Filed to story: Maya Thompson and Damien Blackwood Book PDF Free
James tilted his head. “Where are you two headed?”
Maya hesitated. “Uh, hospital.”
“Then perfect timing,” James said. “This route’s notoriously late on weekends. We’ll drop you off.”
Maya’s lips parted. “Ah, no need, sir. We’ll be fine. Really.”
But Jamie glanced at her and frowned. “May… it’s hot. And we might be late. Let’s take the offer, okay?”
James grinned. “He’s right. We’re already headed that way. Please, don’t worry. Make yourselves comfortable. Mr. Blackwood is in the back.”
Damien kept his gaze forward-stone still, unreadable.
Maya looked like she wanted to bolt. But she looked at Jamie – already sweating slightly in the morning heat- and finally relented.
Jamie, ever the gentleman, opened the door.
“Ladies first.”
She hesitated… then stepped in.
Damien’s eyes flicked up briefly. And just like that-she was there.
So close.
No makeup. Worn jeans and a faded T-shirt. Scuffed sneakers. Her hair tied loosely back. No heavy perfume-just something soft. Subtle.
Lavender. And underneath it-vanilla. Soft. Clean. Maddening.
His jaw tightened.
His mind, the traitorous bastard, conjured up the image again-her in a shower, water trailing down smooth skin. Damien adjusted slightly in his seat.
He could feel it.
Not again.
Fuck.
She cleared her throat. “Good… good morning, Mr. Blackwood.”
He nodded once, curt. His voice came out lower than intended. “Morning.”
Jamie climbed in behind her and gently closed the door. He leaned forward slightly, his voice respectful but warm.
“Good morning, sir. I’m Maya’s brother-Jamie. Thank you for the ride. It’s nice to meet you.”
Damien glanced at him and gave a small nod. “You’re welcome.”
He expected awkward silence. But Jamie surprised him.
“Your car’s really nice. It smells expensive.”
Damien smirked despite himself. “That’s because it is.”
Jamie chuckled. “Is that real leather?”
“It is.”
“Cool.”
Damien cleared his throat. “You like cars?”
Jamie lit up. “Yeah! I read about them sometimes. I used to have a toy Bugatti when I was little.”
He glanced at Maya, then added with quiet pride, “Maya says’ I’ll have a real one someday if I study hard. But… I have to get better first. So I can go back to school.”
Jamie brightened at the approval. “I read a lot, too! May brings me books from her school library so I won’t fall too far behind.”
Then, with a spark of pride in his voice, he added, “I really like programming. I’m into codes and numbers. They just… make sense.”
Damien’s eyes flicked toward the boy again, this time lingering.
Programming.
Most kids his age were obsessed with games or influencers or whatever the hell was trending. But this one? He liked logic. Systems. Codes.
Damien could respect that.
He leaned forward slightly, his voice quieter now-measured. “What kind of programming interests you? Web, software, robotics?”
Jamie perked up at the question, clearly not expecting it. “Uhm, I’m still learning… but I like anything with logic puzzles. I watched a documentary on artificial intelligence last month. It was cool. I want to try Python next.”
Damien raised a brow.
Not bad.
Then Jamie added, “Actually… I read this article a few weeks ago about Blackwood Enterprises. It was about that Al system you guys built to help detect early-stage equipment failure in renewable energy grids? That was awesome. I didn’t understand everything, but the part about predictive learning and data modeling… that stuck with me.
Damien’s attention sharpened.
Most adults in his boardroom couldn’t even articulate that properly.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Maya.
He caught the change in her-the way her lashes dipped, the subtle curve tugging at the corner of her lips. A fleeting smile, quiet and unguarded, as if she forgot-just for a second-that he was there.
She tried to hide it, but it was too late.
He’d seen it.
It did something to him.
Something irrational. Dangerous.
He hated it.
That damn smile. So small. So soft. So real. Not polished like the ones women gave him to impress. Not seductive. Not calculated.
Just… proud.
Proud of her brother. Proud of something that wasn’t even about her.
It made his chest tighten and his thoughts blur. For a fleeting moment, the weight of board meetings, headlines, and the goddamn groundbreaking ceremony slipped away. The world outside that car ceased to exist.
All he saw was that smile.
He found himself wanting to see that smile again.
Wanting to be the cause of it.
And that realization?
Fucking infuriating.
Fury tangled with something raw. Unguarded. Far more dangerous.
Damien’s fingers drummed against his thigh. This was dangerous. She was too close. The scent of her was messing with him.
She was a distraction.
A complication.
