Damen (The Marquette Family Book Two) (8 page)

He nodded in silence, and she went off to her bedroom. After shutting the bedroom door and locking it, something she wasn’t used to, she stripped and stepped into a hot shower. Her heart hurt, her pride was bruised, and depression hung heavy. Damen had said at the start of their second affair she could disappear if she wanted to. Something told her, for him, Gideon changed things. The question was, in what way?

When Heaven was dressed, she walked out to the living room and didn’t find Damen. She thought he had left until she heard a sound in Gideon’s room. Damen stood in the middle of the disaster area that was her son’s room, unpacked but clothes and other junk everywhere. The only items with any kind of order were his CDs. No one except Gideon ever bought them, and he had a vast collection, not to mention all the songs she knew were on the laptop she had bought him.

Damen stooped and ran a finger along one stack of CDs. “He’s got some interesting music here. I can’t believe he’s so young and likes some of this stuff.”

“From birth, Gideon seemed obsessed with sound.”

Damen glanced at her, and a pang of guilt hit her again. He turned away. “I’ve been teaching him a little on the guitar.”

She gasped. “You’re kidding? He never wanted to play an instrument. My dad thought I should force him, said it would give him some discipline, but I wanted Gideon to go wherever his heart leads him.”

“The heart doesn’t always know the best course.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to say my dad was right?”

“No, I wouldn’t force Gideon to do what he hated either.”

“Well I need to go. He’ll be wondering where I am.”

“We
need to go.”

“Damen, you’re being stubborn about this. I think we both need time to think…”

“You’ve had eleven years.”

“If you’re mad at me, say so.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Of course I’m pissed, Heaven. You didn’t give me the chance to know my son.”

She spun on her heel and marched out of the room. He followed. Heaven grabbed her purse and keys and started for the door. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me disappearing. I’m not going to run away. The whole reason I came here was so Gideon could get to know you, not to get your money!”

“I didn’t believe that.”

She stopped and turned back to him. “Wait, what?”

He stepped closer. Her nerve endings jangled with electricity off of him, but he didn’t touch her. “You made the wrong choice not to tell me about Gideon, but I don’t believe you’re after my money.”

Damen might not think she had ulterior motives, but anger continued to punctuate his words. He hadn’t admitted what he would do about Gideon from here on out. Maybe he was still trying to figure that part out.

They left the apartment and climbed into the waiting car. When they arrived at the rec center, once again, Damen insisted on joining her. The woman behind the reception desk walked them through the procedure for visitor’s passes even though she recognized Heaven. The diligence eased Heaven’s mind a little when she thought of Leon showing up.

As soon as Heaven and Damen strode into the room where Gideon was having his martial arts lesson, she knew Damen had been speaking the truth about Gideon visiting. Her son’s eyes widened, and he ran straight for them, ignoring the command from his instructor.

“You’re here together,” Gideon shouted for the whole world to hear. Then Gideon focused on her. She’d never seen a look of such desperation in her son’s expression. “Mom, does he know?”

She hesitated. Damen hadn’t said a word. He stared at Gideon just as stunned. She wished they’d both snap out of it.

“Maaaa!”

“Yes, Gideon. Shut that noise up.” She mouthed sorry to the instructor.

Gideon grabbed Damen’s hand. “Dad, come and look at what I can do. Check it out.”

If anything, Damen’s gaze lost even more focus when Gideon called him dad. He followed Gideon across the room and stood near him while Gideon went through a series of moves his instructor called out to the class. Heaven watched the two of them, father and son, and she found herself getting choked up again. She ached to know what Damen thought at that moment.

Then she saw it, Damen glowing with pride and nodding. He called encouragement to Gideon, and her scrawny little pipsqueak stood a few inches bigger. Damen hated violence. She knew that from talking to him years ago, when he confessed to her how Creed had been punched so many times by their dad. His older brother took the pain so Damen and Stefan wouldn’t have to.

In spite of Damen’s personal feelings in that arena, he seemed to support Gideon in his choice. Yet, she knew from Gideon’s lecturing her after each class martial arts wasn’t about fighting.

Class ended, and Damen and Heaven followed the chatterbox to the car. Heaven shook her head. “He’s not usually this talkative.”

Damen smiled. “I know.”

She looked at him. They climbed into the car, and Gideon bounced forward in the seat. “Hey, Guy.”

“Hey, little buddy.”

Heaven blinked in surprise when the bodyguard and her son gave each other high fives.

“Can’t catch me,” Gideon joked.

The bodyguard smirked. “I
thought
you were escaping me on purpose.”

“Yup,” Gideon laughed. “I saw you at my dad’s restaurant, but at first I didn’t know you were his bodyguard. I couldn’t let anyone get near my mom. Then I kept doing it because it was fun.”

“Scamp,” the big man grumbled, but his gaze held amusement. Heaven’s fear of him eased a little.

Damen hugged Gideon. “Good job taking care of your mom.”

Gideon looked at him seriously. “That was my job until you came. Dad, are you going to take care of her now? She needs you.”

“Gideon! Boy, shut your mouth.” She frowned at him, but neither he nor Damen seemed to pay her any mind. Father and son looked back and forth at each other, unwavering.

Damen nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do, son.”

Chapter Eight

Heaven sat across from Damen, stirring the food about on her plate. Eating was the last thing on her mind right now, but that didn’t appear to be the case with Damen and Gideon. Her son shoved food between his lips only a fraction slower than Damen. She rolled her eyes at the two of them.

Gideon leaned toward his dad, and Damen met him halfway. “This food is good but not like Marquette’s.”

Damen agreed.

“I know you didn’t beg for food like I don’t feed you, Gideon?” She glared at him.

“I had my allowance.”

“You don’t get that much allowance.”

He ducked his head.

“If I give him dinner, how is that different from you giving it to him?” Damen said.

Heaven snapped her teeth together. Gideon looked from her to his dad and back again. “Are you fighting?”

“No, of course not.” Heaven knew how much it upset Gideon to hear arguing. She looked at Damen and willed him in silence to back her up. He was mad, but he could hide it for now.
Please,
she begged with her eyes.

“We’re not fighting, Gideon.” Damen squeezed his shoulder. “How about that spinach? Good, huh?”

Gideon eyed his dad as if he had lost his mind. Heaven laughed. “You’re not fooling him with that one.”

“What if I reminded him about Popeye?”

Gideon took a long sip of his soda. “Who’s Popeye?”

“Never mind.”

Heaven shook her head. “There are ways I get him to eat veggies. Sometimes it’s hit and miss. Some offhand comment like ‘good, huh’ will never get it done.”

Damen took his defeat with humor. “Okay, something to learn. I’m surprised you didn’t threaten him with ‘you can’t leave the table until those veggies are gone.’”

“Oh, just because I’m black, I’m a tyrant?”

Damen’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t mean—”

Both Heaven and Gideon cracked up at that one, and Gideon ribbed his dad. “She was just kidding. Don’t fall for it.”

“How did you know? She sounded serious.” Damen looked confused.

“Because Mom has a friend in New York who uses that on her all the time.”

“On your mom? But…”

Heaven grinned and waved her hand. “It’s just a stupid inside joke, Damen. Don’t worry about it. Basically, she claims I say something or do something because she’s black. Yeah, I know. We’re both black, but it’s funny because of that. Don’t you see? It’s… forget it. If I have to explain, it’s not funny anymore.”

The man looked confused but she had broken the ice between them. He loosened up more, and a lot of her tension ebbed away. They chatted almost like old friends.

“Mom, do you know about my sister?” Gideon asked out of the blue.

And there goes the peace.

“Yes, Gideon. Anita. She’s your half-sister.”

“She’s his sister,” Damen corrected. “We don’t need to add halves and wholes to it.”

“That’s a good policy.” She wanted so bad to blurt out if that meant he fully accepted Gideon, but she didn’t want to have the conversation in front of Gideon.

“You haven’t seen her much at Marquette’s since you’ve been there, Heaven.”

She waved her hands and widened her eyes. Damen fell silent.

“When were you at Marquette’s, Mom?”

She pursed her lips. “When I had business there and you didn’t.”

That shut him up because he knew better than to sneak off without telling her. He could have gotten hurt or snatched, and she would never have known. Just thinking about it scared the hell out of her, and it must have shown on her face because Damen reached across the table to take her hand.

“It’s fine now. Gideon won’t be sneaking off anymore, will you?”

Her son’s face fell, and he looked at Damen. “I can come by the restaurant as much as I want, can’t I, Dad?”

Heaven wondered how many times the boy needed to say dad in one evening. She didn’t blame him, and the spark of jealousy knowing she would share her baby from now on was just that—a spark.

“You can come with your mom’s permission, and with an escort,” Damen said.

“An escort? You mean somebody taking me like a little baby?” Gideon couldn’t sound more outraged. “It’s only ten blocks, and if I come right after school, it’s still daylight out.”

Damen stroked his hair. “Do you know who I am, Gideon?”

“Damen Marquette.”

Damen laughed. “Yes, but I mean other than my name.”

“You own a restaurant with good food with my uncles.” Gideon’s eyes glittered.

“Yes, I do, but there’re other facts about your dad you don’t know. I’m not going to go into detail right now, but it will soon be public knowledge that you’re my son. Unfortunately, that changes the equation a little.”

“What equation?”

Even if Gideon didn’t understand, Heaven got it right away, and she rubbed a hand over her eyes. She hadn’t thought that far. Damen and his brothers had to be protected at all times being billionaires. Greedy, evil people got stupid ideas and could try something. Now she realized Nita must also have someone watching her when she wasn’t with her dad. As Damen said, Gideon would need an escort whether she or he liked it or not. Some of those evil people with ideas might try to get to Damen through her son. She couldn’t live with that.

Heaven became aware Damen still held her hand when he squeezed it. She looked at him, and he met her gaze with a serious and determined one of his own. “I won’t let anyone hurt either of you ever again.”

“Damen, you can’t make that promise.” She looked away and withdrew her hand from his.

After Damen settled the check, and she didn’t argue because Gideon was there, they left the restaurant together. Gideon talked Guy’s ear off behind them, and Damen took her arm ahead of the bodyguard and their son.

Did I really just think of him as our son?

“Heaven.”

She glanced over at Damen.

“I want you and Gideon to move in with me and Nita.”

She gaped. “Ah, what now?”

“If you feel more conformable, we can get married.”

“Are you out of your mind, Damen? Marry you? And can you toss it out there with any less emotion?”

He smiled. “I’ll be happy to get down on one knee.”

“Your joke isn’t funny.”

“I’m dead serious.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Not possible it wasn’t a joke or that you can marry me?”

“Both.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t love me.”

He stopped walking and pulled her to a stop. On cue, Guy called Gideon’s attention to a storefront that looked like a voodoo shop. Damen noticed and called over to them, “No scary stories, Guy.”

“Yes, sir.”

When Damen turned back to her, he caught her studying his face, and he grinned. “I had to sleep with Nita a few times when she was younger because
I
was afraid of the dark. Or so she told me.”

Heaven smiled despite her confusion. She’d been there with Gideon too. Now, he wouldn’t be caught dead running to her if he was afraid. They grew up too fast. Never mind that. She focused on the subject at hand.

“Why would you ask me to move in or marry you?”

“We don’t have to love each other, Heaven,” he explained in that matter-of-fact way that was pissing her off. “We get along great.”

“We were lovers. That doesn’t constitute ‘getting along great.’”

“Are
lovers, and it’s a strong start.”

“Says a man, and I’m not sure we should continue as lovers. It might send the wrong message to Gideon—and Nita for that matter.”

“It sends the exact message I want, that we’re a family.”

“Damen.”

“Think about it, Heaven.”

“You
haven’t even thought about it. You just found out about Gideon today, and while I know he’s yours, you don’t know. I mean why aren’t you demanding a paternity test or something? You’re freaking rich. I could be after your billions.”

“The very fact that you’re suggesting such a thing says you aren’t. I’m not a fool. I know it’s possible. You heard what my brother said. We get letters that go straight to lawyers.”

“You have other kids?”

“No.”

She must have looked doubtful.

“I’m positive, and you and I, that was the only time I wasn’t careful. Nita came along after I was married.”

“Well your brothers wouldn’t like it, especially Creed.”

“Let me handle my brothers.”

“Damen, I want to be in love.”

“Aren’t you?”

She stared at him. “W-what?”

He skimmed a thumb over her cheek. “Aren’t you in love?”

She turned away. “You’ve got a seriously big head, you know that?”

Damen stood close behind her, and she wanted to run in the opposite direction before she got hurt again. Life had taught her to be strong, but in the face of this man, life was pushing its damn luck.

“You love me, Heaven.” He covered her lips when she would have protested. “It’s not my ego that makes me say it but deduction.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You said I don’t love you, which told me you already knew your feelings. In this kind of situation, a woman would be more concerned about her emotions in a relationship.”

“Don’t presume to tell me what I think and feel, as a woman or otherwise.”

“You’re saying I’m wrong?”

“Yes!” She lied because it was the only way to save face. Heaven didn’t need his pity or the bone he thought he was throwing her by proposing marriage. “I don’t need your money, your name, or yo—”

“Heaven, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

She ignored him and started walking again. He nodded to the bodyguard, and the four of them moved toward her home.

“Heaven.”

“Stop, Damen. I’m not doing it.”

“You want love,” he went on stubbornly. “Isn’t it possible for me to love you? I mean love you the way you want me to. I care about you already as my lover and as my son’s mother.”

“You sure were quick to accept us. I don’t trust it.”

“What if I told you I’m being selfish?”

She squinted at him.

“I’ve never wanted to be a single dad.”

Her mouth fell open.

“Family is important to me, as it is with both my brothers. Our parents weren’t there as they should have been, and I see the effects my brothers and I have had to overcome regarding it. I want greater stability for Nita and Gideon.”

Heaven stared at him. His words blew her mind, and she fumbled for a response. “There’s no guarantee our home would be a happy one, Damen. You have to look at this realistically. What if two months after we’re married you fall in love with someone else? O-or I do?” she forced herself to add.

“I won’t.”

“You might.”

“Listen.” He stopped walking again, halting the entire group. “I’m asking you to take a chance. It’s not a bad gamble, is it? To be with me and to have Gideon with his dad full time? I’m an easygoing kind of guy, and I wouldn’t spend time trying to force you to be something you’re not. Finally, I’ve been married before. I don’t mind risking a second failure.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Is this a business proposition or a marriage proposal?”

His gaze twinkled. “If it’s business don’t misunderstand. I’m expecting sexual benefits.”

“Hm, what a surprise.”

He linked his fingers with hers, and they walked that way until they reached her apartment. Even that much, she knew gave Gideon ideas, but she didn’t have the will to pull away. They walked inside, and Gideon spent time with his dad, showing him his music and other favorites in his room. Guy disappeared somewhere outside, and Heaven dropped onto the couch.

Heaven must have fallen asleep because the next time she opened her eyes, Damen sat beside her with her feet drawn onto his lap. “What are you doing?”

He smiled. “Watching you sleep.”

“You’re weird.” She stood up and walked into the bedroom to check on Gideon. Her cell said it was pretty late, and her son stretched across the bed fully dressed. Heaven wiggled his shoulder. “Gideon, get up and get ready for bed.”

“But it’s the weekend,” he whined. “No school tomorrow, so I can stay up late with dad.”

“Yeah, well you’re not up. You’re sleeping.”

Gideon tried sitting up but yawned and lay still.

“Let me handle it.”

Heaven looked around to find Damen coming into the room. She stepped aside and watched as he made short work of Gideon’s clothes. Then he glanced at her. “Pajamas?”

“Boxers and a tee is all he’ll keep on.”

He nodded, and Heaven handed over the clean T-shirt. Damen worked as if he had prepared a child for bed many times. She supposed he did with Nita, and she recalled what he said about not wanting to be a single dad.