"Well, I must say that I"m glad to hear we are on the same page," Oliver drawled sincerely. "But now, I think we should move on to something more appropriate for a Sat.u.r.day evening. Oh, do I have just the story for you." His eyes went wide. "How would you like to hear of how Damien and I met for the first time?" He grinned. "It"s quite the tale, I tell you."
"Oh, yes," I said, equally thrilled and relieved for the change in topic.
Without delay, Oliver dived in and told me of how he had just moved into the neighborhood with his wife and son, Nathan, when Damien was fourteen years old. It turned out that Damien and Nathan were only a few months apart in age, and they"d quickly become friends. They had taken their two four-wheelers out for a long ride where Damien got them buried in the deep patch of mud in a swamp nearly five miles away from their home.
I found myself laughing at Oliver"s theatrics as he proceeded to tell me how he"d come to help get Damien and Nathan out with his truck, only to get it stuck, too. I could hear the love in his voice when Oliver told me he"d tried his best to remain mad at the boys for going so close to the wetland, but he"d found himself stifling his own laughter.
"So, did they get into trouble?" I asked once he"d finished.
"Nope." Oliver laughed out loud. "After the tow truck pulled us all out, I took them home and showed them how to go mudding without getting stuck." He sighed, and the atmosphere changed, as if reliving the moment in his mind.
"That sounds like you all had a great time then," I offered sincerely.
"We did. That was the day Damien and I bonded." I saw the love in his eyes, and his expression softened. "I left my house with one son, and I came home with two."
There were no words to match Oliver"s powerful ones or the emotion coming out of him, so I nodded my head. Then, my eye caught on the man himself. Damien was heading toward me, but he was not alone.
A woman in a sparkly white gown was right on his heels. The dress was extremely tight, so her steps were short and fast. "Damien, we need to finish our discussion."
"I said, later, Zoey." His voice was harsh with finality as he closed the gap separating us. He set his palm on my lower back and placed an apologetic kiss on my lips before murmuring, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It"s okay." I glanced at Oliver. "Oliver did a fantastic job at keeping me entertained with a charming story."
"You didn"t," Damien threatened in good mirth to Oliver.
He retorted, "Oh, I did."
Before the two men could exchange another word, Zoey wedged her way in between a gathering behind Oliver, and she came to a standstill at his left. Her eyes were glued on me, giving me a speculative once-over.
My spine straightened as I was immediately on guard.
"Damien, you didn"t tell me you were bringing eye-candy along tonight," she purred at him before cutting me with an icy-cold stare. "And you are?"
My head snapped back a fraction on my shoulders, and my eyes broadened with undeniable shock as I was unable to keep my composure.
Damien, on the other hand, matched Zoey"s expression as Oliver quietly made his escape.
"Raelyn is not eye-candy," Damien snapped venomously. "And if you value your job at Heathman Enterprises, you"ll do well to remember to watch your f.u.c.king mouth before you speak again, Zoey."
Her face flamed bright red, as I was sure mine had, too, from being the lone victim of her hostility.
"Sorry," Zoey said, looking at Damien, not me.
When she finally did meet my stare, I saw a faint glimpse of that feminine b.i.t.c.hiness before she pasted on a proper smile.
"h.e.l.lo, Raelyn. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to me. "I"m Zoey, Damien"s a.s.sistant."
Instead of accepting her offering, I snuggled closer into Damien and linked my fingers with his. "Hi," I replied simply, greeting her with just as much sa.s.s in my tone.
The corner of her mouth curled with irritation before her gaze landed on Damien. "I"ll see you on Monday, so we can finish our discussion, Damien."
Damien squeezed my hand as Zoey walked off without waiting for his response.
"Sorry about that. Zoey can be..." He trailed off and released an exasperated breath. "Well, Zoey."
"I see."
"I apologize for her being so rude. I don"t know what came over her. She"s not normally so...antagonistic."
To me, Zoey had displayed what could only be called pure jealousy, but I kept my thoughts to myself, wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"It"s all right." I smiled rea.s.suringly. It wasn"t his fault that his a.s.sistant had acted impolite.
Just when I thought the pleasantries for the evening had pa.s.sed, Damien displayed a clear sign of irritation on his face. I followed his line of sight and saw that Cale was closing in on us.
"Just f.u.c.king great," Damien muttered under his breath.
I sensed Cale"s uneasiness as he approached and came to stand before us.
"Damien. Raelyn." Cale nodded his head at each of us.
Unsure of what else to do, I offered Cale a small smile. It wasn"t my usual friendly one but one more filled with disappointment at the loss of a treasured friendship that would probably never be restored.
"What are you doing here, Cale? You were not invited to this charity. I made sure of it myself," Damien accused, intently eyeing him.
"I"m sorry." Cale flinched, and he briefly lowered his gaze to the floor in shame. "I didn"t expect to be welcomed with open arms tonight. What I did to you both is unforgivable. But since the event was open to the general public, I still wanted to attend A Voice for Kids and support you, Damien. No matter how much you loathe me, I"ll always consider you my friend."
I swallowed thickly and briefly glanced away in hopes of keeping my emotions in check. I was relieved to see no one was watching the three of us.
"A friend?" Damien"s laugh was ominous, causing my attention to land on him. "You have a f.u.c.ked up definition of what it means to be one." He stepped forward. The way he carried himself made him look downright dangerous. "Because a friend is supposed to always have your back, to be honest and loyal. A friend doesn"t stab you in the back with a ten-inch blade when you"re not looking." He paused, going toe-to-toe with Cale, where he towered over him. "A friend wouldn"t steal from you. A friend would have asked for help in a time of need. I would have given it to you in a f.u.c.king heartbeat."
"Damien, words can never express how truly sorry I am for my mistakes." Cale gravely shook his head. "I swear on my life that I never meant for it to go this far. I was going to pay it back."
"Save your apology and your excuses for someone who cares." Damien gestured toward the exit, and he threatened, "We will be talking soon but not tonight. Now, get the f.u.c.k out of my charity before I remove you myself."
"All right. I"ll go." Cale drew his brows together in a defeated frown and then stared at me. "Good-bye, Rae."
"Bye," I whispered. I watched the man I"d once called my friend turn and walk off, wondering if it would be the last time I ever saw him. For only having a few people in my life, it was hard to lose one.
Damien"s body radiated with anger beside me, so I stepped into him and wrapped my arms around his center.
"I"m sorry he came," I said, hoping Cale hadn"t tarnished such an important night for Damien. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes, I"m fine," he replied.
I didn"t believe him. Whether Damien wanted to admit it or not, he was grieving the loss of a friend, too.
"Are you?" he asked. "I don"t like the idea of him upsetting you."
"I"m not. I just don"t want Cale to ruin this night for you."
"He didn"t," he stated confidently as he set his hands on the small of my back and glided them up my sides. "There is nothing that could wreck my mood with you in this stunning black dress." He leaned forward and skimmed his lips across my cheek, causing my breath to hitch. "I can"t wait to get you home and take off all of this lace, inch by inch, and replace the material with a trail of my lips."
"Mmm...I"m looking forward to it." I beamed up at him when he drew back.
"Me, too." He kissed me and gave me a devilish grin while linking his fingers with mine. "Until then, let"s get back to the charity. I"d like to you to meet a few of my friends."
Over the course of the next two hours, I continued to walk around with Damien as he introduced me to more people. He only left my side once for a heartwarming speech where he talked about A Voice for Kids, their goals for this year, and stories of children they"d helped, and then he finished by thanking everyone for their support.
Afterward, a woman approached him in tears and began to talk about her personal experience with the charity, so I quietly dismissed myself to give them some privacy.
I went off to make a donation to A Voice for Kids, and then I headed for the bar to ask for a water before dipping out the back door onto a small balcony. The fresh air felt marvelous after being cooped up inside for so long.
There wasn"t a single cloud in the dark blue sky. It was only filled with bright stars beaming down. I leaned my forearms on the metal railing and continued to gaze up at them.
All of tonight"s events rushed to the forefront of my mind. For Damien being so reluctant to tell me his past, I couldn"t help but feel that, by inviting me here, he was trying to show me a piece of it. My heart ached at the idea of him being abused and emanc.i.p.ating himself from his family. I wondered how long he"d been mistreated, how old he finally was when he"d left his home, where he had gone, and who had taken care of him.
Gosh, I have so many questions.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a man near my left side. He leaned over the railing and followed my line of view.
"Beautiful, aren"t they?" he asked, causing me to glance at him. "They look so big from here even though we are still so far away from them."
There was something peculiar about his tone that gave me goose b.u.mps. I took in the creases above his eyebrows and around his eyes, observing his probing stare. It was as though he were trying to get a read on me. I instantly went on high alert and put up an invisible wall between us.
"Yes," I answered, not wanting to be bad-mannered.
"You must be Raelyn Jennings. I"ve heard about you this evening." His smile felt forced. "But then again, any woman on Damien"s arm stirs quite a bit of attention."
I didn"t like his last comment, but I forced myself to choke down his affront, not letting this stranger see that his insult had bothered me. "And you are?"
"Mr. Stevens." He outstretched his hand to greet me.
For the second time tonight, I found myself not accepting the gesture.
"Well, I must be getting back inside." I increased the s.p.a.ce between us and pivoted to face the door in preparation to flee back inside the building and search for Damien.
"Can I buy you a drink?" He c.o.c.ked his head to the side. It was just enough movement to shift his face directly beneath the light. His light-brown hair reflected under it, as did the freckles on his face.
I immediately made the connection. There was no mistaking that this man was William"s father. I was standing alone, on the balcony, with Drake Stevens.
"No, thank you." I retreated another foot, angling myself to the door that seemed miles away.
"Then, I"ll do you a favor and cut to the chase, Ms. Jennings." Drake stepped into my path, blocking my exit. "You see, Damien is an extremely troubled individual. His scars go deeper than his skin. So, why would a smart woman, such as yourself, want to get dragged into his stained past?"
My blood boiled at his audacity, outraged with the need to defend Damien. "Everyone has a past. Who made you so f.u.c.king perfect to judge others?"
"Hey, I"m just trying to help you out." He defensively lifted his hands in front of himself. "But know that, if Damien interferes with my kid and wife again-"
"What in the f.u.c.k are you doing here?"
I froze on the spot at the sound of Damien"s voice. This time, Damien sounded downright homicidal.
"Just making a new friend." Drake smiled, keeping his gaze on me.
Damien"s glare was virtually burning holes into the man"s back. He walked around Drake to get to me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and protectively hauled me behind his body. "Don"t you ever talk to her, let alone breathe near her, again."
Damien advanced, and I peeked around his shoulder to see him going toe-to-toe with his stepbrother, towering over him.
"Get the f.u.c.k out," Damien said.
Drake aimed a humorless smirk at me. "Even his millions can"t fix his vile temper."
"Billions, motherf.u.c.ker," Damien countered, not missing a beat. "Now, get out."
"That rage of his gets him into trouble." Drake sighed. "Don"t say I didn"t warn you."
"Last chance to leave, Drake." Damien"s voice was low and controlled yet seething with fury. "Or this time, I won"t leave you breathing."
"Oh, fine. I"m going. I"m going." The b.a.s.t.a.r.d had the b.a.l.l.s to laugh as he faced the exit. "But tell my wife and son that I"ll be seeing them soon."
"The same applies to them. Stay away," Damien spit.
Drake hesitated and tilted his head over his shoulder where I could see the sharp edges of his silhouette.
His body visibly shook with anger. "You don"t get to take them from me, too."
"And you lost the right to make that request the second you laid a wrongful hand on them."
"This isn"t over yet, Damien." Drake"s hands balled into fists, and a tremor raked through his body. "You won"t win this time." He bolted off through the exit.
Holy h.e.l.l, I thought as I gave Damien a sh.e.l.l-shocked expression. "What was that?" I breathed, struggling to make each word leave my mouth.
"A mindf.u.c.k into my past." Damien"s chest deflated as he pulled me into his arms and nuzzled his nose into my neck.
I linked my arms around his center, pressed my cheek to his sternum, and tightly held him as silence descended over us. There were too many feelings running rampantly through my mind to process.
Minutes pa.s.sed before he spoke in a broken voice, "I keep waiting for you to run away from me." He constricted his arms, fiercely hugging me. "And I"m so f.u.c.king scared that you will. But I can"t say that I"ll blame you when you finally do."
"You"re wrong," I replied. It wasn"t until then when I realized I had been shaking.
"I hope so." Damien released a long breath as he began to sway from left to right, taking me with him.
"What are you doing?" I asked with a soft smile as he continued to move us in a small circle.
"I believe I owe you a dance." He guided me away from his body and twirled me under his arm before bringing me close again.
"But there"s no music out here," I teased with a smile as he kissed my cheek.