“You had a right. If Alicia had come to me and told me she’d slept with you, I’m not sure she would’ve survived the conversation,” I said with a hint of a smile.
Damon smiled in return, his face tilting curiously. “Oh, no?”
I shook my head. “I’d have scratched her eyes out.”
He was moving forward, backing me into a wall. “No, you wouldn’t. It’s not in you, Rose. You’re too kind-hearted. That’s why I love you.”
My gaze widened, my body froze, while my heart battered a frantic rhythm inside my chest. “Wh-what?” I whispered.
Damon seemed momentarily chagrined, like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But then his expression transformed, his eyes shone with a fierce possession, and his strong arms surrounded my scantily clad body. All in that one meeting of our eyes, I knew he was telling the truth. In a heartbeat, every look we’d shared flashed through my mind, from that initial fleeting glance across the dance studio the first time I’d heard him sing, to this one. This one that told me I owned his heart, his soul, his everything.
He dipped his head down, his lips brushing mine as he replied emphatically, “I said, I love you.”
One peck. Then, another. He licked across the seam of my lips, coaxing my mouth to open for him. So many feelings threatened to swallow me whole.
He said he loved me.
He said he LOVED me.
I was lost. Completely and irrevocably lost to him. His body melded itself to mine, pushing, seeking, grasping. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him with every fibre of my being. He lifted my legs, and I wrapped them around his torso, our bodies flushed and heated.
I gasped a quick breath, momentarily breaking the feverish kiss to say, “I know this isn’t the time, but I need you, Damon. I need you inside me.”
He groaned, his mouth on mine again, his tongue hot and slick. We each began fumbling with each other’s clothes, not giving a care to the fact we had to be on stage in a matter of minutes. He swore when he couldn’t get to grips with my costume. Luckily, I easily got his fly down, sliding my hand inside his pants to palm his rock hard erection.
I jerked him slowly up and down, loving the silky feel of him. His hands fell away from me for a moment, his head dropping to my shoulder as a deep, rumbly sigh escaped him.
“Fuck, Rose,” he grunted.
“I want you inside me,” I whimpered, still moving my hand along his length. I swiped my thumb over the head and he hissed a harsh swearword, his jaw tight.
“And I want it, too, petal, I want it, too. But right now we have to get ready to go on stage.”
“We have a few minutes,” I murmured seductively. I was like a needy little sex fiend, desperate for a fix. In that moment, I was unable to think past the carnal need for contact, for the pleasure of his cock. Now that he’d told me he loved me, it was all I could think about. I needed to be connected to him on a most base and primal level.
“Yes, but if I fuck you, Rose, I won’t want to stop. And if I fuck you, I won’t be able to think straight when I have to perform with your scent all over me.”
His sexual, heated words caused wetness to pool between my thighs. “Oh…Damon.”
“Hush. We’ll find time later. Right how I just want to know you’re going to be okay through all this. You can do this with your eyes closed. When you dance, imagine it’s just you and I in the room. Imagine I’m the only one watching and the entire audience will fall completely under your spell. Just like I have.”
I stared into his eyes, and somehow, all my earlier panic evaporated. I couldn’t tell if it was his words or his unexpected declaration of love, but all of a sudden there was a calm inside me that hadn’t been there before.
I nodded bravely. “I think I can do it.”
His gaze flickered over my face, studying me as though to make sure I was telling the truth. I briefly wondered if he was afraid I might run off and abandon ship at the last moment. The stage manager came by then, giving us our ten-minute call. Damon pulled me into his arms, hugging me so tightly I felt entirely surrounded by him.
We stayed like that for a long time, just absorbing one another, but it all went by too quickly. Before we knew it, Damon was called to the stage, and I had to go join the other dancers at the back of the theatre. Jacob had arranged the show in such a way that the big club scene would play out both on stage and in the audience. The dancers would enter from the back, making our way down the aisles before finally finding our way to the stage. It was actually quite clever, because it meant the audience would truly get to feel like they were in the Moulin Rouge.
I took one last glance at my phone to find a message from Julian that made my heart warm.
Julian: Break a leg. I’m sitting in the third row, centre stage. You’re going to rock this daaaarlinnge!! Xxx
Smiling fondly to myself, I slipped my phone to Iggy for safekeeping and watched as Henry took to the stage to sing the opening number: “Nature Boy.” After the first verse, the spotlight shone on Damon as he sat by the prop typewriter to compose his tragic tale of lost love.
The final lyrics of the song hit me like a sledgehammer, seeping into my bones as a startling realisation took hold.
The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
Damon had told me loved me, but I’d never said it back. It seemed almost supernatural that the first words I ever heard him sing were the same ones that would help me see I was in love with him, too. My heart practically pounded out of my chest with the need to tell him, but the show had begun, and I wouldn’t get a chance to be alone with him until it was over.
Somehow I just couldn’t stomach the idea of saying it during a brief stolen moment between scenes. I wanted to make it special. Later, I reminded myself. I’d have all the time in the world later.
Before I knew it, I was taking my first steps out into the lavish auditorium, my first steps in front of an audience who could either love or loathe me…or worse, be indifferent. And though there were a few brief seconds where I thought I might pass out, I got through it. In fact, being on stage was far less scary than the anticipation of it. The more I danced with my fellow cast members, the more my nerves flittered away.
They flittered and flittered until I was no longer nervous at all, but exhilarated. The audience applauded after each big number, and catching sight of Jacob’s overjoyed expression where he stood just behind the stage curtains, I knew the show was going down a storm.
Even Blake was pulling off his part with finesse, and I thought maybe he’d had a few drug-free days, because his eyes were clear and he didn’t seem on edge like he had before. Alicia, of course, was her usual glorious self, in spite of the late night fears she’d expressed to Julian. When she was lowered down on the swing for “Sparkling Diamonds,” I even heard a few awed intakes of breath. She looked like a sexy, diamante-encrusted, scarlet-haired angel, and I was certain Julian was more than enjoying the view.
And Damon, God, Damon was an entirely different person. He embodied Christian in every move, every dance, every beautifully sung line. It was difficult to focus on my own part, I was so enthralled by him. I thought back to his first day at the studio, when Iggy had bet me he wouldn’t make it to opening night. Well, he had made it.
And he was shining for all the world to see.
The show went by in a flash, and I stood on stage with the other dancers as Alicia started to sing the final “Come What May” reprise. There were tears in her eyes, and in that moment I truly believed she was Satine. I wasn’t sure if she’d read the book Julian had given her, or if she’d somehow clung to the connection she found as he created a story for the ailing courtesan, but the entire theatre was silent as she sang without any accompaniment from the orchestra.
Damon stood at the very back of the theatre, right among the audience members. Most of them didn’t even realise he was standing there until he started singing, their heads whipping around in excitement and sur
prise as he belted out the lyrics, striding down the centre aisle towards Alicia.
The two met in the middle, still singing as Damon took her in his arms. Something happened when his eyes met mine. He sang the line that always hit me square in the gut, and I knew it was meant for me. My entire body broke out in a fever of pinpricks and tingles.
I wished I could be the one in his arms right then.
Come what may, he would love me until my dying day.
Time stood still, my eyes, my heart, my entire soul was captured inside his. And then, the scene moved on, all hell breaking loose as a shot rang out and the audience gasped while the action of the story’s finale unfolded.
We all walked out to several standing ovations when the show ended. I somehow found myself standing next to Damon, holding his hand while Alicia held the other. It wasn’t supposed to be me. It was supposed to be in order of importance. He should have been holding Eddie’s hand, Blake’s, even. Definitely not mine. But there we were, standing together, skin touching skin, fingers entwined as the crowd roared their applause.
I’d worked on enough productions in my time to know that this one was a hit. I’d heard all levels of cheering, and in the words of Spinal Tap, this applause went up to eleven.
I was vaguely aware of Damon kissing me, his lips on the corner of my mouth before he was pulled away. Turning around, I found Iggy standing there, smiling like crazy.
“You were amazing,” he said, beaming. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
I let him hug me, thinking this was the first time I’d ever seen my boss close to tears. He squeezed me tight, and then Julian was there, hugging me just as hard, telling me how well I’d done. Alicia passed us by, and I looked just in time to see Julian discreetly reach out and squeeze her hand. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I saw her squeeze back before she let go, moving on as a gaggle of people congratulated her on a spellbinding performance.
About ten minutes passed, and those clogging the backstage area began to trickle out. I looked over the tops of people’s heads, trying to spot Damon, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. Pushing my way past bodies, I sought him out, but then it hit me. I knew exactly where he’d be.
So I ran.
Twenty-Seven.
*Damon*
There were too many people.
They were smiling and telling me how great the show had been, but I still felt suffocated. Compliments were nice, but I just needed a moment alone to come back down to earth. Performing on stage for a live audience, one that had been rapt by the show from the very first song, had been exhilarating. Liberating. I honestly didn’t know how much I truly missed acting until tonight.
The very second I got the chance to slip away, I did, finding solace in my blessedly empty dressing room. I sat in front of the mirror, my face sweaty and my hair going in all directions, the suit I wore rumpled from the show. I was exhausted. And tomorrow I had to come back and do it all over again. I was oddly looking forward to it – excited, even.
Every night a new audience.
Every night a new reaction.
I heard the door to my dressing open abruptly and turned my head to find Rose come inside, slamming it shut behind her and flicking over the lock. My pulse raced. She looked glorious. Her makeup was smudged, some mascara running down her cheeks. Like me, she was exhausted, but she’d never looked more beautiful.
“I love you, too,” she blurted hastily, then clamped a hand over her mouth. Like she was shocked by her own voice.
Those four simple words gave me a feeling like no other, and though yes, there had been a part of me that was disappointed when she hadn’t said them back, I knew it was because she was drowning in the effect my own declaration had on her. Lust. Urgency. Need. I’d seen a fire light in her eyes when I told her I loved her, and her body had simply taken over.
I knew the feeling, because as she stood there, so messy and perfect and heavenly, I was struck by the desire to take her up against the wall.
“Come here,” I said, the command guttural.
She ran to me, and I pulled her into my lap. “I love you, too,” she said again, like there was a pleasure in the statement itself and she couldn’t get enough of it.
“I know, beautiful. And I love you. Now, give me your mouth,” I murmured, taking her face in my hands and slanting my lips over hers. She moaned when I slid my tongue inside, little gasps and whimpers escaping as she moved to straddle my lap. She felt so soft, her tits pushing into my chest where my shirt was unbuttoned, the sweet place between her thighs hot and welcoming against my thickening erection.
“I want to feel you fall apart on my hand,” I said, the sinful words making her shudder. I loved how I had such a visceral effect on her. Reaching up, I pulled her hair out of its bun, the silky tendrils falling down, framing her face and shoulders. Christ, she was a sight to behold.
“You were so amazing tonight,” she whispered, planting kisses along my neck that had my balls tightening. “I could hardly take my eyes off you.”
“And I you. The way you move, it bewitches me,” I said. “When you dance, when I sink inside you, when you come.”
“Damon,” she gasped when I pulled her corset free and grasped both breasts in my hands. “I can’t wait any longer. These last few days have felt like a lifetime.”
I knew what she meant. For me they’d been an eternity. I’d agonised over my reaction to Blake’s lie, hated myself for being so easily manipulated. I didn’t feel like I deserved her. But then, somehow, I realised that I did. We fit together perfectly. There was no one else for me. If I couldn’t have Rose, I was condemning myself to a life of halves, and I wanted to live a whole one.
Her hands were at my fly, pulling my cock free, her soft palms gripping me. I let her take the lead, at the same time helping her out of her clothes. The door was locked, and I had no intention of seeing anyone until I’d had my fill of the woman I loved.
When she was naked and I was still mostly clothed, she rose up on her knees, positioned herself over my cock and then sank down on it. Slowly, so agonisingly slow. I hissed a strangled breath and gripped her waist. She was so wet, sheathing me with her heat, moving up and down as I stared at her in awe, mouth open, eyes hooded, completely entranced.
Bending forward, I took her nipple in my mouth, sucking it, laving it with attention before moving to the other. She whimpered at the contact, her eyes ablaze as she watched me go to work.
I fingered her clit as she rode me, feeling her thighs tense as she pushed toward orgasm. She bit her lip, her cheeks reddening and a lovely red sex flush spreading itself across her chest. The moment she came, trembling against me, I picked her up and carried her across the room. Setting her down on the small velvet couch in the corner, I positioned her on all fours, then pushed inside. Her sex pulsated around me, so wet and ready now that she’d come.
I didn’t hold back, not for a second. She moaned when I gripped the back of her neck, holding tight as I hammered home. The sexy, beautiful curve of her arse drove me crazy, the sight of her before me, mine for the taking, was branded into my memory.
I watched as my cock moved in and out of her, loved the sound of her ample flesh smacking as I drove us both to dizzying heights of pleasure. It felt so good, but I didn’t want to come like that. I never wanted to come inside Rose unless I was staring into the depths of her fathomless sea-blue eyes.
When I slid out, she whimpered her protest at the loss of me. I flipped her over, pulling her thighs around my hips as I sank back in, this time never taking my eyes off her. She inhaled at the new sensation, and I kissed her before she could let the air back out, swallowing her breath. I palmed her breast, moving my hand down, down, down, over her stomach, navel, and abdomen until I reached that sweet, sweet spot between her thighs.
“I can’t,” she rasped. “It’s too soon.”
“You can,” I countered. “You can.”
She could.
Rose came undone as I made love t
o her, the sensation of her sex clenching on my cock for the second time that night sending my head spinning. I lost it, unable to hold back as I spilled inside her. She petted at my hair, whispering sweet, soothing words to me as I tried to summon some form of intelligent thought. I had nothing. All I could do was lie on top of her soft, welcoming body, bury my face in her neck, and inhale her wonderful scent.
When I finally came to my senses, I lifted up on my elbows to gaze at her lovingly.
“Only you,” I whispered, and she smiled so dazzlingly that my heart snapped in two and came together all at once.
“Only us,” she whispered back, fingers still running soothingly through my short hair.
Twenty-Eight.
*Rose*
“We have to show our faces at the after-party,” I told Damon as we lay there, basking in a post-coital bliss.
“After-party?” he murmured, his hand sliding over my shoulder and collarbone, my breast, before resting on the soft part of my stomach.
“Didn’t you hear? Jacob organised it to celebrate our opening night. I doubt anyone will stay very late since we all have another show tomorrow, but it would be rude not to show up at all.”
“I don’t want to go,” he grunted, moving down my body now to pull my thighs around his shoulders. I gasped when he pressed his face to my sex, inhaling deeply before licking a line right down my centre. “I want to stay here and eat you out for the rest of the night.”
“As l-lovely as that sounds,” I replied, stuttering because he was starting to tongue my clit in earnest now. “We really do need to go to the…party. I told J-Julian I’d be there, and Iggy, too.”
“Don’t care,” he growled, his fingers finding me and slipping inside as his tongue went to work. I gripped the velvety fabric of the couch, moaning as I felt my third orgasm of the night building. Several people had knocked on Damon’s door while he’d been inside me, but they must’ve heard my uncontrollable screams because the knocks stopped coming after a while.