Faking it with Damian Black novel (Millie)

Chapter 64

Book 2 II Falling For Damian Black

-MILLIE-

Four excruciating weeks... I waited to hear from him, rushing to my phone everytime it pings, hoping it was Damian only to be disappointed each time I'd see someone else's ID on the screen. I was finally read I can hear my pulse ringing in my ears, my body humming under his soul-piercing gaze and searing touch. But what do I do with the past month that he ghosted me? I can't just delete them from my thoughts. Anger rolled through my body, reviving the strength his close proximity sucked out of me.

"No." I shook my head, lifting my hand between us, pushing him away from me.

Surprised, Damian loosened his hold on me, pain clouding his face as I stepped back. The more space I

put between us, the quicker I regained my composure.

"Milli-"

"No, Damian," my voice was shaky, but my resolve thickened as seconds ticked by, the memories of how he abandoned me came rushing back.

Tears well down my cheeks for all reasons opposite of love and adoration for this man.

"You can't just walk back into my life and ask me to let you love me. I've already given you that chance, and you left! You left without saying anything."

He pressed his lips together. A storm brewed in those green pools. Veins appeared on his knuckles as he clenched his hand, his molars grounding as his jaw

ticked.

"What? You got nothing to say?" I asked, the hope of finally understanding why he ghosted me slowly dying down.

Yes, I still wanted to know what went wrong with us, what I did for him to leave me the way he did. But he just stood there, looking at me with those remorseful

eyes.

"I did what I did for your own safety," Damian murmured, stepping forward, trying to reach for me again. The dimness of our surroundings couldn't

conceal Damian's affliction as I matched his stride with a step backward.

"I need more than that, Damian..." I hugged myself, the temperature around me suddenly turning arctic.

Silence swelled between us as I waited for his response. A battle was taking place inside his head, and I helplessly watched as he drew back into the place where telling me the truth wasn't his top priority. "You hurt me," I murmured. My voice was so small I wondered if he even heard me. The clenching of his jaws confirmed it. "You broke my heart, Damian, and I don't know how to get past that."

Without waiting for his response, I jogged back towards the light of the villa, circling on the side to Dad's cabin to my room, locking the door as tears poured

down from my eyes in an endless stream. I pressed my back on the door, dropping on the hardwood floor as I hugged myself, wishing I could just unlove Damian with the snap of a finger.

'Let me love you properly, Millicent.' Is there a thing called last words syndrome?

Although Damian only said those words once, I kept hearing his gravelly voice filled with sincerity in my head over and over again. My heart hummed to the soothing sound of his promise words, yet my mind w I huffed, forcing my legs to push

beyond their limits, fighting the strain in my muscles as fatigue settled in. It was the morning after Natasha and Jonah's wedding. I had been out since four and discovered this piece of paradise on the east side Through the tree line behind the vineyard was a lake with ice-cold-

looking water. Fish were swimming and jumping onto the surface, playing and waiting for the sun to rise. Small animals crossed the trail, circling the lake a few times as I jogged around it, but I hadn't stumbled Clearing my head of Damian had been impossible.

One glance at him and all the efforts I put into moving

on went to waste.

I got used to having him around, and his sudden absence struck me like a thousand bolts of lightning, burning everything I had, leaving me with nothing but this gaping hole in my chest.

I was lost without him, waking up each day hoping I would finally forget about Damian. With Hunter, I had my anger to hold on to while I was moving on, but with Damian, all I had were unanswered questions, Accepting his absence, that he won't come back anymore, had been a struggle, and now he and his sultry smile and s*xy ass would just waltz into my life and ask me to let him love me properly? As if I could just magically forget the past four weeks.

I threw a pebble toward the lake. It bounced three times on the surface before plummeting to the bottom.

There's something calming about the water

encompassed by towering and lavish trees. It allows my mind to wander down memory lane and weigh the pros and cons of allowing Damian back into my life. I

could fill a memoir and draw a map of how letting him back into my life would lead to another heartbreak. I could be wrong, though. We could really have a happy ending now. Yet one question lingered in all the chaos going through my mind. 'Am I of the

obliged to give him the tid

day after what he'd done? Content

My shoulders went rigid when I heard a loud splash of water in the distance. Gaston, one of the farmers in Dad's payroll, spoke of sighting a bear in nearby woods two weeks back. Chills coated my skin. I have nearly zero knowledge about bears apart from the fact that they are huge, scary, and can rip me to pieces with their claws and teeth. Every scenario my mind could think of was me ending in blood and n Quietly, I closed my eyes and pressed my back onto the nearest tree, counting all the things I would make up for if I made it out of here alive. Then, I heard water splashing, a continuous disturbance on the lake I frowned. I've never seen an actual bear swimming before.

Swallowing hard, I followed the sound of splashing

water, peeking from the tree trunk towards the lake.

It wasn't a bear, but a man swimming across the lake. The water looks ice cold. I wouldn't dare dip a finger into it at this time of the day. Eyes zooming on the rippling muscles of the man doing breaststrokes, I That back, those shoulders, corded forearms, and ash gray hair had been the encore in my dreams for the last four weeks.

Damian.

I'd dreamt about scratching my fingers over the tanned skin on his back, leaving my marks as I screamed his name. Those forearms caging me as he whispers dirty things into my ears, wicked and

carnal images he'd do to my body in that gravely s*xy voice. Then I'd wake up berating myself for

fantasizing about a man who

doesn't want me anymore. Content

I was frozen in a trance, gazing

at Damian as he artfully weaved through the cold water. He maneuvered with such grace like an Olympic swimmer would. He turned to his front, doing butterfly strokes, focusing back on the banks.

With a gasp, I hid behind the tree, unmoving, holding my breath.

Of all the people who would grace me with their presence this morning, why was it the man who was also the cause of my dilemma?

I was ready to move on. I accepted that what we had was finally over. Why did he have to come back?

Inwardly groaning, I looked up at the sky and dropped onto the ground, my ass colliding with the pebbles and dirt. I stayed there, listening to Damian doing laps with my eyes closed as thoughts of us swam in my head.

For some unknown reason, I dreaded Damian seeing me here. We will cross paths at Dad's party later, but we'll have our family there. I feel a lot safer breathing the same air with Damian if we had an audience

It had been a struggle to fight the pull I felt for him last night. My body and heart longed for his touch, his embrace, and kisses. I nearly said yes to his insistence on making things real between us.

Ten minutes later, the water splashing finally ended. Like a creep, I peeked from the tree to the banks,

gasping when I saw him in nothing but his birthday suit, bent on the waist to pick up his clothes from the ground.

Warmth crept over my skin, turning

my cheeks beet red as I watched him put on his boxers first, then shove his legs into his pants one by one. My eyes were glued on his back muscles, the water from the tips of his hair rolling down his skin. Then he slowly dragged a shirt down his torso, his wet skin making a patch on his clothes.

He turned his head to the side, eyeing his boots and socks scattered in the small clearing by the banks. I swear I saw a smirk on his lips as he picked his shoes

1. up.

I'm pretty sure I'd been quiet the whole time. He didn't know I was watching him like a creep, did he?

Then he waltzed out of the clearing, taking the path back into the vineyard while whistling "Thinkin Bout You' by Frank Ocean.

Oh God. Why am I being punished like this? I just wanted some quiet time before I face him tonight and gather my bearings. Seeing him naked rattled my resolve. My lady parts celebrating the little show Damian unknowingly put on in the banks.

St*pid lady parts!

I sighed, and rose to my feet, jogging back to the villa, dreading seeing him later at Dad's birthday

celebration.

This is gonna be a long day.