Instead, my feet were planted on the ground like a rabbit caught underneath the gaze of Damian Blackwood. My body was screaming at me to run, put as much distance between us as I could before I did something I could never take back.
But my body wasn't listening.
His scent deep, costly, dangerously intoxicating draped over me like an invisible shackle. The air surrounding us buzzed, charged with something I wasn't allowed to feel.
"I have to get back to work," I whispered.
Damian's mouth curled slightly, as if he knew how well he was drying me out. Is that what you want, Elena, like, really?
His fingers danced across my waist again soft, teasing but not accidental. My breath hitched.
This was wrong.
I was nobody. A waitress. He was Damian Blackwood. One word from him could destroy someone.
And yet…
"Let me go," I gasped, although even I wasn't sure if I meant it.
For a long moment he remained still. And just like that, as quickly as he'd crossed the gap between us, he pulled away. The warmth evaporated at once, but did nothing for the panicked thumping of my heart.
"Go, then," he said, coolly, as though this had all not happened. Like he hadn't rocked my whole world off its axis already with a single touch.
I turned on my heel and walked away before I could change my mind.
I didn't look back.
I lumbered into the employee break room, hands trembling as I fumbled for the nearest counter. When I was alone, reality set in.
What the hell had just taken place?
My heart was still racing, my body still tingling from something I didn't want to name. One thing was certain: Damian Blackwood was a menace. And I had only just gotten his attention.
A mistake. A huge mistake.
"I had to pretend this didn't even happen." I needed to push out of my head the way he'd looked at me, the way his touch still lingered.
I was still trying to rein in my breathing when the door swung open.
"Elena," a sharp voice said.
I turned around, and my stomach sank at the sight of my supervisor Richard. His face was tight and his arms were crossed and his eyes were cold.
"What do you think you were doing? he hissed.
My throat dried. He saw.
"I"
"Do you know who that man is? Richard took it upon himself to interrupt me. "Damian Blackwood is one of the most powerful men in this city. You think you can hit him with a drink and" He took a deep breath, as if trying to keep his anger in check. "You're done for the night."
Panic shot through me. "Wait"
"Save it." His voice was final. "You're lucky you're not fired on the spot."
He turned on his heel and left, banging the door as he exited.
I drew in a shuddering breath, my fingers twisting along the edge of the counter.
I'd lost count of how many times Damian Blackwood had ruined my night.
I didn't just lose control. I lost my job.
And the worst part?
I didn't know if I should feel regret.
As I filed out through the employee exit, I still felt a knot in my stomach. The cold night air nipped at my face as I stepped out, but that did nothing to clear my brain.
I had walked halfway down the alley, preoccupied, when a voice called out to me.
"Elena."
I froze.
I knew that voice.
Slowly, I turned.
Damian Blackwood stood at the mouth of the alley with his hands shoved into his pockets and a look in his eyes that made my blood run cold.
Why was he here?
"You're following me now?" I knew I needed to sound calm, so I pushed out.
Not a single hint of a smile. "Let's call it… curiosity."
I swallowed hard. "What do you want?"
He moved closer, a figure larger than life, even in the dark. "I heard you lost your job."
My stomach twisted. "That's not your business."
"Maybe not." He tilted his head slightly. "But I'm giving you something better."
My pulse quickened. "What?"
What he said next terrified me to the core.
"Come work for me."
I blinked. "You're joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" He spoke in a steady voice and a calm tone, but his eyes disclosed the truth.
A warning.
A promise.
I should have said no.
But the way he looked at me the way he spoke as though he already knew what I was going to say made my stomach twist.
I had no job. No security.
And Damian Blackwood knew it.
He was offering me something I didn't yet know to call by name. Something that would either save me
Or destroy me.
I should have walked away.
Damian Blackwood was not a man who made idle offers. A person who saw something they desired and snatched it without hesitation.
And right now, he wanted me.
"I don't get it," I said, shakily. Why would you want to hire me?"
Damian stepped forward slowly, his girth filling an already narrow alley. "Because I need someone like you.
A chill ran through me. Someone like me?
I gripped a fist against my other hand, determined to disregard how loudly my pulse thumped at how he looked at me. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough." His voice was smooth and dangerous. "You're obstinate, you're rash, and you're not easily scared."
I swallowed hard. "That is not exactly a job qualification."
The corners of his mouth turned up on one side in humor. "That depends on the job."
There was a chill up my spine with the tone he said it. I should have asked him right away what he meant. I should have pressed for answers, I should not have been standing there like a caged bird, caught between fear and something I wanted no part of.
What kind of job, I said instead, quietly.
Something inscrutable flickered in his dark eyes. "One that pays well."
That wasn't an answer.
I inhaled shakily, struggling to think. "I don't trust you."
Damian chuckled. "Good."
Good?
His gaze never wavered. "Trust is earned, Elena. I don't expect you to relinquish it willingly."
I had to get out of here. This conversation, this moment, seemed the beginning of something I couldn't walk away from.
"I need time," I said after some time.
Damian nodded, but something in his expression told me he was not used to waiting. He expected me to give in.
And that terrified me.
I turned back, walking away, my body buzzing from his body behind me. I didn't look back.
But I felt him watching me.
And I knew it wouldn't be the last I'd seen of him.
I barely slept that night.
Damian's words were reverberating in my mind, repeating like the loose end of a spark plug wire.
Come work for me.
I didn't even know exactly what he did. I mean, sure I knew his name. Everyone did. Billionaire. Powerhouse. A man who everyone talked about only in hushed tones, in rooms where the air was thick with money and the fear of the man who gave it to you.
But what exactly did he want from me?
By morning, I was a wreck. Meanwhile, my bank account was empty and my rent was due in less than two weeks. I needed a job. Now.
I put on a plain black dress and made a list of restaurants and hotels where I could apply. Anything that might put distance between me and Damian Blackwood.
I had been to four places by noon. All dead ends.
By evening, I was exhausted.
And then my phone rang.
I squinted at the unfamiliar number. Hesitated. Then I picked up. "Hello?"
"Elena."
My stomach dropped.
I knew that voice.
My grip on the phone tightened. "How did you get my number?"
My heart stuttered with Damian's low chuckle. "Does it matter?"
It did. It really did.
"I told you I need time," I said, stiff-backed.
"I gave you a day."
I exhaled sharply. "That's not time."
"That is more than most people get." He was so mild-mannered, like I wasn't having that feeling of being hunted.
I forced myself to stay firm. "Thank you for the offer but I like something different."
Silence.
Then, "Are you?"
His tone made my skin prickle. I suddenly felt naked, like he knew that I had been searching for work all day the day, and had come up empty.
Damian was never a man who did not know stuff.
My stomach twisted. "What do you want from me?"
Another pause. Then, his voice dipped lower. "Dinner."
I blinked. "What?"
"I'm sending a car. Be ready in an hour."
The line went dead.
I was frozen, staring at my phone, my heart racing.
Damian Blackwood had just order
ed me not asked, ordered me to dinner.
I should have ignored him.
"I should have blocked his number."
And instead, stood before my closet with a racing heart, knowing damn well my only option was to walk away from him.
Not really.