She froze.
Her mouth opened.
Closed.
Tried again. “Because I… I… no, I—”
But she didn’t get the chance to finish.
Damien crossed the final inches between them in a single breath—his presence overwhelming, his voice a husky whisper that slid down her spine like silk and smoke.
“I’ll tell you why,” he murmured, his lips so close she could taste the heat of them. “Because it should only ever be me.”
The air around them went still.
Thick with something electric. Breathless.
For one suspended moment, he didn’t move—just watched her.
And then, with a swift, fluid motion—he pulled her into him. Fierce. Full-bodied. Unapologetic.
Her head hit his chest, and the impact knocked the breath from her lungs.
Maya stiffened—caught between shock and something else. Something warmer. Deeper.
S
