DAISY POV...
I should've been smiling.
I should've been floating.
I should've been replaying every soft word Decker said, every compliment, every gentle touch that made my heart flutter with something like hope.
I should've been glowing.
I had finally met someone who wanted me.
A man who looked at me without judgment, without coldness, without chaos.
Someone good.
Someone uncomplicated.
Someone safe.
But instead?
I felt empty.
A strange, hollow ache sat right under my ribs, heavy and unexplainable.
I walked down the quiet hallway, clutching my key card loosely in my hand, the soft hum of the ship vibrating through the floors. The corridor lights were dim, warm… romantic, even.
It should've matched the mood I was supposed to be in.
It didn't.
All the way back to my room, my steps slowed near one door.
His door.
Damien's.
I stared at the silver handle, the faint glow leaking out from underneath.
Was he awake?
Was he angry?
Did he know I went?
Did he care?
My fingers twitched.
Should I knock?
Should I listen in?
Should I just… stand here like a fool hoping he'd sense me the way I sensed him?
God, I hated this.
Hated this confusing pull toward a man who always kept me at arm's length.
Hated that my heart wouldn't listen to reason.
Hated that my legs wouldn't move.
Finally — too quickly, too slowly — I forced myself to breathe.
"Just go inside, Daisy," I whispered.
I unlocked my door.
Pushed it open.
Stepped in.
I was halfway through closing it when a hand appeared in the gap.
Large.
Strong.
Familiar in a way that made my stomach drop straight through the floor.
My breath caught.
"D–Damien…?"
His name cracked out of me like the air had been punched from my lungs.
I didn't have to see his face to know it was him.
I'd know that hand anywhere — in a dream, in a nightmare, in another lifetime.
Slowly — terrifyingly slowly — he pushed the door open.
And stepped inside.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Locked.
A soft sound but it echoed like thunder.
My legs turned weak.
Damien didn't speak.
He didn't blink.
He didn't look away.
His blue eyes, usually cold and sharp, now looked…
No.
They didn't look anything.
They burned.
Anger.
Jealousy.
Something darker, something raw and feral hovering right beneath the surface.
He stood so still it almost scared me.
I swallowed hard, my fingers curling into my palms to stop their trembling.
The air crackled between us, thick and electric and alive with something too dangerous to name.
He took one step.
I instinctively stepped back.
He took another.
I backed up again, my heart pounding so hard it almost hurt.
His jaw was sharp with tension.
His eyes — God, those eyes — followed me like he was tracking something he wanted to catch and tear apart.
I hit the wall.
Cold against my back.
Damien stopped right in front of me.
Close.
Too close.
My chest rose and fell too fast, my breath barely making it out.
"D–Damien…" I whispered again, voice unsteady.
His eyes flickered — just for a split second — softening like my voice had touched something in him he didn't want touched.
Then it vanished.
He leaned in.
Not touching me, but close enough for his warmth to wrap around me.
Close enough for his breath to ghost over my cheek.
Close enough to make my whole body spark.
I'd never seen him like this.
Never seen him look at anyone like this.
Never seen anyone look at me like this.
Finally — finally — he spoke.
His voice was rough, low, strained like gravel scraping over stone.
"Did he kiss you?"
I shuddered.
Not from fear.
From the way he said it, like the answer could destroy him.
"N–no," I whispered, shaking my head.
I couldn't form more than that.
My throat was too tight.
My pulse too wild.
Damien's hand lifted.
Slow.
Hesitant.
Unsteady.
Like he didn't trust himself.
He touched my chin softly — too softly — guiding my face up to his.
He leaned in closer, his forehead almost touching mine.
"I saw you," he said, voice breaking around the edges. "I saw you with him."
Heat rushed up my neck, my cheeks, everywhere.
Everything about him was wrong.
Too close.
Too intense.
Too forbidden.
And yet…
His presence set me on fire in ways Decker's sweet compliments never could.
I steadied myself — or tried to — and somehow found enough courage to whisper:
"Why… does it matter to you?"
His jaw clenched.
Hard.
Pain flickered through his eyes, swallowed quickly by something possessive and hungry.
He didn't answer.
His gaze drifted over my face — slow, aching, consuming — like he was memorizing me.
Like he was starving.
Like he'd been starving for a long, long time.
My voice came out barely audible.
"Why… did you follow me?"
He inhaled sharply.
Wrong question.
It hit him like a blow.
"And why," I whispered, breath shaking, "are you in my room, Damien?"
His eyes snapped shut for half a second.
Like he was fighting himself.
Losing.
He leaned even closer, one hand braced beside my head, caging me in completely.
I felt trapped.
But I didn't want to escape.
He exhaled unsteadily, his breath brushing my lips.
"I shouldn't…" he muttered, voice hoarse. "I shouldn't be here."
But he didn't move away.
He moved closer.
His nose brushed mine.
My knees nearly buckled.
He tilted his head toward mine—
And instinct — fear — desire — everything tangled inside me at once.
I turned my face away, breath breaking out of me.
"No," I whispered, shaking. "Damien, we… we can't."
He froze.
Every muscle went rigid.
"We're step-siblings," I choked out. "You— you hate me. This— this shouldn't be happening. You know that."
My hands pressed weakly against his chest, not pushing, just… existing because I didn't know what else to do.
"Go away, Daimen... we shouldn't do–"
He turned my face and before I knew it, he kissed me.
Hot.
Urgent.
Hungry.
A kiss like he'd been dying for it.
A kiss like he'd been holding it in for years.
A kiss like he wasn't going to survive if he didn't taste me right then, right there.
The world fell out from under me.
My breath vanished.
My fingers curled into his shirt.
My knees went weak.
My heart split open, raw and terrified and alive and aching.
Everything — every lie I tried to tell myself, every boundary I tried to hold, every reason this was wrong — shattered the moment his mouth touched mine.
I broke.
He broke.
And the entire universe tilted toward the inevitable.