But his eyes were closed.
He was breathing heavily and the light glistened in the perspiration on his back. The pillow had fallen from the bed when he erupted from it, and he suddenly fell on it as if he meant to crush it flat. He gripped it with his hands, twisting it with terrifying force.
Like he was wringing someone’s neck. He was shredding it, savage in his efficiency.
Haley took a step backward. Would he injure himself? She couldn’t bear it if he did, and she couldn’t stand to see him suffer so.
“Damon,” she said softly.
His head jerked up immediately.
She said his name again, a little louder.
His eyes flew open and he looked at her as if astonished to find her there. He scanned the room and rose to his feet with athletic grace, then seized his underwear and jeans. He dressed with such relentless speed that Haley’s dread rose. He was walking toward her as he hauled on a clean shirt, but he didn’t stop. He just touched her elbow and led her toward the stairs, marching her toward the foyer. His lips were set in a grim line and he didn’t meet her gaze.
“What’s going on?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.
“You’re going home. I’m taking you there.”
“Don’t I get a vote in this?”
“No.” She saw the furious flash of his eyes before he bent to tug on his boots. He grabbed his jacket and put it on, then glared at her, probably because she hadn’t moved.
Haley folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to go home.”
“I’ll walk you wherever you want to go.”
“What if I want to stay here?”
“You’re out of luck.”
Haley shook her head. “Because you have nightmares, I can’t stay here?”
“That’s pretty much it, yes.”
“That’s stupid and you know it.”
“Stupid!”
Haley took a step back as Damon lost his temper for the first time in her experience.
“Stupid!” he repeated, then flung out a hand. “Did you see what I did up there? What’s stupid is any suggestion that you stay!”
“I don’t agree. I think you need company.”
“No!” Damon ground out the words. “That’s the last thing I need right now.”
Haley felt her own eyes narrow. “You’re trying to protect me from yourself again.”
“Yes, I am, and with good cause. If you’d been asleep, I could have killed you. There would have been nothing you could do about it, and I wouldn’t have even known what I was doing until it was over.” He swallowed, his throat working in agitation. “Until it was too late.”
“You don’t know that for sure. You might have chosen the pillow...”
“I don’t know for sure! That’s the fucking point, Haley! It isn’t worth taking that kind of a chance.” Damon reached for the deadbolt, unlocked it, then opened the door. He met her gaze again. “We’ve reached the end of that good bit,” he said. “You need to go.”
Haley could have argued with him. She could have seduced him. But if he thought this was the end of the good bit, then it must be.
She pulled on her boots and grabbed her bag.
She wasn’t going to cry, much less beg. “It was really good. Thanks.” She held Damon’s gaze as she fastened her coat, then walked past him and out the door. She didn’t look back. She didn’t stare at the sidewalk. She kept her head high.
Did he watch her? Haley told herself she couldn’t have cared less.
Did he follow her? Haley told herself that she didn’t want him to.
Did he call out after her? Haley closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t and fearing he would.
Because there was something about Damon that drew her back over and over again, something that made him impossible to ignore or resist, something—she was starting to wonder—that really might break her heart.
It was hurting pretty badly already.
Walking away now was the smart choice.
He didn’t call her name or follow her. At the end of the block, Haley saw a cab and hailed it, never looking back. She folded her arms across her chest and fought her tears as she sat in the back.
She’d squeezed every moment out of the good bit and told herself to be glad.
But Haley, despite her best efforts, wasn’t glad at all.
Haley had just opened a can of tuna when her phone rang. It was her mom. She gave half the tuna to the cat, then answered. “Hi Mom.”
“Hello, honey. Are you busy?”
“Not particularly.”
“You sound blue.”
“Maybe a little.”
“That time of year is coming up. I’ve been thinking about your dad’s birthday, too.” Her mom sighed. “Every year I think it should get easier but it never does.”
“No,” Haley admitted around the lump in her throat. “It never does.” She watched the cat eat and decided it was easier to let her mom think the approaching birthday was the reason she was down in the dumps. She wondered how she could call him Ninja and not think about Damon eighty-seven million times a day.
Maybe she would anyway.
She was going to miss him, and not just because she liked the way he said thanks.
“But I have something to tell you!” her mom enthused.
“You’re pregnant,” Haley guessed, an old joke between the two of them.
“No!” Her mom laughed, then sobered. “Are you?”
“No.” Haley thought about not using condoms every single time.
Probably not.
She counted on her fingers and didn’t think so.
“Because there are lots of reasons to be feeling glum besides your dad’s birthday.”
Haley winced. Her mom was too perceptive. “It’s winter. With less sunshine and more people grumpy about the weather, it’s easy to feel less than happy all the time.”
“True enough.” Her mom’s tone became crisp. “So, here’s the thing. They posted the details about that new position and I wanted to make sure you knew about it.”
“Mom, you know I’m not going to leave New York.”
“Why not? You always said you’d move wherever you found the best opportunity and this is a great one.” Her mom cleared her throat. “If your career is first, then you can’t overlook this chance.”
“True.” The cat finished his meal, cleaned his dish and sniffed at the can of tuna. He sat down and curled his tail around himself, then gave her an expectant look. Haley propped the phone against her shoulder and put the rest of the tuna in his bowl. The tip of his tail flicked as she did it, and it seemed that his eye glowed with satisfaction.
Apparently, big dark brooding males could convince her to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
“This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss,” her mom continued. Haley wasn’t really listening. She was watching the cat. How long had it been since someone pampered him? His coat was beautifully black but it didn’t have as much of a sheen as she thought it should. She’d felt his ribs the one time he’d let her pat him, too.
Well, she was going to take care of him now.