IN TOO DEEP

Sienna didn’t realize how far gone she was until she caught herself adjusting her necklace for the third time in the mirror—hoping Damien would notice it.

It had begun subtly. A glance too long. A word too loaded. His voice in her thoughts when he wasn’t even in the room. Now, his world was beginning to shape hers. The girl who once planned every step was now rearranging her life around a man who lived like rules were optional and power was a game he always won.

She wasn’t sure when the shift had started, but she knew it was real.

Every time Damien entered a room, the atmosphere changed. The air grew heavier. Denser. He didn’t just walk—he owned. And it was impossible not to be swept up in that.

Tonight, the city looked like a thousand diamonds scattered across the skyline as Damien’s car glided through Ashton’s elite district. His driver, silent and precise, took every turn as if the streets belonged to them.

Sienna sat beside Damien, dressed in a sleek black dress that hugged her curves like second skin. His hand rested lazily between them, his fingers barely touching hers—just enough to set her nerves on fire.

“You’ve been quiet,” Damien said, not looking at her.

She blinked, pulling herself from her thoughts. “I was thinking.”

“About?”

“How easy it is to get lost in all this.”

He smirked. “Then stop trying to find your way out.”

Those words. They wrapped around her like velvet and barbed wire—soft, seductive, and dangerous. Damien had that effect. He made surrender feel like a privilege.

By the time they reached his penthouse, Sienna’s heart was thudding louder than the wind outside.

Inside, everything gleamed. Black marble floors. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Art pieces that probably cost more than her old apartment. The place was designed to intimidate—but also to impress.

“Drink?” he asked, already moving toward his liquor cart.

She hesitated. “I shouldn’t.”

“But you will.” He poured the amber liquid into two crystal glasses without waiting for an answer.

When he handed her the drink, their fingers brushed again. A spark. A chill. A promise.

She took a sip. It burned in all the right ways.

“How do you do it?” she asked after a pause. “Pull people in like you’re gravity.”

Damien tilted his head. “Because people want to be pulled. They want to escape their ordinary lives, even if it’s just for a moment.”

“And me?” she asked. “Am I just another escape?”

He stepped closer. “You’re the first one who doesn’t flinch.”

Sienna laughed bitterly. “That’s because I’m too far in now.”

“Yes,” he murmured, eyes darkening. “You are.”

The distance between them vanished. One moment she was standing near the window, the next, his hand was at her waist, his breath brushing her cheek. His touch wasn’t rushed—it was calculated, like everything he did.

And God, it felt like surrender.

“I should leave,” she whispered.

“You won’t.”

He was right.

Instead of stepping back, she leaned into him—just a little. Just enough to feel his warmth. Her heart was thudding, her thoughts tangled, her entire body on edge. But she didn’t move.

Because Damien wasn’t just a man.

He was a world.

And she was already living in it.

Later, when she returned to her apartment, the silence pressed in on her like a weight. She kicked off her heels and stood in front of her mirror, staring at herself.

But it wasn’t her anymore.

Not the girl who made safe choices. Not the girl who built walls around her heart.

This new version of her wore diamonds she didn’t pay for. Lingered in rooms of men who made decisions that could destroy lives. And wanted a man who could ruin her in a thousand beautiful ways.

She sat on her bed and stared out the window at the city lights. Damien was out there—somewhere above it all, watching, waiting, pulling strings.

And she was his favorite puppet now.

Willing.

Hooked.

In too deep.