Chapter 12

TESSA'S POV

I stared, my heart skipping a beat. A person was standing in my doorway, but that wasn't Chloe; it was Damien.

His eyes still had that same old intensity to them, his lips curled in that same cocky smirk as he casually leaned a shoulder against the doorframe-like he owned the place. My stomach churned its protest at just the mere sight of him and yet some part of me-some part I almost hated to admit existed-was stirred in his wake.

"Surprised to see me?" Damien asked with an amusing shade in his voice.

I swallowed hard, and my throat went suddenly dry. "What are you doing here?"

He relaxed against the doorframe took a step closer, devouring with his eyes the length of me. "I heard you quit your job."

"That's none of your business, Damien," I said, hastening to cross my arms in front of my chest, to block his view.

"None of your business?" He laughed, stepping inside sans my invitation. I instinctively took a step backward. "Everything about you is my business, Tessa. You know that."

I shook my head, fighting to keep my voice steady. "We broke up, Damien. That means I'm not your business anymore."

He tipped his head and his smirk fell away, replaced by something darker. "You and I both know it's not that simple."

I swallowed, my heart bucking against my chest. God, how much I hated this. Hated that with one look he had this hold on me, sucked me right back into the past, back to when it had all revolved around him.

"Don't flatter yourself, Damien," I said icily, "You don't have that kind of power over me anymore.”

Closer by one step, space between us reduced to less than half. His eyes never once left mine. "You keep telling yourself that.".

I tried to stand my ground, tried to keep the tough façade on that I'd been sporting all day, but it was a losing battle as I felt myself crumbling-my body betraying me, memories of our times together coming crashing back in my brain with too much force: how he used to make me feel; with one well-placed look, he'd be able to light a fire inside me.

Those days were behind me, and I needed to remember that.

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore, Damien. You don't get to walk in here like you own the place and throw your weight around."

Damien's jaw clenched, his smirk long gone now. "You've always been a coward, Tessa. Running away with your tail between your legs whenever things get tough. First with us, and now with Aiden."

The words stung, my fingers curling into my palms. "This has nothing to do with Aiden."

"Oh, doesn't it?" he mocked, the brow arcing. "You're running from your job because you can't handle a little heat from him? You're running away because things aren't going your way, just like you always do.”

"That's not true," I snapped, the sharp bite of my words trembling. "I'm not running away. I'm standing up for myself. I'm not going to let you or Aiden treat me like some pawn in your stupid game anymore."

He laughed again-the sound cool, patronizing. "A pawn? Tessa, you have always been more than that.”

I shook my head, back-stepping until the couch edge hit my legs. "You need to leave, Damien. I don't want to do this with you anymore."

He took another step closer, towering over me now, eyes boring into mine. "Leave? You think you can just shove me away like that?

I swallowed, fighting desperately to hold onto the anger that had sustained me all day, but it slipped and slid through my fingers. Damien had always known just how to make me feel small, he'd turned my words on me, stood close enough that I felt it-that damn pull that got me time and time again.

“I'm not yours anymore, Damien,” I whispered, hating the squeaky quality of my voice.

He wrapped an arm around me, tugging me in. He grasped my chin, forcing me to look upwards into his eyes. My skin prickled under his fingers, my breath catching in the back of my throat.

"Not mine?" he repeated, voice low and deadly. "You will always be mine, Tessa.

I jerked my head back, wrenching myself free of his grasp. "No," I said; much stronger that time.

For a second he just stared at me, his eyes darkening with something unreadable. Then, in an instant, he clamped one hand onto my arm and yanked me against him, his mouth landing on mine.

It was a bruising, possessive kiss that had me too shocked to do anything more than stand there for one startled second. I shoved him with all my might, trying to tear our lips apart, sending my breathing into ragged gasps.

"Stop it, Damien!" I shouted, my voice hoarse.

And he just didn't seem fazed; he grinned down at me, shining with satisfaction in his eyes. "You still feel it, don't you?" he goaded, stepping closer again. "That connection. That fire. You can't deny it."

I wiped the back of my hand across my lips, scowling at him. "I feel nothing for you, Damien. Nothing."

His smile faltered and in the space of a heartbeat, something flashed in his eyes. Pain? Impossible. Not Damien. He wasn't wired that way.

"You're lying," he whispered, voice low. "You've always been a bad liar, Tessa.”

I shook my head, my heart bucking against my chest. "I'm not lying, Damien. Whatever we had, it's done. I don't belong to you anymore."

The silence was thick, heavy between us, his eyes glinting as if it was tangible and could be cut with a knife. Then, within that second, he reached out again-but this time to catch my face in both of his hands. "You're mine," he growled,"And nothing will change that.

Flew at him with all my force, managed to take him by surprise long enough that he took a backward step. "Get out, Damien!" I shouted, the weight of it all cracking my voice. "Just leave me alone!

First, he didn't budge-just stood there staring at me, that maddening smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. Then he stepped back, palms up in a mockery of surrender. "Fine," he said, voice deceptively calm. "But this isn't over, Tessa. Not by a long shot."

I watched him turn and walk out the door, my whole body shaking. The second the door clicked shut behind him, I collapsed onto the couch, burying my face in my hands.

Tears seared the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn't let Damien get to me like this. I couldn't let him tear me down again.

But with all that said, and as I was assuring myself of that very fact, there was a tinge in the back of my forehead nagging me-no escaping the fact that no matter how hard I tried, Damien knew exactly what to say and how to say it to get under my skin.

And deep down, I was irritated by myself for letting him have that control over me.