CHAPTER 4

A Dangerous Game

Damian's POV

I could feel my hands shaking as I read Eliot's message again: "Meet me. You need owe me a goodbye kiss."

The words washed across the screen like a slow burn, and I looked at it longer than I should have. My heart was racing as I moved my thumb over the reply button. I owe Eliot anything. That night—we weren’t supposed to speak of it again.

But it was impossible to forget the feel of his lips on mine and the way he pulled me apart with just a smirk and his fingers. Before I could question myself, my thumps moved.

"Where?"

His answer came quickly.

“On the rooftop bar. Midnight. Come alone.”

As I buttoned my shirt in front of the mirror, my hands trembled. My brain told me to stop because I had no reason to do this. I had an engagement to uphold and protect my family name. But the sound of his lips on mine and how I had easily melted into him was stronger. It felt both wrong and right at the same time.

The city lights wrapped around me like a secret when I got to the roof. My jacket was being pulled by the wind. My nerves were all over the place. Then I saw him.

Eliot.

He leaned against the railings and held his drink like the sky was his. As soon as I got closer, he turned around with a slow smirk on his face. "Glad you came."

I took a breath. "This is silly,” I said, my heart pounding. “I shouldn't be here.”

His eyes caught mine as he moved slowly. "Okay. Really stupid. That's why you're here.

The air between us was tense and sharp. He took a small step toward me. I couldn't move my feet. My body betrayed me.

His voice was smooth and sly. I didn't like how it made my body feel. I couldn't help but want to touch him again. I looked down at his lips.

I don't even know you,” I said in a low voice.

Eliot moved closer and said, "You know enough. You know how I taste. What I sound like when I moan. What it's like when I—"

"Don't," I said in a sharp voice. But the pictures were already there, dancing around in my mind like fire.

Eliot smiled. "You liked it."

I said nothing. There was nothing I could say that didn’t sound like a lie or a cry for help.

Eliot took a step forward. His hand touched mine. I held my breath. I didn't pull away when I should have. He took my hand, and his fingers were warm and sure.

"You couldn't forget about me, could you?” He asked in a low voice.

How could I?

His lips were close to mine all of a sudden. I could feel his heat and the tense, dangerous air between us that was like a spark that was begging to catch fire.

I took a step back. "Eliot, this is a mistake.”

"Then why does it feel so good?" He murmured, stepping into my space.

Eliot leaned in, lips brushing against my ear. "One more kiss. Then you can act like I never existed.

My breath hitched. "That is not a good idea."

"It's the best bad idea you'll ever have."

He put his soft lips against mine and then slowly made them more firm. My brain turned off. Everything was gone. Only his mouth, his taste, and the way his hands moved around my waist were there. I kissed him back, hungrily.

I got my fingers caught in his shirt. His hands roamed like he’d memorized every inch of me in just one night. He made me think he wanted me.

But I pulled back.

“I can’t,” I breathed, lips swollen.

"Yes, you can. You did it already.” Eliot's eyes burned.

I stepped back, grabbed the railing, and forced myself to breathe. The cool breeze tried to make me feel better, but it didn't work.

He came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. "You're scared."

"I have a lot to lose."

"And nothing that is yours," he said in a low voice.

Those words hurt a lot.

I turned around and looked at him. "You don't get it."

"Give it a shot."

He reached up and traced my jaw with his thumb. I shivered.

"I've always done what my dad wants me to do. I've never had something just for me."

“Then maybe it’s time,” Eliot whispered. “Maybe I’m the thing you wanted.”

That broke me.I turned and kissed him again, pulling him close, needing him more than I’d ever admitted. Our bodies fit together like we’d done this a thousand times.

I felt a light push against the wall from Eliot. He put his tongue in my mouth. My hands moved down and then to his chest. The heat rose quickly between us.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured, breaking the kiss long enough to breathe.

I was unable. I did not. I let him kiss me once more.

I ought to have stopped.

I didn't want to, though.

To my surprise, Eliot's hands slid under my shirt, and his fingers explored my body as it grabbed my dick making me gasp. I pressed my nails into his back and got lost in his smell and weight.

He said in a low voice, "You taste like trouble."

"And you're trouble," I answered, confused.

He laughed. "Let's make some then."

He pulled me behind a roof corner that was dark. As he took off my shirt buttons, his lips stayed on mine. Every touch set off sparks under my skin. My knees almost gave out.

We moved together, twisted and out of breath. His touch was like fire. His lips tasted like sin.

We weren’t supposed to want this.

But it was too good to stop.

He kissed the back of my neck. I held my breath. As I grabbed his face and kissed him again, I felt desperate and crazy.

In my pocket, my phone beeped. I didn't pay attention to it. The world had shrunk to his mouth, his hands, the way he bit my bottom lip just hard enough to make me whimper.

Then he stopped all of a sudden.

"What?" I spoke softly.

He looked quickly over my shoulder.

"What is it?" I turned slightly.

A flash from the far corner of the rooftop.

A long way away from us. A building. A camera lens.

I went cold.

Eliot quickly turned around and looked at the buildings across the street. "Shit."

"Did someone just snap a pic of us?"

Eliot clenched his teeth. “I think so.”

My heart stopped.

Fear came over them like a wave.

What if that photo got out?

My stomach was cold, but my body was still hot from our kiss as I looked into the night.

A fuzzy shape moved across the street on the roof and then vanished.

Eliot looked at me and spoke in a sharp but low voice. "Let's go. Right now.”

That was it, our dangerous game was no longer a secret.