*Isabella's POV*
My eyes fluttered open just as I felt it, his lips brushing against my cheek. My breath caught in my throat, my heart slamming against my ribs. When my gaze snapped to his, those piercing eyes of Damien Lancaster locked on me, dark, unreadable. And before I could fucking process what was happening, he leaned in, no hesitation, his lips crashing against mine.
For a second, my brain short-circuited. Was this a dream? It had to be, right? Only a moment ago, I was curled up half-asleep, and now Damien—Damien fucking Lancaster—was kissing me. Hungrily. Possessively. Like he'd been starving for this and finally lost control.
I'd dreamed of this before, God knows how many times. But this? This felt too raw, too real. His scent surrounded me, strong, musky, masculine. His hand came up, wrapping firmly around my neck, not too tight, but enough to make my senses explode with heat. My body reacted before my mind could catch up, every nerve ending screaming, begging for more.
And I gave in. I kissed him back. Hard. My mouth moved with his, helpless against the way he dominated me, his tongue teasing and demanding, leaving me gasping for more. Fuck. This wasn't just a kiss; it was a goddamn claim. He devoured me like he owned me, and in that moment, I didn't care that he wasn't mine to have.
Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back. My lips tingled, swollen, desperate for him to come back, but his expression had shifted, conflict etched into every line of his face.
"I apologize, Isabella," he said, voice low and strained, like he hated himself for even saying the words. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Goodnight," he said, retreating to his room, leaving me breathless, stunned, and completely fucked in the head.
I paced my room like a lunatic. My nerves were shot to hell. I kissed my fucking boss. Worse, I'm kind of dating Jacob. And I'm not a cheater. Never have been.
I should tell him. I should.
But not tonight. Hell no. I wasn't ready to face the music just yet.
I crawled into bed, but sleep eluded me. Tossing and turning, I kept replaying it, the way Damien's lips claimed mine, the heat of his hands, the way his mouth fucking owned me. Mind-blowing. Dangerous. Addictive.
And I hated that I wanted more.
I woke up the next day with my head pounding from lack of sleep, my mind still fucked up from last night. Damien's kiss kept replaying in my brain like a broken record, no matter how hard I tried to push it aside. After a hot shower that didn't do shit to calm my nerves, I slipped into a pink bohemian dress, dabbed on light make-up, and styled my hair.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, trying to smile, trying to look like everything was fucking normal. It wasn't. Not even close.
By the time Jacob and I got in the car for work, I was already exhausted from pretending. He drove in silence for a while, the low hum of the engine filling the space between us, until he finally broke it.
"Where were you yesterday? I didn't see you at lunch," he asked, his voice casual but with a sharp edge of curiosity.
I forced a smirk. "Can't eat without me, huh?" I teased
"I missed you," he admitted, and that soft little confession made me giggle despite myself. Seeing him so vulnerable was… cute, and it made me hate myself a little for what had happened the night before.
"I had some errands to run," I replied smoothly, praying he wouldn't push further.
"Where to?" he asked, glancing at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road.
"The bank. About a student loan,"
"Oh? And did it go well?" he pressed.
"Yeah, perfectly," I answered with a fake smile plastered on my face. Total bullshit. The truth was I'd been fucking rejected, and the whole thing was a waste of time, but I wasn't about to sit there and admit it to him. Not when I was already drowning in guilt.
Desperate to steer the conversation somewhere else, I blurted out, "Anyway, has Damien left already?"
"I have no idea," Jacob said with a shrug.
I sighed, slumping slightly against the seat. Of course he didn't know. Not that Damien would ever agree to ride in the same car with him anyway. They avoided each other like the plague most mornings, but recently, I'd noticed that the constant fighting had cooled down a bit. They actually managed to have halfway decent conversations now and then, which was progress, I guess. Still, mornings usually meant I'd at least see Damien around the house, maybe catch a glimpse of him in his suit before he vanished.
But not today. Today he was nowhere to be found. Like he'd fucking disappeared. And I knew why.
Ashamed. That's what it was. He was probably hiding in his office or holed up somewhere else, avoiding me after the mistake he made last night. Or maybe it wasn't a mistake. Maybe he regretted it. Maybe he was fighting with himself just like I was—caught between guilt and the undeniable electricity that had passed between us.
Fuck, I still couldn't get that kiss out of my head.
It wasn't just a kiss. It was the most heart-stopping, pulse-racing, mind-fucking kiss I had ever experienced in my entire life. Damien's lips had been demanding, consuming, like he'd waited forever to taste me and once he did, he wasn't going to let go. His hand on my neck, the way he held me like he owned me—it was dangerous and intoxicating all at once.
Jacob's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts like a goddamn whip."Okay, what's wrong?" he asked, tone sharp, booming in the quiet of the car.
I snapped my gaze toward him, masking the storm in my head with sarcasm. "And why the hell do you think something's wrong?" I shot back.
He glanced at me knowingly, lips twitching with that annoying half-smile. "You're too quiet. You only go this quiet when I fuck up and you're pretending to give me the silent treatment. Normally, you mutter curses under your breath. But right now? Not one fucking swear word. And I'm pretty damn sure I haven't done anything wrong… yet."
"What makes you so sure?" I scoffed, folding my arms with a sly smirk. "You always do something wrong. You breathe."
He rolled his eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck in the back of his head. "Ha-ha. Hilarious," he muttered dryly, though the corner of his mouth betrayed a flicker of amusement.
Silence stretched between us for a beat, heavy and unbearable, until he broke it again. "So? Tell me what's eating you alive, or else I'll nag the shit out of you until you spill. You know how stubborn I am." His voice was calm, but there was steel in it—he meant it.
I sucked in a deep, shaky breath, my chest tight as hell. The words were bitter fire on my tongue, but they tore out of me before I could stop them. "I think… I may have kissed Damien."
Jacob's head snapped toward me so fast I thought he'd break his damn neck. His eyes widened in shock, flickering with something unreadable. "You think?" he asked, too calm, too steady—like the quiet before a goddamn storm.
I swallowed hard, feeling the noose tighten around my throat. "Okay," I whispered, my voice trembling but firming at the end. "I kissed him."
The confession hung in the air like gun smoke, heavy and suffocating, daring him to breathe, daring him to fucking react.