Damian turned my hand over and began caressing the backside.
I couldn't catch my breath. Everything between my thighs tingled and ached, desperate for his touch. God, I needed him to fuck me, like I'd never needed anything before—and he'd only touched my hand.
He turned it palm up again, gazing up at me without lifting his head. "You have long palms and fingers, and your skin is silky soft. That means you have water hands, Heidi. Souls like yours are full of compassion, imagination, and curiosity. You're also sensitive, emotionally."
"Yeah, I'm a flake. I already knew that."
"Being sensitive isn't a bad thing. Unless you get too wrapped up in the emotion of every moment and forget to take care of yourself."
He must have guessed that based on the things I'd told him earlier. Palm reading was hooey, right? But the feel of his skin on mine made it hard to breathe or think or do anything except watch him while he examined my palm.
Damian swirled his longest finger over the center of my palm, then glided it up to the base of my index finger, massaging the fleshy spot there. "Your Mount of Jupiter is hard to figure out. It's not large, but not sunken either. You have confidence, but sometimes you forget that, and you have a connection to the spiritual world."
"Are you talking about ghosts?"
"Not necessarily. There are many forms of spirits." He moved his fingertip to the base of my middle finger and skated it in a circle. "Your Mount of Saturn is average, I'd say, but it shows you have integrity." He shifted to the next finger over and glanced up at me, his head still bowed. "The Mount of Apollo signifies optimism and the strength of your life essence. Your vitality burns inside you like a smoldering fire, just waiting for a chance to erupt."
I cleared my throat, unable to make my vocal cords work. My breasts felt heavy, my skin tight, and the strength of my lust for him made my breaths shallower and faster.
"Ah, the Mount of Mercury," he said, his tone hushed and so damn sexy as he moved his finger to the spot just under my pinky. "This one is well-developed, which tells me what I already knew. You're a smart, capable woman."
He dragged his finger across the center of my palm, teasing the most sensitive part and making me suck in a sharp breath, then he slid it toward the bottom of my hand, below my pinky. He rubbed that area with his thumb in gentle circles until my skin grew so sensitized to his touch that I bit down on my bottom lip to stave off a whimper.
"Just like I thought," he said, "you have incredible compassion and imagination, though you don't harness that power to its full potential. Not yet."
"Oh." That syllable was partly a reply to what he said, but mostly it was my breathless response to the way he touched me. How could massaging my hand feel so sensual that I'd lost all capacity for thought? With anyone else, it wouldn't. I knew that, though I couldn't explain how.
"And now, the Mount of Venus." He glided his thumb over to the base of mine and massaged that fleshy area while he spoke. "Can you guess what this region signifies?"
"I…don't know." My brain shut down a few minutes ago, so yeah, I had no clue about anything. "Tell me, please."
He leaned toward me, still massaging the base of my thumb, bringing his face to within inches of mine. "Passion, sensuality, attraction, and magnetism." He gazed straight into my eyes. "You have all of those qualities. That's why you're so anxious these days, isn't it? Because you're fighting your natural instincts, the ones that drive you to indulge your desires."
Indulge my desires? I used to do that, too much, and it got me into trouble. Maybe I did burn to indulge my lust for Damian, but it was a horrible idea. Another round of humiliation wouldn't do me any good. Still, I couldn't stop myself from gazing into his eyes, letting myself sink into the depths of this heady desire for him. His mouth hovered so close to mine that I could've kissed him if I slanted in a touch.
"You're a special woman, Heidi," he murmured. "Don't hide behind cargo pants and a baseball cap. Let your inner goddess come out to play."
Oh God, I wanted to do that. Strip naked, crawl over his entire body, take his cock into my mouth and—
No, not again. No, no, no, no. I was tumbling head over heels into another mistake, and this time, I didn't know if I could claw my way out again.
I jumped up. "Sorry, I can't—This is—I just can't."
"Take it easy. I didn't mean to upset you, but I got a little carried away. I apologize." He patted the cushion I'd been sitting on. "Come on, don't leave yet. Please."
"No, I can't. Sorry. It's me, not you."
I staggered to the door and flung it open. As I clambered down the steps, Damian called out to me.
"We haven't even gotten to Mars or the lines yet."
No idea what that meant, but it didn't matter. I ran to the guest house, heading for my room.
Chapter Ten
Damian
What was that about? Heidi panicked and bolted, all because of a palm reading. I'd stuck to the principles of palmistry, but okay, maybe I got a little too invested in the process. Touching Heidi felt so good I couldn't stop myself. She smelled good too. And looked good. I should have kept my head down, focused on the reading, instead of looking into her eyes. Her pupils had gotten bigger, a sure sign of desire, and she kept licking her lips, though I was positive she didn't realize she was doing that.