I opened the door, forcing myself to take it slow, restraining the urge to burst into the room the way every muscle in my body demanded.
She was here. Lillian was actually here. Under my roof. Needing me. Needing my protection, my care, my strength.
And she would get it. She would get everything.
Once she became my wife, there would be nothing left for her to want. Not safety, not warmth, not love. I would give her a world where nothing touched her without going through me first.
I stepped inside, my eyes locking on her immediately. She was sitting on the bed, her wide, blue eyes frozen on me, like she wasn’t sure whether to scream or run. That flicker of fear, that flash of uncertainty, I could take it. She’d get used to me—she’d learn I was never a danger to her.
While I’d been spending years quietly building my obsession, feeding my desire with fantasies and stolen glance
My eyes widened as Damien stood, immediately moving over to the bed with a kind of silent determination that made every nerve inside me tense. I turned around in my chair, watching as his hands went behind his broad back. He gripped the hem of his black t-shirt and, with one fluid movement, pulled it up and over his head.The fabric dropped to the floor with a whisper, but the sound might as well have been a thunderclap to my ears.Scars. So many scars.My breath caught.They littered every inch of his back—long jagged ones that slashed across his pale skin like old battle wounds, short rounded ones like healed-over bullet holes or burns, and thin, razor-fine lines that shimmered slightly beneath the overhead light. There wasn’t a single stretch of untouched skin. His entire back told a story, one I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear.“Are you—” I started, but stopped abruptly. My throat tightened. “I thought&
I opened the door, forcing myself to take it slow, restraining the urge to burst into the room the way every muscle in my body demanded.She was here. Lillian was actually here. Under my roof. Needing me. Needing my protection, my care, my strength.And she would get it. She would get everything.Once she became my wife, there would be nothing left for her to want. Not safety, not warmth, not love. I would give her a world where nothing touched her without going through me first.I stepped inside, my eyes locking on her immediately. She was sitting on the bed, her wide, blue eyes frozen on me, like she wasn’t sure whether to scream or run. That flicker of fear, that flash of uncertainty, I could take it. She’d get used to me—she’d learn I was never a danger to her.While I’d been spending years quietly building my obsession, feeding my desire with fantasies and stolen glance
Jeremy and I were on our way back from the docks, and it had been a fucking bloodbath out there. The kind that twists your stomach, that coats your lungs with the taste of iron and fury. Our men had been slaughtered, torn apart with what could only have been a knife. Nothing else left wounds like that—deep, cruel, personal. It wasn’t gunfire. It wasn’t tactical. It was savage.And it wasn’t just the method—it was the intent that twisted my gut. This didn’t feel like a hit, like someone searching our premises or trying to send a quiet message. We’d had that before. Bratva bastards poking around our territory, trying to sniff out weaknesses or intel. But this? This wasn’t reconnaissance. This was carnage. Pure, unfiltered violence.Nothing had been moved. Nothing was missing. The papers were untouched, the cash drawer still sealed, even the encrypted drives left where they sat.Whoever had done this
The door creaked open again, and I quickly wiped at my cheeks, smudging away the tears that clung to my skin like betrayal. I didn’t want anyone to see me like that—vulnerable, lost, stripped bare by the weight of everything I couldn’t control. I tried to erase any trace of sadness from my expression, forcing my breath to even out.My fingers reached beneath the edge of the mattress, gently sliding the ring under it—the one Dante had given me, the one that still shimmered like a promise I wasn’t sure I deserved anymore. I tucked it away as if I could protect it, as if hiding it could protect him, protect us. I couldn’t risk someone finding it. I couldn’t risk someone taking it.“Lil?!”My head shot up, and my gaze collided with Ana’s. Her eyes were wide, frantic, filling with something I couldn’t quite name before her entire face broke open into a smile that stretched from cheek
I must have looked like a complete and utter question mark—frozen in place, eyes wide, jaw slack, not even remotely capable of hiding the confusion that tangled up my thoughts. My entire body stood still as I stared at the man in front of me, struggling to piece together what was actually happening.Damien didn’t rush me. He didn’t push. He didn’t bark commands or demand a reaction. He just watched—unmoving, patient, his arms at his sides, his towering presence grounded like a monolith. His dark eyes didn’t flash with impatience or frustration. Instead, they shimmered with something warmer, something far more difficult to interpret. There was heat there, yes, but it wasn’t brutal. It didn’t burn. It smoldered, like coals that had learned how to wait.He didn’t seem like he would force me. But his expectations were crystal clear.“But,” I started, trying to form the words, trying to line up my scat
I was lying somewhere soft, somewhere comfortable. It didn’t feel like my own bed, but honestly, I didn’t really care. My body felt light, too light, as though it had been floating through a dream before gravity gently eased me back down. I rolled over slowly, stretching, letting my limbs melt into the softness of the sheets beneath me. They felt luxurious, smooth against my bare skin, like expensive silk that clung to the warmth of my body. For a fleeting moment, I thought maybe Dante had carried me into his bed—his room often smelled of wood polish and old leather, with a touch of that rich, velvety cologne he always wore.But that was when I noticed something wasn’t right.The scent was off. These sheets didn’t carry Dante’s intoxicating warmth or the faint hint of Italian spices that seemed to cling to his skin like an afterthought. They were unfamiliar, colder, more sterile. Masculine, yes—but not in the way I craved. No cinnamon, no sandalwood, no hint of his presence.This was d