That Emerald Vow (The Crimson Creed #2)

17. Chapter Seventeen

D inner with Damon the other night was nice, but there was an unspoken elephant in the room. I’d known he wasn’t about to mention how great our friendship is. And of course my big mouth opened, spewing out crap before I could allow him to say anything else. When I spoke to Lily, I wasn’t lying. I need more time to feel this out before we start having those serious discussions. It’s a “not now,” not a “not ever.”

We sadly haven’t been able to hang out since I’ve picked up some extra overnight shifts to help cover after Miley quit to go back to school to be an elementary school teacher. I hope she realizes kids aren’t much easier than crashing patients. Damon and I have been keeping up with each other via daily texts. At first, it was simple things, but slowly and surely, our flirty personalities took over. It’s definitely something I’m not mad about.

Damon:

Good morning, sunshine. I’ve been thinking about you. When can I see you again?

I sit up in my bed, wondering if it’s bad to say I want to see him right now. Wanting to doesn’t mean that I won’t still give him a hard time.

Me:

Well that makes one of us. I am too busy thinking of more important things. ;) Like just about ANYTHING else.

Damon:

Cause you didn’t text me all throughout your shift where you literally do have more important things to think about—like your sick and dying patients.

Me:

Shut up. It was thankfully a boring shift. All my patients were asleep for most of the night.

Damon:

So you deny that you were thinking of me?

Me:

I deny everything . . . Now where are you taking me? I’m ready for a fun night out.

Damon:

I can think of some things we could do to get your adrenaline pumping.

My cheeks instantly flush thinking of all the fun things we’d be able to do to get my heart rate up.

Damon:

Get your head out of the gutter. That’s NOT what I meant, little gem. ;)

Me:

I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’m ready for some bungee jumping or some other crazy shit.

Damon:

Uh-huh. You’re so full of shit.

Me:

No, but my phone is right now having to text your rank ass.

Damon:

Oh, you love my SEXY ass on your phone. Anyways, I’m picking you up at 8 PM. It’ll be a surprise. Be ready and comfy.

Me:

You wish. And okay.

I’m very curious about what he has planned for us, and I am definitely excited. If I’m being honest, doing anything with him would make my day.

“Ahhh!” I scream, taking in my surroundings. “I’ve wanted to go go-karting forever but never got a chance.”

“Perfect. Loser buys the first round!” he winks at me.

I narrow my eyes at him—my competitive nature shining through. “Loser buys all the rounds and dinner,” I challenge him.

He looks at me, amused. “Someone’s cocky. You’re on! ”

“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea!” I shove my hand at him to shake.

He slowly looks from my face down to my hand as he licks his lips. As he puts his hand in mine, electricity shoots through every nerve ending, and it only gets worse as he pulls me towards him so his lips are lined up with my ear. “There’s a lot about you I don’t know, but I am ready to learn every dip and curve . . .” My mouth falls open as my entire body heats with desire. “You know . . . of your personality.” He kisses my cheek lightly and moves back to where he was.

Mouth still agape, there are no words that come out. For once in my life, I have nothing to say.

“Cat got your tongue?” He lets out a raspy chuckle. It seems I’m not the only one affected by our proximity.

“No, I’m just strategizing how hard I’ll be kicking your ass. Come on, let’s go,” I say, walking towards the registration line.

After we deal with payment and all of the logistics, we’re finally in the go-karts, ready to race. He flirted his way into us being the only two racing right now—much to the annoyance of everyone else at the indoor track. Dare I say it was romantic? Even I’m able to admit that, which makes me second guess demolishing him in this competition, but only for a second.

I get in position, waiting for the light to change to green to indicate the race has started. The place we’re at is cool. It has a communication system built into the helmet so we can talk while we race.

“Hope you guys had a big payday recently ‘cause I’m ready to drink tonight . . .” I pretend to ponder. “Maybe with some steak and lobster.”

Damon’s mouth opens wide in the most radiant smile. “For you, gem, anything.” He winks at me, making me so infatuated in the moment that I miss the light change and horn. “But it seems like I won’t need to.” He laughs as he brings his visor down and pulls further ahead.

I hit the accelerator, quickly gaining momentum and decreasing the distance between us. “Not so fast!” I yell out.

He turns to make a right sooner than he should have, making him lose momentum. Using that to my advantage, I stay straight until the last moment to make the turn from the outer edge and stay at top speed as long as possible. I straighten my kart out and continue in the lead.

“You sure you’re not lying? Seems like you’ve done this before,” Damon says as he catches up to me.

Not turning to look at him—knowing that it will distract me—I say, “I’m just naturally gifted at multiple things.”

The track starts to narrow where only one kart will be able to go through at a time. Fuck.

We’re both neck in neck when he yells in my direction, “Multiple things, huh? What else are you naturally gifted at, gem? Are these those adrenaline-pumping things we talked about earlier?”

I immediately turn my head to the right to look at him as he passes me. The moment’s hesitation costs me the possible lead. “You asshole!”

“If anal is what you’re into baby!” he shouts as he moves forward.

“That does it,” I mumble to myself. Two can play this game.

Once the track opens up again, I do everything to catch up. “You’d be surprised what I’m into. And I feel bad for you if you think anal is the kinkiest thing that can be done,” I say as I pull up next to him.

“I’m here for trying new things, gem.” Damon chuckles as he tries to pull a little forward. But I’m right next to him, slamming my foot on the pedal.

“There is this Kamasutra book I’ve been dying to try out. Maybe you and I c—” I don’t need to even finish the sentence as I see him hesitate causing him to slow down his momentum. I take the opportunity to get the lead and finish the first lap in first place.

“You’re the devil!” I hear him laugh behind me.

We continue to tease each other until the final lap where I barely take the lead and win. That doesn’t stop me from gloating though.

“I win!” I shout, louder than necessary.

One of the workers comes towards us and says, “Uh . . . Hey . . . Good job . . . Just so you know for next time . . . Those comms are . . . um . . . they are connected to the speaker.” The boy—who can’t be more than sixteen—is turning bright red. “You can’t use profane language like that during the race. This is a . . . um . . . a family establishment.”

Damon immediately bursts out laughing as I look around the sides of the race track where people can watch. There’s some confused little kids and really angry parents. Some amused parents too. And some teenagers looking aroused. Ugh. Ew.

Looking at Damon, my lips quiver into a smile as I also burst out laughing. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Damon grabs my hand as we quickly shuffle out of the place. As we walk through the door, a group of teenagers come barreling in without a care in the world. Damon tugs me by the hand he’s already holding to pull me out of the way. My chest meets his as his back is to the side wall. His arms wrap around me, sheltering me from the onslaught of teens.

I can’t help but think how perfectly I fit in his arms. I’m not short, but he’s definitely a good foot taller than me, and I nuzzle perfectly into his chest. He smells like a warm, smokey cologne that I can’t quite place.

I melt into his arms, not realizing how much time has passed. It’s become quiet, making it clear that the teens must have gone inside already. I look up at him through my lashes—my eyes locking onto his.

He looks down at me with . . . something I can’t pinpoint. In my own body, I feel this primal want—need. But it’s not just lust, it feels like more. One side of his lips quirks up, and he moves one of his arms from around me, instantly making me miss the warmth and security.

He takes his hand to rub my cheek. “What are you thinking of right now, gem? ”

“I—I . . .” I stutter out, not knowing how to convey all I want. “What are you thinking of?”

“I asked you first, baby,” he says, still gently caressing my cheek.

“How good this feels,” I admit.

He leans his forehead to mine as his eyes close. “Mmm.”

“Your turn,” I whisper so low, I am not sure he hears me. There’s not enough oxygen on the planet right now.

“Do you want the truth? Or are we still pretending?” I can feel his hand scrunch my shirt behind me. I fucking knew it. He knew the other day was bullshit.

“I want the . . .” I bite my lower lip so hard, it hurts. No. I can’t keep lying even if I am scared. “I want the truth.”

“I can’t stop thinking about kissing you,” he groans. “About how good you taste.”

I instantly drop my lower lip as my mouth gapes open. “Then why don’t you? We’re both consenting adults.”

He pushes my face gently with the hand on my cheek, so we’re both looking at each other. Damon leans closer so our mouths are a breath away before he moves to the side and places his lips near my ear. “Because when I kiss you, little gem, you’ll be begging for more. It won’t be like our fake diner kiss—although that was amazing. This isn’t a one-time thing for me.” He pauses as heat floods through me, desire mixing with my fear of how real this could be. “And fuck, it scares me too because I, like you, am not used to real feelings. But fuck if I don’t think about you all the time and want to give this a real chance.”

“Day . . .” I pant out.

He moves his lips to my cheek, placing a kiss, leaving me wanting more. “When we do this, it will be when you’re ready. And I promise that all that need building up within you will be something I take care of in full.” His voice is an absolutely raspy mess by the time he finishes .

“But . . . but I need . . .”

His eyes are feral, shaking the resolve he’s trying to keep. “I have an idea, if you’re willing to trust me.”

The need between my legs becoming unbearable makes me nod my head vigorously. “Yes,” I almost beg.

He takes me by the hand and guides me through the door we just left from. We walk up the stairs to the arcade floor and into the single person bathroom. Once inside, he locks the doors and turns to face me. “I’m keeping my promise, baby. I won’t be touching you right now, not when you’re not ready. But I want you to feel some relief.”

“Day, why can’t—” I try to say.

“Because I told you, I want this to be real and not just in the heat of the moment. It’s something I’ll earn, and I haven’t done that yet. Now pull those pants off,” he growls. Fuck if that sound doesn’t just make me undone.

I nod and quickly pull my pants down.

“Panties too,” he rasps. If there is one thing that I am confident in, it’s my body. I love how much he seems to be enjoying the show as his eyes trail my curves.

I do as he says as I sneak a glance at him. Just as I thought, his rock hard cock is pressing against his pants. “You too,” I demand. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing this together.”

The left part of Damon’s lips quiver in a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”

Once we’re both partially naked, we dare the other to proceed. “Your pussy looks just as decadent as I imagined.”

“You’ve imagined it, huh?” I tease, as my hand twitches to touch between folds, making his eyes flick over to it.

His dimples emerge before he continues, “You like that? The thought of me imagining all the dirty things I want to do to you?” I nod as my lips part, my chest visibly rising up and down with how fast-paced my breaths are. “I want you to touch yourself with those thoughts,” he says as he starts stroking along his length. God, how much I want that to be me touching him. He is so massive that I get wetter just looking at him stroking.

I bring my hand down to my clit where it’s met with my need, coating my fingers instantly. Moaning out at the initial contact, I make gentle circles with my two fingers.

“You make me so fucking hard doing that, gem,” he moans out himself as he quickens his pace. “God, I can’t wait to taste you. I’m confident it’ll be as sweet as you smell. Peaches,” he rasps.

“Slow down, Day,” I ask. “I want to savor this.”

He listens to my command but gives one of his own, “Okay. But I want you to fill yourself with those luscious fingers and pretend like it’s me who’s filling that hole.” If only. But unfortunately, we’re both standing a few feet away from each other. Ignoring the thought, I focus on his words and use my imagination to fill in the blanks of what I wish was happening.

My eyes widen, and something deep in my core constricts in ecstasy. I oblige immediately, moving two fingers in easily with how wet I am.

“That’s it, baby. In and out. Just like that. Like you’re riding me,” he moans.

“Fuck, Damon! I’m gonna come,” I scream out as I plunge in and out faster and faster—adding in my other hand to play with my clit.

“One second, gem. I’m so close.”

Without a single hand connecting with each other, we touch ourselves into oblivion until we’re both moaning out. This almost feels more intimate than sex would have been. Him allowing me release while also maintaining my boundaries just earned him another piece of my heart. Pretty soon, he’ll be reigning over it.

I think about what I said the other day, about this being a “not now,” not a “not ever.” However, I think the journey to us being real started the day I met him. My trust in him and his intentions just grow each time I’m with him.

We clean up, not saying a word, just being in the moment—enjoying the high of what we just did.

As we walk back to the bike, he pulls me to him in a side hug and kisses my head. “You’re perfect, gem.”

My eyes tear up at the statement after being told for years how imperfect and what a waste of air I was. “Thank you.”

Without thinking, we interlace our hands the rest of the way to the parking lot. “Come on, we have dinner to get to. I already made a reservation at one of your favorite places.” This makes a smile form on my lips. “Even if I won, you weren’t gonna pay for shit tonight. You deserve to be wined and dined. Come on, beautiful.” He lets go of my hand to hand me my helmet.

“Wait.” I lean over and place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He seems confused. I don’t think he realizes how great he is at taking care of others, which makes me wonder who’s taking care of him.

“For being my safe place. For keeping your vow from that first night. I’m scared, Day. But this is something I want to explore . . . slowly. So I’m sorry for it . . . for me being chaotic.”

His bright smile graces his face, the smile only I get to see. “In chaos we reign, baby.”

“In chaos we reign,” I say, smiling back at him. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he is already reigning over my heart.

Climbing onto the back of his bike, I nuzzle into his back tighter than I ever have before—excited for where this can go.

“He’ll never love you. Not in a real way.” I let the breeze of the ride blow away the memory from my past. Damon is not them. And I’ll have to relearn how to let myself open up to others emotionally—to him . Day.