
Falling for Damon Strathmore
osaze1435 · Completed · 87.5k Words
Introduction
One night. One impossible connection.
Between stolen glances, reckless decisions, and tension that ignites like a match to gasoline, staying away becomes the hardest thing either of them has ever tried, and failed to do. In a world where everything’s on the line, their hearts may be the only gamble they never saw coming.
Some lines aren’t meant to be crossed—until they are.
Chapter 1
Damon
“I said I’m fine!” I barked, jerking my arm away from the nurse trying to check my IV like I hadn’t already yanked it out twice.
“What part of ‘discharge me now’ is in ancient Latin to you people?!”
“Mr. Strathmore, please.”
“No. Don’t ‘Mr. Strathmore me like I’m eighty and need help with a leak. I can walk, I can talk, I can flirt. That means I’m alive. Let me out of this torture chamber.”
The poor nurse blinked at me, clearly a second away from paging security. Again. I was about to launch into my usual dramatic speech, something about medical kidnapping and oxygen being a scam, when the door swung open.
And there she was.
Dark curls barely contained a ponytail, scrubs hugging her like they were made to worship her hips, clipboard in one hand, coffee in the other like a goddess descended from Mount Starbucks. And that smile, God, that smile like she already knew I was going to be her problem, and maybe she was weirdly okay with that.
“I heard we’ve got a runner,” she said.
Voice? Smooth. Confidence. Slightly amused, like I was an annoying puppy, and she’d decided to adopt me anyway.
“I’m not a runner,” I said, straightening up like an idiot. "I just believe in freedom. Medical institutions are not supposed to feel like prisons.”
She walked in, eyes scanning the room, then stopping at me like I was a science project she couldn’t wait to dissect.
“You’re the one who had a concussion, right?”
“That wasn’t me,” I said, trying to play it off like the cook guy I was.
“Security has the footage of paramedics wheeling you in.”
“... That could’ve been anyone.”
Her eyebrows arched. I swear to God, I almost blurted out my credit card number just to keep her looking at me like that.
“I’m Alicia. I’ll be your nurse for the next few hours to days if your condition worsens,” she said, crossing over to the bed like she owned it. “Assuming you don’t stage another jailbreak or demand to be discharged.”
“Damon,” I said, suddenly forgetting all about my dramatic exit. “Just Damon. No Mr.”
“Damon,” she repeated, like she was testing how my name tasted in her mouth. I nearly flatlined right there. “Nice to meet you. Now sit.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sit,” she said again, already putting on gloves. “I’m going to check your vitals and make sure you haven’t wrecked your stitches pulling out your IV like a madman.”
“Have I wrecked them?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if you'd detached your soul at this point,” she muttered, then looked up at me again. “Shirt off.”
“Oh. Wow. You move fast.”
“I’m a nurse, not a date. Don’t flatter yourself.”
Damn. Okay. She was quick, sarcastic, and probably smarter than me, which was annoying and hot. Mostly hot.
“I mean, if this is a meet-cute, I feel like we skipped the part where I drop my coffee, and you say something adorable.”
She looked me dead in the eyes. “You dropped your IV. And you screamed like a man whose leg was being sawed off.”
“… That’s one interpretation.”
She chuckled under her breath, and I swear I heard angels. Literal angels.
“You always like this?” she asked, listening to my chest with her stethoscope.
“Like what?”
“Flirty. Loud. Allergic to staying in bed.”
“I’m not flirty. I’m just naturally charming. It’s a condition.”
“And single, I assume?”
“Very.”
“No surprise there.”
Okay. Ow.
“You don’t believe in love either, huh?” I asked, trying not to flinch as she tightened the blood pressure cuff.
“Nope. Love is just brain chemicals and bad decisions.”
“Oh my God, marry me.”
“Too soon. I don’t even know your allergies yet.”
She grinned, as if she wasn’t flipping my entire worldview upside down with a few well-placed jabs and some latex gloves. And me? I, Damon Strathmore, ladies’ man extraordinaire, professional heart-breaker, was sitting shirtless in a hospital gown with my brain short-circuiting because a nurse smiled at me and didn’t care that I looked like hell. This was bad. Terrible.
Or maybe… Perfect.
“You had a concussion,” she said, holding a clipboard like it was a weapon of authority. “You need paracetamol and a few days of rest.”
I blinked at her, squinting as my vision adjusted. “Wait, hold up—does that mean I have to stay here?”
She gave me this smile that was way too calm for the trauma she had just delivered. “Just for the rest of the day.”
I groaned again, louder this time, because what in fresh hell.
“It’s not that serious, Angel,” I said, waving a dismissive hand and starting to sit up. “I can walk, talk, flirt… see? I’m totally…ow—fine.”
She raised a brow, arms crossing over her definitely-not-hospital-issue curves. “First of all, my name’s not Angel.”
I paused mid-scoot, cocking my head, pretending like this was news to me. “Is it not?”
She pointed to her name tag, which I hadn’t noticed till now because, well, I was busy fighting for my freedom. And also, her eyes. I mean. Come on.
“Alicia Collins,” she said crisply.
I leaned forward, reading it like it was written in ancient Greek. “Alicia Collins,” I repeated. Then under my breath, “I still prefer Angel.”
She heard that. I could tell by the twitch in her cheek and the way she sighed like she’d dealt with five of me already today.
“Lay back, Mr…?” She glanced at the chart.
“Damon,” I said smoothly, reclining again like I meant to. “Just Damon. Remember?”
“Okay, Just Damon, you need to stay under observation for the next few hours. No arguments.”
I raised both hands. “You wound me, Alicia. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d argue with a beautiful woman in scrubs?”
“Yes,” she deadpanned.
Damn. She was good.
I smirked. “Fine. I’ll behave… Angel.”
She rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, muttering something about headaches and grown men who act like toddlers. I watched her go, my grin stretching wider.
Maybe hospitals weren’t so bad after all.
After she left, I sat back to think of everything that had just happened and one thing I knew was that she was totally immune to every one of my charms. Where other girls would fawn over me, Alina behaved like I was nothing, like it was the very dirt she walked upon.
“Damn! What a woman,” I muttered.
The only thing keeping me company within the room was the beep-beep of the IV machine, but on the other hand, my whole thoughts were filled with Alina and who she was. I was a world star, girls never left my side, I had a string of them all fawning over me.
Okay. No, seriously. This was bad. Like code red, evacuate-the-building kind of bad. Because apparently, somewhere between the IV drip and her telling me to “stop being a stubborn man-child,” I’d made a decision. A very permanent, slightly terrifying, definitely irrational decision.
I was going to try my luck with her.
And by “luck,” I meant all the charm I had in my player arsenal—which, let’s be honest, was dangerously rusty thanks to that whole “love doesn’t exist, relationships are for fools” phase I’d been stuck in.
But this one? This nurse with the sharp mouth and prettier eyes? Nope. I was already gone. Hooked. Doomed. Finished. But now, she had no idea.
But from now on? She was never getting rid of me.
Last Chapters
#71 Chapter 71
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#70 Chapter 70
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#69 Chapter 69
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#68 Chapter 68
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#67 Chapter 67
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#66 Chapter 66
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#65 Chapter 65
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#64 Chapter 64
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#63 Chapter 63
Last Updated: 4/25/2026#62 Chapter 62
Last Updated: 4/25/2026
You Might Like 😍
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
Tango with the Alpha's Heart
“He met her at the Alpha training camp,” he said. “She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice.”
My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks.
Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna.
Emily became the laughingstock of the pack on her 18th birthday and never expected the Alpha's son to be her mate.
After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that her mate has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, she disappears from the pack.
Now, five years later, Emily is a respected high-ranking warrior in King Alpha’s army.
When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate.
Will her mate figure out it is her?
Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
A PRINCESS IN DISGUISE; BOUND TO THE ENEMY KING
I fell to my knees, the cold marble digging into my skin. I had studied for years in the flickering candlelight, memorizing every herb and poison to pass the healer's exam. I wanted freedom. I wanted to save my mother from the servant's quarters. I placed second. I thought I had won my life back.
But the King didn't give me a badge of honor. He gave me a death sentence.
"Raven Thorne shall be wed to the King of Grok," he announced, his voice echoing in the silent hall. Princess Ellie, the woman who had tormented me for years, slapped her hands over her mouth to hide her cruel laughter. She was supposed to marry the Beast. Now, I was the lamb being sent to the slaughter in her place.
They say King Liam drinks the blood of his enemies. They say he is more monster than man. And now, I have to walk into his bedroom, wearing the Princess's silk gown, and pray he doesn't tear me apart.
I looked at the King, tears streaming down my face. "I'll do it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "But my mother must be safe."
I sold my body and soul to a monster to save her. But when the carriage door opened and I finally looked into the Beast's golden eyes, I realized the terrifying truth...
He wasn't a stranger. He was the man I met in the woods.
BROKEN TRUST
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Goddess Of The Underworld
When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
Tempted By The Enemy
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Survival Island
Zane, a powerful vampire and the island's owner, has spent centuries unable to feel desire for any woman. But when he notices Zara's intelligence, resilience, and determination to survive, she awakens something in him that no one ever has. For the first time in his vampire life, he is interested in a female, and his member is also starting to come to life. Who is this woman and why does he suddenly crave her and not just for her blood?
A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)
For centuries, she has been on the run, helping the supernatural community under the cloak of anonymity while she works to clear her name and save the very people after her from destruction.
Enemies are closing in, but an unexpected complication befalls her when she realises she’s been fated to someone who wants her species exterminated. After all, an evil chance seldom comes alone.
A Queen Among Darkness is the 4th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.
Books in the series in order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Generation Coming Soon)
Mated To My Ruin: A Dragon's Debt
But the prince lied. The dragon she touched bound itself to her soul and now she is trapped in the vampire kingdom with a king who has waited centuries for her return. King Caelan remembers everything. The love she destroyed and the great war she started. The lives she burned to ash with the very dragon now living inside her.
She remembers nothing.
He wants her to suffer for crimes she cannot recall. She wants to survive long enough to save her sister. But the bond between them refuses to stay buried and the dragon has its own plans. When she turns twenty and her fae powers awaken, Nyx discovers the truth is far more twisted than centuries of hatred.
The prince who sent her was the one who destroyed her family. The king who hates her saved the only person she loves. And the past life she cannot remember might be the key to stopping another war.
This time she will not run. This time she will burn the world herself if that is what it takes.
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?












