Sweet Sinful Night

A Dance with Danger

Seraphina’s POV

“Tell me why I shouldn’t walk away right now,” I screamed, my voice wavering with a mix of dread and rage. My eyes fixed upon Damon’s, searching for answers in his impenetrable glare.

He drew closer, his big bulk looming over me, and the raw intensity in his eyes made my breath hitch. “Because you know, just as well as I do, that walking away won’t save you. Elaine won’t stop, Seraphina. She’ll keep coming after you, after us.”

“Us?” I scoffed, taking a step back, the cool tile floor anchoring me. “There is no us, Damon. Not when you keep dragging me into your mess without so much as a warning.”

“I didn’t ask for this, either,” he shot back, his voice rising. “Do you think I wanted you in the line of fire? Do you think I’d risk everything I’ve worked for, everything I care about, if I had another choice?”

“You care about me?” I snapped, the words piercing through the dense tension between us like a knife. “Since when, Damon? Because last I checked, I was simply your convenient business partner.”

His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he may deny it. But then, to my horror, he closed the distance between us, his hands grabbing my shoulders as he peered into my eyes. “You’re more than that, Seraphina,” he murmured, his voice low and gruff. “You’ve always been more than that.”

His comments hit me like a freight train, and for a time, I couldn’t breathe. The air between us was electrifying, packed with an intensity that made my heart accelerate. But I couldn’t allow myself to fall for his words—not when so much was at risk.

“I don’t believe you,” I muttered, my voice barely audible.

“Then let me prove it to you,” he continued, his eyes steadfast. “Let me show you that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”

I opened my lips to answer, but before I could, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. Damon’s body clenched, and in an instant, he had positioned himself in front of me, shielding me from whatever threat was approaching.

“Stay behind me,” he muttered, his voice calm but forceful.

“No,” I murmured, my palm grasping his arm. “I’m not hiding while you face this alone.”

He glanced over his shoulder, his expression a mixture of annoyance and admiration. “You’re as stubborn as they come, you know that?”

“And you’re not exactly easy to deal with,” I shot back, my lips twitching into a fleeting, anxious smile.

The footsteps became louder, and the tension in the room was obvious. When the door burst open, I automatically flinched, my heart racing in my chest. But instead of the armed guys I was expecting, it was Collins, his face pallid and his expression gloomy.

“We have a problem,” he replied, his voice breathless. “Elaine’s men have the building surrounded. We’re not getting out of here without a fight.”

Damon swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “How much time do we have?”

“Minutes,” Collins said. “Maybe less. They’re heavily armed, and they’re not here to negotiate.”

“Great,” I mumbled, my gut twisting with anxiety. “Just what we needed.”

Damon looked at me, his expression deadly serious. “I need you to listen to me, Seraphina. No matter what happens, you keep close to me. Do you understand?”

I nodded, my throat too thick to speak. The dread in his eyes—the vulnerability he was trying so hard to hide—told me everything I needed to know.

As the sound of boots got closer, Damon grasped my hand, his grip firm and reassuring. “Stay behind me,” he repeated again, his voice firm despite the mayhem happening around us.

The door burst open again, and this time, it wasn’t Collins. A bunch of armed guys stormed in, their rifles pointed on us. Damon moved in front of me, his body rigid and ready for a battle.

“Damon St. Clair,” one of the men snarled, his rifle pointing directly at Damon. “Elaine sends her regards.”

“Tell Elaine she can go to hell,” Damon muttered, his voice dripping with defiance.

The man smirked, his finger tightening on the trigger. “Gladly.”

Before he could fire, Collins ran at him, tackling him to the ground. Chaos erupted, gunshots booming out as the room fell into bloodshed. Damon pulled me behind a neighboring table, his body sheltering mine as he returned fire.

“Stay down!” he shouted over the ruckus, his voice hard and forceful.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I answered, my hands grabbing his jacket as I tried to regulate my breathing.

The fight was hard, every second stretching into a lifetime. I could hear Collins shouting instructions, the sound of gunfire and shattered glass filling the air. Damon was relentless, his motions deliberate and accurate as he sought to protect us.

But even he couldn’t do it alone.

“Damon!” I shouted as one of the men managed to have the upper hand, his gun pointing at Damon’s back.

Without thinking, I took a big vase from the table and tossed it at the man, hitting him square in the head. He tripped, allowing Damon the opportunity to disarm him and knock him out.

“Are you insane?” Damon shouted, his eyes burning with wrath as he turned to me. “I told you to stay down!”

“And let you get shot?” I shot back, my chest heaving. “Not a chance.”

He peered at me, his expression a mixture of annoyance, adoration, and something else—something deeper. But before either of us could speak another thing, Collins shouted from across the room.

“We need to move! Now!”

Damon nodded, seizing my hand and dragging me toward the door. The corridor was unnaturally quiet, the sound of our footsteps reverberating off the walls as we made our way to the exit.

But just as we approached the stairway, a guy sprang out of the shadows, a rifle in hand. My blood went cold as I recognized the man from earlier—the one who had threatened Damon at the penthouse.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” he sneered, his eyes glinting with hatred.

Damon stood in front of me, his body stiff and protective. “If you want to get to her,” he replied, his voice deadly calm, “you’ll have to go through me.”

The man smirked, raising his revolver. “That’s the plan.”

And with that, he pulled the trigger.