Chapter five : The Wedding Night

The elevator ride felt much longer than it was. Elena knew it lasted only seconds, but the silence made it stretch. Damien stood across from her with his hands in his pockets. He watched her closely. The look made her skin feel warm. She could not tell if the heat came from him or from her own reaction to his gaze.

When the doors opened, she stepped out first. He followed. She walked into the living room and stopped in the center. Avoiding this would not help. She turned to face him.

He had loosened his tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone. The small disorder made him look more human. It also made him feel more dangerous. Elena asked if they really had to do this tonight. Damien said they did not have to do anything she was not ready for. Still, the deadline was real, and waiting would not make it easier.

He poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to her. He kept the other. He said they should talk about expectations before anything happened.

Elena drank half the glass at once. Courage seemed necessary. She asked what he meant by expectations. Damien explained that the requirement was political, not personal. It only needed to happen and be confirmed. The families had to accept it as real. They could keep it clinical, or they could make it something else. If she wanted it treated like business, he would do that, even if it was not his preference.

The whiskey softened the edges of everything. Elena asked what he preferred. His smile was slow and sharp. He said he would rather she wanted him. Heat rushed through her. She said wanting him was not the issue. The issue was that she had known him less than two days, and the situation was insane.

Damien agreed. He said insanity seemed to be their pattern. He stepped closer until she could feel the warmth of his body.

He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb along her jaw. The touch was gentle, like before. He asked if she wanted him to stop. Elena’s breath caught. Her body wanted him closer. Her mind listed every reason this was wrong. She said she did not want him to stop.

He kissed her.

It was nothing like the kiss at the wedding. This one was slow and deep. It tasted like whiskey and something that felt like a promise. When he pulled back, they were both breathing harder. His eyes had darkened. He suggested they move somewhere more comfortable before things got out of control.

Elena laughed. Worrying about furniture when they were about to sleep together for political reasons felt absurd. Damien smiled and kissed her again. He guided her toward the hallway. She went willingly. Somewhere along the way, she stopped thinking about contracts and focused only on his hands.

His bedroom was dark and spacious, filled with heavy furniture and tall windows overlooking the city. Elena had a brief thought that she should be more nervous. Then he kissed her again, and her thoughts fell apart.

He reached for the zipper of her dress and pulled it down slowly. His mouth moved to her neck. Elena struggled with the buttons on his shirt, then gave up and pulled it open. Buttons hit the floor. Damien laughed quietly. She told him she would buy him new shirts if he stopped talking and touched her.

He did.

Elena quickly learned that Damien knew exactly what he was doing. His hands moved with confidence. His mouth followed with purpose. By the time her dress was gone, she was shaking. He took his time, as if memorizing her reactions. When he finally touched her the way she needed, she forgot everything else.

She came apart with his name on her lips and her hands tangled in his hair. When he kissed his way back up her body, she tasted herself on him. It should have felt strange. Instead, it made her want more.

He reached into the nightstand. She watched him through heavy eyelids. He asked again if she was sure. She pulled him down and kissed him hard enough to leave marks.

When he entered her, the moment felt overwhelming. It had been a while, and he was bigger than she expected. Her body adjusted. It accepted him. The feeling was right in a way that should have frightened her, but did not.

He moved slowly at first. She wrapped her legs around him and told him she was not fragile. He laughed softly and said he was starting to understand that. Then he stopped being careful. Elena stopped thinking entirely.

It was better than she expected. This was meant to be obligation, but it felt personal. The way he touched her and looked at her felt intense. When he reached between them and found exactly what she needed, she came again, hard enough to lose her breath.

He followed moments later. His body tensed. His hands gripped her hips. He pressed his face into her neck as they both tried to breathe again.

They stayed tangled together. His heart beat fast against hers. Eventually, he rolled to the side and took her with him. She rested against his chest.

Reality slowly returned. Elena realized she had just had the best sex of her life with a man she barely knew. She said it felt strange. Damien laughed quietly and said strange was relative.

His hand moved along her back, slow and steady. It was comforting, not sexual. Elena relaxed despite knowing she probably should not. She asked what happened next. Damien said the requirement was fulfilled. The political part was done. Everything else could be handled as it came.

She said that was not much of a plan. He agreed.

They lay there quietly. Elena was close to sleep when his phone buzzed. He tensed as he checked it. She asked what was wrong. He said Marco needed them at the Russo estate. Something had happened.

The intimacy vanished. Elena sat up and searched for her clothes. Damien spoke rapid Italian into his phone. The tone was sharp and urgent.

They dressed fast. Elena ended up back in the red wedding dress. It felt ridiculous, but there was no time to change. Damien told her there had been another attack. This time, it was not the Morettis. The attackers wore Calabrese colors. If two families had moved against her, the rest would follow.

Marco waited in the garage with armed men. His face was hard. He said six guards were dead. The attackers had reached the main house. They destroyed her father’s office and took files. The information inside could ruin them.

Elena asked if those files could hurt them. Marco did not answer. That was enough.

The drive to the estate felt unreal. Elena caught Damien watching her. She asked what he was thinking. He said most people would have broken by now, but she was still standing. She said it felt more like barely holding on. He said that was strength.

The estate was chaos. Police cars and ambulances filled the grounds. Bodies lay under white sheets. Elena felt sick. These men had died for something that now belonged to her.

Inside, her father’s office was destroyed. The door was gone. Everything was broken. Elena stood in the wreckage. Something cold settled in her chest.

Damien took her hand. He said this was a message. The families did not accept her claim. They were coming for everything.

Elena looked at the ruins. She said they needed to respond. Marco asked how. Elena said they would hit the Calabrese family tonight.

She meant it.