A/N: As promised you guys, Chapter 39 is finally up, enjoy it! 😃

| Ariel |

At the look of guilt and utter shock on Damons face, I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut in horror. I regretted my choice of words that were said in the heat of anger immediately. Despite how our time together was spent, that was a low blow and It shouldn't have felt so good to let it out. I did, it felt liberating to spit that in his face but the afterglow of it wasn't all that arousing. 

As soon as I heard Damons voice and rushed to my dads side at the front door, Damon stood there in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, and a basic black fitted tee underneath his famous black leather jacket. A watch that was probably more expensive than my dads care adorned his wrist and his tattoos peaked out from the rolled up sleeves of his jacket. Muscles bulging and veins prominent. 'Wow.' my inner goddess breathed out enamored. 

I really wish the first thought that came to mind was, 'My prince charming is here; he came back to me.'  But that wasn't at all what I thought.

My first thought was 'Why is he here?'

My second thought? 'Damn, still so damn handsome.' Cue internally fanning myself as if Damon were a Rockstar and I was having a fangirl moment. Mother nature truly was cruel to make this man so damn sexy; did he ever have an off night?

After the initial shock of seeing him after so long wore off. My once fragile heart froze in my chest and I could almost feel myself wrapping chains around it and shutting it tight with a padlock.

I looked at him and I wanted to run into his arms, hug him tight and cry into his shoulder how much I missed him but I held my head high and forced myself not to. Remembering the past month and how he pushed me away even further, how easy it was for him to cast me aside and ignore the fact that I was hurting because I was actually feeling a loss of love.

The pain in my chest soon fired up and became white hot with anger. I have no idea what triggered it but I do know I was pushing down every single emotion of love and compassion I had for him...

And that is where that low blow came from.

My lids finally flew open, returning to the present, as I released a deep sigh. "I'm sorry Damon." I apologized softly, looking past his shoulders and out into the trees. "That was a low blow, my anger got the best of me, I – "

"No. You had every right." He cut me off immediately. Shocked, my eyes snapped back in his direction.

"I never gave you any inclination that there was more between us on my part, so I deserved that." He confessed, his body hunched forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his eyes never wavering off me.

I knew I was right, in the past month I came to realize just how much I gave and gave and gave to Damon and all I got back was his body, not his heart....

Well that may be a lie. He did give me some of himself, some of his soul but he never committed to giving me all of him. Allowing himself to love me and trusting me with his heart. 

The mix of emotions I had stewing inside of me was also causing me a great deal of stress, which was also causing me to get angry. Angry at Damon, at myself and this entire situation we found ourselves in, but I was determined to come out strong and not be that girl – You know the girl I'm talking about; the princess giving her heart to her prince charming, meanwhile, he doesn't care to give his to her in return or the fragile flower breaking with one blast of wind.

I must have been quiet and caught up in my thoughts for a while because he softly called out to me a few times, the last time finally brought me back to reality with him.

"And, that is exactly why I am here now..."

I titled my head slightly, no doubt giving him a look of wonderment while furrowing my brows.

He nodded his head as if to tell me he will explain it all to me, and he did.

"I'm here to let you know that I made a huge mistake. The biggest one of my life..."

He takes a deep breath and smiles but it isn't one that meets his eyes. It's a worried smile, forced. He reached out and asked for my hand. I hesitantly slid my palm into his and his fingers instantly curled around my palm. This small gesture brought back the sweet warm feeling in my chest, the one I've been trying to ignore – it reminded me of how weak I can be around him and I tried pulling my hand back, stupid to think he would let me go.

His thumb brushed against my knuckles, almost as if to calm me, because he saw my averseness. He did this once, twice, and three times all while his eyes refused to abandon mine.

"This past month I had the chance to be alone with my inner demons and realized exactly what I wanted out of life; my dreams, and tonight I finally figured out that those dreams mean nothing if the one person I wanted right by my side would be beside someone else's."

My throat suddenly became very dry as my body anticipated the next words to come from his mouth. My lips parted and I waited with a baited breath for him to continue. I didn't have the strength to respond to him at this point, I kept quiet and tried to calm my already fragile heart.

"I-I love you, Ariel."

There it was the three little words I had been dying to hear him say.

A gasp fell from my lips and the world around me froze. My heart swelled with new found happiness and tried to break out of my chest. My head spun with an overwhelming flow of emotions. Shock being the main one.

My hands shook slightly from beneath his. He looked down at them as if he felt the slight tremor and squeezed them tighter, caressed them softer.

I sat there gazing into his eyes, frozen in shock and unsure what to say first. Unsure if this was real at all.

"I know you might not believe me right now but it is the truth Ariel. I love you so much. I fell in love with you a long time ago, I was just too scared, too blind to see it before." His voice was warm and tried to coax me like a small child who might bolt from his arms in fear.

I slowly removed my hand from his. My eyes squeezed shut and I shook my head trying to push away again, the hope and happiness he now dug up from deep inside of me.

"You're in love -- " My eyes fluttered opened, wide like a deer caught in the headlights. "...with me?"

He nodded and tried to reach out for me again but I made no movement. "Ariel." His voice pleading. "Please believe me. I swear to you this is real. This is how I feel and I'm not afraid of it anymore."

"Now?" I let out the words on a breath "Now you...How did you...I mean, when...?" my words failing me as I tried comprehend how he suddenly came to terms with his feelings.

He stood, took a few long strides my way. He crouched down in front of my, hands on my knees as he spoke. "This past month has been one of the hardest I've had to work through – "

I scoffed, pushing his hands off me and lifting from my seated postion in the wicker chair as I looked down at him.

"The worst you have had to work through?" My finger pointed at my chest and my voice rose a few octaves "What about me, did you think about how I was holding on? How I felt moving forward?! Did you think about anyone other than yourself Damon?!"

"I thought about you the whole fucking time Ariel!" he shouted, getting back on to his feet and standing toe to toe with me. His eyes burning fire into my own. My breathing got heavier as my eyes challenged his.

Before I could even part my lips to utter a response, his hand was on my hip, giving me a rough tug and pulling me into his body. My chest slammed against his as his other hand came up to grip the back of my neck, his forehead pressed against mine and his breath puffing a hair away from my lips.

"Do you know how hard it was to deny my real feelings for you? To not come take you back with me every night?" his voice harsh, through gritted teeth.

I shook my forehead against his and couldn't help the break in my voice as it lowered "Then why did you? Why push it away if you felt your feelings becoming stronger?"

He groaned "Because I was a coward Ariel!" pulling away from my body, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I was so fucking scared of trusting again or getting hurt the hardest that I've ever been in my life, because if you hurt me Ariel I would never recover."

He shook his head as it fell forward and I can see the inner disappointment he had with himself.

My heart hurt and tears burned behind my eyes. I wanted to cry for this man, he was dealing with such issues and he was opening his whole self to me.

"And then, when Emma told me about your date with Aden, I knew I was going to lose you and I can't Ariel. I have to fight for you, for us."

My brows furrowed and suddenly my heart was freezing in my chest and all the warm emotions flitting through me stopped as only one thought entered my mind after hearing him say those words. "You found out about my date with Aden?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and that was probably one of the first times I have seen him in such a manner. "Well I mean, yeah...I did."

"Oh my god..." My throat released a gasp and I shook my head in utter disbelief. Now I knew. "That's it...that's why you're here! Jealousy!"

His eyes widened in realization of the puzzle pieces I just put together and tried to rush back towards me but I just kept taking steps away from him.

"The minute I'm ready to be happy and potentially move on you profess your love to me? You're not here because you realized you loved me, you're here because your jealous you can't claim me for yourself anymore!"

I shouted the anger and hurt resurfacing. There was no way I could trust his words now. How could I know they were said out of jealousy?

"No!" He shakes his head frantically and tries again to reach out to me but I'm not having it. Not now.

I can see the fear swimming in his eyes but even so, there is no way he truly feels this way, especially now. He has expressed so many times in the past that he would never let this happen.

"No, Ariel! I swear to you, that's not it at all! Fine, I was jealous at first but I wouldn't be here telling you I love you, if I really didn't. I wouldn't lie, not to you. Ariel, I haven't felt this way about anyone, not even Daniella."

The tears burned again and I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing them away, along with the warm feeling he was building in my heart from hearing those words: I haven't felt this way about anyone, not even Daniella.

It was so hard not to run into his arms and hold him tight, kissing him with all the love I had in me too. The fact that he never felt this way about Daniella really struck me like a bolt of lightening but I'm scared, too scared to believe he actually loves me and that this isn't just his big bad Alpha jealousy shinning through – the need to keep my body all to himself and not have a threat.

"You know how long I have waited to hear you say those words? And now that I've heard them, I never thought my first reaction would be doubt..."

I'm not going to break and I am not going to give into him, not yet at least. I am going to show him the strong woman I can be without him. If he truly loves me, he will work to show me so and if he gives up, if he cares no more then I know the answer to my question.

Taking a deep breath, I crossed my arms over my chest.

I shook my head, hurt evident in my voice but I tried to play it off and continued on. "You weren't ready to face your fear of commitment and love me the way you should have a month ago but all of the sudden you're ready? Doesn't that seem like a coincidence to you? It doesn't feel too soon to know that's what you really want?"

"No." his response through clenched teeth was instantaneous as his eyes bore into mine. "I know exactly what I want and it will never change, it's you Ariel. Always has been. Always will be."

My heart did a flip and my body leaned forward ready to launch myself into his arms but I forced my feet to the floor, only showing a mere sign of letting my guard down as I let my arms drop from my chest to my sides.

"I love you Damon. You know I do and I want to believe you more than anything, I really do..."

"...But?" he chokes out the word.

"After all the times you have sworn you would never fall in love, after pushing me away, and coming here after finding out I had a date with someone else, do you expect me to believe your love confession?"

He closes his eyes and for a few seconds all we can hear is the short gust of wind whipping around us. When he opens them, he whispers "No."

Thinking he was done, I shrugged and was about to speak when his voice stopped me.

"That doesn't mean that I am going to give up. I wasn't ready then but you bet your sweet ass I am now and I could give two fucks about your date with Aden. You want to test me, go..." he nudged his head towards the street "Go on a date with him because I promise you, I will be two steps ahead of him, fighting for you! My love for you is strong as hell baby and it was a long time coming, you can't tell me how I feel!"

"I'm not telling you how you feel Dae, I'm telling you it's hard for me to believe when having that hope has come and bit me in the ass in the past."

He took two long strides towards me, crossed his arms over his chest, his face stoic and his gaze unwavering from mine.

"And I'm kicking myself in the ass for not realizing all of this when I had you sleeping in my arms or trembling beneath my body."

I swallowed hard at the memories as his rough voice became husky. His voice may have lowered but didn't lose its authoritativeness.

"I pushed you away. I felt the anguish and heartache when I let you walk out of that door. My brain finally caught up to what my heart was trying to show all along. Tonight, was when I realized this whole time, I was scared to trust and give you the advantage to hurt me because that's how much I love you; I will give you my all and hide nothing. I was scared of loving you so damn much and then loosing you. It would break me far more than I ever have been but being apart from you, living life without you is far more painful than the risk of you breaking me. Your mine Princess, I don't give a damn if you doubt my love, I will fucking prove it to you."

My brain became fuzzy with that one pet name, Princess.

He stood there with such authority, with such confidence that it overwhelmed me and struck me with a warmth I didn't see coming, right at the apex between my thick thighs. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from letting out a small moan.

Damon standing up to me and fighting for me is probably the sexiest thing I have witnessed thus far.

"A-And if you regret it, one day down the line?" My voice trembled as I spoke.

He rose a brow "What, loving you?" his arms fell from his chest and his feet moved forward, while mine moved back. He backed me into a corner against my house and his hands slammed above either side of my head and his body pinned me there.

"The only thing I will ever regret is not loving you sooner." He leaned forward and kissed the side of my mouth, softly.

"You need me to prove it to you baby?"

A shiver ran through me and I nodded, unable to speak.

"I will do any and everything to prove it to you. What I feel for you, no single entity in the world will fucking change that. I will spend however long it takes; all you need to do is give me that chance. Will you give me a chance Ariel?"

I expelled a shaky breath and felt my heart warm; my walls began to crumble for the man I loved as I nodded my head once more. "I'll give you a chance but I deserve to be happy Damon and If I see this is just some game of jealousy to you, then I won't hesitate to move on."

I knew he loved me, I was ninety five percent sure he was being truthful and transparently real with me, but that small twinge of doubt, that five percent, was a son of a bitch and I wanted to be sure, to protect myself.

I needed to know he would work for it, for me, for us. I knew Damon wasn't lying, from what I have learned more intimately about him in the past few months I can tell when he is. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to see how far he would go for me...what exactly would he do to show his love. 

Thats all I wanted from him, to work to earn back what he lost, now that he knows what it feels like to be without the one you love.  

His hand reached out to cup my jaw softly, his thumb stroked the apple of my cheek and brushed away a wetness. That's when I realized I had let a few tears slip.

"You do deserve all the happiness in the world princess and you will have that..." His breath fanned over my lips and just as I thought he was going to kiss me, he stopped, licked his lips and whispered with command "...With me."

His kissed the tip of my nose and gripped my chin lightly to bring my gaze back to his "I'll call you as soon as I get home. I want to hear your voice before I go to sleep."

And with one last kiss to my cheek, he was bounding down the stairs, jogging toward his bike, leaping on and sending me a wink before taking off down the street.

Oh my...what just happened?

I pinched the bare skin of my arm until my nails left a half moon mark. I gasped.

No. It was definitely real.

He loves me. 

Damon Hendrix fell in love again, with me. 

Hiya guys!! What did you think? How do you think Ariel handled herself/reacted? Also how do you think Damon did with expressing himself?

Last question, how do you think damon will go about proving his love to Ariel? Any ideas or scenarios? I have one in mind on how I want it to go but I'm always open to hearing what you guys think will happen 😊❤

Please feel free and dont be shy in leaving comments but like always I please ask to consider the authors feelings and know how hard we work on our stories. 😊

Oh and dont forget to press that little star to vote!⭐

Stay safe!🙏

Xoxo
Lisamariee💋