Chapter 4—Mine To Protect
1556 Words
The air inside the restaurant turned suffocating.
Adaeze couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Could barely hear the soft piano music still playing somewhere in the background.
All she could see was him.
Tunde Lawson.
Her past standing in front of her wearing an expensive navy suit and a dangerous smile.
Damien’s fingers tightened slightly around her wrist.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to warn.
“Who is he?” Damien asked again quietly.
Adaeze swallowed hard.
“Tunde.”
The name alone felt bitter in her mouth.
Recognition flickered across Damien’s face instantly.
Interesting.
Like he already knew the name.
Of course he did.
The man investigated everything.
Tunde started walking toward their table slowly, confidently, like he belonged there.
Like he hadn’t disappeared from Adaeze’s life years ago after helping destroy it.
“You look surprised to see me,” he said smoothly when he reached them.
Adaeze forced herself to stand straighter.
“What are you doing here?”
Tunde ignored the question completely.
His eyes moved toward Damien.
Then toward Damien’s hand still wrapped around her wrist.
A slow smile spread across his face.
“Well,” he murmured. “This is interesting.”
Damien finally released Adaeze’s wrist and stood.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Two powerful men.
Both dangerous in completely different ways.
“You know each other?” Damien asked calmly.
Tunde laughed softly. “Not personally. But everybody knows Damien Black.”
His gaze returned to Adaeze.
“I’m more shocked that she knows him.”
Adaeze’s jaw tightened.
“Excuse me.”
Tunde tilted his head mockingly. “Relax. I’m just surprised.”
Damien remained unreadable.
Cold.
Watching.
Studying every tiny reaction between them.
“Mr. Lawson,” Damien said smoothly, “you seem familiar with my assistant.”
Assistant.
Not friend.
Not companion.
The word felt deliberate.
Tunde smiled again. “Adaeze and I go way back.”
Something dark flashed through Damien’s eyes at those words.
Barely visible.
But dangerous.
“How far back?” Damien asked.
Adaeze spoke quickly before Tunde could answer.
“Not important.”
Tunde chuckled.
“That’s not true.”
Her stomach twisted.
Because Tunde loved power games.
Always had.
And tonight, she could already see him preparing to play one.
“Excuse us,” Damien said suddenly.
Before Adaeze could react, Damien’s hand settled against the small of her back, guiding her away from the table.
The touch sent heat through her body instantly.
Firm.
Possessive.
Intentional.
Tunde watched them walk away with narrowed eyes.
Damien didn’t stop moving until they reached a quieter hallway near the private lounges.
The second they were alone, Adaeze stepped away from him.
“You didn’t have to drag me out like that.”
“I didn’t drag you.”
“You practically did.”
Damien stared at her for a moment before speaking.
“You’re shaken.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
The calm certainty in his voice irritated her immediately.
“I said I’m fine.”
“And yet your hands are trembling.”
Adaeze looked down.
Damn him.
He was right.
Again.
She folded her arms quickly. “Why do you care?”
Damien stepped closer slowly.
Because of course he did.
The man seemed physically incapable of respecting personal space.
“Because I don’t like people looking at you like they own pieces of you.”
Her heartbeat stumbled slightly.
“What does that even mean?”
His jaw tightened.
“That man knows something.”
Adaeze looked away.
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then Damien spoke quietly.
“What did he do to you?”
The question hit harder than she expected.
Because nobody ever asked that.
People asked what happened.
What went wrong.
Why she left certain places suddenly.
But nobody asked what was done to her.
Adaeze laughed softly, bitterly.
“You ask very personal questions for someone who barely acts human.”
A faint shadow of amusement crossed his face.
Then disappeared instantly.
“Tunde used to work with Richard,” she admitted quietly.
Damien went still.
Completely still.
“And?”
“He introduced us.”
Something cold entered Damien’s expression.
The kind of cold that made powerful men disappear.
“He knew what Richard was like?”
“Yes.”
“And he still brought him near you.”
Adaeze nodded once.
Damien looked away briefly, jaw tightening sharply.
Anger.
Real anger.
For her.
The realization unsettled her deeply.
“Why do you look angry?” she whispered.
His eyes returned to hers slowly.
“Because men like that survive too long.”
The way he said it sent chills down her spine.
Not emotional.
Not dramatic.
Just factual.
Like he was speaking about something he had personally handled before.
Adaeze suddenly became aware of how alone they were in the hallway.
How close he was standing.
How dangerous Damien Black truly felt when emotion slipped through his control.
Then his phone buzzed.
His expression darkened after reading the message.
“What now?” Adaeze asked cautiously.
Damien locked the phone slowly.
“Richard.”
Fear crawled instantly into her stomach.
“What about him?”
“He’s looking for you.”
Adaeze felt sick.
Of course he was.
Richard never let go of things he considered his.
“You see now?” Damien said quietly. “This is why you need protection.”
“I don’t need ownership.”
His gaze sharpened instantly.
“Is that what you think this is?”
Adaeze frowned. “Isn’t it?”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The tension between them thickened dangerously.
Then Damien leaned slightly closer.
“So tell me, Adaeze…” His voice dropped lower. “Why didn’t you pull away when I touched you earlier?”
Her breath caught.
Because she didn’t have an answer.
And they both knew it.
Before she could respond, footsteps interrupted them.
Chioma appeared at the end of the hallway.
And the moment her eyes landed on Damien standing so close to Adaeze—
Something dark flashed across her face.
Jealousy.
Hidden quickly.
But not quickly enough.
“Mr. Black,” she said smoothly. “The investors are asking for you.”
Damien didn’t move immediately.
His eyes remained on Adaeze.
“You’ll stay beside me for the rest of the evening.”
Adaeze frowned slightly. “I can manage myself.”
“I know.”
“Then why say it like an order?”
“Because it is one.”
Chioma’s expression tightened further.
Clearly, she wasn’t used to seeing Damien act this way around anyone.
Especially not another woman.
Damien finally stepped back.
“Come.”
The dinner resumed, but the atmosphere had changed completely now.
Whispers followed Adaeze subtly across the room.
People noticed Damien watching her.
Not casually.
Constantly.
And powerful men rarely looked at women like that unless something dangerous was involved.
Halfway through dinner, Adaeze excused herself to the restroom just to breathe.
The mirror reflected someone she barely recognized.
Designer dress.
Luxury surroundings.
A billionaire obsessed with controlling every space around her.
And fear.
So much fear.
The restroom door opened behind her.
Adaeze froze instantly.
Tunde.
Her pulse jumped violently.
“You followed me?”
He leaned against the door casually. “Relax.”
“Get out.”
“You always get defensive when you’re scared.”
Her eyes hardened. “I’m not scared of you.”
“That’s cute.”
Adaeze tried to walk past him.
He blocked her path instantly.
Panic flashed through her chest.
“Tunde.”
“You really work for Damien Black now?” he asked softly.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, but it is.”
His smile faded slightly.
“You have no idea who that man really is.”
Neither do you, Adaeze thought.
Because Damien scared her too.
Just differently.
Tunde lowered his voice.
“You should leave while you still can.”
Adaeze frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means Damien Black destroys everything he touches.”
Before she could answer—
The restroom door opened again.
And the entire room changed temperature.
Damien stepped inside.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
The dangerous kind of calm.
Tunde stepped back slightly.
Not out of respect.
Out of instinct.
Damien’s eyes moved from Tunde… to Adaeze… then back again.
“What’s happening here?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Because suddenly it felt like one wrong word could destroy everything.
Then Tunde smiled faintly.
“We were just talking about you.”
Damien slipped one hand into his pocket slowly.
“And?”
Tunde’s eyes darkened.
“I was warning her.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Then Damien spoke quietly.
“You should leave.”
Tunde laughed once. “Or what?”
And that was when Adaeze saw it.
The shift in Damien’s eyes.
Cold turning lethal.
The kind of look powerful men got right before violence.
“You really don’t want me to answer that question,” Damien said softly.
Even Tunde went silent after that.
For one terrifying moment, Adaeze genuinely thought Damien might kill him.
Then Damien looked at her instead.
And his voice changed completely.
Softer.
Controlled again.
“Come here.”
Her breath caught.
The command shouldn’t have affected her.
But somehow it did.
And the worst part?
- Writer
