CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DAMIEN
We’ve made a lot of progress in a short time. Things are going exactly as I wanted them to. But for some reason, I can’t get rid of something in the pit of my stomach, warning me that nothing good lasts forever.
I won’t let that happen in relation to Cassie, though. I’ll destroy anything that prevents us from being together. Especially now when so much depends on me finding a way to make this relationship work.
I dress up for the door with only one location in mind. I don’t have much work, so I’ve decided I’ll be spending the day with her. A task that will surely be difficult after what happened last night. I could see the desire in her eyes. Could practically taste it.
She wanted me. And I’m sure that thought scares her.
But I’m not going to allow her to close herself off to me now. I need to help her ease into it. Accept the fact that she is mine.
I head over to her room and knock on her door this time instead of just walking in. We both need to respect each other’s boundaries. But if it gets me a repeat of last night and more, to hell with boundaries. All I want is her in my bed, on top of me, beneath me, in my mouth.
My cock grows hard in my pants. I clear my throat, trying to banish the thoughts of her naked body.
It takes a minute for Cassie to answer the door. When it finally opens, my eyes narrow at the sight of her.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, taking in her red eyes and the lines in her forehead.
She looks tired. And it’s only nine.
“I didn’t sleep well,” she mutters with a soft yawn, leaving the door open, she retreats into the room, sitting on her bed.
I walk inside, my eyes perusing her.
“Why didn’t you sleep well? And why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?”
“No,” she replies. Then she hesitates. “Look I don’t know okay. I’ve been having bad dreams or sad dreams. It happens sometimes.”
My lips press into a thin line. There’s that repressing habit I was worried about. It seems it’s already manifesting in a way that’s causing her harm.
I sigh softly, “Get dressed, bella .”
She looks up at me in surprise.
“What? Why?”
“You and I are going to go somewhere. Wear something loose and comfortable.”
“Do I have to?” she grumbles.
I give her a look that spells ‘I’m not going to repeat myself.’ She huffs out a breath, wrinkling her nose in annoyance but she does get up.
“Do I need to take a shower first? Are we leaving the house?” she questions, looking momentarily excited by the prospect.
I shake my head, feeling bad that I have to squash that hope. She’ll have more freedom after the wedding. But for now, her safety is important, plus, I can’t have her running on me.
“You don’t need to take a shower. You’ll take one after,” I inform her.
She stares at me quizzically, “Okay…”
I sit on the bed while she heads into the closet.
Five minutes later she walks out wearing grey joggers and a black top with a silver zip running down the front.
The top accentuates her tits, makes them look all the more desirable.
A part of me wants to ask her to change and wear something less revealing.
But it would probably do me well not to act too much like a possessive caveman. That being said, I’ll rip the eyes of any man that dares to look twice at her.
“Come on,” I say, gesturing for her to take my hand.
She stares at it for a beat and just when I think she’ll refuse, she slides her palm into mine. Her hands are much smaller, softer than mine. And yet somehow they fit perfectly. I hold on to her tight as I lead her downstairs to the training grounds near one of the annexed houses.
We’re both silent as we walk toward the gym. I know she must be taking it all in since I haven’t brought her here since she came to the house. I just didn’t want her getting exposure to my men. I push open the doors to the gym.
There’s a couple of my capos inside, training. The fighting ring is empty though. they all stop their actions to stand up at our arrival, some of them bowing their heads in respect. My gaze brushes over them for a second before I fall to a stop, turning to face Cassie.
“What is this place?” she asks in a murmur, taking a look around.
“Training facilities for my men,” I reply simply. “You like it?”
This place stinks of testosterone,” she says with a small sniff.
I chuckle lowly at that.
“What are we doing here?”
“We’re here,” I drawl, stepping towards the ring, “Because you need some form of release, sweetheart.”
She blinks, following me. “I don’t follow.”
“Repressing emotions is unhealthy, Cassie,” I try again.
She frowns, “I’m not repressing anything.”
I inwardly sigh. I knew she wasn’t going to admit it. but that’s fine. I’m not going to force her to do that. I beckon for her to climb into the ring, stretching a hand out to help her up. I can feel my men’s eyes on us but I ignore them in favor of the woman in front of me.
She doesn’t seem to be able to block them out as easily though.
“Hey, just focus,” I say softly.
“On what? What are we doing, Damien?” she questions.
“Focus on me,” I tell her. “And we’re here to fight.”
Her brows furrow in confusion.
“What do you mean fight?”
“I mean fight, bella . You’re going to fight me,” I explain. “Usually getting in the ring provides me with some form of stress relief. I’m hoping it can do the same for you.”
“You want to fight me ? Please tell me you’re joking. You have like 50 pounds of muscle on me. There’s no way I could beat you,” she scoffs.
“Actually, you’ll be the one doing most of the fighting. I have zero interest in hurting you. And the goal isn’t to beat me, sweetheart.”
Her lips twitch, her eyes growing lighter. “You’re going to stand there and let me punch you? You sure about that? I wouldn’t want to ruin your handsome face.”
“First off, you think I’m handsome,” I point out with a smile. She simply rolls her eyes. “Also, who told you, you’ll be able to land a punch, bella ?”
Her eyes narrow with challenge, “My dad insisted I learn martial arts growing up so I could protect myself. I have a black belt in Judo, Damien. Do not underestimate me.”
“I know about your black belt, Cassie. I haven’t forgotten about your attempt to take me down the other day. Now are you going to come at me or not?”
She blushes but quickly shakes it off. Determination etches onto her face. She gets into fighting position, and I steel myself for the coming attack. She shifts her weight to the side in an obvious feint before lunging. I duck out of the way, and she stumbles at the redirection.
When she looks at me her eyes are blazing. I almost laugh. There’s my girl.
“Again,” I say, keeping my face blank.
We play a sort of game over the next ten minutes. Cassie tries to attack me, each time with more ferocity than the last. She strikes, I dodge. She gets angrier.
“Will you stay fucking still and take one punch?” she snaps.
“No,” I reply dryly.
She makes a small noise of frustration, breathing heavily. I wait for her to attack again, but instead she pauses. When her eyes brighten, she gets this look on her face that I’m sure spells trouble.
“You know I’m actually really hot. And sweaty,” she drawls, using her hand as a makeshift fan.
My eyes narrow as she places a hand against the zipper of her top.
“Don’t you dare!” I growl.
She simply smirks, a playful glint in her eyes as she starts to pull it down.
“Cassandra,” I hiss, rushing towards her.
I know I’m being baited but too pissed off to care. I place a hand over hers, stopping it’s movement. Which gives her ample chance to rear her other hand back and punch me in the jaw.
I rear back slightly, a little surprised by the force of her punch despite knowing it was coming.
She’s stronger than I expected her to be. I’m impressed.
When she tries to go in for another punch, I catch her fist in my hand.
“That’s enough, sweetheart. You don’t want to ruin my handsome features.”
“Get over yourself,” she mutters but she’s grinning.
Her eyes are light and clear and despite her sweaty, tired appearance, she looks better that she did this morning.
“Do you feel better?”
She nods, “Yeah, this was actually nice. I got to release some tension.”
“That’s good, sweetheart. I’ve got something else to help you. Something that’s almost as good as fighting.”
“What?” she questions warily.
“Watching an actual fight,” I reply, grabbing her hand and helping her out of the ring.
Once we’re both on the sidelines, I nod once towards Killan and another one of my capos. They don’t hesitate to enter the ring. And soon enough their fight begins.
A part of me had been worried Cassie would be thrown off by all the violence. She could have hated it. But most of me knew she wouldn’t.
Try as she might to hide it, there’s a part of her that enjoys this. The darkness of it all, the blood. It’s why she’s well-suited to be my wife. Why she belongs to this world.
There’s this look in her eyes as she watches the fight. Intrigue and curiosity mixed together. That passion she said she’d been missing in her life.
That same exact passion I need her to awaken in me as well.
Killan ends up winning the fight. We eventually leave the training halls after watching one more fight.
Cassie’s practically dead on her feet by the time we exit the doors.
But she’s pretty excited about what she witnessed.
She’s also managed to garner the praise and affections of my men who were all too ready to fall for her charms.
And while I’m happy she’s thriving, I’m a little irritated by how many of them she talked to.
“You’re sulking,” she says, reading me as we walk toward the main house.
“Am I?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I just don’t like seeing you talk to any other men apart from me,” I say honestly.
“God, you’re impossible.”
“Only when it comes to you.”
“I mean it, Cassie. No more spending time with my men.”
“But they like me and they all seem fun.”
“My men are not fun. Those are my soldiers. Enforcers who will gladly go to war at my request. They’re not your friends,” I grit out.
She huffs out a breath, “Right. I almost forgot where I was for a second.”
I shut my eyes, my teeth clenching in frustration. I didn’t mean to kill her buzz. She lets out a soft tired yawn as we continue our walk to the house.
“Want me to carry you?” I offer.
“No,” she says stubbornly even though I can tell she’s only seconds from falling asleep.
“Cassandra…” I hum.
She makes a face, “Stop using my full name to scold me.”
“Stop doing things that make me scold you then.”
“Fine,” she relents, her feet falling to a stop.
I’ve been waiting for an excuse to touch her all night. I don’t hesitate. I scoop her into my arms. She gasps, a little caught off guard by how effortlessly I lift her off her feet, but her body molds to mine like it’s instinct.
I adjust my hold, one arm beneath her legs, the other across her back, until her head settles against my chest. She lets out a soft breath, like she finally feels safe.
“I’m surprised you’re so warm,” she murmurs, voice soft and teasing. “I figured you were cold-blooded.”
I smirk, tightening my hold as I carry her up the stairs like she weighs nothing. But each step is torture. Her breasts press against my chest with every movement, her breath ghosting across my neck like a fucking invitation.
And my cock? Rock hard beneath her, aching with the need to claim what’s already mine.
She has no idea how close I am to losing control.
No idea how badly I want to ruin her, kiss every inch of her body, hear her moan my name until it echoes in her soul, mark her so deeply no other man would dare come near her.
By the time we reach her bedroom, I don’t want to let go.
I want to lay her down and slide into her heat. I want to feel her fall apart around me and know it’s me, only me, who gets to see her like that.
But she’s not ready. And I won’t take her until she is. Even if it’s fucking killing me.
“You can put me down now, Superman,” she whispers, a lazy, wicked little smile on her lips.
Reluctantly, I lower her to the bed, my hands lingering just a little too long, palms memorizing the curve of her hips. She doesn’t pull away. If anything, she leans in.
I tug the blanket over her slowly, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. She looks up at me, eyes soft and unreadable, and for a moment, everything else disappears.
I lean in and press a kiss to her forehead, but as I pull back, our eyes lock. My gaze dips to her beautiful full lips which are barely parted.
“Goodnight, Cassie,” I say, our lips so close I could almost taste her.
“Goodnight, Damien,” she whispers, not moving an inch closer… but not further away either.
And fuck, that almost kills me.
I finally tear myself away and turn toward the door. Every step I take feels like a punishment.
On my way to my room, I run into Sofia. She eyes me for a second.
“What happened there?” she gestures towards the small bruise forming on my jaw. “Cassie,” I reply with a smirk. She sighs, “Marital spat?” “Training,” I correct. “We were at the fighting grounds.”
Her nose wrinkles, “Why did you take her there? All that fighting is abhorrent.”
“She liked it,” I argue. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“Wait,” Sofia says, her eyes meeting mine, her expression almost imploring. “You’re getting married in two days. Are you sure you’re making the right decision? Not just for yourself. But for Cassie as well.”
I don’t even have to think about the answer to that question.
“This is exactly how it’s meant to be, mia cara .”
I walk into my room and find Luca already waiting. He’s been busy these past couple of days. Taking care of the wedding preparations. Especially security.
“How’s it going?” I ask him, reaching for a towel.
“We’re prepared,” he assures me. The wedding should go by without a hitch.”
“It had better.”
Everything’s going to change after the wedding. And maybe I’ll finally get an answer to a burning question in my mind.