Warmth rushed through me.
But when he touched his lips to my cheek, I almost gasped. Which was idiotic. A chaste kiss on the cheek did not make me weak with lust. Except my legs did feel a touch wobbly like if I tried to stand up, I'd fall back onto the chair.
"Come with me," Damian murmured. "Please, Heidi, say yes."
"I… What are we going to do on this so-called walk?"
He chuckled. "Walk and talk, that's all."
"Well, in that case… all right."
Damian straightened and offered me his hands, helping me get up. He settled a palm on my lower back as we strolled toward the nature trail.
And damn, that gentle touch sent a delicate tingle chasing over my skin.
"What did you mean 'it's all in the delivery'?" I asked while we headed into the woods. "You barely kissed my cheek."
"But the things I said and the way I said them got you worked up. That's what I meant." He danced his fingertips over my spine, the touch light and teasing. "Sometimes the right words spoken the right way are more enticing than actions."
I couldn't deny that was true, but only with Damian had I ever experienced it.
"When I talk dirty to you," he said, "you'll feel it inside your body like I'm fucking you."
After the way he so easily turned me on with his words a minute ago, I couldn't deny he might do exactly what he suggested. My body awakened at the mere thought of Damian whispering dirty things in my ear.
We strolled down the main trail hand in hand like he'd suggested, and I found myself relaxing even though we didn't speak a word to each other. It felt nice to spend time with a guy without the pressure of expectations. Damian didn't expect anything, I knew that. But I kept assuming he'd turn into a dick like my ex—like all my exes. Why did I keep picking losers?
I hadn't picked Damian. He had chosen me, though he let me set the pace.
Maybe we were kind of—almost, but not quite—dating.
"Which trail do you want to take now?" he asked as we approached a fork in the path.
One fork led to the hot spring. The other path, the main trail, headed toward the lake but had some offshoots that led to areas that were great for seeing the wildlife and scenery. If I chose the hot spring trail, that might imply I wanted to get naked with Damian in the steamy blue water. Okay, I did want that. The second I thought of it, I needed to go there with him. But I shouldn't. Not yet.
"Straight ahead," I told him. "But you can choose after that."
"Okay."
We ambled down the trail a little further, then turned onto a side path that I knew led to a small meadow where wildflowers bloomed. Still, we didn't talk. Damian held my hand, that was all. He smiled at me too, whenever I glanced at him, but it was a soft, sweet smile. I'd never been a big fan of holding hands, but with Damian, I found I loved it. He kept rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb, gently, and while we wandered toward the meadow, he threaded his fingers through mine.
Once we got to the meadow, he suggested we lie in the grass, amid the wildflowers, and relax. I already felt super relaxed, thanks to his sweetness, but I didn't tell him so.
We stretched out on the grass with a blue sky above us.
His hand stayed linked with mine.
Damian shifted in place like he was getting more comfortable. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Since when do you need permission? I told you all kinds of personal stuff the other day."
"But you're still dealing with last night, so I figured I'd be a nice guy instead of an asshat and ask permission before grilling you."
"That's very considerate," I said with only part sarcasm. He was a genuinely nice guy. "Fine, grill away."
"Why did you dump Ollie to go back to your ex? Why did you break up with that other guy in the first place?"
A wave of cold swept through me, raising all the hairs on my arms and sinking deep under my skin. Nobody had asked me those questions before. I'd never wanted to talk about it except to tell Mara and Ollie that I kept going back to Grant because he always seemed sincere when he begged me to forgive him. Should I tell Damian everything? What if, after hearing about it, he didn't want to be with me anymore?