I couldn’t take it anymore. Brooklyn hadn’t returned any of my calls. I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. I hoped Georgan was downstairs. He was my favorite driver. I didn’t know the others as well. I was out of options. I had to check on her in person. I still had a key to the apartment.

As soon as I opened the door I ran into Damon. His wide shoulders filled the door.

“Oh.” My eyes locked on his dark stare. Chills ran along my spine.

There was something sad in his gaze. It was as if the smolder in his eyes was clouded.

I took a step backward.

His arms encircled me. He breathed into my neck, holding me tighter with each exhale.

“What’s wrong?” I wrapped my hands around his waist. “Did something happen?” I asked.

He kicked the door closed behind us as he lifted my toes from the floor. I drifted over the hardwoods as he kept me in his embrace.

My toes touched the floor again. I looked at Damon. I traced the lines of his sculpted jaw with the pad of my thumb. I could feel his somber mood washing off him.

“What is it?”

He still hadn’t spoken a word.

“I need you. I need this.” His voice was low and certain.

He brushed his lips over mine, drinking in the kiss as if I was the last breath he would ever take. He tongue slid along mine, twisting and curling in my mouth. I had no idea what had happened. I only knew he needed my lips.

He lowered me to the couch. His hands roaming. Pulling the clothes from my body. He sat up, shirking off his jacket and shirt. I reached for his zipper, freeing him from his pants.

He found my lips again, searing them with another heated kiss.

All the other times, Damon had been commanding and powerful with my body. But as he moved between my legs, I felt how different this was. I wrapped my heels around him, digging them into his backside.

He groaned as he pushed inside me. His thrusts were slow and deliberate. He kissed my throat and behind my ear.

“Ohh,” I whimpered as he drew back and stroked my inner walls with his thickness.

If I could take away the hurt in his eyes, I would. I would love him whole again. I would heal him with my body. Give him pleasure. Take away the pain.

I arched into him, giving him my body. He surged inside me with a vibrating growl.

“I’m yours,” I whispered. My eyes locked on his. “Yours, you majesty.”

“Oh God.” He pumped faster. And within seconds I could feel his body tighten.

I gripped his shoulders as we shattered together. Our bodies fighting the pleasure and giving in to the release until we were covered in the glow of making love.

Holy hell, that was entirely different. Damon kissed the side of my neck and gently rested on my breast. I ran my nails over his back. He twitched inside me, but neither of us was anxious to move.

Anchored inside me was where he needed to be. It was where I wanted him. We were bound together on so many levels.

“Do you want to tell me what happened, now?” I ventured.

He sighed. “Do you know how much I need you, Molly?”

He leaned forward on his arms, hovering over me.

“We need each other,” I answered. The email was lurking in the back of my head. This wasn’t the moment to tell him about it. The guilt started to erode the haze of my afterglow.

He pressed up. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable piece of furniture. It was meant for décor impact, not to binge watch shows all weekend. I doubted anyone in the palace did that.

He looked up, noticing the surroundings. “Nice apartment.” He grinned.

“Thanks. Haven’t you been in here before?”

He shook his head. “Not since it was redecorated.”

I felt a twinge of jealousy. Who had occupied the rooms next to his before I did?

“This is redecorated?”

He laughed. “You should have seen it before. Burgundy and gold everything.”

I stuck out my tongue. “Ok, then this is better.”

He moved to the end of the couch, repositioning me so I was now against his chest. I reached for a cashmere throw at the end of the armrest. It was the softest blanket I’d ever felt. Damon layered it over the side of my body.

“I was at Dominic’s before I came here.” His statement surprised me.

“Oh?” I waited for him to fill me in on what happened. I knew it wasn’t good news, whatever it was.

“I signed an order.”

“What kind of order?”

He exhaled. “He’s going to rehab.”

I sat forward, the cashmere falling from my hip. “Oh God, Damon. I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “I should have done it a long time ago.” He pressed his hands to his face, running his palms to his forehead. “I let it get out of control. I let him crash.” He shook his head.

I pulled his heavy hands from his face. “Hey, you’re not responsible for your brother’s choices. You know that, right?”

“But I should have helped him sooner. I’m his older brother damn it. I let it go on too long. I put it on Kenley. What kind of brother does that? I pawned his problems off on her.”

“What’s important is that you’re getting help for him now. Focus on that. When does he leave? Where is this place?”

“Kenley is going with him. It’s in Spain. It’s best that he’s away from Galona press. He leaves tonight.”

“Spain?”

He nodded. “He doesn’t want to go. He’s fighting the entire thing. But he’s still drunk. Of course he’s going to fucking fight.”

I twisted my lips together. “Isabel stopped by today.”

“She did? Was it about Dominic?”

“No. Actually, she really wants to take a trip to Spain.”

His eyebrows arched. “And she came to you.”

“Yes. She needs a break from Galona. And even though it’s not exactly what she wanted, why don’t you send her with Dominic?”

“Fuck. My family is falling apart. Isabel doesn’t want to be in the country and I have to send my brother to rehab.”

I turned his face to focus on me. “You’re doing everything you can to keep them together. Grant this request for Isabel. Give her some time to recharge her batteries. She’ll be in Spain if Dominic needs anything. And he will get better.”

“God, you’re what I’ve always needed. Do you know that?” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Swear to me you won’t go to Spain too.”

I swallowed hard. “I promise.” I closed my eyes as Damon’s lips pressed to mine, as hungry as always.

“Now, let’s go christen the rest of this apartment.”

He hopped from the couch, lifting me with one quick scoop of his strong arms. I kicked my legs wildly. I wasn’t about to burden the king with more problems. The email could wait.