*Isabella's POV*
"Jacob. Isabella."
The voice cut through the air—thick, husky, commanding.
That voice. Damien's voice had a physical fucking presence, like it crawled over your skin and settled in your bones. It was scary as hell and yet thrilling in a way that made my stomach twist. Powerful. Demanding. Dominating.
I loved that voice. God help me, I fucking loved it. But right now? It was more terrifying than anything else. And there he was, the owner of the voice, standing in the doorway, catching us red-handed.
Jacob froze against me, his lips still inches from mine, his hand still burning hot against the small of my back. My pulse thundered in my ears. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Damien's gaze flicked between us, sharp and unreadable, and suddenly the air in the room felt suffocating. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. Not when his eyes pinned me in place like I was prey and he was the fucking predator. "Brother. Welcome home," Jacob said smoothly, like he hadn't just been caught with his tongue down my throat.
That's when it hit me what the hell was I wearing. Satin pajamas. Shorts that barely covered my ass. A top clinging to me like it was painted on. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I wanted to fucking vanish into the floor.
"We weren't expecting you until Friday," Jacob continued, unbothered as always.
"I received a call. One that made me wrap things up in Cuba and jump on a plane," Damien's voice was sharp, angry, each word laced with controlled fury. "Care to explain, Jacob?"
"Oh. I assume you know about Pheonix." Jacob's tone was maddeningly casual.
"Partially. But I'm here, ready to hear everything about it." Damien spat the words like bullets.
"Okay. Meet me in your study in fifteen minutes," Jacob said, walking past him like it was nothing.
Damien's head snapped around. "What! and where the hell do you think you're going?" His voice shook the walls.
"To take a cold shower," Jacob tossed over his shoulder, climbing the stairs like he owned the place.
And just like that, Jacob was gone. And I was alone. Alone with Damien. This would be a good fucking moment to walk away too, but my feet didn't move. My pulse was erratic, my shame simmering under my skin.
Damien stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "Isabella. It's good to see you." His tone softened, and it caught me off guard. Then he added, quieter, almost vulnerable, "I missed you."
Before I could stop myself, I fucking moved. My arms wrapped around him, instinct, comfort, maybe something else. For a split second he was stiff, surprised, but then his arms came around my waist. Strong. Steady. Dangerous.
"I missed you too, sir," I whispered, my voice barely audible. His sigh brushed the top of my hair. "Please, stop calling me sir."
"Okay… Damien," I breathed out, the name tasting foreign and forbidden on my tongue. That brought the faintest smile to his lips. A real one. And it made my chest ache. "I should just… it's probably best if I—" I stuttered, pulling back, heat crawling up my neck again.
"Yeah," he said, his gaze lingering longer than it should have. "I'll go to my study to talk to Jacob. Goodnight." And just like that, he walked away, leaving me standing there in my barely-existent pajamas, my heart hammering so loud I thought it might echo through the damn house.
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Meanwhile, in Damien's study, the air was thick with cologne and tension as Jacob laid everything out, Oliver Pheonix's lewd words, the threats, the lawyers, the call that pulled Damien back from Cuba. Damien's face went from controlled to volcanic in a heartbeat. "He said what?" His voice echoed off the leather and bookshelves like a physical thing.
"That motherfucker," Damien hissed. "I'm gonna... " He didn't finish. Instead, he shoved past Jacob, "What the fuck are you doing?" Jacob barked.
"Looking for my gun," Damien snapped without looking back.
Jacob stared at him for a beat, half-amused, half-worried. "Wait a minute." He followed, hands held out like a man trying to steady a storm. "What happened to cold, calculated Damien Lancaster, the CEO?"
"Shut up," Damien spat, his voice ice-cold.
Jacob let out a short chuckle, impossible to keep light. "Good to know you have a weakness."
"I said shut the fuck up. I'm going after him," Damien snarled, fingers already fumbling through drawers.
Jacob moved faster. He intercepted him before the door, putting a hand on Damien's forearm—firm, stopping. "Now with your gun?" he asked, deadpan, forcing the man to look at him. Damien froze. For the first time in a long minute, the blowtorch fury in his eyes flickered into something like reason. He set the gun down on the desk like it had burned him. "Okay, that was stupid," he admitted through clenched teeth. "But I'm going to pay him a visit in his office."
Jacob's voice went quiet, but urgent. "That's not wise."
"Why not?" Damien demanded, jaw tight.
"Because it's Isabella," Jacob said simply. "I promised we wouldn't make a scandal out of this. I have the recording—he talks about her. If Phoenix comes after us, we'll see what we do. For now, we keep it low."
Damien paced, fists balled, every inch the predator used to getting his way. "I can't just sit on my hands," he muttered.
"Yes, you can," Jacob shot back, venom laced under the calm. "Besides, I broke his nose. We're not defenseless. Let him be the one to make the first overt, public move, then we punch back hard. Quietly, legally, and with an upper hand, with the recording."
"Okay, for now," Damien said, folding his hands like he was bracing against something. "But how's Isabella?" He rolled his eyes. "I can't say I'm surprised to find her here."
"We didn't sleep together, I swear," Jacob said quickly, defensively, like he hadn't just nearly had her on the countertop.
"I know," Damien sighed, rubbing his temple. Then his voice hardened. "But you didn't behave either. You two drove me nuts."
"You felt it, right?" Jacob pressed, eyes burning with that manic certainty. "I told you—she's the one."
"Jacob, stop." Damien cut him off flat. "Do you still believe that crap that woman told you? She was a deranged lady on the street."
Jacob's jaw flexed. He didn't back down. "I do believe it. She said once the connection is strong enough to beat distance, she's our promised one. This surge was different—stronger than anything before. I felt it in my bones."