Free Love Always, Kate by D.nichole King

shoulders, all the way to my hands where he placed his over mine. At the same time, his lips moved in next to my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck. Instead of tensing up, my whole body relaxed. Without thinking, I closed my eyes, taking in his touch, his breath, his scent.
    His lips pressed against my neck, and a soft moan escaped my throat. The noise surprised me. My eyes flew open, and without turning my head, darted to him. In the firelight, I thought I saw him smile.
    He used my hands in his to pick up the lobster and pull off its claws. Slowly, he snapped the body in half and started pulling meat out of the tail. He took a small piece and lifted it to my lips. I b lushed, opening my mouth. Damian leaned around me as I closed my lips over the white, succulent meat. The buttery goodness melted on my tongue. Apparently the look on my face satisfied him. He kissed my cheek before going back to work. I watched as he pulled the shell apart, alternating between lifting a sliver into my mouth and then his own.
    We sat like that, in front of the fire, with Damian feeding me until I’d had enough. Leaning to the side to face me, he slid his thumb over my lips, upper then lower, then repeated it. His eyes followed his own movements. My abdomen stirred, and I shivered. I’d never wanted him to kiss me more than at that moment.
    He didn’t kiss me. Instead he stood up, handed me my wine glass, then took his and placed it on the end table next to the Victorian-style sofa.
    “Wanna see a trick?” he asked, taking hold of the end of the blanket on the floor.
    “Is this like the table cloth thing? ‘Cause I’ve seen that one before.” I scooted off the blanket and onto the hardwood floor.
    “Something like that.” He grinned and took the corners of the blanket, lifted, and dragged the whole thing behind the loveseat, revealing a clean blanket underneath. “Ta-da!”
    “Amazing. That , I’ve never seen before!” I rolled my eyes, a smile beginning to spread across my face.
    “And that’s what makes it so special.”
    He picked up his wine glass and sat in the middle of the new blanket, beckoning me to join him. I sighed and moved onto the blanket, yet keeping my distance. The talk would be coming. I took comfort in knowing it wasn’t up to me to start the conversation; however, I was probably expected to at least say something. I had no idea what that “something” would be.
    I hated winging it, but what choice did have? It’s not like he sent me a script with the flowers. Surely, he wouldn’t be following any of the tête-à-têtes I’d had with him in my head.
    I crossed my legs and took a sip of wine. Damian sighed and looked at the full glass in his hands. He tapped his fingers against the bowl, making ripples in the liquid. I watched as he licked his lower lip and pulled it between his teeth. Adorable.
    “There’s some, uh, stuff, you should know,” he said, keeping his head bowed. “About what you heard last week. About…”
    The muscles in his jaw clenched. He circled his finger around the rim of his glass, staring at it.
    “I like you, Kate. And,” he shook his head slightly, cleared his throat, and finally looked up. “And because of that, you need to know…I mean, you already know what an ass I can be. But I wasn’t always like that. Not before my mom and Liam died.”
    He dropped his gaze again before he continued.
    “My dad, he, uh, he made all the funeral arrangements by himself. Besides that, he never really dealt with it, you know? It pissed me off, ‘cause throughout the whole damn thing he didn’t say a word to me. Didn’t ask for help or what I thought. He didn’t even shed one goddamn tear over them.”
    Damian’s hand squeezed the stem of his glass, and I worried it would snap in two. His eyes drifted to the fire, then back to the clear liquid. I sat quiet, not wanting to interrupt his monologue; I didn’t know what to say anyway.
    “Liam was his favorite, you know? The