All Chapters of When Fire Meets Grace : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The rain had a way of turning the city into something almost cinematic. Neon signs blurred into streaks of red and gold, streetlights painted everything in a washed glow, and the sound of tires hissing against the wet asphalt carried through the night.Grace Monroe pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders and balanced the tray of coffee cups with practiced skill. Her sneakers splashed in the shallow puddles along Fifth Avenue as she hurried through the storm. This wasn’t the glamorous life she had once imagined for herself, but it was hers and for now, it kept the bills paid and her younger brother in school.She ducked under the awning of a towering glass skyscraper, the kind that screamed money, arrogance, and untouchable power. Blackwood International, the name spelled out in sleek silver letters above the revolving doors, loomed over her like a titan.Inside this fortress of glass and steel sat a man she had never met but already disliked. Damien Blackwood. Billionaire CEO. Th

The hum of conversation in O’Malley’s dimly lit pub faded into the background as Grace’s heartbeat thundered in her ears.Damien Blackwood moved toward her booth with the same unshakable confidence he carried everywhere each step deliberate, unhurried, a predator certain his prey wasn’t going anywhere.Grace’s pulse skittered wildly, but she forced herself to sit up straighter, shoulders squared. This was her place, not his.Lila leaned across the table, whispering with a grin she barely tried to hide. “Girl, he looks like trouble dressed in Armani. If you don’t want him, can I have him?”“Lila!” Grace hissed. “What? He’s hot. Like… unfairly hot.”Grace shot her friend a glare just as Damien reached the table. He stopped beside them, his storm-grey eyes never leaving Grace’s.“Miss Monroe,” he said smoothly, his voice low enough to make her stomach clench. “Fancy seeing you here.”Grace crossed her arms. “This is my spot. What are you doing here?”“Enjoying a drink.” His lips cur

Grace buried herself in work the next morning like it was armor.Emails. Reports. Coffee refills. Anything to drown out the echo of Damien’s words from the night before. I will.She told herself it was just obsession. A game. Men like Damien Blackwood didn’t love, they conquered. And she refused to be conquered again.Her boss, Mr. Richards, stopped by her desk midmorning, arching a brow. “You look like you haven’t slept.”Grace forced a smile. “Just a lot on my plate.”He eyed her with that fatherly concern he sometimes wore. “Don’t burn out. You’re too good at what you do to run yourself into the ground.”“Thanks,” she murmured, heart not in it.She tried to focus, she really did. But the glass windows of her office reflected her distracted gaze, and every sound from the street below made her think of him.By lunchtime, Lila had texted her no less than seven messages:How’s your day, Mrs. Future Blackwood?Do I need to bring garlic to ward off the billionaire vampire?Answer me or I

Sleep had never come easily to Grace, but that night it was impossible.She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, Damien’s words replaying in her head like a song she couldn’t turn off.I’ll wait.It should have comforted her. Instead, it unraveled her piece by piece. No one had ever said that to her before not Ethan, not anyone. She’d always been the one doing the waiting, the one bending, compromising, twisting herself into knots to be enough.Now here was Damien Blackwood, the man who could have anyone, telling her he would wait for her.Her heart didn’t know what to do with it.By morning, she was restless. Work, coffee, errands they blurred together in a haze of distraction. Lila called twice, but Grace ignored it, unwilling to hear her best friend’s smug I-told-you-so tone.It wasn’t until late afternoon, when she ducked into her favorite corner café, that the universe seemed to conspire against her.“Ms. Adams?”She froze at the sound of her name. Turning, she found herself face

Grace hadn’t really slept.She’d dozed in restless snatches, tossing and turning, waking each time with the same sensation the taste of Damien still lingering on her lips.The kiss had been fire. Too much, too fast, too overwhelming. Yet, the worst part wasn’t that it had happened. The worst part was that she wanted more.By morning, her apartment felt suffocating. She showered twice, drank too much coffee, and tried to bury herself in emails. None of it worked. Her thoughts kept circling back to the pier, to Damien’s words:If you come back there’s no going back.Her phone buzzed just after nine. Lila.Grace groaned, already bracing herself. She considered ignoring it, but she knew her best friend too well. Lila would only keep calling.“Morning,” Grace said, voice scratchy as she answered.“You sound like death,” Lila replied cheerfully. “Let me guess you didn’t sleep. Because of a certain tall, dark, and sinfully magnetic man?”Grace closed her eyes. “Lila…”“Oh my God.” Lila gaspe