All of Me

Karen didn’t comment. She knew exactly what Janae meant. In the past, music had been part of the foreplay when she and Andre made love. Her attraction to Damian far exceeded that of her ex, and it wouldn’t take much for her to lose control—music or not. She hazarded a glimpse his way and found him seemingly deep in thought. He frowned briefly, and a shadow flickered across his face. I wonder what that was about. His voice broke into her thoughts.

“You’re frowning. Is something wrong?”

“No,” she said hastily. “Just thinking. It’s nothing.”

He studied her a moment. “You sure?”

“Yes.” She reached down and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

He lifted it and placed a lingering kiss on the back. Smiling, he laced their fingers together and trained his eyes on the stage.

Karen turned and met Janae’s smiling face.

Janae mouthed, I told you.

Soon the lights dimmed, and Monte hit the stage and greeted the audience. “Before we get started, I’d like my beautiful wife to join me.”

Gasps and expressions of shock flooded the room. “Did you know he was going to do this, Janae?” Karen asked.

She nodded. “Yes. He promised it would be the only time.” Janae stood, and Donovan escorted her to the stage.

While holding Janae’s hand, Monte sang a beautiful ballad he had composed just for her, expressing the depths of his love. He looked at her with such emotion that it brought tears to Karen’s eyes. She wondered how it would feel to have a man look at her that way.

A tear slid down her cheek. Damian gently wiped it away with the pad of his thumb before she could react. The tender and sweet gesture caught her by surprise, and the tears came faster.

Damian draped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kissed to her temple. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said, sniffing. “I’m just happy for Janae, and the words to the song are so beautiful.”

“He must love her a lot.”

“He does, and she loves him just as much.”

He stared at her for a lengthy minute with a strange look on his face before turning his attention back to the stage.

She wiped away the lingering tears, grateful that she hadn’t worn mascara or eyeliner. She and Janae shared a smile when Janae returned; then Karen tuned in for the rest of the show. Monte sang a mixture of the old and new, and she found Janae’s description of the new music quite accurate. He could have titled it The Ultimate Make-Out CD. By the show’s end, she noticed more than a few couples snuggling closer.

Karen and Damian said their goodbyes to Janae, and he convinced her to take another walk. Outside, they strolled hand in hand along the deck, neither speaking. She marveled at how comfortable she felt with him. In the short time since she’d met him, he’d impressed her as a gentleman. He had a great sense of humor and a way about him she couldn’t put into words that drew her as no other man had before. Why couldn’t they have met under different circumstances? He stopped walking abruptly.

“Karen, I...” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his embrace at the same time his head descended.

He kissed her with a potency that weakened her knees. She slid her arms around his neck and held him in place as his hands moved slowly up and down her back, caressing and teasing. His lips left her mouth and skated along her jaw before claiming her mouth again. At length, he lifted his head but didn’t release her. She read the question in his eyes, knew what he was asking. She came up on her toes and kissed him.

Reaching for his hand, Karen led him back to her room. When they reached it, she slid the key in, unlocked the door and glanced back at Damian. Once they crossed the threshold, she knew there would be no turning back.

Chapter 6

Damian shut the door behind him and took a cursory glance around the suite. He noted an end table, a sofa and a small bistro-like table with two chairs on one side of the room. But what held his attention was the king-size bed on the opposite side of the room. Karen removed the top she had worn over the dress, then tossed it and her purse on the sofa. She wrung her hands together and looked everywhere except at him.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Second thoughts?”

She shook her head hastily. “No.”

“Are you sure? Karen, we don’t have—”

She placed her finger on his lips. “I’m sure.”