Endless Love by Bianca Borell

Chapter Twenty

BRIA

Back at our penthouse, I stroll toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, the full moon casting light over the city, hiding the stars. Damien trails light kisses over my exposed shoulder and neck, and goose bumps erupt on my skin. He unzips my dress, his fingers awakening my body, and I remain only in my black lace thong. He drops on his knees, grabs my hips, and peels off the almost non-existent material.

It turns me on, the way he’s fully dressed as I’m completely exposed, his to take, to pleasure. His intense, fully dilated pupils bore into mine, reaching my core, spiking my arousal. He kisses my belly and hips as one of his hands wanders lower, parting my lips, coaxing my pleasure.

“I want to take you to bed and fuck you in a hundred different ways. Come, baby. Now.”

His tongue and fingers work together in perfect synchronization. I grip his shoulders, and my head falls back. A pleasure-induced moan parts my lips as I shatter to pieces before his eyes.

A satisfied smirk plasters on his face. I recover while he undresses and picks me up, hard and ready between my legs.

He places me on the bed on my hands and knees and drives into me with one powerful thrust, pushing me forward. His lips kiss down my spine.

“I fantasized about this all fucking night. Tonight tested my control. I had a constant hard-on, all because of you.” I tilt my head and catch his eyes turn to liquid steel. Tremors of pleasure rock me from within as he grazes my earlobe. “We won’t get a lot of sleep tonight.”

He takes me rough and unrestrained. I come, questioning if I’ll be able to walk straight by the time he’s done with me. I smile to myself as Damien reappears with a wet hand towel. After tending to me, he holds me pressed to his chest, kissing my hair.

“I’m sorry, baby, if I was too rough.”

“I kind of like when you lose control a bit,” I say, and his lips arch into a full grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, sleep, baby.” My thumb caresses the contour of his full lips.

“Always so bossy.” He kisses the tip of my finger, while our gazes hold the other.

“I love you more than my life, Bria.”

***

I open my eyes and stretch, the smile widening on my face while remembering last night when I pick up my phone and blink, panic bubbling to the surface. There’s not much time until everyone arrives.

I ignore the many calls and also the messages my mother and my future mother-in-law left. Discarding my phone, I rub the sleep away. I need to wake up and fast.

Damien steps inside the room carrying a breakfast tray. I take my medicine with some orange juice and spread strawberry jam and butter on a croissant. I dig in, smiling at where a red rose rests on the tray. When we finish, he crawls between my legs, taking my lips into a heart swooning kiss. Happiness flows through me. I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him like there is no beginning or end without him. For me, there isn’t.

I pick up the rose and place it over my heart.

“Thank you for being the man I can’t stop loving.” I caress his face, and some color spreads on his high cheeks.

“I made a promise, baby, that I’ll make it my life’s goal to make you happy. To see your smile like this at me . . . to wake up next to you. To hear your beautiful heart beat for me . . .” He pauses, as if remembering it could have all ended. My heart squeezes, and through a gulp, he adds, “You’re my wonder, baby. I’ll give you the world.”

“I just want you, Damien, you’re more than enough.” He bends and kisses me.

“You deserve the world and more, everything and nothing less.”

I have no idea what he thinks he could give me more of, but I will enjoy watching him try.

***

After I load the breakfast plates into the dishwasher, Damien calls for me. I follow the sound of his voice to the bathroom and peek inside. He lies beneath bubbles and hundreds of rose petals. He crooks a finger at me to join him.

“I love how you lavish me with attention, but is today special? Did I forget something?” I narrow my eyes at him as I undress and settle myself between his legs.

“No, baby, it's just a thank you for being mine.”

“Damien, I love being yours.”

“Still, I can’t wait for you to be mine officially,” he replies and wraps his arms around me. I lean on his chest, both of us submerged in bubbles.

“Only a few weeks left.”

“Too long as it is.” I love the way my heart leaps whenever I glimpse his desire and desperation for me mixing in his voice.

I turn around to face him and cup his beautiful face in my hands and press my mouth to his, taking my time, sucking and tracing with my tongue the contour of his lips.

“I’m sure you’re still sore. Stop teasing me.”

I splash some water on his face. He dips his chin, his teeth biting into my shoulder. He turns me around, my back glued to his chest. Damien washes me, first my hair and then every inch of my body.

“That’s what I needed,” I say through a moan, relaxation coursing through me.

“What kind of man would I be if I didn’t tend to my woman’s needs?”

He winks at me, standing up as water drips from his ripped body. After he dries himself, he eyes me over his shoulder before he leaves to get ready.

Thirty minutes later, our family arrives. Alex mumbles a good morning, and Sophia’s eyes are heavy with the lack of sleep behind the sunglasses she slides back on. My mother kisses me on the cheek, still talking on the phone, and my father pulls me into a hug.

“Hi, baby girl. Nervous?”

I shake my head and search for some nerves, but I’m the embodiment of calm.

“Daddy, I’m everything but.”

“Must be because you have the right man at your side.”

“Yes, I have.”

He smiles at me and whispers, “I have never seen your mother as stressed as the days following your announcement, and that says something. I question if I’m still married to your mother or at the beginning of a bromance with Andrew.”

It’s clear from his tone, he doesn’t mean it as a joke, but I still burst out laughing, patting him on the arm.

“Only a few weeks more, and then you have Mom just for yourself.”

My future father-in-law pulls me to him and says, “It's finally happening. I couldn’t be happier.”

Contentedness washes over me. It’s blissful to feel accepted and loved.

“How’s the bromance working for you?”

He chuckles.

“Thank god for bourbon and chess. These women are maddening with the wedding preparation. They are on the phone at least fourteen hours a day, and although they have Sarah, she stands no chance with your mother and Rebecca.”

“I can only imagine.”

Rebecca is next in line as if she heard we were talking about her and hugs me, her voice full of playfulness.

“Did he just play the victim card?”

I nod, biting down a smile, but one can see the love she has for him, and it warms my heart. We have amazing examples of great marriages in the family.

Her phone rings, and she excuses herself saying, “Sorry, honey, I have to take this.”

Our fathers sit on the couch, deep in conversation with Damien next to them. Probably something to do with the company—nothing new there. The door opens again, and Quinn steps in. I jump into his arms, and he kisses the top of my head.

“Sweetie.”

“Dad.”

“Missed me?”

“Always.”

I get lost in his warm brown eyes, shiny with love, and I hope mine reflect the same.

“I just pray my old heart can take it.”

For just a moment, I question if his words mean something, but today I won’t allow the worry to sneak in. It’s Quinn, the epitome of strength.

“I see that man of yours is busy.”

“Although he’d never admit it, he misses ruling from his office.”

He laughs, and the vibration of his deep voice coaxes me to smile.

Alex joins us and brushes his shoulder against me.

“Dad, she’s leaving us.”

“This is you being nostalgic. Who would have thought?”

“You brat.” He eyes us both, nods as if in relief, and smiles.

“I see nothing has changed between you two.”

We both answer, “Never.”

“Good, you have each other. ’Never forget it.”

The niggling feeling resurfaces, but I blame it on everyone getting emotional over weddings.

“Where’s that angel of yours, Alex?”

“I don’t know about the angel part.”

I elbow him. Right on cue, Sophia appears and kisses him on his cheeks.

“Then she must be good for you, son.”

“Quinn, he’ll never admit it,” Sophia interjects.

“Admit what, that I love you?” Alex asks.

Her mouth drops open. She stares at him, a blush coating her neck and face.

“Son, if that was supposed to be romantic, you failed.”

“I’ll drink to that,” I say with a smirk.

“Can you drink more than one glass?” Alex taunts.

“Aren’t you a mean little thing?”

“Come on, Bria, little? I’m hurt.”

He poses with an injured expression on his face, and I shake my head in answer. Quinn leaves us, and before I can ask Sophia about my brother, he and Chloe trudge inside.

Sophia gasps. “They look like freaking ghosts.”

“I guess whatever happened wasn’t enough to overcome their issues.”

“At least they don’t seem like they want to stab the other to death,” she says under her breath, and I agree.

“I love you both, but I’m leaving before you two interrogate Filip and Chloe,” Alex says and walks away while Chloe and Filip approach us, almost shyly.

“Hi, sis, Sophia.”

“Hi, you two.”

There’s something beaten in their expressions. I intend to let it be, but before I can stop her, Sophia says, “You two look awful, care to share?”

“I apologize for both of us. What happened yesterday was unfortunate, and it won’t happen again.”

I respect Chloe. She implies we won’t get an answer out of her by being more than polite regarding Sophia’s prying.

“It’s okay, we’re among family.”

She flinches at the word “family” and excuses herself, rushing straight into Damien’s arms. Maybe she doesn’t want to believe it, but she’s family. Without her around, Sophia goes into full-on interrogation mode.

“Filip, don’t you dare keep me in the dark.”

“Not now,” he pleads and massages his temple.

“Spill it.”

“Have you any regard for privacy?”

“Not between us.”

She crosses her hands over her chest and pins him with her gaze. “Still waiting.”

I get a flashback of over twenty years of these two evolving, and nothing has changed between them. She will eventually get everything out of my brother whether or not he likes it, but he still makes her work for it.

“I fucked up, you know that. I said sorry hundreds of times last night, but she doesn’t want to forgive me.”

“So now you’re being the good guy and letting her go? This isn’t you. Did she cut off your balls too?”

“What would you do in her place? I slept with her best friend.”

“Fix things like you always do. If you want her, fight for her.”

“She’s not a damn product or campaign,” he counters, his voice hinting more of tiredness than anything else.

“Change your perspective.” She fires back, and he lowers his face to her, his eyebrow arched.

“Like you?” Sophia’s eyes pop open, hurt flashing in them. He catches that too, and an “I’m sorry” rushes out of his mouth. What was that about?

“Could you be any more maddening than right now?” she says, but the bite left her, and I end up intervening.

“Filip, she’s right. You have the chance now to fight for her, and let’s be honest, you can’t make things any worse than they already are.” His attention shifts to me, and he raises his hands in exasperation, huffing.

“But what if she doesn’t want me? Have you two geniuses thought about that possibility?”

“No, she’s confused and hurt, but there is something more there, and who knows what you’ll find underneath everything she has buried inside. What made you sleep with her best friend, anyway? I thought you were better than that.” He scratches the back of his neck, shaking his head at us.

“You’re the matchmaker from hell.”

“It’s obvious you have feelings for her, and yes, there’s a lot to come back and hurt you. But it's a risk you have to accept. Is she worth it?”

He stares at us, fear shining in his brown and speckled gold and green eyes, but there’s also more.

“Yes, she’s worth it.”

“Then go work for it,” she says, pointing her chin in Chloe’s direction.

“Soph, are you on drugs?”

“If I were, you would ask which ones and get yourself some too,” she shoots back while I suppress a smile listening to them banter back and forth. But now there’s something else on the agenda—my wedding dress—and I’m ready to find it.

My eyes search Damien, and when our gazes meet, my heart skips a beat. We rush to the other and meet in the middle. He catches and spins me around.

“Bria, baby . . .”

Even at the last moment, he tries to get under my skin and convince me to take him. “Still a no on going with me. Remember, good things come to those who wait.”

“So I heard. See you later, baby.”

“I’ll keep you in mind when I try dresses on.”

“Better if you imagine me taking it off.”

He winks at me as he grazes my bottom with his hand. I step back while he stares at me, promising me things I can’t wait to experience.