Chapter 25

Penelope

The sun filters into the bedroom, hitting our bodies and killing the chill that seconds ago touched our skin.

After our first time together, Damien drew me a bubble bath in the large garden tub. He insisted I soak the worn muscles, and when I refused to get into the tub alone, he climbed in behind me. He made me come a third time before the water became too chilled.

We’ve spent the last forty-eight hours under a pile of snow and blankets, keeping ourselves busy with other things.

He’s started to tell me more about his life and his family. His large family sounds like mine, except the evil stepfather thing and the fact that I’m the oldest and he’s the youngest of his siblings. Still, I’d love to hear the stories about the torture his sister laid on him growing up.

I learned my husband officially retired from the military after an incident that happened to his team. He hasn’t given me a lot of detail about it, and it seems like a sensitive subject, so I didn’t ask too many questions. I figure one day, when he’s ready, he’ll tell me about that part of his life. But it explained a lot about him and the kind of work he does.

“I work for Cole Securities. My former team leader, Kingston Cole, runs the company, and everyone from the team works for him,” he tells me while drawing shapes on my naked flesh.

“Is he the man who got you the connections with the chapel and the flight?”

“Yeah, and his assistant, Annabelle. They’re good people. But they don’t call me Damien,” he tells me, changing the subject. The more I learn about him, the more I realize my instinct about this man was right.

“What do they call you?”

“Dizzy.”

“Dizzy?”

“Yeah, I’ve always been the comedian in the group. Shit was always serious. Made it my life’s mission to make them laugh about the dumb shit.” He rolls onto his side, taking me with him. One hand cups my breast while the other rests at my hip.

“Now that, I can’t believe. You’ve been so serious this entire time.” I laugh, feeling warmth flood through me.

“It’s true, but it wasn’t just my life on the line, and if I had failed, you wouldn’t have been able to stop them from taking what they wanted,” he points out, only I’m not sure what time he’s talking about.

“Seems I get into a lot of trouble, don’t I?” I surmise.

“No more than Alice or Missy, and trust me, those girls are tough as nails.”

“Who are they?”

“Alice is Hudson’s girl, well, wife now. I’ve been gone so long I missed the wedding. They met while Hudson was on a job. She was running from some fucked-up shit. Needless to say, it caught up to them, but Alice showed more backbone than I ever thought possible.”

“What’d she do?”

“Survive,” he says. “Missy is Hudson’s older sister, and she’s with Kingston, my boss. They’ve known each other for years and finally stopped playing cat and mouse when they learned Missy had a stalker. She survived, too, kicking and screaming all the way.”

“Will I meet them?”

“You will when we go home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah, I live in Oregon. We all settled around King and Hudson when they started the company. I’ve been living with a couple of my team members, a bachelor situation, so we’ll start looking for a place of our own right away.” My heart skips a beat because he’s talking about where we’re going to live when we get back. “The girls will get you acclimated to the area pretty quickly. They’ve got the heavy on everything that happens in town.”

“Does your family live nearby?” I ask, and he shifts, growing quiet. “Did I say something wrong?”

“They live in Ohio, where I was born.” He trails off. I know he’s missing them, and he’s thinking more about them since he’s begun peeling back the layers. Maybe a little push in the right direction could help put him onto the path toward them.

“You know it’s Christmas in a few weeks.”

“It is,” he replies carefully.

“We could go see them,” I offer, hoping he responds well to my idea. It’s a long shot, but if he ever wants to be the man he was before all the darkness, he needs to go home and face his family. “I’d like to meet them before we go home and settle in. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend Christmas with them?”

Damien doesn’t say anything, but the way his body has remained relaxed and his breathing even, I know I haven’t upset him. He’s mulling over the suggestion. “I bet they’d love to see you.”

“Do you think so?” he asks, and I realize he’s afraid to face them.

“Of course,” I assure him and turn in his arms. “You’re their family, and no matter the reasons why you’ve stayed away, I’m sure having you back would do you and everyone some good.”

“They might be pissed.”

“Maybe, but you’ll never know unless you take the first step.” He nods, agreeing with me, but I still see the wariness in his eyes. “I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going to happen, but no matter what, I will be there at your side.”

After everything he’s done for me and the life he’s given, it’s the least I can do for him. He needs to find closure with his family, but most importantly, with his mother.