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5. The Hunt Begins
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2025-02-09 10:11:19Aurora’s POV
I scrubbed my skin until it turned raw.
But no matter how much I washed, I could still feel him.
His touch. His scent. His heat.
I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the edges of the sink as I took slow, unsteady breaths. My body still ached from last night—a sinful reminder of what I had done.
What I had given away.
Tears burned the back of my throat, but I swallowed them down.
I didn’t have time to cry.
I needed to forget.
Move on.
It was just one night. A mistake.
Something I’d never speak of again.
I clutched my towel tighter around me and stepped out of the bathroom, my heart still hammering. The sun had barely risen, casting an eerie glow through my tiny apartment window.
Everything felt the same.
And yet, I felt different.
Because I wasn’t the same girl who had walked into that bar last night.
I had lost something.
Something I could never get back.
My hands trembled as I opened my closet, quickly grabbing something to wear. I needed to get to work.
If I kept moving, I wouldn’t have time to think.
Wouldn’t have time to remember the way he felt.
I shoved the thoughts away and focused on getting ready.
It was over.
I just had to keep telling myself that.
Damien’s POV
I tapped my fingers against my desk, eyes narrowed at the report in front of me.
Nothing.
No name. No identification.
Who the fuck was she?
I had people searching through security footage, running background checks on every woman who had been at that bar last night. But nothing was adding up.
And I was getting impatient.
I leaned back in my chair, rolling my wrist. My body still ached, a cruel reminder of what she had done to me.
What I had done to her.
She was the first woman in my life to run from me.
And that?
That only made me want her more.
I reached for my phone, dialing a number. The line clicked after the second ring.
“Find her,” I said coldly. “I don’t care what it takes.”
A beat of silence. Then—
“Yes, sir.”
I hung up.
She thought she could escape me?
She had no idea who I was.
No idea that running only made me want to chase her more.
I was going to find her.
And when I did—
She wouldn’t be running anywhere ever again.
Aurora’s POV
The café was quiet, the hum of the espresso machine filling the air as I wiped down the counter.
The morning rush had passed, and for the first time since I’d stepped through the doors, I could finally breathe.
Sort of.
I still felt unsettled.
Like something was watching me.
I shook the feeling off and focused on my work.
My shift was almost over. One more hour, and I could go home. Go back to pretending everything was fine.
The bell above the café door chimed.
I glanced up, forcing a polite smile.
And then—
My blood ran cold.
He was standing there.
Him.
The man I had spent the night with.
The man I had run away from.
He was here.
I didn’t know his name yet.
But I would never forget that face.
Dark, piercing eyes. Chiseled jaw. A presence so dominant and commanding that the air around him felt heavier.
He was staring at me.
Like a predator that had just found its prey.
My pulse spiked. My grip on the rag tightened.
Oh, God.
I didn’t know how he found me.
I didn’t care.
I just knew one thing.
I was in trouble.
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