HIS BROKEN SAINT

CHAPTER 17:THE STORM

They got home at midnight.

The Gala was loud. Crowded. Too much. Elias’s shoulders were still tight from Damien’s “this is mine” on the ballroom floor.

Damien unlocked the penthouse door. Didn’t turn on the main lights. Just the soft lamp by the couch.

“Shower,” he said. Simple. Not a command. A suggestion. “If you need anything, I’m right here. Hallway. Opposite your door. Not going anywhere.”

Elias nodded. Still processing the key on his finger and the whole room knowing he was Damien’s.

Hot water helped. It washed off the cologne and the stares and the noise. When he got out, towel around his waist, he heard it: Damien’s footsteps pacing the hallway. Back and forth. Guarding the door.

Elias cracked the door open. Damien was there, leaning against the wall opposite, arms crossed. Shirt unbuttoned at the collar. Eyes on Elias’s door like he meant it.

“You didn’t have to wait,” Elias said quietly.

“I said I would,” Damien replied. No smile. Just fact. “Sleep. Storm’s coming.”

Elias closed the door. Slept.

---

2:17 AM.

The power cut out.

One second quiet. Next, total black. Then thunder cracked so loud the windows shook.

Elias shot upright. Heart pounding. Breath caught.

He hated storms. Hated the dark. Dad used to sit with him during rains. Since Dad died, he just endured it. Alone.

“Damien?” he called into the dark. Voice small.

No answer.

Another flash of lightning. For half a second he saw the hallway. Empty. Damien’s side of the bed cold.

Elias pulled the blanket up to his chin. Tried to breathe.

Thunder again. Closer. He flinched hard and bit his lip. Old rule: _No noise unless spoken to._

The bedroom door opened.

Footsteps. Slow. Damien’s shape filled the doorway, backlit by lightning. Barefoot. Shirt still unbuttoned. Like he’d been in the hallway this whole time. Guarding.

He didn’t turn on a light. He crossed the room in 4 steps and sat on the edge of the bed.

Elias was frozen. Still holding the blanket like armor.

Damien found his hand in the dark. Fingers threaded through his. Warm. Steady.

“You’re shaking,” Damien said. Voice low. No CEO. Just him.

“It’s just thunder,” Elias whispered. Lie.

Damien tugged the blanket. “Move over.”

Elias did.

Damien slid in behind him. Chest to his back. One arm around his waist. The other pulled him back until there was no space.

“Rule 10,” Damien murmured into his hair. “You don’t face it alone. Not anymore. I told you I was right here.”

Elias nodded. Still shaking.

Another boom. He jerked.

Damien’s hand moved from his waist to his chest, right over his heart. “Breathe with me.” In. Out. His chest guiding Elias’s.

Lightning flashed. This time Elias didn’t flinch as hard.

“Better,” Damien whispered against his ear. “You’re safe. I’m here. Storm can’t touch you.”

Elias turned his face into Damien’s shirt. Inhaled. Diesel and cologne and home.

“I’m not a kid,” he mumbled.

“No,” Damien agreed. Hand stroking his arm. “You’re mine. And mine don’t do storms alone. Especially not after a night like tonight.”

Thunder rolled softer now. Distant.

Elias’s breathing evened out. Then, without thinking, he turned in Damien’s arms. Straddled his lap. Face buried in Damien’s neck.

Damien went still. Then both arms came around him. Full. One hand in his hair, the other on his back.

“Hey,” Damien said softly. Thumb brushing his spine. “You moved. On your own.”

Elias nodded against his neck. “You said you were right here. Opposite my door. You meant it.”

Damien’s chest rumbled. Sounded like a laugh, but softer. “Always.”

They stayed like that. Elias in Damien’s lap. Damien holding him through the storm.

When the power flickered back on an hour later, neither moved.

Elias was asleep. Face still pressed to Damien’s neck.

Damien was awake. Watching him. The key on Elias’s finger caught the light.

_Home at midnight. Guarded in the hallway. Power cuts at 2:17. He ends up in Damien’s lap. Damien keeps his word