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“No. I was afraid that might happen too…but it didn’t. Liam had more honor than I expected.”
He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god.”
I hadn’t thanked Damien for what he’d done, hadn’t acknowledged it at all. It was so selfless, I didn’t know where to begin. “You could’ve killed him…why didn’t you?”
“Annabella, you know why.”
“I would’ve understood. I even told him to his face I wanted him dead.”
“But I knew it would haunt you down the road. And I gave him the power to make the decision. If I spared his life, he would leave us alone. He accepted. I took a leap of faith and trusted him to mean that. I hope that wasn’t a mistake.”
I didn’t want to reveal the details of my final conversation with Liam because it was personal. It was a goodbye, bittersweet and painful. But I could tell Damien this. “It wasn’t a mistake.”
He caressed my knuckles with this and gave a slight nod, but didn’t ask me to be more specific. “Now what?”
“Don’t we live happily ever after?”
He gave a slight smile. “Is that what you want?”
I nodded. “My feelings haven’t changed. Won’t ever change. This is where I want to be…for the rest of my life.”
Damien and I didn’t leave the house for a long time.
We were in bed together for most of it, cuddling even if we weren’t doing anything more serious. I loved to feel his hard body, smell his cologne, and just be with the person who made it so easy to breathe.
Everything felt like a bad dream, as if it never happened in the first place. Our lives had been like this without pause, gourmet dinners over candlelight, and passionate lovemaking like there had never been anyone else for either of us.
I never wanted it to end.
There was no one trying to keep us apart. We could go out to dinner whenever we wanted, but we never did. His bed was my bed. Half of the bathroom was filled with my stuff. My clothes were in his closet.
It was nice.
Now that there was no danger, I’d have to return to my apartment sometime, to live alone again so we could have a normal relationship. We’d never really dated, never really had time to get to know each other traditionally. Most of the time I’d known him, I’d been married to somebody else.
I kissed his shoulder then his chest, happy that the bruises had finally started to fade. His eyes weren’t so dark anymore, almost normal. I kissed him again because I was so happy he was there. So happy he was in my life. I pulled away and dragged my fingers across his perfect body. “This has been the best week of my life.”
His fingers glided into my hair, and he gave me that sexy look with his dark eyes, like he was happy without really showing it. His jawline was covered in hair because he hadn’t shaved the entire week. If he allowed it to grow any longer, it would turn into a beard. “Me too.”
“I want to stay here forever, but I should get back to my apartment. I haven’t been there in…a long time.” I knew he was happy to have me back, but I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. I wanted us to continue to be happy, but we had lives to return to. Damien hadn’t worked much, and I still hadn’t gone back to the hotel.
His expression slowly deflated, like he didn’t like being reminded of reality.
We’d been making love all day and night, and I had to remind myself that it wouldn’t end just because I was returning to my apartment. We could still do those things, but at a normal pace. I kissed his stomach then got out of bed. I grabbed my clothes and started to get dressed.
He stayed in bed and watched me, moving his arm behind his head. Glorious and beautiful, his perfect body lay on top of the bed, so lean and toned.
I fixed my hair with my hands then came to his side of the bed. “Can you give me a ride?”
Without moving, he continued to stare.
I didn’t know what I’d said to change his mood, but he was definitely different, far more different than he’d ever been before. He was a closed book, so I couldn’t read his pages.
He sat up and stared at me. “Do you want to live in your apartment?”
I sat beside him, gently rubbing my arm. “That’s my home…” I’d been bouncing around this last year, going from my husband’s house to my own apartment, back to his place, and then to Damien’s… I’d never been steady.
He dropped his gaze for a moment, rubbing his palms together. “I thought this was your home.” He lifted his gaze and looked at me, this time visibly disappointed.
