Faking it with Damian Black by Louise Jane

inside the bedroom, and there were times when I couldn’t physically give him

wha

needed

He clenched his hands, dropping them to his side.

“1. I’m sorry” Remorse shone in his eyes. “How many times do I have to

apologize, Milliceru? I was lonely, and Natalie was available and willing. She was

willing to do what you couldn’t do for me, but you’re the one I love. I still want

to marry you.”

My eyes thinned, l*ps curling into a grimace. The nerve of this man?

09:19 Sat, Feb 10

Chapter 91

“Love?” A humorless chuckle fell from my l*ps. “If you love me, you wouldn’t

even think of touching another woman, Hunter. And what was that about the

ring? You two are already engaged not even a week after I found you two f

ucking. What has gotten into you? Have you ever considered what I would feel”

He looked genuinely confused, but then something dangerous crossed his face

when a memory surfaced in his head. “What has gotten into me? You’re one to

speak. You were all over that billionaire brat last night. One second, you were

crying about how I cheated on you, the next, you spread your legs to another

man-”

My palm struck his cheek. It happened so fast I gasped at my actions. The slap

echoed through the lake, stopping whatever insult he was gonna spew

Hunter growled. He moved so quickly it barely even registered how he grabbed

my throat in a choke hold, cutting air from entering my b*dy. “You f ucking b

itch”

Gripping his wrist. I wrenched his hand from choking me. Tears sprang from my

eyes. My head spun with images of Hunter hovering above me. pinningdown

with his weight as he cut my air supply.

“Hu… Hunter… “I choked, staring right at the face of the monster I considered

my end game. Molten anger lit up his blue eyes. There was not a trace of the

man I love, but a sinister and menacing beast ready to burnto the ground.

Laughter and light footsteps coming our direction made Hunter release me,

tossingaside like a rag doll. I limped against the wooden railings, gasping

for air. A group of three women on their afternoon run sped past the platform,

disappearing through the walking path

Hunter raked his inked fingers through his hair, eyes wide as saucers. “I I’m

sorry.”

“Leavealone, Hunter. My tone was final.

“Millicent-

“Leavealone!” my voice rose. A man jogging through the footpath threw a

worried glance our way.

Hunter’s l*ps pursed. “This isn’t over. You’re mine. No one can have you but me.”

His parting words left a foul taste in the air, and fear settled on my belly.

All I wanted was to get srest and let the world move on its own accord for a

few more hours. My conversation with Hunter drained my strength to next week.

I debated trudging back to the lake when I saw Damian’s truck parked in front of

my parent’s place. He leaned on one of the four pillars of our porch, arms

crossed over his chest. The distance between the street corner and our house

was far forto make out his expression, but I knew this couldn’t be good.

Damian mimicked a hound waiting for its enemy

“Where were you?” Damian pushed off the pillar; his face was passive, voice as

cold as ice.

I walked up the stone path, climbed the porch, and pulled out my keys. My

hands were shaky as I slotted it into the keyhole “I was at the lake.”

“All day?” The hitch in his voice toldhe’d been waiting for quite a while.

Ifaced him, biting my l*p as 1 played with the keys. I couldn’t look at him

without my cheeks turning beet red. He looked so good in a shirt and jeans, the

fabric threatening to rip on the seams from hugging his huge build

Sighing, I stood with my spine ramrod straight. “I needed tto process

everything. That’s why I haven’t deleted the photo,” I rambled, assuming that

was the reason he was here. We’ve known each other as long as I’ve known

Candice, and he never went out of his way to speak to me.

When he didn’t offer any response. I pulled out my phone and turned it on. As

my Instagram account unfurled on the screen. I grimaced at the number of

unopened notifications and messages

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09:19 Sat, Feb 10 M.

Chapter 9

“I’m really sorry, Damian,” I said solemnly. “I’ll delete it now and post a public

apology.

He tilted his head to the side. “You’ll do that?”

I raked my fingers through my hair, blowing out a breath. “There’s no other way

to straighten things out than to cclean. I’ll probably lose what’s left of my

endorsements, but this has to be done.”

My fingers hovered on the delete option, preparing myself for the disaster I was

about to face when Damian spoke. “Don’t.”

My gaze snapped at him. “Huh?”

He shook his head. “Don’t delete it.

Tongue-tied, I gaped at him, searching his face. For what? I don’t know. He

caught on to my confusion. “I’m here to collect. my favor.”

A favor for a favor, his voice rang in my ears. I’m gonna collect

Snippets of last night’s even fiashed in my head. Our k*ss, Damian bracketing

my jaw as he savored my l*ps like I was the last tiramisu on a buffet. Tingles

covered my entire b*dy. I’ve put the samount of thought into solving my

problem and remembering what happened last night. Not remembering how I

climbed him like a tree was alarming and reassuring.

When I couldn’t remember anything, I ended up leaning onto the saying that

what I didn’t know won’t hurt me.

“You remember,” he murmured mostly to himself.

If my heart was thrashing before, I swear it’s about to karate chop my breast

bone and jump into Darmian’s feet.

“What kind of favor will he ask? Will he askto have S** with him? That’s

highly unlikely. Because if he did, he would’ve asked that this morning, right?

What if he changed his mind? What if we already did that last night?”

Ugh. I need my memories back!

“Vaguely,” I murmured, playing it cool. I shifted my weight from foot to foot,

looking at the familiar street I grew up in. My stomach growling ended the

pregnant pause swelling between us.

Damian’s brows twitched, a hint of a smile tugging at his l*ps..

My cheeks were on fire. I could spontaneously combust on the spot.

“I haven’t eaten, I admitted, lowering my gaze to the tips of my sneakers.

“Let’s grab sfood,” Damian offered.

If we were in a different situation, I would give anything to dine with Damian.

Dating him had been one of the deepest secrets written in my teenage diary.

Sadly, this wasn’t one of the scenarios I pictured.

“Actually, I’d like to stay in,” I said, sidestepping to invite him. “Il order… uhm,

would you like to cin? So we can talk…

He didn’t hesitate. His steps were calculated, accepting my offer, Fresh cut

woods, mint, and waterfall scents smacked my senses as he entered my home.

My parents’ place was not small by any means. It was a three-story house with

five bedrooms, three bathrooms, living, dining, a kitchen, and a min library. But

Damian’s presence took in most of the space; it madeclaustrophobic.

I closed the door, locking it. Mom and Dad had taken residence at Clarke Bay

and keeping the door locked was an instinct, not that I wanted to keep Damian

here.

Ugh. What the hell was going on with me?

Crossing the living room, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water

from the fridge. I sighed in relief as it dampened my throat.

O

09:19 Sat, Feb 10 M

Chapter 9

“You were on the lake all day?” Damian asked, his hands stretchell wide on the

kitchen island, gripping the edge.

28%1

I ignored fiashes of what Hunter did tothis afternoon, leaning on the

counter behind me, nodding. “I had to figure out. what to do. My phone was off.”

My stomach growled again, Damian allowed a chuckle to sl*p past his l*ps this

time. He pulled out his phone, scrolling. “You like Italian, right?”

How did he know that? I loved everything Italian. I think I was Italian in my past

life “Yeah. But letorder.”

“Not a chance.” He gave no room for arguments, lifting the device to his ears,

barking food orders enough to feed a family of

twelve

Twenty minutes later, Damian and I sat across from each other on the island. It’s

like picking up where we left off this morning. While waiting for food, I took a

quick shower. This favor he was about to askleft a sinking feeling in my gut.

We ate silently. To be precise, Damian watchedgobble up the spaghetti

bolognese and milanese chicken. After drinking a tall glass of water, I

determinedly met Damian’s gaze. “Okay. Tim stuffed. What is your favor?”

Deep in his thoughts, Damina sipped his wine. His mind gears shifting overtime,

I could tell.

He’s hesitating.

That’s not good..

My pulse gained speed with each second that passed by. As though he had

finally made up his mind, he met my gaze with such intensity that made my

ch*st cave. I need you to continue pretending to be my girlfriend”

B

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