Bane of My Existence

Chapter 19

After a beat, Damon spun on his heel and marched straight for Kinsey. He cupped her cheeks, scanning her eyes. "Are you really okay?"

She nodded as best as she could with his hands holding her head. She had been tempted to cancel tonight, because she had not been okay earlier and all she wanted to do was cry and eat ice cream on the couch, but she was glad she came. He calmed all her nerves. Wrapped her in a blanket of security. Everything just felt right when she was with him.

Gently, he lifted her injured arm and lightly trailed his fingers over the discoloration. "You're positive you don't remember the bastard who did this to you?"

"There were too many. It could have been any of them, Damon."

He winced, eyes pained. "I'm sorry for being so demanding earlier. I just. . . when he saw the bruise. . ."  When his wolf saw the bruise. "It was my fault you got hurt, Kinsey."

She laughed at that. Couldn't help it. "It is far from being your fault, Damon. Next time Carissa tells me we're going to the East Side, I'm going to give her a flat no."

"Next time she invites you to the East Side, you tell me. Or if anyone else at the office tries to coerce you into something."

"Deal."

He bent and kissed her sweetly. When he broke away, he smiled down at her wound. Even from a featherlight kiss, it began to ebb away. Very slowly. "There'll be more where that came from. We need to make sure you're healed properly. And thoroughly."

She flushed.

Damon led her to the kitchen, lifting her off the floor to sit on the counter while he prepped the promised steaks.

"So, Dayton's your brother," she stated, watching him in fascination. She couldn't believe he was as hot as he was, had as much money as he did, was the most loving man in her world, and could cook. "He seems nice."

Damon rolled his eyes, gathering a collection of spices and a pan. "Dayton is a prick. Don't flatter him."

"He did seem a little hesitant to approve of me." She'll give him that much, but she understood his resistance. In a way. He was only protecting Damon, and after the way other shifters had reacted to the Corporation, she wasn't surprised. "He loves you. I can see that. He wanted to make sure I'm good enough for you."

He fixed her with a soft glower. "If anything, I'm not good enough for you." A shadow darkened his eyes, looming over his thoughts, cruel and wanting. It was only there for a moment then he was smiling at her again. "He likes you, by the way."

She screwed her face up at him. "I doubt that."

"He respects you," he corrected. "Not many people stand up to him. Like, ever. It's good for him to earn someone's respect every now and again. It can't be given all the time."

"Why do people give it? Because he's your brother?"

She was curious about the pack's dynamic. From what she could tell so far, Damon was the leader, one everyone looked up to, but he didn't call all the shots. She'd seen some people look to Kalem for answers as well--she could see people doing the same for Dayton too. Were they given this power by Damon or did they have to earn their positions like Damon had?

He lit up the gas stove then turned to her, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the counter. "Dayton used to be the strongest in the pack. He had a reputation for being a ruthless bastard. You don't fuck with Dayton Hayes if you want to keep your limbs where you like them."

"What happened?" He still seemed like someone you didn't want to mess with, but Damon made it seem like Dayton had been far more terrifying. Sure, he wasn't as big as Damon, but you didn't need to be as jacked as a mountain to intimidate someone.