HOPE(43)
“That first man you killed was an accident?” she asked, shocked.
Damon started laughing. “It was more than an accident. It was pure desperation. I didn’t want to die, and I reacted. That was all I did. I reacted and hoped to God I’d survive.”
“What did Don say?”
“He warned about what was going to happen. He said everyone would try to have a piece of me. I didn’t have much choice. Men I never met would challenge me in the street. I lost count of the number of men I killed. I never wanted to be a killer,” he said. He reached out to stroke her cheek. She accepted his warmth. Penny had missed him last night.
“Don’t cry for me,” he said.
“I’m not crying for you. You’re not that man. You were never that man.”
“I killed people with my hands.”
“And you’ve given me pleasure with those same hands. You protected me with these hands. I shouldn’t have judged you, Damon. I’m so sorry.”
He pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head.
She wanted to scream at Don and every man who had made him kill. Damon was not a killer. She saw that now.
“Thank you,” he said.
Penny smiled, resting her head on his chest. She listened to his heart beating inside his chest.
“My pleasure.” She kissed his chest and allowed all of her worries and fears to disappear.
Chapter Sixteen
“I see there is still love in paradise,” Pearce said several days later.
Damon punched him on the arm watching Penny’s ass sway this way and that. She’d been different around him since he’d told her the truth about his past. The only other people who knew the truth were Don and Pearce. Pearce had been present when he’d gotten drunk after the incident and admitted the truth.
“We’re getting by.”
“Do you think she’s the girl to settle down with?” Pearce asked.
He stared at his woman’s retreating figure. The attraction between them was getting harder and harder to ignore.
“If the world wasn’t intent on destroying itself, she’d be the one.”
“Damon, you deserve happiness. We all in our own way deserve happiness. This world is not going to change overnight. Grab what piece of happiness is dangling in front of you and never let go. Penny is in love with you.”
He stared at his friend. “What?”
“A fool could see it. She’s in love with you, man. Totally, blindly in love with you. I bet she’s named your children.”
Damon started laughing. The sun was high in the sky. George was teaching Edward how best to sow certain seeds in the ground. John and One were digging up potatoes. None of them had tried to run for it. He’d even seen One smile the other day. The men clearly wanted to work. It was a sign to Damon that they could get the world prepared once again. They just needed to work hard.
“She’s a virgin, Pearce.”
“So, are you telling me you’re not into virgins? See beyond that extra piece of skin. It’s Penny for crying out loud. Do you want her?”
He didn’t answer. Damon handed his friend the rake and ran in the direction she had walked. He found her in the shed kicking some planks of wood. Her hands were raised and her body in a stance ready to fight.
Damon leaned against the door watching. She landed her fist in the piece of wood that was resting against the wall. Penny cried out grabbing her hand.
“Punching a plank of wood is not like punching a face,” he said. She whirled round letting out a startled yelp.
“Damon, you shouldn’t fuc—erm, scare people like that.”
“Come on, Penny. Say fucking for me.”
She shook her head.
“Say, ‘Damon, you shouldn’t fucking scare me like that’.”
Her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment. “Is there a reason you’re not working?” she asked with her hands on her hips. The action thrust her chest out, highlighting her magnificent breasts.
“Should you be beating on a plank of wood? What were you doing?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “If you really want to know, I was trying to teach myself how to fight.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to rely on you all the time.”
“Oh,” he said. The happiness inside him died a little at her words.
“No, not because I don’t want you around me, but so you can leave me without worrying about me. I know you’re always worrying about me. I can’t protect myself.”
“And you think punching a plank of wood is going to help?” he asked.
“It is better than not being prepared at all.”
He rubbed the back of his neck working out the kinks. “Then I’ll train you.” Damon held his hands up for her to punch.