Chapter 70
-MILLIE-
Guiding me towards an Everest park in front of The Villa, Damian opened the passenger side and waited until I settled in. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll get a few things from my room.”
“Sure,” I avoided his gaze, anxious he’d see how this turn of events was messing with my head, and just focused on fixing my seatbelt. When I was done, Damian still stood by the door, lightly bending on the waist, his face leveled with mine.
I’d forgotten how it felt to be the sole focus of his attention. Damian had the most expressive emerald eyes. He starred in tons of my wet d r e a m s, looking like this, effortlessly s e x y and hot, and I’d explode to a mind-numbing o r g a s m under his stare.
My mouth was as dry as the desert under the scorching heat of the sun.
It’s been so long since I let him be this close to me without a fight, and I’m reminded of how breathtaking his beauty was. His skin was deliciously, tanned, the kind that I would spend hours savoring every crevice with my tongue and fingers. It’s obviously from longer hours under the sun, and his gray hair was longer, the ends skimming the collar of his bomber jacket.
I swallowed hard. How long has it been since I pulled his hair while I screamed his name? Last night, I got to feel them while he kissed me; hence, my brain glitched and said yes to him.
Unable to keep eye contact, my gaze dropped to his mouth. His lips stretched to a smirk. It’s soft and plump and freaking kissable, the kind that I’d love to bite and lick.
A knot snapped between my legs. My p u s s y let me know how long it had been tolerating the company of our battery-operated boyfriend and how excited it was at the prospect of spending the night with Damian again.
“Wait. Back up. We’re not sleeping with him. It’s just a date!’
He hadn’t even touched me, and my panties were already soaked, my body already craving his touch.
Licking my lips, I lift my gaze back to his eyes, sucking a breath at how dark they turned.
“What?” I whispered, suddenly out of breath.
Damian lifted a hand to my face. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. My heart drummed on my ribcage as his fingers skimmed my forehead, sailing to the back of my ears. He pushed a lock of my hair out of my face. My pulse went into overdrive, and blood rushed into my cheeks, setting my face on fire.
Biting his lip, his smile was teasing as he stretched to his full height. “Nothing. I’ll be back in a sec.”
“Oh… Okay…” he closed the door, rounded the front of his car, and disappeared through the entry of The Villa.
Once he was out of sight, my body and my soul were one again. Being close to Damian short-circuited my brain. He always had that effect on me, and my longing for his touch was fuel sprinkled over this burning craving for him inside me.
“What am I doing?” I murmured out loud, chiding myself for every decision I made in the last thirty minutes: letting him sit beside me, speaking to him as if the last four weeks hadn’t happened, and most of all, placing my hand in his and agreeing to this date.
I groaned, hands balling to a fist. “What the hell are you doing, Millie?”
Suddenly claustrophobic, I rolled the windows down and inhaled deeply, the resignation I had earlier coming back in full force.
My determination to set a mile-high wall between Damian and me materialized again. I waited for him like a pup waiting for its owner to come and pick him up. When an hour passed and there was still no sign of him, that was the point when I knew he played me like a puppet again.
I fell for his tricks, his kisses and touch and s e x y smirk. Feeling utterly stupi d, I promised never to fall for his tactics again, and now… ‘what the hell am I doing?’
I can still back out. Ready to unbuckle my seatbelt and run back into the cabin, I cowered away when Damian jogged out of The Villa holding a duffle bag. He opened the backseat and tossed the bag before sliding into the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
‘No.’
“Uhm… Yeah,” I nodded, smiling at him.
‘What happened to never falling for his tactics, Millie?’
Someone else was operating my body. That was the only explanation I could muster.
I knew what I had to do. This decision was a one-way ticket to my doom, but why was I still sitting here like a pliant little girl as Damian started the car? Shoulder-checking, he drove out of the parking lot, exiting Dad’s property. As the Summerfield Acre arch and signage became smaller and smaller through the rearview mirror, there goes my chance of backing out from this date.
Turning to the open window, I inwardly cursed myself for putting ‘me’ in this situation. I was hellbent on permanently removing Damian from my life. And why am I still smiling? Smiling at him contradicts that
3 notion. Going on a date with him was the opposite of that.
“Millicent,” Damian called; his voice was a balm soothing all my hesitations.
“Hm?” I answered without looking at him, still figuring out what was wrong with me.
He didn’t answer me with words. He reached for my hand, laced our fingers together, and lifted it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. It was a simple yet intimate move, my heart went gaga inside my chest. I feared it would jump out of my body and dance above the dashboard as it sang Damian’s name.
Chapter 70
Gaze sliding to Damian, what I saw left me stunned. He reflected the emotions on my face, smiling to himself as if he was finally at peace.
“You make me happy,” he said, resting our joined hands on his lap. He shifted gears as he stepped on the gas, the wind sweeping my hair over my face.
He didn’t need me to reply. Even if he did, I don’t know how to answer without further putting myself in a more troublesome situation than I already was.
Clarke Bay was a small town with picturesque bricked roads and brick houses sprouting from the Golden Rise Highlands. In the light of the day, the brick houses offset the scenic green foliage the town maintained even with the flowering tourism. Then, at night, the town’s t w i n k l i n g lights glowed like a thousand fireflies kindling up the mountain.
Damian drove through town and straight to the beach, passing through the streets lined with bars and clubs. The car slowed to a crawl once the music from Clarke Bay’s nightlife completely faded. It was pitch black out here, apart from the distant lights of the beach houses a few meters away from the shore.
Sliding out of the car, Damian opened the backseat. He rummaged through the duffle bag, and soon, he was holding out a lamp. Rounding the car, he opened the passenger side and held out the lamp.
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we?” I asked, the sand rumbling beneath my sneakers with every step. Lifting the lamp up, I got a better view of our surroundings. The Everest was parked under a huge tree. Damian poked around his bag and produced a ground sheet, tent fly, poles, and pegs.
“Are we camping out here?” I bit down on my lower lip. The silly girl in me, who was head over heels for Damian, excitedly jumped up and down.
“Are you alright with that?” Damian looked up at me, worry etched on his face as he stood. “Originally, I planned a camping date at Mt. Masugi, but given the situation… a beach camp would be easier.”
Mt. Masugi was the mountain behind Summerfields. Its elevation would provide a good view of Clarke Bay, but trekking up its summit at night would be dangerous.
“I can make another arrangement if you’re not cool-”
“It’s perfect!” I shriek louder than I intended. “I
mean, this date is perfect. Not that it started good. You, being late ruined my night, but your plan? It’s perfect-” Cheeks burning, I realized I was word vomiting. “I should probably stop talking and let you pitch the tent, yeah?”
Damian chuckled and continued where he left off.
AN.
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