Page 48 of California Love Songs
“Crystal,” he whispered, “I want you so badly.”
For years she had longed to hear those words. They did not disappoint.
She held his gaze as she began to subtly gyrate her hips. His desire grew and grew and the hardness pressed against her and the heat between them was almost unbearable. She wanted him now. But she also wanted it to last.
She slowed the rhythmic up and down of her hips, enjoying how his eyes had fluttered closed. He was lost in pleasure.
She began to kiss his neck, to taste his skin, and lick at his earlobes.
“You’re killing me,” he murmured.
When he finally opened his eyes, they were dark with desire, but there was something else there, something deeper—a promise. “Are you sure?” he asked again, his voice a breathless whisper.
Crystal smiled, her lips curling up in a way that was pure temptation. “Yes,” she breathed, the word a vow, a declaration. “I’m sure.” The line between friends and lovers had officially blurred, and neither of them was looking back.
And with that, Damien flipped her over, taking the lead again in that way that she loved, just like he did on the dance floor. He pulled off his jeans, revealing a dark curl of hair above his white boxers, and then with a devilish grin, peeled down her skin-tight leotard, slowly revealing each inch of her tanned curves.
When she was fully naked, he let his mouth roam over her whole body. She had never felt so worshiped. His tongue lingered over the most sensitive parts of her, and she trembled beneath his tender but insistent touch.
She could feel her arousal deepening; how much more teasing could she take?
“Crystal,” he whispered, his voice low, raw with longing. “I want you.”
This time she knew exactly what he meant. Because she wanted him too. She wanted to feel the strength of his embrace, to feel the way his body would fit inside hers in a way that would be both familiar and brand new. It was time to move past their sexy dancing into something real, something deeper than the rhythm of the night.
She didn’t have the words to respond, so Crystal’s heart fluttered as she closed the small distance between them. Their lips met in a kiss that was soft at first, tentative, like the beginning of a new dance. But as the heat between them grew, so did the intensity of their kiss. His mouth moved against hers with purpose, his hands sliding to the small of her back, pulling her even closer.
Then he slid out of his boxers.
She gasped as she saw his full arousal and reached out to touch and tease the long, smooth shaft of him before he slipped on a condom. He lowered himself onto her waiting body and they resumed their kiss, his body molded against hers, and she pressed herself against him, feeling all the hard edges of bone and muscle, the strength in his arms as he held her hands.
He entered her then, and groaned, as satisfied as she at this long-awaited arrival. As he deepened his penetration and her hands escaped his to pull at his hips, she urged him to thrust even deeper. Crystal felt the world around her blur as she surrendered to the moment, to the man who had been her friend, her partner on the dance floor—and now, in the most intimate way, so much more. As he moved inside her, their bodies became the music, instruments of pleasure that were made to play with one another. As his rhythm grew faster, she matched his movements with a hunger that had been building for so long it knew no bounds.
Every breath they shared seemed to heighten the fire between them. She wanted this to last forever, to hold on to each shudder of pleasure as it rose in waves, right from her center and throughout the rest of her body.
It was just Crystal, Damien, and the passion of the moment—and as they reached their climax together, they both knew that they were no longer just friends.
They were perfect, and most delicious, lovers.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Crystal woke and, in that half-dreamlike state, was still floating on what she thought was the most beautiful dream she’d ever had. Then she opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t in her own bed, in her own home. The events of last night came flooding back—images and feelings and emotions, complicated and incredible in equal measure.
Last night had been everything she’d ever dreamed of and more. It wasn’t just the physical. It was that sense of connection she already felt with Damien, intensified now by a night of intimacy.
She’d known she’d be in trouble if she followed her instincts. And now, in the cold light of day, she realized how very deeply that trouble ran. She’d called what she felt for Damien a crush. For fifteen years, she’d been fooling herself.
She turned her head to see him beside her, sleeping peacefully. She had to hold back from reaching over and touching his face. Tracing the shadow of stubble. Running her hands through those glorious curls one more time. But she didn’t want to wake him. Just watching him sleep filled her with contentment… even as she faced the truth that she’d been avoiding for too long.
She was in love with Damien Davenport.
Worse, Crystal had to accept the fact that her kind of love was the forever kind. He might never love her back. Probably never would. Why would he, when he could have anyone? Anywhere. She was essentially a hometown girl. She’d never wanted to be an international jet setter. She didn’t envy him that. But she envied the world, getting to have him.
Of course he’d leave her. She understood that, understood that she only had whatever time he gave her until he packed up his guitar and once more, with a hug and a wave, left her as he’d done so many times in the years she’d known him. Of all the men she’d met in her life, why did she have to fall in love with Damien? Why did she have to love the man who couldn’t stay? It just wasn’t in his DNA.
Maybe the same way it hadn’t been in her father’s. But she hadn’t loved him any less for being unreliable; it just hurt her more.
But Damien? She’d known from the beginning that he was a nomad through and through. Could she not have chosen to love someone more like herself? Someone who would stick around and build white picket fences. Put together swing sets in the backyard for the kids. Why couldn’t she have fallen for Finn? But no, she had to choose a man who was as unattainable and constantly moving as the stars in the sky.
