Possession
703 Words
Isabella barely slept.
Again.
But this time it wasn’t fear keeping her awake.
It was memory.
Damian’s mouth on hers. His voice in the dark. The way he looked at her like losing her would destroy him.
And that terrified her more than obsession ever could.
Morning sunlight filtered weakly through rain-covered windows as she stood in her kitchen making coffee, trying—and failing—not to think about him.
Her phone buzzed.
One message.
Good morning.
Heat curled unexpectedly through her chest.
She stared at the screen too long before replying.
Do you ever sleep?
Three dots appeared immediately.
Not since you.
Her pulse betrayed her instantly.
God.
Every text from him felt like temptation wrapped in danger.
Another message appeared.
Eat breakfast.
She frowned.
Excuse me?
You skipped dinner last night.
Isabella froze.
Then realization hit.
“You were watching me,” she whispered aloud.
A new message arrived.
You forget how observant I am.
Something about that should have scared her more.
Instead, she found herself smiling slightly.
Which was deeply concerning.
Before she could respond again, another text came through.
Open your door.
Her stomach dropped instantly.
No.
Absolutely not.
She walked carefully toward the entrance anyway.
The moment she opened the door, she stopped breathing.
A single black box sat outside her apartment.
Luxury packaging. Silver ribbon.
And beside it—
One dark red rose.
Isabella looked down the hallway instinctively, but Damian was nowhere in sight.
Her phone buzzed again.
Now I’m thinking about your mouth wrapped around strawberries.
Heat flooded violently into her face.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
But her hands trembled slightly as she carried the box inside.
She opened it carefully.
Chocolate-covered strawberries.
Perfectly arranged.
Expensive.
Obsessive.
A small black card rested inside.
You looked at them yesterday at the gala and didn’t take any.
Her breath caught softly.
He noticed that?
Of course he did.
Damian noticed everything.
Another message appeared.
Eat one.
Her heart raced unexpectedly.
This was ridiculous.
Manipulative. Intense. Completely insane.
And yet…
she picked up a strawberry anyway.
The second she bit into it, her phone rang.
Damian.
She answered before thinking.
“You’re impossible.”
His low chuckle slid through her body like smoke.
“But you answered.”
Isabella leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to ignore the dangerous warmth spreading through her chest.
“This is stalking.”
“No,” Damian murmured. “This is courtship.”
She nearly laughed.
“Your version of romance is terrifying.”
“You kissed me anyway.”
Her silence confirmed everything.
Across the line, she heard him exhale slowly.
“Tell me something honest,” he said quietly.
She swallowed hard. “What?”
“Did you think about me last night?”
Every second.
Every breath.
Every dangerous fantasy she should not have entertained.
“No,” she lied.
Damian laughed softly.
The sound was dark and devastating.
“You’re becoming predictable, Isabella.”
“And you’re arrogant.”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever doubt yourself?”
A pause.
Then quietly—
“Only with you.”
The answer stole her breath.
Before she could recover, his voice lowered.
“I have a meeting in an hour, and instead of preparing for it, I’m imagining the taste of you on my tongue.”
Heat surged through her so fast it was almost embarrassing.
“Damian—”
“You see what you do to me?”
His voice sounded rough now.
Unsteady.
Possessive.
“Every thought I have somehow becomes about you.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
This was dangerous.
Not because he was obsessed.
Because she was beginning to crave it too.
And Damian knew.
“I can hear you breathing differently,” he murmured.
Her pulse stumbled.
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither is the way you’ve taken over my entire mind.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Damian said the one thing she wasn’t prepared for.
“If another man touches you,” he said softly, “I don’t know how calmly I’ll react.”
The possessiveness in his voice sent a sharp shiver through her.
Not sweet. Not playful.
Terrifyingly real.
And somehow…
she liked it.
- Writer
