Secrets to Hide 2: Naughty Little Christmas (22 page)

Klio pulled the drenched bow from her mouth and started to babble, mouthing sounds as if trying to join in on the adults’ conversation. Harley glanced up and, in that instant, caught what looked like agony on Damien’s face. The source of the emotion remained a mystery, but there was no mistaking its presence, nor the horrible twist of her heart as she watched him.

“You need to hold her,” she whispered. Holding Klio, mere seconds after her birth, was what had finally made the baby real to Harley. Damien needed that moment too.

He reached out a hand, its slight shake betraying the emotion of the moment. A single finger stroked down Klio’s pudgy arm, drawing the baby’s attention. She grabbed on tight. As her fingers squeezed down around his, Damien gasped. Softly he bounced his finger up and down, jiggling Klio’s arm, earning himself a droolly smile.

Harley saw a glint of tears in Damien’s deep brown eyes before he blinked once, hard, and met her gaze. “Thank you.”

She wanted to kiss him so much she shook. Needing to distance herself, to downgrade the emotion charging the atmosphere between them, she mustered up what was probably a pretty pathetic smirk. “Thank me when you’re changing the next stinky diaper. Here.” Lifting Klio gently, Harley eased over and set her in Damien’s ready arms. “Meet your daughter.”

She stayed only long enough to be certain Damien had a secure hold; then she disappeared into the kitchen, giving them both time to get themselves back under control.

Chapter Ten

“Ah-yah,” Klio babbled, blinking innocent eyes up at Damien, eyes that mirrored his own. Those eyes shattered any doubt that might’ve remained when he walked in Harley’s door an hour ago. He would still request the DNA test for legal purposes, but in his heart one glimpse of Klio had been all the proof he needed.

The details of her sweet baby face blurred before him. He blinked back the tears, refusing to let Klio—or Harley—see him cry. The more he looked, the more Klio reminded him of his baby pictures: the shock of dark hair, the Adams family nose, the soft curve of her cheeks. Four months old. Klio would be four months old next week. Jesus, he’d missed so much. He’d never go four months without seeing his nieces and nephews, never. That he’d missed almost four months of his own daughter’s life infuriated him. Fury at Sonny. At Harley. Himself. He looked at his daughter and wanted to kick every ass he could get ahold of, starting with his own.

He thought back to that first night at the club. Harley had been determined to get the job. She hadn’t wanted to work with him; she’d wanted to vet him as father material. The knowledge hurt more than a knife to the heart. Sweat popped up on his forehead, and his pulse pounded as every moment they’d shared from then to now played out on the screen of his mind. Reality was a motherfucker. He didn’t just want Harley; he was in love with her, and she’d screwed him over. He held the proof in his arms.

Needing to escape the thoughts running through his aching head, he stood with Klio in his arms. The baby watched him with those sweet brown eyes, eyes that grew sleepy as he paced the small clear spot near the Christmas tree. Her weight became heavier and heavier as his heartbeat slowed, bit by bit, absorbing the baby’s peaceful presence, until she nodded off to sleep against his chest. He would’ve savored the feel of her all day if Harley hadn’t chosen that moment to return.

Seeing Klio’s closed eyes, Harley jerked her chin toward the hall. Damien followed her to a tiny bedroom with a crib, changing table, dresser, and rocker. Harley slid the side of the crib down, and with the expertise of experience, he laid Klio on the mattress and covered her with a blanket. Harley raised the rail, then motioned for him to follow her out of the room.

Her hair was wrapped in a scrunchie on the top of her head, leaving the long expanse of her neck and upper back bare. The little tank she wore for a pajama top molded to her like a second skin. He itched to touch her, but more than that, he itched to fist that hair, hold her down, and torture her until they found a way around the gulf that separated them. Until he found a way to reconcile the pain he felt with the love that tore him up inside, a way not to be so goddamn angry at wanting her and needing her and knowing he could never trust her again.

The vague memory of Sonny rose to the surface. Beautiful. Forgettable. Harley was beautiful but definitely not forgettable. If what she’d told him about her life and her family was true, he could understand her lack of trust. What he couldn’t understand was how she could give herself so openly and—seemingly—honestly in bed, yet not trust him with her secrets as well. What else was she hiding from him?

Did it really matter?

No, it didn’t. No matter what his fucking heart screamed at him, he refused to trust her again. At least not until he’d extracted enough pounds of flesh to know she’d learned her lesson. A short leash and plenty of tyrannical control might make things better—in about a hundred fucking years.

In the kitchen, Harley settled into a chair at the kitchen table. “The coffee’s still hot if you want some.”

He helped himself, taking his time, feeling her gaze on him as he found a cup and poured the aromatic brew. He didn’t join her at the table, simply turned his back to the counter and leaned against it, cup in hand, staring down at her.

“So…” He sipped his coffee carefully, not wanting to burn his tongue but needing something to do with his mouth.

“So, what do you intend to do?” she asked.

No use beating around the bush. “I want a DNA test.”

“There is no way that child is not yours, Damien. All you have to do is look at her to tell that.”

“And would you give me rights based on looking at her?” he asked with a grim little smile. “Because I have zero intention of not being a father to my little girl. I do know she’s mine, but no judge in the world would grant me custody by comparing baby pictures.”

Harley’s face turned the color of new copy paper. “You want custody?”

He let her wonder, let the thought sink in before shaking his head. “Right now, no. I want her to get to know me. I want to spend time with her. We can work it out from there. But do you honestly think it’s safe for you, a single mom with no family, to have no backup, legally, for your child? What if you were in a car accident on the way to work and died? Who would take care of her then?”

She shook her head the barest inch, as if wanting to deny his argument but knowing she couldn’t. “That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to find you; that and wanting her to know you.”

He held back his opinion of that statement. Barely. He didn’t hold back a snort. Did she really think he would believe her? “Who watches Klio while you’re at work?”

“My friend, Cassie. I hired her as Klio’s nanny before I came to work for you.”

Damien nodded. “I’ll want to interview her.”

“Damien, whatever say you think you have over Klio—”

He let his gaze drift down over Harley’s scantily clad body before cutting her off. “You didn’t think you could lead me around by the nose, did you? Is that why you didn’t tell me what was going on after you met me at Thrice? You realized I might be a force to reckon with? Harley’s not the one in control anymore, Wonder Girl,” he said, his name for her dripping sarcasm instead of the affection he refused to allow himself to feel. He laughed, the sound far from happy. “Not at Thrice, and sure as hell not here. Once that test goes through, I’ll have a lot more say than any adoption papers give you, so get used to it. This is how it’s gonna be from now on.” He narrowed his eyes, the same look he used on people who threw roadblocks in front of his business concerns. “Unless you want to go to court?”

Fear flashed in the depths of Harley’s green eyes, and for a moment his heart ached with sympathy. She’d given up a lot of her life to become a mother to Klio; that she loved the baby was obvious. But he refused to give an inch in this. They could work his way or not at all. Her choice.

His coffee had cooled enough to get a good swallow. He savored it before saying, “As to work…”

Harley’s gaze jerked up to meet his, a heavy pulse throbbing in the side of her neck. The sight satisfied the predatory need inside him.
That’s right, baby; get mad. Fight back
. He needed her proverbial flesh beneath his nails.

“If I approve the conditions for Klio, you can return to Thrice. I’ll be taking vacation for this first week of January—I want to get to know my daughter. After that, I’ll have to return to traveling.” Harley working management would make that possible and allow him to keep an eye on her. He couldn’t have Klio’s mother jobless and homeless, after all. Or out from under his thumb.

“So…I’m allowed to come back to work?”

The twist on
allowed
filled him with satisfaction. “Yes.”

Harley closed her eyes, hiding her response. The beast inside him snarled. Yet when those long-lashed lids lifted, the question in those green orbs softened his need to inflict pain. He hated that she could make him weak with just a look.

“And what about us?” she asked quietly.

The pain her words provoked had him lashing out. “What us?”

Harley raised her chin, but her gaze dropped to the floor. Blank. Emotionless. “I see. All right.”

What did she expect, that he’d just roll to his back and let her fuck him over again? Yet every justification in the world didn’t wash away the ashes on his tongue. They tasted of defeat. Loss. Whatever had blossomed between them these past weeks had been burned beneath the fire of Harley’s deceit. It couldn’t be rebuilt. He wouldn’t let it.

Get out. Get out now before she realizes just what she can do to you
. He took a last swallow and set his coffee cup next to the kitchen sink. “I’m going over to my place to grab some things. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“Back for what?” Harley sputtered.

“To spend time with Klio. Unless you want me to take her to my place for a week.”

“Damien, you can’t stay here.” Frustration roiled like lava in her green eyes.

“Wanna bet?” Just for kicks, he walked forward and grasped her chin, leaning down until their coffee-scented breaths mingled together. “Get used to me, Harley. This week, I’m your new roommate.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned for the door, throwing over his shoulder, “Make sure Cassie comes by sometime tonight. I want to meet her.”

Harley’s angry snarl followed him out the front door. He closed it quietly, and as the click of the catch sounded, his satisfaction at her response died. Instead, his heart sat like a stone in his chest the entire drive home.

* * * *

Harley struggled to control her tears as her phone rang in her ear, competing with the pounding of her heart. “Come on, come on, comeon comeon
comeon
,” she whispered. Finally the ringing stopped, and Cassie’s voice came over the line.

“Hello.”

“Cassie…” God, she hadn’t thought beyond getting her friend on the phone. What the hell else did she say?

“Harley, what’s wrong?”

The woman could read her too well. Another sob caught in her throat. “Damien knows. About Klio. H-he…”
He what? Treated you like dirt? Didn’t you deserve it?
“He j-just left.”

“Oh.” Cassie juggled the phone as if settling it on her shoulder. “I take it things didn’t go well.”

It occurred to her that now would be the perfect time for Cassie to say
I told you so
. That she didn’t was a relief—and a curse. Harley had brought this on herself. She deserved Damien’s anger and derision and…everything. She just didn’t think she could survive it.

Hot tears poured down her cheeks, but her skin felt cold. Clammy. Her stomach churned. God, what was she going to do? She couldn’t lose her baby girl, not on top of losing Damien. His blame might be justified, but she just might, barely, survive without him. She’d die without her daughter.

More jostling rang in her ear, pulling her thoughts out of their whirlpool of pain. Keys rattled through the line. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, okay?” Cassie asked, urgency filling her voice as if she knew just how close Harley was to losing it. “Harley? Answer me, hon.”

That mommy tone was impossible to resist. She cleared her tear-clogged throat. “Yes, okay. I’ll be here. And Cassie…”

The noise on the line went silent as Cassie obviously stopped moving. “What?”

“Thank you,” Harley whispered, the sound as broken and lost as she felt. Having Cassie here was just what Harley needed. Her friend’s calm was probably the only thing that could stop the panic whipping through her head right now.

“You’re welcome. See you in a few.” And then the line went dead.

Clicking the Off button on her phone, Harley got a glimpse down her front and realized she was still in her pajamas. The sight jolted her. She needed to get cleaned up, get herself together before Klio woke up. Cassie wouldn’t care. Still…

The hallway stretched forever as she dragged her tired body down its length to grab some clothes for a shower. Not only hadn’t she slept last night, worrying over Damien, but the confrontation today had felt like full-contact tackle football. She hurt all over. Cassie’s voice in her head told her a hot shower would help that, and she listened, moving into the bathroom and switching on the baby monitor before climbing into a steaming-hot shower and trying to drown herself in the wet warmth. By the time Cassie knocked on her front door, she was clean, dressed, and slightly less of a watering can than she’d been a half hour before.

“I assumed Squirt was down for the count,” Cassie said as she stepped inside, pulling Harley into a tight hug. It was Klio’s normal nap time. Harley felt guilty about the relief that brought her but pushed it away. She had enough guilt to deal with right now; she wouldn’t add to it because she, like any normal mother, needed a small break to get ahold of herself.

“Yes, she’s out.” Had fallen asleep in Damien’s arms, in fact. That didn’t surprise her; Harley had slept like a baby in his arms too.

Slamming the door shut on the picture of doing just that, she led Cassie into the living room. “She took right to Damien, no crying or anything.” Kind of surprising since there weren’t any men in her life.