38 Chapter 38
38 Chapter 38
Seraphina’s POV 1
The silence in my small bedroom felt heavy and charged, like the air before a thunderstorm. Damien sat in the worn chair beside my bed,
his powerful frame looking almosticallyrge in the tiny space. His dark hair was disheveled from running his hands through it, and his expensive shirt was wrinkled from carrying Adrian through the forest. Even exhausted and worried, he was devastatingly handsome.
But all I could think about was Anna ckwood, draped all over him in the lobby like a designer essory, waving that golden pendant
like a victory g.
“You should go,” I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper as I focused on the worn pattern of my bedspread rather than meeting
his prating blue eyes. “Anna is probably wondering where you disappeared to.”
“Sera-”
“Really, Damien.” I forced myself to look at him, mustering what little dignity I had left after the evening’s disasters. “I appreciate
everything you’ve done tonight-finding Adrian, bringing him home safely, taking care of us both. But I understand the situation. Anna
has your pendant. She’s the woman you’ve been searching for. I won’t stand in the way of that.”
The words tasted like ash in my mouth, but I forced them out anyway. Better to end this cleanly now than to drag out the inevitable
heartbreak.
Damien leaned forward in his chair, his eyes zing with an intensity that made my breath catch. “What if I told you that I don’t give a
damn about Anna ckwood?”
“I’d say you’re being kind to spare my feelings,” I replied, though hope fluttered weakly in my chest like a dying bird. “She has proof of
your rtionship-”
“She has a pendant.” His voice cut through my words like a de. “Nothing more.”
“Damien-”
“Let me finish.” He stood abruptly, his movement sharp and predatory as he began pacing the cramped space between my bed and the
dresser. The small room seemed to shrink around his imposing presence, making the air feel thick and charged with electricity.
“Yes, I made promises to whoever held that pendant,” he said, his voice rough with barely controlled emotion. “Financialpensation, a
position, security-material things that seemed important at the time.” He stopped pacing and turned to face me, his blue eyes zing
with an intensity that made my breath catch. “But that was before I realized what I really wanted.”
“What do you want?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
“You.” The word came out like a growl, raw and possessive and absolutely devastating. “Only you, I don’t give a damn about pendants or
promises or the past. Anna can have whatever money she wants, whatever job she thinks she deserves. None of it matters.”
He moved closer to my bed, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, could smell that intoxicating blend of sandalwood and masculine power that made my wolf whimper with need.
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“Sera,” he said, my name sounding like a prayer on his lips. “I’ve wasted five years chasing a ghost when what I wanted was right here all
along.”
I reached out tentatively, my fingers brushing against his hand where it rested on the arm of the chair. The contact sent electricity shooting up my arm, and I saw his pupils dte in response.
I could feel my body responding to his proximity despite the pain and exhaustion. His scent was stronger here in the confined space, wrapping around me like silk ribbons and making my wolf purr with contentment.
“Damien,” I breathed, my voice taking on a breathy quality that had nothing to do with my injuries and everything to do with the way he was looking at me-like I was something precious and desired and absolutely essential to his existence.
He leaned closer, his lips hovering just inches from mine. “I should let you rest,” he said, though his voice suggested that rest was thest thing on his mind.
“Should you?” I whispered, tilting my face up toward his.
The space between us crackled with electricity. I could feel his breath against my lips, could see the way his eyes had darkened with desire that matched my own.
Just as our mouths were about to meet, a small voice called out from the living room, breaking the spell that had been weaving around <ol><li></li></ol>
1
“Mr. Damien? I can’t sleep!”
We sprang apart like guilty teenagers, both of us breathing hard and staring at each other with a mixture of frustration and amusement.
“Duty calls,” I said softly, though I made no move to pull my hand from his.
I watched him walk to the doorway, admiring the way his broad shoulders filled the frame and the confident grace of his movements.
Just before he disappeared into the hallway, he turned back with that devastating smile.
“Sweet dreams, emerald eyes.”
He left me alone with my racing heart and the lingering scent of sandalwood, my body humming with awareness and my mind spinning
with the implications of everything that had just been revealed.
From the living room, I could hear Damien’s deep voice mixing with Adrian’s higher, more animated tones. I must have dozed off
listening to their voices, because the next thing I knew, the apartment had gone quiet except for the soft sound of someone moving
carefully through the rooms. A gentle knock on my bedroom door made me open my eyes.
“Come in, I called softly.
Adrian padded into the room and climbed up onto my bed without ceremony, settling himself between Damien and me with the unconscious confidence of a child iming his territory. “I had a bad dream about the scary forest.”
“It’s okay, baby,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his small, warm body and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “You’re safe now. The forest can’t hurt you here.”
“Mr. Damien saved me,” Adrian announced, with undisguised hero worship. “He’s really strong and really brave, just like a daddy should
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38 Chapter 38
be.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Adrian,” I started gently, “sweetheart, you can’t just—”
“Can he be my daddy?” Adrian interrupted, his voice bright with hope and innocence that made my heart clench painfully. “Please? I
promise I’ll be really good.”
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