‘It hasn’t been that long—’
‘Too long,’ he argued fiercely.
She wasn’t going to argue as he continued to move in the way she loved. Damon was a master of pleasure, and he knew her body far too well. He brought her to the edge in moments, and he kept her hovering until he commanded, ‘Don’t hold on.’
She needed no encouragement, and fell instantly, noisily and gratefully. Each pleasure wave stunned her, and she gorged herself on that pleasure. It was only when they both surfaced, with the moon acting as a spotlight, that they could see how far the car had moved forward.
‘I’m really glad you didn’t park on the edge,’ Lizzie commented with relief.
Damon laughed, and then they were both laughing, still entwined in each other’s arms.
If only life could be this simple and go on like this for ever, Lizzie thought.
‘Could it be that you’re starting to trust me?’ Damon asked, and she levelled a long, considering look on his face.
Trust was such a big issue for Lizzie, and she didn’t answer right away. Then, ‘Yes, I am,’ she said at last.
Drawing her into his arms, Damon held her and kissed her. ‘Don’t ever lose the faith again.’
‘I won’t,’ she promised, snuggling close.
She only wished the little niggle of doubt inside her would go away.
‘I know we’ll move forward from here,’ Damon said confidently.
‘Not over the edge of the cliff, I hope?’
He pulled back to smile down at her and she smiled contentedly.
‘I’m being serious,’ Damon insisted. ‘I hope you’re not suggesting that I don’t play fair?’
‘Well, do you?’ It was Lizzie’s turn to lift her head and stare at Damon.
‘I play to win,’ he said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NOTHING WAS EVER completely straightforward, Lizzie thought as she climbed into Damon’s SUV outside the restaurant the next morning. Still intensely aware of him, thanks to a night that had left her wanting more, they were now on their way to the school to pick up Thea—just as regular parents picked up their children.
They had planned a return to the beach house to try and make a better go of things than they had last time. Thea would have a home in Greece as well as in England, Damon had told Lizzie before he’d dropped her off last night at the restaurant, and a music studio all her own. That had really chimed with Lizzie. Yes, she might have everything to lose—including her heart, to Damon—but she couldn’t keep an opportunity like that out of Thea’s reach.
‘Good night’s sleep?’ he asked dryly as they turned onto the main road.
‘Yes. You?’ she asked in an innocent tone, knowing she hadn’t slept a wink.
She’d told Damon to drop her off at the restaurant the previous night, but he’d wanted to take her back to the beach house, where they would be able to make love in comfort. She had shied away from that level of involvement. To wake up beside Damon and find herself wanting things she couldn’t have wouldn’t help anyone, and she needed to keep a clear head if she was to try and work out how to keep things running smoothly for Thea in their utterly changed lives.
Thea was waiting for them outside the school, and everything seemed to be going well to begin with. Thea was excited at the thought of going to the beach, and Damon was buzzing too.
‘I’ve got a gift for you,’ he told Thea, the moment they walked through the door of his beachside mansion.
‘For me?’ Thea said excitedly as Damon led the way into the house.
She was still a child, Lizzie thought, feeling more than ever protective. Thea loved presents, and Lizzie couldn’t afford nearly enough of them.
Damon took them into the room that Lizzie had already planned in her fantasy world would be Thea’s music studio. There was the grand piano, in one corner, and a new addition...a violin case...was resting on the piano stool.
‘It’s for you,’ Damon explained when Thea remained hovering uncertainly by the door. ‘The violin’s for you, Thea. Call it an early Christmas present.’
‘It’s only June,’ Thea said in a small voice.
That short comment was the only warning Lizzie needed that things weren’t all right with Thea. She knew her daughter’s moods.
Thea proved her right by being uncharacteristically subdued as she walked across the room. Reaching out one small hand, she tentatively trailed her fingertips across the violin case.
‘Well? Aren’t you going to open it?’ Lizzie asked, glancing anxiously at Damon, who had also tensed, she noticed.
Thea didn’t say anything. She snapped the catches, lifted the lid—and stood back.
‘Is something wrong?’ Damon asked.
Thea was pale when she turned around, and instead of saying any of the things they might have expected, asked simply, ‘Is everything going to change now?’
‘No, of course not!’ Rushing to Thea’s side, Lizzie gave her a hug.
‘What do you mean, Thea?’ Damon asked quietly.
They looked at each other over Thea’s head.
Breaking free of Lizzie, Thea explained, ‘I know this is a very valuable instrument, and I know I should be grateful. It’s a very thoughtful gift...and I thank you,’ she added in a small voice. ‘But it’s far too good for me—especially when I don’t even know if I’ll still be playing the violin when I grow up.’
This hammer-blow struck at Lizzie’s heart. It took all she’d got not to show how shocked she was by Thea’s remark. She couldn’t believe she’d never sensed this doubt in Thea before, and felt immediately guilty. Had she urged Thea down the wrong path? She couldn’t put her hand on her heart and be sure of anything.
Even Damon seemed lost for words for once, and Thea hadn’t finished yet.
‘My mother worked very hard to buy me my first full-sized violin,’ she explained patiently to Damon, with all the seriousness a ten-year-old could muster. ‘She worked long hours and put small payments down until she’d paid enough for me to take the violin home. We’d seen the violin I wanted in a pawnshop window, and my mother begged the owner of the shop not to sell it to anyone else,’ she explained. ‘And there’s something else... Can I tell him?’
‘No,’ Lizzie said, flashing a warning glance at Thea.
‘Tell me what?’ Damon prompted.
‘Nothing,’ Lizzie said quickly.
‘You speak for your daughter now?’
For an instant Thea looked as if she’d like to kill Damon and, pleased as she was at the way her daughter had leapt to her defence, Lizzie knew this was hardly helpful when it came to bringing the three of them closer.
‘Thea, please...’ she cautioned gently, but Thea refused to be stopped.
‘My mother had to sell things at the pawnshop,’ Thea said bluntly, with an angry frown on her face as she remembered. ‘Special things she really cared about. She did that so she could buy me all the extras I needed at school and pay for my violin. Why would I want another instrument when mine was bought with so much love?’
A long silence followed.
‘Maybe when you’re older?’ Lizzie suggested in the awkward break.
‘No,’ Thea argued. ‘If I play the violin at all, no other violin could ev
er mean as much to me. The only reason I play so well is because you bought my instrument for me. I might not even want to be a professional musician when I’m older. I might want to be an airline pilot, or an engineer—or maybe a comedian?’ Thea raised her chin as she considered this last option.
‘You can be anything you want to be,’ Lizzie agreed.
Damon’s face remained expressionless throughout, and Lizzie almost felt sorry for him. Once again it came down to the fact that not everything could be bought with money and a gap of eleven years could not be easily filled. That was something they both had to come to terms with.
‘You’re right, Thea,’ Damon conceded. ‘I should have asked what you wanted before I bought the violin.’
‘No—it’s good. It’s lovely,’ Thea said quickly, obviously eager to make amends.
She wasn’t a cruel child. Thea was sensitive, which showed in her music, and she knew when someone was hurt. Lizzie had never been prouder of Thea than she was right now.
‘Can you return it to the shop and get your money back?’ Thea suggested with concern.
‘I’m sure I can,’ Damon said confidently.
They were all on a steep learning curve, and no doubt they’d all make more mistakes, Lizzie thought as Thea turned to her. ‘You’re not upset that I might not want to be a professional violinist, are you?’ she asked, staring into Lizzie’s eyes with concern.
‘It’s your life,’ Lizzie said gently. ‘You have to follow your star.’
‘I knew you’d understand!’ Thea exclaimed, relaxing into a happy smile at once. ‘And you will get your mother’s wedding ring back one day, I promise. I’ll get it back for you—Oops.’ She glanced at Damon, and then at Lizzie. ‘I shouldn’t have said that, should I?’
Lizzie reassured Thea with a smile. This was exactly what she’d dreaded—that Thea would end up like Lizzie, feeling guilty all the time. So what if her secret was out? Thea hadn’t meant any harm by it. And it was the truth. There had never been enough money for Lizzie to buy back her mother’s ring.
She wanted Damon to know that she appreciated his gesture—that she understood that he was trying to make up for all the lost years by wrapping every birthday and Christmas present he’d missed into one fabulous gift. He’d done a really great thing, and for all the right reasons, but because he didn’t know Thea his gesture had fallen flat.