Misunderstanding

Chapter Seven

"How are you feeling?"

That was a loaded question.

Raven looked up from her notes and rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache start to hum at the back of her head. God. She felt exhausted, like she was breaking apart and wasn't entirely sure how to put herself back together. She was supposed to give a deposition tomorrow with the lawyers, before the court date was set, and she almost felt too drained to worry about it. There was the meeting with the CFO in two days, and then she had to talk to marketing about how to approach the integration of Wayne industries into the German market within their proposed budget, and then... there was the fact that her apartment was ready to move back into.

That weighed on her more heavily than anything else she had to deal with.

On one hand, she liked the thought that she was free to move back into her apartment and back into some semblance of normalcy. But... on the other had... she found she liked living with Damian. He was easy to live with - patient and kind, gave her space when she needed it, and knew when to pull close when she needed that too. Plus he was clean and organized and he cooked, and she couldn't appreciate all of those qualities enough. Of course, as an added bonus, the sex with him was fantastic. Raven nearly sighed just thinking about it. Damian had been an attentive lover before, but now that she was living with him sex was just... ugh. He could take her to the stars in seconds, and Raven would beg him for more. He left her feeling exhausted and spent, and she loved it.

The more time she spent around him, the more she realized that she wasn't sure if she wanted to go back to her own space. It would feel so... lonely without him next to her. And that thought was a box of emotions she wasn't sure if she was ready to open yet. Raven had told him weeks ago that it was only a matter of time before she fell in love with him, and she had meant it. She just didn't realize that she would fall in love with him so quickly. But, then again, she also knew that there was no hope for her. Not when he gave her that secretive smile he reserved just for her, and the way he spoke so soft and kind, and held her so close... she was destined to fall for him way too quickly.

Her eyes swept up to his for just a moment, needing the comfort he offered. "I'm... not looking forward to the deposition tomorrow." Raven turned back to her computer and opened her notes, looking through them as Damian approached her. "I know I'm prepared for everything I have to present, but... it feels like I might not be prepared enough. That there may be something else I should try to show."

"Mm." Damian came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, digging his thumb into an especially tight knot near her neck. She resisted the urge to moan. Oh. That felt good. Her eyes closed and she let a soft sigh escape, her head tilting back against the chair to rest on his abdomen. He dug his thumbs even deeper into her shoulders and a soft, low moan finally escaped. Raven could feel his chest shiver with a chuckle.

"You can put those notes down, Raven. You've gone over them a hundred times, and you are ready for tomorrow." He kissed the back of her neck, his thumbs slipping down the tense muscles along her spine, finding another knot and trying to work it free. "You've spent the last two months preparing for your deposition tomorrow. You don't need to worry, I know you have everything you need. All you're doing is stressing yourself out even more, and I need to have you at the top of your game tomorrow. You're the person who is going to put this crime organization in its place."

Raven opened her eyes and looked up at him. In the thin light of late evening, he was outlined by deep reds and oranges, and he looked... heavenly. He looked like the kind of person she would fall for, without question. Far too handsome for his own good. Too tall, too dangerous, too smart - too much of everything.