“Everything’s fine.”
He stepped toward me, fingers closing hard around my wrist. “You’re done for today. We’re going home.”
“Absolutely not… Damian, wait—”
I didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence. In the next second, he spun me around, my back slamming against one of the shelves. The sharp clatter of objects hitting the floor was the only sound that pierced the charged silence.
“Daisy.” His voice was low but laced with such tension that my heart faltered. “Don’t challenge me.” I caught the scent of his aftershave, felt the heat of his breath against my cheek.
He lifted my hands above my head and pinned them against the shelf with one hand. A fleeting smile flickered across his lips—cold, desperate.
“You scare me,” I whispered. And it wasn’t a lie, because he shifted between brutal and tender like the beat of a wing. My pulse hammered; I didn’t know whether I wanted to shove him away or cling to him. His eyes gleamed with something dangerous. “Damian You scare me when you look at me like that—because I can’t tell if you’re saving me or choosing how to break me.”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “Shh… it’s all right.”
Mybreath caught as his touch moved slowly, agonizingly, from my chin down my neck. Gentle yet commanding, his fingers wrapped around my throat.
“You know I’ll protect you, Daisy. No matter what it costs.”
A shiver coursed through me as I saw the sudden emptiness in his eyes. Unease spread like a tide. Did I truly know the man in front of me, or was he a madman who might strangle me in the next breath? Fear and desire tangled, rising inside me. Damian was unpredictable, unreadable. My mind screamed at me to run, but my heart begged me to stay. The intensity of his touch unraveled my senses while his words dragged me deeper into a whirlpool of conflicting emotions.
“And who protects me from you?”
“No one,” he whispered. “That’s why you should run.“ He tightening his hold before devouring my lips with a greedy kiss. “I can’t,” he rasped. “I can’t control myself anymore. Can’t hold back. I want you so badly.”
He shut his eyes, as if wrestling with himself. When they opened again, something flickered there—pain, anger, desire—all at once. “I can’t touch you without feeling like I’m losing my mind.”
Then he released my throat and wrists—but only to grip the hem of my hoodie. His fingers clenched the fabric, yanking me forward until I stumbled against his chest. Our bodies collided; my breath hitched. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll tear it off your body.”
A shudder went through me. Not from fear, but because I knew what was about to happen. And because I wanted it more than I would admit.
“You provoked me quite a lot today with your words,” he murmured, “and I swear to you, I’m not the man who caresses you right now. I’m the one who takes you until you scream my name.”
My heart pounded. I wanted that; I wanted him so badly.
“Do it,” I whispered, rough with anticipation. “Do whatever you want with me.”There’s a line you cross only once. I asked him to find it. “I need to feel you—need to feel myself again.”
He froze. Just for a moment. And then… I saw him fall—into himself, into that deep, black abyss of rage, obsession, and hunger that I called love.
I turned the key in the lock of my apartment. Damian stood close behind me; his presence was both calming and electrifying.
“This is the first time I’ve been at your place,” he said quietly as he stepped in behind me.
“I just need to grab a few things,” I said, disappearing toward the bedroom to pack my bag.
“You’ve got some very interesting things here,” he called, loud enough for me to hear.
I stuffed a few clothes into my bag and returned to the living room. Damian held a small antique mirror in his hand.
“Yes, you know, I have a weakness for old things.”
Hesmiled and set the mirror down.
“Do you want something to drink? Water, Coke, soda, wine?”
“Not at the moment, thank you.”
I took a bottle of soda from the fridge and walked back to him. He had pulled out a book and was studying it.
