FIVE
I take the steps two at a time before stopping at the large black door. Staring at the metal horseshoe door knocker, I rethink my decision to tutor Damon Saint. Before I can reject and retreat, the large door opens and I come face to face with a tall, dark, and handsome man. His eyes are the same colour as Damon's, along with his hair, but his grin… that's a totally different grin.
It's not dark and inviting, it's more cocky and evil. "I'm Damien. You must be Hanna." He smirks at me. I put on my best fake smile before nodding. "Well, please, come in."
I step through the doorway and gently unzip my boots, looking around the large condo. "How many of you live here?" I practically whisper.
"Just me, Ace, Damon, and Sam. The other hockey players share another condo," he replies, walking past me into the living room. I slowly exit the boot room and enter the large area that joins the dining room, kitchen, and living room. My eyes scan the area, and I admire the cleanliness of the place. I don't get to admire long before a tall, blonde, curly-haired man steps in front of me and scans my body.
I scrunch my nose and glare with all the self-preservation I have. "Sam, leave her alone." I hear Damon before I see him. His large hands wrench Sam away before he smiles down at me. "Shall we?"
I nod slowly, eying Sam one last time before following Damon upstairs into his bedroom. The walls are painted black. The bed is a dark brown, along with the dresser, TV stand, and side tables.
"So, where are we doing this?" I crane my neck so my eyes meet his. Damon eyes his bed then sits down, keeping the blankets neat. I narrow my eyes at him before eying the room. "We couldn't have worked downstairs?" I ask in a whisper.
Damon shakes his head before grabbing his textbooks and binders from a cupboard beside the bed. "My roommates always have the TV blasting and the speakers blared loud enough they sometimes come through the walls of my bedroom," he replies, going through his notes. I nod before settling next to him on the king-sized bed. Once my legs are crossed, I settle myself before opening my notes and looking through them.
"Creative writing is pretty much the writing version of what you guys call English," I say softly, looking over at Damon.
"When you have a C- in your main class, you would understand why I'm frustrated. If I don't bring that mark up with a tutor, I don't play in the finals for hockey," he grumbles.
Sighing, I hand him my notes to look over while I inspect his last writing assignment. "This doesn't make any goddamn fucking sense." Damon scowls an hour later as he stares down at the assignment he just redid.
"It's quite simple. You're just writing a self-reflection on everything we just learned the past two days," I reply, taking the assignment from him.
I feel eyes on me as I search through his assignment carefully. Slowly looking up, my eyes meet Damon's, who is inches away from me. "The freckles look good on you, Cinderella," he whispers in a husky voice. I feel the goosebumps break out over my body as his stare goes from adoration to hunger.
"W-we should finish up," I breathe out.
Damon's eyes find my lips, and I can't help but bite down on them. His attitude is worse than anyone I've ever met. The scowl on his face never disappears. God. He's not the captain, but he's the hottest hockey player I've ever seen.
My thoughts get pulled away from me as Damon's hand lands softly on my thigh. I gently close my eyes as I feel a wet pool in my panties. I need to stop this; I can't control myself around him. Well, I can, but my body doesn't want to. Opening my eyes, I look directly at Damon as my lip quivers. "We… I-I can't," I stutter.
He moves his hand instantly, before picking up the assignment from my lap. "Nine p.m. tomorrow?" he asks, his voice returning to its normal darkness.
I nod with a smile before getting off the bed and gathering all my papers. "That paper should give you a B+," I say when my eyes meet his.
Damon nods, shoving his papers and notes back into the textbooks and binders, returning them to the shelf beside the bed. "I'll walk you out."
I halt at the door as I finish zipping up my bag before turning to him. "You really don't need to do that," I answer with a frown.
Damon gets to his feet and towers over me, watching me carefully. "My roommates are assholes. I'll walk you out," he replies again. I just nod slowly, opening the bedroom door and heading for the second floor with him following behind me.
"Aussie," Damien calls from an island stool.
My eyes land on him for a split second before I look away and stare at the floor. I feel movement as Damien's feet carry him to me. "Hey, Aussie. You okay?" he asks in a worried tone.
I nod, throwing a fake smile on my lips before looking at the floor again and heading toward the main door. "What the hell did you do?" Damien barks inches from Damon's face.
"Get the fuck out of my way and mind your own fucking business," he growls, his lips pulled back in a snarl. I don't hear feet shuffle as I zip up my boots. They’re having a fucking alpha male pissing test over me. God, boys are fucking idiots.
I lift my eyes from the floor, and they land on the back of Damien's head. "It's fine, honest. I'm okay," I reply softly.
Damien turns to face me with a worried expression, then smiles gently at me before he glares daggers at his brother. "I hope you're being honest, Aussie," Damien whispers next to my head before he shoves past Damon and heads for the living room.
I notice Sam and Ace exchange a worried look before they pick up their PS4 remotes again. "Nine p.m.," Damon reminds me. I nod before pulling my coat over my arms and quickly zipping it up. I watch Damon's eyes and see the darkness that has filled them since Damien snapped at him.
"I'll be here," I reply, opening the door and exiting. The door closes behind me, and I feel every emotion I was putting off the moment Damon's hand touched me. I can feel the tears staining my cheeks as I close the driver's door to the car. How could he touch me?
I remember the fact he doesn't know what happened to me, so he wouldn't know it would set off triggers for me. I close my eyes briefly before putting my gramz car into drive and head back to my house. The tears don't stop falling, even after I turn off the SUV.
Locking the vehicle, I head into the horror house I call home and toss the car keys onto the table beside the door. "Where were you?" I hear his voice and my entire body freezes, as if today never happened, as if I didn't have a good day, as if—I don't finish my sentence because his big hand grips my arm.
"I asked you a question, Hanna," he growls in my face with beer on his breath.
I shiver before craning my neck to look at him. "I was tutoring another student," I reply in a stuttering voice.
My stepbrother's grip on my arm tightens and he glares at me. "Me and your grandma need you home on weekends… you know why," he whispers in my ear.
I shutter and close my eyes, knowing my grandmother is never home on the weekends because she works. "Come watch some TV with me," he demands.
I shake my head with innocent eyes. "I'm really tired, I need some sleep."
He smiles his ugly fucking smile back at me and nods. It may be early still, but when you're trying to get away from someone, you use whatever excuse you need. He releases my arm and heads back into the living room. I sprint up the stairs, slamming my bedroom door behind me.
I lock it before dropping my bag onto the floor next to my bed. Once again, I don't stop the tears that stream down my cheeks as I slide to the floor and cry into my knees. I can't go back to that house tomorrow. I continue to sob until I'm mentally exhausted from the amount of tears I've shed.
Slowly climbing into bed, I pull the covers over my body. Laying down on the pillows, I curl up, snuggling into my blankets until sleep overtakes me.