THE NIGHT HE CHOSE ME

Chapter 1

The Night He Chose Me

The night air wrapped around me like a silk ribbon, thick with heat despite the late hour. The city pulsed with life, neon lights flickering against the rain-slicked pavement, and music thumping from nearby clubs. I wasn't supposed to be here. But then again, I rarely did what I was supposed to.

I moved through the crowd outside the bar, slipping past drunken laughter and the scent of cheap cologne. My heels clicked as I entered The Crimson Room, a dimly lit lounge with blood-red walls and a crowd that was both beautiful and dangerous. I belonged here in a way I didn't anywhere else—on the edge of something intoxicating, something forbidden.

Then I felt him.

A presence, dark and commanding, curling around me like smoke. I turned, and my breath caught.

He sat in the far corner, watching me like a predator amused by its prey. His suit was black as midnight, perfectly tailored, framing a body that exuded power. His face—sculpted, cold, breathtaking—was the kind that made women forget their own names. But his eyes? His eyes burned.

I knew who he was before he even spoke.

Damien Valerius.

The name was whispered in the kind of circles I ran in. Old money, ruthless power, and secrets buried so deep no one dared dig them up. Some said he was untouchable. Others said he was something else entirely.

I should have walked away.

Instead, I met his gaze and walked straight into the fire.

"You're new here." His voice was silk over steel, slipping under my skin.

I slid onto the leather seat across from him, feeling his gaze roam over me like a caress. "That obvious?"

His lips curved, and the world around us shrank to just him and me. "I always notice a woman who doesn't belong."

A thrill danced up my spine. "Maybe I do belong."

"Not here," he murmured, tilting his head, studying me. "Not with them. But with me… that remains to be seen."

Something dangerous curled in my stomach. I should have been afraid. I should have been wary. But there was something in his voice that felt like a dare.

I leaned closer. "And what if I don't want to belong to anyone?"

His fingers brushed over my wrist, a touch so light it made me shiver. "Then I suppose I'll just have to change your mind."

The world faded. The music, the bar, the people—it all blurred. It was just Damien and the way his touch sent liquid fire through my veins.

"Come," he said, standing with the grace of a predator.

I should have refused. But I followed him.

We barely made it inside his penthouse before his mouth crashed onto mine.

I tasted sin and eternity, a hunger so raw it sent a shock through my entire body. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me flush against him as his lips traced a scorching path down my neck.

"You're playing a dangerous game, little one," he growled against my skin.

I gasped as his teeth grazed my pulse. "And what if I like danger?"

His chuckle was dark, filled with wicked promise. "Then you'll love me."

He lifted me effortlessly, pinning me against the wall, my legs wrapped around his waist. The hard press of him between my thighs made my head spin, and his fingers traced fire along my skin as he stripped me bare.

Clothes fell away. The world vanished. Only pleasure remained.

He devoured me. Worshipped me. Tore me apart and put me back together with every sinful touch, every wicked thrust.

And then—

Pain.

Sharp. Burning.

My head snapped back as his teeth sank into my neck, pleasure and agony intertwining in a dizzying spiral. A rush of something deeper than lust, darker than desire, flooded through me.

My body trembled against his as he pulled back, his lips painted with my blood.

And then I felt it.

A mark.

Deep. Irrevocable.

Mine.

I gasped, the truth slamming into me with the force of a hurricane. "What have you done?"

Damien wiped his mouth, his gaze possessive, satisfied.

"I've claimed you."

My heart pounded. My body still hummed with the aftershocks of pleasure, but underneath it, fear slithered.

"Without my permission?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

He smiled. A slow, sinful, utterly unapologetic smile.

"Yes."

Darkness swallowed me whole.