Chapter Five
The voice behind hermade her stiffen in surprise and fear.It was a voice she’d dreamt of for so many years.During the day, she stayed busy enough that she could push him out of her mind and forget how he made her feel, but she couldn’t fight his presence in her dreams.
“Please,” Damon said.
She sighed and nodded.“That’s fine.”
He took her hand and led her outside, sitting beside him on the sofa.
She waited for him to speak, but he only stared at her.“Are we going to talk?”
“Yes.Hell.”He rubbed his eyes and sighed.
“What’s wrong?”she asked.She studied his expression and could see the fatigue and pain.
“Just a headache.”
“Do you get them often?”she asked.
“Yes.I had a bad concussion after the bomb hit.”
Emma swallowed several times to prevent herself from crying.She’d gotten some information from Trent after Damon got hurt, but not enough, and she was afraid to ask.
“What else happened to you?”
“A few broken bones and contusions.”
She hated that he’d been so hurt, and she hadn’t been there to take care of him.Hell, she could lie to everyone else about not caring about him, but she couldn’t deceive herself.
Emma looked away and then back at him.“I’m sorry you got hurt.”
He squeezed her hand.“Thank you, baby.”
“What did you want to talk about?”God, she needed to get this over with so she could go home.
“I’d like to talk about the night of your nineteenth birthday.”
She stiffened.“I’d rather not.”That night had been one of the worst of her life.The only time more devastating was when her parents had died.
“Baby, just listen.Everything I said was bullshit.It was all a lie.I wanted you so much my teeth ached.There hasn’t been a time I haven’t wanted you.We, or rather I, thought it best not to give you any hope because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be coming back.I knew how bad it was overseas.”
Jesus, the thought of him not on Earth sounded obscene and made her stomach cramp.“Who’s we?You saidwethought it best.”
“Your brother and I.”
“He lied to me, too.He knew about all of this?”God, she didn’t know how she felt about it.She reasoned he was trying to protect her, but it felt like a betrayal.It was something she’d have to talk about later.
“Yes.We’re both very protective of you.There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you.”
She studied him.“How long have you felt this way?”
“Since you were fifteen.”
“Then why did you act like such a jerk and bully me constantly?”she asked.
“Baby, I was nineteen at the time.It would have been illegal for anything to happen to us.I told myself I could wait for you, but it got harder to deal with every time I was around you.So, I pushed you away.The only way I knew was to be mean to you.When that didn’t even work, I joined the Navy.It would have been a bit easier if I didn’t have to be in the same area as you.”