Complete Me(82)

“Stay put,” he says, then opens his door and gets out. He walks to my side of the car and opens the door for me, then holds out his hand. I take it and let him pull me to my feet.

“I think I destroyed the mood,” I say.

He turns so that we are both facing the valley and the panorama of lights stretched out against a blanket of night. “No,” he says. “Just changed it a little. But how can there be anything but romance when we’re floating above a blanket of stars?”

“Romance, Mr. Stark?” I tease. “Not hot and sweaty sex in the back of a tiny car?”

“Romance,” he says, with such passion that I have to lean against the side of the car to remain upright.

“Damien . . . ” My voice is soft, choked with emotion.

“I know.” Gently, he strokes his fingertips over my cheek. “Close your eyes.”

I do, my lips slightly parted. He touches my hair, strokes my back. And then I feel the butterfly soft brush of his lips at my temple, then the corner of my eye. I grin, not only from the sweetness of it, but because he is touching me so delicately that it almost tickles. And then his lips are upon mine, so achingly tender that tears well in my eyes.

“Hey,” he says when he breaks the kiss and cups my chin. Gently, he runs the edge of his thumb under my eye, wiping away an errant tear. “None of that.” His eyes are so full of love I could get lost in them.




I wrap my arms around him, then sigh when he folds me into him. “I love you,” I say, but my voice is so low that I doubt that he hears me. It doesn’t matter though. Right then, the words aren’t necessary. Right then, all we need is each other.





Chapter Fourteen

As Damien said, my building has essentially been turned into a fortress. The parking area is now gated and monitored full-time by security cameras. I pause at the security box, flash the card that Damien hands me, and watch while the electronic elves slide the massive thing open. The action is smooth, and we’re past the gate in no time.

“It looks nice,” I say, because despite feeling a bit coddled, I do appreciate all he’s doing to protect me. More, I understand that it’s not enough. That he’s going to worry. And the fact that I won the Edward-as-driver argument remains a sore spot with Damien.

“It does,” he says. “But I’m more interested in efficacy than in curb appeal.” He shifts in the car to look back at the gate. “Someone could climb that pretty easily.”

I glance at the gate in the rearview mirror. “Spiderman maybe, but not normal people.”

“That grid pattern could be a ladder.” He types something into his phone. “It’s the typical design for a property gate, but most gates only serve the purpose of keeping non-residents from parking in the spaces. They’re a deterrent. I want more.”

I hear the ping of his phone and realize he’s sent a text.

“Who are you—”

“Ryan. My security chief. I want him on this first thing.”

I roll my eyes, then slide into my parking space. I feel a twinge of regret at the absence of my Honda, but it passes quickly. She’s not gone, after all. Just relocated to the garage beneath Stark Tower until I decide what to do with her.

Since the mailbox is probably overstuffed, we exit the parking area through the pedestrian gate and walk up the sidewalk to the front entrance, with Damien rolling my suitcase and me schlepping my carry-on. When I’d left for Germany, the foyer was a somewhat shabby alcove with the mailboxes off to one side and a staircase on the other. Now, that alcove is protected by a massive—but tasteful—iron gate. More than that, the space has been given a face-lift. New paint, large pots with flowering plants. Even a water feature.