Alpha Damon novel Chapter 97

Damon:

“You’re staying in my room tonight.” I said, making sure to keep my voice leveled as not to wake Isla up.

Sienna blinked at me from where she was standing in the nursery, gently rocking our daughter in her arms. She studied my expression for a moment too long as if wanting to make sure that she heard me right.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared her down, making sure she understood that I wasn’t making a suggestion. It was a decision. Final. Done.

“No, I’m not,” she said calmly, eyes not even looking at me as she adjusted the blanket around Isla. “You’ve got your space. I’ve got mine. I am not going to sleep in your room.”

“That wasn’t a request, Sienna.” I stepped forward. “I’m not letting you walk back to your room alone in the middle of the night. You’ve had a long day. Isla is already asleep, and your room is on the other side of the house.”

“Yes, it is two rooms away from yours, literally.” she said, raising an eyebrow at me. “Besides, I don’t need your permission for something as simple as walking to my own room, which, I will add, is not on the other side of the house, but two rooms across from yours.”

“You’re staying with me.” I took Isla from her gently, placing our daughter back in her crib. My eyes softened as I looked at how gentle and peaceful she looked. She leaned into my touch, and I found myself smiling softly before I looked up at Sienna. “I’m not arguing with you about this. Your place is by my side, and I am not going to allow you to do what you want simply because you’re being stubborn.”

“Well, I am.” She folded her arms, standing stubbornly in place. “You think bossing me around is going to work now? I am not asking for permission for you to ‘allow me’, I am saying that I will not stay in your room. And I’ve got news for you, Alpha, bossing me is not going to work.”

I exhaled, stepping away from the crib. “I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight. It’s not up for discussion. You are going to be sleeping in my room.”

“So what?” she challenged. “You’re going to sleep in the guest room again? What is the point of me sleeping in your room when you won’t even sleep in it? Or are you going to choose sleeping on the couch? Which is it?”

“No,” I said. “It is neither one of them.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So, you’re just going to take your bed and leave me with the floor?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll share the bed.” I said casually.

She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Share the bed? Are you… have you lost your mind? Because I know for fact that you’re not drunk, we came back together. So, you either lost your mind or got yourself a little too much sun.”

“I’m not sleeping anywhere else,” I said with a shrug. “And I’m not letting you sleep on the floor. You want to argue like children, fine. But we’re both adults, Sienna. It’s just a bed. We are going to share it and fall asleep.”

“Just a bed,” she repeated slowly, eyes narrowing.

I turned on my heel and headed for the door. “Come on. Unless you want to argue in front of Isla. The last thing that you want is to wake her up after you’ve spent the past half-hour putting her to sleep.”

She followed me reluctantly, muttering something under her breath. Once inside my room, she stood near the doorway, arms still folded and face flushed. And I could tell that this wasn’t an option that she wanted to deal with.

She did not want to be sharing the room with me, at least, she did not want to admit it.

I pulled my shirt off, tossing it on the dresser casually. I didn’t miss the way she immediately turned around, putting her hand over her eyes like some innocent little girl.

“You’ve seen me shirtless before,” I drawled, grabbing a t-shirt from the wardrobe. “You’ve seen more than that, actually.”

“Ugh, you are so…” she groaned, throwing a pillow at me. It hit my chest and dropped to the floor.

It took everything in me not to look at her the way I wanted to.

She climbed into bed wordlessly, keeping a respectable distance from me.

“Don’t even think about crossing the line,” she muttered as she pulled the blanket up to her chest.

“What line?” I asked innocently, turning on my side, facing her.

“The invisible one between us.”

“Too bad.” I grinned, eyes flickering to her lips in the dark. “Lines were made to be crossed.”

She threw another pillow at me, and this time, I let it hit as I turned to face her. Our eyes met, and the smile that formed on my lips was one that I found myself feeling drawn to, fond of…

Because for the first time in a long time, this felt like something… real.

And I wasn’t planning on walking away from it tonight.

I extended my hand a little, taking her off guard before brushing a strand of her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Get some rest, you need it after a long day.”