Then he stepped out of his walk-in closet. He must have just shed his suit because he was in only his black boxers, the material hugging his powerful thighs. His physique was as chiseled as I remembered, so cut that every single muscle was outlined as if it were carved out of marble. Confident as always, he didn’t seem to care that I’d walked in on his semi-nakedness. He strolled over to his dresser and opened the top drawer so he could grab a clean pair of sweatpants.
Embarrassed, I wanted to look away and apologize…but I really didn’t. “Sorry…”
“Don’t be.” He pulled on his bottoms then walked toward me, his powerful shoulders tight with strength. The way he carried himself, the muscles all worked together to propel him, contracting and relaxing repeatedly because they were all so tense and powerful. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine, his thick arms resting by his sides. He waited for me to say something, probably noticing the blush of my cheeks and enjoying every second of my distress.
“I had lunch with your family today.”
“And how was that?” He turned away and headed to his living room. A fire was already going, and Patricia had a decanter of scotch waiting for him. He poured himself a glass and took a seat on the sofa, both of his hands together and cupping his drink.
I took a seat in the armchair, still uncomfortable with his near nakedness. His muscular chest and chiseled abs had always been objects of my affection when he was on top of me. I used to feel him everywhere, touching those strong muscles. He was lean and slender, like an athlete, and I liked that too. Liam had much fairer skin, but I preferred the olive complexion of Damien’s darker body. “Good. They’re really nice.”
“Nice?” He brought his glass to his lips and took a drink. “You must have met someone else, because my family isn’t nice.”
I knew he was teasing, so I rolled my eyes. “Your sister was really easy to talk to. She hugged me and talked to me like…she already knew me. She’s really interesting and outgoing…”
“Are we talking about the same person?”
“Oh, come on,” I said. “You know she’s lovely. And she’s beautiful.”
“That’s why she’s nice?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course not. But she’s really cool.”
He whispered under his breath. “My sister is cool?”
“And your dad is sweet.”
“I assume they made idiots out of themselves and me.”
I didn’t tell him about the grandchildren comment because he would probably get angry with his father. “Catalina is going to come over tomorrow for dinner. We’re gonna watch a movie and drink some wine.”
“You guys are friends now?”
“Yeah…is that okay?”
He shrugged. “I guess it’s fine.”
“It’s nice to have a friend…since I can’t leave the house.”
He stared into his glass, becoming lost in thought.
“What did you tell them about me?”
“That you’re staying with me for a while.”
“But that’s it?”
He looked up once more, his finger tapping against the glass. “I don’t discuss the details of my personal life with them.”
“Sure, but knowing some woman is living with you must sound odd.”
“They know what kind of business I run. I doubt they’re that perplexed.”
His father seemed to assume we were romantically involved, but I didn’t tell Damien that. “Anyway, I really liked them—and I’m not just saying that.”
He turned his attention on me, disregarding the drink in his hand and the flames in the hearth.
“I don’t have a family of my own, so it’s nice to be around one again.”
“My family isn’t as perfect as it seems. When my mother passed away, everything changed.”
“Yeah…that came up. You’re all broken, but you’re broken together. And I think that’s special.”
He drank his scotch until the glass was empty then set it on the table.
“I understand why you’re so protective of your father, and having him live here was probably the best idea. He seems to be really enamored of your sister.”
“As is everyone else.”
“Me included. And I suspect you are too.”
He stared at the fire instead of me. “Anything else interesting happen to you today?”
“Uh…Liam called.”
“Oh good,” he said sarcastically. “I was beginning to worry…”
“Nothing has changed. But I did threaten to kill myself if he hurt you.”
He turned back to me, but his gaze was darker than before. “I hope you didn’t mean that.”
“I’m not sure. If he really did kill you and then forced me…I think I would rather be dead.”
“There’s another solution besides suicide.”
“But that involves his death.”
His look suddenly turned cold. “You need to think about yourself, Annabella. Not him.”
We’d promised to love and protect each other for the rest of our lives. It was hard to snap out of that, even after what he did, even after the threats he made. “How was your day?”
He grabbed the decanter and refilled his glass.
“That bad?” I teased.
“I constantly have to look over my shoulder, Annabella.”
“Don’t you do that already?”
He narrowed his eyes on my face. “No. Because most men know it’s pointless to try to kill me.” He took a drink then set the glass on the table. “I had a bunch of shit to do with clients, and tonight, I have to take care of a few things.”
I never asked him for specifics. It seemed like the less I knew, the better. “Damien?”
His gaze focused on my face further.
I thought about asking if he would leave his line of work, because his occupation had been the reason he wouldn’t commit to me in the first place. But that seemed like a premature conversation when I didn’t really know what we were right now. “Never mind…”
He stared at me for a while before he rose and grabbed another glass out of the cabinet. “Want a drink?”
“I can’t drink scotch the way you do.”
He left the glass on the table and didn’t fill it. “That’s unfortunate. Now I have no one to drink with.”
“You always have Hades.”
He shook his head. “He’s given it up.”
“Really?” I asked blankly. “Hades? We’re talking about the same person?”
“It was a shock to me too. But yes.”
“Sofia doesn’t seem like a woman who cares about how much he drinks.”
“True. But then he went to the doctor and found out his liver is damaged and he has high blood pressure because of it.”
“Oh wow.”
“It’s just me now.”
“Have you been to the doctor lately?”
He shook his head and leaned back into the cushions of the couch, staring at the fire. “Men like me don’t go to the doctor.”