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Eve’s laugh does nothing to throw Scarlett off the scent. If anything, it proves what she’s suspected since her holiday began in Lapland. It didn’t take a genius to realise Eve tended to show up in Nick’s room whenever Damon was there. Initially, Scarlett put it down to timing, but as the days went by, she knew it was much more than mere coincidence.
‘You like Damon, don’t you?’
Eve’s laugh dies away. ‘Fuck!’ she mutters as she trudges along the track. ‘Maybe? I don’t know. Possibly. Damn!’
‘Does he know?’
Eve throws her a withering look. ‘Oh come on. Of course not! And I don’tlikehim. I have this strange, incredibly irritating crush on the fucking Boogeyman. But I’ll get over it. He’s just... God he’s just so... hot! Irritating, but really hot!’
Scarlett does see the attraction to Damon. He has something about him that’s enticing. ‘Do you plan to act on it?’
Eve shakes her head. ‘No way! Like I said, his contract has him. He thrives on fear and pain. I think it might be too late for him. Too late for us.’
She falls silent, keeping her attention on the path ahead of them. Scarlett leaves her to her thoughts. Being attracted to someone like Damon would be far from easy. Her heart goes out to Eve. It must be so difficult to be near him , knowing she probably will never have him.
Just like she thought was the case with Nick. But it doesn't have to be like that for them. Against all the odds, they have been offered another chance to be together. A chance she would be foolish to waste.
‘Eve.’
She looks over her shoulder to Scarlett. ‘Yeah?’
‘I need your help with something.’
For the first timein thirty-six years, he knows he’s not waking up alone. Scarlett is in the bed with him, her perfect body pressed against his side.
He thought she’d leave while he was asleep. He hates admitting it to himself, but he was convinced she’d change her mind about him, about being with him, and go back to her life. She groans softly in her sleep, snuggling closer to his side. He doesn’t move. He’s just happy to stay here like this, enjoying the moment.
He needs to stop expecting things to go wrong for him. She stayed with him. She said she would, and he should have believed that. Ever since his family was killed, he’d had his guard up, expecting to lose anyone he let close to him. He was in for a very long miserable life if he keeps going the way he was.
Unable to stop himself any longer, he wraps his arms around Scarlett. She rests her arm on his stomach. Then she holds her breath, and he knows she’s awake.
‘Morning.’
She squeals and wraps her arms around his neck. ‘At long bloody last! What took you so long?’
He rolls over to face her, propping his head up on his hand. ‘How long is long?’
‘Ten days. I was getting worried. And I mean seriously worried. They kept telling me it was normal, but what the hell is normal around here?’
He brushes her hair back from her face and it hits him how much he cares for her. He knows how she feels about him. Before he fell asleep, he heard her tell him she loves him. But it might just have been a spur of the moment thing.
‘Hey, why are you crying? Did something happen while I was out of it?’
‘I’m crying because I’m happy, you oaf! This is all new to me, okay? You were unconscious for ten days. It’s all well and good people telling me not to worry. But I was worried, okay? Ten days is a long time.’
‘I’m sorry you were worried.’
‘It’s my fault. You told me what would happen. I guess I just wasn’t prepared for it. Are you okay? Are you hungry?’
‘I’m fine, and yeah, I’m starving, but I’ll get something in a minute. I just want to be here with you for a little longer.’
‘I have no complaints about that at all. You know, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while you were sleeping.’
He gets a bad feeling. A really bad one. ‘Right...’
‘I’m leaving. I have to go back to work at the end of the week, and if I ask for any more time off, I’ll be fired.’
And there it is. The thing he was dreading. Completely expecting, but still dreading. ‘Of course.’
