4

4

Sienna’s POV

I ignore him.

Or at least, I try to.

I don’t acknowledge his presence as he trails a few steps behind me, just far enough to make it infuriatingly clear that he isn’t going to chase me.

It’s been two days since that night in my penthouse. Two days of silence. Two days of pretending like he didn’t leave me on my knees, wrecked and unsatisfied, while he walked away completely in control.

I should be over it.

But I can still feel the humiliation curling deep in my stomach like a constant burn that refuses to fade.

Which is why I refuse to look at him now.

Tonight’s charity gala is packed, the ballroom shimmering with chandeliers and the overwhelming scent of money. I move through the crowd effortlessly, offering smiles, shaking hands, laughing at jokes that aren’t funny.

Damian keeps his distance, just watching and waiting.

As if he wants to see if I’ll break first.

I won’t. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

Even when I can feel his gaze burning into my skin.

Even when my body remembers how easily he handled me, how he forced me to crawl, how he—

No.

I lift my chin higher, ignoring the heat pooling between my thighs.

He doesn’t affect me.

He’s just a bodyguard. My employee. Nothing more.

The champagne in my hand is my only comfort as I keep my distance, pretending he doesn’t exist.

A man approaches me, dressed in a sleek black suit, his smile too charming, too rehearsed.

I don’t recognize him.

But he knows me.

“Sienna Laurent,” he says smoothly, stepping closer. “I was hoping I’d get a moment alone with you.”

Something about him puts me on edge.

I take a step back, but he follows, closing the space between us, his hand brushing against my wrist.

My breath hitches.

“Excuse me,” I say coolly, but my pulse is racing.

Something is wrong.

I can feel it.

The man leans in, lowering his voice. “I have a message for you—”

And then—

Damian is there.

Like a storm, a shadow, a fucking force of nature.

He grabs the man’s wrist, twisting it with brutal efficiency.

The man barely gets out a strangled noise before he’s being shoved back, Damian’s massive body blocking mine completely.

“You don’t touch her,” Damian says, his voice a low, lethal growl.

The man stumbles, his face twisting in pain. “I—I wasn’t—”

Damian doesn’t let him finish.

He steps forward, closing the distance, his voice deadly quiet. “Leave.”

The man hesitates, but Damian’s grip tightens.

A warning and a threat.

And then he bolts, disappearing into the crowd.

I exhale sharply, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Damian turns to me, his jaw clenched, his eyes burning with fury.

“You think you don’t need me?” His voice is low, dangerous.

I glare up at him, my pride aching.

“I had it handled.”

His smirk is brutal. “Sure you did.”

Before I can snap at him, he grabs my wrist—not hard, but firm, unshakable.

“We’re leaving,” he says.

I don’t fight him because the adrenaline is still thrumming in my veins, and there’s something else beneath it.

Something hot and dark and unbearable.

So I let him pull me through the crowd, let him escort me out of the gala like I’m his possession.

And I hate how much I love it.

The second the door slams shut behind me, I snap.

“You don’t get to fucking control me, Damian,” I hiss, shoving at his chest as he settles into the backseat beside me.

His hand shoots out, gripping my throat and shoving me back against the seat.

I gasp, my pulse spiking and my body going tight with need.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” he murmurs, his grip just tight enough to make my breath hitch.

I glare at him, even as my thighs clench together.

“You’ve been ignoring me all night,” he says, voice mocking. “But look at you now.”

His hand slides lower, over my collarbone, down to my thigh.

“You’re shaking.”

I bite my lip, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

I won’t break.

Not first.

He smirks.

Then he yanks me forward, dragging me over the seat, forcing me to bend over.

I let out a shocked gasp, my dress riding up, leaving me exposed and vulnerable.

“Damian—”

His hand fists in my hair, yanking my head back.

“You need me,” he breathes against my ear, his voice dark and cruel. “But you’re too fucking proud to admit it.”

I whimper, my hands digging into the leather seat, my body burning.

I hate that he’s right.

His other hand slides between my thighs, fingers finding how soaked I am.

He chuckles. “Dripping.”

I shudder, humiliation twisting in my chest.

“Say it,” he orders.

I shake my head, my pride clinging desperately to the last thread of resistance.

He spanks me, sharp and sudden.

I moan, my nails scraping the seat.

“Say it,” he repeats, his voice dark and commanding.

I tremble, breathless and shaking.

“I—”

Another spank.

My back arches, my resolve crumbling.

“I need you,” I whisper, the words breaking me.

His satisfied hum sends a shiver down my spine.

“Good girl.”

And then he’s inside me, pushing deep, stretching me open with a single brutal thrust.

I cry out, my fingers gripping the seat as he holds me down, his hand tight in my hair.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” he grits out, his pace rough, and punishing.

I can’t think.

Can’t do anything but take it, my body rocking with each thrust, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“You love this,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to my ear, his words filthy and cruel. “Being bent over, fucked like you’re nothing but a spoiled little brat who needs to be put in her place.”

I whimper, my body clenching around him.

He groans. “Yeah, you love it.”

His pace quickens, his grip bruising, dragging me to the edge of oblivion.

I try to fight it, try to hold on—

But then he grabs my throat again, squeezing just enough to make my world shatter.

I come hard, my entire body shaking like a wrecked, desperate mess.

Damian follows a moment later, growling against my ear, spilling inside me with one final, brutal thrust.

I collapse against the seat, breathless, ruined.

He leans down, lips brushing my ear.

“Next time you ignore me, princess,” he murmurs, “I’ll make sure you can’t walk for a week.”

And like that I already know there will be a next time.