Chapter 3
Chapter three
Damien
Itoss the bag with my burger onto the passenger seat and lean against the Range Rover, watching her ancient blue pickup disappear down the winding road in a cloud of dust. The sight of it vanishing around the bend sends an unexpected jolt of loss that carves itself into my ribs.
I hadn’t planned on eating at the diner, but after what happened in the post office doorway, I needed time to think. To process. To figure out why the hell a simple glance and smile would affect me this much.
The moment she looked up at me, everything faded.
Gone.
Just her, standing there with blonde hair escaping from a messy knot and eyes that… Christ. Hazel with flecks of gold. I’ve been with beautiful women, stunning, perfect women who knew how to use their looks.
But this? This is different.
It’s not just her beauty, though she’s certainly that. It’s something else entirely. Something that makes my chest constrict and my thoughts scatter like I’m some inexperienced teenager instead of a man who controls billion-dollar deals without blinking.
I’ve heard rumblings about the beautiful local wildlife vet and her infamous wolf, but seeing her was a shock I won’t soon forget.
I’d been pushing through the door, my mind already on the evening’s plans, when she appeared.
For a heartbeat, we were suspended in the same space, close enough that I caught the scent of peaches and something uniquely her.
Her eyes lifted to mine, startled, and that crooked smile began to curve her lips before she stepped aside, murmuring a soft apology I barely heard over the roar in my ears.
I should have said something. Apologized.
Instead, I walked away without a word because another second in her presence and I might have done something that would have revealed what kind of man I am.
The urge to reach out, to grasp those shimmering blonde strands and yank her head back until her eyes met mine, had been almost impossible to resist.
So I’d fled to the diner, ordering food I didn’t want, positioning myself at the front window so I could watch the post office. Waiting. Needing to see her again with a desperation that makes no fucking sense.
When she exited with that massive wolf at her side, I couldn’t look away. The way she handled an animal that outweighed her by at least forty pounds was…
Impressive doesn’t begin to cover it.
Her beauty isn’t conventional. It’s raw, unpolished, and natural. And that light she carries—it’s like she radiates something I can’t name but yearn to touch. So contradictory to my own nature.
She possesses the kind of body that haunts dreams. Lean muscle beneath soft curves, strength wrapped in femininity.
I curse myself for not studying her face longer, but now my mind conjures a different image—her descending to her knees, those mesmerizing hazel eyes never leaving mine, that crooked smile promising wickedness as she reaches for my belt.
Her mouth enveloping me in wet heat, those perfect lips stretched taut, her throat working as she takes everything I have to give.
Fuck!
My ironclad self-control is the only thing that keeps me tethered to reality. No woman has ever shattered my carefully constructed facade with just one look.
Until her.
My isolation is deliberate, my darkness born of a violent childhood and cultivated through years of hunting those who prey on the helpless. I don’t form attachments, and I don’t experience this instant, all-consuming obsession with people, least of all women who represent everything I’m not.
Yet here I stand, already imagining how I might draw her into my orbit, how her light might look when bathed in my darkness.
I want her.
Not merely in the physical sense, though that desire burns hot enough. I want to possess her spirit and mark her in ways that leave no room for escape.
I shift, my cock pressing against the zipper of my black pants. I’ve been semi-hard since I laid eyes on her. My mouth waters at the thought of how she’ll taste—her skin, her cunt. Even her fear. Especially her fear. I want it all. Want to drown in it. And her.
The post office door swings open, and Eleanor Jenkins steps out, ruining my daydream and my erection.
She spots me, her weathered face breaking into a knowing smile that makes me want to get in my car.
“Well, now,” she says, crossing the street. “Most folks don’t watch empty roads unless they’re expecting something.”
I remove my sunglasses, studying her. I don’t like most people, but there’s something about this little old bitty that I find endearing. Maybe it’s the way she doesn’t flinch from my stare.
“She’s quite something, isn’t she?” Eleanor follows my earlier line of sight.
I keep my expression neutral. “Who?”
Eleanor snorts, a sound startlingly undignified from a woman her age. “Don’t play coy with me, young man. I saw that little dance you two did at the door.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Luna Foster. Our local wildlife vet. Your new neighbor.”
Luna Foster.
Her name is stunning. It’s perfect. Wild and beautiful, like her.
“She seemed… distracted.”
Eleanor’s eyes narrow behind those ridiculous rhinestone glasses.
“Luna’s got a lot on her plate. She’s the best wildlife rehabilitator in three states.
That sanctuary of hers is more than a full-time job.
” She pauses. “Poor girl thinks you were rude. Said you nearly knocked her over and didn’t even apologize. ” Her tone of disapproval is obvious.
Rude? She doesn’t understand. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think. Could barely breathe.
“I was… distracted myself.” An understatement, but the closest to the truth I’m willing to give her.
“I bet you were.” Eleanor tilts her head. “I know that look.”
“What look?”
“The look men get when they spot something wild they think they might want to tame.” Her expression grows serious. “Word of advice, Luna Foster isn’t tameable. Best remember that.”
I bristle. Most people find me unreadable and intimidating, despite the affable billionaire persona I project in public. But Eleanor Jenkins isn’t like most people. And she’s wrong. I don’t want to tame Luna. I want to possess her, wildness and all.
“I’m not interested in taming anything. I was merely observing.” I brush some lint from my sleeve. “Neighborly interest. Her sanctuary borders my property.”
“Mmhmm.” Eleanor’s expression betrays her disbelief. “Luna’s special, Damien. That girl has more heart in her little finger than most folks have in their whole bodies.”
“I would never suggest otherwise.”
“You didn’t have to. Men like you always have an angle. Especially with women who look like every man’s fantasy.”
The muscle in my jaw ticks at the thought of other men fantasizing about Luna.
She’s mine.
Mine to take.
Mine to break.
The thought should disturb me, but it doesn’t. It feels right. Natural. Like a fundamental truth.
I bury the fury, masking it behind a calm expression as I lift a curious eyebrow.
“Men like me? That’s a rather swift character assessment coming from someone I’ve only known a few weeks.”
“Please. I’ve been reading people longer than you’ve been alive.
You walk into a room like you own it, like you own everything in it, which you probably do in most places you go.
Your reputation precedes you, Damien. You’ve got secrets written all over you.
” She squints up at me, crossing her arms. “The question is whether they’re the dangerous kind or just the brooding, mysterious kind that sells romance novels. ”
A dark chuckle escapes my lips. “Which have you decided I am?”
“Jury’s still out. But I’ll tell you this much. Luna has buried herself in her sanctuary for years, healing every broken creature that crosses her path. Girl’s got a sixth sense about damaged things. She doesn’t need to add a damaged man to her collection.”
Her words strike a nerve. This woman has no clue how damaged I am. I let my gaze drift to the empty road, composing myself before looking back with a disarming smile.
“Eleanor, I assure you, my interest in Dr. Foster is purely neighborly.”
She barks out a laugh. “Save that smooth talk for someone who might believe it. Though I must say, it works like a charm.”
“Would Frank approve of your flirting with the mysterious newcomer?”
“Frank knows exactly who he married. Besides, he’s secure enough not to worry about a handsome face.
” She gives me an appraising look. “And it is a handsome face, even with that scowl permanently etched onto it. Ever consider smiling occasionally? Might make you look less like you’re plotting world domination. ”
“Perhaps I am.”
“Well, do be a dear and spare the post office when you take over. I’ve just gotten the filing system the way I like it.”
“What can you tell me about the sanctuary?” I’m curious, desperate even, for more information about Luna’s life. “Sounds like a substantial operation for one person to manage.”
“Luna’s grandfather raised her out here after her parents died.
Taught her more about animal behavior than most university professors know.
Girl could track a deer through a blizzard by the time she was fifteen.
Not that she’d ever shoot it, unless it was for mercy. He left it to her when he passed.”
“She lives alone out there?” The edge in my voice surprises me. The sanctuary is remote and isolated. Anything could happen.
“Luna can handle herself. Why so interested? Planning a visit to see the wildlife?”
Something in her tone suggests she isn’t just talking about the animals. I straighten to my full height, rebuilding the careful walls that had slipped as I check my watch.
“As I said, neighborly interest. I should go.”
“Don’t forget about Elk Fest next month,” Eleanor says as I turn toward my car. “Good opportunity to get to know those neighbors.”
“I don’t do festivals.”
“Shame. Luna always has a wildlife education booth. She brings several animals from the sanctuary. Big draw for the kids.” She starts back across the street, then pauses. “But I understand. A man planning world domination probably doesn’t have time for a small-town festival.”
I watch her go, amused by her tenacity. “Eleanor.” She looks back, eyebrow raised. “What time is this festival?”
“Ten to four, both Saturday and Sunday. Luna’s usually there by eight to set up.” She lowers her head, meeting my gaze as she peers at me over the top of her glasses. “She’s not what you’d expect, Damien. None of us in Aspen Ridge are. Small town doesn’t mean simple people.”
With that, she disappears, leaving me alone with thoughts I don’t want to examine too closely. I pull out my phone, scrolling to the familiar contact.
Cade answers on the first ring. “Yes?”
He’s at his desk in my Denver offices, looking every inch the polished, professional COO who runs my empire, not the man who disposes of my bodies.
“I need information. Luna Foster. Wildlife veterinarian. Complete background.”
“Your neighbor?”
“Yes.”
“Timeline?”
“Twenty-four hours.” I pause. “I have something I need to do first, but I’ll be finished up by midnight.”
“I’ll be on stand by.”
“Update the list of targets in the immediate area.” My fingers tighten around the phone. “I want to know if anyone’s ever threatened Luna Foster or her sanctuary.”
“Okay.” There’s suspicion in Cade’s usually neutral tone, but I end the call before he can ask.
As I pull onto the main road, my hands steer themselves toward the longer route, the one that winds past the entrance to Sage & Summit Wildlife Sanctuary.
I need to see where she lives, to glimpse the world she’s created.
As the carved wooden sign comes into view, I slow, heart pounding with unexpected intensity.
Down the long driveway, I can just make out several buildings clustered together in a half-circle at the end.
Somewhere in there, Luna Foster is tending to damaged creatures, making them whole.
I want to show her my darkness, wrap it around her like a cloak. In my fantasies, already vivid and insistent, she doesn’t run from the monster I am. She recognizes it as the necessary counterpart to her own saving nature. The shadow that makes her light possible.
I accelerate past the entrance, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles whiten.
The Morrison estate had been a strategic purchase.
Isolated, with extensive land bordering the national forest, perfect for my other activities.
I didn’t come here for distractions, no matter how bewitching they might be.
Getting entangled with a local veterinarian would be foolish at best, dangerous at worst.
But none of that matters now.
As I navigate the half-mile between our driveways, the memory of those hazel eyes and breathtaking smile lingers, taking root in my chest like something I can’t shake.
Beautiful. Unstoppable. Transforming everything in its path.