Chapter Six

I just managed to get through dinner without lashing out.

Damian’s mother sat at the head of the grand dining table, elegant and stately, eyeing me as if I were a stray cat who had wandered into her oh-so-perfect life.

Leo remained blissfully unaware, chatting gaily with Damian about the fish pond and the flowers, but I could feel the unsaid words of the three adults in the room.

It was suffocating.

My appetite had long since abandoned me, and I picked at my food. Damian, meanwhile, ate with wild abandon.

Finally, his mother spoke. “So, Miss Carter”

“Aria”, I corrected stiffly.

Her lips curled slightly. “Aria. “How much longer are you going to play this game?”

I stilled. “What game?”

She pinkie-fingered her silverware onto the floor. “The game in which you pretend you have control. Where you pretend you’re not at my son’s mercy.”

My jaw clenched. “I don’t play games when it comes to protecting my son.”

Her gaze sharpened. “Neither do I.”

The room fell dead silent for a moment.

Then she sighed and lifted her glass of wine. “Damian, darling, I hope you’ll be smart about this. The boy needs stability. If you’ve been holding her here for other reasons, I advise you to think again.”

I froze, heat flooding my cheeks.

To my great surprise, Damian chuckled. “Mother, if you believe I will treat Aria like a toy I will throw away when I’ve grown bored of playing with her, you should know by now that I do not play at all with things I intend to throw away.”

His tone was light, but there was an unmistakable edge underneath.

His mother raised a brow. “Interesting use of language.”

I pushed my chair back. “Excuse me.”

I didn’t wait for permission. I needed air.

I charged down the hallway, heart racing, fists balled at my sides.

I hated this.

I hated how she spoke to me as though I were a piece of furniture in Damian’s life.

Hated the way he spoke about me, like I was property.

I needed to leave.

I had to get Leo out of this madness before it consumed us.

But how?

I climbed to the huge front doors and pressed my hand up against the cold wood, my head spinning.

Then, suddenly, I felt him.

Damian.

The heat left in his wake, heat directed toward my body, seeped into my back before he even pressed his body to mine.

“You always run when things don’t go your way,” he said softly.

I wheeled around, fury igniting in my chest. “I’m not running.”

He was standing in the doorframe, arms crossed, dark amusement on his face. “No?”

I glared at him. “Your mother”

“is testing you.”

I hesitated.

He advanced a step and dropped his voice. “She wants to see if you break.”

I swallowed. “And if I do?”

A very unreadable look passed over his eyes. “Then she’ll know you don’t live here.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

I didn’t know if that was a warning or a promise.

A vacuum of silence opened between us, weighted and crackling.

Then, Damian tilted his head. “You’re afraid.”

I scoffed. “Of your mother? No.”

He smirked. “No. You’re afraid of me.”

I stiffened. “You don’t scare me.”

Liar.

He took another step, closing the space between us, and his scent, something dark and heady, curled around me.

“Then why are you trembling?” He murmured, gliding a finger along my jaw.

A sharp breath tore in and through me, a traitorous response.

His lips twitched, his hand sliding low onto my waist, the action possessive yet teasing.

“You can keep pretending, Aria,” he said, in a whisper. “But we both know the truth.”

My throat was dry. “And what’s that?”

His mouth was inches from mine, and I could feel the heat of his breath.

“That you want me.”

The reaction had me jerking back, my heart crashing against my ribs.

“You’re insane,” I said, and turned on my heels and stormed up the stairs.

His laughter followed me.

And worse?

So did the bitter truth of his words.

Because, deep down, I knew he was right.

And that scared me more than anything.

I slammed the bedroom door behind me and leaned against it as if my back could keep Damian out of my head.

My heart was still racing.

The way he’d looked at me as though he saw straight through my defenses, straight through the fear, straight through the anger took my breath away.

Damn him.

I took a long breath and tried to concentrate. I wasn’t here for him. I had not come here to be caught in whatever game he was playing.

I was here for Leo.

I walked across the room, where I pushed open the balcony doors to breathe in the cool night air. The city unfolded below me, lights twinkling like stars in the void.

I could leave.

I could take Leo and run.

But where?

Damian had been clear he would not let us go.

And worse... I wasn't so sure I wanted to leave.

I gritted my teeth, disgusted with the weakness in me.

I flinched at a soft knock at the door.

I turned, pulse spiking. “Who is it?”

There was a pause. Then

“It’s me.”

Damian.

I exhaled sharply. “Go away.”

Silence.

Then, the door handle turned.

I fell forward and braced against it. “I said go away!”

A hearty laugh came from the other side. “Are you scared to let me in, Aria?”

“No,” I lied.

“Then open the door.”

I hesitated.

I should have ignored him. Should have walked away.

Instead, I was unlocking the door just enough to meet his gaze.

His arms were folded as he leaned against the door frame, a smirk curling his lip.

“Good girl.”

Something inside me flared with heat — anger, embarrassment, something I wouldn’t name.

I clenched my jaw. “What do you want, Damian?”

He stared at me for a long moment, something dark passing through his expression.

Then he was leaning in; his fingers grazed my cheek, his touch impossibly gentle.

“I want you to stop pretending.

My breath hitched.

He took a step in, his scent heady. “You can’t stop me because I want you to admit that you feel this too.”

I swallowed hard. “You’re wrong.”

His lips curved. “Am I?”

I hated how close he was. Loathed the way my body responded to him, the way the skin smoked where he brushed me.

I should have pulled away.

But I didn’t.

And neither did he.