Almost
882 Words
Dinner blurred after a while.
Too much wine.
Too much tension.
Too many moments of accidentally catching Damon looking at me before he forced himself to look away again.
My father had become louder throughout the night, laughing with Damon over old business stories while my mother relaxed deeper into her chair beside Isla.
Everyone was distracted.
Comfortable.
And Damon was drinking more than usual.
I noticed because I noticed everything about him now.
The loosened tie.
The rougher edge in his voice.
The way his gaze lingered half a second too long whenever he forgot himself.
It made my pulse impossible to control.
By the time everyone moved into the sitting room, the atmosphere had softened into something messy and late-night warm.
My mother laughed over something Isla said.
My father was halfway through another whiskey.
And Damon—
Damon disappeared.
I noticed that too.
Of course I did.
My stomach tightened immediately.
Without thinking too hard about it, I slipped away quietly through the back doors toward the terrace.
Cool night air hit my skin instantly.
The pool lights reflected softly across the water while the estate behind me buzzed faintly with distant conversation and music.
I leaned against the railing, trying to breathe normally again.
Trying not to think about him.
Failed immediately.
“You keep running off.”
The low voice behind me sent heat straight through my body.
I turned slowly.
Damon stood near the doorway, one hand holding a whiskey glass loosely at his side.
Tie gone completely now.
Top buttons undone.
Dark sleeves rolled to his forearms.
And his composure—
Not gone.
But thinner.
More dangerous.
“You followed me,” I said softly.
A faint smirk touched his mouth.
“Maybe.”
The honesty of it tightened something low in my stomach.
He stepped closer slowly.
The air shifted immediately.
Every time he looked at me lately, it felt like standing too close to fire.
“You’ve been staring at me all night,” I whispered.
His jaw tightened once.
“You’ve been provoking me all night.”
The memory of my heel sliding against his thigh flashed hot through me instantly.
Damon noticed the reaction on my face and exhaled quietly through his nose.
“Do you have any idea how difficult dinner was for me?”
My pulse stumbled.
“No,” I admitted softly.
A humorless laugh left him.
“No,” he repeated quietly. “You really don’t.”
He moved closer until I could smell whiskey and cologne again.
Close enough to make my thoughts blur.
“I spent two hours imagining pulling you into the nearest empty room,” he murmured.
Heat rushed through me immediately.
“And you kept looking at me like you wanted me to.”
I swallowed hard because he was right.
God, he was right.
The silence stretched tightly between us.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then his fingers brushed lightly beneath my chin.
The touch alone nearly unraveled me.
“You’re trouble,” he said softly.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep proving it.”
I should’ve stepped back.
Instead I moved closer.
Bad decision.
His eyes darkened instantly.
One of his hands slid to my waist slowly, fingers curling there possessively enough to make my breath catch.
“Damon…”
The sound of his name in my voice visibly affected him.
His restraint cracked just slightly.
Enough.
“You need to stop looking at me like that,” he said roughly.
“Like what?”
“Like you want me to forget who your father is.”
The words settled heavily between us.
But neither of us moved away.
His hand tightened at my waist.
Mine slid lightly against his chest.
And that—
That was the mistake.
Damon’s composure finally slipped.
His hand moved suddenly into my hair as he pulled me against him and kissed me hard enough to steal the breath from my lungs instantly.
Hungry.
Frustrated.
Like he’d been holding himself back for too long.
I kissed him back immediately.
Couldn’t stop.
One of his hands gripped my waist tighter while the other tangled deeper into my hair, keeping me exactly where he wanted me.
Every kiss felt dangerous now.
Like crossing another line neither of us could uncross.
“Alina—”
My name left him rough against my mouth.
Then suddenly—
“ALINA?”
Isla’s voice echoed faintly from inside the house.
We broke apart instantly.
Both breathing unevenly.
Reality slammed back hard.
Damon stepped away first, jaw tight as he dragged a hand through his hair.
“Shit.”
Another voice echoed farther inside.
“Ali? Where did you go?”
Panic hit immediately.
I looked toward the doorway just as footsteps started getting closer.
Damon caught my wrist quickly before I moved.
For one second his expression softened completely.
Dangerously.
Then it vanished.
“Go,” he said quietly.
I rushed past him immediately, slipping back into the house just before Isla reached the terrace doors.
“There you are,” she said, grabbing my arm. “I thought you disappeared.”
My pulse was still completely out of control.
I forced a shaky smile. “Just needed air.”
Behind us, the terrace remained empty.
Damon was already gone.
- Writer
