Blind Her With Bliss Page 6

  Embarrassment flooded through her as sounds of their climaxes filled her living room, but desperation to discover Jason’s lover’s identity kept her riveted to the television. Jason’s lover. How had she not known? All these years and her friend had never given any indication that he was gay. The reality of her friendship warped and blurred.

  When the world came back into focus, Jason and his partner had morphed back into the high school gym. Julie was left listening to the middle school band’s off-key rendition of “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.”

  Chapter 5

  The music blared through the speakers while the vacuum cleaner hummed along the carpet. Julie did a stutter step with the lively Charlie Daniels’ song about the devil with fire flying from his fingertips. Demon Jones. She sighed at thoughts of the man who had been her first one-nighter.

  She was a modern woman of the twenty-first century. Having unencumbered sex with a stranger shouldn’t be affecting her this way. Love ’em and leave ’em, or was it love the one you’re with? Either way, she shouldn’t be wondering what Damon was up to. He’d made it perfectly clear last night he was only looking for a little sexual release. He probably didn’t even remember her name.

  Though he had been nice, sweet, even, when he’d accompanied her to the Escort, carrying the box Elvis had given her, he had said very little. Damon’s tender kiss before she’d slipped into the Escort had held none of the passion that only an hour early had rocked her world.

  On the way home she’d wondered if she should have asked him out for a late cup of coffee, but convinced herself it was better she hadn’t. It would have seemed too clingy. Men never wanted anything complicated. Well, she could do that, carefree and uncomplicated.

  The new her.

  Julie sighed. Maybe she’d go over to Starry Knights tonight and find another man instead of going to Deirdre’s barbeque. Wouldn’t that throw the family?

  “Julie’s as predictable as time, brilliant as the sun, comfortable as an old pair of slippers, with enough self restraint to hold back the tide.” Julie repeated the monotonous words. For as long as she could remember, her mother had introduced her that way. At one time it had made her feel important. Now the sayings made her sound like an old dotard ready for spinsterhood.

  “Julie, you in there?” The pounding on the window startled her.

  “Yeah, hold on a minute.” She flipped off the vacuum, turned down the stereo and rushed for the front door.

  As soon as Julie turned the deadbolt, Meghan tumbled inside. “Hey, grab your stuff. We’re heading over to Deirdre’s early.” Meghan swiveled her head as if looking for something. “Why’d you lock the door? You don’t have company, do you?”

  Julie had locked both doors when she’d watched Jason’s video a second time. It wouldn’t do to have her family see him that way.

  “I was getting ready for Dee’s. I always lock the front door when I go out.” My, how easily lies tumbled one after another once they started rolling off the tongue.

  * * * *

  Damon couldn’t clear his head. Even the roar of the engine and the excessive speeds couldn’t force Julie Tilling from his thoughts or cool his heated blood. He’d taken a stranger upstairs with the intent of having sex, but ended up walking a woman he wanted to spend more time with out to her car. He’d never found himself in this situation, wishing he could take about five steps back in the sequence of events and begin with a simple dinner date.

  Julie’s blasé attitude had been stripped away with her clothes. Wanting to see the real woman, he’d taken off her wig before he’d… screwed her? That seemed too crude. Well, whatever it was, he’d done it a second time before they’d scurried into their clothes. As they waited for Elvis, Julie’s gentle probing and genuine inquisitiveness nicked at his armor, and he ended up talking about how much he hated his job. He hadn’t shared that with anyone—ever.

  The motorcycle rounded the corner of the neighborhood lined with maple trees and cookie-cutter houses in a neat row. Not the typical sprawling Maine community with old rambling farm houses. This one must have been designed by an out-of-state developer who only cared about the bottom line, not the picturesque beauty New Englanders enjoyed.

  The bike stopped in front of 1694 Wicker Way. Julie Tilling. He didn’t know he’d intended on coming here. But now that he was here—yeah, now that he was here—now what? It would be foolish to drive off now. Not when the curtains on several of the front windows up and down the street were pulled back. People driving Harleys didn’t usually keep their arrivals a secret. Especially not when they held the power Damon had humming between his legs.

  He kicked down the stand and removed his helmet. Step one. Now what? He should have called. Was she watching him, wondering if he was stalking her? Filling his lungs with courage, he walked up the front steps and rang the bell. No answer. He knocked. No answer.

  Damon didn’t know anything about this woman. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in summer. Her social calendar was probably filled. Dumb. He’d been thinking with the wrong head. This had been such a bad idea. He should go home, drink down a few brews to salve his battered ego and head out to a bar for some wild partying. Right. More likely he’d do what he did every Saturday he didn’t have a gig, spend it banging out sultry jazz and rock classics on the baby grand.

  “You looking for someone, son?” The older gentleman leaning on the cane in the driveway next door inquired.

  “Julie Tilling.”

  “You got business with her?’

  “I’m Damon Corey, a friend of Julie’s.” Damon strode to the man and offered his hand.

  “John Tilling.” The man had a surprisingly firm grip. “Damon, you say?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, you just missed her. Was she expecting you?”

  “I was in town and wanted to surprise her. But I’ll give her a call and see if we can hook up later.”

  “You dating my daughter?”

  That wasn’t expected. “Well, if you call one date dating…” It wasn’t in his nature to lie, especially to a woman’s father.

  “Deirdre said Julie mentioned she was dating a Damon. I assume that’s you.”

  Dating? “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, Julie’s over at the family farm. We’re headed over there now. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to miss your visit.” If Damon wasn’t mistaken, a twinkle sparked in the old man’s eye. “Why don’t you follow us?”

  * * * *

  Julie loved her family. She supposed this was a good way to spend a summer evening. They were the only reason she’d come back to Delmont. There was nothing wrong with this life. Lots of people would be happy and satisfied. So why wasn’t she?

  Perhaps it had something to do with the way Deirdre was wrapped around Bri and laughing while Meghan and Peter waited to take their turns at croquet. Yeah, everyone had someone but her and that just sucked.

  “Okay, you two, enough of that kissing,” Peter shouted from the corner of the lawn where he was poised to win the second croquet match in a row. “Just knock Brianna’s ball across the lawn, Dee. No apologies necessary.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to me would you?” Bri batted her lashes at Dee.

  “All’s fair in love and croquet, Bri.” Deirdre placed her booted foot on her ball that lay in the plush grass next to Bri’s. The croquet mallet came down hard, and the impact sent Bri’s ball sailing into the bushes.

  “I give up. Peter’s going to win again, anyway.” Bri walked away and dropped her mallet in the rack. “Hey, perfect timing, your parents are here. I’ll go in and grab the steaks.”

  “Oh, come on, can’t I at least get the satisfaction of kicking some female butt?” Peter yelled.

  Meghan threw her mallet toward Peter. “You always win. Why don’t you stack the wickets while I help in the kitchen?”

  Julie was already gathering the wire arches off the lawn.

  “Anyone want anything to drink while I’m inside?” Meghan
called.

  “Beer,” Peter answered as he pulled the stakes from the ground.

  “Make that two.” John Tilling rounded the corner of the house.

  “Julie, you want anything?”

  “You got any iced tea?” she asked.

  “Still drinking those iced teas?”

  Julie spun to the deep voice that had haunted her dreams last night. “Damon?” The panic riding on his name was painfully obvious.

  “Nice to see you too, Julie.” He bent around the cooler filling his hands and kissed her cheek. “Make this look good. Your dad thinks we’re dating, for some reason.” The words spoken into her ear shimmied down her spine.

  “What a nice surprise. I thought you couldn’t make it,” Julie spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, then leaned in again to press her flushed cheek against the stubble of his chin. “What the hell are you doing with my parents?”

  “I haven’t figured that one out myself.”

  They followed her parents to the picnic table beside the deck and Damon set down the cooler.

  “Found him looking for you at the end of your driveway.” John Tilling smiled and slapped Damon on the back before stepping around them both to sit heavily at the picnic table. Julie hated how tired her father looked these days. “I certainly couldn’t leave a young man who’s sweet on my daughter standing alone in the cold as it were, now could I?” He leaned his cane against the edge of the table. “Besides, I wanted to witness the grilling myself. You girls are always entertaining when you’re passing judgment.”

  “That’s not true, Daddy. We don’t judge. Everyone’s welcome at the Tilling dinner table.” Meghan came down the back steps and set a tray filled with glasses and a pitcher of iced tea on the end of the picnic table.

  Peter scoffed as he followed her, handing beers around. “Riiiiight.”

  Meghan backhanded Peter’s gut. “I’m Meghan and this is my fiancé, Peter.”

  Damon shook the hands they extended.

  “Don’t let my sister’s pixie features fool you.” Deirdre pointed to their mother. “Judge…” She hitched her thumb at Meghan. “Jury…” Deirdre nodded and patted her chest. “And executioner.” She shook Damon’s hand. “But the family just calls me Deirdre.”

  “Don’t listen to her, they’re not all bad. Nobody bites. Just a little growling now and again.” Bri leaned against Dee and politely extended her hand to Damon. “I’m Brianna.”

  Introductions complete, Julie was at a loss as to where to go next and absently picked up the pitcher of sweet tea to fill a few glasses.

  “So how long have you two been dating?” Her mother asked as she began unpacking the cooler Damon had set on the ground.

  Iced tea spilled over Julie’s trembling hand. How the hell was she going to explain away the lie? There was no way she wanted her family to find out about her venture into the nightclub last night and the results of meeting Demon Jones.

  With his usual cool charisma, Damon mopped up the spill and wrapped his warm hand around hers, hiding her nervousness. “An old friend brought us together and the chemistry was immediate.” He squeezed her hand and smiled.

  The man did have a way of spinning the truth.

  “Good enough for me,” Peter said. “Why don’t we get out of this heat to some place cooler, Damon…like the grill?” He leaned in conspiratorially. “They’re always better behaved with full bellies.”

  Damon shot Julie a knowing wink that had her tummy doing little flips of pleasure. As he walked away she admired both his nice ass and the way he’d managed to ingratiate himself into her family. Maybe Dee was right and he was nothing more than a cool player racking up woman with his ratings.

  There was definitely something dark and dangerous about Damon. Julie just hadn’t quite put her finger on what it was just yet and until then, she needed to guard her heart.

  * * * *

  Wind whipped past his body, but the thrill of speed was nothing compared to having the heat of Julie pressed against his back. The vise-grip of her arms around his waist spurred Damon into reckless abandon. The faster he pushed the Harley, the tighter she clung. Her breasts were crushed against his back, her legs intimately hugging his thighs. And all he could think about was getting her alone and naked. But perhaps that wasn’t what she had in mind.

  No, it wasn’t Demon taking her home. He needed to take this slow. The afternoon with her family had been filled with friendly banter. The people surrounding her in love at the barbeque certainly didn’t seem to know anything about the sexy Jewel who’d been at Starry Knights last night. She’d skirted around questions of how they’d met through an old college friend of Jason’s with barely a stumble. But the tension in her shoulders and pleading looks she’d sent his way had communicated an uneasiness he didn’t quite understand.

  Still, it was early and he didn’t want to go home just yet. The sun had barely slipped behind the tree line, throwing ribbons of color over the clouds. The day held a tenuous grasp of the sky even as the purple shades of night fought for control in the east. He wasn’t sure how Julie was feeling about her one-night stand showing up at the family picnic. He’d have to go slow until he figured out how she felt about his unexpected arrival.

  “That one.” Julie’s arm pointed to the house he already knew. She jumped off the seat before he had a chance to shut off the engine. “Well, that was fun,” she said with a nervous giggle.

  “You ever ride a motorcycle, Julie?”

  She pulled off the helmet and fluffed her hair. The corkscrew curls of copper fit her cute features much better than the black wig that had overpowered them.

  “Not one this fast,”

  He bit back a smile. “No, I meant any motorcycle.”

  “Was it that obvious?” Color rose from her chest and deepened her already flushed cheeks.

  “I like to be a woman’s first.” Shit. Even clean shaven and wearing his glasses, Demon’s persona had a bad habit of popping up at inopportune moments.

  Julie stopped contemplating her toes and stared straight at him. Emotions moved over her face and clouded her eyes, but he didn’t know her well enough to read between the lines. He’d just met this wonderful woman. He hadn’t intended to scare her off.

  “Julie, I—”

  “No, Damon. It’s fine. I understood the score last night. I knew what this would be when I seduced you.”

  He hadn’t thought her cheeks could become redder, but he was wrong.

  “You have a lot of women available to you,” she said, quietly. “I’m sure they’re much more experienced than me.” She shrugged and nervously fiddled with the strap of the helmet. “I’m sure you weren’t really expecting the person you found at the family homestead?” She emphasized the last two words as if they were obscenities. “The Jewel of last night was more your speed. I get that.”

  Oh, hell no. “No, Julie, I—”

  She lifted her hand between them. “No, Damon. Seriously, you don’t owe me anything. Obviously my father dragged you into an uncomfortable situation. Well, you’ve done your social obligation. You politely got through a Tilling family dinner and now I’m home safe and sound. I didn’t mean to disappoint by being the girl next door and not the wild party bimbo you expected.” The helmet landed in his lap. “It seems I have a hard time living up to even a virtual stranger’s expectations of who I should be.” She turned on her heel. “So, thanks. I get it. Good night.”