Damien shook his head.“You’re tired.If you’re okay with me being here, there’s no reason for you to stay up just because I am.”
“I trust you, Damien.”
“Thank you.”
He held her gaze, the heat from their earlier kiss lingering in the space between them.It would be so easy for Harmony to drag him to her bed and not worry about sleep, but even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she needed the sleep.She hadn’t gotten much lately, and she was worn out.
“The door is locked, and I’ll be out here in case anything happens.Marcus will find the woman who came after you.You’re safe, Harmony.I will make sure of it.”
She shivered.She’d almost forgotten about the woman.The threat.The danger.Who was after her?Was it just a woman who wanted money, or was something else going on?The woman only mentioned Damien, but if she followed Harmony home, there had to be something else.
“We will figure it all out,” Damien said, as if he read her mind.
Harmony sucked in a full breath.“Every sound makes me jump,” she confessed.
“Then I’ll be quiet.”
She shook her head.“I wasn’t… I don’t understand all this.”
“I know.I don’t either.But I’m not going anywhere.I’ll be with you until we figure it out, if you want me to be.”
“How in the world are you single?”
He chuckled.“Haven’t caughtMy Girlyet.”
Her cheeks warmed.Did she want that title?She didn’t even have to think about it.She did.She wanted that.She wanted this man to be hers.To call her his.
“Maybe that’ll change soon.”
Damien grinned, catching the things she didn’t come out and say.“I hope it will.”He stood and helped her to her feet.He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
She inhaled his scent and his strength.Her body tingled with his touch, even though it wasn’t sexual.He was giving her something she’d never gotten from a man.
Safety.
Eight
Damien did not wantto let Harmony go, but he did.She stepped back and smiled shyly before showing him where the bathroom was, bringing him a pillow and blanket, and telling him to make himself comfortable.
He had never been more uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to deal with that problem on her couch.He’d wait until he was home and alone to alleviate the discomfort against his zipper.
She used the bathroom, then whispered a quiet goodnight that he told himself did not hold regret, then went into her room.She left her door cracked open, something that made him feel ten feet tall.That one move said she trusted him.
Fuck.
Damien had barely been able to control himself when he heard that woman followed Harmony out of the restaurant.He worried about what he would find when he got to her apartment.When he saw she was safe, he nearly dropped to his knees in prayer.He did send up a few on the way, and a few more after he saw her.The relief was… He’d never felt it so intensely.
Sitting on her couch and listening to her settle in her bed for the night was a whole new experience.He wanted to be in there with her, even if it was just to hold her, but she didn’t invite him to her bed.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the building.The rustle of sheets pulled his attention more than anything else, but he learned the normal sounds of living in an apartment with shitty sound protection and mediocre security.
When Harmony was quiet, Damien eased his breathing and his pulse.Her admission that she hadn’t been sleeping well bothered him.No one deserved the terror that came with their personal information being spread online and the attacks that threatened her.He hoped she’d sleep with him there, and that she would find some way to soothe herself going forward.
After thirty minutes of silence in the bedroom, Damien tiptoed to the bathroom.He used the facilities, washed his hands, and rubbed some toothpaste over his teeth.He opened the door as quietly as he could and went back to the couch.
The pillow smelled like Harmony’s shampoo.He chuckled softly as his dick rose back to a painful length.He definitely wasn’t going to sleep if that was what he would smell all night.But it would give him some damn good dreams.
He didn’t have clothes to sleep in, since he hadn’t planned to spend the night at her place, and his date clothes were not comfortable enough to wear all night.He glanced at her room and decided to strip to his boxers.He was a light enough sleeper, he knew he’d be up as soon as she stirred.
