Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Damien
Islip around the side of Luna’s house, the cool night air whispering against my skin. The taste of her release still lingers in my memory, intoxicating and addictive. It’s haunted me since last night, along with the echo of her gasps and moans playing on a loop in my head.
Cade thinks I’ve lost my mind for pursuing Luna like this, but he’s wrong. I knew from the first glimpse of her what this would become. Both of her responses last night just confirmed my belief.
A smirk tugs at my lips. She almost took my head off with that shotgun. Her aim was perfect. If I’d been a fraction slower, the slug would have found its target. Good thing she uses slugs instead of buckshot, or I’d be decorating her porch right now.
I flex my left hand, the skin raw and tender from the burn on my palm. I’ll need to conceal that somehow when I meet her tomorrow. At least it’s my non-dominant hand, so I won’t have trouble shaking hers.
Fuck, this woman is something else.
When she confronted me, all fire and fury, she was magnificent. It took everything in me not to drop to my knees and worship her, and I’m not the kind of man who kneels. But her bravery while trembling with fear—I have to see that fire burn again.
And the sounds that spilled from her throat, and the way she curved into me like she was made for it… Fuck! It’s been driving me insane ever since.
She’s dying to be claimed, her body confessing what her lips won’t say.
The back door lock gives way at my touch with a soft click. Thank fuck she reached out to me for one of my systems. She needs better security, and now I’ll get my cameras inside her house. She has no idea she’s inviting another wolf into her home.
I step inside, and the warmth and scent of cinnamon and apples wrap around me.
It’s homey and inviting. The house is quiet, except for the gentle hum of the night.
Moonlight filters through the windows as I move through, memorizing the layout.
A knitted blanket drapes over the back of the sofa, books stacked on side tables, and cat-friendly plants crowd the windowsills.
This is a home where someone lives, not just exists.
I reach her bedroom doorway and pause, drinking in the sight of her.
Luna lies in bed, wearing her favorite pajamas.
A thin tank top and tiny sleep shorts that leave little to the imagination.
She’s kicked off the covers, and they tangle around her calves, along with those three cats.
The moonlight streams across her skin, turning her into something otherworldly. Untouchable.
But I’m going to touch her.
I’m going to finish what we started on her porch.
I step into her room. Her wolf lies curled in a bed tucked into the corner.
His head snaps up, his eyes fixing on me as a rumble builds in his chest. He rises and pads toward me, sniffing, reading my scent while that low warning growl rolls between his teeth.
Then he snorts once—dismissal, not threat—and returns to his bed.
That’s it, boy. We’re going to get along just fine.
Luna stirs. Her eyes flutter open and widen in shock when she sees me. But there’s something else there too. Like she knew this moment would come. Like she’s been waiting for it.
She bolts upright, her breath catching as her eyes lock on my face.
On my mask.
Her fingers grip the sheets with a tremble she can’t quite hide.
“How the hell did you get in here? I locked the doors.” Her voice quivers despite the defiance in her words. She’s trying to sound strong, but her fear bleeds through. Her body betrays her. The way she shrinks back against the headboard and how her knuckles go white where she clutches the bedding.
I let out a dark chuckle, savoring the mixture of terror and anticipation radiating from her.
“Locks won’t keep me from you.”
“I’m getting a security system. That’ll keep you out.”
Her effort to appear brave is endearing but not quite believable.
“No security system will keep me out.”
“You can’t just break into my house.”
“And yet, here I am.” I take another step, my voice dropping lower. Her eyes track my movement, a tremor in her jaw visible as she swallows hard.
“Did you kill Raymond Davis and dump his body at Emerald Lake?”
Her voice is steady, but her eyes—those beautiful, expressive eyes—betray her fear.
“Yes. You told me to stop dropping the bodies here.”
Her chin juts forward, and her eyes flash. “Get out.”
The words come out sharp, almost desperate, and she scrambles to pull the covers higher, creating a pitiful barrier between us.
“No. We both know you don’t want that.”
“You’re delusional.”
“Am I? Then why didn’t you call the sheriff last night?” I move closer, and her breath comes faster. “Or tell her today? Why do you still leave your curtains open?”
Her mouth stays shut, but the answer lives in the silence.
“You’ve been thinking about what happened between us. How good it felt to surrender.”
“I didn’t surrender to anything. You violated me.”
“Liar.”
I stop at the foot of her bed, reach down, and pick up all three cats. Her eyes go wide as she drops the covers, lunging forward to reach for them.
“What are you doing? Leave them alone.”
“Relax, Luna. I’m just getting them out of our way so I can spread you out.”
I set them on the floor in the hallway before turning to Shadow. With a single snap of my fingers, he’s at my side.
“Out.”
Luna’s mouth falls open as her loyal protector exits without protest. I close the door and turn back to her.
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing, but he doesn’t need to see what I plan to do to you.”
She pulls the blanket over herself again, clutching it to her chest, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity. Her fucking eyes are going to be the death of me.
“Why would he listen to you?”
“He’s a predator, Luna. Like recognizes like. And his instincts tell him he doesn’t need to protect you from me.”
“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
I step closer to the bed, pressing my shins against the side of the mattress. Her breath hitches, her body tensing as I lean closer.
“Why the mask?” Her eyes dart between mine. “Why hide who you are if you just plan to kill me?”
“I’m not going to kill you, Luna.”
Relief spreads across her face, but her chin lifts higher as she looks at me, her eyes filled with defiance. “Again, excuse me if I don’t take your word for it.”
I chuckle, enjoying her fear and her resistance as her breasts rise and fall in quick succession.
“So, why the mask?” She asks again.
“Isn’t it more exciting this way?” I step around the side of the bed. “To be touched by a masked stranger?”
She flinches. “That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have let you touch me.”
“Let me? I thought you said I violated you.” My tone is mocking. “But you’re right; you had no choice, little doe. You couldn’t have stopped me even if you’d tried.” I tilt my head, drinking in her fear. “And we both know you loved it. I can still taste how much.”
Her face flushes crimson; whether from embarrassment or anger, I can’t tell.
“That’s not—no.” She pauses. “How’s your hand?”
She looks as surprised by her question as I am.
A smile pulls at my mouth. She’s terrified and shaking. And she’s asking about my hand. The one her shotgun burned. The one I used to make her shatter.
I hold it up and wave at her. “It’s fine. Barely feel it anymore.”
In truth, it’s a little tender, but not bad. And it won’t stop me from touching her.
She straightens her spine and hardens her expression. “I said, get out. Now.”
I lean over the bed, and she scrambles backward, feet tangling in the sheets as she tries to put distance between us.
She nearly goes over the edge, catching herself at the last second and staggering upright on the far side of the mattress.
Her chest heaves with each breath, and the sharp, intoxicating scent of her fear floods the space between us.
“Where do you think you’re going, little doe?” I unsheathe the knife at my hip. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to bring it. I’ll never use it to hurt her, but the fear it draws from her is a potent aphrodisiac.
The blade catches the moonlight as I draw it out, and Luna’s eyes go wide. A small gasp escapes her lips, and she takes an involuntary step backward.
“Please.”
She said it several times last night, and it didn’t affect me, but tonight that single word does something to me. A flicker of doubt tries to take root, but I crush it down. This is necessary. She needs to understand that she has no choice.
She bolts for the door, and I’m on her before she takes three steps, spinning her around and pinning her against the wall. Her hands come up and push against my chest, trying to move me, but she lacks the strength.
I raise the knife and press it against the delicate skin of her throat. She freezes, her whole body rigid.
“Shhh.”
Tremors wrack her body now, full-body shakes that vibrate against my chest. Her breathing collapses into short, panicked gasps, and her beautiful eyes blow wide with fear.
“Please don’t.”
“Luna, look at me.” When she doesn’t, I press the blade a little harder against her skin. “I said, look at me.”
Her eyes drag upward and meet mine through the mask’s eyeholes, tears she’s trying not to shed collecting on her eyelashes.
She’s so fucking beautiful.
“I don’t want this.” The words come out steady, but her voice cracks at the edges.
“Your mouth says no.” My free hand traces down her side. She trembles where I touch her. “But this… this is telling me yes.”
Her eyes tell two stories at once—terror wrestling with hunger. Something dark and wanting lurks beneath the surface, matching the need that burns through my veins. She presses against the wall behind her, but her hips tilt forward, a contradiction her body can’t hide.
The steel of my blade rests against her pulse.
A reminder of the rules we’re playing by.
Her terror should satisfy me, and part of it does.
But the light fracturing in her eyes claws at my chest, and the contradiction tears at me because while her fear sets my blood on fire, something deeper recoils from the damage I see there.
I push the unwanted hesitation away. I want her complete submission to me, and if fear is the key that unlocks it, then so be it.
Because sometimes fear is just the beginning of surrender.