He shrugged. “I guess it’s fine.”
“It’s nice to have a friend…since I can’t leave the house.”
He stared into his glass, becoming lost in thought.
“What did you tell them about me?”
“That you’re staying with me for a while.”
“But that’s it?”
He looked up once more, his finger tapping against the glass. “I don’t discuss the details of my personal life with them.”
“Sure, but knowing some woman is living with you must sound odd.”
“They know what kind of business I run. I doubt they’re that perplexed.”
His father seemed to assume we were romantically involved, but I didn’t tell Damien that. “Anyway, I really liked them—and I’m not just saying that.”
He turned his attention on me, disregarding the drink in his hand and the flames in the hearth.
“I don’t have a family of my own, so it’s nice to be around one again.”
“My family isn’t as perfect as it seems. When my mother passed away, everything changed.”
“Yeah…that came up. You’re all broken, but you’re broken together. And I think that’s special.”
He drank his scotch until the glass was empty then set it on the table.
“I understand why you’re so protective of your father, and having him live here was probably the best idea. He seems to be really enamored of your sister.”
“As is everyone else.”
“Me included. And I suspect you are too.”
He stared at the fire instead of me. “Anything else interesting happen to you today?”
“Uh…Liam called.”
“Oh good,” he said sarcastically. “I was beginning to worry…”
“Nothing has changed. But I did threaten to kill myself if he hurt you.”
He turned back to me, but his gaze was darker than before. “I hope you didn’t mean that.”
“I’m not sure. If he really did kill you and then forced me…I think I would rather be dead.”
“There’s another solution besides suicide.”
“But that involves his death.”
His look suddenly turned cold. “You need to think about yourself, Annabella. Not him.”
We’d promised to love and protect each other for the rest of our lives. It was hard to snap out of that, even after what he did, even after the threats he made. “How was your day?”
He grabbed the decanter and refilled his glass.
“That bad?” I teased.
“I constantly have to look over my shoulder, Annabella.”
“Don’t you do that already?”
He narrowed his eyes on my face. “No. Because most men know it’s pointless to try to kill me.” He took a drink then set the glass on the table. “I had a bunch of shit to do with clients, and tonight, I have to take care of a few things.”
I never asked him for specifics. It seemed like the less I knew, the better. “Damien?”
His gaze focused on my face further.
I thought about asking if he would leave his line of work, because his occupation had been the reason he wouldn’t commit to me in the first place. But that seemed like a premature conversation when I didn’t really know what we were right now. “Never mind…”
He stared at me for a while before he rose and grabbed another glass out of the cabinet. “Want a drink?”
“I can’t drink scotch the way you do.”
He left the glass on the table and didn’t fill it. “That’s unfortunate. Now I have no one to drink with.”
“You always have Hades.”
He shook his head. “He’s given it up.”
“Really?” I asked blankly. “Hades? We’re talking about the same person?”
“It was a shock to me too. But yes.”
“Sofia doesn’t seem like a woman who cares about how much he drinks.”
“True. But then he went to the doctor and found out his liver is damaged and he has high blood pressure because of it.”
“Oh wow.”
“It’s just me now.”
“Have you been to the doctor lately?”
He shook his head and leaned back into the cushions of the couch, staring at the fire. “Men like me don’t go to the doctor.”
“Maybe you should.”
He grew quiet.
“Because maybe you’re in just as bad shape as he is…” I was starting to worry, to grow concerned over his health.
He slowly turned his head back to me, still intimidating me. “When you’re the woman in my bed, you get to worry about all that shit. But until you are, my health isn’t your concern.” He turned back to the fire.
I wasn’t sure if that was his way of pressuring me. “Are you implying someone else is currently in your bed?” I hadn’t seen him much, so I really had no idea. Women could come and go down the hallway, and I’d have no idea. These walls were thick. I never heard him in his bedroom, and I doubt he heard me in mine.
He leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on his thighs so his fingertips could touch. “Is that answer not obvious to you?”
The longer I held his gaze, the warmer my cheeks felt. I could feel the blood rise to the surface, innately aroused by the possessive way he stared at me. He’d told me he loved me and it floored me, but I’d never imagined a life with his fidelity, his commitment, even when he got nothing from me. It was the kind of loyalty I’d never received from Liam. The moment things weren’t picture-perfect, he lost sight of his values. “You just said I had no right to have an opinion about your health.”