Chapter 39: When the Devil Knocks
390 Words
Chapter 39: When the Devil Knocks
(And you open the door anyway)
Aria didn’t hear the knock.
She felt it.
Like thunder in her bones. A shiver in her breath.
The door swung open before she could speak, and there he was.
Damon.
Soaked in the night, suit clinging to his body like a second skin. Eyes burning. Chest rising and falling like he’d run straight through hell to get to her.
She stepped back instinctively—but he followed, closing the door behind him with a click that felt like a lock snapping shut inside her chest.
“Where was he?” he asked quietly.
She blinked, heart racing. “What—”
“Don’t lie to me, Aria.”
Her breath caught. “Damon, it wasn’t—”
He was on her in two strides, pressing her back against the wall, hands on either side of her head. Not touching her—but close. So close she could feel the heat of his fury and something deeper.
Jealousy. Fear. Possession.
“You think I wouldn’t know?” he growled. “You think I can’t smell him on you?”
Her eyes widened, a tremor running down her spine. “Nothing happened.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Nothing yet.”
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. “You don’t get to claim me like I’m property.”
He leaned in until his lips brushed her ear, voice a whisper made of knives. “No, baby. I claim you like you’re mine… because you are.”
Then his mouth was on hers—hot, hard, unforgiving.
She gasped into the kiss, body flooding with heat and confusion. He devoured her like she was air and he’d been drowning, his hands finally gripping her waist, pulling her into him.
“You want to run to him?” he rasped between kisses. “Go ahead. But you’ll still feel me. Inside you. Around you. Owning you.”
Her knees buckled.
God help her, she did feel it. Every word wrapped around her like silk and steel.
He lifted her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around his waist on instinct.
“Tell me to stop,” he growled.
She didn’t.
Because what he gave her—this madness, this hunger—was the only thing that made sense anymore.
- Writer
