chapter 5
I should have walked away.
I should've gone the instant Damien Blackwood made it obvious he wasn't going to give up.
But I didn't.
I couldn't.
Not when he was holding his sharp blue gaze to mine, expecting. Testing.
Not when I had only just gotten feeling back in my body after the way he'd stepped so close his presence hulled out in a way I couldn't shake, his words lighting fires deep in my bones.
Earn your place here.
What did that even mean?
I squared my shoulders. Fine. If you don't trust me, then I don't trust you either.'
Damien smirked. "I never asked you to."
My nails dug into my palms. Why was he always like this? "Always so collected, so maddeningly Stoic, while I stood here, my chest contracted and my mind racing?"
I forced a breath. "So what now? Are you going to hold me here all night until I prove to you?"
His smirk didn't fade. "Tempting."
I scowled. "I was being sarcastic."
"I wasn't."
Heat crawled up my neck.
His voice was too smooth, too self-assured, and the worst of it is he knew exactly what he was doing.
I hated him for that.
I hated how he got under my skin, how he made me feel as if I were playing a game where he already knew the end.
I crossed my arms. So tell me what I need to do to regain your trust.
"Hmm." Damien tilted his head as he considered. "Stay."
I blinked. "Stay?"
"Work late. Show that you mean business with this job."
I frowned. "That's it?"
He propped himself up against his desk and watched me. "Unless you'd prefer to go home and wait for that phone call to be returned."
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Damn him.
He knew just how to bait me.
If I left now, I'd spend all night looking over my shoulder, anticipating.
But if I stayed…
I hated that he was right.
I clenched my jaw. "Fine."
Damien smirked, as if he had just won something. "Good choice."
I exhaled, frustrated, tossing my bag once more on its chair.
From the start, it would be a long night.
The hours dragged on.
Damien handed me more files, more contracts to look over. I understood maybe half of what I read, but I wasn't about to give up.
Occasionally, I'd glance at Damien with the hope of catching him looking at me.
He never did.
He was extremely concentrated on his work and I barely registered with him.
I should have been relieved.
Instead, it irritated me.
He had dragged me into this ridiculous test, made me stay late, and now he was ignoring me?
I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples. My head hurts.
"You're distracted."
I jumped a little at the sudden sound of Damien's voice.
I glanced up to see him watching me, his expression inscrutable.
I swallowed. "No. I'm just… tired."
His lips curled slightly. "You're struggling."
I bristled. "I'm fine."
"Liar."
I clenched my fists. "You always have to be so insufferable?"
The dam broke in Damien; he laughed, low and deep. "It's a talent."
I rolled my eyes, rubbing my aching temples again.
Damien's eyes flickered as if he was weighing something.
Then, much to my surprise, he stood up and walked toward me.
I stiffened. "What are you?"
He reached past me and snatched a bottle of water off his desk.
Then, before I had a chance to respond, he unscrewed the cap and extended it toward me.
I blinked at him.
"Drink," he said simply.
I hesitated.
This was… weird.
Damien Blackwood wasn't nice.
He was arrogant, and controlling, and impossible.
So why was he?
"Elena." His voice dipped lower. More dangerous. "Take it."
I swallowed and reached for the bottle slowly, my fingers grazing against his.
A spark shot up my arm.
My breath hitched.
Damien's eyes flickered.
There was a certain tension in the air between us that was undeniable.
I swallowed hard and took the bottle away quickly, holding it as if it were a lifeline.
"Thanks," I said, staring everywhere but at him.
Damien didn't move.
He kept looking at me for a long moment.
Then finally he stepped away, returning to his desk without another word.
But even as I sipped slowly on the water, blood racing, I knew —
Something had changed between us.
And there was no going back.
My finger wrapped around the bottle, tightening, as if it was the only thing keeping me holding on.
Damien Blackwood did not make sense to me.
He was ruthless, cold, impossible one minute. The one after that, he handed me water, his touch lingering, his gaze too keen, too knowing.
I breathed out slowly, trying to shake off the unsettling awareness that still clung to my skin.
This didn't mean anything.
It couldn't mean anything.
I was simply here to settle a debt.
That was it.
And yet, my pulse wouldn't settle down.
I set the bottle down on the desk and turned back to the contracts, blinking to force myself to concentrate.
But having Damien there was a distraction.
I could sense him in the far corner of the room, his eyes occasionally darting in my direction, his movements soft but recognizable.
It felt a bit like a storm because everywhere you went there were just people everywhere.
Once, I didn't know if I could outrun.
When I checked the clock, it was close to midnight.
I inhaled sharply. Had I truly been here this long?
I paused before stealing a look at Damien. He had still been at it, his fingers dancing over the keyboard with the kind of ease that comes with practice.
No exhaustion. No hesitation. Just pure, unshakable focus.
I clenched my jaw. Of course.
He probably didn't need to sleep.
He wasn't human, he was something else. A machine. A force of nature. A man who fed on control, who never stopped shoveling, never stopped winning.
I hated that it impressed me.
I exhaled softly and rubbed my temples.
I needed sleep.
I needed to leave this office.
I collected my papers and rose to my feet. "I'm leaving."
Damien didn't respond.
I frowned. "Did you hear me?"
His fingers didn't pause. "I heard you."
I narrowed my eyes. "And?"
"And you're released, Elena."
I hesitated, clutching the strap of my bag.
That was too easy.
I thought he would wrestle me on this. To pin me in yet another absurd argument, to tussle with me simply for the hell of it.
I bit my lip. "You're not going to stop me?
His lips curled slightly. "Should I?"
I exhaled sharply. "No. But walking away isn't like you."
Damien's eyes sparkled under the law office lights. "You think I ever let people go, Elena?"
A chill ran down my spine.
Why did that sound like a warning?
I cast the thought aside and walked toward the door. "See you tomorrow."
I didn't bother waiting for his answer.
I just left.
And for the first time since entering Damien Blackwood's world…
"I don't know that I escaped anything."
The streets were quiet when I stepped out.
There was a gentle breeze blowing through the streets, carrying the faint noises of late-night traffic, of car horns and the occasional chuckle of strangers.
I took a deep breath, allowing the chill air to soothe my nerves.
He came into his own the moment he was out of Damien's reach.
He was too suffocating, too omnipotent.
But now, down here, I can finally breathe.
Or at least, I actually thought I could.
Because the moment I turned the corner, I felt it.
A presence.
A shadow.
Someone was watching me.
My heart stuttered.
I slowed my footsteps, my fingers balling into fists.
I was being paranoid.
It was late. I was alone. Of course, I was on edge.
But then
A sudden movement in the alley ahead.
A shadow moving just beyond the streetlights.
A low, familiar chuckle.
I froze.
That voice.
No.
No, no, no.
I focused on breathing, my heart pounding in my ears.
"Hello, Elena."
I knew that voice.
Knew it too well.
I swallowed hard, my body going rigid.
And then, as the figure emerged from the shadows, my blood ran cold.
He had found me. 5