Sinful Obsession

Chapter 9: Blood and fire

I wasn’t afraid of what he’d do.

I was afraid of what we might become.

Damon’s fingers tightened around mine, pulling me toward the waiting SUV. The world felt sharp every sound too loud, every shadow too dark. The metallic scent of blood still lingered in my nostrils, mixing with the cold night air and something darker: fear.

He didn’t say a word as he opened the door, sliding behind the wheel with a look carved from stone. His jaw clenched so tight it looked like it might snap.

I wasn’t the same girl who walked into that club days ago.

Not after what I’d done.

Not after the message.

Damon’s phone lit up on the dashboard again. That same text the one that made his knuckles whiten stared back at both of us like it was branded into our brains.

Tell Moretti his queen dies next.

His voice was a low growl. “Luca, tighten the perimeter. I want eyes on every f*****g rooftop between here and the river.”

“On it, boss,” came the reply over the comms.

I tried to breathe, but my chest felt tight. My palms were still clammy, like my body hadn’t realized the fight was over. Except… it wasn’t.

Damon glanced at me briefly, and something in his gaze softened just a little. “You did what you had to do, piccola. Don’t let it eat you alive.”

“I killed someone,” I whispered. “That’s not something you just… brush off.”

His hand reached over, gripping my thigh firmly, grounding me. “No, it’s not. But it’s something you survive. And I’ll make damn sure you do.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed in my lap. The screen lit up with Dad.

I swallowed and opened the message.

Eva, are you okay?

I can’t explain it, but I’ve had a bad feeling all day. Please tell me you’re safe.

My chest tightened. I wanted to tell him everything that I was in a black SUV, running from men who wanted me dead, that I had blood on my hands that wasn’t mine. But what would that do? Drag him into Damon’s world? Make him a target too?

I typed back slowly.

I’m fine. Promise. Just… a busy day.

The reply came almost instantly.

Busy day? You sound like your mother when she’s hiding something. Eva, I swear, if you’re in trouble

Damon’s eyes flicked to the screen. “Your father?”

I nodded. “He knows something’s wrong.”

Damon’s hand slid over mine, squeezing. “Tell him you love him. Then put the phone away. The less he knows, the safer he stays.”

There was no room for argument in his tone. I sent a quick I love you, Dad and turned the phone facedown in my lap, my throat thick.

The comm crackled. “Boss, we’ve got a hit. The guy tonight? Tied to the Caruso family. Looks like they’ve been probing our routes for weeks.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed. “Caruso.” He said it like a curse. “Those bastards just signed their own death warrant.”

We changed direction, heading for what Damon called “the safe house.” His voice was calm, but the tension in the SUV was suffocating. Every man in the convoy was on edge.

We were halfway across the bridge when headlights flared behind us bright, aggressive. Then another set in front.

“They’re boxing us in,” Luca’s voice cut through the radio.

“Hold on,” Damon said, and the SUV jerked as he floored it. The cars in front swerved to block, but Damon’s men moved fast, one ramming the lead enemy vehicle into the guardrail.

Gunfire exploded into the night. My ears rang, my heart slamming against my ribs as Damon’s hand shoved me down between the seats. “Stay down, Eva!”

The SUV rocked with each sharp turn. I peeked up once, catching the flash of Damon’s pistol as he fired through the open driver’s side window without slowing. The smell of gunpowder filled the air.

In minutes or maybe seconds it was over. Enemy cars disabled, Damon’s convoy still intact. My whole body was shaking, adrenaline buzzing under my skin like electricity.

Damon’s hand was suddenly on the back of my neck, pulling me up to face him. His eyes were blazing, wild with a cocktail of rage, relief, and something darker. “You could’ve been killed.”

“You could’ve too,” I shot back, my voice breaking.

That was all it took. His mouth was on mine, hard and punishing, like he needed proof I was still breathing. I barely registered the order he barked to Luca “Get us to the safe house” before Damon was pulling me across the console, into his lap.

The kiss turned desperate, his hands gripping my hips like he’d tear through denim to get to my skin. I could taste the danger still lingering on his breath, feel the tremor in his fingers that told me this was more than lust.

When we burst into the safe house minutes later, the door barely shut before he had me pinned against it, ripping at my jacket.

“Damon… ” I gasped, but the rest of my protest dissolved into a moan as his hand slid between my thighs, finding me already wet from the adrenaline rush.

“You have no idea what you do to me when you’re in danger, piccola,” he growled against my ear, biting the lobe. “Makes me want to remind you who you belong to.”

He dropped to his knees, shoving my jeans and panties down in one impatient move, and his mouth was on me before I could breathe, tongue working me with ruthless precision. My hands slammed against the door behind me, my hips jerking forward as pleasure ripped through me in sharp waves.

I cried out his name, the sound swallowed by his mouth as he devoured me like he’d die without the taste.

When he stood, he spun me toward the wall, one hand pressing my cheek to the cool plaster while the other freed himself. I felt the hard, hot length of him against me, and then he was inside in one deep, claiming thrust.

The pace was brutal, his grip iron on my hips. Each thrust was a demand, a promise, a threat to the universe that I was his and no one would take me.

My voice was ragged as I begged for more, the sting of his hand on my ass making my legs tremble. Damon’s low growl vibrated against my back. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours…fuck Damon, I’m yours!”

The climax tore through me like lightning, and Damon followed seconds later, driving into me with one last, shuddering thrust before holding me there, breathing hard against my neck.

For a long moment, there was only the sound of our breathing. Then he kissed my shoulder, softer this time, almost reverent. “Never scare me like that again.”

I turned to face him, still flushed. “You think I planned any of this?”

His phone buzzed before he could answer. He glanced at it, jaw tightening. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What now?”

“They know your full name. Your address. And, Eva…” He met my eyes, deadly serious. “There’s something in your past they know about something you don’t.”