Dominated

Chapter 45

It was late at night when the house finally began to clear. While Damien sent off his guests downstairs, Amelia cleaned up the broken wine glass upstairs that she had left in her drunken state. She was sure to use a broom and dustpan this time, and although she still hadn't completely sobered up, she was a lot more capable of handling the glass than she had been earlier in the night.

As she swept, Damien unexpectedly appeared behind her and took the broom and dustpan from out of her hand. She gasped, surprised by his presence. She hadn't even heard him come up.

"I'll take care of this," he told her. He swept up the remaining pieces and then carried the dustpan to the bathroom to dispose of the glass.

Amelia remained standing in the hallway, unsure what to do with herself. When Damien returned, she contemplated speaking to him, but he abandoned the dustpan beside the broom and walked past her. She frowned when he disappeared into the bedroom, and instead of dwelling on his silence, she grabbed the cleaning materials and walked to the top of the stairs, but Damien's voice stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded to know.

She turned back toward the bedroom to find him in the doorway, shirtless and wearing only his sweats that hung low on his hips. She bit her lip and unashamedly gazed over his body.

"Put that down and come here," he ordered.

Amelia dropped the broom and dustpan and moved toward him. She was still two steps too far when he reached out to her and roughly pulled her in at the waist. Her breath hitched upon colliding with his chest, and she held onto his large and muscular arms for support.

"Were you going to leave without telling me?" he asked, dragging his nose through her hair.

She shook her head. "I was just going downstairs."

"You've been drinking. You need to rest."

"I will when I get home," she responded.

He scowled. "I meant that you need to rest here next to me."

She rolled her eyes and placed her palm on his chest, shoving him away. "You haven't made your home feel very welcoming. I'd prefer not to stick around when you're in a mood."

Her response only seemed to fuel him because the scowl deepened, and a dissatisfied grunt escaped him.

"Amelia, you are not leaving," he told her, to which she laughed.

"Yes, I am," she replied. "And you aren't going to stop me."

He grabbed her hand before she could walk away and spun her toward him. She gasped in response to his forcefulness and stumbled, but he caught her in his arms before she could collapse on the floor.

"I won't let you walk away this time," he said.

She tried to step away from him, but he was too strong. "You don't get to decide when I leave. Let me go, Damien."

He wrinkled his nose, showing his discontent with her response. "I've made that mistake before, so no, I will not be letting you go."

"You've been cold toward me since the incident with Vaughn," she replied. "You can't expect me to stay."

"Amelia, the man admitted that he's in love with you. Am I supposed to pretend that never happened?"

"You're being unfair," she said.

"I'm being unfair?" he asked, narrowing his eyes challengingly.

"Yes," she answered. "You consciously made the decision to leave me for another woman, and now you're angry at me for something completely out of my control."