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  TAMING DAMIAN

  The Heartbreaker Series - Book Two

  The man, the legend, the heartbreaker

  by

  JESSICA WOOD

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Jessica Wood

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  ERH Press

  ISBN-13 978-1-940285-04-7

  First Edition: April 2014

  Thank you for purchasing this book.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Other Books

  About the Author

  “It is not length of life, but depth of life.”

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  CHAPTER ONE

  Damian

  I had told her that I loved her, and I had meant every single word of it. I never would have said those words if I hadn’t been serious. In fact, I had never spoken those vile words before to any other woman. And yet, tonight, I had to her.

  Well, that had been a big fucking mistake—the biggest fucking mistake of my life.

  I took one last glance at the text on her phone from a guy called Chris.

  Hey hun. Did you get the results yet? You know I’ll support you no matter what.

  As I watched the text message disappear from the screen, I felt my jaw tighten as a wrath of emotions whirled around inside me: rage, pain, betrayal. Could this Chris be the ex-boyfriend she’s mentioned to me before—the one who broke her heart and caused her to move from Iowa to California? If it was the same Chris, then something must have happened between them the month Alexis and I were apart. They must have reconnected again.

  My eyes landed on the glass of water in front of Alexis’s chair. It wasn’t until then that I realized that she hadn’t had a glass of alcohol throughout the entire wedding ceremony, not even a Sex on the Beach, her favorite.

  Could she be pregnant with his child?

  That was the only logical explanation I could think of as to why Alexis hadn’t mentioned anything about any “results” to me and why she was secretly communicating with another guy she’d never mentioned to me before. In fact, the only guy she’d ever even mentioned to me in passing was her ex-boyfriend, a guy named Chris.

  A storm of fury ignited inside me as I imagined this Chris fucking the woman I loved—no, the woman I had loved. I felt something inside me shift, as if I were systematically closing off my feelings for her, and in its place was a growing hatred for her.

  I thought she was different, someone who was making me into a better person—a version of myself I’d never thought I could be. I thought she was my game changer, the one who would actually tame the infamous Damian Castillo every women pined after.

  But I was wrong.

  She had crept her way into my life, seeped through the walls I’d put up against women, and consumed my every thought like a stain that wouldn’t come off. I had given everything I had to her. I’d even given her things I never thought I had in me to give. I had unequivocally and completely lost myself to her. But the minute she had me within her grasp, she destroyed me.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d let myself become so blinded by her, and I wasn’t sure how I’d allowed myself to so easily develop feelings for this girl. But I was sure of one thing: Alexis was nothing like who I had thought she was and she was everything like who my mother was—the cold-hearted whore who’d left me to forever wonder who my real father was. My mother had ruined the memories of my adolescence, and now, I had allowed Alexis to ruin my present.

  I felt the molten lava of rage consume every inch of my body and take over my every thought. Gripped by this fury, I reached for her phone and pulled the text back up again. I wanted to delete it—to get rid of the existence of the words that had just ruined my night. But as my thumb hovered over the delete button, I hesitated. This text wasn’t what had ruined my night. Alexis was. How could the first woman I had allowed myself to love since my bitch of a mother have betrayed me like this? She hadn’t just ruined my night—she’d ruined me.

  She’d ruined me.

  I decided not to delete the text and dropped her phone back into her bag. I wanted to see Alexis’s reaction when she read it later. I wanted to catch her in her lies. I stood up quickly, the fire inside fueling a new sense of determination. I grabbed my glass of scotch, gulped it down, and slammed the empty glass back on the table.

  I was Damian Castillo, and I had vowed a long time ago that I would never again let a woman destroy my life. No, I wouldn’t bow out and give Alexis the satisfaction of knowing that she had gotten to me. No, I wouldn’t let her get away with it. I would make her pay for her betrayal, and I would enjoy it.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Alexis

  I studied the stunning brunette staring back at me in a royal blue lace gown. My hands gently moved down the dress as I stared at myself in the reflection. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and I still couldn’t believe it was less than twenty-four hours ago that I’d been in San Francisco with no idea that I’d be all the way on the other side of the world hours later.

  It was just yesterday that I’d thought we were going to spend the weekend camping somewhere close to San Francisco. When I’d arrived home from work to pack for our camping trip, Damian had surprised me with the gorgeous gown I was now wearing and told me that he had a special date planned for us. The next thing I knew, we were on a private jet a few hours later, heading to a secret location for this special date. It wasn’t until we arrived at our location that he told me we were in Italy for his friend’s wedding and that he had planned a weeklong trip in Italy for us after the wedding.

  I’d known then that something special had happened in our relationship. He knew that traveling to every continent was on my bucket list of things I wanted to do before I turned thirty, and he’d seen a future between us enough to plan out this trip down to every detail. For a guy like Damian, it was uncharacteristic of him and yet so very much who I saw him to be—the sweet man he was inside. It was the part of him that he’d tried so hard to hide from people. And now he was opening that part of himself up to me.

  So here I was, a small-town girl from the Midwest who’d, up until a few months ago, never left the state of Iowa, across the world in the romantic city of Florence, Italy. I was dressed in this one-of-a-kind gown, at this beautiful fairytale wedding, in the arms of the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. And the cherry on top of this unbelievably romantic surprise, he had just told me he loved
me. My lips curled into a wide grin as I thought of him.

  “I love you, Alex. You feel inevitable to me.” His words had made me so deliriously happy—more happy than I’d ever thought was possible, more happy than I’d thought I deserved.

  My smile instantly vanished as my eyes landed on the reflection of my stomach. I felt my lungs constrict as the air in the bathroom seemed to leave the room, leaving me breathless and gasping for breath. My heart pounded nervously against my chest as a surge of panic rushed through me. If the doctor is right and the test results come out the way he has predicted, what am I going to do? I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the anguish in my eyes—a look I’d thought I’d never have with Damian by my side. More importantly, how am I going to tell him? He will never look at me the same way again, and I will lose him forever. A stream of fresh tears rolled down my face at the thought of losing him. It was already an unimaginable feat that we had found each other, that he had given up his playboy ways to give our relationship a chance. I wasn’t sure our relationship was strong enough for this.

  I looked down and watched as my hands moved to my stomach. “He needs to know. Even if it means that I’d lose him forever, he needs to know that I might be pregnant”—I looked back up at the reflection of the terrified girl peering back at me—“or worse, I might be pregnant with…” My words came out in a whisper and I stopped mid-sentence as soon as I realized that I was speaking out loud. I looked around the bathroom and under the five stalls to see if anyone else was in here with me.

  I let out a sigh of relief. I was alone.

  My lips trembled as I thought about how much my life would change if the tests all came out positive. I imagined the many different reactions that were possible when I told him: shock, denial, anger, sadness, pain.

  I’ll try to talk to him after we get back from Italy, I convinced myself. I didn’t want to ruin this trip he had gone through so much trouble to plan for us. I couldn’t bear to ruin it for him. At the very least, I wanted this week in Italy to be about us, and only us. I didn’t want to ruin this week on top of losing him.

  I brushed the tears from my face and reapplied some makeup. Even though I looked fine, I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what night happen in the next few months, of what might happen when Damian found out the truth.

  “Okay, after Italy then. After I see the doctor. After everything’s been confirmed.” My hands braced the cold marble counter as I tried to calm myself down. “Besides, I couldn’t possibly hide things from him forever.” I took a deep breath as I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. “I will. I’ll tell Damian soon.” I stood up and turned toward the bathroom door that led back out to the wedding reception.

  “Tell me what?”

  A jolt of panic crashed through me as I froze in place and found myself face to face with Damian.

  For a few seconds, fear and panic paralyzed my body and I couldn’t manage to think, let alone speak. How long has he been standing there? How much did he hear?

  “Hey, you,” I finally managed to say breathlessly. I turned away from him, my eyes unable to withstand the intensity of his piercing gaze. “This is the girls’ bathroom, Damian. You shouldn’t be in here.” I was surprised at how casual I was able to sound at this moment when the pounding of my heart was the only thing I was able to hear.

  “You know I’m not good with rules.” His voice was hoarse and low, almost threatening. “Especially when it comes to you.” He approached me from behind and I felt his hands slide around my waist.

  “So everything’s okay out there? I was just coming back out.” I looked at him innocently. “Have they started with the toasts yet?”

  “Yeah, they have. Your phone actually started going off during the groom’s father’s toast.” He handed me my purse and phone, his eyes never leaving me.

  “Oh shit! I hope no one noticed.”

  “You should probably check your phone in case it was an urgent call. I think you got a text too right after the call.” His expression was stone cold and distant, and he stared at me in a way I wasn’t used to, like I was a stranger he’d just met for the first time.

  “Sure. Right,” I agreed softly. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I held my tongue. Something told me that it wasn’t a good idea. I looked down at my phone and cautiously took it from him. I could feel his eyes locked on me, scrutinizing my every move. Don’t be so paranoid, Alex.

  “So who called?” He looked at me expectantly as I switched on my phone.

  My heart stopped when I saw the missed call from Chris. “Uh. No one. Just a call from work.” I looked up from my phone and gave Damian a quick smile.

  “On a Saturday?” He frowned at me and cocked his head to the side.

  “Yeah. You know how lawyers are. I was helping a partner prepare for a big case before I left yesterday, and she must be working on it this weekend. She must have had a question or something.” My stomach was in knots. I hated myself for lying to him. But what scared me more was how easy it was for me to lie to him with a straight face.

  Why is Chris calling me now? I had told Chris that I was going to be out of town with limited phone reception when I thought Damian and I were going camping. I pulled up his text message.

  Hey hun. Did you get the results yet? You know I’ll support you no matter what.

  I kept my expression free from any of the panic that was racing through me. I was happy to hear that Chris wanted to be there for me, but the timing of his call and text was the worst. I had to call him back at some point without Damian knowing or else he’d probably continue calling and texting until he got ahold me. And if Damian accidentally found out that my ex-boyfriend was contacting me, I would not be able to explain this to Damian without making him mad—or worse, without causing him to leave me.

  “Alex?”

  His voice broke through my thoughts.

  “Oh sorry. Did you say something?”

  “Something wrong?” He looked at me suspiciously.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. Sorry, was just checking my email.” I was riddled with guilt as I quickly turned off my phone so he couldn’t catch a glimpse of what I had been reading. I dropped the phone in my bag and smiled up at him. “Sorry about that. Seems like the office doesn’t need my help after all. Should we head back out to the reception?”

  “In a moment. So what was it that you’re going to tell me soon?”

  “Oh.” I let out a forced chuckle. “I was just telling myself that I had to remember to tell you how crazy happy I am right now here with you. I’m still speechless by this surprise getaway trip to Italy you’ve planned for us.” I turned around to face him and gave him a smile, hoping he couldn’t tell that something was wrong. I wasn’t completely lying. I was incredibly happy right now with Damian, and being here with him in Italy was more than I’d ever imagined for a small-town girl like myself.

  “Are you sure that’s what you meant?” There was a hint of doubt in his voice, and I wondered what he had actually heard before I’d known he was there.

  “How long were you standing there? You scared me.” I hit his chest playfully as I tried to take control of the conversation. Nerves shot through me as I watched his eyes study me carefully.

  “Not too long.” He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. “Why?”

  “Oh, no reason. I was just wondering how long you were standing there being a creeper and lurking in the girls’ bathroom without announcing yourself. It’s a good thing no one else is in here or they’d report you.”

  I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down toward me for a kiss. I wanted to enjoy this week with him without anything to ruin it. Even if that meant I had to lie to him. All that can wait until we get back to San Francisco.

  He pulled me into his embrace but then pulled away and looked me up and down. “You’re shaking.”

  “Ah, yeah. It’s cold in here.” I quickly shifted my face to avoid his gaze, hoping he wouldn’t see through
my lie. I cleared my throat and plastered a grin on my face, beaming up at him. “This was a beautiful wedding, Damian. Thanks for bringing me as your plus one.” I buried my face into his chest and inhaled his musky scent. His body felt unusually stiff. “Are you okay? Your muscles seem tense.” I moved my hands to his shoulders and gently massaged them.

  “Yeah, it’s nothing.” He pulled away from me abruptly, and I saw a flicker of something I’d never seen in his eyes before. A cold darkness.

  Could it be anger? But when I looked closer, it was gone.

  He looked around the bathroom. “Anyone else in here?” I saw a shadow behind the intensity of his blue eyes, sending a shiver down my body. “You really are cold, huh?” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. His grip seemed tighter around me than normal.

  “Just a little,” I lied.

  “I know how to warm you up.” His lips twisted into a devious smile as his hands reached behind me. I felt my dress loosen around my body as the back zipper moved down my back.

  “But—” I began to protest.

  “Take off your dress.” His voice was raw and cold. It was clear that this was a command and not a request.

  I frowned up at him in surprise. I was shocked by what he wanted to do and wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. I knew he had an insatiable appetite for sex, and since we’d been together, I’d had more sex outside of the bedroom than I could count. But something about this moment was different. He seemed distant, cold, almost violent, and there was something threatening about the way he looked down at me that scared me. It scared me so much that I felt all my senses heighten in his presence—the way his rough hands tightened against my skin, the way his uneven breathing burned against my neck, the way his deep raspy voice woke my very core. Something about this moment scared me in a way I had never felt before, and to my surprise, I’d never been more turned on than I was at this very moment.