I wake to Damien kissing up my shoulder towards my neck. I'm lying on my stomach, hands under my pillow, facing away from him. I turn my head towards him and smile, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Good morning," he says and laughs softly, "Although I do have to say that you have dreadful bed head."

"Did you get any sleep?" I ask and lean up to look at my alarm clock. Two minutes until it goes off. I've only been asleep for maybe an hour.

"Nahh, but I'm okay. I work well without sleep." I slide closer to him and lay my chest against his.

"Well then maybe we should..." I pause to kiss his neck,"stay in bed?"

"I have meetings all day, I can't miss it. And I'll lose my mind without my assistant there to tell me who I'm supposed to be talking to." He makes a pouty face and I laugh. 

"Alright, alright. I guess I better shower then." I scoot down to the end of the bed and walk over to my alarm, clicking it off just as it starts to buzz. I look back at Damien and he's on his back, arms folded with his hands behind his head. 

"Are you watching me?" I tease and he nods enthusiastically.

"Hell yeah. Can you blame me?" He grins wide and I shake my head, laughing, as I continue into the bathroom.

I'm just rinsing the shampoo from my hair when I hear him slide the shower door open behind me.

"Mind if I join you?" He says gently, his voice a little husky. I look down and see his erection and smile. I reach out for his hand and pull him in with me. He finishes rinsing the suds from my hair and kisses me, pushing me back against the wall. I hook my leg around his hip and he slowly pushes into me, closing his eyes.

"Fuck, Jane..." he mutters and grabs my hands, holding them above my head as he pulls out and slowly sinks back into me. I tilt my head back against the wall and grind my hips against him. He nibbles up my neck, biting softly. I moan his name quietly and I feel his breath against me. He licks a water drop from my neck and holds both of my hands in one of his. 

He lifts me up, wrapping my other leg around his waist so he can get to my breasts. I watch as he flicks his tongue against my left nipple and pinches the other between his index finger and thumb. I swivel my hips faster against him and he groans against me.

"Damien, yes," I moan and feel myself tighten against him. "Fuck, don't stop..."

He starts sucking on my nipple softly, and suddenly bites down. This sends me spiraling as I orgasm around him. I moan incoherently and tighten my legs around him. He slowly pulls out of me and I get down on my knees in front of him. I look up at him, bite my lip, and he closes his eyes for a second. 

I slowly take him into my mouth, and slide my tongue around the head. I bob my head up and down on his cock, still looking up at him. He grabs my hair, but lets me go at my own pace. I wrap my hand around him and slowly stroke, teasing him, as I lick and kiss the head. 

"Oh, Jane..." he moans and his head falls back. I feel his impending orgasm and take him as far back in my mouth as I can just as he starts shooting his load. I swallow it all and pull away from him. I wipe a small drop of cum from my lip and smile at him as I stand up.

"You're fucking incredible. Do you know that?" he asks and I laugh.

"Here." I say and hand him my shampoo,"We're gunna be late."

I start conditioning my hair and he starts washing his. We share the water, bumping into each other occasionally. I wash the soap from my body as he watches me finish my shower. I gave him the soap first, so he's already done.

"I'll have to go home for some clean clothes," he says and I nod.

"That might be a good idea... I don't think Joe and Mandy would appreciate you showing up to your meeting in yesterday's clothes."

As I grab my toothbrush to start brushing my teeth he pokes his head into the bathroom.

"Alright, I gotta go."

"Ok, I'll see you in an hour," I smile and kiss him softly, "Drive safe."

Damien has had back-to-back meetings all day, so I don't have much to do. By lunch time, I've only seen him twice. I brought a salad from home for lunch, so I just decide to eat at my desk. I plug my headphones into my phone and turn on some music to listen to as I watch him walk around the conference room.

I take a bite and have to chew quickly because my desk phone starts ringing. I take a drink of my water, pull out my headphones, and answer.

"Hi, this is Jane Adams with Parker Law and Associates. How can I help you?"

"Hi, lover. I wanted to see if you and Damien wanted to hang out tonight?" Lara asks and I have to smile.

"Hey, baby cakes.Why didn't you just call my cell?" I ask and take another bite of my salad.

"Ehh. I wasn't sure what you would be doing with Mr. Hottie. I didn't want to disturb you again." She laughs and I shake my head.

"Back to your original question... Damien's been in meetings all day so I'll have to ask him when he gets out. What do you have planned?"

"I was thinking maybe we pick up some alcohol and pizza and eat at your place? I'd like to actually talk to the guy that has stolen your heart."

"Lara... It's not like that."

"Oh, but it is," she says and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Fine, I'll talk to him. He should be out in about ten minutes. I'll text you and let you know. Is Shane coming?"

"Nope, he has to work, tonight."

"Oh, okay. I'll let you know what he says."

"Bye, lover," she says and I hang up. Good Lord, she can be a handful.

After his meeting, Damien walks over to my desk and presses his knuckles against it. 

"Bad meeting?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"No, I'm just wishing I had stayed in bed with you this morning..." he whispers and I smile.

"By the way, feel free to say no, but Lara wants to get together tonight. She wants alcohol and pizza at my place."

"That sounds fine to me." He smiles and kisses my forehead,"What time?"

"Maybe seven? I'll run by and pick her up after I get off, and maybe you can grab the pizza? We'll get the alcohol."

"Perfect. I gotta ready for this next meeting, but I'll be at your place at seven sharp."

At 6:00 I poke my head into his office and he looks up at me.

"I'm leaving, now. I'll see you in an hour."

"Alright, be safe," he says firmly and I nod.

"Of course, I always am."

I pick Lara up from her apartment at 6:25 and we head to a liquor store near my building. 

"Should we go with vodka, rum, or tequila?"

"I dunno, babe. Just grab one," I say and walk around the small store. I grab an energy drink and candy bar and walk back over to Lara. I'm going to need the sugar to keep myself awake. I hear the door ding as someone comes in, and I look up towards the register and freeze. There's a man holding the clerk at gunpoint. I grab Lara's hand and pull her to the ground. She's looking at me, and I press my index finger to my lips and point to the front. Her eyes widen as she understands and I pull out my phone. I dial Damien's number and wait.

"Hey, where are you guys? I got the pizza."

"Damien, there's a guy in the store with a gun. We can't get out," I whisper.

"Where are you?"

"The liquor store on 65th..." I peek around the shelf and see the man walking towards the back of the store,"Go, go, go, go." I whisper to Lara and we move to another aisle.

"Damien!" I scream as the man runs up behind me and snatches the phone from my hand. He points the gun at us and motions toward the front of the store.

"Move," he says, his face straight. "And keep your hands where I can see them."

Lara is right next to me as we walk toward the front of the store, our hands above our heads. The man is still trying to get the clerk to give up the money, but he won't do it. The gun is pressed against his temple, and he still refuses.

I hear the door ding and look over and see Damien, the relief clear on his face.

"Come on," he says and we start toward him.

"Hey! I said don't move!" The man yells and Lara and I freeze, "Who the fuck are you?!" He points the gun towards Damien and I start toward him. Lara grabs my arm and shakes her head.

"I'm just here to get my girlfriend and her friend. Just let us leave, and we'll be on our way," Damien looks at me and nods.

We start towards him again and are almost there when I hear the bang. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"I'm shot. I'm shot. I'm shot. No... I'm fine." I hear something fall beside me and I open my eyes. Damien's on the floor, and blood is slowly pooling around him. 

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" the man yells and Lara won't stop screaming.

I fall to my knees beside him and grab his face.

"Damien? Stay with me," I say and start searching for the source of the blood. Once I've found it, I press my hands against it.

"Lara?" I look behind me, she's still screaming.

"Lara! I need you to pull yourself together. I need you to call 911. Do you understand?" She's finally stopped screaming, but she won't take her eyes off of the blood that's pooling around my knees. 

"Lara! I need to know you understand. Can you call 911 for me? Please?" I'm surprised by the calm assertiveness in my voice. She slowly nods and pulls her phone from her pocket.

I look back to Damien, his breathing is ragged.

"Baby, you have to stay awake, okay? Lara's calling for help. Just stay awake." He grabs my hand and squeezes,"Yes, good job. Just stay awake for me, okay? Squeeze my hand as hard as you can, and stay with me. Don't let go." He's squeezing my hand, but it's weak in comparison to what I know he's capable of. 

I'm pressing as hard as I can against the wound in his stomach with my free hand, but blood is still running everywhere. I look up at his face and he's too pale.

"I wasn't really gunna shoot anyone!" The man yells. I hear him run past me and the door ding, but I don't look away from Damien.

"Damien, baby, stay awake. Don't close your eyes," I say and look up at Lara. She's still staring at the blood, but her lips are moving. 

"Lara, how long?" She finally looks up at me and holds up two fingers,"Fuck," I look back to him and he's staring at me,"Okay, Damien. They're going to be here soon. Just stay with me."

"Jane," he sputters and I shake my head.

"No, no, no. You're going to be fine. Just stay awake. Stay awake, baby, please," I whisper and look up when I hear sirens, "See, baby? They're almost here... Hang on for me."

I hear the door ding multiple times in a row and look up at the paramedics.

A blonde lady kneels next to me.

"Ma'am, we need you to move. You've done a great job, but now we need to do ours."

"No, I can't leave him. He'll die," I say and squeeze his hand, he's not squeezing back anymore.

"Ma'am, please. I can't do my job unless you move. If you want me to save his life, I need you to back away." I look down at Damien and reluctantly let go of his hand. I stand up and I feel Lara grab my shoulders. I wipe the blood from my hands onto my skirt and she wipes the tears from my face that I didn't notice. I still feel extremely calm, so why am I crying? We watch as they start an IV and lift him onto the gurney.

"Okay, we can only take one. Who's it going to be?" The male paramedic asks. 

"Me," I answer and look at Lara,"Call Shane and tell him to come pick you up, ok?"

She nods and says," I'll meet you at the hospital." She hugs me tight and I run out to the ambulance. I hop in and the driver shuts the door behind me. I grab Damien's ankle, which is about the only thing they haven't touched yet. I just need to feel him.

"It's a through and through GSW to the right lumbar region. He's lost a lot of blood," the blonde paramedic says as they open the back doors of the ambulance. They push me out and a young man pulls me to the side.

"Ma'am? What's your name?" he asks me, but I watch as they wheel Damien inside, "Ma'am?"

"Jane. My name's Jane Adams," I say, finally looking at him.

"Hi, Jane. My name's George. What can you tell me about the man they just brought in?"

"His name's Damien Parker. He's twenty-nine. He was shot-" I say and cover my mouth with my hand.

"Okay, you're doing great. Any allergies to any medicine or previous health conditions we should know about? How about his blood type?" I shake my head.

"I don't think so, but I'm not really sure. And I don't know it, I'm sorry." He nods and takes me into the ER. I look through the windows of the trauma rooms as we walk by and see Damien. I pull my arm away from George and put my hands against the window.

"He's in V-Fib!" I hear one of them shout and watch as another grabs the paddles.

"Charge to 200... Clear!" I jump as they shock him,"Give him a shot of Epi. And charge to 300.... clear!" I chew on my lip, watching the monitor. The line showing his heart rhythm slows and they put away the paddles.

"We need to get him into surgery right now, we can't wait."

"Ma'am, I really need you to come with me," George says and I look over at him and nod. They're wheeling Damien out of the room, so I leave with George.

I sit down in the waiting room and George sits next to me. 

"I have to go scrub in, now. But I'll try to come out periodically with updates, okay?" I nod and he grabs my shoulder, "From what I've heard, you did a really good job of keeping him alive for us. Now it's our turn, you've gotta trust us."

I smile softly and he walks away, leaving me with only strangers.

After what seems like forever, I see Lara and Shane. We make eye contact and I stand up as she starts running towards me. She wraps her arms around me and I hear her sniffling. I can't bring myself to cry, although it would probably help with my shot nerves. She releases me and kisses my cheek. Shane wraps his arm protectively around her and we all sit. 

"Have you heard anything? What's going on?" she asks and I stare at a blue tile on the ground.

"Apparently, it's a through and through. I didn't know, I didn't look. I didn't plug the other hole," I say, no emotion in my voice, and she grabs my hand.

"Jane, don't go there. What else?"

"He's in surgery. George should come talk to me soon. He said he would. It's been almost an hour."

I see Lara and Shane exchange a look, but I keep staring at that blue tile. It's slightly darker than the other blue tiles, and it bothers me.

"Do you want some coffee, Jane? Some tea?" Shane asks and rubs my back softly.

"No, thank you."

Lara gets off his lap so he can go grab some for the two of them.

After another two hours or so, I look up to see George walking towards me. I stand up and he smiles.

"Everything's going well so far. We've controlled the bleeding, and are now just working on damage control. Right now, I think he's going to be just fine."

I let out my breath and grab his arm. "Thank you. How much longer do you think?"

He shrugs and says,"There's no way I can know for sure, but at least two more hours... If anything happens, I'll come back out." I nod slowly and he walks back towards the elevator.

I sit down and look back at my blue tile.

After three hours, I haven't heard anything. Lara is asleep on Shane's lap and he looks exhausted as well. 

"Shane, you should probably just take her home. You need to get some sleep, too." He looks up at me and shakes his head.

"We're not going anywhere, Jane. We'll leave when he's out of surgery and you can see him."

I grab his hand, squeeze tight, and whisper,"Thank you." He smiles reassuringly and nods just once. I continue holding his hand until George walks out to me an hour later. I stand again and he smiles at me.

"It took a little longer than I anticipated, but they just wanted to be very thorough. They're moving him up to a room on the third floor, so you can go see him in about twenty minutes." I wrap my arms around him and pull him tight to me. He hugs me back and I kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, George," I say and he walks away.

I walk down the hall of the third floor towards Damien's room. I made Shane take Lara home, so now I'm alone. I poke my head through the gap of the door and see a nurse writing in his chart. She looks up at me and see the blood on my clothes and shins.

"You can come in and sit down if you'd like, and there's also a bathroom in there you can use to clean up," she says and points to a door on the side of the room. 

I walk in and sit down next to him, grabbing his hand in both of mine.

"When will he wake up?" I ask quietly and the nurse looks up from his chart, again.

"Honestly, any time. It's up to him. Once the anesthesia wears off, he should wake up. I'm Jenny, by the way."

"Jane," I say and look back at Damien. I kiss the back of his hand and walk into the bathroom.

Holy shit. I haven't seen myself since I've been here. There's blood in my hair, on my skirt and dried on my knees. I turn on the faucet and soak a towel in the warm water. I wash my knees off first and then move to my hair. I lean over and run the bloody strands through the water. I grab a clean towel and dry my hands, knees, and hair before putting it back into a ponytail. 

I walk out to his bed and sit down again. Jenny left, so it's just me and Damien. I look at the clock on the wall before I lie my cheek against the bed so I can still see him. It's 1:43 AM and I'm exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

I grab his hand and bring it to my lips, breathing in his smell as I wait for him to open his eyes.

We made love all night last night, and even this morning; and I almost lost him today. Tears slowly spring to my eyes and run down my cheeks.

"Please wake up, baby... I love you," I whisper and close my eyes.