Rival's Daughter: 4. Claiming

The kiss should have been the end. A reckless moment, a mistake she could tuck away, deny, bury in silence.

But Damien didn’t let her retreat. Not that she really wanted to, in any case. Not when her mind and body were screaming her need for more. 

When he pulled back, his eyes searched her face with dark certainty, as though measuring her resolve, waiting for the moment she would break again. His thumb lingered at her lip, brushing lightly, dragging over the softness as if memorizing it.

“You feel it too,” he murmured. Not a question. A truth.

Her heart hammered, her hands trembling where they hung uselessly at her sides. She wasn't going to confess to any such thing. She should have said no, denied it vehemently. Should have run to the elevator, fled this penthouse and never looked back. But who was she kidding? 

She stayed. Rather than do any of the things the voice of reason urged her to do. She couldn't leave and even if she had been stro