Trust Me (44 page)

“Yes, I’m no longer an employee of
Do It Yourself Magazine
. It feels a little surreal.”

I can see the concern in his eyes as he sits beside me on the couch. Immediately, I lean my head on his shoulder as I focus on the love I share with this incredible man.

“Alli, I’m so sorry that you have to give up something you love. We’ll find this prick.”

I take a cleansing breath. “I’m not giving up anything. I still get to pursue photography, and I’ll be with you. We’ll figure out the rest as it comes.”

When he kisses the top of my head, I can feel him smiling. The comfort from his touch continues to solidify my decision about my job.

“What would you say to us getting out of here for a while since we’ve been cooped up for the last four days? I thought it would be nice to have an evening out, so I made a dinner reservation for us if you want to go.”

Without even thinking, I jump up. “Oh, that sounds fantastic. Let me go change. What time do we need to leave by?”

When I glance at the clock on the wall, I see it’s almost three in the afternoon. I am so glad to be getting out for a little bit. I didn’t even realize how trapped I’d felt until freedom was offered.

He laughs at my enthusiasm, and I give him a no-nonsense smirk.

“We need to leave by four. Our dinner reservation is at seven thirty. I thought we could dine on the coast tonight for a much-needed change in scenery.”

“Perfect!”

I dash out of the room to go get ready. The security man is jogging to keep up with me as I make my way upstairs. It almost makes me laugh, but I keep it inside. I only have an hour, but I’ll be able to make myself presentable by then. Honestly, at this point, I really don’t care if I don’t look my best tonight. That’s how bad I need to get out of the house.

I pull out a deep purple halter-top dress that hits just above my knees. The top is loose and leaves my back bare all the way down to my waist where the material gathers and then hangs loosely around my legs. There’s no way I can wear a bra with this.
Hmm, that will make it more interesting and tempting for Damien.

I go with silver gladiator sandals in case we decide to walk near the water after dinner. For jewelry, I accessorize with silver hoop earrings, a silver watch, and the bracelet Damien gave me for my birthday. I grab my black jacket from the closet in case it gets cooler this evening, and then I practically skip down the stairs.

Damien is standing in the foyer, wearing a white button-up shirt, dark jeans, brown belt, and matching shoes. The shirt is perfectly tailored to fit his body, and his jeans hug him in all the right places. His black hair always has that just-fucked look, and his blue eyes are on fire. By the heat growing in his gaze, I know he is very aware of the fact that my nipples are automatically hard just from the look on his face.

I want him, right here and now. He continues to stare at me intently, and it makes me feel desired.

“You get more and more beautiful every day, Alli.”

I smile at him. He is absolutely the perfect man.

“Thank you. I must say though, at this point, I am very tempted to skip dinner altogether.”

He smiles his sexy grin and grabs my hand. In a hurry, he ushers us out of the house.

Laughing, I ask, “What’s the rush?”

“If I don’t get you out of here now, we’ll miss our dinner plans, and we need a night out.”

I give him my best pouty face, and he chuckles as he leads me to his sports car. Damien loves his cars, but he rarely has a chance to drive them, especially lately. This particular one is a beautiful smoky gray, and it screams luxury with its black interior. It’s definitely one of my favorites from his vast collection. I watch as the door lifts vertically into the air. I didn’t even know they made cars like this in real life.

“No security?” I ask.

“They’ll follow us. I thought it would be nice to have some privacy for once. Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to drive one of my cars. You’ll be safe, baby.”

“I always feel safe with you.”

He smiles warmly at me and gets me situated in my seat before making his way over to the driver’s side. When he sits behind the wheel, I can see his excitement. He’s like a little boy on Christmas morning, and the sight makes my heart melt.

“So, dare I even ask what kind of car this is?”

“It’s a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.”

“I’m guessing that translates to it’s just a wicked awesome car.”

“Yes, that would be an accurate statement. Actually, it might be a slightly understated assessment.”

He’s laughing at me for reducing such an awesome creation to a juvenile phrase.

He starts the car, but prior to putting it into drive, he turns my way and hands me a piece of fabric. “I want to keep the restaurant a surprise tonight. I’d like for you to wear a blindfold for the trip there, okay?”

“But I won’t be able to see you. Didn’t you say we’re going to a restaurant on the shore? That’ll take a few hours to get there.”
What in the world is he thinking?

“Do you trust me?”

Oh geez, way to pull out the big guns. So not fair.
“You know I do. How does that prove I trust you?”

He doesn’t say a word as he continues to hold out the blindfold, waiting for me to make my decision. It’s not even a choice as I take it and secure it over my eyes. I will give him whatever sign of trust he needs.

My world is totally dark now. I try to sit back and relax as I hear the car shift into gear and feel it begin to move forward. As we hit the highway, the engine roars to life. From that point on, I lose my sense of direction as the miles continue to pass us.

He hasn’t said a word since I put on the blindfold. Part of me wants to do something crazy, like show him one of my intimate parts, but I have no idea if someone driving beside us would be able to see. He did say security would be following us, so I can’t take the risk of someone seeing me and upsetting him like that.

Instead, I bite the bullet and speak up first. “So, am I allowed to talk on this trip?”

He teasingly answers, “Of course. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Just checking. If you said no, I was going with option B.”

Inquisitively, he asks, “And option B was?”

Well, I can’t do what I wanted to do, but divulging plans never hurt anyone. Maybe it’ll make this trip a little more difficult for him. “Well, I was going to start exposing body parts until I got some sort of reaction from you. It wouldn’t take long since I’m wearing little to nothing underneath this dress.” My teeny-tiny lacy thong shouldn’t even count as actual underwear.

When I hear him groan, I cannot help but smile as I turn toward him.

“That’s not playing nice, Alli.”

“Well, I never said I played nice, and you did ask after all.”

I give a little shimmy in his direction, and he groans again, which causes me to snicker.

“Why the hell did I want to drive us there again? Geez, woman, you’re going to cause us to wreck if you don’t stop.”

Putting my hand to my chest, I produce my best Southern accent as I respond, “Who me? I’m just over here passing the time until we get to our location.”

“Fuck. You’re going to make this difficult.”

The sexual frustration I hear in his voice pushes me forward as I try to drive him mad. Running a finger down the exposed slit in the front of my dress, I reply, “I would never do that.”

Hearing him groan is so much fun.

The car begins to slow and turns right. All of a sudden, the ride gets bumpy.
Where the hell are we?
I want to ask so badly, but I know he wouldn’t answer me, and quite frankly, I refuse to give him that much satisfaction.

Mr. Smartass throws gas on my curious fire. “I know you’re dying to ask where we are and if we’re close…”

He leaves that sentence out there, dangling, waiting for me to bite. Payback serves me right, considering the state I probably left him in after all my sexual innuendos during the ride.

I turn my head his way even though I can’t see him, and I just smile ever so sweetly at him. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

I can hear him chuckling in his seat. He knows that I’m lying, which is just as bad as me admitting I want to know where we are, but I refuse to give in.

“I hope I passed all your trust tests,” I say.

He doesn’t respond…and doesn’t respond…and doesn’t respond.
Did I say something wrong?

The silence is deafening, and just as I am about to explain myself further, he finally says, “Alli, it wasn’t a test.”

That’s all he says as the car comes to a stop. We are finally at our destination.

Oh, I wonder if we are having a private dinner on the beach. Eating dinner while listening to the waves crash against the shore would be fantastic. It would be like our first date in Miami, but this time, it would be more intimate.

His car door opens and closes, and before I know it, he’s opening my side of the car. He helps me get out of the vehicle since I still can’t see.

Well, I don’t hear the ocean anywhere.

There are no distinct scents, like flowers, food or the ocean. If it makes any sense, it just smells like outside. When a breeze blows in this early fall weather, I become slightly chilly. He starts moving his hands up and down my arms to warm me as we slowly make our way to wherever we are going. As we step through grassy terrain, I am so glad I chose to wear flat sandals versus heels. Part of me wants to ask a question, but I’m also enjoying the anticipation.

All of a sudden, I can feel a heat source warming the air around me. As we walk farther to our destination, it continues to get slightly warmer until it reaches a more comfortable temperature. Damien has stopped me now, and he is turning me to face a particular direction. When I hear the whinny of a horse in the distance, my curiosity reaches an all-time high.

Damien takes a deep nervous breath beside me. His fingers brush the side of my face as he goes to untie the blindfold. As he lets it drop to the ground, I open my eyes and wait until they adjust from the complete blackness they have been in for the last few hours.

As soon as everything snaps into focus, I gasp. I cannot believe what I see. We are standing on a hill at my parents’ old farm. We’re underneath an arbor that has thousands of lights dangling from it with the sun setting behind it. It’s surrounded by outdoor space heaters. In the middle of the arbor sits a table for two, complete with flowers and two covered dishes.

“Oh, Damien!”

He’s smiling down at me as I look up at him. My eyes start to fill with tears.

He brought me home.

He turns me around to face my old house. When he raises his arm and waves, a golden palomino with a white mane and tail starts trotting our way. It’s my horse, the one I grew up with and then had to sell.
I cannot believe Gingersnap is here.
The tears are now flowing freely down my face.

I named her Gingersnap when I got her as a teenager. My mom had made a batch of gingersnap cookies, and the little thief took mine from me. We instantly bonded in that moment.

“Oh, Damien!” My mind is overflowing with all my emotions.

Soon Gingersnap’s beautiful trot slows until she is right in front of us.

I immediately start stroking her neck as I coo at her. “Oh, sweetie, I’ve missed you. How have you been? I’m so sorry I had to sell you.”

She continues to nuzzle me.

When I turn around to thank Damien, I find him in all his handsomeness on one knee, looking up at me with his deep blue eyes. My hand goes up to my mouth, and my heart is bursting at the seams as I take him all in.

“Alli, you are my everything. I never thought I would find someone who completes me as you do. You are my soul mate, and I cannot live in a world where we are not together. I never trusted anyone with my heart before, and it’s yours for the taking. Will you marry me and be my forever?”

I nod and choke out, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Between all my sobs, he stands and slips the ring on my trembling hand. The ring has a large princess-cut diamond, and the band is surrounded with all diamonds that are sparkling in the setting sun. When I throw my arms around him, he lifts me up and spins me in a circle.

“I love you so much, Damien! So, so much! You brought me back to life. You’re my forever, too. My heart belongs to you.”

He sets me down and gazes at me with such love and tenderness. Slowly leaning his head down, he kisses me as his hands encase my face. There is nothing rushed or rough about this kiss. It is the most loving kiss I have ever received. This is the happiest moment of my life.

When I feel a nudge against my back, I turn and find Gingersnap, seemingly jealous from the lack of attention. Damien wraps his hands around my waist as I stroke her muzzle.

“Thank you, Damien. This means so much to me. How did you get everyone to agree to all of this? I cannot begin to explain how special this moment is to me.”

“You don’t have to give this moment up, Alli. It’s yours forever.”

I tilt my head to the side to look up at him in confusion.

He continues, “Gingersnap and the land are all yours again. They’re my gift to you. I’d give you the world, baby. I want to be your happily ever after.”