“Here, you can sleep in these. I forgot to bring the luggage inside, and I don’t want to go back out to get it.” He gives me a soft smile. “Hope that’s okay.”
I narrow my gaze. “Who shot you, Damon?”
His eyes darken. “I don’t think you’re ready to hear the dirty details about my family, baby. We’re a seriously fucked up crowd, and I intend to keep you as far away from it all as I can.”
For as long as I’ve known Damon, I’ve been a pushover. I’ve allowed him to sweep things under the rug, but if I’m going to marry him and make it through a life with him, then I’m going to need to tighten my backbone. I’m going to need to say what I want to, when I want to.
“It’s a little late to save me from the gory details. I know things now. Things that can’t be unseen or unheard.” I soften my voice. “And I know it’s in the past—a past that doesn’t include me—but I am part of your life now, and if you’re seriously going to marry me, I’ll be part of your future for a long time. I want to protect you like you protect me. I want to hear about your problems…your fears. I want to be your equal. So, dammit, just tell me.”
When my eyes meet Damon’s. I expect to see anger, maybe even fury, but there’s humor in his gaze and smile.
“I don’t know how you do it, Keira, but you make me fucking want you more and more every day. It’s sickening and terrifies the fuck out of me.”
His response warms my heart and makes me smile. I cross the room and get dressed in the items he set out, waiting impatiently for him to tell me. I have to roll the boxers more than a couple times to get them to stay on my waist, and when I pull on his shirt, it lands at my knees. I feel and look like I’ve been swallowed by cotton.
When I settle onto the mattress, Damon sits beside me and reaches for my hand—like he needs to be touching me in some way to tell me this story. I don’t mind. His touch is comforting, kind, and I love that he’s finally showing me his different sides. He reminds of a kaleidoscope. I see a different shape and color every time I look, and then they become clearer.
“My dad shot me. That scar is from the bullet. It was the same night Xander shot him.”
Damon’s gaze seems far away, and I wonder if he’s thinking back to that night.
“Actually, it was the reason Xander shot him. My father tried to kill me. He wanted Xander to do it. When my brother refused, my dad shot me instead. It’s a good thing he’s a lousy shot. If not, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here today.” He grins, but it makes me feel sick. I’m sure he’s smiling to lessen the blow, but it doesn’t. Unfortunately, he can’t protect me from all the bad in this world.
At least his father is dead…I guess.
My chest hurts thinking about what Damon must have went through. His own father tried to kill him, then their father died by the hands of his brother—right in front of him. It sounds horrendous and makes my life problems seem mediocre.
“I’m sorry.” I give him a somber look and squeeze his hand tightly, as if that will take his pain away.
“I am, really. I’m sorry we had to come here. I can’t imagine what being here in this house has done to your head.”
Damon shrugs. “It’s okay, Keira. I don’t want your pity. I wanted to come here, and it was worth it. You make every hard thing worthwhile. If you didn’t bring me back here, it would’ve been my brother with his asshole ways, so don’t feel bad, baby.”
Damon pulls me into his arms and drags me to the bed. We cuddle up in the heavy comforter, and I bask in the feeling of him holding me like this. It feels so good, I almost don’t want to go to sleep.
The last thing I think about before sleep finally claims me is how Damon’s story gives me a newfound appreciation for Xander. Discovering all I did about him tonight shows me there’s more than one side to him—sides he’s trying to hide from the world. The question is: will he ever find someone to pull him out of the darkness he tries to hide himself in?
Chapter 20
Damon
The girl on the stage—whatever her name is—dances around the poll aimlessly. She’s uncoordinated and looks like she might barf. She also can’t hold my attention for longer than two seconds, so why the fuck would I hire her?
I take a calming breath through my nose and exhale out my mouth.
I look back over my shoulder at Keira sitting at the bar with my laptop in front of her. She finally re-enrolled in classes, and we agreed until I can get a man I trust to guard her, she will take only online courses.
I can’t believe how attached I am to her. Normally, I couldn’t care less for a woman, but Keira isn’t just any fucking woman.
She isthewoman.
My soon-to-be wife.
My world.
I turn back around in my chair and hold a fist to my head. This is the first time I’ve been back at the club in almost two weeks, and it’s only because I had to hire some new girls.
No one here knows about our engagement—mostly because I don’t share my personal life with the staff—and because it’s no one’s fucking business. I’m not hiding, but I’m not going to put an X on her fucking back for being hitched to me.
