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“He left you?”
“The miscarriage hit him hard, too. Some things can bring a couple closer while other situations lead them to drift apart. I guess we weren’t as solid as I thought, because we did the latter. I went through a self-destructive phase. Partied too hard. Lost my job. I was two months away from being evicted when Hoyt brought me here.”
Damien took my hand and gave it a little squeeze. “That’s what you meant when you said this was a fresh start for you.”
“Yup. I’m not missing out on anything while being here. I can’t have kids, I don’t have anyone who’ll miss me, I was jobless, and I would have lost my home anyway. Maybe it’s crazy, but I feel happier and more settled living on an island full of vampires than I did in my old life. This is completely different from my initial plan. But I needed ‘different.’”
His dark eyes, unusually soft, roamed over my face. “I’m sorry about the miscarriage, Lex.”
“Yeah, me too.” I exhaled a shaky breath. God, I needed to change the subject fast or I’d be blubbering all over him. “So … what was your old life like?”
“Nothing to write home about. My dad died before I was born, and then my mom married his brother. I think she was just afraid of being alone because she didn’t love Austin. He was a rich motherfucker and that definitely appealed to her . She ‘lunched’ and socialised and shopped like it was her job. She couldn’t spend Austin’s money fast enough. He was good with that because it meant she was dependent on him.”
“You didn’t like him,” I sensed.
“No. He didn’t like me either. Mostly because he hadn’t liked my dad, and he resented that my dad was the love of my mother’s life. Whenever Austin looked at me, he was reminded that he was second choice.”
“So he wasn’t a great step dad, then?”
“He demanded perfection, and I wasn’t interested in pleasing him. Most of the time, an insistence on perfection is really just an excuse to criticise someone or hurt them. So, as I didn’t long for his approval or meet his standards, he was content to overlook me, and I was happy to be overlooked. Austin gave most of his attention to his biological son—my younger half-brother, Kaiden.”
“You didn’t like him any more than you liked his father, did you?”
“Kaiden and me were like oil and water. He’s a self-entitled little shit. He did everything he could to earn his daddy’s approval, including treating me as an outsider and trying to make me feel like I didn’t measure up.”
“They both sound like complete assholes.”
“Accurate description. As I’m sure you can imagine, I don’t miss them. Or my mother—she wasn’t really there anyway. She emotionally checked out after she lost my dad, which devastates him.”
I frowned. “How can you know it devastates him? You talk to his ghost or something?”
“No, I talk to him. It turns out that he hadn’t actually died. He’d become a vampire. He couldn’t be in our lives, but he’d stayed close and watched over us. So when he found out I’d been the victim of a racial attack and was on life support, he took my body out of the hospital and Turned me to save my life, hoping I wouldn’t hate him for it. I didn’t. Still don’t.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “Shit, it must have been so hard for him to be so close yet so far from you all those years.”
“It was. He was lonely as hell back then. He later met a woman, which made it easier for me to accept Sebastian’s offer and attend try-outs for the legion. I’m still in touch with my dad. He’s happy.”
“Are you?”
“Yeah.” Damien smoothed his hand down my body and cupped me hard. “Especially right now.” He thrust one finger inside me and groaned. “Life is good.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
(Damien)
While Lexi puttered around the kitchen shortly after breakfast, I sat quietly at the island. I liked watching her move. She was efficient. Purposeful. Sensual. Every sway of her hips drew my attention to that delectable ass. It cried out to be spanked, which I hadn’t gotten around to yet.
Yet? No, scrap that word. This wouldn’t be happening again. I couldn’t come back here—not even for a quick visit. Because I didn’t think I’d manage to leave again without first burying my dick inside her once more.
Christ, that woman.
She’d kept a physical space between us since waking, much as she had on the previous sunset. It was for the best. But I fucking hated it.
Harvey’s words from last night kept drifting around my head. If I followed his advice, it might well come back to bite me on the ass. If I didn’t, well, I’d be kicking the shit out of any man who made a move on her. It really felt like I was fucked either way.
