I don’t stop touching him. His fingers skim over my hip bone in small circles. I hold my breath, waiting for his next words.
“It wasn’t quick. They offered her radiation and chemo, but she refused treatment. She didn’t want to spend the last year of her life in the hospital.” He turns and kisses my stomach. Unzipping my skirt, he slips it down my legs, dropping it off the edge of the bed.
He returns to his position, head on my stomach, sliding his fingers in patterns on my bare skin. Gentle, calming touches. Something I wouldn’t have believed Damon Storm to be capable of last school year.
I comb through his soft hair, feeling it tickle my bare skin. Holding my breath, waiting for him to continue.
“Dad let her make that decision. He let her choose to die. I hated him. I didn’t understand it was her decision to make, and he probably struggled with it. All I knew was they gave up before even trying. I sat next to her bed every day for a few hours, telling her about my day. Washing her hair. Feeding her when it got too hard for her to feed herself.”
The tears start again. I couldn’t hold them back if I tried. This time for Damon and what he went through. But I continue to stroke his hair, to comfort him. Quietly crying while I listen to his pain.
“I couldn’t understand why they didn’t try. Anything had to be better than this. She grew weaker, thinner until she couldn’t even get out of bed.” A tear slides across my stomach and myheart breaks for him. For us. For the unfairness of it all. “He let her die. I know that’s not the truth. It was what she wanted, and he was respecting her wishes. But I hated him for it.”
When he lifts over me, he cups my head in his hands and presses his forehead to mine.
“I will do anything to protect you, but don’t ask me to sit back and let you walk around in danger.” He kisses me. “I can’t do that. I can protect you by claiming you, by letting everyone know you’re mine. Chase won’t protect you. But I will. I’m not going to lose you, Evan.”
I breathe Damon in. This pain I understand. The helplessness. The waiting. The anguish when it’s over so quickly but goes on for so long.
“Okay,” I whisper.
I can’t fight him on this. Not this. I could tell him the texts don’t scare me, but he knows it isn’t true. He wants to protect me, and I just want to be theirs. I don’t need a fancy title or a public display. I just need him, Cam, and Hawk.
The public part of whatever we choose makes me scared, but I’m not scared to let them in. Not anymore. We have things to sort through. But tonight in his bed, I’ll give him what he wants because it’s not in me to hurt him.
“Yeah?” he asks. His nose brushes mine. He smiles and it lights up his eyes.
My heart beats a little harder. “Yeah, I’m yours.”
Chapter 23
Damon
I want Evan to ride my bike to school. I want to put my arm around her shoulders and make sure she gets to her classes. Instead, I follow behind her as she drives my car, watch her park, and walk into the building. Alone.
She’s right. While we showered, she told me all her reasons for not wanting me to claim her right now. And she’s right. We don’t know why Chase wants her. I haven’t taken everything away from him yet. We’re so close.
But my revenge means nothing if I lose her because of it.
This was never supposed to happen. This feeling welling up inside me. It wouldn’t have happened if it had been anyone else. Anyone except Evan.
I text her when I get to first period. She’s with Cam this morning. She sends me her location on her phone. I smile a little. Like I don’t know where she is.
Olivia breezes in and sits at the desk next to mine. “I’m assuming you’re through with whatever yesterday was about. Maybe it was a test to see if I’d spread the rumor around.”
She arches her eyebrow and taps her pen on her notebook.
I don’t say anything. I know Evan wants me to tell Olivia it was a joke. That I didn’t mean it. But fuck this girl. Olivia wantssomething from me she’s never going to get. It’s time she knows it’s not happening.
The real question is, was Olivia the girl in the car with Chase? Because she’s just as guilty as Chase if that’s the case. And with the way she came after Evan, she needs to be taken down.
“I mean, she’s cute I guess, but no one would ever believe you wanted more than a fuck from her.” She sighs and looks at the front of the classroom like she’s put out. “I appreciate you playing hard to get, but it’s getting ridiculous, Damon. What if I were as big a tease as you are? You’d call me out on it.”
I lean back in my chair and narrow my eyes at her.
“After all, this is our thing. Some girl chooses you, and I make sure she backs off. It’s been fun.” She turns and smiles at me. “I’ll give you one thing. This one doesn’t appear to be able to be bought. Which is new. She doesn’t have any social standing I can take away. She’s basically nothing, which is why I know this is just another one of your games.”
Olivia smiles like she’s figured me out. “Maybe it’s just too early in the school year and you don’t want to satisfy my curiosity quite yet.”
