Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

One night, after taking her to the opera, which was new for her, they were heading to dinner, and Draven stopped.

“What is it?” Harper asked.

“Do you enjoy spending time with me?” he asked.

“Yes, why? Have I given you a reason to think I don’t?”

“You always look—forget it,” he said, taking her hand.

She wouldn’t budge.

“Harper, I don’t want to do this.”

“You can’t just start something like that, cut off, and that be the end of it. That’s not how this works.”

“It’s fine. We’ve got reservations.”

“Draven, I don’t care how many reservations you make. You clearly need to talk to me, and we can either cause a scene right now, with minimal people here, or we can scream the roof down and let a whole load of people know our business inside a restaurant.” She pulled her hand away from his and folded it beneath her breasts.

He couldn’t help but notice the curve of her tits. The dress she wore enhanced her breasts, her waist, and hips, and it made him ache to touch her. To hold her. To take her. To have her all to himself so he could just fucking enjoy her.

“You want to do this out here?”

“I don’t see we have much of a choice.”

“Do you want to end this with me?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

“This. You and me. Are you building up to kick me to the curb, or what? I’m not wasting any more time.”

“What made you even think that I was considering that?” she asked. She also glared as well.

“The way you look at me.”

She laughed. “Seriously? You’re going to cause this because I happen to look at you the wrong way?”

“I’ve killed men for a lot less.”

She rolled her eyes, only this time he didn’t see it as sexy, not even a little bit.

“Look, I don’t know what is going on with you right now, Draven. I’m not wanting to end this. If I did, I wouldn’t have gone home with you. Is this about sex?”

“No.”

“Then what is it about?”

“I need to know that you’re not fucking afraid of me. That you’re not thinking of ways of getting out of this. I need to know you’re in it as long as I am. For a lifetime.”

“Draven—”

He held his hand out. “No, I need you to hear me out with this. I know you’ve got to say something, but I really need for you to hear me out first.”

“Fine. Then let’s hear it,” she said.

“I’m in love with Harper Miller. I have been for a long time. It has never changed. The time apart, it was … hard. I didn’t want to kick you out of my house, but I had to. There is no place for me at Stonewall. I burned it to the ground, along with all of our legacies. They’re gone. I’ll never see them again. I’ll never go back there either. There’s nothing for me there. You reminded me of what it was that I wanted in life. What I had hoped to achieve and the only way I can get that, is with you. I see this look in your eye, and it scares me. I don’t want you to be afraid of me, or to hate me. I can handle everything else that is thrown at me, but when it comes to you, I can’t. There’s only so much I’m willing to take, and I love you.”

“I’m not lovable, Draven. I don’t deserve it.”

“Harper?”

“No! I don’t want this to end. That’s the furthest thing from what I want.”

“I love you.”

“You keep saying that,” she said.

“It’s true, and I’ve not spent nearly enough time telling you exactly how much.”

She blew out a breath. “This is all … this is so sudden,” she said.

“No, it’s not.”

“Draven?”

“No. You think about it. This is not sudden. This is very fucking late, and we’ve known this for a long time.”

He saw the tears in Harper’s eyes.

“You have all of me, Harper. Every single little bit of me. It belongs to you. No one else.”

She moved toward him and pushed him hard. “First, I’m not afraid of you.” She pushed him again, and this time the car behind his back stopped him. “I’ll never be afraid of you. Second, I’m nervous because this is all new for me. I’ve been on dates with Ethan, but this is so much more. I can’t think straight. I’m nervous I’m going to screw up and say the wrong thing and you’ll realize I don’t belong in this world. I’m not a good person, Draven. I’ve done so much stuff. I lost ten good years with you all because … I didn’t ask you to come to the bathroom with me. There are times I can’t even look in the mirror because it hurts that much to know what I’ve done.” She shoved him again, only he had nowhere to go. “I’m not just the girl from the poor area of Stonewall, regardless of where my father is now, Draven. I’m the girl who worked for your father. The one who he forced to help take girls. I should be in prison. Behind bars. I can’t stand to think about what I’ve done. I close my eyes and see them. I know the mess I’ve caused, and I’m ashamed of myself, of what I did. Eighteen-year-old Harper, she’s not here anymore. I’m me. I’m not used to getting what I want. I want you, nothing more. I’m the woman that ran away because she thought her best friends would be killed. I’m the person that continued to work for a man I despised because I was scared. I didn’t fight enough, not then. I just took everything he told me to do, and I fucked up. That’s the kind of person I am. I’ve been so scared because you’d see the truth of who I am, and all that I’ve done. I’m nothing. I wanted these dates with you, to make me … feel something else. I don’t need fancy cars, or jewelry.” She chuckled. “I don’t even need these dates, but they were fun to be with you after all this time, and I want to be that girl again. I don’t get the opera. I’m not a fancy girl. I’m just me. I work in a florist, and I don’t care what we went through. I’m not afraid of you.” She placed her hands flat on his chest. “I’ll never be afraid of you. This is all just new, and I’m a girl. Let me be a girl about all of this, about everything.”