Lover Beware

simply watching her. She could see his expression clearly, naked desire, mixed with knowledge of their future. His emotions were stark and raw and so real it brought tears to her eyes. Damon hadn’t expected to like her, let alone feel anything else for her.
    She held out her hand to him. “Don’t stand over there all alone. You aren’t alone anymore and neither am I.”
    He heard the invitation in her voice and his body began to stir in anticipation. But he stood there drinking her in. Wanting her in so many ways that weren’t just physical.
    “You weren’t, you know, Sarah. You’ve never been alone. You don’t need me in the same way I need you. You have a family and they wrap you up in love and warmth and support. I never considered the value of family and love. Sharing a day with someone you care about is worth all the gold in the world. I didn’t know that before I met you.”
    She sat up, studying him with her cool gaze. Assessing. Liking what she saw. Damon didn’t know why but he could see it on her face. “I’m glad then, Damon, if I gave you such a gift. My family is my treasure.”
    He nodded. What would it be like to wake up every morning and hear her voice? There was always a caress in her voice, a stroking quality that he felt on his skin. Deep in his body. “And you’re my treasure, Sarah. I had no idea I was even capable of feeling this way about anyone.”
    Sarah smiled. The smile she seemed to reserve for him. It lit up her face and made her eyes shine, but more, it lit up his insides so that he burned with something indefinable. “You brought me life, Sarah. You handed me my life. I existed before I met you, but I wasn’t living.”
    “Yes, you were, Damon. You’re a brilliant man. The things you created made our world safer. I watch your face light up when you tell me about other ideas you have and what the possibilities are. That’s living.”
    “I had nothing else but my ideas.” He straightened suddenly, coming away from the wall, walking toward her, confidence on his face. “That was how I escaped, into my brain and the endless ideas I could find there.” He traced the classic lines of her face, her cheekbones. Her generous mouth. “Take off your blouse, Sarah. I want to see you.”
    A faint blush stole into her cheeks but her hands went to the tiny pearl buttons on her blouse and slowly began to slide the edges apart. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her. Sarah didn’t try to be sexy, there was never anything affected about her, yet it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. The edges of her blouse slowly gaped open, to reveal her lush creamy flesh beneath it. She had a woman’s body, shaped to please a man with soft curves and lines.
    Her breasts were covered with fine white lace. Sarah stood up, her body very close to his. Damon felt a rush of heat take him, a whip of lightning dance through his body. His blood thickened and pooled. His body hardened almost to the point of pain. He embraced it, reveled in the intensity of his need for her.
    “You’re so beautiful, Sarah. Inside and out. I still can’t believe I could go from living in hell straight to paradise.”
    She reached for him. “I’m not like that at all, Damon. I’m not truly beautiful, not by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not even close. And living with me would not be paradise. I’m outspoken and like my way.”
    With exquisite tenderness, he bent his head to find her mouth with his. For a moment they were lost together, transported out of time by the magic flowing between them. When Damon lifted his head to look down at her, his gaze was hungry. Needy. Possessive. “You’re beautiful to me, Sarah. I will never see you any other way. And lucky for you, I’m stubborn and very outspoken myself. I think those are admirable traits.”
    “That is lucky,” she murmured, allowing her eyelashes to drift down and her head to fall back as he pulled her closer, his mouth breathing warm, moist air over her nipple right through the white lace. Her arms cradled his head as she arched her body, offering temptation, offering heaven.
    His mouth was hot and damp as it closed over her breast. Fire raced through her, through him. Sarah gave herself up to sensual pleasure as his tongue danced and teased and his mouth suckled strongly right through the lace. He took his time, a lazy, leisurely exploration, his hands shaping her body, using the pads of his fingers as a blind man would to