Page 40 of Wine & Warlocks

She lifted her chin. “You know why I feared you.”

“Yes. You believed another over me, the man you professed to love. But I gave you no reason back then, nor now, to fear me, Viv. Remember that, won’t you?”

“Your very existence is reason to fear you, Damian. The choices you’ve had to make, the people you’ve had to eliminate,” she argued.

After all these years, her words shouldn’t have the power to cut so deeply, and yet they did. “So in your eyes, I’m still a monster?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” he said dully. His gaze dropped to Nate, nursing at her breast. “We’ve done two things right. I suppose that has to be enough. Good night.”

Not waiting to hear any more of her excuses or reasons why she couldn’t love him, Damian strode from the room and headed straight for his study. Once there, he poured himself a tall drink and took a hearty sip. The burn of the alcohol was in no way satisfying, so he guzzled the rest and prayed something would numb his mind and heart.

He slammed the tumbler on the sideboard table and reached for the crystal decanter that held his favorite scotch. Twisting the stopper from the bottle, he experienced a wave of concern not his own, and he carefully set the bottle down before recapping it.

“Hello, Beastie.”

“Hello, Papa.”

Hiding something behind her, she inched into the room.

He had to forcefully hide his amusement at her stealthy side shuffle. “What do you have there, my love?”

“Don’t be mad, okay?”

“I can’t promise anything. Why don’t you tell me what I shouldn’t be angry about, and we can go from there?”

“Willie ate your slipper.”

“Willie? Oh, Hellhound number one. Right.” Pursing his lips to avoid laughing, he nodded sagely. “And how did Wee Wicked Willie get my slipper, Beastie?”

“She’s really a good dog, Papa.” Sabrina infused earnestness into her voice. “She just likes your stuff so much, and she can’t help herself.”

“Mine? Why not yours or your mother’s?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s a first,” he replied dryly. “The Aether’s Oracle daughter, who knows literally everything, doesn’t know how her wretched puppy keeps getting into her father’s closet. I’m stunned.”

Eyes wide, Sabrina shrugged. “It’s a mystery.”

Giving into laughter, he knelt and hugged her. “Here’s something you may not know. You, my darling girl, have been the greatest gift a father could hope for. There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t thank my lucky stars you decided to be born to us.”

Beaming, she sandwiched his face with her palms. “Really, Papa?”

“Really.”

“And you’re not mad that Wee Wicked Willie ate your slippers?”

“Slippers? I thought it was one.”

“It might have been two.”

“Ah.” He grinned. “I’m not mad, but how about you keep the hellhounds out of my wardrobe from here on out?”

“I can’t make any promises.” She frowned down at the mutilated slipper. “Theydolike to do naughty things.”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

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