“The code to the main doors.” He pulled the phone back. “Enter that into the keypad first.”
“Then what’s the key for?”
“The second security check. The code unlocks a different set of locks, but you need the key to open the final one. That way, no one can just hack in to my system.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued to drink his coffee.
Now that Damien had been mentioned, I knew it was only a matter of time before Heath mentioned the events that transpired last night. But he leaned back in the chair, showing sleepy eyes and a relaxed position, like that was the last thing on his mind. His fingers were wrapped around the handle of his mug as he stared at my stove.
Maybe he wasn’t going to mention it.
My eyes roamed over his body, the body I’d touched last night. He didn’t seem to have a single scar from whatever had happened, getting out of the situation completely untouched. I just hoped Damien had met the same fate. “I think I’m gonna see him today…check on him.”
His eyes moved back to mine. “I had to hit him a couple times, but he’s fine. Minor injuries.”
“I know, but…”
“And how will you explain your visit?”
I shrugged. “I stop by to see my father all the time. It’s not unusual.”
When I mentioned my father, he looked away.
“And you’re okay?”
He stared at his coffee for a few seconds before he turned back to me, his blue eyes noticeably brighter in the morning as the sunlight came through the windows. “I’m fine, baby.” He held my gaze for a second before he turned back to his coffee and took a drink.
I hated how much I cared about him, how he softened me so quickly. It’d only been a few weeks, and I cared for him as much as I cared about my own family. How did this happen?
“I have to go.” He rose from his seat and carried the dishes to the sink.
I was disappointed, but I was also anxious to see Damien, to see that he was well with my own eyes.
He cleared my plate too but left my coffee behind before he walked into the bedroom and put on his clothes.
I hated watching him leave. It was painful every time for whatever reason.
When he returned, I got out of my chair and met him by the front door, wearing little shorts and my usual tank. I could tell his mood was different after what had happened last night, but I couldn’t determine how, couldn’t figure out how he felt about everything. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want him to ask me in return.
His hand slid into my hair, and he tilted my chin up so our gazes could lock. His large hand overtook my neck and my jawline, warm and demanding, and it was so sexy when he touched me this way, wasn’t afraid to claim me as his. “Come over tonight.”
The pain of his departure was suddenly gone, and now I wasn’t afraid of how he felt about last night. He didn’t push me away. He didn’t put up any walls. He wasn’t afraid of what my gesture meant. “Alright.”
“I should be home around seven. Come by any time after that.”
“Alright.”
He leaned down and gave me a purposeful kiss with those demanding lips, moving my mouth with his, gently pulling my bottom lip between his before he breathed into me. His hand pulled away first, and he opened his eyes to stare at me, as if he loved the look in my eyes when I kissed him.
Then he pulled away.
I let him go, paralyzed by how good that kiss was.
After he opened the door, he gave me a playful smack on the ass then headed down the hallway.
I watched him walk away like I always did, missing him more and more the farther away he was.
Two
Catalina
I joined my father for a late lunch even though I’d just eaten, sitting across from him in the dining room as the sun blanketed the floor from the windows. The warm weather of summer was still here, but it was fading fast, the days not nearly as long as they used to be. “Damien won’t be joining us?”
He shrugged as he continued to eat his salad. “Patricia said he’s busy today.”
“So, he went to work?”
“I don’t think so. He usually has coffee with me before he goes.”
That wasn’t a good sign. “I’ll stop by and say hello before I go.”
He poured more blue cheese dressing on his salad even though he clearly had enough.
“Dad.” I grabbed the dressing bottle and pulled it away. “What’s the point in eating a salad if you’re gonna drown it in dressing?”
“What’s the point in eating a salad at all?” he barked. “Lettuce doesn’t taste like anything.” He didn’t reach for the dressing again, but he wasn’t happy about it. “Patricia is a great cook, but all this healthy shit is overrated. Every time I ask her to make me a burger, she gives me this vegan bullshit—with no cheese. What is that? She always says she’s out of real beef burgers, but I don’t buy that. Damien is running this place like a goddamn prison.”
I had a lot more respect for my brother for taking my father in. He was a sweet man, but when it came to food, he could lose his temper easily. When he lived alone, all he ate were frozen dinners and fast food. His blood pressure was through the roof, and his waistline was growing. He’d put on some weight when he first moved in with Damien. But now that he’d been here for a few months, he’d lost at least twenty pounds. “I think your son has been really generous taking you in. You have everything you need, someone to make your bed every morning and clean up after you, and your son is in the same house if you need
