My Love Protect Read online

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  My Love Protect

  Anna Antonia

  DelSin Publishing, LLC 2017

  Love billionaires and second-chance love, and romances about delicious surrender? Then sign-up for my newsletter:

  http://anna-antonia.com/newsletter

  Copyright © 2017 by Anna Antonia

  All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from DelSin Publishing, LLC. DelSin Publishing, LLC and the author assume no liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by:

  DelSin Publishing, LLC

  www.delsinpublishing.com

  Cover Credits: Konrad Bak

  Cover Design: CGM Web Designs

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  MORE ANNA ANTONIA

  ABOUT ANNA ANTONIA

  Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop. –H.L. Mencken

  1

  RISA

  “Ssh, little girl. It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’ve got you and I’m not letting go.”

  Those were the words I wanted to hear an hour ago. Not now. Not with blood on my floor and walls.

  The reality that nothing would ever be the same again broke me.

  I screamed, bucking hard against this much larger man I loved, one who killed someone right in front of me. I was terrified I’d feel the weapon against my body.

  I didn’t want to touch it and I didn’t want it to touch me.

  Damian held me tight but not hard enough to hurt. Just hard enough to make escape impossible. Still I fought, kicking my feet against his shins and rocking my body violently.

  He didn’t try to stop me. He just held on until eventually I slumped in his hold. Limp, sweating, and exhausted, I dimly heard Damian whisper, “My poor Risa. I regret you seeing that bit of ugliness. I would’ve spared you if I could.”

  His lips pressed against the side of my sweaty temple. I shuddered.

  My emotions exploded into the night like fireworks. Brilliantly beautiful sensations careened before getting swallowed up by the darkness of fear.

  Get a grip, Risa. You won’t be able to react otherwise.

  He wouldn’t hurt me. I knew he wouldn’t. Not Damian. Not like that anyways.

  Then again, I never thought he was capable of killing anyone.

  Feebly, I tried to reconcile the pieces between the Damian I once knew, the Damian he became, and the Damian of now.

  But the body on the floor…

  Repetitively, I reminded myself I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. I knew it. Never mind how much he hurt my heart. Damian wasn’t the kind of man who’d turn that violence on me.

  No, but he’d keep you chained to a bed if he wanted to. That’s the man you love. He’s the kind of man who sees following the law as an option. Have you already forgotten?

  Apparently so.

  Damian carried me into the living room, taking care to turn off the lights with his elbow before sitting down on the couch. Held on his lap in the dark, I tensed my muscles to make a last-ditch effort to run.

  “No, Risa,” he ordered gently. “You’re going to stay here where it’s safe.”

  Safe? Are you out of your fucking mind? Here is clearly not safe!

  I couldn’t say the words. Not with his hand still over my mouth. Instead, I spoke with my eyes, narrowing them in outraged disbelief.

  Damian looked down at me. His eyes glowed eerily in the moonlight spilling from the floor to ceiling windows.

  “I understand you’re upset. But I’m going to need you to be quiet for me. No screaming. Can you do that for me, Risa? Can you be quiet for me? We’ll talk but only if you can stay quiet. Understand?”

  That hypnotic tone would always be my undoing. Another firework memory. Against my better judgment, I slowly nodded my head.

  “Good girl.” He removed his hand but kept it up—clearly just in case.

  “What did you do, Damian?”

  He took my horrified question in stride. Completely unruffled and unapologetic.

  “I killed an intruder. I don’t regret it and I’d do it again.”

  He spoke in the same tone he’d use to tell me he killed a bug. The callousness chilled me only for as long as it took to remember. My mind sped back to the fragmented scene.

  The masked man was dressed completely in black.

  He was also in my bedroom.

  He’d been here without permission.

  Why was he in my place? What would’ve happened to me if Damian hadn’t been there?

  Don’t be thick. You know what would’ve happened…oh God.

  He saved me. That was all that mattered now. Not how he went about it, but the fact he’d kept me on this side of life.

  The air went out of me. So did my fear. This was Damian. Not a dangerous stranger. I didn’t know why he came but I was so glad he did.

  Just as gratitude flooded me, I remembered the heavy thumps. They must’ve been fighting. Suddenly sick with worry, I patted his chest and arms, looking for any visible wounds. My hands smoothed over his shoulders and across his jaw. His gaze glowed with humor.

  Chastened, I pulled away only to have Damian put my hands back on his face. “You won’t find any wounds, Risa, but don’t stop. I like
it when you touch me.”

  My fingers stroked his skin, feeling the stubble I didn’t notice before. Love bubbled up, furtive and guilty for its existence.

  “What are you doing with a gun, Damian? Were you able to get his weapon away from him?”

  “No, Risa,” he denied softly. “It’s my gun.”

  My eyes widened. This was bad, worse than I imagined.

  2

  “Jesus Christ! What are you doing with a gun, Damian? You’re rich. You have bodyguards. It’s their job to carry guns. Not yours.” Frustrated that I obviously wasn’t getting through to him, I dropped my hands in my lap and snapped, “You don’t need a gun!”

  “Clearly I do.”

  “You’re not a criminal!”

  As soon as the words came out, I flushed. Again, had I really forgotten the other side of Damian? The one who’d drug me, put me on a plane, and keep me prisoner until I agreed I loved him all along?

  That’s different. Right?

  “Bodyguards and criminals aren’t the only ones with weapons, Risa.” His voice dripped with wry humor. “You’re from Texas. You should know that.”

  I wasn’t able to return his smile. Fear, the very emotion I naïvely believed I wouldn’t have to feel ever again, returned tenfold.

  It settled heavy in my gut.

  Damian was now apparently a bigger criminal than I could’ve imagined.

  But it was justified.

  I tried to swallow but my mouth was too dry. Everything was spinning out of control. I couldn’t fix this. I couldn’t protect him.

  His money, his arrogance, his Damian-ness, kept him insulated from the real world. One where you had to answer to the law even if you were justified in breaking it.

  What was this going to do to his reputation? To Bridgewater National? To Black-Price Holdings and God knew how many other companies?

  A tiny part of me wondered about my callousness towards the dead man in my bedroom. Even now I wasn’t giving consideration to him. Regardless of why he was there, he was a human being. He belonged to somebody.

  Then I remembered why he was in my apartment to begin with. He certainly wouldn’t be thinking about me or Damian in any way other than a line item to cross off. I could reserve a flicker of sympathy for the unknown man but Damian got the lion’s share.

  He mattered more and if that made me a devil then I was going to burn.

  I’d break every law if it meant keeping Damian safe. There was no way I’d allow him to serve time for protecting me.

  Calm down. Think. Think. Think.

  I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight. Panic had me crushed in its merciless grip.

  “Damian, the police are going to come. You might end up going to jail or get taken in for questioning, at the very least. No. No, that can’t happen. You can’t go to jail for this. Not if you were trying to save me. I won’t let that happen! Give me the gun and then—”

  Damian’s hands cupped my face. He brought his closer, tightening his hold when I tried to put space between us.

  “Risa, baby, you’re getting worked up. Breathe for me. There you go. That’s a good girl. In and out. That’s right. Match my breaths.”

  I didn’t realize I was hyperventilating until the spots left my vision and I calmed down enough to stop sucking in shallow breaths. If only I could corral my manic thoughts as quickly.

  Oh my God! What is happening? Damian can’t get in trouble for this! Dammit! Why would that man break into my apartment? If only he’d never shown up then…

  “Stop. Get those thoughts out of your mind.”

  “What thoughts?”

  He cut me a deep frown tempered by a twisted smile. “You overthink things till the point of meltdown. Case in point.”

  “I can’t help it,” I muttered before inhaling deeply.

  “I know you can’t. That’s why I’m here. Just keep breathing, Risa. That’s my good girl. Just like that. In. Out.”

  I obeyed Damian because it was easier to follow his instructions rather than follow the knot of my erratic thoughts.

  What was he looking for? Maybe…maybe it was a mistake…or an accident. No. That’s stupid. Stop. Damian could’ve been hurt. If he’d been a second too slow…no! Stop! Stop thinking about it—

  “Risa, love, focus on me. Don’t think about anything else. Not now…breathe, my love. Just like that. You’re doing so well, Risa. In and out. Yes.”

  Damian’s beautiful hands stroked down my face, cupping my cheeks before spilling down my neck and shoulders. Over and over again. All the while his fey gaze anchored me. Shadowed but for the faintest light, I counted the golden flecks, continuing the repetition in silver.

  Beautiful.

  Damian patiently stayed with me, breathing slowly and rhythmically until, finally, I got my breathing under complete control. As well as some of my thoughts.

  “Was he a thief?” Damian didn’t answer, probably because he didn’t have the faintest clue. “I’d be dead if you didn’t come here first. Isn’t that right?”

  Damian’s mouth tightened into a hard line. He nodded once, begrudging and tiny.

  Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!

  I already knew, but hearing it suddenly made it real. Trembling, I covered my mouth and nose with both my hands. If I hadn’t stopped for comfort food, if the restaurant hadn’t made everything fresh and caused me to wait fifteen minutes, I’d be the one lying on the floor covered in blood.

  There was no doubt about it.

  I lunged off his lap, clearly taking him by surprise. Damian’s hand whipped out and barely caught me by the elbow.

  “Risa, no.”

  “Damian…”

  Whatever he saw in my face convinced him I wasn’t trying to escape out the front door. Without a word, he scooped me up and carried me to the guest bath where I hugged the toilet and violently emptied my stomach.

  Damian stayed with me, holding my hair up and rubbing my back until finally I laid down on the marble tiles.

  We were all going to die. Nothing could stop that. However, nobody wanted to die because some bastard was waiting to put a bullet in her heart or brain.

  When I died I wanted it be in my sleep, old and content because I did everything I came down to do. Not because someone I didn’t even know decided it was time for me die.

  Why me? What could I have done to deserve this?

  Damian got a hand towel and held it under the faucet. Crouching down in front of my prone body, he helped me sit up. He then proceeded to wipe my face down first before wiping my mouth.

  “Where’s your mouthwash?”

  I felt too sick and exhausted to be embarrassed because my mouth tasted like bile and smelled like it too.

  “In my bathroom.”

  My face whitened. It was the en suite bathroom in my bedroom. Damn. Why didn’t I stock some here? He’d have to walk by a corpse for me.

  As if that’s worse than making that man a corpse in the first place. For me.

  “Stay here, little girl. Don’t move. Understand?”

  My dull gaze met his. I nodded and then leaned my head back against the wall. If only I could start this night over again. I’d do it all so differently...

  Like what? Make sure you’re not here at all for the killer and his gun? Or just keep Damian from having to come in and kill for you? It doesn’t work that way and you should know this by now.

  My teeth chattered and I wrapped my arms around myself. Of all the things I could’ve imagined for us, murder wasn’t one of them.

  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  A bitter smile slanted my mouth. How many times had I thought that in the past months? And just how many times had I been proven wrong?

  You keep thinking you can control this, but you really can’t.

  Damian didn’t take long before he came back with the necessary toiletries. He took one look at me and rushed. I didn’t think twice about wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face in his wide chest.
>
  He didn’t give me meaningless words meant to comfort but really meant nothing. With the same exquisite patience he’d already displayed, Damian held me until the awful shivers left.

  “Can you stand?”

  “Yes.”

  I stood up and went to the sink. It didn’t take me long to brush my teeth and use the mouthwash. I felt so much better getting the residue out of my mouth. It made me feel human. Capable.

  Alive.

  Glancing in the mirror, I saw Damian hadn’t removed his gaze from me.

  Even in the midst of all this surreal horror, I couldn’t help but be reminded of old times.

  Damian had the power to devote all his attention to me, making sure he didn’t miss the slightest thing. It was so different to what I’d gotten used to from him.

  Any attention Damian paid me in New York always came with too-high of a cost. I was sure this would be no different. He was kind to me now but it wouldn’t be long before he pushed me away.

  Stiffening my back, I steeled myself for the inevitable. No. I wasn’t going to go back to that with him. I was going to be stronger. I wasn’t going to let him pull the rug out from under me.

  Just because he saved my life didn’t mean he wanted back in my life. I’d do well to remember that.

  “Feel better, Risa?”

  “Yes, I do. Thank you.” Damian turned off the bathroom light and took my hand. “Wait!”

  He paused in the doorway but didn’t turn around. He also didn’t let go of my hand.

  Speaking to his broad back, I said in a shaking voice, “You aren’t supposed to be here, Damian.”

  “Wrong. I have every right to be here.”

  I would’ve felt the thrill in less bloody circumstances. Or if I couldn’t vividly remember his rejection of less than an hour before.

  “But we said everything that needs to be said back at your hotel. Why are you here now?”

  “I came to undo the mess I created. The intruder was an unexpected situation that has changed the dynamics of the situation. That’s all.”

  Situation? That’s what he calls it?

  Damian’s coldblooded nature chilled me. When would it be turned on me next?

  3

  DAMIAN

  Risa’s thoughts were making everything more difficult.

  It didn’t take much effort to recognize the patterns of her distance and discontent. My behavior towards her in New York had been abominable. Couple that with how we ended tonight and then how she witnessed me killing a man—frustration wasn’t a strong enough word for what I felt.