21: His smile

**Jasmine**

When we arrived at the apartment building, I remembered that I had a package waiting for me. So, I told Timmy to go inside and wait for me. Once I was certain that he was safely inside, I snuck out to the back of the building and, after making sure that the coast was clear, removed one of the ashy, grey bricks from the wall. Fifth from the bottom, fourth from the left. Behind the brick was a spacious compartment, and in it, lay a white folder with 'The Vixen' in neat, black pen on the front. I tucked the folder inside my handbag and then placed the brick back in its place, repeating quietly to myself, "Fifth from the bottom, fourth from the left." I always preferred information such as addresses, names and background information to be in hardcopy. Call it paranoia, because despite me knowing that our tech team was more than capable of covering our tracks, I always had a deep fear of such sensitive information being leaked or traced back to me. Hardcopy material was more difficult to retrace, and I always made it a point to keep it safely hidden away.

"Hey Timmy, do you think your mom's back yet? Can I drop you off at her door?" I asked once I was inside with him. He nodded, once again taking my hand as we headed upstairs to our floor.
"Thanks Miss Emerson, I had a lot of fun with you"−he then paused a little, smiled and then looked me right in the eye−"thank you for everything you do for me."
I ruffled his curls and said, "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for my favourite kiddo in the world."
This little pure encounter was, however, cut short when we arrived on our floor and I saw Damon leaning against his door, as though he were waiting for me this whole time. He eyed me, furiously and yelled, "Well it's about damn time. Where the fu−"
But before he could finish, I placed my hands over Timmy's ears and pulled him closer to me. I didn't expect Damon to stop swearing, so it was a real surprise to me when he actually did stop. I took it as a sign to get him back into his apartment as quickly as possible. I no longer felt any remnants of this morning's lust or rage but feared that we would have another Andrew situation on our hands. But fortunately for me, I was wrong, horribly wrong. Instead, Damon took in a deep breath and asked almost uncharacteristically politely, "Where have you been, Quinn?”
Timmy, once again all too brave for his own good answered for me, furious at Damon's choice of language−if only he heard mine. "She doesn't have to answer you, you big jerk!" My heart literally stopped as soon as these words left his mouth, and all I could was prepare myself for a very quick, very painful transformation. My anticipation for a fight was, however, not needed, as Damon gave a small chuckle and neared us both shaking his head.
"You are very protective over her, buddy. She a friend of yours?"
Timmy, in turn blushed deep red and quickly let go of my hand. I could hear his heart beating in his chest at a rapid rate, causing a small smile on my face.
"W-well…” He then looked up and me and I ruffled his hair up and smiled. "Don't let this jerk here bully you. If you don’t want to answer him, you don’t have to." I gave him a wink.
Damon raised an eyebrow at him in turn, daring him to answer. Eventually the stares from both of us drove him to a loud, “Quinn is my *best* friend! I protect her just like how she protects me!”
Again, he blushed, embarrassed at his outburst. I, however found his bravery adorable and ruffled his hair. He gazed up at me and I smiled brightly at him which caused him to smile too.
Satisfied that Damon wasn’t a threat to Timmy, I turned towards the door and knocked a few times. Mrs Keane opened it within a few moments and smiled brilliantly as she saw the three of us. Her eyes, however, stayed on Damon.
"Hello there Quinn, and hello there Mr-?"
"Michaels, Damon Michaels." He said sporting a dazzling, charming smile. It was one which I knew very well−a classic tactic when he was negotiating business deals.
As soon as she heard his name, her eyes brightened.
"I thought you looked familiar. Are you here on vacation?"
He explained to her that he was here on business−if by business he meant annoying me, then he was telling the truth- and further explained he was here to check up on his smaller businesses which included−and I’m not exaggerating−strings of restaurants, clothing stores and even a few convenience stores. It was clear, though, that Mrs Keane was more interested in ogling at his handsome appearance than the actual words coming from his mouth.
"Well, it was great to meet you Mr Michaels. I hope you could join me for tea one day. I have these scones to die for. Maybe you could add it to your menu? Keane's crazy scones!" She said brightly. Timmy rolled his eyes at her, and she smacked his shoulder when she saw him.
"I'd be delighted, Mrs Keane." It seemed someone brought their manners to this conversation.
Mrs Keane then bid us farewell and so did Timmy. And that was when I saw it. A gentle, sweet smile on his face. It was a smile so genuine and so profoundly soft that even Timmy began his own little smile, before he was shoved into the apartment by his mother. I stared at it, believing that I was hallucinating. The possibility of a gentle Damon was something I refused to believe in and was made easier to deny when he caught me glancing at him and immediately replaced his smile with a scowl.
"What are you looking at?"
I didn't mean to, but I blurted out, "You have such a gentle smile."
When it left my mouth, I placed my hand over my lips in shock. Damon seemed almost insulted by what I’d said, and gripped my hand forcefully. "Gentle? I think you have the wrong person, Jasmine. I'm Damon fucking Michaels, and I snap gentle people like toothpicks."
We stood there, both glaring at each other heatedly, both of us, daring the other to look away. But neither of us did. Instead, our bodies moved closer and closer together, our breathing grew faster and faster and our anger with each other began turning into something entirely… different. Within seconds, his lips were on mine in a heated frenzy with our tongues fighting for dominance as they glided and collided. I wanted more. I craved more, wanting his hands to roam my body and mine his. Damon pulled me closer towards him by the hem of my pants, gripped the back of my head and tilted it so he could kiss me deeper. I was not going to lie; I was about to melt in his touch, and the bag I once had around my arm, now fell to the ground. He was always good at using his lips, but this kiss was incredible. Eventually his one hand made its way to my pants again. He unbuttoned it slowly and then slipped his hand inside causing me to moan into his mouth. His fingers grazed against the skin under my underwear, and I almost fell to the ground when he started to rub his entire hand against me. The friction was stirring up something needy and desperate within me.
Our heated encounter was, however cut short when we heard the sound of a door open. I immediately pushed him away violently, turned around, buttoned my pants and then faced my poor neighbour who was now gawking at us. I waved, awkwardly while Damon folded his arms, clearly angry that I'd cut his little game short. Once they had left−wordlessly and awkwardly− Damon turned back to me and neared me with a dark look on his face. "Now, where were we?"
But I stuck out my hand, keeping him from getting anywhere near me. I didn't want to have to go through the same thing as earlier. Who knew how far we'd go this time, and besides, I was still dying of embarrassment. So, I devised a way to keep him from continuing. "I don't think so. If you'd like me to forget about that smile you wore a few moments ago, then you'll stay the hell away from me." His face fell and a look of anger replaced the look of lust on his face. He stood there for a while, deep in thought before taking in a sharp breath. "Fine. I will let you go this time, but only if you keep your word. You will not bring up, nor even think about that smile again." I nodded curtly, picked up my handbag from the floor and searched for my keys. When I placed them in the keyhole, I heard him say, "Oh and don't think I have forgotten about my revenge for today."
I smirked at him over my shoulder and said, "I'll be looking forward to it, Damon."
If only I'd bitten my tongue. No, if only I’d bitten his.