Free Making Love To Death (One Night With Death) by Natalie Kristen Page B

you coming too?” He turned to Damien.
“Would you like to go to the amusement park with us?”
    “ Now, Luc...” Emma raised a finger.
    “ Yeah. I love the bumper cars, but roller
coasters freak me out,” Damien told him.
    “ That's all right. You can sit with me. And you
can hold my hand,” Luc assured him, offering a sweaty little
hand to Damien.
    Emma watched as Damien took the little boy's hand in his
large one and held it like it was the most magical, precious thing.
The boy's eyes rounded and he let go of Emma's arm to turn to Damien.
Luc had always been wary and reticent around strangers, but he
seemed to take an instant liking to Damien. There was a powerful
bond between them. Emma could sense it. When Damien reached out to
hug him, Luc didn't recoil. Damien closed his eyes as he nestled his
face into the boy's golden blond hair and held him like his heart
would break. There was a glimmer of unshed tears at the corners of
his eyes.
    When Damien put him down, Luc went back to Emma and
said, “Can he come with us? Please, Mummy, he'll be good, I
promise.”
    Emma wrinkled her nose. “Are you going to ask if
we can keep him next?”
    “ Nope. He'll have to ask that himself!”
With that, the little boy squealed with laughter and ran out of the
kitchen.
    “ Oh, I...” Emma gaped at Damien, flustered
and embarrassed.
    “ The kid's right,” Damien answered in all
seriousness. “I will have to ask that question myself. On
bended knee.”
    Emma was utterly speechless. Even after Damien shooed
her to her room to get changed while he cleared the table and washed
up the bowls and cups, she was unable to find a fitting retort.

Chapter Eleven

    Emma lay in bed, staring out the window. Damien had
spent the weekend with Luc and her again. In fact, he seemed to be
spending every weekend with them and took them out to dinner several
times a week for the past few months. Sometimes he even cooked for
them. She often caught him staring at her when he thought she wasn't
looking, and the sexual tension between them was stretched almost to
breaking point, yet he never once made a move on her. He never tried
to hold her hand or her waist, never leaned in to kiss her on the
lips. He only kissed her on the cheek when he said goodnight, and
even that chaste kiss filled her with desire and longing. She knew
he felt it as well. She sometimes saw the arousal in his eyes and in
his pants, but he would turn away quickly or excuse himself. This
man was an enigma, a walking contradiction. Did he want her, or did
he want her? It was obvious he did. And the affection he had for
Luc was genuine. Why didn't he try to get her into his bed? He had
ample opportunity to do that, and his bed was a sprawling, luxurious
affair, one that she was sure he had taken many women before. So why
didn't he take her?
    Maybe he was still dealing with his demons. He was
undergoing therapy and the doctors said not to rush him into
remembering his past. Damien Blake was an orphan who had made good.
He never maintained any long-term romantic relationships, though he
often had several short-term ones going at the same time. He was
always photographed with a bevy of beautiful models and starlets.
But this time, he managed to keep Emma and her son out of the
spotlight. Even though he spent almost all his time after work with
them, his security and publicity team had protected Emma and Luc's
privacy fiercely and efficiently. No one knew that Damien Blake was
seeing her. Or perhaps Damien didn't want anyone to know. Maybe he
wasn't serious about her. She was just another short-term fling. Or
not even that.
    Emma tossed angrily on her side.
    What was this man up to?
    She had dated many men and had never really committed to
a serious relationship as well. So why was she getting all hot and
bothered over Damien Blake? If he was playing her, she was more than
capable of playing him right back. But the trouble was that he
didn't seem to be playing with her. He