Bella couldn’t sleep. The night air in her apartment felt thick, heavy, suffocating, as though every shadow carried a memory of Damien’s touch. She had tried to tell herself it was over, that she could put some distance between them, but the images replayed relentlessly in her mind. The way he had pressed against her, his lips grazing her skin, the dominance, the need—it was a fire she couldn’t extinguish.
Her fingers absently traced the edge of her blanket, gripping it like a lifeline. The apartment felt eerily silent, but the echoes of her heartbeat were deafening. Each pulse reminded her of him—of the intensity, the danger, the thrill. She shook her head, trying to banish the memories, but they clung stubbornly, refusing to be ignored.
A knock at the door made her start, her breath ca
