by Lechna Baram
“Athena,” I started, trying not to show the anger and the frustration that I was feeling. “Let me take care of you,” I said. She stared at me for a few seconds before sighing.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Just because I can't reach the back of my bra,” she continued making me smirk. I took off her bra and tried not to look at her breasts. Her nipples were perky. I unconsciously licked my lips while cursing myself for looking.
Not my fault if she looks so delicious.
“Damian,” Athena said as she stared at me, breaking the trance she put me in. “What's wrong?” she asked with a little frown on her beautiful face.
“The fact that I want to fuck you damn hard while you're hurt is wrong.” I admitted and quickly took the shirt after throwing her bra in some corner of the room. I gently lifted her arms and put the shirt on her. I could notice that her breathing had changed after hearing my words. I could see lust in her beautiful green eyes.
“I wouldn't mind that,” she whispered sexily. How can she do that? She was weak right now. I had to resist. Damn. It was hard. She was so beautiful and sexy. I missed being inside of her. I missed hearing her moan my name. I missed having her lay her head on my chest. What the hell was she doing to me? I couldn't even think of her being with someone else.
“Sweetheart, you're weak. You lost a lot of blood and I called the doctor,” I told her, as I gulped, trying to control myself.
“Why did you do that?” she groaned and rolled her eyes as if I was the one stupid here.
“Because you fainted, Athena,” I told her with a raised eyebrow. “And I think you'll be needing stitches,” I continued while motioning to her wound. She didn't even move her head to look at it. She simply groaned and took a deep breath while closing her eyes
“And where is Rose?” she asked when she realized that Rose was not in the same room. She opened her eyes, worry swimming in them.
“She's in the guest room,” I told her softly and watched as she relaxed. She laid back on the bed. I walked to the other side and sat next to her.
“Thank you for taking care of me and helping me with her,” she said as she turned to look at me. I gave her a smile. I'd do anything to keep her safe and happy. She was mine. Deal or not. She was mine.
“Kitten, if I let you die in the lake, I'd be having problem with the justice and it would ruin my reputation,” I joked and watched as she chuckled and rolled her eyes again.
“Thank you for not letting me die though,” she said again. I nodded, not really knowing what to say. Something suddenly flooded in my mind. I needed to know who her attacker was.
“I need to ask you a question,” I started. She blinked several times when she detected the seriousness in my tone. She nodded. “What did the attacker tell you before pushing you in the lake?” I asked.
“He said and I quote 'he told me to tell you that what you do for a living is not good and that's why you're being sent to hell,'” she said mimicking a rough voice. She looked cute. But she was treating this whole situation as a joke. Her life was in danger and she didn't seem to mind at all. That's why I'll take care of this. I'll make sure she is always safe and for that I'll need her to be with me. Athena will have to move in with me. But knowing how stubborn she was, I doubt that she will accept easily. I'll have to persuade her and make her move in with me.
Chapter 28
Withering Rose
“Damian,” I called as I approached the kitchen.
I slept pretty well yesterday after the doctor bandaged my wound. Damian took care of me. That was sweet. I was currently walking around Damian's apartment wearing his black shirt. It reached just below my butt.
“Slept well?” I heard as soon as I stepped in the kitchen. By the counter, sat Rose with a cup in her hands. She looked tired and she had dark circles under her eyes. She was wearing a shirt and sweat pants which seemed to be Damian's. I don't know why but it somehow bothered me seeing her in his clothes. It was immature. I know. Damian stood by the oven, his back turned to us.
“You tell me. You were the one who was dead drunk in the park.” I snapped, anger from yesterday slowly rising.
“I heard that someone attacked you,” Rose whispered without raising her head to look at me. Instead, she was looking at her cup of coffee. Damian must have told her about the attack.
“Rose. Why were you drunk?” I asked, trying to ignore the fact that she was trying to avoid the subject. Rose does not usually get drunk without any particular reason. There must have been something.
“I needed to forget,” she mumbled while closing her eyes. Something was wrong. I walked closer to her and wrapped my arms around her.
“What's wrong, Rose?” I asked softly.
“Do you want me to leave for more privacy?” Damian asked from where he was standing.
“No,” Rose responded. “Jace didn't appreciate the fact that I strip in front of men,” she said with a sigh and gave me a small reassuring smile to show me that she was somehow okay. I knew that she wasn't.
“No one would want their girl to strip in front of men,” Damian said as he prepared breakfast.
“Jace broke up with me.” Rose continued after thinking about Damian's words. I hugged her tighter. I didn't know Jace would act that way. “I'm sorry that you got hurt because of me,” Rose said and suddenly sobbed.
“Hey, it's not your fault,” I said and gave her a smile. “And I'm still alive.” I pointed out as I pulled away. “Apparently, the man was paid to kill me. So basically, he was following me,” I said. “It's seriously not your fault.” She nodded and wiped away her tears.
“I'm going to take a bath,” Rose whispered as she stood up. I nodded and watched as she walked away. She seemed depressed. I didn't know that Jace could be such an asshole. I turned to look at Damian who was already placing a plate in front of me.
“I'm so hungry,” I said, licking my lips. The food seemed so delicious.
“That's why I made you something to eat,” Damian told me, rolling his eyes. I quickly started eating and watched as he ate along. “I need to ask you something,” he said, attracting my attention to him rather than this delicious food.
“This is delicious,” I remarked wide-eyed.
“Thank you.”
“What did you want to ask me?” I asked, reaching for my cup of coffee. My eyes were still on him. He was staring at me with a little smile on his face. “Can you stop staring at me like that? It's creeping me out.” I felt good knowing that he cared for me enough to prepare me breakfast. I liked it when he stared at me like that.
“Sweetheart, don't tell me what to do,” he said in a deep husky voice. I grinned and shrugged. I knew that he hated when I'd order him around. Damian sat straighter and placed his hands in front of him, staring at me seriously. “I need you to move in with me,” he said as if it was completely normal. Bad luck for me, I chose this moment to drink and now I'm choking. I put the cup on the table and tried to calm myself. He simply sat there, waiting for me to calm down. I stopped coughing after a few minutes and finally realized his words.
“Move in with you?” I asked, trying to be sure that I heard him right.
“You heard me right.”
“Why?” I croaked, quite surprised about his proposition.
“You've been attacked, Athena,” Damian told me as if I was stupid. “You seem to be taking all this as a joke,” he continued. I rolled my eyes.
“I'm just trying to see the positive side of everything,” I told him.
“What the hell is positive about being attacked?” Damian snapped, making me flinch.
“The fucking fact that I'm still alive,” I retorted. Damian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
“You're alive because I saved you. You'd be dead if I didn't think about coming to look for you. For once, stop being so goddamn stubborn!” Damian spat as he stood up and glared at me. I blinked several times, not really knowing what to tell him. It was sweet though
. It was nice knowing that even without the deal, he still cared.
“Listen Damian, I appreciate the fact that you care, but I can't move in with you.” I explained. “I know that I nearly died and thank you for saving me. But I can’t just run away. You are not going to be here forever,” I told him and watched as he tensed and put his hands over his face for a few seconds. “I don't want to be dependent on you.” I finally admitted. He rubbed the middle of his forehead while staring at me. I was most probably giving him a migraine with all this arguing.
“You won't be dependent. You'll be staying here just a few days. I just want to make sure that no one attacks you again,” Damian said with conviction and he seemed so concerned. “Listen,” he continued, now glaring me. “I'm not giving you an option. You're moving with me, that's all.”
I stared at him. No. I glared at his sexy self.
“What about Rose? I can't leave her alone while she's in this state.” I pointed out, mentally congratulating myself for this awesome point. Well, it was true that I wasn't going to leave Rose alone.
“Good thing that she'll be leaving then. She told me that she was going to stay at her parent's for a few days or weeks to get her mind off things,” Damian told me very professionally. He seemed to be happy with himself. “You're moving in, Athena.” He continued. “We'll be leaving for your apartment in an hour so that you can take your clothes and things that you'll be needing,” Damian told me as he started to walk out of the kitchen. I quickly followed him.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Yes,” he responded sternly as he continued walking without turning to look at me. I huffed and stopped walking.
“I'll be in the guest room with Rose if you need me,” I told him and walked away without really bothering on whether he heard or not. I walked to the guest room to find Rose sitting on the bed with her phone in her hands. As soon as I walked in, Rose stared at me.
“He didn't even call to know if I was okay or not.” She sighed and threw her phone on the bed. I walked to her and sat on the bed. We were both facing each other.
“Tell me what happened,” I suggested because I didn't know what happened. Last night, Rose was not home and I thought that she spent the night with Jace.
“Nothing important.” She sighed again.
“Tell me, Rose.” I urged. She lifted her head to look at me. I could see unshed tears.
“After the show yesterday, he was a little bit distant. As it was late, he told me to sleep at his place. I did. We only slept. He slept on the couch,” she sobbed. “He didn't even want to touch me. He was acting as if I was a sort of disease.” Rose carried on, her tone turning bitter with hatred and anger. “When I asked him, he told me that I wasn't the kind of girl he wanted to introduce to his family. I was only the one-night stand kind of girl.” Rose started sobbing. I pulled her in for a hug, making her sob louder.
“Calm down, Rose.” I shushed, trying to soothe her. “Everything will be fine,” I told her, patting her back soothingly.
“I sincerely thought that he was not like the others. I sincerely thought that he was the one I needed,” Rose cried. Damn. I didn't think that Jace held such a huge importance and impact on Rose.
“He'll realize his mistake, sweetheart. He'll come back around,” I told her, pretty sure of my words. Girls like Rose were hard to find. She had a big heart. She loved people easily and this tended to make her more vulnerable.
“I hate him,” Rose whispered as she wiped away her tears.
“Rose, listen to me,” I started. “It hurts. I know. But getting drunk and sitting in the park at night is not a good idea.” I scolded. “It's not something you do. You're twenty-six, not eighteen.” I continued and watched as she nodded in understanding. “Someone could have raped you! Or worst murder you,” I gasped.
“But thanks to you, I'm okay,” she quickly interjected before I started rambling.
“Are you really going to your parent's?” I asked hesitantly. Rose had a good relationship with her parents. They were pretty cool. She nodded, standing up.
“I need some air and I miss them.” Rose explained. “I'll be back soon though,” she quickly said when she saw the frown on my face.
“Damian is asking me to move in because he wants to be able to protect me,” I groaned and let my body fall on the soft mattress.
“That's so considerate and nice of him. You won't have to live alone in the apartment and let's face it, you are not really taking the attack seriously, which is a bad thing,” Rose said, shaking her head in disapproval.
“Do you really have to go?” I asked, hoping she'd say no and I'd stay with her in the apartment.
“Yes. Or else your Rose will wither,” she said with a touch of humor, which clearly didn't touch her eyes. I knew she was hurting like hell inside. I wanted to kill Jace for hurting my best friend.
“How long will you be staying there?” I asked.
“I don't know. One week or two, I think. It all depends,” Rose told me while she started tying her hair in a messy bun. Rose walked to the bathroom again, leaving me lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I knew something more happened that night. Rose was hiding things for me. She was trying to protect Jace. Rose did not usually get hurt easily. Something really wrong must have happened to make her react that way. I sighed and sat on the bed.
“I'm going to change,” I called and started walking out of the room.
“Yeah, the maid brought clothes,” Rose told me from inside the shower. I hummed an answer and made my way to Damian's bedroom. The man was standing in front of me with only a towel wrapped around his hips.
“Want a shirt?” I asked after gulping my saliva. The way he was staring at me made me squirm.
“I'd prefer the shirt on you,” Damian said huskily, making me bite my lips and shake my head in disbelief and amusement.
Damian Spears was so fucking tempting.
Chapter 29
Fuck the Deal
“Why are you making me do that?” I groaned once we entered my apartment.
Rose was already gone to her parent’s and she told me that she didn't need to pack because she already had some of her stuff there. Damian was adamant about me moving to his place. “What are your parents going to say? What will Alena say? What will Rosebitchmary say?” I asked, staring at his back. He was walking around my apartment as if he owned it.
“Rosebitchmary?” he asked in amusement as he turned to look at me with raised eyebrows. I gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged. “Do you realize that you're twenty?” he continued with his usual sexy smirk.
“I'm twenty and she's still a bitch.” I pointed out. Surprisingly, he nodded chuckling. “I prefer this Damian,” I told him and started walking towards my room. I knew that he was following behind.
“What Damian?” he asked, sounding puzzled.
“The one who isn't cold and is fun to be around,” I told him. Just as I was about to open my wardrobe, I was pulled back. I crashed into his chest and his hands made their way to my hips. I could feel him breathing on my neck. I shivered slightly. I missed having him close to me.
“I'm always fun to be around,” he whispered in my ear, making me close my eyes. “Am I not fun when I slide inside of you? Am I not fun when I make you scream my name?” he asked, his hands slowly moving to my sex.
“That's not what I meant,” I said, breathless, trying to calm my freaking hormones. I wanted him. I needed him.
“And what do you mean, Athena?” he asked seductively, cupping my sex with his hand, making me press my thighs together. Holy shit. Soon, I felt his lips on the back of my neck. I moved my head slightly, to give him more room. His hand started moving, making me moan slightly. Then, somehow through all this, I remembered that the deal was over. I quickly moved away. I turned to look at him and saw desire swimming in his gray eyes. He licked his lips, staring at me.
“The deal is over, Damian,” I said, trying not to show the lust and want I wa
s feeling for him.
“Do you think ending the deal would stop me from wanting you, Athena?” he asked with a smirk as he approached me. “I want you,” he whispered as he closed his eyes and caressed my cheek. “I want to be inside of you again,” he groaned and gently tugged on my hair so I was staring at him. “Don't you want that again?” he asked, a little frown starting to form on his beautiful face.
“I do,” the words escaped my mouth, lust and desire could be detected in my tone. I didn't care about the deal. The frown disappeared and a smirk took its place. Without wasting more time, he crashed his lips against mine. My hands wrapped themselves around his neck and pulled him even closer. He let go of my hair and let his hands find their way to the back of my thighs and the next thing I knew, I was lifted in the air. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around him. Our lips didn't disconnect at all. We needed that. He gently bit my lower lip, making me moan. When he heard that moan, he bit harder, making me gasp slightly. There was pain. A good pain. I let my fingers tugged on his hair, earning a groan from him. Damn.
That was sexy.
As hell.
Damian ran his tongue over my lips, making me open my mouth. He wasted no time in sliding his tongue in. The kiss was soft, sweet and passionate. I could feel so many meanings to it. I tried taking over in the kiss but I couldn't. Damian was too controlling. I tried to follow his pace. Soon, I could feel us moving. I held onto him tighter, again, not breaking the kiss. How the hell wasn't I out of breath already? When I felt the soft mattress under me, I detached myself from him and watched as he pulled away to take off his shirt.
“You have no idea how much I've been wanting you,” he said huskily. I was breathing heavily because of our make out session. I didn't want to think about the consequences anymore. I didn't want to think about Rosemary. I didn't want to think about the relationship that they might have. What I knew was that Damian wanted me, and I was ready to do everything to please him.