Page 20 of Bound to the Guard

And yet, Damien ignites the tiniest spark of something deep in my chest that I thought was extinguished long ago. Trust. Maybe even the beginning of faith.

With a shaking hand, I inch my fingers toward his.

Damien waits, not pushing or pressuring. And when my fingertips brush his palm, he doesn’t latch on, just curls his fingers in the gentlest of cages that I can slip free from with ease.

“Do you want the blanket?” He tugs it farther under the bed. “It’s big enough that you don’t have to come closer.”

If I take the blanket, I have to let go of his hand. Heart pounding, I release him to drag the blanket far enough to wrap around my body, too. Damien’s hand remains where I left it, still waiting, and I slip my fingers back across his palm.

Damien rumbles in approval, and soon, his body heat creeps across the space between us, wrapping me in a cozy cocoon. My mouth cracks with a yawn, the tiredness that stole over me earlier when Damien tucked me into bed earlier returning.

Not wanting to sleep yet, I force my mind to work. Damien left me alone for a reason. “Did you find Jade? Is he safe?”

Sadness softens Damien’s features, and I know before he answers what he’ll say. “No. By the time we arrived, the compound was empty.”

“I’m sorry.” Guilt cuts through me, and I pull my hand back, not deserving his kindness. “If I had gotten here faster, or hadn’t passed out?—”

“No one is blaming you,” he cuts in. “It looked like they moved shop as soon as they found you missing. Jade would have been aware of this possibility.”

Confusion fills me. “Then why help me escape?”

“Because Jade is smart. He’ll have left us a message. Our people are combing the place to find it.” Damien wiggles his fingers toward me, his hand still where I left it. “You did exactly what you were meant to do. You got us to the compound.”

With a shuddering breath, I press our palms together again, Damien’s larger hand engulfing mine. His skin is warm, his calluses rough against my own, and the contact sends a shiver through me.

Fear rises like a tide, and I struggle to push it down. “What if they’ve already…”

The possibility is too horrific to say out loud.

“We didn’t find his body, so they took him with them,” Damien says firmly. “We have our best people on this, Seven. We’ll find him and bring him home.”

“Why…” I lick my dry lips, searching for the right words. “Why aren’t you with them? Out searching for Jade?”

Why is he here instead of leading the search?

To my surprise, a gentle smile curves Damien’s mouth. “Because right now, my place is here. You need me, Seven. And I need to know you’re safe and cared for. The team can handle the search. You’re my priority.”

My breath hitches, a tremble rocking through my body at the way Damien looks at me, like I’m something precious, something worth protecting.

It’s overwhelming, confusing, and exhilarating all at once.

“Can I ask you something, Seven?”

The tone of his voice sets off my alarm bells. But he’s given me so much, and I’ve given him nothing. “What?”

“When you first arrived, I saw the scars on your body.” Damien’s thumb traces over my knuckles in a soothing caress. “Will you tell me what happened to you?”

My muscles tense, the memories threatening to drown me. The cold metal of the examination table. The sting of needles. The burning agony as the Doctor injected experimental substances into my veins.

When I start to pull my hand away, Damien tightens his grip to anchor me in place, though it’s still gentle. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. If you do, though, I’m here to listen.”

Part of me wants to bury those horrors forever, while another part yearns to share the burden. To have someone else understand, even a little.

“My first owner,” I whisper, the words like shards of glass in my throat. “He was a scientist. Or at least, he claimed to be. He… He used me as a test subject. For his experiments.”

Damien sucks in a sharp breath, his grip on my hand tightening. “Experiments?”

Numbness sweeps over me, a familiar sensation from my time there when my mind needed somewhere else to go. “He was obsessed with pheromones. By manipulating them to control behavior. He would… inject me with different compounds. Cut me to take samples. Track my responses.”

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