I understood that. How could I have expected a mother to talk about her son behind his back?
“Tread lightly, my dear. I love my husband and sons very much, but I also know they’ve seen some things that no one should ever see. That has made them into the men they are today.”
“Lunch is ready, Selena.”
Selena looked toward the door and smiled.
“Thanks so much, Maddie.” She looked back at me. “You don’t want to know how many years it took her to drop ‘Mrs. Cross.’ That’s my mother-in-law, rest her soul.” Selena walked over to Maddie and turned to face me.
I got up and walked over to the other two women and together we went into the dining room to eat, but the questions in my mind remained.
23
Damien
I let the water drip down my face, not caring if it painted an abstract pattern on my white T-shirt. I had just gotten back from the in-home gym my parents installed once they saw mine and was about to shower after a grueling workout. A text message notification on my phone from Kate, my publicist, was still running through my mind.
Kate: The press is asking questions about Charlotte.
As I turned the shower faucet on, my mind drifted to thoughts of what it was like growing up here. Being in this house brought back so many memories about my family, my childhood, and what used to be my life. The times that I would chase after Gage and Broderick after they entered my room when they weren’t allowed when we were kids. Or the meals we would all share when Dad was home. Those times had been mostly great, but there were also the bad times that had colored in the lines of what made me into the man I am today.
The fire haunted my nightmares.
There was nothing I could do to stop the feeling that came over me. I thought about the fact that I was the one who survived. She didn’t. I was forced to leave Charlotte behind. Because who knew what kind of shit would have been written had my name been directly connected to the incident. At least that’s what my father told me. When he practically threw me into the back seat of his car, and we sped down the empty road. I could remember hearing the sirens blaring in the background. But they weren’t coming for us. They were coming to find Charlotte, the woman I had tried my damnedest to get out of the house, but it had been too late.
I remembered Dad pulling over on the side of a dark road miles and miles away from the fire. Tears welled in my eyes as my body hacked up the remnants of what was left in my stomach. He came over to me and gave me one pounding on the back.
Once I had stopped heaving, my father walked away and when I looked up, I saw him leaning on the hood of his car. I walked over and found him smoking one of his trademark cigars.
“Why didn’t you let me go back and get Charlotte?” I had asked.
He tossed a glance my way before he shook his head. “Because then you both would have died. You’re lucky that you happened to be downstairs and I could get you out in time.”
“I don’t feel lucky. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get the fire—”
“I know, son. It will more than likely be etched in your mind forever.”
I was upset. I wanted to mourn the life that had just been lost, but nothing came out. No emotion. No tears. No wanting to break something. I felt almost…numb.
“Can I ask a question?”
“It’s better if you don’t.”
I knew given some of the things I had overheard in the past that it was better to not ask questions, but this was something that was going to bother me for the rest of my life.
“I need to know the answer to this.”
He took another puff of the cigar and said, “Go on.”
“Did you have anything to do with that fire?”
I could see when Dad looked over at me and not even the darkness could hide the glare that was radiating from his eyes. I was fully expecting him to yell, which was rare, but he didn’t.
“I had nothing to do with it. I was, however, tipped off that something was going to happen, and I clearly got there just in time.” He put out his cigar and started walking toward the driver’s-side door. “We need to get you home.”
And that was the last time we ever spoke about what happened to Charlotte DePalma.
24
Anais
I adored the fact that the Cross estate also had a gym on its property. It gave me the opportunity to continue my workouts and not have to venture outside, which might cause a big distraction with security that needed to be involved. Plus, it was cold outside and if I could stay in the house that was what I was going to do.
About twenty minutes into my workout, I got a notification that Ellie had texted me. I waited until my workout was completed in ten minutes. During the last two minutes of my exercise routine, I had a flurry of text messages come through, making me wonder if something was wrong. During my five-minute cooldown, I picked up my phone and scanned the messages.
Ellie: Hey?!
Ellie: Where are you?
Ellie: How are you?
Ellie: Is everything okay?
Ellie: Call me as soon as you can!
Shit, I had forgotten to tell her that I was at Damien’s parents’ house. I called her and the phone rang once before she picked up. She didn’t say hello when she answered the phone.
“Is Damien there?”
Her question made me look around the room to verify what I already knew. No one was in the room with me. “No, he’s not here. What’s wrong?”
“Where are you?”
I noted that she still hadn’t answered my question, further raising alarms in my mind. What was the meaning of all of this?
“At his parents’ place, upstate.”
“Why are you there?” The panic was clear in her voice, making me even more concerned.
I thought about telling Ellie what happened, but I was worried about dragging her into anything and causing her to worry. “A minor incident happened at Damien’s place and he decided to spend a few days with his parents. Everything’s fine.” Was it though? Was everything okay?
The words that I said aloud made me remember just how much of this show Damien was running. I hadn’t gotten a choice in whether or not we went to his parents’. I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to talk about what had been going on, yet I was thrown into harm’s way and had to hide in a panic room. Then while things were being investigated, I moved my life once again to be under lock and key in upstate New York. Hell, even the decision for me to enter this arrangement seemed predetermined because if I didn’t, hundreds would have suffered. “What’s going on?”
It felt as if I had asked that question for the billionth time, yet I was still no closer to finding out the answer. Almost everyone in my life seemed to operate several steps ahead of me while I was playing catch up. I was over it.
“There’s more about Damien than you’re aware of.”
“Ellie, so help me if you don’t start actually telling me what is going on, I’ll—”
“I’m not sure how much there is to say because a lot of this is hearsay, but you need to find out who Charlotte DePalma is, what happened to her, and what Damien’s involvement is in all of it.”
“Who is Charlotte? What does she have to do with anything? Did something happen recently?”
“No, no, no. It was something that happened years ago, but I don’t know exactly what. The press seems to be hinting around at it, but no one wants to be the first to say it. Probably fear of retribution.”
“Okay, but what does this have to do with anything?”
Ellie waited a beat before she responded. “Stories have been circulating in the press that Damien is connected to Charlotte and that she died unexpectedly. I’m going to send you a few links to some stories. Is there any way we can find the rest of the money that is owed to Damien and give it to him? I don’t know if he was involved or not, but I don’t feel comfortable with you being up there with him and not closer to home.”
Neither did I after all o
f this information was coming to light, and I couldn’t stop myself from over-analyzing the situation as it all clicked into place almost simultaneously. Was Charlotte the actual reason he wanted to hide away at his parents’ home for a few days? To give this time to blow over and to coordinate with his family on what the response would be? And why hadn’t Damien told me anything about this? The startling realization that I was in way over my head shook me to my core. I did not know what I was facing and that terrified me.
Another night, another fitful time of tossing and turning as I tried to get comfortable and fall asleep. But this time it was different. I was worried about whether I would survive to the end of this deal or not.
Now it was a fear. Fear of not knowing what Damien was capable of. Fear of losing what I had worked so hard for. Fear of not understanding Damien before I became addicted to him. I told myself I would not let myself become a victim of whatever game Damien was playing. The danger that seemed to grow as a result of me being connected to Damien was pretty damning as well. Although things felt somewhat more peaceful as time had gone on there was still the fact that I knew he was keeping things from me and it had nothing to do with being in a relationship. This was why I needed to turn any rational thoughts off and just get through the next few days because thirty days were almost done.
But there was more than that.
I knew that once day thirty came, I would never be the same. That was something that I would grapple with into the New Year.
A loud groan that turned into a scream made me sit up in bed and freeze. I looked at the door to the hallway. A thump followed and made me jump out of my skin and my first thought was that someone was trying to break into this house too. I got up and walked over to my door, knowing that that was the direction the noise had come from. I slowly opened the door and peeked into the hallway.
Nothing.
A few lamps provided some light in the dark abyss. I waited to see if I could hear anything else. It only took a few seconds, and I heard another groan that sounded like it came from Damien’s room. I walked a few feet and then stood in front of the door before knocking softly. Although I didn’t get an answer, I twisted the knob, and found the door unlocked. Telling myself that he needed help, I walked inside and found a dim room and a sight I never thought I would ever see.
Damien was sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, a single lamp illuminating both him and part of the room. I also saw what could have possibly made that loud thump—a huge book, just a few inches away from the end table that the lamp was on.
“Damien,” I said, my voice just above a whisper. “Are you okay?”
“I thought I told you not to step foot in my bedroom at all? The rules from the city still apply here.”
“But I thought you might—”
“Just leave.”
Instead of doing as he asked, I walked farther into the room and stood in front of him, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I fully expected him to snap at me because I had once again disobeyed his orders, but what I saw was something more heartbreaking. He moved his hands from face. Although he wasn’t crying, there was a lot of hurt in his eyes. Something felt special about this moment and I wondered if he shared this side of him with anyone else.
Something had replaced the hurt and anger that I felt toward him, something more intense that I couldn’t quite place.
“Anais, go back to bed.” His tone left no room for questioning, but it still sounded weaker than his normal terse commands.
“Okay, but feel free to come over if you need anything.” I could tell that we were both shocked by the words that left my mouth because at the beginning of this arrangement, I wouldn’t have said that. There was no way to take them back if I wanted to, and I didn’t want to, which left me even more baffled.
I stumbled back to his door and closed it behind me and walked back across the hall to my bedroom. I knew the chances of me getting back to sleep were slim, but one of the burning questions that had been on my mind had been answered. If he was having trouble sleeping, it made sense why he didn’t want to sleep in the same room as me. I wondered if the secrets to the demons he fought at night lay in the room where he went to sleep.
I drifted in and out of sleep when I heard a creaky sound from across the room. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.” My body recognized his voice immediately. I listened carefully as his feet shuffled along the floor as he made his way to my bed.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered once he was standing over me.
“Getting into bed.”
I was thankful for the darkness that surrounded us because he would have seen my jaw hit the floor. He climbed into the bed and did as he usually did when he was in a space: took over. But I had no problem with it because he wrapped me up in his embrace. Together we fell asleep, and I hoped that whatever had woken him up would remain in the depths of the shadows so that he could get some rest.
25
Damien
The next morning, I awoke and was taken aback when I didn’t find myself in my childhood bedroom. It took my eyes a moment to adjust and the first thing that hit my nostrils was a subtle smell of coconut.
Anais.
Her hair smelled like the shampoo that she used while staying here. Visions of what had occurred last night and her finding me in a vulnerable state didn’t sit well with me. She caught the end of what sometimes happens when Charlotte’s memory haunted me in my sleep. This was never supposed to happen, and I had always been careful not to let anyone know what transpired when I closed my eyes to sleep.
After she checked on me, I’d felt compelled to go to her. Once I stepped into her room, I couldn’t stop myself from crawling into her bed. When I was next to her, it didn’t take long for me to pass out between the soft cream sheets. Although I had been woken up in the middle of the night, it was the most rested I had felt in a long time. Rejuvenated in a way that I hadn’t expected.
Anais was lying on her side with her back toward me. I shifted my arm that was around her waist and dragged my finger along the smooth skin that had become exposed during the night. She stirred, and I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about it.
In the early morning light, I watched as she turned to face me, a smile playing on her lips that made me stop and stare. She mumbled something that I didn’t catch, stirring as she fought between being awake and staying asleep. My cock hardened against the pajamas pants I was wearing.
“I want you. Right now.” My voice came out more gruff than normal, something I barely recognized.
“I’m not saying no.”
“But are you saying yes?”
“Yes.”
That one word set all things in motion. I turned her head toward me and claimed her lips. She turned her body so that she was now lying on her back, making it easier for me to deepen the kiss. My hands slid down her sides to the waistband of the short shorts she had worn to bed. She held her breath as my hand made its way to her mound. I smirked at what I found.
“Either you were having a pleasurable dream or that kiss was as hot for you as it was for me.”
“I plead the fifth.”
I swallowed a retort when I felt how wet she was. She helped me remove her pajama shorts and underwear and I started playing with her nub before I pushed a finger into her cunt.
“You know what I can’t wait for? To take this ass.”
I said it to get a reaction out of her and I got one. She threw her head back and moaned and my cock was rock hard against her hip. I didn’t know if that was because of the sex-induced haze she was currently in, but we could address that later.
“Flip back onto your side with your back to me again.”
While she got back into position, I stood up and took the condom out of the nightstand, thanking myself for having the foresight to think of it. It took no time for me to rid myself of my pants and placed the condom on my erection prior to runn
ing my cock up and down her slit.
“I like when you do that.”
“I know,” I responded as I entered her. I closed my eyes briefly, enjoying the feeling of her tight walls around my cock. One day I wanted to know what it felt like to have no barriers between us.
Entering her from this angle was a fresh experience for the both of us together as my hands alternated between fondling her breasts and her clit.
“Yes,” she hissed out, voicing the same sensations that were going through my body. Every time my cock drove into her, I wondered when this would be it. When this would get old. When I would want to cut this off. Those thoughts vanished the closer we got to our peaks. It didn’t take long for both of us to reach our climaxes, her going before me. We took a moment to catch our breath and then I pulled out of her, almost immediately regretting the motion.
“That was a way to wake up,” Anais said as I felt her turn to face me.
My eyes were closed as I stopped to enjoy the euphoria I felt after the high came down. “That it was,” I said, but she didn’t respond. Instead, I felt her snuggle deeper into my chest and play with some of the hair on my happy trail. Something had been swirling in my head, just before I woke her up by pleasuring her. I debated whether or not I wanted to say anything. The silence around us was so peaceful. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.
“Damien?” she asked.
I opened my eyes and looked down at her. “Yes?”
She looked stunning in the pale light that the sun was casting on the room, with her hair sprayed out across the pillow behind my arm. This was a sight I could get used to seeing on a regular basis. I expected myself to flinch at the thought because of the events that transpired with Charlotte. I thrived on remaining single and dating when I wanted, but this felt different. And I didn’t know if thirty days were going to be enough. She was going to be mine, period.
Savage Empire: An Enemies to Lovers Dark Billionaire Romance (Broken Cross Book 1) Page 15