Page 54 of Natural Satisfaction

I slept with Damian that night, in my room, naked, though we didn't do anything remotely sexual. I loved lying in his arms, listening to his shallow, even breaths and feeling them whispering against my neck. Ever since the first night we had sex in his wagon, I'd been sleeping better than I had in years. The more time I spent with him, the less I worried about making a fool of myself or doing something dumb like going back to my ex. No, Grant could never convince me to do that. Never again.

Damian had to go back to work in the morning, so after breakfast, we kissed goodbye. I spent the morning hanging out with my friends. I had kind of ignored the Kitten Brigade a lot of the time, caught up in pretending I didn't want Damian, then sleeping with Damian, and now wishing I were with him instead of with my friends. I loved these girls, but I felt like my best self when I was with him.

A morning full of Kitten Brigade craziness kept me occupied, and I did have fun. But my thoughts always gravitated back to Damian. Sweet, sexy, naughty, tender Damian. I'd only been half teasing when I told him I'd love to knead him like putty.

I ate lunch in the dining hall with Damian and the Kittens. They made lots of suggestive, teasing comments about the two of us, but Damian took it all in stride. He never got annoyed with anybody, not even when Sylvester stopped by our table to give Damian a box of glow-in-the-dark condoms so he wouldn't, as Sly put it, "get confused in the dark and forget where you put that saber."

That had to be the dumbest joke ever, but Damian laughed and said, "When was the last time you even pulled your saber out of its sheath, Sly?"

"More often than you might think." Sylvester winked. "I'm old, not dead."

I'd gotten used to senior citizens making sex jokes. But I tried not to visualize the Silver Foxes doing the bump-and-grind.

Damian handed the condom box back to Sly. "In that case, maybe you better hold on to these."

The senior citizen winked again. "You can get your own box in the gift shop."

Sylvester opened the package to bring out a handful of packets, which he gave to Damian. Then he walked away with the box of rubbers.

Damian stuffed the glow-in-the-dark condoms in his pocket.

I leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Those could be fun."

"Mm-hm." He glanced at me sideways. "Maybe we'll try them out tonight."

Oh God, I hoped he meant that.

Damian studied me the way he often did when he wanted to ask me something. "Do you like working as a pharmacy technician?"

"Huh?" I snapped back to reality, shattering the fabulous fantasy I'd been enjoying that involved him naked on his stomach while I licked my way up his backside. "No, I don't love my job. It's okay, and the pay is decent, but I only became a pharmacy technician to try to appease my parents. They wanted me to be a doctor. I wanted to be an event planner. So we compromised, and I became a pharmacy technician."

"How is that a compromise? Event planning has nothing to do with medicine."

I shrugged. "At least I didn't have to go to medical school."

"Event planner makes a lot more sense for you. I bet you'd rock that job."

His statement made me feel glowy inside, but I also got a tightness in my throat. "Your food is getting cold."

Neither of us mentioned my job again.

When lunch was over, Damian went back to work, and I played rummy with the Kittens in the entertainment room. Yesterday, Damian and I had played chess in here by ourselves, and I'd beaten him twice. He beat me once. Though I'd always liked chess, the game had never been so much fun before. Damian would occasionally hold a chess piece to his forehead, shut his eyes, and make ghost-like moaning noises for a few seconds. Then he'd slap the piece down on the board and declare, "I have seen the future. I'm going to win, so you might as well surrender now."

"You don't surrender in chess. You resign."

"I never give up."

"No kidding." I made my move, taking his pawn. "It's one of the sexiest things about you."

"Let's make this a little more interesting and play strip chess."

"Maybe next time."

Playing rummy with my girlfriends wasn't as much fun as doing anything with Damian, but I enjoyed it anyway. I lost every game, though. Thinking about the Ludar prince who had pursued me with tenderness and sensuality kept me distracted. I hoped he'd meant it when he said we could have sex tonight. Making love with Damian felt so good, and not just because of the orgasms involved. It felt right. The intimacy we shared meant more than lust.

After the card games, my friends wanted to go on a nature hike, but I wanted to stick closer to the resort. Yeah, okay, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Damian while he performed his concierge duties. All morning, I'd kept seeing him walking from the guest house to the caretaker's house, or from the guest house to one of the other buildings. He always noticed me and waved, flashing me a sexy grin. All his smiles were hot, from the subdued ones to the I-want-your-body-now variety.

Every time he smiled at me, I smiled back, overcome by a giddy sensation.

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