Diamonds Forever (29 page)

‘So …?' His eyes were bright too, but not with tears.

‘Just stop chuntering and kiss me, you daft sod,' she said.

She had been wondering for the last three weeks what it would feel like to kiss Deano Diamond, and now it was happening, she wasn't sure she could explain it.

But it was too difficult to separate out the different elements: the warmth, the eagerness, the firmness, the passion, what he was doing with his hands … The only word that came into her head was
nice
, and after that,
gorgeous
, and then,
Ohhh.

A sharp pang of disappointment interrupted the divine flow when Deano's lips left hers for a second.

‘There's, er, a kind of little secret room over there behind those screens,' he whispered. ‘I've told everyone it's totally off limits. Just in case anyone comes in …'

‘Oh, you dirty bugger,' whispered Kayley, a wide grin stretching to the edges of her face. ‘You've got this all planned, haven't you?'

‘Well, let's say I had high hopes …'

She gave his bottom, in its skin-tight jeans, a loud smack.

‘I bet you did. Now get in there.'

Giggling, the pair ran hand in hand over to the screened-off private corner, which contained a low kind of divan covered in cushions and not much else.

‘My secret little crash pad,' murmured Deano, pulling Kayley down into the soft nest.

She fell so abruptly that her skirt rode up to mid-thigh and there was a worrying pull on her shoulder strap, as if a couple of stitches had gone. But she couldn't have cared less.

She reached up to cup Deano's face, pulling it back down to hers for more ravenous kisses. Cushions slipped and slid beneath them as they rolled joyously to and fro, their bodies pressing together with heated urgency.

Deano explored every inch of Kayley's clothed body with his hands, then ventured into hidden territory, slipping fingertips inside her cleavage and under her skirt. She encouraged him, opening up to him, seeking his corresponding parts herself.

She slid a hand inside his shirt, enjoying the dual sensations of whispering silk and warm skin with the odd wiry hair. And oh, a nipple. He had such cute nipples. She opened the shirt wide and kissed them both.

He groaned, pulling her on top of him, getting a hold of her bottom under her skirt.

‘Watch those knickers – they cost me,' she warned, before straddling him and smiling rapturously down at his rumpled, reddening face. He looked desperate to get into her, and she liked that look, wanted to drink it in until he was on the edge of frenzy.

‘What's this?' she whispered, grinding herself gently over the hard bulge in his unforgiving jeans. ‘Got something for me, have you?'

‘Ohh, you bet, baby. Just you wait.'

‘You're the one that's having to wait, duck,' she said. ‘I could sit here like this for hours, just giving it a little bit of bump and grind every now and then.'

He groaned and reached up to slide her shoulder straps down, revealing her round breasts in their lacy bra cups.

‘Do you like them?' she asked, glancing down at the mounds. ‘This push-up bra I bought makes 'em look massive. They're not as big as that really.'

‘They're perfect,' said Deano, massaging them feverishly. ‘Oh God.' He managed to lift his neck high enough to dot a kiss on each one before Kayley pushed him back down.

‘Yeah, I like 'em,' she said, cupping them in her own hands and squeezing them together. ‘They're all right.' She reached behind and unclipped her bra, freeing them. ‘The bra was good,' she said to Deano, ‘but I had to take it off. My nipples were getting that hard, it was uncomfortable. Look at them! Like bullets.'

She pinched at the tight brown buds, enjoying the look of anguished lust on Deano's face.

‘Let me,' he gasped, but she held up a finger.

‘You'll get yours,' she promised.

She spent a few moments more enjoying the tension written all over Deano's face before taking pity on him and placing his eager hands on her breasts.

‘Mm, yes, just like that,' she sighed appreciatively. ‘You've done this before, haven't you?'

‘I've done a lot more than that,' he said, rearing up suddenly and flipping her on to her back.

She shrieked, then subsided into giggles as he shushed her, jerking his thumb to indicate the crowds of people outside. She had completely forgotten about them.

‘Go on then,' she whispered. ‘Show me.'

He lifted her skirt and pushed his face between her thighs, breathing heat over her skin as he slid his tongue inside her knickers.

‘Oh, you …' But she couldn't decide what it was she wanted to call him. A dirty bastard? An angel? Something in between, something without a name.

She rested her voice and concentrated instead on the divine sensations below. Her hands went again to her breasts, kneading them mindlessly while the combination of Deano's tongue and her own juices contributed towards the thorough soaking of her knickers.

She clenched her buttocks and raised them off the ground, pushing herself into his mouth, inviting him to do his worst. And he certainly did it … or was it his best? … sending her into a spin of sticky delicious sensation that ended in a melting climax.

‘You've got me hungry, boy,' she said, once her eyes had stopped blurring and were capable of supporting a mischievous glint again. ‘Get those jeans down.'

Deano shucked them over his hips with comic urgency, presenting her with the full proof of his desire for her as they crumpled down his thighs.

She reached out swiftly and seized his cock as if plucking a flower, bending over it to inspect it in detail.

‘It's a nice one,' she said, raising her eyes to him. ‘What does rock star cock taste like? Jack Daniels?'

‘Why don't you suck it and see?' invited Deano in strained tones.

She teased him first, blowing on it while she ran her fingers up and down, making sure she'd covered its full length and girth before going any further.

She had just curled her tongue around the very tip, ready to lower her open mouth and enclose it fully, when she heard her name being called, quite close by.

‘Kayley? Have you seen Kayley? Or Deano?'

Whoever it was was right at the tent flap.

‘Nah, sorry, duck.'

‘If you see them, can you …?'

‘Sure.'

And the tent flap was opened.

For a second, Kayley couldn't move, kneeling there with her tongue out and Deano's cock pointing up at her parted lips, as if doomed to be found in this position.

Then she whipped up and back, repairing her state of semi-undress, though there was no time to put the bra back on.

‘Shit,' she hissed, watching Deano pull up his jeans, wincing as the rough canvas chafed his erection. ‘Timing!'

‘This isn't finished,' he said, putting a finger on her lips before poking his head around the screen to see who was looking for him.

‘Ah, Parker,' he said, with exaggerated cool. ‘What gives?'

‘What are you doing?' she said, drawing closer, with a suspicious look in her eye. ‘You look a mess.'

‘Just, uh, needed to get my head down for a minute,' he said. ‘Go back outside. I'll be right with you.'

She stepped closer, sniffing the air.

‘You're … oh my God … you're not alone in there. Who are you with? Deano! Tell me!'

‘Parker … just …'

But Deano's exasperation was not enough to put her off.

She flipped the screen aside and gasped.

‘Oh my God! Deano! Oh my God! I thought …'

‘You thought what?' said Kayley, adjusting a wrinkle in her tights and flashing a look up at Parker.

‘I thought that we … I mean, I thought you were just in trauma after the fire and we'd … in time …' Her eyes filled with tears.

‘Deano,' said Kayley sharply. ‘Have you been leading this poor kid a dance? Or did you think you could play us both?'

‘It's not like that, I swear!' he said desperately. ‘Parker, I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. I know we had something going before we came out here but … I should have told you I couldn't be with you. It was just … I don't know … I didn't want to hurt you.'

‘Well, that's funny, because do you know what? I'm hurt! Hurt right here.' Parker slapped a hand over her heart. ‘I thought we were going to be …'

She started crying.

‘The new power couple?' said Deano. ‘The new Diamonds? Parker, I'm sorry, but that's not what I want. I don't want a carbon copy of my relationship with Jenna. There's only one Jenna anyway.'

‘And I'll never measure up,' wailed Parker. ‘I'm just here to fill in while you find yourself something better. Well, fuck you, Diamond. You can represent yourself from now on. And good luck with that, because I've got friends, you know. Powerful friends.'

‘Great,' said Kayley, after a beat of embarrassed silence. ‘See ya then.'

There was no dignified way for Parker to retaliate to this. She turned and ran out of the tent.

‘Oh God, babe, I'm so sorry.' Deano turned to Kayley, holding out his arms.

‘You're doing a lot of apologising just lately, aren't you?' she said primly. ‘Looks like you've got good reason to. Who else have you been leading on? Just me and Parker? Or are there others?'

‘I swear, Kayley, there's only you for me. Parker – she just got some ideas about us. I suppose I was too lazy to set her straight. I'm not proud of myself. But she knew I'd come here to get Jenna back – she was deluding herself.'

‘Yeah, about that,' said Kayley, ‘about you coming here to get Jenna back. Is that still the plan? If she clicks her fingers, will you go running? Am I just a, I don't know, a second prize? A consolation prize, that's the word.'

‘Christ, Kayley,
no
.' He passed a hand through spiked, bleached hair. ‘OK. I can see why you might think that. But so much has changed since I came back to Bledburn. I … do love Jenna. I'll always love her. But I don't want to be with her, not any more. I want to be with you.'

‘When you say “be with”, you mean …?'

‘I mean whatever you want me to mean.' Deano laughed brokenly. ‘Whatever it takes to keep you in my life, Kayley – that's what I'll do.'

‘Thing is, Deano, our lives are worlds apart. You live in LA!'

‘And so can you. If you want to. There's plenty of work for a smart girl like you out there. Jenna'll be good for a reference, won't she?'

‘Er … my criminal record?' said Kayley, the thought weighing her down like lead after a microsecond of considering a Hollywood life.

‘Oh. Yeah. I suppose that could be a problem. Well, whatever. We'll work it out. If we really want it. Do you?'

‘I … think I do,' she said, laughing at the thought that she, Kayley Milton, had Deano Diamond begging to be her man.

They were embracing, laughing in that jagged way that brings it close to crying, when Jenna stormed through the open tent flap.

‘What the hell have you said to Parker? And … Oh, sorry.'

She took a step back and looked down, taking a sudden keen interest in her footwear.

‘Oh God, Jen,' said Deano. ‘I was going to tell you.'

‘It's fine,' said Jenna with a tense smile. ‘None of my business.'

‘Jenna, we weren't keeping secrets from you,' said Kayley. ‘It's just that we didn't really know ourselves … till now …'

Jenna's smile broadened and became more genuine.

‘I couldn't be happier for you,' she said, and she meant it. ‘But I'm afraid I have to break up the love-in. They're getting impatient out there. We have to make our speech.'

Up on the stage was the local school choir, having exhausted its repertoire twice over while the audience waited for the big speech of the day. Jason was waiting at the back, checking his watch every few seconds. It hadn't crossed his mind to pair up Deano and Kayley, but now the thought had been put in his head, he strongly hoped it was true. At last, Deano would be off the scene and the mild insecurity that had plagued him since the rock star's reappearance could be put to bed. Along with Jenna.

He smirked at the idea, then his smile widened at the sight of her, hurrying up the steps with Deano and Kayley in her wake. Was he imagining that dishevelled look on the pair of them? He thought not. Something very interesting had been going on in the bushes …

‘Sorry, sorry,' she said briskly to the various media representatives clustering around the stage. ‘Thank you for waiting.'

An expectant hush fell across the grounds as Jenna picked up a microphone from its stand, grimaced at the whistle of feedback and waited for the sound engineer to deal with it.

At last, the conditions were right, and she could speak.

‘I want to start by thanking you all,' she said. ‘The Bledburn Miners' Gala was a highlight of my childhood, and seeing it back again has been really special. Like this place and, especially, the people who live here.'

There was applause and shouts of approval from the crowd. It had been a good way to open the speech.

‘We deserve our day of celebration,' she continued. ‘We work hard, and we know that sometimes the hardest work comes when there isn't any to be had. Here in Bledburn, we've had to graft just to keep going. But we've kept going. We're still here, when some – who shall remain nameless – are long gone.'

‘Harville bastards!' shouted somebody in the crowd and there was more cheering and laughter.

‘Funny you should mention that name,' said Jenna with a grin. ‘We're standing here behind what remains of Harville Hall. The person who sold it to me did his best to destroy it, but I'm here to tell you today that the Hall, like Bledburn, will not be beaten. And here, to tell you about its future, is the real lord of the manor, together with the man who intends to take it over – Jason Watson and Deano Diamond.'