternity test to make sure. If it turns out he’s blood, I will support you in everything you do concerning him.”

“Except marrying Heaven?”

“Damen, see reason.”

Damen stood up and walked toward the door. “If I get my way, Heaven will be my wife. I hope you’ll be at the ceremony and welcome her into the family.”

“Hold on.”

Damen glanced over his shoulder, tension in his muscles as he expected his brother to continue fighting him on his decision. “What?”

“Why her? You don’t love her, right? It could be anyone because you still love Vita. Why get married again at all?”

Damen hesitated to give voice to thoughts that had been swirling in his head since seeing Heaven after so long. He still wasn’t clear on everything, but he believed the few words he spoke to his brother. “Because Heaven is the woman that should have been my wife years ago, no matter what I decided later or how I feel now.”

Chapter Ten

“Hello, roomie.”

Heaven cut her eyes at Damen and then focused on the bedroom where Gideon had already dumped his bag and was off to find the game room Damen claimed to have. She took in the wooden four-poster bed, the chandelier overhead, the gleaming hardwood floors, and the silky drapes hanging from the window. “First, it’s only for the week, and second”—she gestured to the room—“this doesn’t actually scream eleven-year-old boy.”

“Yeah, sorry, the house was furnished when I bought it, a foreclosure, and I figured I didn’t have anything down here, so why not? Also, Nita already claimed the bedroom next to ours—”

“Yours.”

“So, we can get it redone the way Gideon wants. It’ll be a cool project between father and son.”

“Hm.” She hid a smile. “I guess that does sound like a good idea, but I’m still not your roomie.”

“You’re staying in my bedroom, aren’t you?”

“Only because I suspect you had the furniture removed from the other bedrooms.”

He widened his eyes in innocence, but she wasn’t falling for it.

“And I don’t know why you insist we do this now when the kids have to get to school.”

He tugged her into his arms, and she decided not to fight him this time. Damen nuzzled her ear and nipped her earlobe. Goose bumps rose on her skin. “Like I told you we’re only about fifteen minutes from your apartment. I can just as easily get Gideon to school from here as you can from over there.”

“But.”

“Don’t say but, Heaven. We will make this work for them and for us.”

“For us?”

He kissed along her throat, and she chewed her bottom lip attempting not to moan. “Yes, I’m a good catch, so you should try to make me happy.”

“What?” She broke away, but he caught her hand.

“Your money…”

“Has nothing to do with it.” The bum put her hand on his cock and wiggled his eyebrows behind his glasses. “Do you know what I can do with this? Very good catch.”

She burst out laughing, and he frowned.

“Why are you laughing?”

She glanced around her to make sure they were alone. The beeps and booms of video games sounded from somewhere inside the house, along with Gideon and Nita arguing. “Because you think I should swoon over your dick. I can have you on your knees for this right here.”

She pointed to her pussy, and Damen’s eyes glazed over. “I don’t believe you. Get naked and see if I fall to my knees.”

“No way.” She ran down the hall past his room. He caught her, hauled her off her feet, and carried her back to his domain. When he kicked the door shut, she protested. “I know you don’t think I’m having sex with you, Damen. Gideon or Nita could come here at any time.”

“I locked the door.”

“They need supervising.”

“They’re okay until I finish proving my point.”

“You don’t have a point.”

He dumped her on the bed, and she rolled over to scowl at him. The tent in his pants arrested her gaze, and she licked her lips. “My point,” he repeated. Heaven rolled her eyes.

When she slid to the edge of the bed, Damen pushed her shoulders and followed her down until she lay flat and he stretched on top of her. His hard-on slid between her legs like her pussy was a homing beacon. If they weren’t both dressed, she knew he’d be inside her by now.

Damen stroked her cheek and turned her head gently to face him. “Are you saying you’ll deny a poor man all week long? I have to sleep beside you, smelling you, hearing your moans and not be able to touch you?”

“When exactly would I be moaning?”

He chuckled. “In my dreams.”

“Luring you to your doom?”

“Correct.”

His hand slid along her thigh, and she found herself raising her leg so he could explore a little more. Talk about denying him. Once he touched her, she didn’t have much willpower to say no. Besides, she had agreed to come knowing what it might lead to.

Damen’s fingers brushed her pussy through her skirt and panties, and she shut her eyes. He kissed along her chest until he reached the valley between her breasts then moved to bite her nipple through her bra.

Heaven’s pussy clenched. “Damen, you shouldn’t do that.”

“Why not? You like it, baby.”

She couldn’t lie. She did, but Damen didn’t hurt her. Just the opposite. His tender touch made her desperate for more of him. He moved farther down her body, but she pushed at his shoulders, drawing in a breath, and tried to steady herself. Damen stilled and looked up at her.

“Heaven?”

She stared at the ceiling. Damen rolled away and stood. She sat up, surprised. “You’re leaving?”

“I want to make love to you, but I don’t want to push you into what you don’t want.”

He started for the door, and she sprang to her feet to dart after him. Pressing against his back, she brought her hands around his waist and flattened her palms on his abs. Heaven dipped her head and shut her eyes as she recalled how good he looked naked. He talked about dreaming of her, but she did the same with him. Damen hadn’t left her head asleep or awake since well before she moved to New Orleans.

“I’m nervous about getting caught,” she admitted.

Damen let her hold him and didn’t try to turn around. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“I know, and I don’t feel like we are. It’s just that I don’t want to get it wrong. You seem so relaxed about everything. I’m a ball of knots.”

He moved one of her hands to his chest, and she felt it pounding against her palm. “Don’t mistake my joking around for this whole experience being easy for me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”

He spun about and cupped her face between both hands. “I was used to fighting for what I wanted, working around the clock to get it if necessary, but a fight is still a fight.”

She nodded. “You used to suggest we stay up half the night studying.”

“And you took me from my studies with that body.”

“Please, the way I remember it, you wouldn’t focus on the material unless I read it to you while sitting on your lap.”

He shrugged. “Motivation.”

“You passed English Lit, but it had nothing to do with me.”

“Woman, you took me to Heaven on a daily basis. It had everything to do with you.”

She lowered her gaze, and Damen turned her again to snuggle against her from behind. He pinched open the button on her skirt and lowered the zipper. When he pushed a hand inside her panties, she gasped in pleasure. His fingertips brushed her clit, and the tiny bud swelled. Damen circled it with a gentle touch and eased lower to part her folds.

“Damen.”

“If you want me to stop, tell me, Heaven. Touching you drives me nuts, and the sounds you make even more so. Like this.” He dipped two fingers inside of her. Heaven squeaked with ecstasy. He growled low in his throat. “Do it again.”

He brought the moans forth with the way he massaged her mound. The heel of his hand caressed her while at the same time he pushed fingers in and out of her pussy. She was so wet, he had easy entry, and she couldn’t help spreading her legs wider and grinding her butt into his groin.

“I don’t want you to stop, but…”

“No buts.”

“Damen.” His name left her lips as more of a cry of pleasure than a protest to stop. Even if half of Marquette’s was downstairs, she wanted this. She wanted him. Damen knew how to play her body and bring her to the edge of an orgasm within seconds of his first touch. He kept stroking her pussy until her legs shook, and she had to hold onto him to keep standing. Her core muscles contracted, and she arched her hips back and pushed forward, driving his fingers deeper. She grabbed his wrist. “W-wait.”

Right away, Damen’s hand stilled. “What’s wrong? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She smiled at the concern in his tone. “No. Let’s go over to the bed. I want you inside me.”

His dick twitched against her butt at the mere mention of it. Heaven slid from his arms and tugged him to follow. Damen’s gaze was on her rear, and the front of his pants looked like it poked out even more. She needed to help him get more comfortable.

At the bedside, Heaven unbuckled Damen’s belt, and he watched with his hands on her hips. She squeezed the button open and lowered the zipper. When she pushed his pants over his narrow hips, she moaned at his cock springing free. Rather than let her completely undress him, he kept his pants and boxers low on his hips and found a condom. When he had it in place, he tapped her butt.

“Take off your panties for me, baby.”

Since she still wore her skirt too, she just lifted it and pulled her panties down. Damen couldn’t even see anything, but he hissed as if knowing what she did was enough to drive him crazy. Heaven leaned on the bed for balance, and her butt brushed his thigh. Damen jerked her skirt higher so he could see. She slid her panties down her legs and let them land on the floor.

Damen ran his hands up the outsides of her thighs to her hips. “Climb on your knees. I want to see your pussy open for me.”

She did, dressed from the waist up, and leaned around to look at him. His green gaze glittered as he stared. She imagined her cootchie was wide open and soaking wet. He kept looking, and she wriggled her hips.

“Damen.”

He blew out a noisy breath. “Heaven, what you do to me.” He set the tip of his cock to her entrance and gave a tiny shove. She keened, her head falling back. He leaned over her and caressed her cheek and stroked the column of her neck with a featherlight touch. “Easy. From today, this is yours, and you have the right to take it whenever you want.”

She shut her eyes, and tears filled them. Arching deep, she took every inch as his dick slid farther. When she was full, he began a slow pump, all the way out and then all the way in. Heaven clutched the sheets. She dropped her chin to her chest and let the tears fall. Damen made slow, aching, and desperate love to her, and the more he took her, the more she loved him.

“Oh, hell,” he groaned. “I can’t hold it. I wanted…damn…”

She felt him come, and he apologized.

“Way too soon. Don’t worry. I’ll make you come again and again.”

Heaven said nothing. One, she knew he would without him saying so, and two, she was still too choked up. Damen pulled out of her, and she heard the snap of him discarding the condom. The crackle of another wrapper, but he only readied it. She climbed up the bed, hiding her face from him. For a few moments, he stood at the bedside, working his shaft. She knew what would help him along and opened her blouse and yanked up her bra. Heaven didn’t have to look to know his gaze was locked on her movements as she pinched and played with her nipples.

He crawled forward and drew her to him with one hand, his mouth homing in on her right breast. Heaven gave a soft cry when he sucked on the stiff peak and let it pop from between his lips. She arched into him, wanting more. At last, his shaft was ready, and he rolled the condom on. Rather than lay on top of her, he drew her up as he sat back. She ended up on his lap, and he guided her down onto his cock.

Heaven hung her arms over Damen’s shoulders and buried her face against his neck. They moved in a rhythm that had her pussy buzzing and her insides melting. Another tear fell, but she made sure it landed on her hand and not on his skin.

“You’re so quiet, baby,” he said into her ear. “I better try harder.”

“No, it’s good, Damen.” She hoped she didn’t sound too emotional, and to distract him, she reached under her butt and touched his balls with the tips of her fingers. Damen shuddered. She licked his skin and gave it a tiny nip, and he grunted.

Damen slowed their movements and reached between them to find her clit. She forgot what she was doing from the first massage, and then he made tiny circles on the swollen bud. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. She whimpered his name.

“That’s more like it,” he murmured. “Give me more. Come for me, Heaven.”

“Yes!”

The climax sent a pulse through her entire body, robbing her of sense. A sharp scream bubbled in her throat. Damen anticipated it and clapped a hand over her mouth. She rocked on top of him harder and faster than she remembered doing before, all the while shouting behind his hand.

When the bliss ended, Heaven collapsed on his chest. He rubbed her back. “Okay if I keep moving?”

She made a small sound of agreement. He began an unhurried pump, holding her in place with both hands on her butt. They swayed together almost like a dance but quiet, gentle lovemaking.

* * * *

Heaven lay in bed alone. The room was dark, and she was naked beneath the sheets. The kids were in bed after a long, challenging day. She shifted positions and tensed a little at the soreness between her legs. She and Damen didn’t do it rough, but his appetite led to so many sessions, in the end, she was exhausted and a bit achy. She didn’t mind because the man knew how to do her body right.

She yawned and stretched. The door opened, and Damen strode in carrying two bowls. She sat up, eager. “Did you get me a mix of butter pecan and chocolate swirl?”