Chapter 6

• Damon’s POV
• I sat in the back of the black SUV, utterly disturbed and turned on.
• Was this what I would have to deal with, having this pretty little petal around?
• True, I have a huge sexual appetite. But it doesn’t mean I couldn’t control myself. However, since I laid my eyes on the girl—Iris—at the black market, controlling myself has been a bit of a problem for me.
• No. Not even a bit. I have found it greatly difficult to control myself since I set my eyes on her. All I’ve thought of, all I’ve been wanting to do, since I saw her, was jump on her. Gobble her up. Eat her up. It was an itch now. An itch that needs scratching.
• And I hated it.
• I hated that she could have that kind of effect on me. No one had ever had such an effect on me, and that was why I was disturbed.
• No matter who it was, no matter the situation, I was always in control. But with her, it was different. Whenever I looked at her, I felt my control slipping, and very fast.
• This was not good for a businessman who controls an array of businesses, small and big, legal and illegal.
• This has become more of a bother and weighed on my mind since we ate together back at the manor. And that was why I had decided to not touch her tonight. I need to regain control.
• But she wasn’t even helping matters. It seemed like the defiance that shone like bright bulbs in her eyes, only made me want to jump her even more.
• Was it because I was used to women melting easily at my feet? Succumbing easily to me, whether I touched them or not? Being submissively?
• Did I want a challenge so badly, that I felt my groin tighten with every look of defiance she flickered my way?
• God, she was goddamn beautiful. Hot. Sexy. Innocent. Everything. But she seemed to be clueless about how beautiful she was, and the power she held.
• And that even added to my agony.
• I closed my eyes and threw my head back against the headrest. It was official now. This girl and her bright, Chesapeake blue eyes, Raven black hair, small, rosy lips, and perfect petite body, would haunt me, and my dreams, for a while. But I would fight it.
• Thoughts of running my hands and lips over that body clouded my mind yet again, the moment I closed my eyes, and I groaned subconsciously.
• I need to get laid, but I won’t touch her.
• One of the men in the car cleared their throat, and my eyes flew open. Did they know the agony I was going through?
• They probably suspected it because they were also affected by her. My little petal.
• The thought irked me badly, and I sat up, adjusting my crotch to hide the slight bulge I could feel in my pants.
• “What?” I asked, observing the countenances of my right-hand man through the rearview mirror. They looked scared and uncomfortable.
• Julian cleared his throat. “W-well,” he stuttered, “um-“
• “Spit it out, Julian,” I cut in impatiently. Why were they such pussies?
• “It’s the girl,” he continued, adjusting in his seat to look at me, “Iris.”
• I remained perfectly calm, and still, as if I knew what he was about to say. “What about her, Julian? Out with it already.”
• “She got away. Ryder just called.”
• I let the words sink in, tapping my fingers on my kneecap meditatively.
• The defiant little witch. Of course, I had expected her to act out.
• “So?” I bit out, glancing at my watch. I was almost late for the meeting I had scheduled with the Talavera family.
• “Sir, s-she got away,” Marcus, who had been quiet the whole time, chipped in, his voice laced with surprise.
• Yes, they could feel it too. This girl had probably bewitched me.
• I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair. “Pull over,” I commanded, and the car skidded off track as Marcus swerved the wheel to the right, stopping by the side of the road.
• “Julian, you should take care of it. I’ll go ahead with Marcus.”
• Without hesitation, Julian nodded in agreement and got out of the car.
• And I stared after him as he bounced away a little too excitedly, wanting nothing more than to stab him through the chest.
• ***
• Iris’s POV
• As I tore through the exit door I had just discovered, I felt my heart swell with joy. Yes, finally, a way out. An escape.
• I could hear Mary shouting behind me, calling for me to stop and come back. Back to the creepy mansion? Never. Poor Mary. She was probably going to get fired, scolded, or even killed, but I couldn’t care less right now. I just wanted to run far away from here.
• I bounded down the stairs behind the door, which led me outside the suffocating walls of the manor, to the large field of tall, green grasses, and I continued running, across the field, not stopping, or looking back.
• Soon enough, I stopped hearing Mary’s wails of anguish, and I knew I had run a little bit farther from the house. I was on a tarred road now, and I fell to my knees, panting heavily. I looked around to see the manor in the distance, dark and deserted, looming over the field.
• Yes, I had done it. Maybe not totally, but I had escaped from there. From him.
• I pounded my chest as bouts after bouts of cough racked my body, threatening to throw me into a seizure. I didn’t mind the cough, as it was only a small price for obtaining my freedom.
• That last thought was only short-lived, because just as I looked up, I saw the shadow of a man—no, two men—in the distance, bouncing towards me. At first, I thought they were just passersby who happened to be on this road, going somewhere, maybe, but as they drew nearer, I recognized one of them as Don’s man.
• Yes, he had been among the men who came to the black market with the Don to buy me off.
• I felt cold, bitter dread climb up my throat quickly, and reflexively, I bolted to my feet and ran into the slightly dense forest that was on the other side of the road.
• I didn’t care if the forest was dangerous or not, especially by this time of the night. I would die before I let these men capture me, again.
• As I ran through the forest, the panic rose higher in my throat. I could hear how close the two men were. They were almost gaining on me.
• “Just stop running, okay?!” One of the men shouted from behind me, “This is all just a waste of time and energy because we will eventually take you back to the manor!”
• A Glock cocked in the distance and a shot was fired in my direction. “What the fuck, man?!” the other man screamed, “You’re not supposed to shoot at her! He asked us to bring her back in one piece.”
• “I don’t fucking care right now,” came the other voice, “she’s pissing me the hell off, and the only thing I care about is putting a bullet in any part of her body to stop her or slow her down.”
• I turned back as I ran, to see what direction the shot had come from, but the fear had already clouded my vision.
• Suddenly, I tripped and fell, immediately tasting the dirt and sand in my mouth. “Ow,” I winced as I crawled on all fours towards the edge of a large cedar tree, feeling the burning sensation of the bruises on my knees as I scraped them across the gritty forest ground.
• The pain was unbearable, but I had to keep going. I wouldn’t let them catch me.
• Just as I reached the edge of the tree, and leaned into the bark, I felt something cold and clammy close to my arm.
• Drawing in my breath, I glanced down at the spot where my arm lay askew, and my heart dropped a thousand degrees into my stomach, as my gaze locked on a set of black beady eyes.
• Before I could stop it, a scream tore out of me, and almost immediately, the defining shot of a gun followed, distorting my auditory nerves.
• Jesus, please save me.