Restless and wracked with turmoil, she thrashed about in her bed, tangled in the realm of nightmares. Lauren jolted awake, her heartbeat pounding in her chest, a veil of perspiration clinging to her skin.
Covering her eyes from the ray of the sun that sipped through the giant curtains of her grand bedroom. She fell on her back and tried to make sense of what she just dreamt about.
"What was that" she murmured. She was still in lost in her thoughts when her phone ringing tone blared , kicking her out of her reverie.
"Bloody hell" she mutterd clutching her chest while reaching out for her phone under the sheets.
"Dont tell me you are still on your pyjamas at 8a.m, aren't you supposed to be at the Whitehouse by now" the caller inquired.
"Mr Damien?" Lauren said but more like a question.
"Oh, I love that you can tell it's my voice from the phone , I'm infront of your resident" Damian said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Lauren's eyebrows furrowed even more as she tried to process the situation. She quickly made her way to the window, and there he was, standing in all his fashionable glory. He leaned casually against his Rolls Royce, dressed impeccably in a bespoke black shirt and trousers, one hand nonchalantly tucked into his pocket while the other held the phone.
For a moment, Lauren was at a loss for words as she took in the sight of this figure who seemed to have stepped straight out of a fashion magazine. Finally, she managed to regain her composure and spoke into the phone.
.
"Hello" Damien inquired as he looked at the screen wondering if the call was disconnected, as he couldn't hear a response from her end, but alas it was still connected.
He looked up to where he could tell was her window and saw a figure standing there.
"Great to see that just like any other women, I can sweep you off your feet" he asserted, amused at her reaction on seeing him.
"What are doing infront of my house?"she asked, finally finding her voice.
"Heard you were invited to the Whitehouse by the president, and I happened to be going there today, so out of my benevolence i decided to allow my favourite human tag along" he said chuckling as he went on.
Lauren scoffed playfully at his poor attempt at explaining why he was in front of her porch.
"Yeah right, thanks for your offer but I can find my way to the Whitehouse just fine" she said smiling involuntarily.
"Ahh, but I insist, I'm already here so you might as well just bath, get dressed and come down" he said as a matter of factly. He could imagine her clearly in his mind, shaking her head at his antics, a thought that brought a smile to his face.
"Aren't you going to invite me in, surely you can save a friend from the eyes of all this colourful humans" he said looking up at the window.
His theatrics earned a soft laugh from her lips while she shook her head.
She couldnt understand how and why he's bulldozing his way into her life and heart, or even how to stop him from having his way.
She thought about it for a few minute before dropping the call....few minutes later her door knob turned left then right before the door swung open with Lauren standing inside.
"You can come in" she said. His Adam's apples throbed up and down on seeing her still in her silky pink pyjamas that blended perfectly well with her pearl skin, her messy bun tired loosely behind her head and her enamored face shone brightly under the sun, she looked ethereal and breathtaking.
"Well if you insist" he said giving a lopsided smile before walking gently towards her, stepping aside, she made space for him to come in.
"You have a lovely home" Damien commented as he walked inside the plush mansion.
"Well thank you, its mine and chloe's" she said, turning around she caught him staring at her, which made her unsettled and conscious of the pyjamas she wore.
Clearing her throats she asked him to take a seat in any of the plush couch.
"What can I offer you?" She asked, trying to distract herself and mind from staring back at him.
"A glass of water please" he said ever so elegantly.
Now if you will excuse me, i would like to go up, refresh, get dressed and get ready for the Whitehouse.
"I'll be seated right here" he replied, and watched her run up her stairs.
As soon as he heard the sound of shower water splashing against the bathroom tiles, he knew she was already bathing so he stood and decided to give himself a grand tour of the mansion.
Looking around the living room, though the interior exuded an air of opulence grandeur he didnt find anything that caught his fancy, so elegantly he walked out of the room into another.
"Oh" he cooed immediately his eyes sighted a hand painting of her hung on the wall...looking around he imagined it was a display room, as all her awards were neatly placed by the the glass shelf.
Picking up one of the awards, which was inscribed on 'Special Agent of the year' , he smiled and put it back, and just like that he went through all the awards she had received since her time at the agency and even as a health professional.
On the Table inside the room was a photo album, happily he picked it and sat down in one of the sofas.
"Exactly what I'm looking for" he muttered to himself, as he flipped the cover open.
Upon opening the album, he was greeted with the family photo, he assumed were her grandparents from her father's side and his children. He easily made out Mr Turner from the photo as the kid with cheerful smile, that smile was unmistakable.
Turning another page, he saw a picture of her father, Mr turner, her late mother,a very beautiful women."So this is where the beauty came from" he muttered.
Looking at the cute tiny Lauren, whom he imagined should be about few months old..
He lost track of time as he immensed himself on getting to know everything he could about her through the album.
"I see you kept yourself busy" lauren asserted as she made her way into the room.
Rasing his head from the photo album,he looked up and was immediately enchanted.
"Exquisite" he mumbled to himself.
"Sorry?" Lauren asked as she couldnt decider what he just said.
"I said you looked exquisitely beautiful" he said more clearer.
His voices ever so gent tugged at her heart strings, trying to not make it obvious how his compliment and voice affected her, she calmly walked and sat beside him.
"Well thank you" she said looking down into the photo album to avoid looking at his face.
"Thats when I was four" she said pointing at the picture of herself riding a children bicycle, enough distraction for Damein to tear his gaze away from.
Having her in such a close proximity like this made his cold heart a little beat warm, her natural lavender smell didn't help matter as it made him unable to think properly.
"Damien, are you even listening,why is your mind at?" She asked annoyed that he wasnt even paying attention to all the things she's been saying for the past ten minutes.
'How could I listen when all I see is you' he wanted to say but opted against it.
"Aye, I'm listening alright" he said smiling at her.
Staring at him, amused at how he could lie to her with a straight face, she shook her head.
"Ok, we need to go now, we cant keep the president waiting" she said trying to get up but her hand mistakenly flipped the album and it fell, with some of the pictures spilling on the floor.
Squatting to pick the pictures up, she knocked heads with Damien leaving her with her buttocks on the floor.
"Ouch" she squirmed, massaging her temple.
Squatting in front of her, he held her hand and used his to give her a gent massage.
"My bad" he apologised, with amusement dancing on his lips as he gave her a pleasant massage.
He watched as her rich black hair cascaded by the side of her face. Involuntarily he moved it behind her ears. He chuckled when he saw how red the tip of her ears were.
"Why are you blushing" he asked in his deep husky voice, causing her to look away or anywhere that wasnt his face.
At the moment she regretted allowing him inside her house because right about now, it seems she had lost control of all her body organs, her heart beat was beating so hard and loud against her ribs, it was so loud she wondered if he heard it too.
"You dont know how much I want to know what's going on in your mind right now" he said using his finger tips to prop her face up so he could see her face.
His finger traced the edges of her cheek, and stopped on her lips, her breath hitched as she watched him move close, and then a little bit closer, so close that they could feel the breath of eachother on their faces.
In his head he knew he shouldn't venture into this path, it can only bring pain, and yes their destinies were intertwined according to the prophecy but nothing in the prophecy said that he could act on what he felt for her.
But his heart, his cold frozen heart said otherwise, it wanted to taste her lips, to feel that warmth he craved on his skin, so tilting his head he went in, covered her mouth with his.
One quick, friendly kiss, he tried to remind himself, but his head was reeling. There was pain, a sweet ache that spread and shifted through out the whole of him.
She didnt fight him, in her woman's heart, she knew she should. Yet in that same heart she understood that she could not. Her body, rigid with the first shock, softened, yielded and accepted.
Gentle and rough all at once, she thought. His lips were cool and smooth against hers. She heard her own sigh as the lips parted, then tasted his on her tongue. She laid a hand on his sturdy chest, adding sweetness, he dragged his through her hair adding passion.
For one dazzling moment he deepened the kiss, taking her beyond what she knew and into what she had dreamed of. She tasted the richness of his mouth, felt the hard breath of his chest. Then heard his sharp quick curse as he dragged himself away.