chapter twenty
923 Words
Chapter Twenty
The sound of the bedroom door clicking shut echoed louder than expected.
Sienna leaned against it, breath still uneven from the kiss. Damien was already across the room, his jacket tossed onto a nearby chair, fingers loosening his tie.
Neither of them spoke.
Not at first.
She was still thinking about the gala. The way people looked at her like she belonged—like she wasn’t just the invisible wife anymore.
And Damien… he hadn’t let her out of his sight.
“You didn’t have to defend me tonight,” she said quietly, breaking the silence.
He looked at her through the mirror, fingers frozen halfway through undoing the last button of his dress shirt. “I wasn’t defending you.”
Sienna blinked. “Then what was that?”
“I was claiming you.”
She swallowed hard.
His eyes met hers in the mirror. “I don’t like being touched. I hate people crossing boundaries. But seeing someone else’s hand on you?” His jaw clenched. “It made me want to put a bullet in someone’s kneecap.”
Sienna gave a soft, breathless laugh. “That’s… extreme.”
“Maybe. But you didn’t stop me either.”
She walked toward him slowly, heels clicking on the polished floor. “No. I didn’t.”
Damien turned around to face her fully now, his shirt halfway undone, exposing the hard lines of his chest. He looked raw. Dangerous. But also… tired. Like he had been fighting something inside himself all night.
“I’ve never let anyone in here,” he said, voice low. “Not just the room—me.”
“And I’ve never stayed this long,” she admitted.
A beat passed.
“Why did you?” he asked.
She lifted her eyes to his. “Because when you’re not trying to push me away… you’re the only place that feels safe.”
That hit him harder than she expected.
Damien stepped forward, closing the space between them. His hand cupped her cheek gently, his thumb brushing under her eye. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You already did,” she whispered.
His throat bobbed. “I know. And yet... you’re still here.”
“I told you I’d stay.”
“And I told you I don’t deserve it.”
Sienna leaned in just enough to whisper, “Then earn it.”
Damien stilled.
Then he bent down, lips brushing her collarbone, soft and reverent. “Tell me how.”
Sienna’s fingers threaded into his hair. “Start by not leaving tomorrow.”
He looked up sharply. “What?”
“Just for one day,” she murmured. “No business. No meetings. Just... us.”
Damien didn’t answer immediately.
But when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “Okay.”
---
The next morning came slow and golden.
Sienna stirred first, blinking at the soft sunlight streaming in through the sheer curtains. She was curled against Damien’s side, fully dressed, but tangled in his arms like she’d always belonged there.
She didn’t move.
She just... watched him.
He was beautiful in the morning. Unarmored. Breathing deeply. His lashes dark against his skin, his hand still loosely wrapped around her wrist like even in sleep, he didn’t want to let go.
She shifted slightly, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead.
His eyes cracked open.
Sienna froze. “Sorry—didn’t mean to wake you.”
Damien didn’t move. “I wasn’t asleep.”
Liar.
She smiled. “You’re terrible at lying.”
He smirked, voice still rough. “You’re terrible at sneaking away.”
“Wasn’t planning to.”
A beat passed. Then—
“Breakfast in the garden?” he asked.
Her brows lifted. “Wait—you actually meant it? You’re not going in today?”
“I told you. Just us.”
Sienna bit her lip, her heart doing that flutter again. “Okay. Garden it is.”
---
The breakfast table was already set by the time they stepped outside. Fresh fruit, eggs, warm bread, and juice.
But what caught Sienna off guard wasn’t the spread—it was the fact that Damien was already pulling out her chair for her.
“You planned this?” she asked, half amused.
“I told Maria to make it happen,” he said. “And I told my assistant if he called me before tomorrow... I’d fire him.”
She grinned. “Wow. Ruth’s probably losing her mind right now.”
“Good. Let her.”
They ate in peaceful silence for a while, birds chirping, the garden breeze gentle and cool. But halfway through, Damien reached across the table and took her hand.
“I want to ask you something.”
Sienna looked up. “Okay?”
“I don’t want you to just survive in this house. I want you to fight.”
She blinked. “I am fighting.”
“I know,” he said. “But I want to fight with you.”
Her breath caught. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying... if you’re going to be mine, I want all of you. No more hiding. No more being quiet just to make them comfortable.”
Sienna’s eyes locked with his. “Even if I challenge you?”
“Especially then.”
She grinned slowly. “Careful, Damien. You might fall for me if I start showing teeth.”
His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “Too late.”
- Writer
