Corrupted (10 page)

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

When we pull up in front of Damon’s house I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and exit the car before Damon can come and open my door for me. I brusquely walk up to the front door and enter, using the key he gave me. I remove my shoes and walk to the sitting room and take a seat on the corner sofa, bringing my feet up to the edge, knees bent with my arms wrapped around them.

The house remains silent for a few minutes then I hear the door shut and lock behind Damon. He’s shuffling about in the hallway. My heart pounds in my chest as I sit here waiting to see if he will come and talk to me or go to his room and ignore the situation altogether.

I’ve done a lot of waiting around the last few years. Waiting has never bothered me before, but this wait is the worst. It seems to take forever before I hear his footsteps heading towards me. I hold my breath as he appears at the threshold of the door.

He leans casually against the frame but his tension filled body is stiff, giving away his stress. His gaze remains locked on mine as he takes in my posture. Even with a rigid body he still looks like a god. He’s pure male sexiness. He overwhelms my body with hormones, overrides my thoughts of anything other than him, he sets me on fire with just one look. One touch. One word.

“What are you doing?” he asks quietly.

“Thinking.”

“About?”

“You.” His eyes storm with questions but he looks unsure.

“Care to share?”

“Do you?” I snap. His eyes widen with shock for a split second before his mask slips in place.

“What?” he asks indifferently.

“Care to share?”

He stands away from the frame, standing to full height, chin raised. “Just drop it, Ella,” he grates out. I search his eyes. Is he really not prepared to share anything about his past? I need to know what that was. Who she was. She reminded me of Lydia in a way. The way Lydia felt when she wrote her secrets in her diary, that’s exactly how the woman looked. Confused. Hurt. Broken.

I don’t trust this man yet
, not enough anyway. If he can’t tell me what that was then I know we won’t work out. This pretend night I’ve had with him has been perfect. I could walk away now and save myself more pain. I’ve let him in further than I realised.

I need to leave to regroup. I’m confused
, and if I’m honest with myself, I’m hurt. I need to decide my next move, or if I should just move on from all of this and start to live my life for myself. Fresh start.

“Fine
,” I say calmly. I stand up and move towards Damon. His body relaxes as I approach him but I skirt around him and walk towards the stairs.

“Where are you going?” he bites.

I stop at the bottom step. “Home,” I sigh. This night has ended so differently than what I expected. “Thank you, Damon Hunt. For a lovely evening, mostly.” I turn to look at him with a small smile. “I can’t say I regret cancelling my original date because you were perfect for most of tonight. I’m glad to have met you.” My smile turns into a grin. “I can’t say giving up hot, wild sex with him was worth it for how the night has ended.” His pained expression is like a bolt of lightning straight to my own heart.

“Ella.” He whispers my name like it physically hurts him to speak.

“I have good memories of both of you.” I have to get away from him. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my mask in place. I doubt I can keep up this masquerade for much longer. I don’t give him chance to reply. I turn and dash up the stairs to the room I’ve been staying in, shutting the door behind me.

Leaving is for the best.

I need to forget everything I’ve been planning. Everything I’ve done.

I need to forget Damon Hunt altogether.

I need to move on with my life and start living. For me.

I pull my suitcase out of the closet and begin throwing my clothes in. I don’t have time to care about packing neatly, I just need to get out of Damon’s house. I don’t want to break down here. I can’t break down here. I won’t.

I can’t let Damon see how close he’s got to owning my heart.

The door slamming open makes me jump. I turn to find Damon standing there, panting, and chest heaving with every breath he takes. His eyes look wild. Blood roars in my ears, my pulse races. I’ve never seen Damon look so frantic.

“You’re just gonna run again?” I don’t answer, I just continue to pack. “That’s what you’re good at, right? Running. It’s what you do. Push people away.” I move to the bathroom and gather my personal items. He follows, not saying another word. Damon’s heavy stare burns into me. I don’t meet his eyes.

Once I’ve collected everything, and my arms are full, I move to the door. Damon is blocking my path. I raise my eyes to his chin before speaking.

“Please, move,” I say in a strangled whisper. I can’t lift my gaze any higher. I can’t look at his gorgeous lips and not want to kiss them. I can’t see his fierce gaze without wanting to give him everything. He’s gotten far, far deeper than I could have ever imagined. Tears pool in my eyes, unbidden. I look down, hoping I can hold them at bay.

“Look at me,” his gruff voice whispers. “Don’t push me away, Ella. Don’t run.” My tears fall, streaking down my cheeks. Damon’s hand comes up to cup my chin. “Look at me, beauty.”

I close my eyes tightly, clenching my fists. The pain in his voice is enough to make me want to crumble. A sob rips from deep in my chest. I can’t hold it in. I can’t hold back. My body shakes as the emotions inside me become too much to keep locked away.

Damon pulls me into his arms, wrapping me up with his body. I cry into his chest, clinging to him with tight fists bunched in his shirt.

Seeing that woman so broken reminded me of the place Lydia found herself. Damon doesn’t seem to give a shit about her being broken. That doesn’t sit well with me but why doesn’t he act like that with me? He treats me like I’m a precious gem, something rare to be protected by him.

“Ella.” His pained voice cuts me deep. I can tell his pain is now for me. He’s hurting because I am. How can he be so caring for me but so heartless to that woman? And to Lydia. “Don’t go, beauty. Let me keep you.”

“I can’t,” I hiccup.

“Why?”

“Because what you call ‘not important’ was very obviously important to her. She was broken, Damon. I can’t let myself get hurt like that. It could be me in her place, next time, and I’d be the hurt one but it would be unimportant to you.” His thumbs wipe away my falling tears as he stares into my eyes.

“It really means that much to you?”

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation. I hold my breath as I wait for his reply. He sighs. I know that he’s going to let me go. He’s not going to tell me. His jaw clenches tight.

“I’ll tell you. Just... just give me time. I don’t want my past tainting what we have. I want to keep you, beauty. I need to know I have you before there’s a chance I could lose you.”

“It won’t. You won’t.” Even as I say the words I’m not sure if they’re true. What if it’s all a game to him? What if that broken woman is another one of Damon’s victims? I need to sleep on all this. “I can give you time.”

Damon’s body visibly relaxes. He buries his nose in my hair. Inhaling deep. “Fuck, beauty.” He peppers my face with soft kisses, caressing every inch of skin. “We good?” he asks before finally pressing his lips to mine.

“For now,” I mumble against his mouth. He chuckles before pulling away.

“Ella Knight
, it’s been a pleasure. I will bid you a goodnight.” He places a chaste kiss to my lips once more before spinning on his heel and walking towards the door.

“You’re just going?” I ask, confused. He stops and pivots around to face me, a grin teasing his kissable lips.

“I told you when I asked you on a date that I want to deserve you. I need to earn that, beauty. We might have started off the wrong way but I sure as shit am gonna try my best to keep you. That means showing you your worth. Until the next date.” He winks and leaves, leaving me speechless.

The small smile playing on my lips stays there even as I crawl into bed after a shower. Can I really let go of the past and just live for me? Can I live a life with Damon? Exhaustion pulls me under before I can think too much about it.

CHAPTER TWENTY

May 27th 2014

Damon’s lips upon mine cause me to moan. My body yields to his as he presses into me from behind. His hard shaft is filling me to capacity. It feels amazing. The weight of him pressing into my back is enough to make me feel consumed. He’s surrounding every inch of me. His arm bands around my waist, pulling me back against his thrusting, steely, cock. Each slap of skin echoes around the room. I cry out as I feel his fingers connect with my clit. My pleasure peeks before it turns to pain. I feel too full
, the pressure is too much.

I shoot up in bed bursting for the toilet. My bladder feels like it’s going to pop. I stumble to my feet, trying to get to the toilet before I wet myself. I make it just in time. It feels so nice. A whimper slips past my lips. My clit is swollen from my dream, relieving my bladder almost feels like an orgasm.

I make my way back to bed, lying flat on top of the covers. It’s warm in the room but I’m boiling up. I heave myself up to go open the window, the breeze that hits my skin immediately feeling heavenly, I crawl onto the bed and pass out straight away.

****

I wake feeling groggy. I have no energy and I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years. I roll over and try to snuggle back to a comfortable position so I can sleep longer. I shift after a minute, feeling too hot. I spread out to touch cold spots in the sheets, cooling my skin. I let out a sigh. It feels nice. I push a leg out the covers to let the air hit my overheated skin.

I feel restless. My body needs to move but my mind needs to rest. I shift positions when I become hot again. The bed feels hard. I don’t know why because usually it’s a dream to sleep in but I feel like I’m on a wooden plank.

I sit up and rub my palms over my eyes, trying to shake off the sleepy daze, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the billowing curtains. I feel like shit. I can’t remember the last time I felt so unwell. My stomach feels off, my head hurts and body aches. My mouth feels like I’ve been sucking cotton balls all night.

I stand up and my head spins. I clutch my head, letting the dizziness pass before standing up right. I need a drink ASAP. I wobble down to the kitchen, my stupefied zombie state cause
s
me to bump into the odd wall along the way but I don’t care. I just need a drink. 

I bump straight in to Damon as I step into the kitchen with my eyes half closed. I grunt an apology before stepping around him, grabbing a glass of water, and drinking it down in one go before filling it back up again.

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks. I feel it. Too much wine and Tiramisu. Over indulgence on my part.” I take slower sips of my water whilst running my hand through my hair. I can’t even imagine what a mess I must look. “I’m going back to bed.” Damon’s chuckle follows me up the stairs.

****

May 28th 2014

It’s
mid afternoon when Damon gently shakes me awake with a bowl of soup. The smell instantly churns my stomach. I dive out of bed and dash to the bathroom and collapse to the floor, no energy to hold me up.

Damon comes over with a damp washcloth to wipe my face. I lean back against his legs and shut my eyes. “Thanks.” I whisper.

“You need to see a doctor.”

“I’m okay, I’ll be fine. It’s just a head cold.” I start to nod off again. Damon scoops me up and carries m
e to bed. “It’s so warm in here,” I mumble as I settle in on the bed. Damon brushes the hair back from my face, pressing his palm against my head, checking my temperature.

“I’ll bring you a fan up. Just rest, beauty.” He lips press gently to my forehead before I fall into a deep sleep.

****

May 29th 2014

Damon finds me cooking his breakfast, with my head in the sink, throwing up. I felt fine when I woke up. I wanted to thank Damon for his care yesterday. He kept waking me up, making me stay hydrated.

“What the fuck, Ella? What the hell are you doing out of bed if you’re still ill?” he rushes over to softly rub my back. “You need to see a doctor.”

“I don’t. I feel fine now,” I tell him. I don’t. I feel terrible but I’m not going to tell him that. I plate up his breakfast and make an excuse of needing a shower. I crawl back into bed and sleep the day away.

****

May 30th 2014

Damon has invited me to his parent’s house for dinner tomorrow. I’m a little dubious but after a lot of persuasive tongue action he finally got me to agree. I’m a little excited but a lot nervous.

Today is the best I’ve felt all week. My illness seems to have passed and my energy levels are full to the brim. I settle in to watch some Friday night TV with him, trying not to think about the upcoming meet the parents day. It doesn’t take long before I’ve fallen to sleep.