Damien.
Being this close to Maria excited me in a way I could barely describe, hitting me like a sudden wave and simultaneously making me lose all control over my restraint.
If Aidan hadn’t been standing right here in the room, watching every single move with a dark, heavy silence, I would have given in to the urge and claimed her tempting, exciting lips without a second thought.
It was pure torture—a excruciating kind of pain that I was somehow deeply grateful I could get. I just didn’t want to leave her presence, not even by a single step, as her sweet, intoxicating scent alone had a unique way of soothing the chaos in my mind and calming my frayed nerves.
"**********************************************"
I leaned in even closer and whispered the details of the escape plan directly into her ear. Immediately after the words left my mouth, Maria raised her head abruptly and stared at me in absolute disbelief, her wide eyes searching my face.
"It’s a good suggestion, right?" I asked softly.
The words left my mouth almost absentmindedly, spoken more out of habit than conscious thought. In truth, I barely paid any attention to what I was saying. My entire focus had already drifted elsewhere.
My eyes remained completely fixed on her lips.
Without realizing it, I found myself tracing their delicate shape with my gaze, watching every subtle movement as she prepared to answer. It was impossible to look away. The longer I stared, the more everything else around us seemed to fade into the background until all I could see was her.
"You got lucky, it is!" Maria said.
A sudden, breathy chuckle escaped her lips before she could stop it, the unexpected sound carrying just enough amusement to make my heart skip. It was brief—so brief that I almost wondered if I had imagined it—but it was there all the same.
"But you are so dull at the same time," she added, her tone shifting into sharp amusement.
The words struck me immediately.
My face paled the instant the insult landed.
For a heartbeat, I simply stared at her, struggling to process what had just happened.
I really couldn’t believe it.
She had actually turned around and insulted me, throwing that painfully blunt remark at me almost immediately after giving me what felt like an incredibly rare, fleeting moment of praise. It was as though she had offered me a tiny sliver of hope, only to snatch it away before I could even enjoy it.
"How am I dull?" I asked, refusing to let her retreat behind that familiar wall of distance again.
As the question left my lips, I leaned closer without hesitation, bringing my face even nearer to hers. The already narrow space between us shrank even further, leaving barely any distance at all as I stubbornly refused to let her slip back.
And from the sudden, sharp pause in her breath, I could tell with absolute certainty that she was feeling the exact same intense heat I was feeling within.
The air between us was heavy with an electric tension, but I could see how desperately she was trying to suppress it, fighting her own body’s reaction.
Did she really hate me that much—that she would rather be consumed by this unbearable heat from the inside out than allow me to come close to her?
Was her resentment stronger than the undeniable connection pulling us together?
Maria took a deliberate step backwards, slowly creating a safe physical distance between us to break the magnetic hold.
"You are dull, Damien!" she said slowly, enunciating every single syllable so it sank in deeply. "Because you aren’t considering how tight the security here is!" she added, bringing her sharp focus back to the reality of our dangerous situation.
I chuckled softly, a low rumble echoing in my chest, and I deliberately moved closer to her again, refusing to let her put any real space between us.
"Well, that’s why I have three more identical brothers," I said proudly, tilting my head with a confident grin. "They can figure out how to bypass that!" I added, leaning into the unspoken bond and shared capability that came with being one of the quadruplets.
Maria took another step backwards, attempting to maintain her distance, but soon her back hit the cold, unyielding surface of the wall behind her.
I smiled inwardly, a surge of quiet satisfaction washing over me as I watched her run out of room. I really wanted to see where exactly she would go next now that she was completely out of escape routes.
Closing the small remaining gap between us, I immediately blocked her in, planting both of my hands firmly on the wall on either side of her shoulders.
"So, am I still dull?" I asked softly, my voice dropping an octave as I leaned into her space, searching her face for any crack in her composure.
Maria looked up at me, her eyes searching mine intensely, burning with a complex mix of guarded emotions that I couldn’t quite decipher.
Standing this close, looking down into her eyes, I felt an overwhelming urge settle deep in my chest—I truly wanted to fulfill all her heart’s desires, if only she would let me.
Suddenly, a slow, mischievous smile spread across Maria’s face, catching me entirely off guard. She raised her arms and placed both of her soft hands gently against my chest, her slender fingers tracing deliberate shapes and writing quiet words directly over my skin.
I went entirely still.
For a brief, suspended moment, I couldn’t breathe as the thrilling sensation of her unexpected touch completely stole the air right out of my lungs, freezing me in place.
Realizing what she was doing, I immediately reached out and grabbed her hands to stop her subtle spell on me. But it was already too late; she took full advantage of my sudden, momentary stillness and shoved me backward with all her strength. The sudden move pushed me away just enough for her to slip past my arms, effortlessly breaking out from my hold.
"This is why I said you are dull," she added, turning back toward me as she flashed me a bright, teasing smile that lit up her entire face.
And damn! That smile melted my heart instantly, sending a violent jolt straight through my chest.
Maria hadn’t smiled at me like that before, and even though she had just completely outsmarted me, I found myself utterly captivated by the sight of it.
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