The Runaway Bride

Anita’s POV

“Welcome, ma’am,” the doorman’s voice filtered into my ears.

“Thank you so much,” I replied to the man with a smile on my face.

The corridor was well lit, and I couldn’t wait to meet my boyfriend and his lovely smile. Thoughts of him usually left me fuzzy and excited. My mother had said it was the love making me feel fuzzy, and to be honest, I was enjoying being in love.

I was just about to round the corner, following the direction lit up by the small arrows showing guests to the hall for the fundraising when a hand shot out and grabbed me. I was about to let out a scream when my lips were covered by the soft sweet lips of Damien.

I didn’t need to look at the face to know that he was the one. The taste of his lips was distinct, and he was the only man whose kiss made me feel like I was floating on a sky of pleasure, like I did right now.

“You are earlier than I thought,” he said the moment when his lips left mine.

“Well, I didn’t want to fail you,” I said, staring hard into his dark blue eyes. Even in the darkly lit corner we were perched at, I could make out the distinct color of his eyes, and I loved them.

“I am glad you are here now. I swear, I could have died from anticipating your arrival.” His hot breath warmed my face.

“I couldn’t wait to see you, too.” I stood on my toes and placed a kiss on his lips.

Gosh, those lips were so exhilarating. I wasn’t sure if I could get enough of them, but I knew I better have one last taste of them before we got into the dining hall where the fundraiser for Damien’s family company, Gold Strings, was going to be held.

“Alright, let’s get going. I can’t wait for you to meet my family,” he said and placed his forehead on mine.

I was hoping for another kiss, but I was going to take whatever he gave to me. My tummy was tumbling as a million possible scenarios of my meeting with his family filled my head. I liked the man enough and I wanted his family to like me.

With him by my side, we walked into the dining hall and it was slightly filled with people. More people were expected to come later on, but I was glad to be here now.

With purposeful steps, Damien led me to an elderly man whom I had to take one look at to know was Damien’s dad. The resemblance was obvious and Damien was just like a younger version of the man.

“Dad,” Damien said, drawing the man’s attention from the conversation he was having.

“Damien, good evening,” his dad greeted giving me a cursory glance. “I see you have a beautiful friend with you today.”

“Yes, Dad. This is my girlfriend, Anita Brandon,” Damien introduced.

I stood with an awkward smile on my face. I liked Damien so much that I was looking forward to his dad liking me. I was not up for social validation, but it was going to mean so much to me if this man made it clear that he liked me. I was hopeful that his calm demeanor meant something positive.

“Anita?” The man tasted my name on his lips and the corners of his lips turned up in a beautiful smile. “I like the name. I do hope he is treating you well?”

I let out a bright smile and replied to the man in the affirmative. We spoke for a while and it was wholesomely beautiful. The man was nice and so was Damien’s younger sister, Sonia.

The girl was so smart and bright that I could imagine how much she must have troubled Damien while growing up. The first thing the girl had done the moment he introduced me to her was to crack a joke.

“Finally, this demon got someone to love him.” Then she leaned to my ear and whispered loudly enough for Damien to hear. “How were you able to mellow the dragon?”

I burst out in a loud fist of laughter and the tender smile on the two siblings’ faces told me that there was a lot of love to go around in this family.

Damien had lost his mom while he was younger and this fundraising had been created in her honor. So, his sister and dad made up the rest of his family and I was so happy to know that they were a lovely bunch.

Soon, we both sat down and the fundraising was set on full throttle, with benevolent people raising as much as a million dollars in charity for orphans and less privileged around the world.

As soon as the fundraising was done, Damien took my hand in his and whispered in my ear, the sound giving a promise of something wonderful to come. “Come with me. I want to take you somewhere.”

His voice was too sweet and tender and I couldn’t say no to it. There was just something so compulsive about him and it was so hard to say no to him. I followed the man like a sheep led to the slaughterhouse.

“Where are you taking me to?” I asked when the chit and chatter from the guests in the house was a distant echo.

“Somewhere where magic happens for me,” he replied, and in one swift move, he moved behind me and tied my eyes with a blindfold.

“Do you trust me?” he asked, pausing the protest I was about to give.

“Yes, I do,” I replied with a chuckle.

With that, Damien led me in the most anxious walk of my life, guiding me all the way. A million and one thoughts were rolling in my head as I took each step under his supervision.

I wasn’t scared of Damien hurting me. A part of me trusted him and was looking forward to seeing his place of magic, but I was just too anxious, way anxious.

Well, I didn’t have to wait too long as I heard the soft slushing of water and felt the cool ambiance in the air.

I was somewhere special, and I could just feel it.