Page 54 of California Love Songs
And in that moment she believed it. He made her feel like the hottest woman who’d ever walked the earth. The more sexy he found her, the more sexy she felt and the more she wanted him in return. Her whole body was aching for his touch. Now, her back was pressed to the edge of the bed as he kissed a path along her neck.
She tangled her fingers in his glorious hair and tried to speak, but all that came out was a breathless, “I wish we had more time.”
He grinned against the soft side of her breast. “Then we’d better not waste any.”
It was different this time. Still charged, still full of that same spark that had caught fire when they’d first kissed, but now they knew each other’s bodies. Now there was a rhythm to it. A knowing. No nerves, no second-guessing—just the heat of desire and the thrill of feeling like they were getting away with something.
There was laughter—there always was with him—muffled against pillows as they moved together, sweaty and warm, and soon he was inside her and she gasped with the size of him, drawing him closer so that she could feel every inch and every thrust. And as his breath grew ragged and he moaned her name, she shuddered and cried out as they finished together in a tangle of limbs and laughter, the kind that left her glowing and slightly out of breath. He collapsed beside her, chest rising and falling, then reached over to brush a strand of hair from her face.
She grinned, flushed with happiness, and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. “Ten minutes until we have to be out the door,” she whispered.
“We’ve done more with less,” he said, smug.
She smacked his chest, then kissed the spot. “You’re trouble.”
“And you’re still here.” He propped up on one elbow and gazed at her. “Did you go to the college today?”
“I did.”
She got up, determined not to be self-conscious about her nakedness, and fetched the info packet. She’d already flipped through the course catalog and had drawn hearts around the courses that interested her the most, or that she knew she had to take first, like biology. He flipped through, genuinely interested. A couple of times he stopped and read one of the course descriptions aloud.
He glanced up at her. “You know, I never went to college either. Some of this stuff looks really interesting. We could be co-eds together.”
She laughed. “Can you imagine? Damien Davenport going to community college?”
“I’m sure I could take online courses at least. I mean, I figure I’ve had quite an education with all the travel I’ve done, the people I’ve met. I’ve tried to read good books, but wouldn’t it be nice to actually learn something in a structured, serious way?”
Crystal grinned. She loved that he got it. He was a million times more successful than she was, but still. He understood the urge to learn, even if it was just for learning’s sake.
She pulled her clothes on—inside out, backward, who cared—in a kind of contented chaos. She didn’t know where any of this was going, not yet. But as he buttoned his shirt, barefoot and still smiling like a boy with a secret, she knew she wasn’t ready to walk away from it either.
Chapter Twenty-Six
By the time they were ready to leave, he thought they might be late. He’d forgotten that women always took more time to get ready, even when they insisted they didn’t. He could well imagine the rest of the family sitting in Archer and Tessa’s home, bemoaning his timekeeping.
Crystal did look a little worried until they parked in the drive. With one eyebrow raised, she said, “I don’t know how you do it. It’s six fifty-nine.”
“Perfect timing, I’d say,” and then he led her into the house.
“Come on, it’s almost on,” Mila cried as she caught sight of them in the grand entry. She was already hustling everyone downstairs to the home theater. The lights were down low and everyone was finding a couch to cozy up on. Tessa circulated, handing out tubs of popcorn and sodas. Damien was touched at the effort she’d made for the event.
Erin looked over at them and then her brow furrowed. For a moment, Damien wondered if it was obvious he and Crystal had just had some wild and super fun sex. But then she said, “Where’s Opal?”
Relief swept through him. “She’s watching the show at your apartment. This is a big deal for her, and she’s got her boyfriend and her family watching it with her remotely. She said thanks for the invite, but I think she wanted to share the moment of her first big interview with her own family.”
Erin nodded sympathetically. “I totally get that.”
“It’s so crazy that she’s on national TV already,” Mila said. “I feel kind of nervous for her.”
Opal was pretty nervous about how the piece would turn out, too. It made sense that she’d want to be with her family and loved ones, at least on shared screens. She was a long way from home and probably feeling homesick.
As Arch dimmed the lights and everyone settled into their places, Damien realized he hadn’t even been thinking about the interview. He’d been too caught up in making new music with Opal and his growing feelings for Crystal. But as the show began and they introduced the evening’s topics, he felt a tickle of anxiety. What if the TV people had screwed him over after all, turning the piece into racy gossip instead of the truth? What if they spun it to show Damien in a bad light? Or made Opal’s music sound bad?
When Roxy Thanton came on with a picture of him and Opal in his studio splashed across a huge screen behind her head, his nerves fully took hold.
He held his breath as Opal’s song began to play. Within seconds, he knew that the song didn’t sound as good as it would when they were finished, because it just wasn’t ready. Maybe he’d been a fool to agree to put Opal forward so quickly when she was barely beginning her career. His fears rattled around in his head as he sat, rigid, in the dim light. He reached over and grabbed Crystal’s hand, squeezing it. He didn’t even realize he was doing it until he felt her hand stiffen for a moment and then relax.
He glanced at her and she squeezed. “It’s going to be okay,” she said. “Stay with it.”
