Chapter 23

"Damon, wait! Hey!" Samantha complained as Damon continued to hold her hand tightly and drag her away.

Her eyes widened when she realized that they were making their way out of the hospital. She tried to get her hand out of his grip, but Damon's fingers only tightened, causing her hand to redden.

"Damon, fuck! Let go already! This hurts!" she said, still trying to pull her hand from his grip.

Damon suddenly turned to look at her, his jaw tightening as he stared into her eyes. She began to tremble.

"Damon…" she softly said his name. "I'm already having a bad day," she added weakly but emphatically.

Damon's gaze dropped from her face to the hand he was holding, and as he stared at it, his grip loosened slightly.

"Sorry," he said in a small voice, still looking at her reddened fingers.

She was slightly surprised by Damon's apology. He'd sounded so gentle and regretful.

"Huh?" was the only thing she could respond with.

Damon turned his back on her, not letting her see his expression. "Never mind," he said and started walking again, still holding her hand. But this time, his grip was not that tight.

"Damon, my parents are probably looking for me already," she said when they finally made it outside.

Her voice was small but serious. She didn't want to attract the attention of the people around them.

Damon still didn't speak. He just kept walking, heading towards the hospital's parking lot.

When she noticed that they were nearing one of the parked cars, she perked back up again, especially because she recognized it. It was the same car that Damon had driven her to the hospital in.

She seemed to already know what Damon planned to do.

She pulled her hand from his grip, forcing her body to stiffen so that Damon couldn't drag her any further. There were several people in the parking lot, and they were all looking at them. It was then that Samantha seemed to lose all her patience. She didn't care anymore, even though they had everyone's attention. She needed to get away from Damon because if she didn't, she would betray Alfred again.

"Let go of me, Damon!" she said stubbornly.

"Nothing to see here! Just a little lover's quarrel!" Damon shouted when a few people started to approach them. They stopped in their tracks when Damon gave each one of them a deadly stare.

When he looked back at her, his gaze was very sharp, but she did not look away.

"Let go of me," she repeated emphatically.

Damon's jaw tightened. "Woman, you'd better behave if you want to be able to sit straight later," he threatened suggestively, making her gasp.

"What the—ahh!" she yelped in shock when Damon suddenly lifted her up.

They were still facing each other, their noses and lips only a few inches apart.

Damon smirked. "Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart, like you do when we're in bed." His mischievous words made her cheeks redden.

"You—" But she couldn't continue because Damon suddenly kissed her lips.

"Damn, I missed those sinful lips of yours." He then hurried to his car, still carrying Samantha, who was so shocked she was unable to speak.

When they reached Damon's car, he quickly opened the door with his right hand while his left hand still clung to her waist, holding her against him.

She did not know how, but he managed to get her into his car effortlessly. Then he closed the door. She tried to open it, but no matter what she did, it wouldn't budge.

"Don't bother. It's child-locked. You won't be able to open it," Damon said as he, too, got into the car, sitting down in the driver's seat.

She faced him angrily. "This isn't funny," she said.

"Good thing I'm not trying to be funny," he answered and started the car.

"Damon, please, stop this," she pleaded.

But Damon acted as if he couldn't hear anything. He didn't even bother to look at her, his attention focused on the road.

"What more do you want from me? You already got everything on that island, didn't you? Damon, please, just stay out of my life," she said, almost begging.

Frustration was slowly eating away at Samantha. She didn't know what else she could do to stop him. Her mind was already in chaos from the guilt.

"Not gonna happen, Samantha," Damon answered without even looking at her. "And stop overreacting. I just want to talk," he added.

She faked a laugh. "I highly doubt that," she said.

Damon turned to look at her. "Well, that's the plan...unless you try to seduce me," he said, grinning.

"Seduce you? Ha! Never gonna happen," she said confidently.

Damon's grin only widened as he looked back at the road.

Neither of them spoke again. She was tired of complaining—especially because she knew that no matter what she said, Damon still wouldn't listen.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Damon stopped the car.

Damon got out first, then opened the door for her. She considered refusing to step out, but then Damon gave her a threatening look, as if telling her that she'd regret not doing what he wanted.

She stomped out of the car, then looked up at the large and very tall building in front of them. Her forehead furrowed as she read the name of the building. It was one of the most expensive and luxurious condominiums in the country.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, but instead of answering her, Damon just took one of her hands and pulled her forward into the building.

The security guard greeted them, but Damon did not reply, just continued to march forward. She smiled at the security guard in apology.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how rude can this asshole be? I'm not sure 10 is even high enough, she thought.

"What are we doing here? Why did you bring me here?" she asked Damon again as they entered the elevator.

He was still holding her hand. It was like he was scared that she would suddenly run the moment he let go.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the thought.

No words escaped Damon's mouth, not even when they got out of the elevator. She questioned him again when they stopped in front of a unit. Using his key card, he opened the door, then almost dragged her inside.

Only after they had entered did he let go of her hand. Then he locked the door.

With her arms crossed, she followed Damon with her gaze as he headed into the living room and sat down on an extra-long sofa.

He turned to look at her, his forehead furrowed. "What are you waiting for? Come here." He tapped the space next to him.

But instead of joining him, she turned her back on him and tried to open the door to the condo. It was no use; she couldn't open it.

"Argh!" she screamed in frustration. She turned to Damon again and looked at him angrily. "What the fuck did you do? Why can't I open it?" she asked.

Damon grinned. "It is locked from the outside."

Her eyes widened at his answer. "Are you crazy? How will we get out of here?" she asked incredulously, but Damon just shrugged.

"That's not your problem anymore," he answered.

"Not my problem? Hah! You're a fucking asshole—"

"I swear, Samantha, if you don't calm down right this instant, I'll make you, and I'm pretty sure you won't like how I do it," Damon said in a threatening manner.

She finally confronted him, crossing her arms again as she raised one eyebrow. "Are you threatening me? Do you actually think that will work?" she challenged boldly. "Seriously, Damon, enough. This has to stop! Just…just stay away from me!" she said through gritted teeth.

Damon's expression went from mischievous and slightly irritated to serious as he stared at her.

He stood up and walked towards her, only stopping when just a few inches separated their bodies.

When he took yet another step, she quickly backed away. He stepped forward again, so she stepped back again until she was leaning against the closed door.

She was slightly taken aback when Damon placed one hand on either side of her head, cornering her. The nervousness she'd felt a while ago returned. And because Damon was taller than her, he bowed down a little to align their faces. They were so close to each other that just the slightest of movements from either of them would result in their lips meeting. She could even feel his breath!

"W-what a-are you doing?" she stuttered nervously. The seriousness on Damon's face only made her more on edge. "Y-you said you j-just wanted to t-talk," she continued.

"I can't fight it any longer, Samantha. I've wanted to take you ever since that asshole went and kissed you." Damon's dangerous tone made her gasp. "I could handle it when he only touched you. But for him to kiss you right in front of me? There's no way I can ignore that. He should be thankful that I was able to control myself," he continued.

She forced herself to be brave. She couldn't let her nervousness control her.

She replied with her head held high, "So what if he kissed me? He's my boyfriend. He can kiss me whenever he wants, even in front of other—hmph!"

She couldn't finish her sentence because Damon suddenly grabbed her jaw and kissed her firmly.

She started to struggle, but Damon was too strong. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her to him until their bodies were pressed together. She could no longer resist him.

When he released her lips, he pressed their foreheads together as they both gasped for breath. The hand on her jaw moved to her hair and tugged on it lightly, causing her to look up into his eyes.

"I already told you, Samantha. The moment you gave yourself to me, the moment you let me fuck you, you became mine," was his breathless promise. "You're mine, Samantha. You're mine, and no one else can have you. I don't fucking share," Damon said with conviction before claiming her lips again in a rough yet pleasurable kiss.