DAMIANWith a tired grunt, I pushed the laptop away as my phone rang. The call was from Amelia. I frowned. Why was she calling? Wasn't she in the house? Glancing at the time, I concluded that she had to be indoors as it was very late. Was she calling about the Noah incident again? Maybe she needed me around to talk her out of her mood. Shame that I couldn't comfort her better."Amelia?" I said into the phone.There was no answer for a moment, and I thought she had accidentally dialed my number. Then, I heard the sound of a car zooming past. A scream followed this in a voice I instantly recognized as Amelia's. The scream had me sitting ramrod straight."Amelia?" I called, clenching the phone tightly, worry and panic trying to swamp me. "Amelia, what is going on?"And then I heard something that sent a chill up my spine.A male voice spoke in a low growl, "Stop screaming. You can't get away. Screaming will only make it tough for you.""Please. Please. Let me go. I beg you. You don't wan
AMELIA"Hi," Damian said tentatively as he walked into the living room."Hello," I said, hurrying and making space for him on the couch.He chose the couch farthest from me, and I fought the brief flare of annoyance. I understood him better now. He had endured my hug last night, but it would take him much more than twelve hours, maybe even a lifetime, to heal from his mental and emotional scars."How do you feel?" he asked quietly as his eyes roved over my face and body. "Better. Much better."And I actually was. After forcing down some food and taking some painkillers last night, the aches in my body had reduced and were almost non-existent now. An ice pack had helped reduce the swelling on my face. All the evidence of last night was my slightly bruised lips and tiny cuts, which I was sure makeup could cover."I can see that." He nodded in satisfaction. "Slept, okay?"I shrugged. I had a restless night. My mind had replayed last night's incident in my sleep, and I had had a nightma
AMELIA"And what the hell do you think you are doing?" I yelled as the salesman handed Lucy a pen to sign the papers.He looked up in surprise. "As you can see, I'm attending to a customer. So just hold on, and I will be right with you after I'm done attending to her."He came to stand beside Lucy and pointed at a dotted line on which she would sign."Oh no, you don't!" I hissed. I stalked forward, snatched the documents away, and flung it to the floor.Lucy sprang to her feet immediately. "What the hell are you playing at, Amelia? Why are you aggressive?”I ignored her and addressed the salesman."You will attend to me at once. I will not tolerate disrespect from you or anyone for that matter."The salesman began to turn red in the face. He pointed towards the exit. "Lady, I think you have to leave. You're causing a scene."Lucy laughed long and loud, cackling like a witch."You heard him," she smirked and inspected her painted nails. "Beat it. Obviously, this establishment is for a b
AMELIAI was bored out of my mind. Leaving with Damian was like living alone. I could barely notice his presence, and even when I did, all I received was a grunt. He was just impossible to bond with. I left my room for like the tenth time that morning and wandered around the mansion. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, the only option left was to laze about the house, sleeping or eating perhaps and doing absolutely nothing, which I most definitely did not intend to do.And so, at a few minutes past noon, I took a stroll on the streets close to where I lived. I absorbed the sound of traffic and the sight of people hurrying, going about their business.The sun was high in the sky but not overly hot. I had decided not to take the car because staying in its air-conditioned comfort sort of separated me from the rest of the world, and today, I craved that feeling of inclusivity more than anything else.And then I spotted a small cafe. There was something quaint about it, something that a
AMELIAI heard the front door open, and I was out of my seat in a flash. "Hey, Damian. How was work today?" I asked as I fell into step beside him, smiling with a cheeriness that I didn't feel and hoping this time he would thaw towards me. "Very well," he replied dryly, as usual. He kept walking, his eyes fixed as always on the stairs. Talk about being rude! I tamped down on my annoyance. "My day at work went pretty well, too," I offered. Besides the brief flash of annoyance that crossed his face whenever I mentioned the cafe, he gave no further indication that I had spoken."Have you already had dinner? I can make you something," I said in a last-ditch effort to get him to say something. "Don't bother," was the response. He stopped and turned to look at me for the first time when I began to climb the stairs after him. Up went that annoying brow. "Did you want something?" he enquired. Yes! A little friendly conversation for a start. I yelled at him, but only in my head. He
AMELIAI was so mad. I couldn't recall ever being this pissed in a long, long time, maybe except for the time when Noah had embarrassed me at the mall. I stole a glance at Damian, who was driving much too fast. It would serve him right if the cops ordered him to pull over and give him a speeding ticket. I could clearly see that his cheek was reddened where I had slapped him. My fingers curled. I did not regret hitting him. Not one bit.Finally, he drove through the gates of the house. Before he brought the car to a stop, I scrambled out of it, relieved that at some point during the drive, he had unlocked the door. "For heaven's sake, Amelia!" I heard him growl from behind me. "At least let the damn car stop first."I took a few steps forward, retraced my steps, slammed the car door as hard as possible, and was satisfied to hear him gasp in surprise. There! I heartily wished something inside had gotten broken. It's good that it was Damian's favorite car, too. I spun around and march
DAMIANI could not concentrate on work. I saw Amelia’s face wherever I looked: in the files I was supposed to be going through, on the screen of my computer, in my head, everywhere. I shoved my fingers through my hair and swore under my breath, irritated and angry with myself. I didn't tolerate this sort of behavior from anyone, especially my staff. I always put my company first and gave a hundred percent at work. Yet here I was, doing the same thing I loathed.My body craved Amelia's, and I wondered why she affected me this way. I had been with dozens of other women, all exceptionally beautiful and stunning, but I had never craved them the way I did Amelia. I was like a young, inexperienced boy who couldn't get enough of a woman's body. Amelia and I had made love so many times last night that I had lost count, yet all I could think of was kissing her again, hearing her moan softly, and lying in bed with her all day. I had managed to drag myself up from bed to work. Thank goodness th
DAMIANIt’s been two days since Amelia and I had sex for the first time. It had become a routine even though it was forbidden in our contract.Both of us hadn’t said a thing about it. It seemed like she was just as uninterested in discussing it as I was. There was no need to bring it up as long as it didn’t cause any issues between us, and I hoped it wouldn’t. But far bigger things had come into the picture. And I needed to tackle them. I waved Amelia into a chair and took one myself."What's up?" she said as soon as we had settled down."It’s a business thing I want to inform you about. So, the mayor of this city is about to embark on a project. He wants to build a bullet train railway."Amelia's eyes lit up with interest. "Oh. That is a huge project."I nodded in agreement. "It is. I bid for the contract. If I get it, it will greatly boost my company and reputation." I paused. "But the thing is that Noah wants this contract, too." Amelia's face suddenly tightened as it always did