Damon's POV
She stood there, trembling, her back pressed against the wall, lips swollen from my kiss, chest rising and falling with quick, frantic breaths. She looked like she was trying to hold herself together—to build those damned walls back up. But I had already seen her.
I had tasted her surrender.
And gods, it took everything in me not to go back and finish what we started.
But I didn't. Not because I was noble. Not because I cared about right or wrong.
No—I didn't lie beside her that night because if I did, I wouldn't be able to stop myself.
I knew what would happen. I'd touch her. She'd melt. She'd fight it. I wouldn't stop. And the line between bond and consent would blur into something neither of us could take back.
And no matter how much of a monster I am, I don't want her that way.
I want her willing.
Burning.
Begging.
So I turned away.
Not for her sake.
