Damien stood in the center of his darkened penthouse, phone still pressed to his ear long after the call ended.
Her voice lingered.
Not just in his ears—but in his blood, his breath, his bones.
He stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights glittering below like a thousand quiet temptations, and for the first time in years, he felt… still.
Not calculating.
Not on guard.
Just still.
She had said his name like it meant something.
Soft. Trusting. Real.
And it had unraveled him.
He didn’t move for a long time. He couldn’t.
Because something was shifting in him—slow, seismic. Dangerous.
Maya wasn’t a passing distraction anymore.
She never had been.
And now… she was in his system.
Embedded.
He clenched his jaw, running a hand through his hair.
He couldn’t afford thi
