Not ever.
CHAPTER 36
DAMON
I WAKE UP with an incredible thirst.
“Water,” I croak out, and my voice sounds foreign to me, dry and rough.
A few seconds later, a straw is at my lips, and I’m sucking down half a glass of cold ice water. Fuck, that feels good on my sore throat.
My eyes blink open, and I see an angel at my bedside holding the cup. “Welcome back,” Victoria says with the sweetest of smiles and tears in her eyes.
I reach up, and my palm caresses her soft cheek. Fuck, I’m glad I made it back to her. “No more cryin’,” I tell her, wiping away a stray tear with my thumb.
I glance around the hospital room and see Baz standing watch in the corner with a look on his face that I can’t decipher. “Glad you are okay, my friend,” he tells me. He looks adoringly to Victoria before saying, “She never left your side.”
My eyes meet Victoria’s once more. “My queen,” I whisper to her.
“My king,” she whispers back before turning her face and placing a kiss on the palm of my hand.
When a doctor in light blue scrubs and a white lab coat comes in moments later, he tells me about the damage I endured. “The bullet struck your appendix, which we had to remove surgically. We still have some more tests to run, but I expect a full and speedy recovery for you.”
“When the hell can I get outta here?” I ask him, grimacing as I sit up.
“A few days,” he offers.
I grumble, not wanting to spend any more time here, but then I catch Victoria’s worried look, and I simply agree with the doc to make her feel better. When the worry lines in her forehead cease to exist and the smile returns to her beautiful face, I know I’ve made the right choice.
Once the doctor and Baz clear out of the room, leaving Victoria and I alone, I pull her into my bed, much to her protest. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she says in a panic.
“You’re not gonna hurt me. I need you close to me. I need to touch you.”
She eventually relaxes and curls up into the bed next to me on my good side and rests her head on my chest. “I was so worried,” she starts, but I hush her.
“I’m okay. We’re okay,” I assure her. “You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily,” I say with a smirk.
“Is it always going to be like this?” she asks in the quiet room. “Are we always going to be fighting to stay on top?”
“Maybe. Probably,” I tell her honestly. “But the most important thing is, with my queen by my side, no one will ever be able to overrule me. You keep me strong, Victoria. Your love keeps me going. And I’ll move heaven and earth to protect you and keep you safe.”
Sitting up to stare into my eyes, she whispers, “I love you, Damon.”
“I love you. So much it fucking hurts,” I confess.
Victoria nestles closer to me, and I hold her until she falls asleep.
With her in my arms, I feel like I can conquer the fucking world.
And I will.
For her.
EPILOGUE
DAMON
One year later...
