His for Six Months

Chapter 16: A Dangerous Temptation

Chapter 16: A Dangerous Temptation

(Some sins beg to be repeated)

Aria didn’t expect him to be waiting.

But Damon was there—leaning against his sleek black car just outside the gallery, arms crossed, eyes unreadable in the golden haze of the late afternoon sun.

She stopped in her tracks.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, the words automatic.

“I had to see you,” he replied. “One last time.”

Her heart twisted. “You always say that.”

“And yet, you always come,” he said softly, stepping closer.

She hated that it was true. Hated that no matter how much damage he caused, some part of her still wanted to run straight into the fire.

“I told Cade I needed space,” she said, trying to anchor herself to the truth. “That includes you.”

“I’m not here to crowd you.” His voice lowered, his gaze dipping to her lips. “I’m here to remind you of what you feel when you're not pretending.”

Her breath caught.

He brushed a lock of hair from her face, fingers grazing her cheek like a whisper. It was too soft. Too intimate. Too dangerous.

“Don’t,” she said, but she didn’t step away.

“Don’t what?” he asked, voice like smoke. “Touch you? Want you? Remind you that no matter how hard you try to forget me, your body never will?”

She hated that he was right.

His presence unsettled her in ways Cade never did. Cade was steady, strong, safe.

But Damon?

Damon was every secret, every craving she tried to bury. He was the part of her that didn’t want to be good.

“Say the word,” he murmured. “And I’ll walk away for real this time.”

Aria stared at him, her lips parted, but no sound came.

Because deep down, she didn’t want him to walk away.

And Damon knew it.

He leaned in slowly, lips brushing her ear.

“I’ll wait,” he whispered, “but not forever.”

Then he turned, left her breathless on the sidewalk, trembling from the war inside her chest.

This wasn’t love. This wasn’t safety.

It was temptation.

And it was starting to taste like need.