Damon protecting Evie.

Damon's POV

The way she kept dragging her feet to where I was seated showed that she only listened to the command because she was scared. To encourage her and make her feel at ease with me, I smiled at her. Instead of easing her fears as I planned, the smile only made her much more reluctant with me and she turned ashen with fear.

I understood her reactions to me perfectly. While it would have been easier to deny, I knew she was like that to me because of the way I treated her in the past. I was her tormentor and I executed the name perfectly. So, of course, she was going to be wary of a man like me who showed her a lot of ill-treatment. Even though she was already like this with me, I was determined to show her a new side of me that was reserved only for a few people whom I valued. It might take longer, but I was ready to make her change her opinion of me.

"Sit down," I ordered her when she finally got to where I was. She sat down and folded her hands on the table. When I looked at