Beneath The Lies Page 18

  “Aaliya,” Jonathan says, “your husband is here and he looks mad, probably because you’re with me. He’s going to reach us in thirty seconds so you have a choice to make, babe. One, let him walk over you because he’s going to make you leave from here or two, make him jealous like hell and then choose whether you want to leave with him.”

  I scan the crowd and find Damien coming towards us. Our eyes meet across the distance and he looks livid. My eyes drift over him appreciating his tall, imposing form. He’s dressed in dark pants, a navy blue shirt and a dark jacket. Fuck! I’m so bloody stupid. I’m drooling over him even after the ghastly way he behaved with me. I lift the shot glasses from the table in front of me and hand one to Jonathan. We click our glasses and I down the shot.

  “Option two, please,” I tell Jonathan. He laughs before gulping the shot.

  “Back me up, Gabe.” Jonathan nods at Gabe before he pulls me towards the dance floor.

  “Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” Jonathan says as we sway to the music, my head beginning to spin.

  Damien

  Ireach Gabe a few seconds after Aaliya and Jonathan head towards the dance floor.

  “What’s going on, Gabe? What is she doing with him?” I cross my arms in front of me, my eyes on Aaliya and Jonathan. This private area of the club is elevated and I can see them clearly from where I’m standing.

  “They’re just having fun. She looks safe with him. Why are you so perturbed? I’m not sure I understand what’s going on here, Damien.”

  When I remain silent Gabe glares at me. “Why was she crying when she rushed out of the office yesterday?”

  My face falls and once again I want to kick myself for hurting her.

  “I told her we couldn’t be together,” I tell him.

  “What? When were you ever with her?” Gabe considers me for a moment and then his brows pucker.

  “Scotland?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  Gabe gives me a hard stare. “If you don’t want to be with her then why does it disturb you if she’s with Jonathan? And if it does bother you, why did you decide to end things with her?”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose before splaying my hand out. “How can I let her be a part of my life Gabe? It’s a fucked-up mess and you know that. Apart from the fact I’ve lost five years of my memory, I still have the mystery surrounding my accident and my father and brother’s death. Added to that, I’m just about learning the ropes of Annette & Co. Along with all of this, I’m trying to figure my way to being a Duke and running the various estates and charities that now fall under my purview. And if that isn’t enough, how about the media attention she’ll get once it becomes known she’s with me? She’s Indian. How many aristocrats do we know who’ve been involved with women of color? One, two? Each of them has faced uproar from the press. What do you think they’ll do to Aaliya? The media will mercilessly strip her life apart. Every tiny detail of her life will be scrutinized, examined and discussed. It’ll be a fucking disaster.”

  “Have you thought that maybe you should have told her all this and then let her decide if she wants to be a part of your life or not?”

  “Fuck!” I hiss out a breath. “Let’s just accept that everything I said above is of no consequence. How about the fact that my life is in danger? I was just shot at a few days ago. What if someone harms her because they know she’s with me?”

  “Then get a bodyguard to protect her as well. God knows you have the money and means to do so. For how long are you going to stop living, Damien?” Gabe yells. Then he calms down enough to ask, “Does she make you happy?”

  I nod because it is true. My heart soars each time I remember the time I spent with her in Scotland, not just making love to her, but also just being with her, talking to her.

  Gabe squeezes my shoulder. “I know you’ve been unhappy, Damien. You’re just soldiering on with all the challenges life has thrown your way. If being with her is the key to your happiness then perhaps she will be the one to help you unlock that forgotten part of your life. If you truly want her, don’t be a fool. Go after her, Damien and tell her everything.”

  I silently ponder Gabe’s words while watching Aaliya dance with Jonathan. She looks gorgeous in the red dress she’s wearing. The dress is strappy and fits her chest in a lace up, corset style, showing the top of her breasts, hugging her waist and then flowing to her knees. Her hair is loose and falls in waves.

  She seems to be enjoying herself and my heart aches fiercely to see her having so much fun with Jonathan. I made a choice to let her go and honestly, she can choose to be with whomever she wants, but I don’t like it. Not one bit. I don’t like her with anyone else. Maybe Gabe’s right and I should have told her everything before I decided to cut her off from my life. Now my stupidity has caused her grief as well. Hell! She cried because of me and now she’s here, dancing with Jonathan because I rejected her.

  “Damien, you need to decide what you want with her, because Jonathan does like her and if you don’t want anything to do with her then leave her alone. She’ll be fine with Jonathan.”

  His words trigger a reaction from deep within my soul because the thought of Jonathan with her is not only distasteful but terribly painful as well. I see him reach out and brush a strand of hair from her face and my fists clench, my knuckles turn white as the back of his hand lingers on her smooth cheek.

  The music changes to a slow song and Jonathan pulls her closer to him. Her arms wrap around him and they look almost glued to one another. Fucking hell! My mind goes blank as red-hot fury surges through my veins.

  “She is mine,” I say aloud. “I’m going to claim her and to hell with the consequences. I’m not letting her out of my sight again.”

  Gabriel’s wide eyes follow me as I make my way towards Aaliya.

  By the time I reach her, the music has changed and Jonathan no longer has his hands on her. I grab Aaliya by the waist and pull her to me. She turns in my arms and freezes for a moment when she sees me. She pushes against my chest, but I hold her tight.

  “Go away, Damien. I’m dancing with Jonathan,” she roars.

  “No, you’re coming with me now,” I tell her. She pinches my shoulder hard and I reluctantly release her. She stumbles as she walks backwards. I reach forward to grab her and she slaps my hand away.

  “Why should I come with you? You told me I wasn’t good enough.” She sways as she points a finger at me. I take a step towards her and she takes one back, bumping into Jonathan who catches her waist to steady her. My teeth grind together to see his hands on her.

  Aaliya continues her tirade, “You turned me down, you didn’t want to be with me. So now I can do whatever I want with whomever I want. Why do you care?”

  “Look Aaliya…” I freeze when Jonathan puts his arm around her shoulder.

  “The lady is with me tonight,” Jonathan states with a cheeky grin. “So make yourself scarce, Damien. You’re ruining a perfectly fine night.”

  Aaliya sinks further into his embrace, making my blood boil. He gives me a pointed look. Bastard!

  “Jonathan!” My voice drops to a deadly tone. “Don’t get on my wrong side. I need to talk to Aaliya so let her go, or you and me are going to have a serious problem.”

  He smirks. “You and I have several problems as it is. What’s one more? The only way you’re going to get to her is through me.”

  His audacity makes me livid. I grab the collar of his jacket and raise my fist to wipe the grin off his face but Aaliya puts her hand on my arm. “What’s wrong with you? Stop creating a scene!”

  My gaze locks on her. “Come with me now or you will get a scene.”

  We stare at one another until she raises her hands in annoyance. “Fine, whatever.”

  I lower my arm and release Jonathan. Aaliya whispers something in his ear.

  “Are you sure you’ll be fine with him?” He asks her, much to my disgust.

  “Positive,” she replies.

  I take her hand
and pull her towards the corner of the floor.

  Aaliya wobbles on her feet and I’m literally dragging her behind me. I pause in the middle of the packed dance floor and face her.

  “How much have you had to drink?”

  “Four, five shots, what’s it to you?” She juts her chin out. “You’re not my keeper. I was having way too much fun before you arrived. So, go away and let me be.”

  She turns, but I grab hold of her shoulder and whirl her to face me. She falters and puts her hands to her head.

  “I’m feeling…dizzy!”

  She sways and faints right into my arms.

  Aaliya

  Iwake up with a start, jerking upright. My eyes take in the dimly lit, unfamiliar room. Where am I? But before I can make any sense of my situation a strong bout of nausea overwhelms me and I run towards a shut door praying that it’s a toilet. I barely reach inside before I’m violently ill. I finally stand after I’m done and turn to the mirror and stare at myself in shock. Shit! I’m fully nude and my face looks disgusting with raccoon like kohl streaks under my eyes.

  Snatches from the previous night infiltrate my brain and I remember arguing with Damien, after which it’s all a blank. A lot of male toiletries are organized neatly on the marble counter in front of me, several of them achingly familiar. Damien! He brought me to his house. However, I can’t bring myself to step out like this.

  I find a new toothbrush thoughtfully left on the countertop and use it, heading to the shower, vigorously scrubbing myself until I’m clean. Stepping out, I wrap myself in a thick bathrobe that smells of him. It’s huge and floats on me. I inhale a deep breath and head back out to the bedroom drying my wet hair with a towel. Just as I lift a hairbrush from the dressing table, the door opens and Damien walks in. Seeing him brings back all my memories from the previous night. My mouth curls as anger and hurt rush through me.

  He pauses at the door, eyeing me from top to toe. He must have just finished a work out because he’s wearing only gym pants that rest low on his lean hips. I can see the sweat gleaming on his broad chest and smooth abs. He looks sexy and the corner of his lower lip quirks up as he catches me staring at him.

  I scowl at that annoying smirk, hating how vulnerable I am to him. Before I know what I’m doing, I hurl the hairbrush at him. He ducks and it hits the wall behind him with a loud thwack.

  “What in the…” he starts to say, taking a step towards me, but I cut him off and fling a bottle of perfume at him I find on the dressing table. It barely misses his shoulder and the bottle falls somewhere behind him as the glass shatters and the scent of his perfume permeates the air.

  “What is wrong with you?” Reaching me, he grabs the next bottle from my hand.

  “I hate you,” I pant out, hot, angry breaths escaping my mouth.

  He laughs. The bloody scoundrel!

  “I think you already told me that last night,” he says.

  “This is your house, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “So why am I here?”

  “Should I have left you on the dance floor when you fainted?” He raises a haughty eyebrow at me.

  I stomp my foot and my hands ball into fists. “I do hate it when you mock me like this.”

  He splays his hands out. “What do you think I should have done then?”

  “Maybe you should have let Jonathan take me home,” I shoot back.

  “Hell would have frozen over before I’d have let that happen,” he retorts, taking an angry step closer to me.

  God! He makes me want to pull my hair out. “You don’t want me, you don’t like me with someone else. You ruin a perfectly fine night by behaving medieval and you almost have a brawl with Jonathan on the dance floor. What do you want? Because I don’t understand anymore.”

  He stares at me with his arms folded. “You. I want you. You’ve gotten under my skin, Aaliya.”

  I swing my hair over my left shoulder. “That is not what you told me. I think you made it abundantly clear I wasn’t good enough to be seen with you and I refuse to have an affair with you or be your side-thing.”

  “I was a twat to say what I did. And I shouldn’t have made that nasty proposition to you.” He takes a step closer to me and palms my cheek. “I apologize for hurting you.”

  “And I’m supposed to forgive you, just like that?”

  “This one time, yes,” he murmurs in a low voice.

  My eyes slam shut and I will myself not to tear up. This hot and cold, push and pull is exhausting. I don’t know which way I’m going with him. I fear my own sanity because I’m getting desperate. I’m desperate for my husband to give me a chance to show him that we belong together. I’m desperate to get enough time with him to make him remember me.

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying Damien,” My head drops in despair.

  He raises my chin with his fingers and brings his face close to mine. “I want you in my life, Aaliya. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

  “And all those words about me being a woman of color and....” He puts his finger on my lips shutting me up.

  “They were just words, words meant to push you away because I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I was afraid to get close to you. But I’m done fighting what I feel for you. We need to talk and I need to tell you the real reason I pushed you away. But first, you need to forgive me.”

  “I won’t be your mistress. I won’t be a dirty secret kept hidden.”

  “I swear on my life that no matter what happens you won’t ever be that.”

  We stare at each other for several seconds while I judge the honesty in his eyes. I let loose a shaky breath. I will risk whatever it takes to be with him, even my fragile heart because all my roads will always lead up to him. He’s my journey and he’s my destination.

  Finally, I hold his face and plant my lips on his. I raise myself up on tiptoes as I continue to tear at his mouth. His hand snakes into my hair and he holds me in place as, slowly and steadily, he takes charge of the kiss. His tongue teases my lips and I open for him, letting him plunder my mouth.

  Damien

  My hands at her scalp hold her in place while my lips and tongue invade her mouth taking and taking more from her. She gives me what I want, letting me take charge. I think some part of her recognizes this need that seizes me to remain in control, to dominate. I’ve had so little control in what has happened in my life lately that this is one area in which I want, no I need to be in absolute control of. And nothing gives me a bigger high than to see her submit to me. And she does, beautifully.

  Fuck! I almost lost this woman because of my own stupidity. Now nothing will appease me until I’ve claimed her thoroughly. Only then will my mind recognize the fact that she belongs to me. She belongs by my side.

  I untie the knot at her waist and ease her out of the robe all the while continuing to kiss her, backing her towards the bed until we both topple on it. I land on top of her and my mouth captures hers again.

  I kiss her desperately, satisfaction zinging through my blood as she lays beneath me, my body pressing into hers. Her hips rise to meet my raging erection and I push further into her, enjoying her wild moans. Her hands tighten on my head and her legs wrap around my waist, aligning me closer to her center, while her mouth softens under mine.

  “Damien, please. I need you,” she gasps.

  Her hands are everywhere now, on my shoulders, down my back, tugging the gym pants off me. I stand and take off my pants and see the pure smile of approval on her face as she sees my naked body. She kneels on the bed, coming closer to me and puts her mouth on my chest, exploring my body with her hands and tongue. I hiss out a sharp breath as desire slams through me. Her hands scoot lower and she strokes me hard, once, then again, driving me mad.

  I stop her hand. “Fuck, Aaliya, this will be over in minutes if you continue like this.”

  Without giving her a chance to say anything, I push her down on the bed and lean over her. Her hands reach out to
touch me again, but I clasp them with my own and raise them above her head.

  “These stay here,” I tell her. She makes a sound of protest, but I hold her hands in place showing her exactly the way I want her to be; I don’t think I’ll be able to go slow if she keeps touching me like this. My body is already on fire and my mind is raging for me to take her hard and fast and give us both exactly what we ache for. But I have to slow it down.

  “I’ve dreamt of you in my bed. This last week, each day, while I thought of ways of letting you go, my dreams have been filled with you on this bed. Now that I have you here, I’m going to worship every inch of your skin.”

  I kiss down her body, her cheeks, her neck and that special spot between her neck and shoulder that makes her breath hitch. My tongue dips down her cleavage, wanting to go down further. But first I pay attention to her gorgeous breasts. My mouth latches onto one breast and I lave it, sucking it hard and then I bite the peak, all the while staring into her eyes. Her eyes slam shut and a small scream escapes her mouth. I soothe the bitten flesh, rolling my tongue round and round till she’s writhing beneath me. I pay exact attention to the other breast and Aaliya is now whimpering. She lowers her arms to hold me, but I push them back above her head.

  “Please, I can’t, Damien. I need to touch you,” she whispers.

  “Soon, just not yet Aaliya.”

  I continue my exploration of her body, moving lower. My tongue circles her navel and I slide my fingers inside her entrance. She’s so wet and ready for me. My fingers curve inside her and her back arches on the bed. I lower my mouth and swipe my tongue across her center.

  Her taste is heaven, that slickness of her across my tongue is magnificent.

  Her moans get louder, increasing in frenzy as my mouth and fingers work on her body. I soak in her reaction.

  She’s so fucking perfect!

  My mouth continues its assault and my fingers play with her nipples until she detonates around me. Her hips rise and her back arches, while her hands snake around my head pushing me further into her. She chants my name again and again. I relish every spasm and jolt until she screams.