REFORGE & REIGN

Chapter 5: The Edge of Control

I felt exposed long before he touched me.

I had been careful. Every step is calculated. Every move is measured. Every word weighed. I had survived Victor Hale. I could survive Damon Blackwood.

But that was before he walked into the room.

Before his eyes caught mine.

Before the air shifted, heavy, sharp, like it had a pulse of its own.

“I didn’t expect you here,” he said. His voice was low, controlled, but threaded with something I didn’t want to admit interest.

“I came to deliver the report,” I said, though my voice sounded fragile, too loud in the sudden quiet.

He leaned back against his desk, arms crossed, watching me like I was a puzzle he was determined to solve.

“You always report so carefully,” he said. “Yet there’s something you hide.”

My throat tightened. I wanted to vanish. “I” I stopped myself. I could not admit it. Not now. Not to him.

“You’re thinking about Victor,” he said. His words hit like a blade. “About his orders. About what he wants from you.”

I froze. How did he know?

“I’m not that easy to read,” I said, my voice firmer than I felt.

He tilted his head. “You think so.”

I wanted to argue. To deny. But my chest felt tight, my hands shaking. I hated how easily he unsettled me.

“Aria,” he said slowly, stepping closer. “You’re hiding something from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything that matters,” I whispered.

“Doesn’t feel that way.” His eyes darkened, sharp and piercing. “Your mind is tense. Your body is tense. Everything about you screams caution. And fear.”

Fear. The word hit me harder than I expected.

“I’m careful,” I said quickly. “Careful keeps me alive.”

He smirked faintly. “Careful also keeps you… interesting.”

I wanted to step back. I wanted to flee. But my legs refused.

“Interesting?” I asked.

“You’re trying to hide it,” he said. “The tension. The guilt. The desire. You can’t pretend it’s not there.”

My heart raced. Desire? I clenched my fists to stop them from shaking.

“You shouldn’t think like that,” I said, but the words felt hollow even as they left my lips.

“Shouldn’t?” He stepped closer. Closer than he should have. My pulse spiked. “Aria, desire is not a crime. Lies are. And you lie to yourself more than anyone.”

“I don’t lie,” I said. “Not to him. Not to you.”

“Yet you do.” His voice dropped low, almost a growl. “Every choice you make. Every hesitation. Every glance away. Lies. And you don’t even see them.”

I shook my head. “I can handle this. I can handle you.”

“Can you?” His tone was sharper now. The kind of sharp that cuts deep. “Can you handle being watched? Tested? Used?”

“Yes,” I said, forcing the word out. “I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

He smiled then. Small. Dangerous. That smile did not promise pleasure. It promised a challenge.

“Good,” he said. “Because I intend to test every limit you have. And perhaps find the ones you don’t know exist.”

I wanted to protest. To flee. But instead, I whispered, “And if I fail?”

He leaned in close, so close I could feel his breath. “Fail me?” He let the words linger, heavy. “Then you’ll regret ever walking through that door. And not just with me. With Victor too.”

I swallowed hard. My body felt weak, my mind spinning. Every nerve screamed to obey. To survive. To stay.

“You’ll work faster,” Victor’s voice echoed in my memory. “Faster. Or there will be consequences.”

I hated the reminder. Hated the pressure. Hated the impossible balance between two men who controlled my life.

“I need results,” I whispered, almost to myself. “I need to survive this.”

Damon’s eyes flickered. “Survival isn’t about results, Aria. It’s about control. Yours, mine, his. Whoever has it wins. Whoever doesn’t…”

I shivered.

“And you,” he continued, voice low, dangerous, “are already testing me.”

“I’m not”

“You are.” His hand brushed my arm, barely touching, but it was enough. Electric. Dangerous. I flinched, but didn’t pull away. My stomach twisted in guilt. In… desire.

“Stop,” I whispered, but the word sounded weak.

“Stop what?” he asked softly, leaning closer. “Hiding?”

I couldn’t answer.

“You think you can hide from me, Aria?” His voice was a quiet growl now. “From me, from Victor, from yourself?”

“I… I don’t”

“Yes, you do,” he interrupted. “I can see it. The hesitation. The conflict. The lies you tell yourself to stay sane.”

I felt trapped. Cornered. Alive. Every part of me screamed in warning. Yet another part I hated admitting to the danger.

“You’re reckless,” he said, pulling back slightly. “You’re dangerous. And yet… compelling.”

“I’m not here to be compelling,” I said, trying to regain control. “I’m here to survive.”

“And yet,” he whispered, stepping closer again, “you can’t stop looking at me. At me, at what I am, at what I could do to you.”

I wanted to run. I wanted to fight. I wanted to scream. And somewhere deep inside, I wanted to surrender.

But I said nothing.

“You’re not ready to surrender,” he said softly. “But you’re not ready to fight either. That makes you… intriguing.”

“I’m not” I stopped myself. I couldn’t say it. Couldn’t admit how much he unsettled me.

He watched me. Studied me. And I realized something terrifying. He could see right through me. Every lie. Every hesitation. Every secret.

“You’re hiding something,” he said, finally. “Something I will find. Something I need to know.”

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to push him away. But instead, I whispered, “I… can’t tell you that.”

“Yet you fear me knowing,” he said. “You fear Victor knowing. And you fear yourself most of all.”

My chest ached. His words were knives, cutting into the parts I tried to bury.

“I have my reasons,” I said quietly.

He tilted his head, sharp. “Everyone has reasons, Aria. But the truth… always comes out.”

I wanted to fight him. To argue. But my knees felt weak. My mind raced. Every lesson Victor had drilled into me collided with every instinct I had.

And then, as if testing me, as if daring me, he reached for the desk drawer behind him and opened it slowly. His eyes never left mine.

“Some things,” he said softly, almost casually, “are not meant to be hidden.”

My pulse spiked. I realized, too late, that I had wandered closer to files I was never meant to see. Restricted files. Files that could ruin everything.

My hands froze above them. My body trembled.

He leaned closer again, his voice low, sharp. “Curiosity is dangerous, Aria.”

“I”

“You’re too close,” he interrupted. “And I don’t trust you.”

The words hit harder than the brush of his fingers, harder than any warning Victor had ever given me.

I swallowed, heart pounding, mind spinning, and realized…

I had already crossed the line.

And in that moment, I understood something terrifyingDamon Blackwood already suspected more than I dared to imagine. And my next move could destroy me.