Forbidden Desires: The Cold Billionaire

chapter 14

Lana gasped when Damon started to get up with her still in his arms. He stormed toward the mansion, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. Every muscle in his body was rigid with anger as he carried her in his arms.

Not because she was heavy but because she had nearly fallen to her death.

The thought alone made his blood boil.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he snapped again.

Lana immediately looked away, refusing to answer.

Her face was burning with humiliation.

Being caught was bad enough but being carried back into the house like a child was even worse.

The grand front doors swung open as Damon stepped inside.

"John!" he barked, his voice echoing through the entrance hall.

Within seconds, footsteps sounded throughout the mansion.

John appeared first, followed closely by five maids. They all rushed into the hallway, only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw the scene before them.

Silence fell immediately, the maids staring with wide eyes.

Damon stood in the middle of the foyer, holding Lana securely in his arms while she looked ready to disappear from embarrassment.

For several seconds, nobody spoke before John finally found his voice.

"Sir... what happened?"

Damon's expression darkened.

"She tried to escape."

The words landed like a bomb and the maids gasped.

Lana wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

John's gaze immediately shifted to her. Instead of anger, she found concern there and guilt again.

Damon saw it too.

"Stop looking at her like that," he growled.

John looked startled.

"What?"

"f*ck" Damon muttered another curse under his breath and headed toward the staircase.

Lana's embarrassment quickly transformed into annoyance.

"Put me down!"

She began squirming in his arms but he ignored her.

"Put me down!"

"No."

"You can't carry me around like this!"

"Watch me."

Lana glared at him

"I hate you."

"Good."

His answer came instantly and it only made her angrier.

She kicked her legs but it only made him tighten his hold.

"Keep moving, and you'll fall."

"I'd rather fall than let you carry me."

"Judging by tonight, falling seems to be your speciality."

Lana's mouth dropped open.

John coughed loudly, clearly trying to hide a laugh and damon shot him a look.

he immediately straightened.

"My apologies, sir."

Damon continued climbing the stairs while Lana silently plotted his murder.

By the time they reached the second floor, she had imagined pushing him down at least three flights of stairs.

John hurried ahead and unlocked her bedroom door.

The moment the door opened, Damon walked inside.

The room looked like a battlefield.

Sheets were missing from the bed and the curtains had been torn down and littered the floor.

Damon stared at the destruction then he slowly looked at her

Lana suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

Without a word, Damon carried her to the bed.

Her heart began racing and shr braced herself for his outburst again but instead, Damon carefully set her down on the mattress and stepped back.

Lana frowned when he said nothing.

His blue eyes moved over her from head to toe, making sure she wasn't injured.

His gaze lingered on her arms, then her hands and her scraped palms.

He saw the faint redness on her ankle and his jaw tightened.

Something dark flashed across his face on his face before it vanished.

Lana held her breath because he still wasn't speaking, neither was John.

The silence stretched before inally, Damon turned around.

He walked toward the door stared at him as he walked away

That was it? No shouting or punishment or threats?

Just as he reached the doorway, he stopped.

She thought he might say something, instead, he simply walked out.

The door closed behind him and silence filled the room.

John stood frozen near the entrance.

He looked almost as confused as Lana felt.

"What was that?" Lana muttered.

John blinked.

"I... don't know."

For the first time in years, he genuinely didn't know what was going on inside Damon's head.

After a moment, he walked further into the room.

"Are you alright?"

Lana looked down at herself.

Aside from her wounded pride, she was surprisingly unharmed.

"I'm fine."

John visibly relaxed.

"That's good."

His gaze drifted across the room and landed on the open window.

Curiosity crossed his face. He slowly walked toward it.

The closer he got, the more confused he looked.

Then he saw the rope or what remained of it.

Fabric sheets and torn curtains dangled down the side of the house.

His eyes widened in disbelief

"Oh dear."

He leaned slightly out the window and the drop below made him pale.

"Lana..."

He turned around slowly.

"You actually tried it."

Lana rubbed the back of her neck.

"It almost worked."

John stared at her then thee looked at the rope again and back at her.

"It absolutely did not almost work."

Lana frowned when she remembered what happened again.

"I was more than halfway down."

"You were also more than halfway to the hospital."

She opened her mouth and closed it then opened it again before letting out a deep sigh. Maybe he had a point.

John carefully pulled the remains of the rope inside and shut the window.

A heavy sigh escaped him when he was done

"I suppose I should have seen this coming."

Lana looked away. she wasn't sorry she had tried, she was only sorry she had failed.

John turned back toward her and his expression softened.

"You could have died tonight."

The words were gentle and she could tell he wasn't angry.

Lana lowered her gaze when the room felt strangely quiet.

Finally, John straightened.

"I'll have someone bring fresh sheets."

Lana nodded absentmindedly.

He walked toward the door before pausing.

"Try to get some rest."

A bitter laugh escaped her.

"Rest?"

John winced, he wasn't sure anyone could get any rest after that. "I will have the window fixed tomorrow"

The door closed softly behind him and silence settled over the room once more.

Lana remained sitting on the edge of the bed.

Her mind replaying everything again.

Mr Carson caught her, the way he had carried her back and most confusing of all... The fact that he hadn't yelled or threatened her when he brought her back to the room

He had simply looked at her like seeing her injured had somehow made him angry but not at her.

Lana frowned, she was overthinking it.

The man was a lunatic. A dangerous, unstable lunatic, nothing more.

Still...

As she stared toward the closed door, she couldn't shake the image of his face when he had caught her.

For just a second, before the anger returned...

He had looked terrified.