His cologne, dark, woodsy closed in around me as the lock clicked.

The sound was so sharp, so final, it felt louder than my heartbeat.

I swallowed hard. The blinds were down, the room suddenly too small, too quiet.

Damian didn’t speak right away. He didn’t need to. His presence was enough to make me sweat in this air conditioned room.

“Lesson one,” he said finally, voice smooth but carrying that dangerous undercurrent.

He didn’t raise it. He didn’t have to.

I tried to laugh, God help me, I actually laughed. “You’re joking, right? This whole thing was just a mix-up…”

He cut me off with one slow shake of...