“That’s good to know,” he growled and she knew he wasn’t pleased.
But Haley wasn’t going to let him change the subject. “If they knew she was your mom and that she was in the oncology ward, no one would accuse you of not pulling your weight.”
Damon gave her a cool look. “It’s not their problem. They don’t know and they aren’t going to.”
“I thought they were your friends.”
“More or less.”
“And your partners.”
He nodded.
“Am I right in guessing that they’re the sum of your emotional support network, other than your mom?”
“I don’t have an emotional support network because I don’t need one,” he snapped.
“Everyone needs one,” Haley snapped back. “Especially when the person closest to them in the whole world is going to die.”
Then she caught her breath that she’d been so tactless as to say the truth out loud.
Damon didn’t say anything.
She wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Haley stole a glance at him, surprised to find that he didn’t look angry at all.
He looked defeated.
Her frustration with him dissolved. Would she have done as well under a similar strain? Haley doubted it. His expression was proof positive that he needed a friend.
But when he raised his gaze to hers, he was composed and impassive again. He cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose you’d let me say thanks for giving my mom a massage tonight.”
Haley swallowed. “I thought you couldn’t do it anymore.”
“I think I might manage tonight.”
Just sex. Haley must have been tired because in that moment, she wanted a lot more from Damon Perez.
Then she recalled his stance in the elevator just a moment before. He was alone. He was hurting. He needed her energy.
Although he was trying to hide it. There was something about the combination of strength and vulnerability that made her want to take him home and love him all night long.
Haley knew she should walk away, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be with Damon, even if it was the last time.
Especially if it was the last time.
He stood and waited in silence for her decision, and she wondered why he wasn’t trying to overwhelm her with his touch. If he kissed her, or even just slid that finger over her mouth again, she’d pretty much be a goner. He could get his way easily, but he wasn’t even trying.
“You’re not exactly using all your skills to make a persuasive argument.”
Damon’s smile was fleeting but potent. “Because I know that touch can tip the balance. I’m trying to be fair.”
Haley shook her head that he understood his power over her so well, and hefted her bag a little higher. “Good old reliable Haley Slater,” she murmured. It didn’t sound like such a good credential in the moment. She headed for the line of cabs, not caring that she didn’t know the first driver at all.
“Haley,” Damon said from behind her. “Please.” His voice caught on the single word and she glanced back, only to see desolation in his eyes for the merest heartbeat. Then his armor was back in place and he was just a stunningly attractive man standing alone, watching her with a guarded expression. “I need you tonight,” he admitted so softly that she almost didn’t hear the words.
It turned out he didn’t need to touch her to be irresistible.
“I need you, too,” she murmured, then offered her hand to him.
Damon had no intention of letting Haley regret her choice.
He didn’t want to be alone.
He didn’t want to go home alone.
He felt a desperation that didn’t bode well for the next few hours. He knew what would happen if he went to sleep alone, and he didn’t want to have the nightmare again—or at least, he wanted to delay it as long as possible.
He hadn’t felt alive until he’d argued with her in the elevator, and then he’d known that it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as he’d hoped to let her slip out of his life. Even pushing her away challenged his every instinct. When she chewed him out, fearless and articulate, he wanted to make love to her until she roared with pleasure.
It was past four. The sun would be rising soon. If he was making love to Haley, maybe he could elude the monster for one more night.
Maybe he could forget his powerlessness by giving her pleasure.
He wanted to feel strong and commanding, in charge of all the variables—instead of subject to their whims.
He claimed her hand in the cab and held it tightly. Her fingers were cold but she seemed a bit surprised by his touch. “Did you go to the club for the class?” he asked.
“Wednesday,” she admitted.
“Was it a good class?”
“Yes. I learned about meridians.” She turned to study him when he nodded. “I thought maybe you taught the class.”
“No. We hire experts whenever we can. I mostly do personal appointments. I step in when necessary. And I do a lot of weight-lifting programs and coaching.”
“Is that your area of expertise?”
“Kind of.” Damon knew the cab driver was listening and also understood that Haley needed him to surrender more personal information to her. “I specialized in personal weight training before I joined F5F. I met Kyle at a gym where I used to coach.”
“Did you compete? Is that why you coach?”
He shook his head. “No, I needed a job, and training was something I understood. I had to prove myself at that gym, but that didn’t worry me. Training is all about persistence and consistency, keeping your stance, pushing a little bit harder every time. You have to make a commitment to succeed and there are no overnight successes.”
“Why’d you understand training so well?”
“I always lifted weights.”
Haley nodded. “Oh. I thought maybe you’d learned that in the service.”
Damon turned to stare at her, but she had leaned forward to direct the driver to her building. He pulled out his wallet, but she’d already paid the fare and gotten out of the cab. The driver was watching him in the mirror, so Damon got out, wondering what she had planned.
Was she changing her mind?
And how had she known that he’d served?
The cab pulled away and he strode to the curb, fighting the sense that she’d snuck through one of his checkpoints. “Changing your mind?” he asked gruffly.
“No, but I thought you might be.” She smiled up at him. “I think I found a secret.”
“It’s not a secret.” He felt defensive, though, and exposed. Surprised.
“Just one of those things you don’t tell anybody. Do your partners know you served?”
“I don’t know. I never told them I did.”
“Why not? Aren’t you proud of it?”
Proud didn’t begin to describe how Damon felt of his years of active service. He gave her a hostile look. “It’s over and it has nothing to do with F5F.”
“But it has a lot to do with you, and why you are the way you are,” she said. She unlocked the security door. “And really, if you want it to be that big of a secret, you should slouch.”