Page 6 of Damaged Prince
“Really?” She lets out a sigh of relief. “You mean that?”
My brows furrow. “Winter, something is telling me there’s something deeper to this that I don’t know about.”
Her face goes grim. “Laney... I can’t—I want to, but—”
“It’s not your story to tell?”
“Yeah.” She blows out a breath.
My damn stomach tangles in knots. “Is it bad?” I ask, but I know I don’t want to know the answer. She bites her lips together, telling me all I need to know. Closing my eyes, I take a deep, shuddering breath because I just know that whatever Elijah isn’t telling me is big. I have this bone-deep feeling it’s something that is going to kill me.
Whatever it is, I’ll accept him. I’ll be there by his side. I’m not going anywhere. These boys have wormed their way into my heart and made themselves a part of my soul.
Their happiness is my happiness. Their pain is my pain.
I just wished that the world would give my guys a break. Because the more I get to know them, the more I realize that there’s something bigger to each of their stories.
And that alone terrifies me.
Chapter 2
Elijah
I’m shaking, my body trembles as the mask I had in place starts to slip away, while my eyes follow Laney, watching her leave.
It’s not until she’s no longer in my sight that I finally allow myself to take a breath.
Leaning back against the nearest wall, I close my eyes and let out a pained groan. “Fuck.” My unsteady hand moves to my rapidly beating heart. I take a few deep breaths, praying it helps calm me.
How is this happening right now? Of all the ways this night could have gone, this is not how I thought my night was going to go.
She knows.
After months of sneaking in and out of the house, trying not to draw any attention to where I spend my nights, now she knows where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing.
It’s not that I’m ashamed of my job. I’m not. I love what I do.
There's so much more to it than just the sexual aspect to it.
But she wants to know why I’m working here, why I’ve kept this from her. The thing is, I’m not ready to tell her. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready to talk about the events of my past aloud. Saying the words... it makes it more real. And I’ve spent years trying to bury things down, to forget about it. At least, I’ve tried. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
But if we’re going to try to make this work, to have any sort of relationship, I know I have to tell her. I just don’t know how. I don’t want her to see me differently, to see me as a broken man.
I’m so worked up and worried about what she might think and how she’s going to react, but I need to remember this isDelaney we’re talking about. I’ve seen how amazing she is with all the bullshit revolving around Logan and Benny. She has been nothing but a godsend throughout everything and deserves more credit than I’m giving her.
My situation is different from my brother’s. I don’t have some crazy baby mama lurking in the shadows. Mine are demons of my past.
Delaney has already done so much to help me heal without even knowing, and I’m afraid if I tell her my past, it’s going to change the way she sees me.
Laney is the thing that pulled me back from the darkness that’s been slowly eating at me for years. If I lose her, I know I’ll find myself right back in that same hopeless place. And this time, I won’t have anyone to keep it from dragging me under for good.
“Hey, man, you good?” Striker, one of the dancers, asks me, making me jolt in surprise.
My eyes snap open and over to him as I push myself off the wall. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I give him a fake smile, running my hand through my sweaty hair.
“You look a little shaken.” His eyes flick over towards the exit. “Did that girl give you any trouble?”
“No,” I huff out a laugh. “She’s a friend. She’s harmless.”
