Page 76 of Aine

He showers in under five minutes, and I listen to the quiet sounds of him shuffling as I try to fall asleep. He’s still damp when he finally comes strolling out of the bathroom, and I watch as he walks to the room’s lamp and shuts it off.

Unable to rely on my eyesight to keep tabs on him, I roll onto my stomach and try to follow him with my ears. Despite not being able to see anything, I hear him moving around by my head as he messes with his bag.

It’s not until I feel my own bed dip that I realize something is amiss.

My arms flail as I attempt to roll over, but Damien places his palms on my back and presses me into the mattress so I can’t move.

“Calm down, Aine. I’m going to relieve some of the pressure on your back. I could feel your pain while I was showering,” he explains, softening his grip as he plops himself on my butt.

An involuntary groan slips from my throat in response to his weight, the sound causing him to snort and lift slightly. I suck in a shaky breath as he brings his hands to my lower back and digs his thumbs into the muscle.

He stays over the top of my shirt, and I relax as I realize what he’s doing actually feels good. Damien says nothing and continues to massage my muscles until I’m a soft heap below him. My lower back does ache, and I sink into my mattress as he lifts my shirt a few inches so he can lay his palms flat against my bare skin.

“My dad used to do this for my mom when I was a child,” Damien whispers, digging his thumbs into the tail end of my spine. “It always made her feel better.”

I hum, not wanting him to sense how interested I am in hearing about his family. Neither Damien nor Alex have ever mentioned their parents before, and I’m a bit surprised he’s bringing it up. Given Damien’s bad attitude, I assumed they were cruel and unloving people, but his statement makes me think otherwise.

The bedsheets shift as Damien readjusts himself and lifts my shirt higher up my back. I remain relaxed.

My mind races as I try to make sense of his actions, unsure how I feel about Damien’s new attitude toward me. One minute I look at him and see the man who forcibly marked me, and other times, I see the man who let me drug him simply so I could have a good night’s rest.

“What happened to your parents?” I whisper, hoping he’s in a talkative mood.

There’s silence as Damien tucks his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and pulls them down so he has better access to my lower spine.

“They’re dead. My sister Jess fell into a river when she was a toddler. My mom jumped in to get her out, but the current was strong and killed them both. My dad died shortly after I was titled Alpha.” Damien clears his throat before continuing. “It’s not uncommon for a beast to die after their mate passes.”

My heart aches for him, and I move to sit up before being pushed back down. I huff but allow him to keep me flat against the bed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say. That must’ve been so hard. “How old were you?”

“My mom and Jess died when I was ten, and I became Alpha at sixteen. Children normally wait until they’re in their twenties to take over, but my dad was struggling without my mom, so I agreed to step in earlier,” he says. “He died a few months later.”

He moves his massaging to the center of my back. My eyelids flutter shut as I allow myself to enjoy the sensations. Nobody’s ever done this for me before, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of it.

I sure could get used to this.

There’s a slight shifting before Damien presses a light kiss to my cheek. His affection is unusual, and I turn to look at him. It’s hard to make out his face in the dark, but we both know I’m able to see as he leans in again and presses his lips to mine.

I know I shouldn’t, but I crane my neck so more of our mouths touch. Damien keeps the kiss short before sitting back up and returning to his massage.

“Go to sleep, Aine. I’ll continue relieving the pressure on your back.”

Chapter Eighteen

DAMIEN

Owen stares angrilyas I approach, his fingers tapping impatiently against the table.

“You lied to me,” he snaps.

I raise an eyebrow, surprised by his lousy attitude. He seemed pretty happy last night when he invited Freya to stay in his room. I sigh as I sit, glancing around the small restaurant. It smells good. I’ll bring Aine here for food before going to the park.

“What’d she do?” I ask.

When we set this meeting up last night, I assumed the topic of conversation would be much cheerier. I should’ve figured Freya’s self-sabotage would ruin this, but I wanted to remain optimistic.

Owen snorts. “Whatdidn’tshe do? You promised me a respectable young woman with good virtues. This one dropped to her knees before I’d even closed the door to my room.”

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