chapter seventeen
904 Words
Chapter Seventeen
Sienna woke up to warmth.
For a moment, she forgot where she was. The scent of cedar and musk lingered in the sheets, the weight of an arm draped around her waist grounding her in a reality she hadn’t dared imagine.
Damien.
Her heart fluttered, remembering the quiet of last night. The kiss. His voice in the dark. The way he had held her like he was afraid she’d disappear.
He was still asleep behind her, his breath steady, chest rising and falling against her back. His fingers were loosely curled around hers beneath the covers, as if even in his sleep, he didn’t want to let go.
She allowed herself a moment—just one—to pretend it could always be this simple.
Then he stirred.
His arm tightened instinctively, and his lips brushed against the back of her shoulder.
“You’re still here,” he murmured.
Sienna turned slowly to face him. “You told me not to leave.”
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. “I’m glad you listened.”
His voice was husky, warm, laced with something close to affection. But just as quickly, his expression shifted. Serious. Guarded.
“I’m not used to waking up next to someone.”
“I’m not used to feeling safe with someone,” she replied.
Damien blinked. That softened him again.
He touched her cheek, brushing a strand of hair away. “We’ll take it slow. You tell me when to stop, when to pull back. I’ll try to listen.”
Sienna searched his face. “Even when your temper flares?”
He tensed, jaw tightening—but nodded. “Especially then.”
They laid there in silence for a while, the morning sun creeping into the room like it didn’t want to intrude. But reality had a way of forcing its way in.
A sharp knock interrupted them.
Damien’s entire body went rigid.
“What?” he snapped.
“Boss,” came Gabriel’s voice from the other side. “You’re needed downstairs. Something’s happened.”
Sienna sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. Damien was already moving, the softness of the morning evaporating from his expression.
“Wait here,” he said.
She caught his wrist before he could leave. “Don’t shut me out again.”
He looked at her—truly looked—and nodded once.
Then he was gone.
---
Sienna got dressed and waited... until waiting became unbearable.
She wandered toward the stairs, listening carefully.
Voices.
Low, tense.
She crept down the hallway, peering over the railing. Damien stood in the foyer, shirt now buttoned up, his entire presence cold and lethal.
Across from him was a woman.
Tall. Elegant. Wearing a red trench coat and heels too sharp to be friendly.
Sienna’s stomach dropped.
“Who’s she?” she whispered to herself.
The woman reached out, touching Damien’s arm like she belonged there. “You didn’t return my calls.”
“Because I didn’t want to,” Damien replied flatly.
“I was worried,” the woman purred. “You’ve been quiet. I thought maybe... you found someone else.”
Sienna’s throat tightened.
Damien didn’t answer right away. Then, calmly, he stepped back from the woman’s touch. “Things have changed.”
“Oh?” Her voice hardened. “Since when does Damien Blackwood change for anyone?”
Sienna couldn’t watch anymore. She turned to go—only to find Gabriel standing behind her.
He arched a brow. “Curious, aren’t we?”
“She—she touched him,” Sienna muttered, the words tasting bitter.
“Don’t worry,” Gabriel said, smirking. “She’s just one of many who used to think they mattered to him. But that red coat doesn’t make her a threat anymore.”
Sienna blinked. “Why not?”
Gabriel’s smile widened. “Because this time... Damien came downstairs without putting on his armor. And he never does that—unless he’s afraid of looking away from something more important.”
---
Later that evening, Damien found Sienna in the garden.
She didn’t greet him. Just kept her eyes on the sky, stars beginning to peek through the darkening blue.
He came to stand beside her.
“She’s gone,” he said.
“I saw.”
“Are you angry?”
“No,” Sienna said honestly. “I’m afraid.”
He turned to her. “Of what?”
“That this isn’t real. That I’m just a passing interest until she—or someone else—gets bored enough to come back.”
Damien took her face in his hands gently. “Look at me.”
She did.
“I’ve never let someone stay the night in my bed. Never kissed someone without trying to control the outcome. Never wanted someone to challenge me, to see me.”
He leaned closer, voice low.
“You’ve already ruined every rule I ever set.”
She swallowed hard. “That doesn’t scare you?”
“It terrifies me.”
And then, like the universe couldn’t wait another second, he kissed her again—fiercer this time, his grip in her hair, her fingers clutching his jacket. It wasn’t soft like last night.
It was possession laced with vulnerability. A war and a promise.
When they pulled apart, his breath mingled with hers.
“Come inside with me,” he said.
Sienna nodded, heart racing. “Okay.”
- Writer
