NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Mine
Hey?" There was a solid tap on the table, invading Carla's subconscious.
"Wake up." It sounded like the voice she had always heard repeating in her dreams the first three months of her pregnancy.
"Damien?" She mumbled sleepily, her lashes fluttering only to open to the sudden closeness of his face.
"Heavens!" She yelled and jerked back.
"Carla?" He called her name, before inviting himself to sit on her desk without permission, his brows arched so high up so that she felt it would touch his hairline.
She squinted at him, her head was banging so bad and for a long while, she felt confused. It was dark already and she was still in the office.
She turned to look at the figure in front of her and squinted further. She remembered seeing him on her way out of the office but her headache intensified after that and she went blank.
"Everybody's gone but you're still here." He stated the obvious and she glared at him.
"You know me?" She struggled to look up at his cocky face and when he made the throaty laugh from his chest, she felt aware and ashamed.
"Don't be a fool Carla." The way her name rolled off in his tongue sent tingles to her core, he took his time calling her name and stressing on the 'r' and 'l' sound.
He stood, straightened his black suit and offered her his hand.
"Let's get you home. It's dark and dangerous out here." He told her, his blue eyes observing her movements.
Looking at his outstretched hand before straining her neck to look at his face, she wondered why he was present at her workplace and what his mission was.
"Did you follow me here?" She tried to sound bold, ignoring the growing bang in her head.
When he tipped his head back and laughed again, his shoulder shaking with him, she felt her anger boil and reached its limit.
Standing up suddenly and without warning, Carla felt the cubicle reel around her, she staggered only to be held by the warm hands of Damien.
"Get your filthy hands off me." She blurted and glared hard at him, her red confused eyes flashing with hatred.
"Careful now woman."
"Fuck off." She hissed and he smiled at her instead before licking the corner of his lips and tipping his head to the side, his blue eyes trained on her.
"Tomorrow, you would wish you never said this to me." There was some atom of amusement in his voice.
Without warning, he stepped close, wrapped his hand around her waist to keep her still before sniffing her.
"You smell …" He paused before wrinkling his nose.
"Strange." He completed, putting his index finger beneath her chin to lift her face to his.
Carla's breath was loud and harboured, her eyes had a film of unshed tears from boxed in anger.
"Who was the guy from earlier?" He whispered in her ear sending tingles down Carla's spine, the warning bells going off in her head instantly.
She paused and thought.
"Guy? What guy?" She asked, her brows brought together in confusion, her eyes blinking more than usual as if trying to remember what he was talking about.
"Don't fool with me Carla. Who is he?" Damien pressed, pushing her against her desk and pressing for answers.
"What he?" She retorted, not understanding what he meant and what was going on about.
She felt his hands squeeze her butt and she straightened. Without thinking, her hand moved on its own and landed loudly on his cheek.
Time seemed to stop for the two of them. Carla's red wide eyes staring at him as if daring him to do something while Damien's blue eyes stared back in shock as if unable to believe she would do something that bad.
"I don't know why you are here in The Newsday Newspaper Company, but don't think you can take me for the fool I was eight years ago, Damien Graves." She spat shakily at his face before walking out.
Stopping before she could reach the door, she headed back for her purse and without a pause, she walked out of the editorial department into the elevator and out of the building without pausing for one second to think.
"What time is it?" She looked at the dark sky with stars scattering in the sky.
"Oh Anna." She gasped at the thought of her daughter and panicked.
Reaching to her pause for her phone, the blare of a horn a few inches away from her made her jerk and her heart skip.
Looking up towards the sound of the horn to see Damien in the driver's seat, her nose flared and she turned away to continue her search for her phone.
When he would not stop blaring the horn at her, she stomped off with her heart beating painfully against her ribcage.
"Is he here for my daughter?" She questioned and at that, she whipped her head back to see that his car had stopped following her.
Breathing in relief, she made to walk even faster and further away from him when she felt a tap at her right shoulder.
"Holla?" He smirked when she turned back in response to the tap.
Not giving her the time to react to her shock, he bent a little and carried her over his shoulder.
"Put me down Damien!" She yelled, hitting his back with both hands.
"I would be kind if you stay still, Carla." He warned.
"It has been eight years Damien. Eight years and you have no right over me! Not ever!" She yelled, her voice breaking as she struggled to break herself free from his hold.
"You think so?" His voice came to her in distant muffled because of her struggle.
"I know so, now put me down." She ordered, hitting him even harder but he only tightened his hold on her and kept advancing towards his car.
"Stay still Carla." He ordered and smacked her butt making her face redden in embarrassment and in anger.
"Still soft." He groaned and took to rubbing her butt cheek till she found herself dumped in the empty seat besides the driver's seat.
This time, she was too angry to talk. She knew he wouldn't bulge so she let him have his way.
Drawing his face closer to hers, he looked at her finely shaped face before holding a strand of her hair in-between his index and thumb.
"You cut it?" He asked and eyed him in defiance hoping to get to him but he only chuckled before whispering the word, "Mine" in her ears, his extremely deep and throaty voice making her legs clenched subconsciously.