Okay – a few quick notes and apologies. First off, my apologies to the town of Buck Creek, WA. I have taken shameless liberties with you – geographically and demographically. I am sure you are a fine town in your own right. I really just liked the name.
Secondly – I have to apologize for any perceived slur in Chapter 2. When I indicated the drug dealers were Hispanic, it was not meant as a perpetuation of a stereotype, or an indication of any form of bigotry. It was merely texture, and it pains me to think it might have been viewed as offensive. Not my intention. I owe Max a huge thank you for the gentle reminder that the reader's perception can differ so greatly from my own, and I will try to be more sensitive to that.
Lastly – but not leastly – I appreciate the emails and comments wanting me to go faster, to post more of Damien and Charlie's story. I do apologize if the wait is too long, but I would rather have a quality end product than push something out that was garbage.
And again – thank you to X for the excellent inspiration.
-W
**************************
Charlie awoke alone a few hours later, her bladder screaming an SOS at her. She got up, wincing a bit at her sore muscles, and walked quickly into the bathroom. She took care of her business as quickly as possible, keeping an arm over her breasts and muttering "polarized glass my ass" to herself. She finished and made her way towards the sink as modestly as possible, washing her hands and looking at her face in the mirror. She didn't
look
any different, she noted. Not really. A bit more relaxed, perhaps. But she sure
felt
different. Less separate, not so much an automatic outsider.
She spied a new tooth brush on top of a towel and smiled at Damien's thoughtfulness. Gladly opening it and brushing her teeth before rinsing her face and combing her fingers in her hair. She smiled to herself and went looking for her clothes, finding only Damien's t-shirt on the floor next to the bed. She looked at the logo – The Plimsouls – and felt her heart swell. She couldn't believe she'd met someone so amazing, so perfect. "In the middle of fucking nowhere, I meet the only other person in America that remembers The Plimsouls," she sighed. She smiled, slipping it on and giggling softly when she saw it came to just above her knees, and made her way to the door, poking her head out to see if he was there. She could smell bacon and coffee, and her stomach gave a low grumble.
Charlie followed her nose downstairs and made her way to the kitchen, finding Damien in a pair of shorts and nothing else, the broadness of him making her itch to slip her arms around him and stay there indefinitely. He was at the cooktop, frying bacon. Or at least trying to. Looked like he was doing a pretty good job of burning bacon.
"You should turn the burner down," she said, watching as he lifted four pieces of bacon-scented charcoal out of the pan. "And run off some of that fat into a glass." She stepped up beside him and placed her hand on his back.
"I think I can cook bacon." He bent and gave her a quick kiss.
"Oh, really?" she asked, smiling at him. "You can certainly burn bacon. So when does the cooking demonstration begin?"
"I was distracted," he said, putting down the fork he was using and taking her in his arms.
"By what?"
"I kept thinking about this sensual, delicious, beautiful woman lying naked in my bed. Made it very hard to concentrate on bacon." He bent down and kissed her as she chuckled.
"Maybe you should stick with sausage then?" She put her hands on his face and kissed him back, pressing her tongue inside his mouth and caressing his.
"I think it would have had the same results," he breathed, sliding his hands down to her ass and pulling her to him.
"Oh, sorry, didn't realize you had company," Darian said, walking in.
"Your timing is impeccable," Damien said with a groan as Charlie squeaked and moved behind him. She busied herself with the pan, trying for the life of her to pretend she wasn't standing there in nothing more than a t-shirt.
"I knocked but got no answer." Darian looked at Charlie. "Good morning, Charlie."
"Good morning, Darian," she returned, sounding like she was unfazed by him finding her practically nude in his brother's kitchen, like it was a common occurrence for her to be found in strange men's homes. He gave her a smile that made her think he knew she was bluffing.
"Sleep well?" he asked, his nonchalance hitting home to her.
Of course
seeing a nearly naked woman in his brother's apartment didn't faze him. Why would it? He'd likely walked in on a similar scene on a regular basis.
"Yes, thank you," she said quietly. She felt like an idiot, humiliated at her own stupidity. She turned her attention back to the cooktop, shaking her head so her hair fell and hid her suddenly inflamed face. She turned down the burner and moved to the sink, grabbing a glass out of the dishdrain and running hot water over it for a minute. She returned to the cooktop and poured out some of the grease.
Damien watched her, wondering at her suddenly subdued demeanor, while Darian asked him about the status of the stateland contracts.
'What is it?' Darian sent, noting his brother's distraction.
Damien informed him of the progress and when to expect the ratified and signed contracts.
'Something has upset her,' Damien sent back.
They watched her carefully lay bacon in the pan.
"Well, I will go and let Gene know. I am assuming we will not be fined for grazing on the statelands?" Darian asked.
"That is correct."
"Excellent. Then I will see you both tonight. About six?"
"Alright," Damien said, absentmindedly. His attention was on Charlie.
"Bye Charlie."
"Bye," she called, giving a quick glance over her shoulder. She turned her attention back to the bacon, resolving to not acknowledge the incredibly sexy man stepping behind her. She turned the bacon over, poking at it with a fork, wholeheartedly ignoring him as he –
oh shit
– lifted the hem of her t-shirt and put his hands on her ass, squeezing her cheeks gently. She could sense him behind her, looking at her ass in his hands and she got wet thinking about it.
"You look so much better in my shirt than I do," he murmured at her ear. He watched, confused, as she stiffened a bit at his words.
"Yeah, well, sorry about that. I couldn't find my clothes, so I just grabbed what was on the floor."
"I like it," he whispered in her ear before taking her lobe between his lips and sucking at it, breathing deeply the commingled scents of her and him from last night. His nostrils flared as he also took in the scent of her arousal. Smiling, he widened his stance behind her, kissing down her neck as he rubbed his hardening cock against her ass, sliding his hands up her back, raising the shirt with them. "Turn off the stove."
She obeyed, unthinkingly moving the pan to a cool burner, too aware of him behind her. "Damien..." she began, but he cut her off.
"Sorry about my brother just walking in like that. I've never had a woman stay the night here before, so he didn't think anyone would be here." He slid his hands to her breasts, his fingertips making circles around the areolas.
