Chapter 15 - Breaking the Rules
1106 Words
Anna hadn’t stopped thinking about the kiss.
Even as the hours passed, even as she tried to force her mind back to the mystery unfolding around her, her thoughts kept drifting back to the way Damien had felt—solid, warm, undeniably real. The way his lips had moved against hers, slow and deliberate, like he was trying to memorize her. Like he had wanted that moment just as badly as she had.
And that was dangerous.
Because wanting Damien wasn’t part of the plan.
She paced the length of her apartment, arms crossed over her chest, trying to push the feeling of his hands on her waist out of her mind. The memory burned, hot and distracting, making it nearly impossible to think straight.
But as much as she tried to focus on the case, on the past, another thought began to creep in, one she had buried beneath her stubbornness.
What if she wasn’t the only one?
Gizelle’s voice echoed in her mind, the way she had so effortlessly called Damien darling that night. The casual, possessive way she had spoken to him, as if there was something more between them. Anna had never asked Damien about it, had never given herself the chance to. She had assumed—or had she simply ignored it?
Did it even matter? She knew what kind of woman Gizelle was—someone who threw herself at men with power, who played the game for status. Damien had never given her any reason to think he was interested in Gizelle. But what if he was?
The idea made her stomach tighten in a way she didn’t like.
She hated the thought of caring. Hated the idea that it even mattered to her whether Damien had something with someone else before her. But the moment the idea took root, it was hard to shake.
A knock on the door sent a jolt through her.
She already knew who it was before she even opened it.
Damien stood there, leaning against the doorframe, looking just as composed as ever. But there was something in his eyes—a flicker of tension, something raw beneath the surface.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked, his voice lower than usual.
Anna swallowed, gripping the edge of the door. “I should be asking you the same thing.”
His lips twitched, but there was no real amusement behind it. “Thought we should talk.”
Talk. Right.
Anna stepped aside, letting him in. The air in the apartment felt charged the second the door clicked shut behind him. Damien exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he turned to face her.
“So,” she started, crossing her arms again like it could somehow shield her from the weight of his gaze. “About earlier—”
“That wasn’t a mistake.”
His words cut straight through her defences.
She sucked in a breath. “Damien—”
“Tell me you didn’t feel it.” He took a slow step toward her, his voice quieter now, smoother, like he was coaxing her toward something inevitable. “Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll walk out that door right now.”
Anna’s heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
She should say it.
She should tell him that it was a mistake. That they were tangled up in something far bigger than either of them, that emotions—whatever they were—had no place in this.
But then he took another step closer, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body, could smell the faint trace of his cologne mixed with the cool night air. And just like before, her resolve wavered.
Would Gizelle be watching this moment, smirking? Had she been in this place before? The thought gnawed at her, but then Damien spoke again, and the doubt melted under the weight of his voice.
“I don’t know what this is,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “And I don’t think you do either.”
His gaze flickered over her face, searching, before he murmured, “Then let’s find out.”
The last of her hesitation crumbled.
This time, when Damien kissed her, there was no hesitance, no testing the boundaries. He pulled her against him, his hands sliding around her waist, fingers pressing just hard enough to make her shiver.
Anna’s hands found his shoulders, then his jaw, fingers tangling in the slight stubble there. He deepened the kiss, slow but demanding, as if he was making sure she understood that this wasn’t some fleeting moment.
Her back met the wall before she even realized they had moved. Damien’s lips trailed from her mouth to her jaw, then lower, a slow, teasing path that made her pulse throb in places she hadn’t let herself think about in a long time.
A breathy sigh escaped her, and he stilled for just a second, like he was savoring the sound. Then, with a smirk that sent a thrill down her spine, he murmured, “I think I like that.”
Heat flooded through her. “Shut up,” she muttered, pulling him back to her lips.
Damien chuckled against her mouth but obeyed, his hands tightening on her hips, fingers slipping beneath the hem of her shirt, brushing against bare skin.
Anna shivered, arching into his touch, and for a moment, nothing else existed. Not the case. Not the past. Not the danger lurking in the shadows. Just this—just the way he made her feel like something other than broken.
But then a sharp buzz cut through the haze.
Damien cursed under his breath, pulling back just enough to reach for his phone. His expression darkened as he read the screen.
Anna’s head was still spinning. “What?”
He exhaled, jaw tightening. “It’s my investigator. He found something.”
Reality crashed back in like a cold wave.
Anna closed her eyes for a brief second, grounding herself. They had come here to solve a murder, to uncover the truth that had ruined both their lives. And as much as she wanted to get lost in Damien, she knew the past wasn’t going to wait for them.
Damien’s gaze met hers, something unreadable flickering behind his blue eyes. “We should go.”
Anna nodded, ignoring the way her body still ached for his touch. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
But as they stepped out into the night, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had just changed between them.
And there was no going back.
- Writer
