Chapter 18 - When Walls Crumble
627 Words
Anna’s POV
Anna woke to the feel of warm fingers tracing slow, lazy patterns against her bare skin. Her mind drifted somewhere between sleep and reality, caught in the lingering heat of the night before.
Damien.
The name alone sent a thrill down her spine.
She didn’t need to open her eyes to know he was watching her. She could feel it—the weight of his gaze, the way his fingers skimmed over her hip like he was memorizing every inch of her.
“You’re staring,” she murmured, voice thick with sleep.
Damien’s low chuckle rumbled against her back. “Guilty.”
Anna shifted, stretching, her body aching in ways that made heat pool low in her stomach. When she finally turned to face him, she found those piercing blue eyes locked onto hers, unreadable but undeniably intense.
Last night hadn’t been careful. It hadn’t been soft. It had been fire, desperate and consuming, built on years of tension neither of them had been willing to acknowledge until they had no choice. And yet, this morning, he looked at her like she was something fragile. Something worth savouring.
A dangerous thing.
Anna swallowed, pushing herself up onto one elbow. “We should talk about—”
“No, we shouldn’t,” Damien interrupted, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Not yet.”
She frowned. “Damien—”
“Not when you’re still looking at me like that.”
Her breath hitched. “Like what?”
A smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “Like you’re about to run.”
Damn him.
She didn’t get the chance to deny it because he pulled her closer, lips brushing over hers in a kiss that was slow this time, deep and consuming in a way that made her forget about everything else.
Her fingers slid into his hair, nails scraping lightly against his scalp, and the sound he made in response sent another wave of heat through her.
They shouldn’t be doing this. She knew it. There were still too many unanswered questions, too many ghosts lingering in the background, waiting for their moment to strike.
But right now, in this moment, with Damien’s hands mapping her body like he was trying to claim every inch of her, she didn’t care.
And when he pulled her beneath him, pinning her to the mattress, she stopped thinking altogether.
It was nearly noon when Anna finally dragged herself out of bed. Damien had left earlier, muttering something about following a lead, though the lingering kiss he had pressed to her lips before walking out the door had told her he hadn’t really wanted to leave.
She still wasn’t sure what this was between them. She wasn’t sure she wanted to define it.
But she did know one thing—he wasn’t treating her like a suspect anymore.
And that terrified her more than anything.
Shaking off the thought, she pulled on a sweater and jeans, making her way to the kitchen. Her phone vibrated against the counter just as she was pouring herself a cup of coffee.
Unknown Number.
Her stomach twisted.
She hesitated before answering. “Hello?”
Silence.
Her grip on the mug tightened. “Who is this?”
More silence. And then—
“You should’ve stayed buried, Anna.”
The voice sent ice through her veins. Distorted. Unfamiliar. But the threat was clear.
Her pulse roared in her ears. “Who the hell are you?”
A dark chuckle. Then the line went dead.
Anna stared at her phone, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.
This wasn’t just about uncovering the truth anymore.
Someone knew what she and Damien were doing.
And now, they were watching.
- Writer
