Something dangerously close to—
“Okay,” I said.
His expression eased, the tension in his shoulders releasing. “Good. Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Chapter 41
***
Damien
I’d flown to her the second I heard her tone on the phone—that thin, breaking timbre she used when she was trying, and failing, to hold herself together. I remembered the fury that ripped up my spine when she told me she’d gone to Elion against my orders.
The defiance.
The fire.
The way she’d thrownfuck your ordersat me like it was a knife meant to stick.
But it was my fault. I should’ve known better than to give a command and then walk away. She wasn’t like the others I’d trained, guided, or led—no history, no practiced submission, no instinct shaped by years of structure. She was Emma—fierce, untamed.
I should’ve known she’d run straight at the fire even when I ordered her from the smoke.
But now…
Now she lay curled in my arms, transformed into something delicate.
There was no glaring. No pulling away. No bracing for the next blow the world had lined up for her.
She was simply here.
With me.
And for the first time it seemed like she finally believed. Believed what I meant when I claimed the title she’d given me, believed I’d stand beside her in the one she was still learning to claim for herself.
Believed that this—us—was becoming something she could lean into without fear. Something she could fall into and know I would catch her every single time.
Her body shifted—first tight, then a long, unspooling release.
Only once she’d eased did I let myself speak.
“It’s time to go home,” I said gently against her ear, a curl tickling my nose.
“Okay,” she nodded.
I rose with her, lifting us both before easing her onto her feet.
She gave me a weary, grateful smile.
I straightened slightly, taking control of the space between us. “So here’s what’s going to happen.”
She looked up. Listening.
“I have a strong suspicion Jennifer and the others are standing right outside your door,” I continued. “Waiting to swarm the second we walk out. When they try to follow you, I’ll step in and make it clear they can’t.”
I held her attention, letting her see the certainty there. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, taking a step toward the door, pulling it open.
