She closed her eyes imagining the torment he must have been through ever since he’d found Betty dead. It was too much to even think about, and had her heart breaking for him.
“You can’t blame yourself, Damian.” She cupped his face. “You’re not the one who made promises you couldn’t keep. You were honest. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“She’s dead because of me.”
“No. You were honest with her. You gave her everything that you could, and there’s no shame in that. This is not you, Damian. You didn’t tell her to kill herself. You didn’t expect anything like this. You cannot blame yourself.”
“How can you even look at me, Mia? I’m a monster.”
“I’ve seen monsters, and I’ve been with monsters. They don’t make me feel like this. You’re a good person, Damian.” She had known for some time exactly what the Denton family were. They were the kind of people that monsters were afraid of, and yet, she had seen and heard so much good about them. The guys who watched her talked often, and there were times she would sit and listen to them. Obviously, they didn’t know she was close, or if they ever knew, she didn’t know either way. “You’ve got a beautiful daughter. I will always be your friend, Damian.”
He stroked her cheek. “You’re the woman, Mia.”
“What?”
“The moment I saw you, I knew you were mine. You’re my woman, and I’m totally in love with you.” Then he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her down for his kiss. She didn’t fight him though. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she took the kiss that she had been thinking about for some time now, loving the feel of his lips against hers.
Chapter Nine
Later that night when the tears were all gone Damian lay beside Mia, touching her cheek. They hadn’t fucked, or made love. Instead, she had held him as he cried, and then kissed him back. Running his thumb across her lip, he stared into her eyes, knowing without a doubt that he was the luckiest man alive.
“You love me?”
“More than anything you will ever know.”
That made him sad, but he knew that in time she would love him. He was going to be sure to love her for the rest of his life.
“I’ve never been loved before.” She touched his hand, and smiled. “I like you, Damian. I don’t know if I love you, but I want to. I want to be loved and to have everything I’ve seen your brothers have with their women. Am I presuming too much?”
He shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Is it always like this? Being arrested, thrown in jail?”
“No, it’s not. With everything that has happened in the past year, we’ve dealt with our own stuff. Our family has always been at the top of the food chain. Someone decided to take our spot, and rule the city. This is our own fault. We’ll fix it.”
“Can you walk away?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. We’ve always kept a semblance of peace in our city. We pride ourselves on the protection we provide for everyone, even the women that work for us. Those two women that died, that should never have happened, and we have all learned from our mistake. It will never happen again. That I promise you.”
“You don’t need to promise me anything, Damian. I know you mean everything you say.”
“How are you handling all this?” he asked. “You must have questions.”
“I’m doing fine. You shouldn’t worry so much about me. Yes, I’ve been through a lot, but so has everyone else.” She smiled. “This is all surreal to me. You love me, and I can see it. The way you look at me, how you helped me.”
“Even if I you weren’t mine, I wouldn’t have stood by and watched you be hurt. I saw the fear in your eyes and the disgust. I would have helped you, Mia.”
“You’re a dream come true.” He saw her eyes glisten even as the tears didn’t fall. “My mom was addicted to drugs, and many nights I would lie awake listening to the men grunting as she fucked them for money to get her next fix. Some of the men would slap her around all the time. I would lie in my bed, or sit on the stairs outside of our apartment, and I would pretend that somewhere out there was someone looking for me, that one day they were going to love me more than anything else in the world, and I would spend days just hoping that when I found him, it would be something I always hoped for.” She stroked his cheek. “I may not have the same feelings as you with the intensity that you felt when you saw me, but all my life I’ve been hoping for someone like you. You’re my dream come true
, Damian.” With that, she pressed her lips against his.
“You’re the bravest woman I know.”
She smiled. “I’m not. I’m just a survivor.”
“And that is what makes you brave. Everything you’ve described, it sounds like a complete nightmare to me at times. My father, he was a hard ass, but he loved us. I knew deep down that he did, even as he taught us hard lessons in life.” Just thinking about his father reminded him that he had to get them back. Rick hadn’t wanted to rest but he also saw that there was only so much they could do within one day of getting out, and Rick wanted his message to reach its target.
“What’s wrong?” Mia asked. “You disappeared there.”