Page 31 of Daman

“Are you all right?” I asked, catching him against my chest. It was the first time I’d ever touched him, and my skin tingled where it met his, like hot meeting cold.

“Yeah.” Daman didn’t move away like I’d assumed he would. Instead, he slumped against me and leaned his head on mine. “You smell like a spruce tree covered in snow.”

Could he feel the heavy beating of my heart?

“Sweet but also woodsy.” Daman turned into me and nuzzled my shirt, hands moving to my waist. “And you’re warm. Something else I didn’t expect.”

Holding him was surreal. I had never been so close to another man before—in such an intimate way—and I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything but stand there frozen. He felt so delicate in my arms.

“You’re warm too,” I managed to say. I caught a whiff of his hair and had to force myself not to bury my face in the brown strands. He smelled intoxicating, like morning dew and earth mixed with the perfumed scent of his shampoo.

Daman looked up at me, and for the first time, I didn’t see the hardness he usually carried with him. I didn’t see a roaring fire in his eyes, but rather, a gentle flame that warmed rather than burned.

“Do you still think I’m beautiful?” he whispered.

My breath hitched in my throat. “I…”

The words wouldn’t come out no matter how much I willed them to. I trembled as I held him.

The hardness returned to his eyes. “Whatever.”

He lightly pushed me away before going up the final step. I kept pace behind him as he walked down the hall toward his room.

Of course he was beautiful. Why hadn’t I been able to say it? I was hopeless when it came to romance.

Reaching his room, Daman opened the door and looked back at me. “See you tomorrow at the altar.”

He walked inside and closed the door. I stood in front of it for several long seconds before finally going to my own bedroom. I struggled to make sense of the evening. Just when I thought we were getting along, everything changed.

I took off my boots and undressed before sliding under the covers. Would Daman be sharing my bed tomorrow night? We’d officially be married, after all. I touched the indentations on my chest and traveled lower to my stomach, tracing each scar. A vast difference from Daman’s soft, smooth skin that I’d caressed as we’d stood at the top of the staircase.

We were both warriors. Did he have scars too? Ones he hid beneath his clothing?

My mind conjured up an image of him, hair sweeping over his eyes and a soft curve to his lips. His tanned skin pressed to mine as he wrapped his arms around me. I could still remember the smell of his hair. Could still feel his breath at the base of my neck as he nuzzled my shirt.

Nerves coiled in my stomach as I thought of the wedding. If he did want to have sex with me, would I make a fool of myself?

Daman was beauty incarnate with sultry eyes, a sharp tongue, and hands that had probably touched countless men in his lifetime.

And me?

I was an inexperienced virgin who’d never even kissed anyone.

Chapter Five

Daman

“Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

I opened my eyes and came face-to-face with Bellamy. “Christ!” I shoved him away and used a pillow to block the glaring white light from outside. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to get your ass out of bed and take a bath. You’re getting married today.”

“As if I could forget.”

Something else I couldn’t forget? Standing so close to Warrin last night as he held me in his arms, our faces inches apart. Even though I’d been pretty shitfaced, I remembered just how handsome he’d looked as the moonlight came in through the window beside the staircase, highlighting the sharpness of his jaw and his strong cheekbones.

Insecurity had flared up, and I’d asked if he thought I was beautiful. When he hadn’t responded, embarrassment and rejection had consumed me, and I hadn’t been able to get away from him fast enough.