Chapter 9 - Revealing the Truth

Damian stood by the fireplace, his fingers wrapped around a glass of whiskey, his mind heavy with calculations. He had spent years ensuring no one could control him. Yet, for the first time in a long time, someone had fought for him.

And that someone was Eve.

He had found out through his own sources Eve had gone to Vanessa alone. She had confronted her, forced her to back down, and somehow walked away unscathed.

It didn't sit well with him.

He wasn't a man who liked surprises.

And Eve? She had just done the impossible.

The door creaked open. He turned.

Eve stepped inside, her coat draped over one arm, her expression unreadable.

"You know," Damian said smoothly, setting his glass down, "I don't appreciate being left out of my own battles."

Eve exhaled, as if she had expected this reaction. "You were going to tear Vanessa apart," she said. "I found another way."

His jaw tightened. "You think blackmailing a woman like her is safer?"

Eve crossed the room, stopping inches from him. "It wasn't about safety," she said softly. "It was about you."

His breath hitched.

Eve continued. "I did what I had to do, Damian. Vanessa isn't a threat anymore."

Damian studied her, his gaze unreadable. "How do you know she won't come back?"

Eve's lips pressed together. "Because she saw something in me she wasn't expecting." Her voice dipped. "And maybe I did too."

Damian took a step closer. "Which is?"

Eve swallowed. "That I'd do whatever it takes to protect you."

The words hit him harder than they should have.

No one had ever fought for him like this.

For years, people had either feared him, used him, or wanted something from him.

But Eve?

She had walked into the fire for him.

Silence stretched between them. The air felt charged, thick with something unspoken.

Damian lifted a hand, brushing his fingers lightly against her jaw. "That was reckless," he murmured.

Eve didn't move. "Maybe," she whispered. "But I don't regret it."

Something inside him shifted.

A need deeper than desire.

A connection more dangerous than anything he had ever let himself feel.

Slowly, Damian leaned in, his lips mere inches from hers.

"Neither do I," he murmured.

And then, finally, he closed the distance.

No More Running

Eve barely had time to react.

Damian's mouth claimed hers, fierce and unrelenting, as if he had been starving for this moment. And maybe he had.

Maybe she had too.

She tried to think-tried to remember why

she had been resisting this, resisting him.

But then his hands slid down her waist,

gripping her like he would never let go, and suddenly, nothing else mattered.

He pulled her toward the couch, their lips never parting.

"Tell me you don't want this," he rasped

against her skin.

Eve's breath hitched.

Damian's hands tightened around her, his control slipping. "Tell me you don't feel this too."

She should have. She should have told him this was a mistake. That it was too

dangerous. That they could ruin each other. But when he pushed her back onto the couch, his body pressing against hers, all her reasons shattered.

"I can't," she whispered.

A slow, dark smirk curved his lips.

"Good."

And then he made sure she never doubted what they were to each other again. The couch beneath them turned into their battleground, their passion raw and consuming. Damian's hands explored her with a hunger that left her breathless, his lips tracing a path down her skin.

Eve knew she was lost.

Because for the first time in her life, she

wasn't just giving in to desire.

She was giving in to him.

And there was no turning back.

The Proposal

The night still clung to their skin, the air thick with everything they had just shared. Eve lay against Damian's chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his skin, lost in the rhythm of his steady breathing.

She had given in. Completely.

And yet, for the first time, it didn't feel like a mistake.

Damian's arms tightened around her, his lips brushing against her hair. "You're not leaving," he murmured.

Eve stiffened slightly. "Damian"

"No," he cut in, shifting so she had to meet his gaze. His eyes were darker than usual, filled with something deeper than possession something raw, something real. "I won't let you go."

Her breath caught.

He exhaled, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "I tried to fight this. Tried to keep my distance." His lips twitched. "Failed miserably."

Eve's heart pounded as he reached for something in the drawer beside the couch.

And then.

A small velvet box.

Her stomach flipped. "Damian"

"I don't do things halfway," he said, opening it to reveal a diamond that caught the dim light like a thousand burning stars. "And I don't love halfway either."

Her lips parted, her pulse a frantic rhythm in her chest.

He held her gaze. "Marry me, Eve."

Her world tilted.

Damian Blackwood the untouchable, insatiable billionaire who once felt nothing was asking her to be his.

And as she looked into his eyes, she realized something terrifying.

She wanted to say yes.