Chapter 26 Chapter 26
The delicate hand holding the rose tightened in her grip. Impossible, Luna told herself. He can’t see through me. He can’t know what I’m thinking. Still, a soft smile curved her lips.
“Of course I’m yours,” she said, emphasising the word yours with deliberate weight, “Your mistress.” It was both an admission and a quiet defiance, a line drawn in the sand.
Daimen’s lips curved into a restrained smirk, almost imperceptible, but enough to make her chest flutter. “Let’s go,” he said, smooth and controlled, “we’re running late.”
She climbed into the car, Harlan slipping behind the wheel with his usual stoic precision. Daimen was the last to enter, seating himself at her side in the back. The spacious interior suddenly felt small with him there—his presence was heavy, magnetic, and it forced her pulse to quicken in ways she refused to admit.
She stared out the window, pretending to admire the asphalt and passing trees, yet acutely aware of the weight of his gaze on her face. She didn’t dare turn to meet his eyes. No way, she told herself.
And then—warmth. A comforting, steady pressure over her hand. She blinked, startled, to find his large, strong fingers entwined with hers. Reflexively, she tried to pull away, but the grip tightened just enough to anchor her.
“Feeling shy?” he teased, his voice low, teasing, deliberate.
“For what? It’s just a hand. Kids do this,” she muttered, though her reddening cheeks betrayed her.
“Or,” he murmured, leaning slightly closer, “we could do non-kid… adult stuff.”
Her anger flared at the audacity of the words, yet her body betrayed her, trembling ever so slightly under the heat of his presence. She tightened her hand in his grip, trying to convey resistance even as her heart betrayed her.
Daimen smirked, clearly delighted by her struggle. No, she told herself. He won’t get the satisfaction of knowing he affects me. She readjusted her expression, setting her jaw and turning her gaze forward, determinedly neutral.
But the torment didn’t end there. A warm, muscular arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into an unasked-for embrace.
“What are you doing?” she gasped, her hands pressing against his chest to maintain the slimmest space between them. Beneath his crisp white shirt, she felt the hard contours of his chest, solid and unyielding. Heat prickled her skin as she struggled to banish thoughts she had no business entertaining.
“You looked cold… frigid,” he murmured near her ear, his voice soft but laced with something darker. “A little heat might help… and I can only offer mine.”
Luna stiffened, catching the underlying taunt in his words. “The car’s heater was doing just fine,” she shot back, her tone sharper than she felt, trying to reclaim some semblance of control.
“Daimen,” he said finally, his voice hard.
“What?”
“Call me Daimen,” he said.
There was a subtle tremor in the air as the driver’s hands shifted slightly on the wheel, but Daimen ignored it. No one ever dared speak so casually to him.
He released her hand, only to cup her cheeks gently, tilting her face so their eyes met. Her pulse spiked, her breath catching as his proximity and the intensity of his gaze threatened to undo her carefully constructed composure.
“I always knew you were exceptional,” he murmured, close enough that his warm breath brushed her lips. “And up close… you look even more… compelling.”
Before she could process a word, Harlan’s voice cut through the tension. “Mr. Blackwell, we have arrived.”
Relief washed over her, but only briefly. Daimen’s lips curved into a faint smirk as he stepped out of the car, brushing past her. “Bad luck,” he said lightly, almost mockingly. “But we’ll have plenty of chances in the future.”
After a moment’s adjustment, she followed him outside, blinking at the scene that unfolded.
The garden stretched endlessly before them—a masterpiece of color, light, and fragrance. Manicured lawns, flowerbeds ablaze with roses and lilies, and a marble fountain reflecting the morning sun in molten gold. The crisp air carried the scent of jasmine and rose, and the soft hum of water made the world feel suspended, almost sacred.
Daimen offered his hand to her, and she hesitated only briefly before taking it. His grip was firm, commanding, yet not unkind. It felt like an anchor, one she didn’t want to let go of even as her mind screamed that she shouldn’t.
They walked hand in hand through the cobblestones.
Daimen was observing her, and he wasn't covert about it either. "You look nervous."
"This place seems to be isolated." Harlon left after parking them at the entrance of the path that led towards the garden interior, the meticulously painted canvas—manicured lawns, fragrant flowerbeds, and a marble fountain that reflected the morning sun in shards of liquid gold.
"No need to worry. This is part of the estate. Apart from me, you won't find any other human interrupting us."
'That's the real problem, actually.' She thought to herself, but somehow she sensed Daimen had guessed her worries as he smirked ever so slightly.
"The fountain, it looks beautiful, let's go there." She quickly changed the topic to save herself the embarrassment and quickened her steps along the stone pathway towards the fountain.
Daimen caught up to her. "So fast, running away from something... or perhaps someone."
"I don't see anyone worth running from here."
"But you look tense. Don't be scared, I'm going to eat you," Daimen said half laughingly. "Unless you explicitly ask me to."
Luna shot a glare at him. "I'm not scared."
"You don't yet, but you might soon. If I were you, I would be careful with my words, little Lulu." Though his words sounded like a threat, he said it in good humour. There wasn't any threat in those words. Only teasing.
Standing in front of the fountain, while Luna marvelled at its beauty, Daimen seemed to go silent.
Some time passed, and no taunt was hurled in her direction. She snapped out of her reverie and looked at her suddenly to find Daimen engrossed.
"Is there something bothering you?" She asked despite herself, and to her even more surprise, she received an answer.
"Last time I came here... it was with my mother."