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"I love you," he disclosed hoarsely. "So does Julian. We all do. But that doesn't mean we know you the same way we know each other. Those bonds can only grow stronger over time. Trust is built over time, and isn't something that can be forced or faked. Julian and myself, we wanted to give you time to settle into your new life and for there to be a great deal of trust in us before we sprang this on you. We never, ever wanted to make things uncomfortable or harder on you. We only wanted to love you. Please don't let me have messed this all up."
I sucked in a shocked breath at hearing him tell me he loved me so openly, and in front of Dash. Then again, he'd just been forced into sharing his deepest, darkest secret with me, it's not like he had anything else to hide here.
I sighed as I melted into Dash's hold, my body going limp against his. His hand moved up my back, up my neck, and his fingers tangled into the messy hair at the back of my head. His other hand dropped to my hip where he squeezed gently, encouraging me.
"It's alright, Damien," I whispered. "I understand why you guys kept it from me and you're right about pretty much everything you said. But that doesn't mean it's okay for you to keep anymore secrets from me from here on out. At least not big ones that are as important as that."
"I promise," he quickly assured me. "No more big secrets. I can't promise no secrets in general because, well, that would make me a liar." I glared at him. "Butthey won't be big ones like that. Not anything that could damage our relationship."
Great. That wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear from him.
He looked at the door, his face scrunched up in concern. I thought I knew what he wanted but didn't want to hurt my feelings by asking.
"Go," I quietly urged. "Go and rescue Quinton from having to share a bed with Julian. We both know he'll do it too, no matter how uncomfortable it makes him because that's what Julian needs and Quinton is all about everyone else's needs above his own. And I can see it in your eyes that you want to go to him. So go. I'm here with Dash and we’re doing just fine."
He closed his eyes as if in pain before opening them again. They roamed over Dash and I, not missing anything and seeing things I wasn't sure I was comfortable with others seeing just yet. But I didn't have much of a choice at this point and I really needed to get over my hang-ups.
"I won't leave if you want me to stay," Damien murmured fiercely. "I would never do that to you and Julian wouldn't expect me to. You come first, you'll always come first, it's just the way we're wired."
Instead of filling me up with reassurance, the way I'm sure he'd meant for his words to, they filled me with sadness. They were all about putting me first, every single one of them. That didn't seem fair to me sometimes.
"I think I got this covered, Dame," Dash rumbled in a voice that shook with silent laughter. "You don't have anything to worry about here."
"Yeah," Damien grumbled sarcastically. "You sure look like you have everything covered here."
I closed my eyes as I snuggled deeper into Dash, my face going to his neck, my hands gliding up his sides. His skin was hot to the touch, burning in the most brilliant of ways. It was addictive, the feel of his bare skin against mine, and I couldn't get enough of it.
"Go," I murmured. "Go find Julian before he spoons Quinton in his sleep, not that anybody would blame him for spooning him because it's obvious the guy could use more hugs in his life, but I think it might actually make him grumpier and harder to deal with. And it'll be me who has to deal with it because he's going to blame the entire thing on me."
They both chuckled.
"Well," Damien drawled, "it kinda is your fault. I mean, I did tell you to stay downstairs, then you didn't listen to me. I told you to stay in the Rover. Again, you didn't listen to me. Hell, I tried to get you to leave before we even got to the damn cottage, and did you listen to me then? Absolutely not. If you'd have listened to me like a good girl and done what I'd told you to do instead of taking control of the situation and started bossing me around, then things might have turned out differently."
My body stiffened minutely. I knew he was joking with me, but I didn't like them telling me to be a good girl. The teenage girl in me always felt the need to rebel against it and I ended up doing the opposite of what they wanted me to. And, despite my actions being rash and harmful to myself, I'd done good. I managed to put the fire out and maybe Dash's cottage wasn't entirely unsalvageable now. It was our home and I couldn't just stand by with my thumb up my butt while I watched it being destroyed and do nothing.
Just what did these people think of me? Of course I had to do something, and of course it had to have been the opposite of what some of them would have had me do.
I sighed again. No wonder some of them thought I was a pain in their asses.
Damien leaned down, his face close to mine. His hand came up, his fingers pulling my hair back and out of my face. Something bright and glassy shined in his eyes, looking a lot like unshed tears.
"Thank you, sweet girl," he whispered hoarsely, before his lips brushed against my forehead.
Before I could respond, he was up and out of the bed. The shock of seeing him naked and standing beside the bed didn't hit me as hard as it usually would have. I was getting more comfortable around them and their bodies.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, all without bothering to put on clothes, and I stifled a giggle. Quinton was going to kill him and Ireallyhoped he didn't run into Rain while walking around in his birthday suit. My father would be a whole lot less amused than Quinton and I had a feeling he wouldn't hesitate to rip Damien a new one.
"People in this house are crazy," I muttered under my breath when my laughter finally settled down.
Dash's hand fisted in my hair. He used it to turn my head to the side and my eyes snapped open. The move surprised me.
I stared down at him as I chewed on my lip ring nervously.
"You're crazy too," he whispered in a hushed voice that was filled with heat. "You're one of the craziest people I've ever met before."
Huh. That didn't sound good.
"I'm not crazy." At least I thought I wasn't crazy... most of the time.
