Possession
1237 Words
Lena
I made it exactly six hours before Damien Vale ruined my day again.
Which honestly felt impressive on my part.
I was halfway through replacing a compressor unit behind a bakery when my phone buzzed in my back pocket.
Unknown number.
I ignored it.
It rang again.
Then again.
“For the love of—”
I answered without checking. “If this is Damien, I’m blocking you.”
A pause.
Then his deep voice slid through the speaker like dark velvet.
“That hurts my feelings, Lena.”
“You don’t have feelings.”
“Only one recently.”
Heat crawled up my throat instantly.
I tightened a bolt harder than necessary. “What do you want?”
“You skipped lunch.”
I froze.
Slowly, I stood upright and looked around the alley behind the bakery.
Nothing.
No black cars.
No armed security.
No billionaire psychopath lurking in shadows.
“How do you know that?”
“You were working through it.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“No.”
Infuriating man.
“You’re stalking me.”
“I’m protecting you.”
My stomach twisted unexpectedly.
“From what?”
Silence.
Not long.
But enough.
Enough to sharpen every instinct I had.
Then his voice returned, colder now.
“Did anyone unusual approach you today?”
The shift in tone raised goosebumps across my skin.
“What happened?”
“Answer the question.”
I hated how instantly commanding he sounded when serious.
And worse—
part of me wanted to obey.
“No,” I said carefully. “Why?”
Another pause.
Then, “Good.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
That man was going to send me into early cardiac arrest.
—
By seven that night, rain had rolled over Ashbourne again.
Apparently the universe had decided Damien Vale only existed during thunderstorms.
I was locking up the workshop when headlights swept across the yard.
Black Mercedes.
Of course.
I muttered a curse under my breath as the driver’s door opened.
Not a driver.
Damien himself stepped out.
Tailored black coat.
Dark shirt.
Hands in his pockets.
Beautiful enough to qualify as emotional manipulation.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
His gaze moved over me slowly.
Like he was checking I was unharmed.
“You ignored my calls.”
“You called once.”
“You still ignored it.”
“That’s usually how ignoring works.”
A flicker of amusement crossed his face before vanishing again.
He looked tense tonight.
Sharper somehow.
Dangerous in a quieter way.
Every instinct in my body noticed.
“You’re upset,” I said before thinking.
Those dark eyes lifted to mine immediately.
Observant.
He liked that I noticed things.
Which was unfortunate for both of us.
“I’m handling it,” he said.
“That sounds ominous.”
“It should.”
Rain drummed softly against the roof of the workshop while tension stretched between us.
Then Damien’s gaze shifted behind me.
His expression changed instantly.
Cold.
Lethal.
I turned.
A man stood near the front gate smoking a cigarette.
Watching us.
The second he realized Damien had spotted him, he walked away quickly into the rain.
Every hair on my arms rose.
“Who was that?”
Damien didn’t answer.
Which was answer enough.
Fear finally slithered properly into my chest.
Not fear of Damien.
Fear of whatever world followed him.
“You need to stop coming near me,” I said quietly.
His eyes snapped back to mine.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You think distance changes anything now?”
“I think I’d like to not get murdered.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“That won’t happen.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
“I can.”
The sheer certainty in his voice should’ve sounded arrogant.
Instead it sounded deadly.
Like a promise written in blood.
I swallowed hard.
“You don’t even know me.”
A strange look crossed his face then.
Dark.
Intent.
“Wrong.”
My pulse stumbled.
He stepped closer slowly.
Rain and city light framed him in silver and shadow.
“You work too much,” he said quietly. “You forget to eat when stressed. You pretend you aren’t exhausted because you hate appearing weak. You take care of everyone else before yourself.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know all that?”
“Because I pay attention.”
The words wrapped around me like smoke.
Nobody paid attention.
Not really.
Not like this.
And suddenly I understood something terrifying:
Damien Vale noticed everything about me.
The realization hit harder than attraction ever could.
“You can’t just…” I struggled for words. “You can’t just insert yourself into my life.”
His gaze lowered briefly to my mouth again.
God.
That look.
“I already have.”
Silence cracked between us.
Heavy.
Breathing became difficult.
I should tell him to leave.
Instead I whispered, “You’re trouble.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“Yes.”
Rain began misting through the open workshop entrance, cool droplets brushing my skin.
Damien reached out suddenly.
Slowly.
Giving me time to stop him.
His fingers curled beneath my chin.
Warm.
Careful.
My entire body locked.
Not from fear.
From awareness.
His thumb brushed lightly along my jaw while his eyes held mine captive.
“You should be afraid of me,” he said softly.
I could barely breathe.
“Maybe I am.”
“No,” he murmured. “You aren’t.”
And that was the problem.
Because despite the danger…
despite the blood and guns and terrifying men surrounding him…
I leaned into his touch anyway.
A dark hunger flickered across Damien’s face at the tiny movement.
Possessive.
Starving.
Like he felt it too.
His voice dropped lower.
“Lena.”
Just my name.
But the way he said it—
like restraint was snapping thread by thread—
sent heat rushing through me.
Then headlights flashed across the workshop yard.
Damien’s hand vanished from my skin instantly.
The warmth disappeared so fast it almost hurt.
A black SUV pulled in hard.
Two armed men stepped out.
Scarface from the penthouse was one of them.
His expression was grim.
“Boss.”
Damien turned cold immediately.
“What.”
“We found him.”
The atmosphere changed in an instant.
Whatever softness existed vanished beneath something brutal.
Deadly.
I watched Damien transform right in front of me.
Not businessman.
Not flirtatious billionaire.
Something far worse.
Scarface’s gaze flicked toward me cautiously. “We need to move.”
Damien’s eyes met mine one final time.
There was warning in them now.
And something almost reluctant.
“You need to go home,” he said quietly.
“What’s happening?”
“Nothing you need to see.”
“Damien—”
“Home, Lena.”
The command in his voice hit like lightning.
I hated that part of me reacted to it.
His gaze softened only slightly.
“Lock your doors tonight.”
Cold spread through my stomach.
“What did you do?”
His expression became unreadable.
Then he stepped back into the rain.
And for the first time since meeting Damien Vale—
I wondered if I should truly be terrified of the man touching me like I was something precious…
while other men feared him like death itself.
- Writer
