Chapter Three – A Dangerous Spark
634 Words
📖 The Billionaire’s Forbidden Game
Chapter Three – A Dangerous Spark
Sunlight cut through the blinds of Aria’s hotel suite, sharp and merciless. She sat on the edge of the bed in yesterday’s dress, head in her hands, replaying every stolen glance, every word Damian had whispered.
You were mine before you left. And you’re still mine now.
She hated how his voice still echoed in her chest, how her body betrayed her even thinking of him.
A knock startled her. Room service. Except she hadn’t ordered anything.
The bellman wheeled in a silver tray topped with champagne and strawberries. A single white card rested against the bucket.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
Breakfast is better when you stop pretending.
Heat rushed up her spine. Damian Volkov had no boundaries. Not last night. Not ever.
And yet, she didn’t send the tray away.
Later that day, Emily insisted on dragging her into the family’s house and problem again
“Just a quick visit to the foundation offices,” she chirped as their car rolled past towering skyscrapers. “Papa wants to see you. He still thinks of you as family.”
Family. The word made Aria’s chest ache.
The Volkov patriarch, Viktor, had once welcomed her into their mansion like a second daughter. But behind his polished smile and old-world charm, his empire was built on whispers Aria had learned not to ask about. Real estate, investments, casinos overseasbusiness that bled into danger if you dug too deep.
Now, as she stepped into the gleaming glass lobby, she felt the weight of all of it pressing down. Men in tailored suits lingered in corners, security eyes sharp, deals made in hushed Russian.
And in the center of it all Damian.
Reclined in a leather chair, phone in hand, suit jacket abandoned on the desk. He looked up the second she entered, as if he’d been waiting.
“Aria.” His voice was silk and smoke. “What a surprise.”
“Not a surprise,” she snapped, trying to steady her pulse. “Emily brought me.”
He smirked. “Emily brings me a lot of gifts. But none quite like you.”
Her cheeks flamed.
When Emily was pulled aside by an assistant, Damian wasted no time. He rose, crossing the room with predator grace until he stood too close, his shadow falling over her.
“You should’ve stayed away,” he murmured.
“I tried,” she said, breath unsteady. “Believe me, I tried.”
“Not hard enough.” His eyes darkened, his hand brushing hers a ghost of a touch, but enough to set her skin alight. “Tell me to stop, Aria. Say the word and I’ll leave you alone.”
She opened her mouthshe wanted to say it. Needed to.
But nothing came out.
His lips curved into a slow, knowing smile. “Exactly what I thought.”
He leaned in, so close his breath feathered her ear. “You still taste like fire in my memories. I wonder if reality would burn worse.”
Her knees weakened. She grabbed the edge of the desk for balance, heart racing.
“Damian,” she whispered, forcing the strength she didn’t feel. “Emily. She can’t ever know.”
At that, his expression shifted. For a flicker of a second, the mask slipped—revealing something raw, almost pained in his eyes.
“Emily has everything,” he said roughly. “But she doesn’t get you. She never will.”
And before she could answer, he pressed a kiss to the side of her throat—featherlight, devastating.
She gasped. Then Emily’s voice echoed down the hall, and Damian pulled back, smirk sliding back into place as if nothing had happened.
But Aria knew.
Everything had changed.
- Writer
