Page 116 of Taeja

Maybe this was another one of those ‘when you know, you know’ things.

Or maybe it was sleep deprivation.

Damon sighed. He’d face today’s problems tomorrow. Right now, he wanted to be laid beside Taeja with her body pressing against his.

He went inside to his room. He reached for the knob when the door opened from the inside. Damon’s brow raised at Zain before he glanced at Taeja, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed with a pillow clutched to her chest. His focus shifted to Zain. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to give her a pillow,” Zain replied, and Damon’s brows knitted.

“A pillow?”

“She can’t sleep without it.”

“Oh… I didn’t know that. She fell asleep without it earlier.”

“Because you were holding her. I didn’t know if you were coming inside soon, so I just…”

Damon grinned. “You like her more than you realize. Do you know that?”

“No, I realize… And you do, too.”

“I think I love her.”

Zain’s brows raised to his hairline. “Love?” he asked loudly, making Damon glare at him. Zain stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. He lowered his voice. “Love? How do you know that you love her?”

“I just… do,” Damon said. “I mean, look at her. She’s gorgeous, sexy, and she’s smart. She’s making us get along better than we did for a long while, and she trusts us. I probably need some rest because I’m not thinking too clearly, but I know that I more than like her.”

Zain stared at Damon for a moment. Nothing but silence filled the space between them. Finally, he straightened his shoulder and walked away. Down thehall, around the corner… disappearing somewhere else inside the house.

Shaking off Zain’s odd response, Damon opened the door and entered the room. He took off his shorts, then crawled into bed behind her. Gently, he removed the pillow from her hand, his heart quickening as Taeja’s delicate fingers wrapped around his forearm.

A smile worked its way onto his face. Her body heat seeped past his skin, filling his insides with warmth.

Laying his head on the pillow, he watched as her shoulders lightly raised and fell. He felt peace. The type of peace he had long ago, but it also felt so different now.

It was new, refreshing, exciting. As exciting as seeing her waltz in the club that night. Hearing her moans, and her laughs. Merely being in her presence.

Damon sighed, feeling content. “I love you,” he whispered, scared she’d hear it, but also hoping she would.

Because if she heard and said those three words back to him, he wouldn’t feel silly for falling for her so soon.

“Drink it,” Zain insisted.

Taeja sighed. “Mi cya eat until twelve o’clock, Zain.”

“Stomachs have opening hours?”

“Mine does,” Taeja retorted while looking at the cup of steaming hot tea in distaste. “Plus, mi nuh like drink tea bag.”

“What do you like?”

“Fever grass.”

Zain’s eyes narrowed on her before he grabbed the cup and emptied it into the sink. He washed it quickly, then began walking toward the exit. “Later, Taeja.”

“Come kiss me bye…”

Zain turned around and walked toward her. He pressed a long kiss on her forehead and cheeks. “Happy?”

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