The mansion was silent, but tension hummed in the air like a storm waiting to break. Bella followed Damien through the grand hall, her heart pounding in her chest.
She knew she shouldn't be here.
She knew she should demand answers, fight back, resist him.
But when he turned to her, his dark eyes smoldering with something dangerous, something forbidden—
She forgot how to breathe.
"Come with me," he said, his voice a low command.
Bella swallowed hard but nodded, letting him lead her down a dimly lit corridor.
When they reached his room, she hesitated.
"This isn't right," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Damien stepped closer, his heat wrapping around her, his scent intoxicating. "Then why aren't you running?"
She had no answer.
Because she didn't want to run.
Not from him.
His fingers traced along her jaw, his touch igniting a fire deep within her. "Tell me to stop, Bella."
She parted her lips, but no words came.
Instead, her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, as if she had already lost the battle.
A slow, knowing smirk tugged at Damien's lips before he crushed them against hers.
And in that moment, nothing else existed.
Not the danger.
Not the secrets.
Only this.
Only him.