LOGINMy body is still trembling, his two broad fingers buried deep inside me, when those five words hit like ice water.
“Who the hell are you?”
He doesn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he curls his fingers slowly, pressing against that spot that makes my knees buckle. A fresh wave of pleasure rips through me even as panic claws at my chest.
“Shh,” he murmurs, voice dark and amused. “You’re so close, Elena. Don’t ruin it now.”
Hearing my full name again in that low, commanding tone sends another shameful throb through my core. I hate how much my body likes it.
I grab his wrist, trying to push his hand away, but he’s stronger. He pins my wrist against the wall with his free hand and keeps going, slow, deliberate movements that make soft sounds echo through the quiet suite.
“Stop,” I gasp, even as my hips betray me, rocking against his palm. “Tell me how you know my name.”
He leans in, his masked face inches from mine. Close enough that I catch the sharp line of his jaw… the faint curl of a knowing smirk.
“I know a lot more than your name,” he murmurs.
My breath hitches.
“I know you hate working at Harrington Shipping. I know your stepfather treats you like an inconvenience.” His voice dips, dark and certain. “And I know your ex was a pathetic cheat who never made you feel anything close to this.”
Each word lands like a slap. My mind spins. How? How the fuck does he know all of this?
His thumb circles my swollen clit faster, and I can’t hold back the moan that tears from my throat. My free hand clutches his shoulder, nails digging in.
“Please…” The word slips out again, broken.
“Please stop?” he asks, voice rough. Or please make you come all over my fingers?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, torn between fury and the building pressure low in my belly. My thighs shake. I’m so wet it’s embarrassing. Every stroke of his fingers pushes me closer, even as my brain screams danger.
His lips brush my ear. “You can fight me, baby. But your pussy is honest. It’s dripping for me.”
The crude words send heat flooding my face. I hate him. I want him. The contradiction makes my head spin.
With a frustrated cry, I come hard, clenching around his fingers, hips jerking uncontrollably as pleasure crashes through me. My legs nearly give out. He holds me up, milking every last pulse until I’m gasping, oversensitive and trembling.
Only then does he slowly withdraw his fingers. He brings them to his lips and licks them clean, eyes locked on mine behind the silver mask.
“Delicious,” he says simply.
I’m still trying to catch my breath, dress hiked up around my waist, panties shoved aside, when reality slams back in.
“Take off the mask,” I demand, voice hoarse. “Now.”
He studies me for a long moment. Then he reaches up and removes the silver mask.
The face underneath steals the air from my lungs.
Sharp cheekbones. Dark, piercing eyes. A mouth that looks like it was made for sin and secrets. He’s older than me—maybe early thirties—with the kind of handsome that feels almost cruel. But it’s not just his looks that freeze me.
I know him.
Not personally. But I’ve seen his photo in boardroom meetings. I’ve heard Richard curse his name more than once.
Damien Blackwood.
My stepfather’s biggest rival. The man who’s been systematically buying up shares and undercutting Harrington Shipping for the past year. The man Richard calls a ruthless bastard who’ll stop at nothing to destroy him.
My mouth goes dry.
“You,” I whisper. “You’re Damien Blackwood.”
He smiles, slow, dangerous and satisfied. “Took you longer than I expected.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t budge. My mind races. This wasn’t random. None of it was. He targeted me. Watched me. Knew exactly who I was before he even approached.
“Why?” I snap, yanking my dress down with shaking hands. “Is this some sick game to get back at Richard? Fuck his stepdaughter to hurt him?”
Damien’s eyes darken. He steps closer, crowding me against the wall again. One hand comes up to grip my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Careful with that mouth,” he warns softly. “And no. This isn’t about hurting Richard. Not entirely.”
“Then what is it about?” My voice cracks. I can still feel the aftershocks of the orgasm he just forced out of me. My body is traitorously warm, still humming from his touch.
He brushes his thumb across my lower lip. “It’s about you. The way you’ve been walking around that company like a caged lioness, pretending you don’t want someone to finally put you on your knees. I’ve watched you for months, Elena. The fake smiles. The way you bite your tongue when Richard talks down to you. The way you touch yourself at night when you think no one can hear.”
My stomach drops. Heat and humiliation burn through me.
“You’ve been spying on me?” I whisper.
“Observing,” he corrects. “And wanting. Badly.”
I try to turn my face away, but his grip tightens.
“I’m not some pawn in your war with my stepfather,” I say, trying to sound strong. But my voice wavers.
“No,” he agrees. “You’re not a pawn. You’re the prize I’ve decided to claim.” His other hand slides down to grip my hip possessively. “And tonight, you’re going to admit how much you need exactly what I can give you.”
I laugh bitterly, even as fresh heat pools between my legs. “You’re insane if you think I’m letting you touch me again.”
His smile returns, sharper this time. “You already begged once. You’ll beg again. Because deep down, you’re tired of pretending to be in control. You want someone who can break you open and put you back together. Someone who doesn’t ask permission.”
He leans in until his lips hover just above mine. “And we both know I’m that man.”
My heart hammers wildly. Part of me wants to slap him. Another part, the dark, secret part I’ve buried for years, wants him to prove it.
Just as I am about to decide which one wins, a sharp knock sounds on the suite door.
“Mr. Blackwood?” a male voice calls from outside. “The car is ready. We have a situation with the Harrington acquisition.”
Damien’s jaw tightens. He doesn’t move away from me.
“Tell them I’ll be there in five,” he calls back, never breaking eye contact with me.
He brushes a strand of hair from my face, surprisingly gentle after everything.
“This isn’t over, Elena,” he says quietly. “Far from it. I’ll give you tonight to run back to your safe little cage. But…”
He leans down and kisses me once, claiming a promise wrapped in heat.
“You will come to me willingly. Or I’ll come for you.”
He steps back, adjusts his jacket like he didn’t just finger me against the wall, and heads for the door.
Just before he opens it, he glances back at me, eyes blazing.
“One more thing. If you tell Richard about tonight, I’ll make sure he knows exactly how sweetly his precious stepdaughter begged for my fingers.”
The door clicks shut behind him.
I’m left standing there, dress wrinkled, thighs slick, heart racing with a toxic mix of fear, anger, and raw, aching want.
Damien Blackwood knows my secrets.
He’s dangerous.
He’s the enemy.
And the worst part?
I already crave whatever he plans to do to me next.
Filling the open doorway as though it were carved from the darkness itself, the creature's eyes burn the same black as the blood still drying on my sleeve. I throw myself forward before it can fully enter the van. My shoulder slams into its chest, and we crash onto the concrete outside. The impact knocks the breath from my lungs. Claws rake across my back, tearing through fabric and skin in three long lines. Pain flashes along my spine, bright and white.I roll and come up with the silver knife already in my hand. The thing is faster than the ones inside the warehouse. It circles me, head tilted, nostrils flaring as it catches the scent of the open wound on my arm and the fresh blood still coating the man inside the van. I feint left and drive the blade low into its thigh. Black fluid spurts from the wound. It screams, a sound like metal tearing, then backhands me, sending me skidding across the grit.My head rings. I taste copper. The creature limps after me, one leg dragging behind
The warehouse stinks of gunpowder and wet concrete when an explosion tears through the east wall. I am already moving before the dust settles, boots slamming against the floor as I clear the corridor ahead. My partner is somewhere behind me, shouting something about falling back, but I don't stop. The target is here. I can feel it in the way the air sits heavier than it should, in the faint metallic tang that never belongs in an abandoned shipping yard.A shape drops from the rafters. I fire twice. The rounds punch into its chest, but the thing keeps coming, claws scraping sparks off the metal railing. I switch to the silver load and put three more into its throat. It finally folds, black blood spraying across my sleeve. Behind me, more of them pour through the breach. Too many. The intel was wrong again.I spin and cut left toward the loading bay. A body slams into me from the side, and we go down hard. Teeth snap an inch from my face. I jam the barrel of the pistol under its jaw and
As the train gathers speed, trees and fields blur past the windows. Honey sits across from me, her shirt still open, the marks on her breasts visible beneath the thin fabric. The dark patch at the crotch of her jeans has spread.She watches me for a while before speaking.“You are not going to pretend this did not happen.”“No,” I reply.“Good.”Silence settles between us as the carriage sways. She glances at the stain on her jeans, then meets my eyes.“I can still feel you inside me. Every shift of the train reminds me.”I nod. My own jeans still carry the trace of her mouth and what came before.She rises and heads for the connecting door without another word. I follow. She leads me to the far end of the carriage, where a narrow service closet sits half-hidden behind a bulkhead. The door is unlocked. We step inside, and she shuts it behind us.The space is barely wider than my shoulders. A single dim bulb casts a weak yellow glow across the metal floor. The train's movement rocks us
The footsteps grow louder. I pull her shirt closed as best I can and tug her jeans to her hips, though they remain unbuttoned. Honey slips back into the seat across from me, and I settle into mine. We both stare through the rain-streaked windows as if nothing happened. My cock is half hard, damp from her mouth. Faint marks bloom beneath the thin fabric covering her breasts. The door at the end of the carriage slides open.A conductor steps inside with a tablet in hand. He glances at us, scans the empty seats farther down, then nods.“Signal is still down. Looks like another hour, at least,” he says.We mumble our thanks. He continues down the aisle and disappears through the far door. The instant it shuts, she rises from her seat.She presses me against the window and settles onto my lap, facing me. Her jeans hang open. She reaches between us and frees my cock. It hardens in her hand. Lifting herself slightly, she pushes her jeans and underwear below her hips before lowering onto me i
Keeping my hand high on her thigh, I lean in and our mouths meet again. The kiss turns hungry at once. Honey's tongue slips past my lips, and I answer with equal force. The open collar of her shirt gives me room to slide my hand inside. Lace brushes my palm. I cup the soft weight, feeling the nipple tighten beneath the thin fabric. She presses into my touch while her fingers undo my shirt, one button at a time.The car remains empty. I break the kiss, shove her shirt off her shoulders, and let it trap her arms at the elbows. Black lace still shields her. Lowering my head, I drag my tongue along the upper curve where fabric meets skin. She arches instinctively, but the pinned sleeves keep her restrained. I bite the soft swell just hard enough to leave a mark before soothing it with slow, wet circles. Her breathing grows ragged. I hook my fingers beneath the lace and pull both cups down, baring her to the cool air inside the car.I draw a nipple between my teeth, stretching the sensitiv
I step onto the train just after eleven, the platform still damp from the morning rain that never quite decided to stop. My bag is light, just a change of clothes and a book I probably won’t open, and I claim a seat in the nearly empty car, window side, facing forward. The air smells of metal, old upholstery, and the faint citrus cleaner they use between runs. Outside, the station slides past in a blur of concrete and faded posters as we pull away.For twenty minutes, nothing happens. Fields replace the city. I stretch my legs into the aisle and watch the countryside roll by, low green hills, a line of trees bent by the wind, the occasional farmhouse with its windows shut against the weather. Then the door at the far end of the car opens, and she walks in.She is carrying a soft leather tote and a folded coat. Blue jeans, a loose white shirt that has come untucked on one side, boots that look broken in. Her hair is pulled back, but pieces have escaped around her face. She scans the em
The next morning, my body still remembers every second of last night.I wake up aching in the best and worst ways. My thighs are sore, my nipples still sensitive from how he pinched and teased them. Every time I move, I feel the ghost of Damien’s fingers inside me, the low growl of his voice saying
The ballroom pulses with low music and the clink of expensive champagne glasses. Crystal chandeliers throw golden light across masks and gowns, but I feel like I’m suffocating in the middle of it all. I tug at the edge of my silver mask, making sure it’s still secure. The backless black dress hug
For the past three months I’ve been living at Vale Manor, sorting through the private library collection for Lucas and his partner. The job came through a university contact, and I jumped at it. Quiet work, beautiful old house, good pay. What I didn’t plan on was them. They’ve been together for ye
I reach for his belt, fingers clumsy with need, but Damien catches my wrists and pins them above my head with one hand. His eyes fix on mine, smoldering and commanding.“Not yet,” he rasps. “You said every inch. Show me how bad you want it, Elena. Ride me.”He releases me, shifts back, and sits aga







