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CHAPTER 11
“Now, explain to me one more time why we’re at a bar on your wedding night?”
Lucas might be a hotshot who had every woman in this bar sneaking a peek at what the tabloids described as his ‘dreamy’ eyes, but all Damien could think of at the moment was shipping him back to where he came from in his souped-up sports car.
“Apparently, my wife thinks being here will keep her from having to face the new bed I moved into her room.”
“Dude, if you’re having to track down your wife, then this is going to be one long, rough wedding night. Are you sure this marriage is real?”
“Oh, it’s as real as your sorry ass being here, with me.”
And more tempting than Damien wanted to acknowledge. “And it’s only temporary, but that doesn’t change the requirement
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His little brother was right… It was time to solve this matter before starting to take care of the situation at the Kennedy Mill. He needed Regina and her influence over the people in town. Regina was still standing at her table, talking and trying to have a good time without him. She was behaving like nothing happened that day between them… like she wasn’t his wife. Damien couldn’t help feeling jealous of other people she was talking to, or laughing with… He wanted her to do that with him and only him. She hadn’t noticed him. He’d chosen this spot especially to watch her without detection. Give himself a feel for what she was really like, the side of herself she wouldn’t show him. Now Dam
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Regina stared at the cabin she had completely forgotten existed. The last time she’d been this far from the house, shoulder-high weeds had curbed any exploration. But the adult Damien had been hard at work on the little cabin Iris had ordered built for him when he was a teenager. The immediate vicinity had been freshly cleared and lengths of unfinished two-by-fours had been used to replace the sagging porch. Old-school rock blared from inside. As she came around the corner, she saw a brand-new AC unit blocking the side window. So, this was what was holding Damien’s attention the past few days. Regina had been avoiding her husband, and memories of that embarrassing confrontation in the bar, for almost a week. Nights had been even more
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By now, she was sampling the textures with both palms. She could imagine Damien working on it, chipping away, studying the angles until he found just the one that worked for him. Which was the same way he approached life. He wasn’t the type to listen and work with an outside element. She smirked, her hands stilling. Of course, this was an element he had ultimate control over. Suddenly, Regina was aware of that masculine heat at her back, blocking her in. Damien’s hands slid down her arms to cover her fingers where they curved around the rock. His breath accelerated, stirring the hair lying heavy against the back of her neck.“Damien…” she whispered, not sure if she was begging him to stop or to continue. He said nothing, his fingers caressing hers. Tingles of fear and e
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Finally, they reached the glass door marked Management. Betty led them through an outer office into a bigger room with casual office decor.“Damien, Regina, thank you for coming,” Bateman said, shaking their hands. He watched as his wife was met with a warm hug, but his own greeting was more reserved.“Betty had someone inform me that you were walking the mill floor. What did you think?” Damien detected a note of pride, but also a concern in Bateman’s voice.“For now, everything looks good. I saw that the equipment has been updated.” Bateman smiled slightly.“In the long run, it’s more cost-effective to do so.”&nb
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Regina had been so fascinated watching Damien work, seeing his mind process the problems, that she wasn’t prepared when he made excuses and motioned to the door. Her gears didn’t change quickly, but the quivering urgency beneath his polite facade propelled her out the door ahead of him. He turned the opposite direction from which they’d arrived, and his steps picked up speed.“Damien, wait!” she called. “Damien, where are you going?” She struggled to keep up with his pace, trailing behind by several feet. His steps were quick, and he never looked back. Her heart pounded. A seriously wrong vibe made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end. Regina followed him around twists and turns in the long hall
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Twisting her around, Damien pulled Regina off-balance to meet him like the last time. His breath hissed through his teeth as her cold clothes pressed to his bare chest, but he didn’t care. He was too busy anticipating her taste.“Chilly?” she teased, but it didn’t hide the way her body trembled beneath his hands. Then he was hit with her scent… Jasmine or maybe lavender… It was a scent so soft he could breathe her in forever. Every centimeter of his body stood up and took notice. He stared through the gloom. The wealth of hair, now curling in the humidity, hid the vulnerability of her neck. The thin shirt outlined the soft rounds of her breasts. The pale skin of her collarbone. The awareness he’d been fighting since that first night exploded like a sizzle b
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Still in total shock and extremely hurt, Regina grasped the handrail extra hard to keep herself steady. She wanted to be anywhere else but in that house, with Damien. Or Theodore… Regina just felt the need to go downstairs, open the door and run as far away as possible from all the Kennedys… Even if she was now, at least officially, one of them. But she knew she had to stay and pay her dues… Take care of Iris, June, Briar, Nicole… They all were her responsibility. They were depending on her to go through this ordeal…“One year… Just one year. Take one day at a time, Reggie… Hangin’ tough, girl,” she whispered trying to motivate herself and then swallowed hard. Walking with her head high down the main staircase, Regina forced one foot
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“Oh, God! This is way too much, old man!” he said slowly and shook his head feeling a shiver up and down his spine. Damien stared at the monstrosity of a monument Theodore Kennedy had erected for himself before turning away in disgust. He walked away from the crypt and the bronze coffin, leaving Regina behind as she greeted those still lingering at the graveside. Practically the whole town had attended the funeral, which made sense. The Kennedys were known by everybody in the town and outside of it. Theodore would have expected the town to pay homage to him in his death. Damien just wished he could ignore the twinges of guilt Theodore’s death had given him. Those final words, spoken in anger, left him feeling lower than low. ‘I wasn’t better than him,’ Dam
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