When Love Walked In

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

I heard him suck in his breath as he stared at me, his eyes searching my face. "What?" he said in a hush tone.

"I love you," I repeated stronger. "I love you, Damien."

All he could was continue to stare at me and I became was unsure if he had heard me right until he lowered his head and his arms went slack. His grip on me loosened. "Damien?" I said uncertainly.

He mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear. I leaned forward. "What?"

Damien slowly lifted his head, and with a jolt I realized we were just inches apart from each other. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear that from you." His eyes flickered to my mouth before meeting my eyes again, as if asking for my permission. I swallowed before closing my eyes in response. I could feel him lean in closer; his breath tickles my cheeks, and his lips brush mine—

A loud knock at my door makes us both jump and freeze. I open my eyes to find Damien's face so close. Too close that my mind turns blank until I hear the sound of my mother's voice. "Amber?" Another knock. "Are you awake sweetheart?" We look at each other in a state of panic, unsure what to do, until I hear the sound of my mother opening the door and all it takes is a slit second for me to push Damien back into the throng of blankets and pillows and jump up from the floor to meet my mother's puzzled gaze.

"Mama!" I said in bewilderment.

"Amber . . . what were you doing on the floor?" my mother asked slowly.

I pretend to look down at Damien lying still in the blankets and turn to her with a dazed expression. "I must have rolled off the bed in my sleep. Oh, my side hurts." I rubbed my side in what I hoped was a convincing enough performance. "I'm awake now. Did you need anything?"

Mama continued to look confused but nodded. "Yes, I was coming to see if you're alright. Gustavo told me what happened. You father and I would like to have a word with you. You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady." For the first time in forever, my mother's tone was reprimanding and I couldn't remember a time when I was ever scowled for doing something without my parent's consent.

I lowered my head in submission. "Yes, mama."

"We'll be waiting for you in your father's study." With a turn of her heel, she was gone. It was only when the door shut did I realize I was holding my breath. "That was close," I breathed. I turned to Damien still lying on the floor. "Come on, I have to go and you have to leave." But the blankets didn't move. I nudged the pile with my toe and got down on my knees. "Damien." I leaned in closer . . .

. . . And he grabbed my arm from under the blankets and pulled me down so that we were lying on our sides facing each other. He smiled wickedly. "I think we were in the middle of something before we were interrupted."

"I have to go," I protested.

"Just one little kiss," he pleaded, giving me the puppy dog eyes. "Come on, you said you loved me."

I smiled at that. "Yes, I did." He smiled back and moved the hair from my eyes, letting his fingers trail down my cheek before grazing my chin. "Thank you, Amber."

"For what?" I asked confused.

"For this," he said before leaning forward. Our lips connected and all of the breath was knocked out of me. Warmth coursed through my veins as his hand moved from my chin to my neck, feeling my pulse race, before finding its way to the back and knotting itself in my hair, pulling me closer. It was the spark that we felt when we started dating had charged over time to finally making itself known, exploding like fireworks in the sky for everyone to see, no longer a secret. I could feel all of these emotions running through me, one's I never knew I could have until this very moment.